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Obama clings to narrow lead in new polls

But recent surveys also indicate that despite speculation that Medicare policies may cause seniors to rebuff the Republican party, GOP presumptive nominee Mitt Romney continues to find strong support among this population.

29 Aug 2012

AstraZeneca’s ticagrelor receives Class I recommendation from ESC

AstraZeneca today announced that ticagrelor, an oral antiplatelet medicine, received a Class I recommendation from the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) in the revised "Guidelines on the Management of Acute Myocardial Infarction in Patients Presenting with Persistent ST-Segment Elevation (STEMI)" guidelines.

29 Aug 2012

Consumers, employers reconsider insurance costs

Individuals and businesses are weighing the pros and cons of buying health coverage as a result of the advent of high-deductible policies, as well as the provisions of the health law set to take effect in 2014.

29 Aug 2012

Omitting aspirin leads to less bleedings but does not increase risk of stent thrombosis, MI

Lifelong anticoagulation is necessary for the prevention of stroke in patients with rhythm disturbances and with mechanical valves. Patients who have a coronary stent implanted also need the antiplatelet drugs aspirin and clopidogrel to prevent the rare but lethal complication of stent thrombosis.

29 Aug 2012

Study shows molecular mechanism behind type 3c pancreatic diabetes

Mice develop pancreatic diabetes (type 3c) when they lack certain genes in the E2F group, and to understand how this happens, Olatz Zenarruzabeitia has focussed on the molecular mechanism behind it.

29 Aug 2012

Bill Gates reflects on Angola's success against polio

In this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Bill Gates, co-chair of the foundation, reflects on Angola's success against polio, writing, "Angola marked a full year without a new case of polio" this month, an accomplishment that serves as "the latest evidence that we are extremely close to ending polio forever."

29 Aug 2012

Washington Post examines Guinea worm eradication efforts

The Washington Post examines global efforts to eradicate Guinea worm disease, writing, "The parasitic infection which has sickened millions, mostly in Asia and Africa, is on the verge of being done in not by sophisticated medicine but by aggressive public health efforts in some of the poorest and most remote parts of the world."

29 Aug 2012

New method simplifies pharmaceutical production of proteins

Engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have developed a method to simplify the pharmaceutical production of proteins used in drugs that treat a variety of diseases and health conditions, including diabetes, cancer, arthritis and macular degeneration.

29 Aug 2012

Feds push Maryland to think big on health cost control

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jay Hancock, working in collaboration with Politico, reports: "If quiet negotiations between policymakers and industry bear fruit, Maryland could join the short list of states attempting to go far beyond the Affordable Care Act in improving health and limiting spending."

29 Aug 2012

Anova Cancer Care to participate in CyberKnife research study

Anova Cancer Care has been chosen to participate in a landmark national prostate cancer study. The goal of the two-year study is to determine the best treatments for prostate cancer. The study will look specifically at prostate cancer radiosurgery.

29 Aug 2012

Insuring your health: Health law has gaps in men's care

In her latest Kaiser Health News consumer column, Michelle Andrews writes: "The federal health care overhaul greatly expanded women's access to free preventive services, particularly for sexual and reproductive health. Men didn't fare nearly as well."

29 Aug 2012

UMHS, MidMichigan Health announce plans to affiliate as clinical and business partners

MidMichigan Health and the University of Michigan Health System have announced plans to affiliate as clinical and business partners.

29 Aug 2012

As GOP convention picks up, health issues draw attention

News outlets report on how the most conservative Republicans are uniting around Mitt Romney, even as he appears more open to embracing the Massachusetts health law he signed while that state's governor.

29 Aug 2012

Genetic investigation of tribes may explain why East Asians have lower skin cancer rates

Genetic investigation of a Malaysian tribe may tell scientists why East Asians have light skin but lower skin cancer rates than Europeans, according to a team of international researchers. Understanding the differences could lead to a better way to protect people from skin cancer.

29 Aug 2012

Capsules: Vermont goes for gold (silver, bronze and platinum, too)

Now on Kaiser Health News' blog, Vermont Public Radio's Bob Kinzel, working in partnership with KHN and NPR, reports: Vermont is the only state in the nation on a path to a single payer health system.

29 Aug 2012

Johns Hopkins' Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality receives Moore Foundation grant

Johns Hopkins' Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality has received an $8.9 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the first award given as part of an ambitious new $500 million, 10-year program designed to eliminate all preventable harms that patients experience in the hospital.

29 Aug 2012

Exchange planning takes hold in states -- each with different flavor

Vermont, the District of Columbia and Connecticut are among those planning health law-mandated marketplaces where consumers and small businesses can buy insurance -- each with its own twist.

29 Aug 2012

HealthPartners receives Acclaim Award from American Medical Group Association

The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) today announced that the recipient of the 2012 AMGA Acclaim Award is HealthPartners for "Triple Aim 2.0: Designing Culture to Support Better Health, Better Experience at a Lower Cost," an inventive and patient-centered approach to align the Institute of Medicine's Aims to identify and drive performance improvement, innovation, and culture throughout the organization.

29 Aug 2012

Preventing falls in older people: an interview with Professor Lindy Clemson

We often think of tripping over a step edge or pathway obstruction but there can be a range of things that can contribute to a fall. One of the most common is that our ability to balance can be reduced. This means that we don’t recover from a trip and are at more of a risk of losing our balance.

29 Aug 2012

Boehner predicts GOP victory, but not a mandate to overhaul Medicare

At a lunch with reporters, Mr. Boehner said that the nation's dire fiscal position, driven by health care spending, would confront Washington next year "regardless of who wins the election." But he was cautious about predicting a mandate for the House Republican plan to end the government guarantee for Medicare, replacing the program with fixed contributions that older Americans would use to buy private health insurance or pay into the government plan.

29 Aug 2012