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Fight against HIV losing momentum; Robust analysis needed to develop long-term strategy

"After a decade of unprecedented increases in donor funding and a corresponding 17 percent decline worldwide in the number of new infections, the fight against HIV is losing momentum," Bjorn Lomborg, director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and an adjunct professor at Copenhagen Business School, and Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and former executive director of UNAIDS, write in this Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

23 Sep 2011

EMA CHMP adopts positive opinion for Soliris to treat atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion recommending that the therapeutic indication for Soliris® (eculizumab) be extended to include the treatment of pediatric and adult patients with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) in Europe.

23 Sep 2011

Is enough being done to fight child mortality?

Though the recent UNICEF report on child mortality shows progress is being made in every region to prevent childhood deaths, "it is clear that we still need to increase the coverage of high-impact, low-cost interventions like vaccines, including those for pneumonia and diarrhea that are rolling out," Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

23 Sep 2011

Gender discrimination a driving factor behind malnutrition in Nepal, experts say

"Gender discrimination lies behind much of the malnutrition found in under-five children in Nepal, say locals and experts," IRIN reports. "Women live hard lives from day one, born with no fanfare, contrasting starkly to the six-day celebration to mark the birth of a boy.

23 Sep 2011

Examining alternatives to assessing Global Fund effectiveness

In this post in the Center for Global Development's "Global Health Policy" blog, William Savedoff, a senior fellow at the center, responds to a high level panel's assessment (.pdf) of fiduciary controls at the Global Fund to Fight, AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, examining "what this report might mean for an organization that was expressly created to blaze an innovative approach to international aid and is being counseled to back away from that vision."

23 Sep 2011

Annual World Disasters Report focuses on hunger and malnutrition, highlights dichotomy between economic classes

This year's annual World Disasters Report, published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on Thursday, focuses on hunger and malnutrition, but highlights a growing gap between economic classes, the Australian reports, noting "15 percent of the world's population is going hungry while a record 20 percent now suffer the effects of 'excess nutrition'" (Hodge, 9/23).

23 Sep 2011

Humana to acquire California-based Medicare Advantage HMO

Humana Inc. announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire MD Care, a California-based Medicare Advantage HMO with approximately 15,000 members in Southern California.

23 Sep 2011

African Leaders Malaria Alliance launches malaria scorecard

"The African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) has launched a scorecard to improve the fight against malaria on the African continent," IRIN reports. "Updated quarterly, it provides information from each country on policies formulated, preventative measures initiated, money spent, lives saved and lost," and "also tracks tracer indicators for maternal, newborn and child health," the news service writes.

23 Sep 2011

New treatment concept for complex malaria

Team from the Medical University of Vienna, led by Harald Noedl from the Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, is developing a new treatment concept for complex malaria in Bangladesh. This treatment is intended to significantly cut the mortality rate and could save the lives of tens of thousands of children.

23 Sep 2011

2M Pakistanis affected by diseases related to widespread flooding in southern region

Two million Pakistanis have become ill from malaria, diarrhea, skin diseases or snake bites "since monsoon rains left the southern region under several feet of water, the country's disaster authority said Thursday," Agence France-Presse reports. "More than 350 people have been killed and over eight million people have been affected this year by floods that officials say are worse in parts of Sindh province than last year," the news agency reports.

23 Sep 2011

Health law legal action moves to D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals

Politico Pro reports that, although this case is unlikely to be the "one" that goes to the Supreme Court, both sides have a lot at stake in the outcome: "the potential to chalk up another appeals court victory and maybe 'flip' a prominent appeals judge."

23 Sep 2011

Gilead announces EMA CHMP positive opinion for HIV-1 drug, Eviplera

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency, has adopted a positive opinion on the company's Marketing Authorisation Application for the once-daily single-tablet regimen, Eviplera.

23 Sep 2011

Synthetic lectins inhibit HIV from entering cells

University of Utah researchers have discovered a new class of compounds that stick to the sugary coating of the AIDS virus and inhibit it from infecting cells - an early step toward a new treatment to prevent sexual transmission of the virus.

23 Sep 2011

Funds awarded to improve maternal and child health with home visits

In another round of grants funded by the 2010 health law, the Department of Health and Human Services provided resources to support efforts by nurses, social workers, or other health care professionals to make home visits to low-income families that agree to meet with them in their homes. Also, Kansas Health Institute News reports on the funds awarded to Kansas.

23 Sep 2011

Study reveals differing effects of running 'with assistance' versus 'against resistance'

Two specialized training techniques—resisted and assisted sprint training—both lead to faster sprint speeds in high-level female soccer players, reports a study in the October issue of The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, official research journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

23 Sep 2011

Drug shortages fuel increases in cost of care, poor outcomes

A severe shortage of drugs for chemotherapy, infections and other serious ailments is endangering patients and forcing hospitals to buy life-saving medications from secondary suppliers at huge markups because they can't get them any other way.

23 Sep 2011

Capital BlueCross goes live with TriZetto's care management application

The TriZetto Group, Inc. today announced that Capital BlueCross, the leading health insurer in central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley, recently went live with TriZetto's Clinical CareAdvance® 4.61 care management application.

23 Sep 2011

'Super Committee' hears pleas to protect health program enrollees and providers

Some say the recession's toll could be even greater if Medicaid funding for mental health services hits the deficit panel's chopping block. Meanwhile, provider groups continue to make their cases to the committee.

23 Sep 2011

FDA denies FOIA regarding Gilead Sciences' Truvada correspondence, AHF sues

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over its denial of AHF's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests regarding correspondence between the FDA and Gilead Sciences regarding its potential application to the FDA to expand the use of its AIDS drug, Truvada, for use as an HIV prevention pill for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in uninfected individuals.

23 Sep 2011

Bachmann, Perry wrestle over HPV issue

During the last debate, Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry clashed over their positions on the HPV vaccine. During Thursday night's Orlando debate, the issue again emerged.

23 Sep 2011