Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Dr Chris Mason appointed Senior Editor of Regenerative Medicine

The journal Regenerative Medicine has announced the promotion of Dr Chris Mason to Senior Editor. Dr Mason succeeds Dr Stephen Minger who has steered the journal since its launch in January 2006.

23 Jun 2008

Ranbaxy and Pfizer settle on Lipitor patent litigation

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (Ranbaxy), announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Pfizer Inc. to settle most of the patent litigation worldwide involving Atorvastatin (Lipitor), the world's most-prescribed cholesterol-lowering medicine.

19 Jun 2008

Top scientists say 'NHS won't survive next 20 years'

In an open letter to the Health Secretary Alan Johnson, a coalition of leading scientists, including Professor Seth Love at Bristol University, slammed the government's underinvestment in dementia research amid warnings of "catastrophic" economic consequences.

19 Jun 2008

Kaiser Daily Health Policy report feature highlights recent blog posts

While mainstream news coverage is still a primary source of information for the latest in policy debates and the health care marketplace, online blogs have become a significant part of the media landscape, often presenting new perspectives on policy issues and drawing attention to under-reported topics.

17 Jun 2008

Insurers often improperly reimburse physicians, adding $200 billion annually to U.S. health care costs, AMA report finds

Insurers' failure to properly process and reimburse physicians costs the U.S. $200 billion annually, according to a report released on Monday by the American Medical Association, the Los Angeles Times reports.

17 Jun 2008

Melanomas "run" in families - CDKN2A gene reveals why

When people know the results of genetic tests confirming they have inherited an increased risk of developing melanoma, they follow skin cancer screening recommendations more proactively-much like those who have already been diagnosed with the potentially deadly disease, according to results of a study completed at the University of Utah's Huntsman Cancer Institute. and published in the June issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

17 Jun 2008

World Allergy report calls for urgent worldwide collaboration to tackle global increase in allergies

The World Allergy Organization (WAO) will publish its first Report on the extent of allergy and chronic respiratory diseases worldwide on the 18 June 2008 and has called for immediate collaboration to tackle the current escalation in allergy cases.

17 Jun 2008

Hydroxyurea treatment for sickle cell underused by doctors

Uncertainties about proper use and possible long-term effects of hydroxyurea in the treatment of sickle cell anemia may be wrongly influencing doctors to avoid prescribing it to those in serious need, according to results of a literature review by specialists at Johns Hopkins.

17 Jun 2008

Aerobics increases blood protein that may suppress appetite

Three months of aerobic exercise decreased body fat and calorie intake in overweight and obese people, according to a new study, and the researchers believe that changes to a central nervous system factor are responsible. The results will be presented at The Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

16 Jun 2008

University of California, San Francisco embraces web 2.0 for health information

YouTube and The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) today launched a comprehensive Internet video channel dedicated to the improved understanding of incurable neurodegenerative brain diseases.

16 Jun 2008

Concerns over placebo pill for kids

Responding to reports in the media that Obecalp, a placebo pill for children, is due to be made available on the UK market, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain's (RPSGB) Chief Scientist, Jayne Lawrence said:

16 Jun 2008

Antipsychotic drugs get FDA label changes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today exercised its new authority under the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA) to require manufacturers of "conventional" antipsychotic drugs to make safety-related changes to prescribing information, or labeling, to warn about an increased risk of death associated with the off-label use of these drugs to treat behavioral problems in older people with dementia.

16 Jun 2008

Asian women and incontinence

Urinary incontinence is an important health problem affecting an estimated 5 million women in the UK.

15 Jun 2008

AHF to Dr. Fauci and the CDC: "show us the AIDS numbers"

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is calling for the immediate release of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) latest HIV incidence numbers, after Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) referred to them while in attendance at the United Nations' 2008 High Level Meeting on AIDS in New York this week. The US largest AIDS organization and operator of free AIDS treatment clinics in the U.S., Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia, also called for massive scale-up of HIV testing throughout the nation.

11 Jun 2008

Simple steps can help reduce your risk of contracting potentially deadly superbug

With beach-season looming, the fitness bug is motivating Chicagoans to fill area gyms in droves, all hoping to buff up before the warm-weather season of fun gets into full swing.

11 Jun 2008

Massachusetts insurers to expand health plans with physician ranking system despite lawsuit

Two of Massachusetts' largest health insurers are expanding or launching health plans that feature physician ranking systems despite opposition to those systems by the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Boston Globe reports. Under such ranking systems, patients who seek care from a top-rated, or top-tiered, physician have lower copayments.

11 Jun 2008

Without increased funding, California's dominance and public health are threatened, according to new report

The California Healthcare Institute (CHI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) today released a report, "The National Institutes of Health: Fueling Healthcare Innovation in California," urging legislators to support increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) - the backbone of the biomedical industry in California, which employs more than 267,000 people in high wage jobs.

11 Jun 2008

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report feature highlights recent blogs

11 Jun 2008

Agfa HealthCare assigned second phase RIS/PACS agreement with First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University

Agfa HealthCare has announced that it has been chosen to implementation a second phase RIS/PACS program at The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University in China.

10 Jun 2008

European research project to explore Alzheimer's diagnosis

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, GE Healthcare, a division of the General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) and a Consortium of leading research institutions across Europe announced the PredictAD project, a research collaboration aimed at developing new diagnostic procedures for patients with Alzheimer's disease.

10 Jun 2008