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First Edition: September 28, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about the costs of employer insurance plans and the final installment of KHN's "Building Ambitions" series about children's hospitals.

28 Sep 2011

FDA: Study suggests increased risk of blood clots from drospirenone-containing contraceptives

On Monday, the United States Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") said its primary results of an agency funded study suggest a 1.5 fold increase risk of blood clots for women who use drospirenone-containing birth control products, such as Yaz and Yasmin.

28 Sep 2011

Phase I clinical trials reveal MVA-B preventive vaccine's immune efficiency against HIV

Phase I clinical trials developed by Spanish Superior Scientific Research Council (CSIC) together with Gregorio Mara--n Hospital in Madrid and Cl-nic Hospital in Barcelona, reveals MVA-B preventive vaccine's immune efficiency against Human's immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

28 Sep 2011

XECAN's RFID Oncology Solution integrated with ThingMagic Astra UHF Reader

Trimble announced today that m, a leading provider of RFID patient safety solutions, has integrated the ThingMagic Astra UHF Reader into its RFID Oncology Solution. The XECAN solution enhances the patient experience and significantly assists in the goal of eliminating treatment errors allowing healthcare organizations to offer a safer and more inviting medical experience.

28 Sep 2011

Congress must not make cuts to crucial government-funded aging research

America's experts on aging are headed for meetings with their senators and representatives to underscore the needs of the country's senior population, spurred by the first-ever Take Action Week organized by The Gerontological Society of America - the nation's largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging.

28 Sep 2011

Top medical research organisations call EU for urgent clinical trial reforms

Top medical research organisations are calling on the European Union for urgent reforms to the way clinical trials are regulated across the continent.

28 Sep 2011

Adamas begins ADS-5102 Phase 2/3 clinical trial in Parkinson's disease

Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company, announced today that it has initiated a Phase 2/3 clinical trial of its proprietary investigational drug ADS-5102 (amantadine HCl extended release) for the treatment of levodopa induced dyskinesia (LID) in patients with Parkinson's disease.

28 Sep 2011

Yale researchers use AB SCIEX's QTRAP technology to synthesize phosphoproteins

AB SCIEX, a global leader in life science analytical technologies, today announced that Yale University researchers used QTRAP technology to prove the validity of a new approach to synthesize phosphoproteins.

28 Sep 2011

HealthyWomen launches web-based initiative to manage RA

Managing RA: The Strong Woman's Approach, is an online resource designed to educate and empower women living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), launched today at HealthyWomen.org.

28 Sep 2011

YM BioSciences begins enrollment in CYT387 Phase II trial for myelofibrosis

YM BioSciences Inc. today announced that it has enrolled the first patients in its multi-center Phase II trial of CYT387 administered twice-daily (BID) for the treatment of myelofibrosis.

28 Sep 2011

Study examines psychosocial impact of cleft lip, palate on individuals in non-Anglo societies

One person's flaw may be another person's strength, according to a study of cultural perceptions of cleft lip and cleft palate. In the Western world, many people with these facial anomalies experience social and emotional difficulties because of the importance placed on appearance. In other parts of the world, a range of views are influenced by religion, superstition, and cultural prejudices.

28 Sep 2011

WHO releases global survey of worst, best cities for air pollution

"Cities in Iran, India, Pakistan and the capital of Mongolia rank among the worst on the planet for air pollution, while those in the United States and Canada are among the best, according to the first global survey released Monday by the World Health Organization," the Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle reports.

28 Sep 2011

Long-term morbidity and mortality of NAFLD patients with advanced fibrosis, cirrhosis

Patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis have a lower incidence of liver-related complications and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) than patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), according to the prospective study published in the October issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

28 Sep 2011

USAID, NGO partners testing nutritional impact assessment tool

USAID is working with non-governmental organization partners to test a "nutritional impact assessment tool" that "'would be a way for organizations designing or reviewing agricultural programs to mitigate any risks or potential negative effects on nutrition -- in other words a "do no harm" approach,' said Michael Zeilinger, head of the nutrition division with USAID's office of health, infectious disease and nutrition," IRIN reports.

28 Sep 2011

U of A researchers discover active environmental catalyst

University of Alberta chemistry researchers have discovered an active catalyst that has the potential to improve the efficiency and environmental impact of manufacturing processes used to make products such as agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals.

28 Sep 2011

Anthrax defenses need to be strengthened: Experts

It has been a decade since the anthrax attacks brought home the reality of bioterrorism and the nation now has a stockpile of some basic tools to fight back against a few of the threats that worry defense experts the most.

28 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Lots of advice for super committee on Medicare, Medicaid

Obama partisans, you must consider at least two, possibly mixed results - a politically risky legal battle on the individual mandate in the middle of a presidential campaign, and added insurance that Obama administration lawyers will see the case through its final appeal.

28 Sep 2011

dressbarn's month-long program aims to combat breast cancer

In support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, dressbarn announces a month-long program aimed at getting more than one-quarter million women to take its 'Pink Pledge' to combat breast cancer.

28 Sep 2011

'Urgent action' needed to prevent resistance to antiretroviral therapy

"The clear pattern of increasing antiretroviral resistance in lower-income settings must be considered in the context of the worldwide HIV-control agenda," especially because "the increasing rates of antiretroviral resistance in low-income settings represent a potential threat to the emerging treatment-as-prevention strategy," Evan Wood and Julio Montaner of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS write in a Lancet Infectious Diseases opinion piece.

28 Sep 2011

HealthUnity announces availability of HIE and MPI version 5.5

HealthUnity Corporation today announced general availability of version 5.5 of its award-winning Health Information Exchange (HIE) and Master Person Index (MPI) solution.

28 Sep 2011