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Feds' push for Medicaid 'transparency' irks states; Minn. chips away at fraud; Kansas seeks more assisted living

A federal push for more transparency in how states run their Medicaid programs is pitting patient advocates and medical providers against state officials who fear being hamstrung. The transparency effort comes as states seek ever greater flexibility in how they manage their Medicaid programs to cope with historic budget woes.

7 Sep 2011

Devoting work time to physical activity can lead to higher productivity

Devoting work time to physical activity can lead to higher productivity. This is shown in a study performed by researchers at Stockholm University and Karolinska Institutet that is being published in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

7 Sep 2011

Oxycodone no safer than codeine for breastfed infants: New study

Doctors have been prescribing codeine for postpartum pain management for many years, and, until recently, it was considered safe to breastfeed while taking the opioid. But the death of an infant exposed to codeine through breast milk has many health care providers questioning the safety of the drug when used by breastfeeding mothers.

7 Sep 2011

New blood test could help identify babies at risk of sickle cell disease

A new blood test is being developed by researchers in Cambridge and Oxford, which, for the first time, could help identify babies at risk of a severe form of sickle cell disease, allowing immediate and more intensive treatment to be given, thanks to a grant from children's charity Action Medical Research.

7 Sep 2011

Researchers investigate special diets that could help youngsters keep the weight off

A shocking 17 per cent of boys and 15 per cent of girls aged two to 15 years are obese in the UK, putting them at risk of serious, long-term health problems. Now a team of Aberdeen researchers are investigating special diets which could help youngsters keep the weight off, thanks to a grant from children's charity Action Medical Research.

7 Sep 2011

Breast cancer patients with BRCA1 mutation experience pCR after neoadjuvent chemotherapy

Nearly half of breast cancer patients carrying the BRCA1 gene mutation experience a complete pathological response (pCR) - the disappearance of all evidence of disease from the breast tissue and lymph nodes - regardless of disease stage after standard neoadjuvent chemotherapy, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

7 Sep 2011

SYSU, ASU collaborate to develop early and predictive diagnostics for colorectal cancer

Arizona State University (ASU) and China's Sun Yat-Sen University (SYSU) have formalized a research collaboration aimed at developing early and predictive diagnostics to improve patient outcomes for colorectal cancer.

7 Sep 2011

Researchers use ultrasound to improve quality of blood stem cell transplant

Transplantation of haematopoietic stem cells is an effective treatment for patients with malignant blood diseases. The composition and quality of the transplanted cells are crucial to the outcome. Researchers from Lund University, Sweden, have now developed a method to improve the quality of the transplanted cells using ultrasound for cell separation.

7 Sep 2011

Fujirebio Diagnostics receives FDA 510(k) clearance for Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Algorithm test

Fujirebio Diagnostics, the industry leader in oncology biomarker assays, announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the company's HE4 Test in an algorithm called ROMA (HE4 EIA + ARCHITECT CA 125 II) to aid in assessing whether a premenopausal or postmenopausal woman who presents with an ovarian adnexal mass is at high or low likelihood of finding malignancy on surgery.

7 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Analyzing Texas' health insurance record; advice for 'super' committee; one doc's cancer experience

Targeting waste, fraud and abuse; eliminating unnecessary and duplicative spending; and ending military adventurism need not be accompanied by slashing essential services such as education and shredding our social safety nets - Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

7 Sep 2011

Duodenal switch may lead to more weight loss but more complications: Study

A less usual and common type of obesity surgery may spur more weight loss than its far more popular cousin, gastric bypass - but at the price of greater long-term risks, researchers reported.

6 Sep 2011

Superbug structure deciphered

NDM-1, the enzyme responsible for antibiotic-resistant "superbugs," has had its structure deciphered by British scientists. NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1) emerged in India three years ago. It has the ability to break up, or hydrolyze, even carbapenems, the strongest class of antibiotics, making them ineffective, and has been found in a wide variety of pathogens. Antibiotic resistance is on the rise. More than 25,000 people in the European Union die every year from bacterial infections.

6 Sep 2011

FDA reviews safety issues of bisphosphonates for osteoporosis

An advisory committee for U.S. Food and Drug Administration meets Friday to review the safety of a popular class of osteoporosis drugs called bisphosphonates amid worry that their long-term use could cause rare fractures of the thighbones and affect the jawbone. The committee will evaluate whether women should temporarily stop using the drugs or use them for only a few years.

6 Sep 2011

Kids around smokers lose more school days than peers

A new study says that children whose parents smoke tend to miss more school than their classmates with non-smoking parents — possibly because of a higher rate of respiratory infections.

6 Sep 2011

New head louse treatment shows promise

The common head louse has been seen to be resistant to time-tested treatments. However a new Food and Drug Administration-approved hair rinse, Natroba, could put an end to that.

6 Sep 2011

Diabetes prevention in five steps: Study

According to a new study meeting just one of five key health goals reduces the odds of developing diabetes in middle age by roughly one-third. The report adds that the more goals are met the lower the risk falls, even if there is a family history of diabetes.

6 Sep 2011

U.S. smoking rates on slow decline: CDC report

Roughly 45 million adult Americans smoke and this is much lesser than the figures a few years back. Even those who still smoke have cut back on the number of cigarettes they smoke, but the rate of decline has begun to slow, U.S. health experts said on Tuesday. Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States, killing an estimated 443,000 Americans each year.

6 Sep 2011

FDA stalls the blood-thinner Xarelto’s approval citing inadequate evidence

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a staff report released today that “there is insufficient information about the drug to determine whether it is safe for use with its proposed labeling.” Their report questions its safety and effectiveness, saying a new study is needed.

6 Sep 2011

Discovery of a key protein’s role in cell clearance could impact future treatments of autoimmune diseases, obesity and atherosclerosis

The healthy human body is extremely efficient at cleaning house. Every day, we purge 100 to 200 billion dead or dying cells – a process called cell clearance, which is fundamental in our ability to maintain a healthy physiological balance and prevent a number of chronic diseases. Professional cleaning cells, called phagocytes, are responsible for ridding the body of dead, or ‘apoptotic,’ cells.

6 Sep 2011

Robert Gordon University scientists to develop new treatment for cystinosis

A team of researchers at Robert Gordon University has secured a six figure sum from Sparks, a leading children’s medical research charity, to develop a revolutionary treatment for a rare genetic disorder.

6 Sep 2011