Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

'Prior approval' regulation of health insurance rates needed to ensure fair charges by insurers

Consumer Watchdog said Massachusetts' rejection today of excessive and unreasonable health insurance rate increases shows the need for effective "prior approval" rate regulation in every state to ensure that health insurers charge fair prices under national health reform legislation, which is modeled on Massachusetts' mandatory health insurance law. Massachusetts regulators recently adopted emergency prior approval regulations in anticipation of large insurance premium increases.

2 Apr 2010

Physicians increase prescription of new biologics

Sermo, the world's largest online community for physicians, today announced a Sermo Event Report titled "Is there any Threat to Anti-TNFs from Newer Biologic DMARDs?" In the past year, the FDA has approved four new biologic DMARDs – Actemra (Genentech), Orencia (Bristol-Myers Squibb), Simponi (Centocor Ortho Biotech), and Cimzia (UCB). According to the report, Orencia leads the pack among physicians as the next line of treatment for patients who fail two or more TNF antagonists.

2 Apr 2010

Loyola University Medical Center launches 'Pay-it-Forward Kidney Transplant Program'

It's extremely rare when someone asking for nothing in return steps forward at a hospital and offers to donate a kidney to a complete stranger.

2 Apr 2010

Strong demand leads to 5.1% growth in 2009 U.S. sales of ethical pharmaceuticals

IMS Health today reported 5.1 percent growth in 2009 U.S. sales of ethical pharmaceuticals and insulins through retail and non-retail channels, reaching $300.3 billion, compared with growth of 1.8 percent in 2008.

2 Apr 2010

Molecular mechanism behind mutation in calcium channel protein linked with night blindness

Congenital stationary night blindness, an inherited condition that affects one's ability to see in the dark, is caused by a mutation in a calcium channel protein that shuttles calcium into and out of cells. Now, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have teased apart the molecular mechanism behind this mutation, uncovering a more general principle of how cells control calcium levels.

2 Apr 2010

UMDNJ-University Hospital among top five academic medical centers for heart failure treatment

Patients treated at UMDNJ-University Hospital for heart failure receive some of the best care in the nation, according to newly released rankings. The data, from the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC), place the hospital among the top five academic medical centers in the nation for treating heart failure patients with recommended care. This care was measured in the areas of discharge instructions, appropriate prescriptions of heart failure medications at discharge, evaluation of left heart function, and adult smoking cessation advice/counseling.

2 Apr 2010

Study shows imaging technique useful for planning cardiac procedures

For a patient with heart failure, checking whether the heart could benefit from bypass surgery or a stent is critical to ensuring survival. One imaging technique, positron emission tomography (PET) with the imaging agent fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), may provide doctors with the information they need to make more informed treatment decisions, according to research published in the April issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM).

2 Apr 2010

Medtronic to appeal U.S. jury verdict in CoreValve system patent infringement case

Medtronic, Inc., announced today that it will appeal the $73.5 million jury verdict returned in the U.S. District Court in Delaware deciding that the CoreValve® transcatheter aortic valve system infringes a valid U.S. Andersen patent owned by Edwards Lifesciences.

2 Apr 2010

Sunshine vitamin cures common health problems

What do obesity, heart disease, depression, diabetes, and fibromyalgia have in common? The answer is vitamin D deficiency. More than 200 million Americans lack this essential vitamin and as a result suffer from a host of daily annoyances, chronic conditions, and even life-threatening illnesses.

2 Apr 2010

Hospira reaches legal settlement with Sanofi-Aventis over oxaliplatin injection patent litigation

Hospira, Inc., the world leader in generic injectable pharmaceuticals, today announced it has reached a legal settlement with Sanofi-Aventis to resolve patent litigation concerning Hospira's U.S. sales of its oxaliplatin injection, a generic version of Sanofi-Aventis' oncolytic agent, Eloxatin®.

2 Apr 2010

Reform promotes patient safety by creating payment incentives, making mistakes public

The Albany Times Union: "More than a million Americans are harmed each year as a result of their medical care — not their underlying condition — and an estimated 100,000 die. Another 100,000 people die from hospital-acquired infections. In addition to expanding coverage to the uninsured, the health reform law attacks the problem of medical errors on two fronts: It establishes new payment incentives for safer care, and makes some mistakes public."

2 Apr 2010

UK researchers receive grant to study link between manmade chemicals and heart disease

The British Heart Foundation is to fund research exploring the link between Bisphenol A (BPA), a manmade chemical found in commonly used plastics, and heart disease.

2 Apr 2010

ChromaDex signs agreement for commercial development of pterostilbene from University of Mississippi and USDA

A natural products chemistry company has licensed the rights for a promising botanical compound from the University of Mississippi and the Agricultural Research Service, which is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

2 Apr 2010

Scientists create genetic map to identify mechanism behind heart abnormalities

Though heart disease is a major cause of disability and death, very little is understood about its genetic underpinnings. Recently, an international team of investigators at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) and other organizations shed new light on the subject.

2 Apr 2010

Mayo Clinic introduces a reliable and easy-to-understand resource on alternative medicine

Want to find ways that may help prevent illness naturally, for a fraction of the cost of a trip to the doctor? Interested in taking control of your health with evidence-based practices that complement conventional medicine?

2 Apr 2010

AHR panel calls for greater research to establish connection between creative engagement and cardiac health

The Foundation for Art & Healing today releases the proceedings from its groundbreaking Arts and the Heart Roundtable (AHR), a gathering of luminaries from the medical, arts and public health sectors regarding the connection between creative engagement and cardiac health.

2 Apr 2010

International, four-year study finds dutasteride reduces risk of prostate cancer diagnosis in men

A drug already prescribed to shrink benign, enlarged prostates has been shown to reduce the risk of a prostate cancer diagnosis by 23 percent in men with an increased risk of the disease, a large international trial has found. Results are reported April 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

2 Apr 2010

Schering-Plough HealthCare Products commences promotion of ZEGERID OTC in North America

Santarus, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that Schering-Plough HealthCare Products, Inc., the consumer healthcare subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., has commenced promotion of ZEGERID OTC™ (omeprazole 20 mg/sodium bicarbonate 1100 mg capsules) under its licensing agreement with Santarus for the over-the-counter (OTC) market in North America. The OTC heartburn market in the U.S. is estimated at approximately $1.8 billion based on data from market research firm Information Resources, Inc. and Santarus estimates.

2 Apr 2010

Gene therapy improve survival rates among heart attack patients

Gene therapy could be an effective way to improve survival rates among heart attack patients, new research funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) suggests. Academics at the University of Bristol found that boosting levels of a natural growth factor in the heart could help the muscle to recover after a heart attack. The death rate from a heart attack was halved in mice that received the treatment.

1 Apr 2010

Young mother dies of post-liver transplant complications in Singapore

Claire Murray, a 25 year old woman from Perth, suffered from a liver failure due to drug addition. She underwent a controversial second live liver transplant where a part of her aunt’s liver was given to her two weeks ago. She has reportedly succumbed to her condition and died just before 12:00pm (AWST) from complications in Singapore.

1 Apr 2010

Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

'Prior approval' regulation of health insurance rates needed to ensure fair charges by insurers

Physicians increase prescription of new biologics

Loyola University Medical Center launches 'Pay-it-Forward Kidney Transplant Program'

Strong demand leads to 5.1% growth in 2009 U.S. sales of ethical pharmaceuticals

Molecular mechanism behind mutation in calcium channel protein linked with night blindness

UMDNJ-University Hospital among top five academic medical centers for heart failure treatment

Study shows imaging technique useful for planning cardiac procedures

Medtronic to appeal U.S. jury verdict in CoreValve system patent infringement case

Sunshine vitamin cures common health problems

Hospira reaches legal settlement with Sanofi-Aventis over oxaliplatin injection patent litigation

Reform promotes patient safety by creating payment incentives, making mistakes public

UK researchers receive grant to study link between manmade chemicals and heart disease

ChromaDex signs agreement for commercial development of pterostilbene from University of Mississippi and USDA

Scientists create genetic map to identify mechanism behind heart abnormalities

Mayo Clinic introduces a reliable and easy-to-understand resource on alternative medicine

AHR panel calls for greater research to establish connection between creative engagement and cardiac health

International, four-year study finds dutasteride reduces risk of prostate cancer diagnosis in men

Schering-Plough HealthCare Products commences promotion of ZEGERID OTC in North America

Gene therapy improve survival rates among heart attack patients

Young mother dies of post-liver transplant complications in Singapore

Forensics and toxicology - Industry Focus eBook eBook

Todd Bauman and Chris Povich

Scaling organ‑chip technology for human‑relevant drug discovery

Unlocking drug amorphization: Continuous, solvent-free twin screw granulation

Heart Disease News and Research

Latest Heart Disease News and Research

Forensics and toxicology - Industry Focus eBook eBook

Todd Bauman and Chris Povich

Scaling organ‑chip technology for human‑relevant drug discovery

Unlocking drug amorphization: Continuous, solvent-free twin screw granulation

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