Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Are higher doses and higher costs for cholesterol drugs worth the extra money?

When it comes to cholesterol-lowering drugs, more is better. At least, that's what heart doctors and heart patients have been hearing in recent years.

24 Apr 2007

Agile Therapeutics to report on new generation of transdermal contraceptives

Dr. Thomas M. Rossi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Agile Therapeutics, Inc., will report on the company's progress in developing a new generation of transdermal contraceptives at the BIO 2007 annual international conference on biotechnology.

24 Apr 2007

Abbott continues drug blacklist in Thailand, says AIDS Healthcare Foundation

AIDS Healthcare Foundation has chastised Abbott Laboratories for its 'quid pro quo' offer to the Government of Thailand to lower its price for Abbott's key AIDS drug, Aluvia (a heat-stable tablet version of Kaletra) to approximately USD$800 per patient per year -- an offer contingent upon Abbott's demand that Thailand immediately halt issuing compulsory licenses for the generic manufacture of this lifesaving drug.

24 Apr 2007

Remote monitoring for patients with chronic heart failure shows significant benefits

Researchers from Canada and Australia have found that the use of remote monitoring for patients with chronic heart failure has the potential to significantly improve clinical outcomes (mortality, morbidity and quality indicators).

21 Apr 2007

Talk beyond pain: Understanding diabetic nerve pain

Results from a new survey of more than 600 physicians who treat diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, or diabetic nerve pain, reveal that nearly all (97 percent) believe that the condition is often misdiagnosed.

20 Apr 2007

New report will help reduce Venousthromboembolism in hospitals

Every hospital patient should have their own risk assessment for VTE that will improve patient safety and help save thousands of lives each year, says an expert working group whose report was launched by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO).

20 Apr 2007

Generics are increasing competition and lower prescription drug prices

According to a new study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) School of Management and Analysis Group Inc., there is no evidence that the recent increase in prevalence of authorized generics has resulted in delays in generic entry into the marketplace.

20 Apr 2007

Viventia Biotech announces results of Proxinium antibody in combinaton with chemotherapy and radiation

Viventia Biotech has announced results of in vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies conducted to evaluate the potential for combining its phase III anti-cancer antibody therapeutic, Proxinium, with first-line standard of care therapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the head & neck (SCCHN).

19 Apr 2007

Vasogen and Grupo Ferrer to commercialize Celacade in Europe

Vasogen has announced a collaboration with Grupo Ferrer Internacional, S.A. ("Ferrer"), to commercialize Vasogen's Celacade technology for the treatment of chronic heart failure in the European Union and in certain Latin American countries.

19 Apr 2007

Wholegrain oats may reduce risk factors for coronary heart disease

Trials lasting 4 to 8 weeks indicate that including wholegrain oats in your diet may lower total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

19 Apr 2007

Link between psoriasis and diabetes and atherosclerosis

Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition characterized by thick, red, scaly plaques that itch and sometimes bleed, causing considerable discomfort and emotional stress for patients.

19 Apr 2007

Brief meetings with healthcare workers curb excessive drinking in men

Between one and four standard appointments with a general practitioner or nurse can reduce a patient's alcohol consumption by an average of five standard drink units a week, according to a Cochrane Review.

19 Apr 2007

North Shore-LIJ seeks participants for liver tumor and new chemo trial

The North Shore-LIJ Health System has announced it is seeking participants for a new clinical trial that will test a new chemotherapy option for patients with liver tumors.

18 Apr 2007

Wartime healthcare basics learned from past battles

America's bloodiest one day battle continues to provide military physicians with wartime healthcare basics more than 140 years after it was fought.

18 Apr 2007

UK doctors shy away from performing abortions

Experts in the UK are warning of an impending crisis in the National Health Service (NHS) regarding abortions. They say many doctors are opting out of providing such a service.

18 Apr 2007

Staph infections among hospitalized patients are on the rise

The study, conducted by Gary Noskin, MD, infectious disease specialist and associate chief medical officer at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, also revealed that the increase in staph infections is resulting in millions of dollars of excess healthcare costs due to longer hospitalizations.

17 Apr 2007

Cybercitizen Health Europe

In today's world of fragmented media and channel mix, it is increasingly difficult to isolate the information sources used by consumers to research health information and inform healthcare decision making.

17 Apr 2007

Silver Award for advances in the prevention of HIV perinatal transmission

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia presented J. Brooks Jackson, M.D., MBA, of Johns Hopkins University with the Herman and Gertrude Silver Award for his internationally prominent work in preventing the transmission of HIV from infected mothers to their newborn babies.

17 Apr 2007

Study identifies high-risk patient populations for MRSA carriage

A Rhode Island Hospital study presented at the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) annual meeting found that patients in long-term elder care and HIV-infected outpatients appear to be high-risk groups for carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a common cause for health care associated infections.

17 Apr 2007