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TAVR procedure yields lower mortality rates for patients with aortic stenosis after three years

A study found that transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) yielded lower mortality rates after three years compared with medical therapy in patients deemed to be ineligible for conventional aortic valve surgery.

25 Oct 2012

New study finds bacteria cue single-celled choanoflagellates to form colonies

Bacteria have a bad rap as agents of disease, but scientists are increasingly discovering their many benefits, such as maintaining a healthy gut.

25 Oct 2012

Med school enrollment grows 1.5%

But officials warn that a cap on federally funded residencies could slow the number of doctors coming into the system.

25 Oct 2012

GlaxoSmithKline introduces Complete the Cycle Recycle Program for GSK Respiratory Inhalers

GlaxoSmithKline plc has introduced a new program to help consumers recycle their empty GSK respiratory inhalers and keep waste out of landfills.

25 Oct 2012

Obama administration to relax Medicare benefit rules

As part of a proposed settlement in a national class-action lawsuit, the federal government would expand benefits for skilled nursing and home health care to the chronically ill.

25 Oct 2012

Stability of the novel recombinant human albumins Albucult® and Recombumin® demonstrated by light scattering techniques

In a recently published article, researchers from Novozymes Biopharma (Nottingham, UK) and Malvern Panalytical (Malvern Panalytical, UK) describe collaborative work using light scattering techniques to demonstrate the short- and long-term stability of the novel recombinant human albumins Albucult® and Recombumin®.

From Malvern Panalytical 25 Oct 2012

Tips to help turn your alligator skin into suede

All winter flakes are not made of snow. Cold weather, with its low relative humidity, wreaks havoc on our skin, making it dry and flaky. Skin dries out if it's deprived of moisture and this dryness often aggravates itchiness, resulting in a condition commonly referred to as "winter itch."

25 Oct 2012

Simple video game can help children with serious anger problems

Children with serious anger problems can be helped by a simple video game that hones their ability to regulate their emotions, finds a pilot study at Boston Children's Hospital. Results were published online October 24 in the journal Adolescent Psychiatry.

25 Oct 2012

National Proactive Surveillance Network launches today

The National Proactive Surveillance Network, the world's first online medical database designed to help men track the progression of their prostate cancer while avoiding complications from overtreatment, launches today.

25 Oct 2012

Pica and geophagy far more prevalent in Madagascar

Though it was identified as a disorder as early as the 14th century, pica, or the eating of non-food items, has for years believed to be all but non-existent in a few corners of the globe - a 2006 study that reviewed research on pica found just four regions - the South of South America, Japan, Korea and Madagascar -where the behavior had never been observed.

25 Oct 2012

Medicare, abortion grab attention in some House, Senate races

News outlets offer another round of coverage on the Wisconsin Senate race and a tight New York House race, while candidates' views on abortion are spotlighted in Indiana and Missouri.

25 Oct 2012

Thrasos completes $35 Million financing for development of THR-184 against AKI

Thrasos Therapeutics announced that it has completed a $35 Million (U.S.) financing for the development of THR-184, its lead product candidate for the treatment of acute kidney injury (AKI).

25 Oct 2012

New York Times blog features interview with Indian polio expert

To mark World Polio Day, the New York Times' "India Ink" blog features an interview with Naveen Thacker, a member of the team that led India's polio eradication efforts. The country has not recorded a new case of polio since January 2011 and is in line to be declared polio-free in January 2014 if no new cases occur, according to the blog.

25 Oct 2012

Appeals court blocks Ind. law barring Planned Parenthood funding

The state had sought to cut Medicaid funding because Planned Parenthood also provides abortion services.

25 Oct 2012

Aspirin therapy can extend life of colorectal cancer patients with PIK3CA mutation

Aspirin therapy can extend the life of colorectal cancer patients whose tumors carry a mutation in a key gene, but has no effect on patients who lack the mutation, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists report in the Oct. 25 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

25 Oct 2012

Obama, Romney bring health policy resumes to the presidential race

But swing state voters continue to be skeptical of the two candidates' positions and plans. The Los Angeles Times reports how Ohio voters are critical of President Barack Obama's healthcare law because they see their healthcare costs continuing to rise and also skeptical that a man as rich as Mitt Romney could understand their needs.

25 Oct 2012

Study indicates that Firemaster 550 is an endocrine disruptor

The flame-retardant mixture known as "Firemaster 550" is an endocrine disruptor that causes extreme weight gain, early onset of puberty and cardiovascular health effects in lab animals, according to a new study spearheaded by researchers from North Carolina State University and Duke University.

25 Oct 2012

Global Health Service Partnership 'could be the start of something big'

Writing in GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog, Claire Panosian Dunavan, a professor of medicine and infectious diseases at the University of California, Los Angeles, reflects on the Global Health Service Partnership, a new public-private partnership launched by Vanessa Kerry, daughter of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) "to boost the education of doctors and nurses in sub-Saharan Africa."

25 Oct 2012

Kessler Foundation expert to study effects of prism adaptation therapy for spatial neglect

A.M. Barrett, MD, of Kessler Foundation received a grant totaling $595,756 to study the effects of prism adaptation therapy for spatial neglect in survivors of right-sided stroke.

25 Oct 2012

U.K. aid system exploits sub-Saharan Africa, disregards impact on poor

Noting a recent U.N. study showed that, despite progress on tackling child mortality globally, sub-Saharan Africa "is trailing far behind," David Dominic, a consultant for non-governmental organizations, writes in this Huffington Post U.K. opinion piece, "The more we look, the more it seems that the U.K. aid system, with regards to sub-Saharan Africa, is carefully designed to control and exploit the region, with scant regard for the impacts upon the poor. That is, aid seems to be used as a tool of modern imperialism."

25 Oct 2012