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Research roundup: Comparing profit and nonprofit hospice care; Hospital mortality and spending; High-deductible insurance plans

Association Of Hospice Agency Profit Status With Patient Diagnosis, Location of Care, and Length of Stay - "The current Medicare Hospice Benefit reimburses hospices at a fixed per diem rate that does not consider the patient's diagnosis, location of care, or hospice LOS [length-of-stay]," and as such, "profit can be maximized by caring for patients with certain diagnoses that require fewer skilled services, patients residing in nursing homes, or patients with longer hospice stays."

4 Feb 2011

Dermatologists offer preventative tips to minimize pesky skin problems caused by plants

What may start as a seemingly harmless day of gardening or yard work can quickly take a turn for the worse when common plants make their mark on the skin, causing a host of mild to even severe skin reactions. That is why dermatologists are arming outdoor enthusiasts with preventative tips to keep these perils of the great outdoors at arm's length.

4 Feb 2011

Queen's awarded £1.74 million grant to study microbiology of Cystic Fibrosis pulmonary infection

Scientists at Queen's University Belfast have begun work into improving the lives of thousands of Cystic Fibrosis sufferers thanks to the award of a £1.74 million US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership grant.

4 Feb 2011

Report examines how health worker shortages could keep developing countries from achieving universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment

A shortage of healthcare workers in developing countries may hold developing countries back from achieving the U.N. Millennium Development Goal to achieve universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment by 2015, according to a report by the WHO/Global Health Workforce Alliance, IRIN/PlusNews writes.

4 Feb 2011

Study finds total cost of dengue illness in Americans to be $2.1 billion per annum

The first assessment of the total cost of dengue illness in the Americas reveals the economic burden to be approximately $2.1 billion per year, exceeding that from other viral illnesses including human papillomavirus and rotavirus.

4 Feb 2011

AHF urges all AIDS drug manufacturers to reduce medication cost by 20%

As part of its ongoing advocacy to lower drug prices and increase access to lifesaving medications AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the largest global AIDS organization, today urged all AIDS drug manufacturers to reduce the cost of their medications by 20% for cash-strapped state.

4 Feb 2011

Cell signaling hormone boosts immune response to clear HIV-like infection

Australian scientists have successfully cleared a HIV-like infection from mice by boosting the function of cells vital to the immune response.

4 Feb 2011

Tacere announces reacquisition of HCV compound development, commercialization rights in Asia

Tacere Therapeutics, an RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapeutics company, announced today that it has reacquired the development and commercialization rights to its Hepatitis C Virus compounds throughout Asia from its strategic partner, Tokyo-based Oncolys BioPharma Inc.

4 Feb 2011

FIND, Cepheid collaborate to develop rapid molecular test for measurement of HIV viral load

Cepheid and FIND today announced a new collaboration to accelerate the development of a rapid molecular test for the measurement of human immunodeficiency virus viral load.

3 Feb 2011

Stockpiling flu drugs, vaccines reduces impact of pandemic, but option out of reach for most countries, study finds

"Stockpiling antiviral flu drugs and vaccines saves lives and reduces disease in a flu pandemic," but the cost to maintain such a stockpile and deploy interventions in the event of an outbreak "is too expensive for around two thirds of the world's population, scientists said on Wednesday," Reuters reports.

3 Feb 2011

Public health experts: Improved community engagement needed to prevent pandemic spread

In the current issue of Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, public health experts assert that improved community engagement is needed to prevent the spread of pandemics.

3 Feb 2011

New England Journal publishes fidaxomicin Phase 3 trial results against CDI

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, announced The New England Journal of Medicine has published results from the North American Phase 3 trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of the Company's novel antibiotic fidaxomicin as a treatment for patients with Clostridium difficile infection.

3 Feb 2011

First therapeutic vaccine designed from dendritic cells of patient achieves significant response

The therapeutic vaccines are a priority research line of the HIVACAT, the catalan programme for the development of therapeutic vaccines and prevention against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). This type of therapeutic vaccine helps the patients who are carriers of the virus, combat infection and control the appearance of AIDS in the same way as with the current antiretroviral treatments.

3 Feb 2011

Intermittent use of preventive malaria drugs in children found to help prevent malaria transmission, studies say

Three studies published on Tuesday in PLoS Medicine show that "intermittent use of preventive antimalarial drugs can be beneficial in curbing the spread of the disease in children," Agence France-Presse reports (2/1).

3 Feb 2011

Malaria transmission to decline in Burundi because of global warming

Malaria transmission will not increase because of global warming in the African nation of Burundi according to a statistical analysis by researchers in Austria and Burundi. Writing in the International Journal of Global Warming, the team explains that rising temperatures will lead to lower humidity and rainfall which will shorten the lifespan of mosquitoes carrying malaria.

3 Feb 2011

Shionogi-ViiV Healthcare initiates 572-Trii fixed-dose combination therapy study for HIV

Shionogi-ViiV Healthcare, LLC announced today that the first patient has entered the clinical study, SINGLE (ING114467), designed to support a new fixed-dose combination (FDC) therapy for the treatment of HIV.

3 Feb 2011

Fidaxomicin demonstrates 45% reduction in recurrences vs. existing treatment for C. difficile infection

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a significant and growing problem in hospitals and other health care facilities, but no new drugs to treat the condition have been developed in several decades. However, a large-scale, phase 3 trial conducted by Canadian and U.S. researchers shows that the new antibiotic Fidaxomicin is superior to existing treatments, demonstrating a 45 percent reduction in recurrences vs. the existing licensed treatment.

3 Feb 2011

Study finds recurrences of shingles prevalent in the immunocompetent population

For decades, medical wisdom about shingles has been that it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The commonly-held belief is that patients are protected from a recurrence of the herpes zoster virus, which causes shingles, after one episode. But according to a study published in the February issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, recurrences of shingles may be significantly more common than doctors have suspected.

2 Feb 2011

Size of influenza-laden particles linked to risk of infection

A parent's wise advice to never go to a hospital unless you want to get sick may be gaining support from scientific studies on a specific airborne virus.

2 Feb 2011

New study examines role of later acquisition of hepatitis C in HIV patients

Hepatitis C is a leading cause of illness and death for individuals infected with both HIV and hepatitis C. Recent reports from around the world demonstrate that hepatitis C is emerging as a sexually transmitted infection among HIV-infected men who do not inject drugs. However, many HIV-infected men do not receive continued screening for hepatitis C throughout their HIV care.

2 Feb 2011

Disease/Infection News

Research roundup: Comparing profit and nonprofit hospice care; Hospital mortality and spending; High-deductible insurance plans

Dermatologists offer preventative tips to minimize pesky skin problems caused by plants

Queen's awarded £1.74 million grant to study microbiology of Cystic Fibrosis pulmonary infection

Report examines how health worker shortages could keep developing countries from achieving universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment

Study finds total cost of dengue illness in Americans to be $2.1 billion per annum

AHF urges all AIDS drug manufacturers to reduce medication cost by 20%

Cell signaling hormone boosts immune response to clear HIV-like infection

Tacere announces reacquisition of HCV compound development, commercialization rights in Asia

FIND, Cepheid collaborate to develop rapid molecular test for measurement of HIV viral load

Stockpiling flu drugs, vaccines reduces impact of pandemic, but option out of reach for most countries, study finds

Public health experts: Improved community engagement needed to prevent pandemic spread

New England Journal publishes fidaxomicin Phase 3 trial results against CDI

First therapeutic vaccine designed from dendritic cells of patient achieves significant response

Intermittent use of preventive malaria drugs in children found to help prevent malaria transmission, studies say

Malaria transmission to decline in Burundi because of global warming

Shionogi-ViiV Healthcare initiates 572-Trii fixed-dose combination therapy study for HIV

Fidaxomicin demonstrates 45% reduction in recurrences vs. existing treatment for C. difficile infection

Study finds recurrences of shingles prevalent in the immunocompetent population

Size of influenza-laden particles linked to risk of infection

New study examines role of later acquisition of hepatitis C in HIV patients

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