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Redesigned vancomycin can kill deadliest antibiotic-resistant bacteria

A team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have successfully reengineered an important antibiotic to kill the deadliest antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

25 Aug 2011

Webinar on Prescription Drug Abuse in Workers' Comp

Joseph Paduda, principal of Health Strategy Associates, will present "Prescription Drug Abuse in Workers' Comp," an hour-long webinar on Thursday, Sept. 1, starting 1 p.m. (PDT)/ 4 p.m. EDT.

25 Aug 2011

New way to combat dengue fever

The spread of Dengue fever in northern Australia may be controlled by a bacterium that infects mosquitoes that harbor the virus, Australian and U.S. researchers report Aug. 25 in two papers published in the journal Nature.

25 Aug 2011

OHA, Plackers announce five winners of Smiles Across America Innovation Grants

Plackers, makers of the first disposable dental flosser, and Oral Health America (OHA), a national, charitable non-profit, announced five winners of the first-ever Smiles Across America Innovation Grants, each of whom will receive monetary grants to kick-start innovative new programs intended to deliver oral health preventative products and services to children at increased risk for oral diseases.

25 Aug 2011

ICU patients less likely to renew prescriptions for chronic diseases after discharge

Patients often do not renew prescriptions for their chronic diseases after they are released from hospital.

25 Aug 2011

Cone Health uses Xenex room disinfection systems to reduce HAI rates and costs

Cone Health today announced a dramatic reduction in healthcare-acquired infection (HAIs) rates after implementing an infection prevention program which includes Xenex room disinfection systems.

25 Aug 2011

Scientists discover genetic switch to prevent neurodegenerative diseases

Scientists at Northwestern University report a surprising discovery that offers a possible new route for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. In a study of the transparent roundworm C. elegans, they found that a genetic switch in master neurons inhibits the proper functioning of protective cell stress responses, leading to the accumulation of misfolded and damaged proteins.

25 Aug 2011

New benchmarks may highlight opportunities for care improvement in the ICUs

New nationwide benchmarks representing current critical care practices for ICUs may highlight opportunities for care improvement.

25 Aug 2011

Foreign drug manufacturing, testing raise regulatory and ethical concerns

JAMA discusses "a recent report from the Pew Health Group about the growing risks of substandard and counterfeit medications resulting from the increasing overseas production of pharmaceuticals and their ingredients."

25 Aug 2011

Tel Aviv University researcher finds already-medicated patients transmit HIV virus to others

Since HIV infection rates began to rise again around 2000, researchers have been grasping for answers on what could be causing this change, especially in the homosexual community.

25 Aug 2011

U.N. summit on NCDs 'is a battleground' of private versus public interests

David Stuckler of the University of Cambridge, Sanjay Basu of the University of California, San Francisco, and Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, write in a BMJ commentary that misconceptions and fallacies "have led to serious under-budgeting for non-communicable diseases".

25 Aug 2011

Scientists discover mutant hypertension gene in chickens similar to that of humans

Scientists from the University of Abertay Dundee have discovered that a gene which, when severely mutated, causes blindness and kidney abnormalities in chickens, is the same as one that predisposes humans to hypertension.

25 Aug 2011

On health exchanges, states may get a second chance to create their own

So far, 11 states have accepted federal money to set up their own state-run insurance exchange. Meanwhile, the Basic Health Program, another health law initiative, is drawing attention.

25 Aug 2011

Hearing dietary advice twice is enough for patients to get benefits of lower cholesterol

Hearing dietary advice twice is enough for patients to get the significant benefits of lower cholesterol, according to a new study led by doctors at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto.

25 Aug 2011

HHS sponsors contest to develop public health emergency Facebook application

The HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response is trying to harness the power of social media to respond to public health emergencies through a contest, titled "Lifeline Facebook Application Challenge," that asks application developers to "provide actionable steps for Facebook users to increase their own personal preparedness and strengthen connections within their social networks for the sake of personal preparedness and community resilience," Kaiser Health News reports.

25 Aug 2011