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Florida Hospital Tampa adopts FDA approved Trevo Pro Clot Retriever

Florida Hospital Tampa and Dr. James E. Lefler are the first in the Tampa Bay area to adopt the new FDA approved device called the Trevo Pro Clot Retriever manufactured by Stryker. The Trevo Pro is the next generation in clot removal technology.

10 Sep 2012

Anti-abortion Democrats not feeling the warmth of convention's limelight

At the Democratic National Convention last week, support for reproductive health - including the right to an abortion - was in the prime-time spotlight. But the convention's aggressive appeal to women left one group out in the cold: Democrats who oppose abortion.

10 Sep 2012

Physician empathy has positive impact on patient outcomes

Patients of doctors who are more empathic have better outcomes and fewer complications, concludes a large, empirical study by a team of Thomas Jefferson University and Italian researchers who evaluated relationships between physician empathy and clinical outcomes among 20,961 diabetic patients and 242 physicians in Italy.

10 Sep 2012

HIV viruses with two genetic 'footprints' associated with greater vaccine efficacy

Scientists used genetic sequencing to discover new evidence that the first vaccine shown to prevent HIV infection in people also affected the viruses in those who did become infected. Viruses with two genetic "footprints" were associated with greater vaccine efficacy. The results were published today in the online edition of the journal Nature.

10 Sep 2012

VP ideological divide sparks health care sparring match

The vice presidential candidates prepare to meet each other in a debate -- each with very different ideas on moving forward on health care. In the meantime, GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan defends his stance on automatic cuts to lower the deficit -- which differ from his running mate's stance.

10 Sep 2012

Adult stem cell technology holds hope for erectile dysfunction treatment

After more than a decade of short-term cures to erectile dysfunction, most aimed at symptoms rather than the underlying issues of nerve damage, a new approach has emerged from adult stem cell technology developed by RNL Bio. Dr. Ji Youl Lee and the RNL Stem Cell Technology Institute (RNL SCTI) team, working at St. Mary's Hospital in Seoul, found in animal studies that adipose (fat) derived adult human stem cells, grown in culture, were very effective in treating cavernous nerve injury.

10 Sep 2012

Top line results from Zalicus Synavive Phase 2b study in rheumatoid arthritis

Zalicus Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops novel treatments for patients suffering from pain and immuno-inflammatory diseases, today announced top line results from its randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 2b clinical trial of Synavive in rheumatoid arthritis.

10 Sep 2012

Wall Street Journal examines drug-resistant TB

The Wall Street Journal examines global efforts to stop the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) strains, stating, "Global health officials view the emergence of incurable cases of tuberculosis in India as a worrisome evolution in a trend they have been concerned and intensely frustrated about for years -- the rise of drug resistant forms of tuberculosis around the world."

10 Sep 2012

CPF to kick off 'Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month'

Each year around the world, as many as 48,000 people are diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and 40,000 people die – the same number of people who are lost to breast cancer annually. Pulmonary fibrosis is a devastating disease that robs people of their ability to breathe. To help raise awareness about this unknown deadly disease, the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) is kicking off "Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month" this September.

10 Sep 2012

Islet Sciences licenses noninvasive technology from Winthrop for detecting Beta cell death

Islet Sciences, Inc., a biotechnology company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of patented technologies in the field of transplantation therapy for patients with diabetes, today announced that it has exclusively licensed technology from Winthrop University Hospital. This technology is complimentary to the early Beta cell destruction diagnostic that Islet Sciences licensed last month.

10 Sep 2012

Argus introduces integrated care management solution

Argus Health Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of DST Inc., and a leading independent transparent pharmacy benefit administrator, announced today the availability of CareConnect to their customers. This integrated care management solution provides care teams with a comprehensive view of a member, including retrospective and prospective data to guide the best utilization of benefits and services to help drive improved outcomes.

10 Sep 2012

Increased use of powerful antipsychotic drugs to treat publicly insured children

A national study conducted by researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) shows increased use of powerful antipsychotic drugs to treat publicly insured children over the last decade. The study, published today in the journal Health Services Research, found a 62 percent increase in the number of Medicaid-enrolled children ages 3 to 18 taking antipsychotics, reaching a total of 354,000 children by 2007.

10 Sep 2012

Success and failure in fighting cholera in Haiti

"Almost two years after the deadly disease first appeared in Haiti in the aftermath of the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake, the story of cholera is one of both success and failure," columnist Catherine Porter writes in a Toronto Star opinion piece.

10 Sep 2012

Automated system for mapping protein-DNA interactions

Since the sequencing of the human genome in 2001, all our genes - around 20,000 in total - have been identified. But much is still unknown - for instance where and when each is active. Next to each gene sits a short DNA segment, and the activity of this regulatory segment determines whether the gene will be turned on, where and how strongly.

10 Sep 2012

New molecular pathway that leads to preeclampsia identified

Preeclampsia is one of the most dangerous conditions for the expectant mother and the unborn child and is characterized by elevated blood pressure and protein in the urine in the last trimester of pregnancy.

10 Sep 2012

September is Infant Mortality Awareness Month

In this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Sharon D'Agostino, vice president of worldwide corporate contributions and community relations for Johnson & Johnson, reflects on the two-day Child Survival Call to Action held in mid-June, writing, "An estimated seven hundred people from around the world traveled to the event in Washington, D.C., all embracing the theme that every child deserves to have a 5th birthday, no matter where on this planet she or he is born."

10 Sep 2012

Women at increased risk of adverse outcomes after surgery for moyamoya disease

Women and girls are at increased risk of adverse outcomes after surgical treatment for moyamoya disease, an uncommon but serious disease of the brain blood vessels, reports a study in the September issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

10 Sep 2012

NIH awards Immunetics $3.7M SBIR contract for Babesia infection blood screening test

Immunetics, Inc., has received a $3.7 million, two year SBIR contract from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, an agency of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to support clinical trials of a new blood screening test for Babesia infection.

10 Sep 2012

Atox Bio AB103 for Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections granted FDA Fast Track designation

Atox Bio, a clinical stage biotechnology company engaged in the development of novel immunemodulators for severe infections in critically ill patients, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track designation to AB103, its lead product, currently in development for the treatment of Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections (NSTI).

10 Sep 2012

Romney says health law isn't 'all bad'

In Sunday news appearances, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney said that if elected, he would dismantle the health care law, but retain some of the more popular provisions, including coverage of pre-existing conditions for those who had had continuous health insurance.

10 Sep 2012