Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Diabetes explosion on the cards for Brits

According to a charity in Britain, unless there is a major change in lifestyle, by 2025 there will be 3.6 million people with diabetes in England.

9 Jun 2008

Massachusetts employers, insurers lobby against higher employer fees for uninsured workers, support cost control efforts

Massachusetts businesses and most of the state's health insurers on Wednesday announced the formation of the Coalition for Affordable Health Coverage, a lobbying group that will work to control rising health care costs in the state and prevent cost-shifting to employers, the Boston Globe reports.

8 Jun 2008

Boehringer, Gilead freeze antiretroviral prices for some U.S. agencies

Pharmaceutical companies Boehringer Ingelheim and Gilead Sciences are freezing the prices of their antiretroviral drugs for select agencies in the U.S., the AIDS Healthcare Foundation announced on Tuesday, Bloomberg reports.

8 Jun 2008

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report feature highlights recent blog entries

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.

8 Jun 2008

UNISON condemns proposed cuts to care home inspections

UNISON has warned that changes to the inspection regime for care homes will put the lives of elderly residents at risk.

8 Jun 2008

Luxembourg invests in biomedical research

The Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg announced on June 5, 2008 the implementation of a strategic partnership initiative with three U.S. research institutions. As part of the initiative, the Government will invest approximately 140 million euros over the next five years as it aims to develop a centre of expertise in the area of molecular medicine.

8 Jun 2008

9.7 million at risk of death from AIDS today, AHF calls for ARV treatment scale-up

The release of a World Health Organization/UNAIDS/UNICEF report on Monday documents appreciable global progress in the effort to deliver lifesaving antiretroviral treatment (ARVs) to people living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries; however, it also underscores the crucial need to maintain a focus on scaling up and providing lifesaving antiretroviral treatment in programs like PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) notes AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF).

5 Jun 2008

How best to treat chronic pain? The jury is still out

How best to alleviate chronic pain, a leading cause of disability and employee absenteeism, continues to perplex both patients and their doctors.

5 Jun 2008

New perspective on coronary disease thanks to ultrasound

Compared to other techniques, Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) is much better at monitoring the increase or decrease of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries. Can the method even be used to predict the odds of a heart attack or other cardiovascular event? Studies indicate this may be the case, states Professor Clemens von Birgelen in his inaugural address at the University of Twente.

5 Jun 2008

Sun and vitamin D levels may play a strong role in risk of type 1 diabetes in children

In this new study, the researchers found that populations living at or near the equator, where there is abundant sunshine (and ultraviolet B irradiance) have low incidence rates of type 1 diabetes. Conversely, populations at higher latitudes, where available sunlight is scarcer, have higher incidence rates.

5 Jun 2008

Arthritis drugs used in children to be investigated because of cancer link

Authorities in the United States are investigating certain types of drugs used to treat arthritis and other conditions.

5 Jun 2008

Survey shows Americans regard reducing the cost of prescription drugs as highest health care priority

In a national survey released today by the Alliance of Minority Medical Associations (AMMA), Americans noted that their highest health care priority is reducing the cost of prescription drugs. Furthermore, survey respondents shared overwhelming support for creating an approval pathway for generic, or follow-on biotechnology therapies, with 86% of likely voters stating their desire for such a system.

4 Jun 2008

Drug information for the iPhone

This new mobile edition of Drugs.com provides physicians and healthcare professionals with a free drug information service for easy access to medication summaries, dosing information, warnings and built-in drug interactions for all medications commonly used in the U.S. With this tool, physicians and healthcare professionals can protect patients and increase their productivity by being able to quickly find the answers they need to make informed decisions.

4 Jun 2008

UK cancer research 'punching above its weight'

UK cancer research is helping to deliver significant clinical improvements for cancer patients, according to a study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

4 Jun 2008

Clostridium difficile killed on exposure to surfaces made of copper and its alloys, brass and bronze

Scientists in the Environmental Healthcare Unit at the University of Southampton in the U.K. have found that infectious bacterium Clostridium difficile is killed when exposed to surfaces made of copper and its alloys, brass and bronze. The results of the study have been published in the February 2008 issue of the Journal of Hospital Infection.

3 Jun 2008