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Relationship between coworkers plays an important role in the quality of care

Nursing homes that foster an environment in which workers feel they are valued contributors to a team of caregivers provide better care to their residents. That is the conclusion of a study out this month in the journal Health Services Research.

8 Jun 2012

Erivedge drug shows promise against advanced basal cell carcinoma

It's the most common form of skin cancer, but in its advanced stages, basal cell carcinoma has the potential to become disfiguring and life threatening. An international phase 2 study headed by Mayo Clinic led to the recent Food and Drug Administration approval of the first drug of its kind to help advanced basal cell carcinoma patients who have few treatment options.

8 Jun 2012

Researchers determine function of series proteins within the mosquito

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute have, for the first time, determined the function of a series proteins within the mosquito that transduce a signal that enables the mosquito to fight off infection from the parasite that causes malaria in humans.

8 Jun 2012

Focus on health care jobs 'misguided'

News outlets report on a New England Journal of Medicine piece that argues that providing access to affordable health care is more important than protecting health industry jobs.

8 Jun 2012

Study: HIV superinfection may be more common than previously believed

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) superinfection may be as common as initial HIV infection and is not limited to high risk-populations, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

8 Jun 2012

Scientists unravel one important secret of bacterial adaptation

Learning the secrets of how pathogenic bacteria manage to survive in the body of an animal or human may carry great implications for future development of new and better medical treatments. Now, scientists at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry have unraveled one important secret of bacterial adaptation.

8 Jun 2012

WHO identifies best targets for seasonal malaria treatment

"Pre-emptive treatment of children living in regions where malaria is prevalent only during the rainy season could avert 11 million cases and 50,000 deaths a year," the journal Nature reports, adding, "The estimates are based on the world's first guidance on seasonal malaria chemoprevention, issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March."

8 Jun 2012

Researchers shed light on key biological events that may lead to new disease treatments

In exploring how proteins interact with crucial DNA sequences to regulate gene activity, researchers have shed light on key biological events that may eventually be manipulated to provide new disease treatments.

8 Jun 2012

Independent evaluation of PMI presented to U.S. Congress

The Center for Global Health and Development (CGHD) at Boston University on Thursday delivered its report on the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), released in February, to the U.S. Congress, IIP Digital reports, noting the "independent evaluation team finds that the [PMI] has been 'very successful' in reducing children's deaths from the mosquito-borne parasitic disease, but also warns that the program must gear up if those gains are to be sustained."

8 Jun 2012

Lung changes in association with ACPA status are a primary manifestation of RA

A new study presented today at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, shows that lung changes in association with anti-citrullinated protein autoantibody (ACPA) status are a primary manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

8 Jun 2012

Group rates more than 2,600 hospitals with single letter grade

News outlets report on how their local hospitals were graded by a nonprofit organization that culled patient safety ratings from a variety of sources and assigned a single letter grade to more than 2,600 hospitals in the United States.

8 Jun 2012

Data from abatacept versus adalimumab Phase IIIb comparison study on RA

Data from one of the few head-to-head trials in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) presented today at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, demonstrates that at one year, 64.8% of patients receiving abatacept (Orencia) and 63.4% of patients receiving adalimumab (Humira) achieved ACR20.

8 Jun 2012

Survey finds 1 in 10 new cases of TB in China are drug-resistant

"One in 10 cases of tuberculosis in China cannot be treated by the most commonly-used drugs, driven by a lack of testing and misuse of medicine, according to a national survey that showed for the first time the size of the drug-resistant epidemic," the Associated Press reports.

8 Jun 2012

Study packs powerful one-two punch in the fight against heart failure

A new study in the journal Circulation packs a powerful one-two punch in the fight against heart failure. The leading blow: Identification of a unique alliance of proteins that plays a major role in the development of the disease. The second but equally powerful hit: Drugs that interfere with this axis already exist.

8 Jun 2012

Implementing the health law: HHS has missed nearly half of its deadlines

The Hill reports that, according to an analysis by the American Action Forum, the Department of Health and Human Services has missed many implementation deadlines in the last two years. Meanwhile, Politico Pro examines issues related to the health law's Medicaid expansion and exchange subsidies.

8 Jun 2012

Fluorinov Pharma receives OICR grant to develop new drug against blood cancers

The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) today announced $1.5 million in funding over three years for the development of a new drug by Toronto-based Fluorinov Pharma, Inc. The drug, called FV-162, is a highly potent, orally-delivered small molecule proteasome inhibitor with significant advantages over drugs currently used to treat multiple myeloma and some forms of Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

8 Jun 2012

CSIS publishes report on Advancing Health in Ethiopia

The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) on Wednesday released a report called "Advancing Health in Ethiopia." The report examines what the U.S. can "realistically expect to achieve in its ongoing engagement in health in Ethiopia" and what the core considerations to guide future U.S. efforts should be, CSIS writes on its website.

8 Jun 2012

Patients over 45 years with history of early menopause 50% less likely to develop severe RA

A new study presented today at EULAR 2012, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, shows that early menopause predicts a milder form of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

8 Jun 2012

Experimental drug tested against multi-drug resistant TB

"Researchers who tested a novel type of antibiotic against multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis [MDR-TB] are reporting that nearly half of patients who got the new drug cleared the bacteria from their lung fluid in two months," according to a study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, Reuters reports.

8 Jun 2012

Cardinal Health to launch new technology enhancements at SNM annual meeting

At the Society of Nuclear Medicine's (SNM) 59th Annual Meeting in Miami Beach, Fla., June 9-12, Cardinal Health will introduce new technology enhancements that make it possible for hospital nuclear medicine departments and imaging centers to seamlessly improve data integration and the overall efficiency of their operations.

8 Jun 2012