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Panel recommends close monitoring and delay of treatment for localized, low-risk prostate cancer

An independent panel convened this week by the National Institutes of Health has concluded that many men with localized, low-risk prostate cancer should be closely monitored, permitting treatment to be delayed until warranted by disease progression.

9 Dec 2011

Examining visceral leishmaniasis/HIV co-infection in East Africa

In this post in the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases' (NTDs) "End the Neglect" blog, Julien Potet, NTD policy adviser at Medecins Sans Frontieres' Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, examines the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis among people living with HIV in East Africa.

9 Dec 2011

FDA panel: Some birth control pills should carry stronger warning labels

An FDA panel decided Thursday that two popular birth control pills should come with stronger warning labels about the possibility of blood clots.

9 Dec 2011

Study explains molecular basis for cherubism disease

The Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute's Drs. Frank Sicheri, Tony Pawson and Sebastian Guettler, in collaboration with Dr. Robert Rottapel at the Ontario Cancer Institute, have uncovered the detailed architecture of a crucial component of Tankyrase, a protein linked to the bone development disorder cherubism and involved in a myriad of cellular processes.

9 Dec 2011

Addressing gender-based violence through PEPFAR programs

Daniela Ligiero of the State Department, Sasha Mital of the CDC, and Diana Prieto of USAID, who are co-chairs of the PEPFAR Gender Technical Working Group, write about the "intersection between gender-based violence (GBV) and its impact on HIV risk and access to HIV prevention and treatment for most-at-risk populations (MARPs)" in this post on the State Department's "DipNote" blog.

9 Dec 2011

Medicaid news: Fla. Gov. Scott's budget tackles hospital reimbursements

Florida Gov. Rick Scott recommended cutting the state's Medicaid budget by $2.1 billion. Most of that savings, part of a $66.4 billion budget proposal, would come from changing the way hospitals are paid for treating Medicaid patients.

9 Dec 2011

Abbott commences Absorb-XIENCE PRIME comparative clinical trial

Abbott today announced the initiation of ABSORB II, the first randomized, controlled, multi-center clinical trial to evaluate the safety, efficacy and performance of the Absorb™ bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) compared to the company's XIENCE PRIME™ Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System.

9 Dec 2011

Microsoft, GE form new company to create health care software

Microsoft Corp. and General Electric Co. are joining forces to create a health care technology platform, the companies announced on Wednesday.

9 Dec 2011

Researchers reveal contribution of telomerase in controlling genetic code integrity

Researchers have revealed how a molecule called telomerase contributes to the control of the integrity of our genetic code, and when it is involved in the deregulation of the code, its important role in the development of cancer.

9 Dec 2011

Republican leaders to pitch 'doc fix' as part of payroll tax cut extension package

House Speaker John Boehner is readying fellow Republicans on a plan to extend a payroll tax cut by sweetening the pot with cuts to the health law, among other measures. The plan, if it passes the House, would almost certainly be opposed by Senate Democrats.

9 Dec 2011

The contraceptive pill could reduce risk of ovarian and uterine cancer in nuns

Professor Roger Short, from the University of Melbourne, and Dr Kara Britt, from Monash University, argue in a comment piece in The Lancet, that since the contraceptive pill reduces overall mortality and mortality specifically linked to ovarian and uterine cancer, nuns should be given the pill for health, rather than contraceptive, reasons.

9 Dec 2011

House Republicans want insight into MLR rules; Texas seeks waiver

House Republicans want to know if HHS consulted state insurance commissioners when writing MLR rules, while Texas seeks a waiver.

9 Dec 2011

Trastuzumab improves long-term outcomes in obese patients with HER2-positive breast cancer

A large, multicenter, randomized study has shown that obese patients with HER2-positive breast cancer have larger tumors, increased lymph node involvement and, when not treated with trastuzumab, poorer long-term outcomes than normal-weight patients.

9 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Obama's lessons from LBJ; Plan B positions; Choosing Gingrich

In 2005, for example, the United States devoted only 29 percent of gross domestic product to health and social services combined, while countries like Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark dedicated 33 percent to 38 percent of their G.D.P. to the combination.

9 Dec 2011

Shorter, effective treatment for latent TB infection

Research, led by Timothy Sterling, M.D., professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has led to an important change in CDC recommendations in the regimen for prevention of the centuries-old scourge, tuberculosis (TB).

9 Dec 2011

Berwick blasts Republicans in IHI speech

The former CMS administrator, at a speech in Orlando Wednesday, singled out those who generated "groundless fear" over "death panels."

9 Dec 2011

ZEN bust-enhancing supplements may increase risk of breast cancer

Women who use bust-enhancing dietary supplements containing the mycoestrogen zearalenone (ZEN), a naturally occurring toxin that widely contaminates agricultural products, could be increasing their risk of breast cancer. That is the warning from breast health experts in a paper published online ahead of print publication in the January issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

9 Dec 2011

Investing in women to reduce effects of climate change

Women "bea[r] the brunt" of weather-related disasters, but they also are "the key to stopping global warming, and to helping communities around the world adapt to the damage that has already been done," Mary Pittman, president and CEO of the Public Health Institute (PHI), and Kavita Ramdas, executive director of Stanford University's Program on Social Entrepreneurship, write in this post on "RH Reality Check."

9 Dec 2011

Prevention practices for catheter-associated urinary tract infections lacking in most hospitals

Hospitals are working harder than ever to prevent hospital-acquired infections, but a nationwide survey shows few are aggressively combating the most common one - catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

9 Dec 2011