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Cutting military medical research funding would jeopardize health of U.S. troops, world's poorest

"In recent months, many politicians and presidential hopefuls have called for budget reductions, and many have specifically targeted military spending for cutbacks," Peter Hotez and James Kazura, past president and president, respectively, of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, write in this Atlantic opinion piece.

21 Jan 2012

FDA approves product label change for Biogen Idec's TYSABRI to treat MS

Today Biogen Idec and Elan Corporation, plc announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a product label change for TYSABRI that will help enable individual benefit risk assessment for patients with multiple sclerosis.

21 Jan 2012

Colo. House passes resolution to repeal the health law; Conn. insurance exhange board faces key decisions

Colorado's Republican-led House voted largely along party lines to wage a challenge to the federal health law -- a state-initiated amendment to the Constitution to repeal the measure. And, in Connecticut, the planning panel has decisions to make well before people start signing up for coverage on the state's health exchange.

21 Jan 2012

Sequenom prices underwritten public offering of 13,000,000 shares of common stock

Sequenom, Inc. today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 13,000,000 shares of its common stock, offered at a price to the public of $4.15 per share.

20 Jan 2012

New data from Infinity saridegib and gemcitabine Phase 1b/2 combination trial on pancreatic cancer

Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced updated data from the Phase 1b portion of an ongoing Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of saridegib in combination with the chemotherapy gemcitabine in patients with previously untreated, metastatic pancreatic cancer.

20 Jan 2012

TCRH forms new joint venture with Duke LifePoint

Twin County Regional Healthcare (TCRH) has entered into a new agreement that will secure the hospital's position as a trusted provider of quality healthcare services for years to come. The TCRH Board of Directors and Duke LifePoint Healthcare today announced they have signed a definitive agreement to jointly own and operate Twin County Regional Healthcare and its affiliated assets.

20 Jan 2012

Exposure to phthalates may increase risk of obesity in young children

Researchers from the Children's Environmental Health Center at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York have found an association between exposure to the chemical group known as phthalates and obesity in young children - including increased body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference.

20 Jan 2012

Retail pork products in the U.S. have higher prevalence of MRSA bacteria

Retail pork products in the U.S. have a higher prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA) than previously identified, according to new research by the University of Iowa College of Public Health and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

20 Jan 2012

Positive preliminary data from Exelixis' cabozantinib phase 2 trial on HCC

Exelixis, Inc. today reported positive preliminary data from the cohort of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients participating in the ongoing phase 2 randomized discontinuation trial (RDT) of cabozantinib.

20 Jan 2012

Kronos acquires assets of OptiLink

Kronos Incorporated today announced that it has acquired the assets of OptiLink from The Advisory Board Company in a cash transaction. As a result of the acquisition, Kronos has added one of the industry's leading acuity-based staffing solutions to its healthcare workforce management suite. Kronos now offers the most advanced, clinically-focused workforce management suite designed to help healthcare organizations deliver high-quality patient care.

20 Jan 2012

Roundup: N.Y. insurers to update directories; Cook county, Ill. health fees fall short; Md. woman says hospital denied same-sex visitation

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says his office has reached settlements with eight health insurance companies that require them to ensure the accuracy of provider directories on their websites. The attorney general's office says the companies will remove names of doctors and other providers who no longer participate and correct listing errors for others.

20 Jan 2012

Ambiguity makes language more efficient

Why did language evolve? While the answer might seem obvious - as a way for individuals to exchange information - linguists and other students of communication have debated this question for years. Many prominent linguists, including MIT's Noam Chomsky, have argued that language is, in fact, poorly designed for communication.

20 Jan 2012

ARCA biopharma receives method patent for treatment with bucindolol based on genetic targeting

ARCA biopharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing genetically targeted therapies for cardiovascular diseases, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent on methods for determining whether to administer or prescribe bucindolol to a patient based on whether the patient has a specific genotype - homozygous for the arginine 389 polymorphism in the beta-1 adrenergic receptor.

20 Jan 2012

Wisconsin Governor issues 'stop work' order on state health exchange

Wis. Gov. Scott Walker officially announced on Wednesday that he will not implement a state-based health exchange or accept federal funding for it. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, a government task force has begun debating a list of basic principles for that state's health care exchange. And Stateline offers an overview of what states in general are doing in regard to these insurance marketplaces.

20 Jan 2012

Technological breakthrough allows U-M Health System to reduce patients' radiation exposure

A technological breakthrough is allowing the University of Michigan Health System to be the first teaching hospital in the U.S. to perform some CT scans using a fraction of the radiation dose required for a conventional CT image.

20 Jan 2012

Wave of physical inactivity could have a major long-term health impact

Youngsters in Norway today are not as fit as earlier generations, and even the best perform less well. Researchers now warn that a wave of inactivity could have a major long-term health impact.

20 Jan 2012

State budgets try capping, cutting some health care expenses

In New York, California and Maryland, reactions were varied to the governors' spending plans.

20 Jan 2012

Quality reports find mixed bag in Minn., drop in postsurgical deaths

Medical mistakes increased in Minnesota hospitals in 2011, but the number of "adverse events" that led to serious patient harm or death fell, a new report says. In addition, nationwide, postsurgical deaths decreased despite the number of surgeries being up overall, Medscape reports. Michigan and Connecticut, however, are struggling with patient quality issues.

20 Jan 2012

Red wine could play a role in lowering risk of breast cancer

Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) prevent the conversion of androgens to estrogens, and could play a role in the development of breast cancer. This study of 36 pre-menopausal women consisted of a cross-over intervention trial to determine if there were differences between red wine and white wine in their effects on AIs.

20 Jan 2012

Medicare cost-cutting demo programs fall short in cutting spending

These findings from the Congressional Budget Office, based on 20 years of efforts to shift the program, are a blow to ongoing Medicare projects as well as a key component of the health law.

20 Jan 2012