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FDA approves new supplies of drugs that are facing shortages

The United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) have approved new suppliers for two crucial cancer drugs, easing critical shortages that had been concerning patients and families particularly of the children with leukemia. But there are currently 283 separate prescription drugs in short supply or unavailable nationwide, and regulators and manufacturers say shortages are a long-term problem that will continue to scare patients and doctors.

22 Feb 2012

Routine hepatitis C testing of the middle aged could save thousands of lives: CDC report

Increasing number of people are dying of damaged livers due to hepatitis C infection. Federal health officials are considering whether anyone born between 1945 and 1965 should get a one-time blood test to check if they are harboring the dangerous virus. Two-thirds of people with hepatitis C are in this age group, most unaware that a virus that takes a few decades to do its damage has festered since their younger days.

22 Feb 2012

Silent & atypical heart attacks more dangerous & fatal in young women

It is known that chest pain or discomfort is the most common heart attack symptom. In addition, fatigue, nausea, shortness of breath and pain or numbness in the jaw, arms or back can also signal a blocked artery cutting off vital oxygen and nutrients from the heart.

22 Feb 2012

Bid to raise awareness of risks and symptoms of ovarian cancer: The 2012 Teal Ribbon Day

Ovarian Cancer Australia has found less than one per cent of women know they're at risk if there's a family history of ovarian cancer on their father's side. And only 42 per cent know a history on their mother's side puts them at increased risk.

22 Feb 2012

Hoarders are mentally ill and need help

According to experts people who are compulsive hoarders are ill with a serious mental disorder and need help. Hoarding is affecting between 400,000 and 1.1 million Australians, a conference in Sydney heard this week, and can affect more than just elderly people living alone. Yet it is only now gaining acceptance as a clinical condition with its inclusion this year in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

22 Feb 2012

Academic and industry leaders team up to develop next generation medical imaging technology

For over a decade, GE Healthcare has partnered with academic researchers from Purdue, Notre Dame and Michigan, and experts from Intel, to develop Veo – the world’s first Model-Based Iterative Reconstruction (MBiR) technique. Available on GE’s Discovery CT750 HD, Veo changes the rules of CT imaging by helping physicians provide accurate diagnoses with high quality images while enabling them to lower patients’ radiation dose levels.

22 Feb 2012

Counterfeit drugs on the Internet find their way into legitimate pharmacies

Criminal gangs are increasingly using the internet to market life-threatening counterfeit medicines and some have even turned up in legitimate outlets such as pharmacies, according to a review led by Dr Graham Jackson, editor of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice, and published in the March edition.

22 Feb 2012

International effort to define ECG interpretation standards in athletes

On Feb. 13-14, the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) partnered with the ESC Sports Cardiology Section, the PACES, other leading U.S. cardiologists, BJSM, and F-MARC in an effort to define ECG interpretation standards in athletes and develop a comprehensive online training module for physicians around the world to gain expertise in ECG interpretation and the proper evaluation of ECG abnormalities suggestive of a pathologic cardiovascular disorder.

22 Feb 2012

Southeast Minnesota Beacon Community to demonstrate HIE technology at HiMSS Conference

Medical records are an invaluable tool in treating patients. When a caregiver has ample information regarding a person's medical history, treatments are more effective and efficient. Unfortunately, few people have complete medical records -- due, in large part, to a lack of any universal repository tools for keeping those records.

22 Feb 2012

Americans used less health care during recent U.S. economic recession

The recent U.S. economic recession was the longest and most severe since World War II. During this period, personal spending on health care grew at the slowest rate in over 50 years, suggesting that Americans used less health care.

22 Feb 2012

ASH releases statement on FDA actions to alleviate drug shortages

The American Society of Hematology is encouraged by the steps FDA is taking to alleviate drug shortages that have significantly affected so many patients with hematologic malignancies under our members' care.

22 Feb 2012

CMS unveils 2013 Medicare Advantage payment and policy guidelines

Federal officials said Friday that the trend toward relatively low premium charges and stable benefits will likely continue.

22 Feb 2012

First use of HeartLight Endoscopic Ablation System to treat atrial fibrillation

For the first time in a new U.S. clinical trial, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have used the HeartLight Endoscopic Ablation System (EAS) to correct abnormal electrical signals inside the heart of a patient affected by atrial fibrillation (AFib), one of the nation's most common heart ailments.

22 Feb 2012

Analyzing the impact of the Court's consideration of the health law

USA Today reports that the Supreme Court's review could cause the the health law debate to stretch through the presidential campaign. Other media outlets take a look at what would happen without the individual mandate, and at stakeholders' positions related to the law's Medicaid expansion.

22 Feb 2012

Study on role of genetics and environmental influences on criminal and antisocial behavior

An assistant professor at Sam Houston State University, College of Criminal Justice is working to unlock the mysteries surrounding the role that genetics and environmental influences play on criminal and antisocial behavior.

22 Feb 2012

First Edition: February 22, 2012

In today's health policy headlines, the Supreme Court added 30 minutes to the time allocation for next month's health law arguments. Also in the news, the federal government announced funding awards yesterday to help launch consumer-governed health plans in eight states.

22 Feb 2012

Major discovery for visual cognition using diffusion spectrum imaging

If you are looking for a particular object - say a yellow pencil - on a cluttered desk, how does your brain work to visually locate it?

22 Feb 2012

New York Times profiles UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé

The New York Times profiles UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé, recounting some of his successes since becoming the head of the agency; quoting several colleagues about their experiences working with him; and providing a brief history of his family life, which he says helped him develop his diplomatic skills.

22 Feb 2012

Biocompatible interface scaffolds for improved prosthetics

Sandia National Laboratories researchers, using off-the-shelf equipment in a chemistry lab, have been working on ways to improve amputees' control over prosthetics with direct help from their own nervous systems.

22 Feb 2012

Young people don't know the government guidelines for safe alcohol consumption

A new study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review reveals that young people do not possess the knowledge or skills required to adhere to government guidelines for responsible alcohol consumption. This article is part of the March special themed issue of the journal on low risk drinking guidelines.

22 Feb 2012