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Employees need to review health insurance plans during open enrollment

Open enrollment, starting in October for most companies, allows employees to make changes to their benefits for the coming year. It's often the only time during the year that employees can make changes to their health insurance plans, and the passage of the recently enacted healthcare reform means that Americans could be facing more changes to their existing health insurance plans.

13 Oct 2010

Terason and HEARTS Program seek to prevent SCA

The Terason t3000 CV Ultrasound is the ultrasound system of choice for The HEARTS Program a project of Memorial Hermann and UT Southwestern Hospitals. Houston Early Age Risk Testing and Screening (HEARTS) program, is a study designed to detect any abnormal heart conditions that can cause the heart to arrest.

13 Oct 2010

First Worldwide NET Cancer Awareness Day on November 10, 2010

The World NET Community announces the first Worldwide NET Cancer Awareness Day on November 10, 2010 to raise awareness about cancers called neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and the need for timely detection and diagnosis. More than 90% of all NET patients are incorrectly diagnosed and initially treated for the wrong disease. Misdiagnoses or delayed diagnoses mean that NET patients are treated on average five to seven years for the wrong disease; often the correct diagnosis is not made until the disease has spread (metastasized).

13 Oct 2010

Study finds wide variability in use of blood transfusions for coronary artery bypass graft surgery

A study that includes data on more than 100,000 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery finds that there is wide variability among hospitals in the U.S. on the use of blood transfusions, without a large difference in the rate of death, suggesting that many transfusions may be unnecessary, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA. Another study in this issue of JAMA examines the effect of a restrictive transfusion strategy on outcomes after cardiac surgery.

13 Oct 2010

Research may pave way to cure cystic fibrosis

A University of Missouri researcher believes his latest work moves scientists closer to a cure for cystic fibrosis, one of the world's most common fatal genetic diseases.

13 Oct 2010

Researchers investigate statin drugs to treat lung disease

Researchers at Queen's University Belfast are investigating a potential new treatment for lung disease that could save many lives each year. The research team is studying how statins, drugs which are commonly used to treat high cholesterol, can be used to treat lung disease.

13 Oct 2010

Cancer Research UK launches programme to turn genetic revolution into better treatment for cancer patients

Cancer Research UK has launched a multimillion pound programme, alongside the Technology Strategy Board's Innovation Platform, to help turn the genetic revolution into better treatment for cancer patients.

13 Oct 2010

Scientists identify gene that could predict breast cancer patients' response to tamoxifen

Scientists have identified a gene which could help predict whether a breast cancer patient will respond to taking tamoxifen. The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Wednesday), showed a potential link between the activity of a gene called BCAR4 and the likelihood that a breast cancer tumour will not respond to tamoxifen - widely used to treat women with breast cancer.

13 Oct 2010

Bariatric surgery reduces healthcare costs for morbidly obese diabetics

New data presented today at Obesity 2010, the 28th annual scientific meeting of The Obesity Society, find that bariatric surgery is associated with reduced healthcare costs for diabetes patients who are morbidly obese.

13 Oct 2010

Survey finds majority of people supported breast cancer awareness in past 12 months

Most people have supported breast cancer awareness within the past 12 months, according to a survey by Memolink of more than 3,500 of its members. Memolink.com is a leading online rewards program.

13 Oct 2010

Physicians anticipate new oral therapies for multiple sclerosis patients

Physicians are anticipating the arrival of new oral therapies for multiple sclerosis patients, with initial research showing very high awareness of oral candidates, particularly Novartis' Gilenya, which received FDA approval for relapsing forms of the disease in late September. The majority of neurologists expect Gilenya to be very useful as a therapy and trial of the drug is predicted to be strong, according to new research by GfK HealthCare.

13 Oct 2010

Studies examine risk factors for hospital readmission

In two studies published today in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, the risk factors for readmission to the hospital are examined based upon general medicine inpatients and those with at least two admissions in a six-month period. Alongside clinical factors such as having cancer, chronic diseases such as heart failure or lung disease, or being on high-risk medications, the studies identified other factors which increase the likelihood of a patient being readmitted which could help hospitalists focus in on these groups.

13 Oct 2010

Hospitalizations and associated costs with peripheral artery disease increase as condition progresses

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a progressive and costly disease, but remains under-diagnosed and under treated. While current PAD treatments are effective at clearing artery blockages in the lower leg, high recurrence rates and the subsequent need for repeat procedures are costly. Even after initial procedures to clear blockages in leg arteries, hospitalizations and associated costs in patients with peripheral artery disease increase as the condition progresses, according to research reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.

13 Oct 2010

Pharmalink's Nefecon for IgA nephropathy receives FDA orphan drug designation

Pharmalink AB, a privately held Swedish pharmaceutical company, has received orphan drug designation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its product candidate Nefecon (PL-56) for patients with IgA nephropathy, also referred to as Berger's Disease. This program is presently in clinical development phase II.

13 Oct 2010

Study examines health-care costs among heart failure patients in Canada

As the population ages, health care epidemiologist Padma Kaul and cardiologist Paul Armstrong, researchers in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta, want health-care professionals to talk to their patients about their options on places to die, whether it be at home, in hospital or a palliative care facility like hospice.

13 Oct 2010

Buprenorphine implant decreases opioid usage in persons with opioid dependence

Helping to address the issue of medication adherence, persons with opioid dependence who had the medication buprenorphine implanted had less opioid use over 16 weeks, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA.

13 Oct 2010

Patients with advanced cancer undergo common non-beneficial cancer screening tests

A sizeable proportion of patients with advanced cancer and a life expectancy of only a few years continue to undergo common cancer screening tests that are unlikely to provide meaningful benefit, according to a study in the October 13 issue of JAMA.

13 Oct 2010

PAXX100 audio device improves quality of life of people with tinnitus

Tinnitus Laboratory today announced the results of a clinical study that shows significant improvements from the use of PAXX100, a customized audio device for tinnitus management designed for long-term reduction of tinnitus perception.

13 Oct 2010

Pycnogenol effective in relieving tinnitus symptoms: Study

More than 50 million Americans will experience some degree of tinnitus in their lifetime, according to the American Tinnitus Association. Tinnitus is a hearing condition that causes the constant misperception of sound, including hissing, ringing and rushing noises. A study recently published in Panminerva Medica reveals that Pycnogenol (pic-noj-en-all), an antioxidant plant extract derived from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, is effective in relieving tinnitus symptoms by improving blood flow in the inner ear.

13 Oct 2010

Study compares minimally invasive and open surgeries for lower back pain

Rush University Medical Center is assessing whether minimally invasive surgery to relieve lower back pain differs from open surgery in terms of complication rate, recovery time, outcome and cost.

13 Oct 2010