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Political cartoon: 'Bargain Hunter'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh perspective on health policy developments with "Bargain Hunter" by Matt Wuerker.

4 Nov 2011

Early diagnosis of large intestine cancer could be feasible in the long term

Itxaro Perez, a biochemist at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), has contributed in such a way that, in the long term, the early diagnosis of cancer of the large intestine could be feasible.

4 Nov 2011

Cain offers up his views on health policy

In a short policy speech delivered on Capitol Hill, GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain expressed his support for repealing the 2010 health law and replacing it with market-based reforms.

4 Nov 2011

Inserm researchers successfully rejuvenate cells from elderly donors

Inserm's AVENIR "Genomic plasticity and aging" team, directed by Jean-Marc Lemaitre, Inserm researcher at the Functional Genomics Institute, has recently succeeded in rejuvenating cells from elderly donors.

4 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: The campaign against birth control; paying for N.Y.'s autism mandate

What if there were a solution to many of the global problems that confront us, from climate change to poverty to civil wars? There is, but it is starved of resources. It's called family planning, and it has been a victim of America's religious wars.

4 Nov 2011

Whole genome sequencing can identify strains of caries-causing bacteria

Severe early childhood caries can destroy most of a child's teeth by age three, and disproportionately affects underserved populations, including American Indians and Alaskan natives. Although the link between Lactobacilli bacteria (Lb) and severe early childhood caries has been known for almost a century, progress in delineating which of 140 Lb species are responsible for the disease has remained elusive.

4 Nov 2011

Oxford Instruments acquires Platinum Medical Imaging

Oxford Instruments plc, a leading provider of high technology tools and systems for industry and research, announces the acquisition of Platinum Medical Imaging LLC (“Platinum”).

4 Nov 2011

Senate GOP attempts to officially undo CLASS Act

An attempt to bring up a bill to fast-track efforts to repeal the CLASS Act was beaten back by Democrats. But the AARP and 50 other advocacy groups sent a letter to lawmakers asking them not to touch the measure.

4 Nov 2011

CRF summit to examine importance of gender in cardiovascular disease research

"In Pursuit of Excellence: Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes in Women" will be held on Friday Dec. 9, 2011. The meeting, which will bring together top national experts in research, academia, and health policy to examine the importance of gender in cardiovascular disease research, will take place at The Princeton Club in New York City. Roxana Mehran, MD will Chair this important meeting.

4 Nov 2011

Important to keep obstacles to malaria control in mind as research moves forward

In a post in the Center for Strategic & International Studies' "Smart Global Health" blog, Julia Nagel, web and social media assistant at the Global Health Policy Center, examines "the obstacles that global malaria control efforts face," writing that "eradicating malaria is complex and difficult" because "there are four species of human malaria" that "respond differently to medicines, exhibit drug resistance in different ways, and most importantly, make finding a fool-proof vaccine against all malaria nearly impossible."

4 Nov 2011

New way to screen hirsutism among women

Examining the chin and upper and lower abdomen is a reliable, minimally invasive way to screen for excessive hair growth in women, a key indicator of too much male hormone, researchers report.

4 Nov 2011

Avoiding sun may increase risk of vitamin D deficiency in light-skinned people

Light-skinned people who avoid the sun are twice as likely to suffer from vitamin D deficiency as those who do not, according to a study of nearly 6,000 people by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

4 Nov 2011

Global Fund, China agree to cut $95M from grants for health programs in the country

"The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced on Monday that it will withhold $95 million from the $270 million in grants it had planned to give China" after "months of discussion between the charity and Chinese officials," China Daily reports.

4 Nov 2011

Healthcare workers who wear gloves less likely to wash their hands

Healthcare workers who wear gloves while treating patients are much less likely to clean their hands before and after patient contact, according to a study published in the December issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

4 Nov 2011

Jennerex commences enrollment in JX-594 Phase 2b trial for HCC

Jennerex, Inc., a private clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on the development and commercialization of first-in-class targeted oncolytic virus products for cancer, together with its international commercialization partners, today announced that enrollment has been initiated and the first patient has been randomized in a Phase 2b clinical trial called TRAVERSE.

4 Nov 2011

Financial investment, progress in HIV/AIDS treatment must be protected by international patent law

In this Hill opinion piece, John Castellani, CEO and president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, writes, "Over the past three decades, more than 30 treatments have been approved to treat HIV/AIDS," but he adds, "While this is remarkable progress, it's not enough."

4 Nov 2011

Quintiles receives two awards for clinical research

Quintiles' digital efforts to bridge the gaps between clinical research, patients and clinical trial participants have been recognized in the form of two International Davey Awards and a Web Health Award this week.

4 Nov 2011

UCSD experts use hybrid OR to perform first-ever coronary revascularization procedure

UC San Diego Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center experts have performed San Diego's first-ever coronary revascularization procedure using a hybrid operating room, the only facility of its kind in the region. The state-of-the-art operating room allows patients to be treated in one place at one time without having to schedule multiple procedures.

4 Nov 2011

Cancer drug shortage relates to economics

A perspective in this week's New England Journal of Medicine outlines this connection. Meanwhile, a House Democrat ramps up his investigation into the "gray market" and how it is contributing to the shortage.

4 Nov 2011

Einstein scientists receive two NCI grants to study cancer metastasis

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University two grants totaling $8 million to study the microenvironments that drive the spread of cancer from the primary tumor to other parts of the body in the process known as metastasis.

4 Nov 2011