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High Court justices could decide Nov. 10 which health law cases to hear

A closed-door meeting is on the justices' schedule during which they will review petitions regarding challenges to the health law. Their decision about how - and when - to proceed could be made public as soon as Nov. 14.

28 Oct 2011

Novel technique saves Gulf War veteran's forearm

A plastic surgeon at UT Southwestern Medical Center recently used a novel technique to save the arm of a Gulf War veteran who was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital after a horrific accident.

28 Oct 2011

UCLA professor to receive ATA's Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lectureship Award

The American Thyroid Association's (ATA) Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lectureship Award recognizes outstanding academic achievements in thyroidology. An honorarium is conferred each year at the ATA Annual Meeting to an established investigator who has made major contributions to thyroid-related research over many years.

28 Oct 2011

Gates Foundation, China sign MOU to work together on global health, agriculture advances

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and China's Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding to form a partnership to support new research and development (R&D) and production of new products for global health and agriculture, Agence France-Presse reports.

28 Oct 2011

Biogen Idec enters global collaboration for oral Syk inhibitor program with Portola

Biogen Idec and Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that they have entered into an exclusive, worldwide collaboration and license agreement under which both companies will develop and commercialize highly selective, novel oral Syk inhibitors for the treatment of various autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

28 Oct 2011

E-learning may not effectively improve dietary behaviors

With more people online and using smart phones, health applications or "apps" as they are popularly known are being promoted to help with everything from exercising to quitting smoking. A new review suggests that apps designed to change and improve eating habits may not make much of a difference.

28 Oct 2011

International community must help women fight HIV/AIDS in Swaziland

Women living with HIV in Swaziland "fight a tireless tripartite battle against HIV, the stigma it places on them, and their inferior status in Africa's last absolute monarchy," freelance journalist Gary Nunn writes in the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog."

28 Oct 2011

American College of Gastroenterology to hold special briefing for journalists

The American College of Gastroenterology will hold a special briefing for journalists at its 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC highlighting new clinical science that explores the role of the "gut microbiota" - the bacterial composition of the GI tract - and the efficacy of probiotics in treating various GI conditions, including antibiotic-associated diarrhea, abdominal discomfort and bloating.

28 Oct 2011

Swapping IV medications with oral equivalents may save millions

Switching hospitalized patients able to take medication by mouth from intravenous to pill forms of the same drugs could safely save millions of dollars a year, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

28 Oct 2011

U.N. report calls for investment in health, education as world population approaches 7 billion

"Instead of worrying about sheer numbers when the world's population hits seven billion next week, we should think about how to make the planet a better place for people to live in, the United Nations said" in its report, "The State of World Population 2011," released Wednesday, Reuters reports.

28 Oct 2011

NCI awards UAB $2.3M brain-tumor SPORE grant

The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UAB Division of Neurosurgery have been awarded a prestigious SPORE, or Specialized Program of Research Excellence, grant from the National Cancer Institute for $2.3 million over three years to conduct research and develop new therapies to treat brain tumors.

28 Oct 2011

ORBIT 3D X-ray scanner can be integrated into operations

Having an operation always places strain on patients, and this is especially true of complicated operations. Surgeons use 3D X-rays to check the results before the patient has left the operating room. This does help to avoid possible complications, but it also means interrupting the surgery. Fraunhofer researchers are now developing a 3D X-ray system that can be integrated seamlessly into operating procedure - with no more forced interruptions.

28 Oct 2011

New discoveries on drug resistance in Leishmania

Two remarkable discoveries were today revealed by researchers into genome analysis of Leishmania parasites. These results uncovered a surprising level of variation at the genome structure level.

28 Oct 2011

Medi-Cal payment rates back in the news; N.C. Medicaid program faces $140 million shortfall

Meanwhile, in Kansas, a working group met for the first time to figure out how the state's Medicaid program could interact with a health insurance exchange.

28 Oct 2011

Higher testosterone levels may reduce loss of lean muscle mass in older men

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that higher levels of testosterone were associated with reduced loss of lean muscle mass in older men, especially in those who were losing weight. In these men, higher testosterone levels were also associated with less loss of lower body strength.

28 Oct 2011

Novel stem cells method may eliminate need for antirejection drugs in transplants

Surgical researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, have pioneered a method using stem cells that may one day eliminate the need for antirejection drugs in transplants. Primary investigator David Mathes, MD, FACS, and his research fellow Jeff Chang, MD, MS, presented their findings today at the 2011 Clinical Congress of the American College Surgeons.

28 Oct 2011

Virtual platform for intellectual property sharing aims to speed development of drug treatments

"The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) launched a consortium on Wednesday that would allow the public and private sector to share intellectual property to promote the development of new drugs to treat diseases such as malaria," Reuters reports.

28 Oct 2011

New rapid method for detection of BRAF V600E gene in thyroid tissue

During surgical removal of thyroid tissue suspicious for cancer, fast, reliable, and cost-effective techniques are needed to analyze the resected tissue for biomarkers—including BRAF V600E, is a molecular biomarker for papillary thyroid cancer (PTC)—that can confirm the presence and type of cancer cells. Researchers have developed a new, rapid method for direct detection of the BRAF V600E gene in thyroid tissue without the need to purify DNA from tumor cells—high resolution melting analysis.

28 Oct 2011

Seasonal rains, flooding lead to cholera outbreak in Nigeria

"Seasonal rains cause massive damage and disease throughout Nigeria each year, and this year's onslaught comes as international experts warn West Africa is suffering from its worst cholera outbreaks in years," the Associated Press/ABC News reports.

28 Oct 2011

IFPA event to raise awareness of psoriasis on Oct. 29

Psoriasis can be a truly devastating disease, as it not only affects your health but can also have a severe impact on how you live your life. Many people with psoriasis experience social stigmatization and discrimination on a more or less daily basis, in a wide range of settings; at school, at work, at the gym, in public bath houses.

28 Oct 2011