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Interferon linked with increased risk of depression in HCV patients

There's a high rate of depression among patients with hepatitis C, but a standard treatment for the disease includes a drug, interferon, that can cause depression.

2 May 2012

Viewpoints: Romney's argument that health law would kill free enterprise; FDA's delay in cutting use of antibiotics in animals

In my column on Sunday, I quoted Mitt Romney's warning last week that President Obama's health reform law could doom the free-enterprise system in the United States. "With Obamacare fully installed," Romney said, "government will come to control half the economy, and we will have effectively ceased to be a free-enterprise society." Could that be true? Would "Obamacare," which relies mostly on free-enterprise health insurance companies, really turn America into a socialist state?

2 May 2012

DaVita first quarter net income increases to $140.1 million

DaVita Inc. today announced results for the quarter ended March 31, 2012. Net income attributable to DaVita Inc. for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 was $140.1 million, or $1.46 per share.

2 May 2012

Lixte submits IND with FDA to conduct LB-100 Phase I trial for cancer

John S. Kovach, M.D., Chair, Board of Directors and CEO of Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc., announced the submission of an IND application to the Food and Drug Administration to conduct a Phase I trial of its lead, anti-cancer compound, LB-100.

2 May 2012

Energy, sports drinks cause irreversible damage to enamel in adolescents

A recent study published in the May/June 2012 issue of General Dentistry, the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the Academy of General Dentistry, found that an alarming increase in the consumption of sports and energy drinks, especially among adolescents, is causing irreversible damage to teeth-specifically, the high acidity levels in the drinks erode tooth enamel, the glossy outer layer of the tooth.

2 May 2012

Gilead commences GS-1101 Phase 3 trial in CLL

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of GS-1101.

2 May 2012

Covidien acquires Newport Medical

Covidien plc, a leading global provider of healthcare products and recognized innovator in patient monitoring and respiratory care devices, today announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Newport Medical Instruments, Inc. for an aggregate consideration of approximately $108 million, net of cash and short-term investments acquired.

2 May 2012

FDA clears Great Basin’s first C. diff molecular diagnostic test

Great Basin Corporation, a privately-held life sciences company developing sample-to-result molecular diagnostic solutions, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for its first molecular diagnostic test for Clostridium difficile.

2 May 2012

ACE inhibitors or ARBs could treat and prevent PTSD

Traumatized people who take a class of common blood pressure medications tend to have less severe post-traumatic stress symptoms, researchers have found.

2 May 2012

Bruker first quarter revenue increases 13.6% to $405.6 million

Bruker Corporation today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.

2 May 2012

Pfizer receives FDA approval for Elelyso to treat Type 1 Gaucher disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Elelyso (taliglucerase alfa) for long-term enzyme replacement therapy to treat a form of Gaucher disease, a rare genetic disorder.

2 May 2012

Roundup: Mass. premium increases muted; Iowa cuts payment to charity after fraud probe; Ga. asks EMS providers to save scarce drugs

State regulators on Monday approved third-quarter health insurance rates that will raise premiums an average of just 1.2 percent in the market serving small businesses and individuals, continuing a trend of more modest increases seen over the past three quarters. And several carriers, including Tufts Health Plan of Watertown and Fallon Community Health Plan, based in Worcester, will reduce their rates -- a rarity in Massachusetts health care -- according to data from the state Division of Insurance.

2 May 2012

AcuFocus receives KFDA approval for KAMRA inlay to treat presbyopia

AcuFocus is pleased to announce they received approval from the Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) for the KAMRA inlay, making this revolutionary treatment option for near vision loss available to the Korean population.

2 May 2012

AmerisourceBergen acquires World Courier Group

AmerisourceBergen Corporation today announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of World Courier Group, Inc., a privately held leading global specialty transportation and logistics provider for the biopharmaceutical industry.

2 May 2012

FDA clears ProUroCare’s new prostate mechanical imaging system

ProUroCare Medical Inc., provider of proprietary medical imaging products, announced today it has received clearance from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for its ProUroScan prostate mechanical imaging (PMI) system.

2 May 2012

First Edition: May 1, 2012

Today's health policy headlines include reports from the presidential campaign trail and from states on issues ranging from Massachusetts' payment reform to Idaho's scope-of-practices issues.

2 May 2012

54% doctors support denying treatment to smokers and the obese until they quit or lose weight

Doctors.net.uk, a professional networking site, found that 593 (54%) of the 1,096 doctors who took part in the self-selecting survey answered yes when asked: “Should the NHS be allowed to refuse non-emergency treatments to patients unless they lose weight or stop smoking?” They believe unhealthy behaviour can make procedures less likely to work, and that the service is not obliged to devote scarce resources to them.

30 Apr 2012

Couples with infertility and miscarriages offered detailed embryo screening with 99% accuracy

Termed “preimplantation genetic screening (PGS)” the process involves a full chromosome count of embryos to ensure only the healthiest are implanted. It has a 99 per cent accuracy rate, giving hopeful parents the best chance to conceive and carry a healthy baby to term.

30 Apr 2012

Teenage risky behaviors can be traced to special brain wiring: Study

New research suggests that there is a complex networks of neurons in some youngsters’ brains that make them more likely to begin smoking, experimenting with cannabis or consuming large amounts of alcohol.

30 Apr 2012

Uncomfortably high rates of maternal deaths during childbirth raise concerns: Study

According to latest figures more than a 100 mothers have died in childbirth in London in the last five years. This is twice the rate in the rest of the country. There were 11 deaths in 2005-6, compared with 29 in 2010-11. Births in London have soared by 27 per cent in the last decade from 106,000 in 2001 to 134,000 in 2011, but numbers of midwives and doctors have not kept pace.

30 Apr 2012