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Abiraterone acetate can help eliminate prostate tumors

A hormone-depleting drug approved last year for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer can help eliminate or nearly eliminate tumors in many patients with aggressive cancers that have yet to spread beyond the prostate, according to a clinical study to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), June 1-5, in Chicago.

17 May 2012

Contraception coverage rule ripples through college campuses

A fight over allowing HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius -- a key player in creating a mandate to force student health plans to cover contraception -- to speak at Georgetown's graduation continues. In the meantime, a Catholic university in Ohio is ending its student health insurance plan instead of complying with the mandate.

17 May 2012

Study reveals pathway that may help slow development of multiple myeloma

Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have identified a target for slowing the progression of multiple myeloma by using currently available drugs.

17 May 2012

CEWG recommends WHA adopt international convention on R&D

The chairs of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development (CEWG), John-Arne Rottingen and Claudia Chamas, in this week's PLoS Medicine, "recommended the May 2012 World Health Assembly adopt an international convention on research and development (R&D) that will bind member states to action and catalyze new knowledge for diseases that primarily affect the global poor but for which patents provide insufficient market incentives," a PLoS press release states.

17 May 2012

Gene therapy restores movement in children bedridden with AADC

Using gene transfer techniques pioneered by University of Florida faculty, Taiwanese doctors have restored some movement in four children bedridden with a rare, life-threatening neurological disease.

17 May 2012

Health law's health coverage expansions pose logistical challenges

Politico reports on how immigration status will play into this effort, and McClatchy notes the strain that will be felt by the physician workforce as a result of the across-the-board push to increase access to care.

17 May 2012

Apigenin effective against human breast cancer

Apigenin, a natural substance found in grocery store produce aisles, shows promise as a non-toxic treatment for an aggressive form of human breast cancer, following a new study at the University of Missouri.

17 May 2012

Fitness fanatic dad becomes research pioneer after kidney disease diagnosis

A super-fit father who rowed the distance from the Equator to the North Pole on a rowing machine has told of how his experience of kidney disease led to him becoming the first patient to take part in a groundbreaking research study run in Sheffield and Leeds.

17 May 2012

Republicans set up election-year showdown on budget

As the Senate prepares to vote today on four separate budget plans -- all of which will likely be rejected -- House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, says he will use the next go-round over the debt limit to force Democrats to make deeper cuts to federal health and safety-net programs, including Medicare.

17 May 2012

Scientists, students share latest innovations in mental health at 13th Annual Research Half Day

Today, local scientists and students are sharing leading research in mental health. The 13th Annual Research Half Day, hosted by Lawson Health Research Institute and St. Joseph's Health Care London's Regional Mental Health Care (RMHC) London and St. Thomas, will present science that could change the course of patient care.

17 May 2012

Insecticide resistance threatens malaria control efforts, WHO warns

"Malaria-carrying mosquitoes in Africa and India are becoming resistant to insecticides, putting millions of lives at greater risk and threatening eradication efforts, health experts said on Tuesday," Reuters report.

17 May 2012

First trial to investigate new drug combination for NSCLC

Cancer Research UK's Drug Development Office has opened the first trial of a new drug combination in patients with advanced solid tumours and in a subset of patients who have non-small cell lung cancer. This trial will combine two compounds that aim to starve the tumours while simultaneously blocking cancer cell growth.

17 May 2012

VA hospital incident adds to questions about nurse skills

Registered nurses at a Manhattan Veterans Affairs hospital failed to notice a patient had become disconnected from a cardiac monitor until after his heart had stopped and he could not be revived, according to a report Monday from the VA inspector general.

17 May 2012

Early skin cancer detection with digital dermoscopy

FotoFinder presents advanced devices for early skin cancer detection at the World Congress of Dermoscopy in Brisbane from May 17 to 19. The new mobile and stationary devices offer better diagnostic accuracy for doctors and more safety for patients. Latest development is the connection of a mobile dermatoscope for iPhone with an online webspace where doctors can request a second opinion on suspicious moles.

17 May 2012

PCSO-524 omega-3 complex may provide benefits for joint mobility and pain

According to a recent study published in Rheumatologia, the official journal of the Institute of Rheumatology and the Polish Rheumatological Society, PCSO-524, an all natural, patented, Omega-3 fish oil extract containing DHA and EPA from the New Zealand green-lipped mussel, found in Omega XL, may provide more benefits for joint mobility and pain compared to standard fish oil.

17 May 2012

U.S. bishops make official their opposition to birth control mandate

The Catholic bishops said that, without quick congressional action, their organization will sue the Obama administration for requiring insurance plans to provide birth control to women without a co-pay.

17 May 2012

Increasing Use of Smart Pumps to help drive down “Never Events”

Increased focus on providing optimum patient care in the most cost efficient way is fuelling demand for intelligent infusion devices termed “Smart Pumps.” A report from InMedica, a division of IMS Research (recently acquired by IHS Inc. (NYSE:IHS)), on the global market for infusion pumps found that, despite market saturation in the developed countries, demand for advanced technology is being maintained; infusion pump suppliers must offer technically advanced products at competitive prices to maintain market share.

17 May 2012

Marathon runners less likely to die during or soon after the race

Even though hundreds of thousands more people finished grueling 26.2 mile marathons in the United States in 2009 compared to a decade earlier, a runner's risk of dying during or soon after the race has remained very low — about .75 per 100,000, new Johns Hopkins research suggests. Men, however, were twice as likely to die as women.

17 May 2012

For same-sex couples, Medicare, federal health programs problematic

Same-sex couples also face financial trouble with their healthcare when they are seniors. Eligibility for Medicare is based on the number of quarters in which you have paid payroll taxes into the system. At age 65, anyone with a work history of at least 40 quarters can enroll for Medicare Part A (hospitalization) without paying a premium.

17 May 2012

CCH, BGU launch collaboration to address lack of pediatric-specific medical devices

A collaboration to address the lack of medical devices designed specifically for children is being launched by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCH) in Ohio and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Beer-Sheva, Israel. The goal is to improve health outcomes for children by ensuring device design that is customized to meet childrens' unique physiological differences and medical needs.

17 May 2012