Medical News

RSS

Autism Speaks releases 'Visual Supports' tool kit for parents, providers

Autism Speaks, North America's largest autism science and advocacy organization today released the Visual Supports and Autism Spectrum Disorder tool kit providing valuable guidance to parents, families and providers about how to utilize pictures, photographs and other visual supports to improve communication for children, adolescents and adults who struggle with understanding or using language.

1 Dec 2011

Pfizer acquires Ferrosan Consumer Health's business

Pfizer Inc. today announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Ferrosan Consumer Health's business, which includes dietary supplements and lifestyle products, from Altor 2003 Fund GP Limited.

1 Dec 2011

FDA clears Covidien's SpiderFX embolic protection device

Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared SpiderFX for the treatment of severely calcified lesions used in conjunction with plaque excision in arteries of the lower extremities. It is the only embolic protection device indicated for this treatment in the United States.

1 Dec 2011

Auxilium initiates XIAFLEX phase IIa trial in Frozen Shoulder syndrome

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in its open-label phase IIa trial of XIAFLEX (collagenase clostridium histolyticum) for the treatment of idiopathic adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder, also known as Frozen Shoulder syndrome.

1 Dec 2011

Corning completes acquisition of Mediatech

Corning Incorporated announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Mediatech, Inc., a Virginia-based corporation, including Mediatech's subsidiary, KD Medical, Inc., a Maryland-based corporation.

1 Dec 2011

Celldex launches rindopepimut Phase 3 trial in EGFRvIII-positive glioblastoma

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it has launched a pivotal, randomized, double-blind, controlled Phase 3 trial of rindopepimut in patients with surgically resected epidermal growth factor variant III (EGFRvIII)-positive glioblastoma, the "ACT IV Study."

1 Dec 2011

Government inspectors to lawmakers: More must be done to stop prescription of powerful psych drugs to nursing home patients

Government inspectors told lawmakers Wednesday that Medicare officials need to do more to stop doctors from prescribing powerful psychiatric drugs to nursing home patients with dementia, an unapproved practice that has flourished despite repeated government warnings.

1 Dec 2011

New discovery of adult stem cells gives fresh possibilities for heart regeneration

Sydney researchers have discovered a new population of adult stem cells in the heart, which could augment the development of new regeneration and repair therapies for people who have suffered heart attack or heart failure, the leading cause of death in Australia.

1 Dec 2011

Enhanced services and higher quality benefits lead to improved health

Community health plans are partnering with physician practices to initiate a range of care management programs for people living with chronic diseases; these programs have resulted in decreased emergency room (ER) use, improved health and lower costs. The findings, released today by the Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP), are part of a report that is a comprehensive look at the way community health plans partner with providers to improve care.

1 Dec 2011

First Edition: December 1, 2011

In today's headlines, Republicans in Congress advance plan to charge wealthy beneficiaries more for Medicare in order to cover the costs of the proposaed payroll tax extension.

1 Dec 2011

Publicly posting enforcement and testing data on meat processing facilities could be beneficial

Publicly posting enforcement and testing data corresponding to specific meat, poultry, and egg products' processing plants on the Internet could have "substantial benefits," including the potential to favorably impact public health, says a new report from the National Research Council.

1 Dec 2011

House Committee expected to vote Wednesday to repeal CLASS Act

The Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to approve, along party lines, a measure to repeal the long-term care insurance program. Meanwhile, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is being pressed to lift his hold on legislation to fund children's hospitals. He has been blocking the measure's progress because he still hopes to add an amendment that would expand it to children's psychiatric hospitals.

1 Dec 2011

Chronic pain affects marital communication and ability to cope

Chronic pain suffered by one spouse can affect marital communication and influence the partner's ability to cope with a chronic pain condition, according research reported in The Journal of Pain, published by the American Pain Society.

1 Dec 2011

Yale researchers monitor growth of laboratory-engineered blood vessels after implantation

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nanoparticle technology, researchers from Yale have devised a way to monitor the growth of laboratory-engineered blood vessels after they have been implanted in patients. This advance represents an important step toward ensuring that blood vessels, and possibly other tissues engineered from a patient's own biological material, are taking hold and working as expected.

1 Dec 2011

Majority of Californians requiring mental health treatment receive inadequate services

Nearly 2 million adults in California, about 8 percent of the population, need mental health treatment, but the majority receive no services or inadequate services, despite a state law mandating that health insurance providers include mental health treatment in their coverage options, a new report by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research shows.

1 Dec 2011

Study presents high-resolution genome-wide p53-binding map for normal human cells

Scientists investigating the interactions, or binding patterns, of a major tumor-suppressor protein known as p53 with the entire genome in normal human cells have turned up key differences from those observed in cancer cells. The distinct binding patterns reflect differences in the chromatin (the way DNA is packed with proteins), which may be important for understanding the function of the tumor suppressor protein in cancer cells.

1 Dec 2011

Doc fix, health program extenders still on Congressional agenda

News outlets report on the health issues and programs that remain on the Capitol Hill to-do list, as well as how some GOP lawmakers might look to the health law's insurance subsidies as a way to pay for a planned payroll tax cut extension.

1 Dec 2011

Botulism toxins could be re-engineered for treating RA, asthma, psoriasis

The most poisonous substance on Earth - already used medically in small doses to treat certain nerve disorders and facial wrinkles - could be re-engineered for an expanded role in helping millions of people with rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, psoriasis and other diseases, scientists are reporting. Their study appears in ACS' journal Biochemistry.

1 Dec 2011

Study reveals no clear advantage of one implant type over another

More than 270,000 Americans get hip replacement surgeries every year -- a number that is projected to double in the next decade as the population ages. With various options for implants, including metal-on-polyethylene, metal-on-metal and ceramic-on-ceramic, there have been questions about which kind works best.

1 Dec 2011