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India polio free for 9 months, raising hopes of eradication, health experts say

"India has not had a case of polio in nine months, raising hopes the country is on the verge of defeating the disease, health officials said Monday," the Associated Press reports.

24 Oct 2011

DNA synbodies, a new class of affinity reagents, gets major NIH boost

An ongoing Arizona State University effort to develop a revolutionary class of reagents that holds great promise for the future of medicine has received a major boost with a three-year, $4 million award from the National Institutes of Health.

24 Oct 2011

Together for Girls Partnership works to end sexual violence

In this post on the State Department's "DipNote" blog, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby writes about the Together for Girls Partnership, an initiative that "generates a powerful advocacy platform to stop sexual violence by supporting countries' efforts to fully understand and cope with the scope of the epidemic."

24 Oct 2011

Social determinants of health conference releases final declaration

The final document of the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health, which concluded last week in Rio de Janeiro, "calls for better governance for health and development, with transparent decision-making and social participation," and "[g]overnments are urged to develop policies and measure progress towards defined goals," Inter Press Service reports.

24 Oct 2011

Challenging the view that the world's growing population represents power, prosperity

As the world's population approaches seven billion, Joel Cohen, a mathematical biologist and the head of the Laboratory of Populations at Rockefeller University and Columbia University, examines the implications of "the enormous increases in households, cities, material consumption and waste" on health, agriculture, water security, the environment and poverty in this New York Times opinion piece.

24 Oct 2011

VA reviewing millions spent outside the agency on care in Phoenix

The Arizona Republic reports that the Veterans Administration is looking into spending after noting that the system had surpassed its budget for community fee care.

24 Oct 2011

FDA approves intraspinal injections in spinal cord stem cell ALS trial

Neuralstem, Inc. updated the progress of its ongoing Phase I safety trial of the company's spinal cord stem cells in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

24 Oct 2011

Though declared over, CLASS Act still draws attention

A group of House and Senate Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last week reiterating earlier criticisms of the long-term care insurance program and noting that ending the program did not completely address their concerns.

24 Oct 2011

Macular degeneration drug may cause increased IOP

Two major drug trials conclude there was little risk from a drug aimed at age-related macular degeneration. Yet a Mayo Clinic ophthalmologist began to note something concerning in some of her patients: an increase in pressure inside the eye. It led to a retrospective study and findings that will be presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Orlando.

24 Oct 2011

House to consider bill to scale back health law's Medicaid expansion

In other Medicaid news, AIDS experts worry that the current model of HIV/AIDS care could be put at risk by fiscal pressures and the changes that will occur as a result of the health law.

24 Oct 2011

NCI awards Metabolomx SBIR contract to develop sensor array system for detecting lung cancer

Metabolomx, a diagnostic company focused on breath analysis for the detection of cancer, today announced the Company was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The $1.14 million combined Phase I/II Fast-Track contract will support the research and development of Metabolomx' sensor array system to detect lung cancer.

24 Oct 2011

Holes appearing in some states' safety nets for disabled, seniors; Ohio referendum looms

Health care news from Georgia, Ohio, California, Wisconsin, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts and Texas.

24 Oct 2011

Cigna enters definitive agreement to acquire HealthSpring for $55 per share

Cigna Corporation and HealthSpring, Inc. today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement under which Cigna will acquire all the outstanding shares of HealthSpring for $55 per share in cash, a 37% premium over the closing stock price on Friday October 21, 2011, representing a total transaction value of approximately $3.8 billion.

24 Oct 2011

Supreme Court will choose among issues and lawsuits as it decides health law's fate

The moving parts involved in the Supreme Court's determination about whether to review challenges to the health law and which issues it wants to hear are quite complicated.

24 Oct 2011

Nexidia's Enterprise Speech Intelligence solution to be implemented at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina

Nexidia, a leading provider of customer interaction analytics solutions for business transformation, today announced that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) has selected Nexidia's Enterprise Speech Intelligence (ESI) solution to support the company in determining enhancements to its service center operations.

24 Oct 2011

Romney's next health policy challenge: Medical help for illegal immigrants

A new issue from the Massachusetts health law has surfaced and is now haunting GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Meanwhile, other candidates - specifically Rick Perry and Herman Cain - take on abortion issues and positions.

24 Oct 2011

Blood tests and cultures may not be necessary in detecting early-onset GBS in newborns

For newborn infants at risk of infection with group B streptococcal (GBS) bacteria, screening blood tests cause extra pain and anxiety—without increasing detection of early-onset GBS disease, reports a study in the October issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

24 Oct 2011

Exploring palliative care's positives and negatives

What if a new medication for severely ill patients had no role in curing them but made them feel much better despite being sick?

24 Oct 2011

US markets for neurosurgical and neurovascular devices to grow to $240 million by 2016

According to Millennium Research Group, the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, the market for the specialized devices used for neurosurgical and neurovascular treatments will grow to $240 million by 2016, driven largely by an aging population in the United States that will suffer an increasing incidence of conditions such as stroke, cerebral aneurysms and intracranial atherosclerosis disease.

From Medtronic 24 Oct 2011

Wal-Mart increases premium costs, cuts benefits

Costs for this employer's most popular health coverage plan will increase to about $15 per two-week pay period. It's current cost is $11 per pay period.

24 Oct 2011