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New conference on Innovations in Medical Polymers

MPMN and PlasticsToday.com, both leading news and information providers for the medical device and plastics industry, today announced the launch of a new conference on Innovations in Medical Polymers, providing insights into the latest technological and regulatory developments in the use of polymers in medical devices.

11 Oct 2011

Health insurance mandate haunts Romney

The parallels between the federal health law and the Massachusetts health overhaul that GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney signed into law when governor continue to cause some Republicans to doubt him as a their primary pick.

11 Oct 2011

Effects of U.S. cuts to foreign aid would be 'hugely damaging' to American foreign policy

In this New York Times editorial, Carol Giacomo, journalist and member of the newspaper's editorial board, reports on a decline in U.S. foreign aid, writing, "There is a lot of public misunderstanding about foreign aid," adding, "For the sake of national security, this country cannot afford to retreat from the world. Its investment in the State Department and foreign aid helps advance peace and stability by feeding starving people, providing access to doctors and medicines, opening new markets, promoting democracy, curbing nuclear arms and strengthening allies with military and economic assistance".

11 Oct 2011

Scripps Research receives NIH grant to determine how HCV induces liver cancer

The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded a $2.2 million grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to determine how the hepatitis C virus (HCV) induces liver cancer.

11 Oct 2011

ImmunoCellular receives U.S. patent allowance for ICT-107 to treat GBM

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd., a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel immune-based cancer therapies, announced the allowance of U.S. patent claims related to ICT-107, the Company's dendritic cell based cancer vaccine candidate targeting multiple tumor antigens for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme.

11 Oct 2011

St. Jude Medical launches new Merlin.net Patient Care Network update

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced the launch of its Merlin.net Patient Care Network (PCN) version 5.0. This update features enhancements to the Internet-based repository of patient and implantable device data that provide physicians easier access to important alerts and improve efficiency of data transmission to electronic health records.

11 Oct 2011

Roche's gantenerumab removes amyloid plaques from the brain of patients with AD

Roche today announced the publication of a study demonstrating that its monoclonal antibody gantenerumab removes amyloid plaques from the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The study "Mechanism of amyloid removal in patients with Alzheimer disease treated with gantenerumab" is published today in the October issue of Archives in Neurology.

11 Oct 2011

96% Campaign asks Obama to 'pay attention to science' and scale up global access to ARVs

In this RH Reality Check opinion piece, Matthew Kavanagh, director of U.S. advocacy at Health GAP (Global Access Project), and Dazon Dixon Diallo, founder and president of SisterLove, Incorporated, write, "With proof that treatment is prevention, and with this basket of broader prevention options, scientists and economists have finally been able to show what few could before: models of how we end the AIDS crisis."

11 Oct 2011

PCEC opposes newly released USPSTF recommendations on PSA screening

The Prostate Conditions Education Council (PCEC) – a national organization committed to men's health and a leader in prostate cancer screening – today announced it strongly opposes the newly released recommendations from the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force.

11 Oct 2011

Johns Hopkins USFHP recognized as the best private health insurer in Maryland

The Johns Hopkins US Family Health Plan (USFHP), a Department of Defense-sponsored managed care plan, was ranked by Consumer Reports as the best private health insurer in Maryland, while Priority Partners, a joint venture between Johns Hopkins HealthCare LLC and the Maryland Community Health System, placed as the state's top Medicaid health plan.

11 Oct 2011

NXP, Precise Biometrics partner for Match-on-Card technology

Precise Biometrics and NXP announce that they have signed a partnership agreement to enable NXP to include Precise Match-on-Card on their smart-card chips.

11 Oct 2011

Middle-aged woman with RLS more likely to develop hypertension

If you're a middle-aged woman with Restless Legs Syndrome, you may have a higher risk of developing high blood pressure, according to new research reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

11 Oct 2011

WHO facing shortage of funds as it works to scale up humanitarian response to Pakistan flooding

WHO representative Guido Sabatinelli has assured Pakistan health officials that the organization "will be scaling up its humanitarian response in all the flood-affected areas of Sindh to resolve health issues faced by the displaced people," News International reports.

11 Oct 2011

Gantenerumab appears to reduce brain amyloid levels in patients with AD

Although it is a small study and more clinical trials are needed, treatment with the medication gantenerumab appeared to result in a reduction in brain amyloid levels in patients with Alzheimer disease, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

11 Oct 2011

Leg-crossers more likely to have good recovery after severe stroke

People who are able to cross their legs soon after having a severe stroke appear to be more likely to have a good recovery compared to people who can't cross their legs.

11 Oct 2011

Dietary supplements may increase risk of mortality in older women

Consuming dietary supplements, including multivitamins, folic acid, iron and copper, among others, appears to be associated with an increased risk of death in older women, according to a report in the October 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

11 Oct 2011

Normal Htt protein regulates formation of cellular structures in mouse model of HD

Huntington disease is a devastating neurogenerative disorder that causes a progressive loss of functional capacity and reduced life span. It is an inherited condition caused by a mutant HTT gene. Although this has been known for many years, the functions of the normal Htt protein and the mechanisms by which the mutant protein generated from the mutant HTT gene causes disease are not well understood.

11 Oct 2011

Brown signs Calif. measures to aid children with autism, ban kids younger than 18 from using tanning beds

In other state news, Wisconsin last month began scrutinizing health insurance rate increases, Los Angeles County steps in ahead of health law's mandated coverage expansions and a Georgia report notes the state's progress in providing services for people with mental illness and developmental disabilities.

11 Oct 2011

Statins hold promise against traumatic brain injury

Older patients who happened to have been taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs when admitted to the hospital with serious head injuries were 76 percent more likely to survive than those not taking the drugs, according to results of a Johns Hopkins study.

11 Oct 2011

Sirt1 protein enhances skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity in calorie-restricted mice

The number of individuals with type 2 diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions. One of the main risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes is resistance of cells in the body (particularly liver, fat, and skeletal muscle cells) to the effects of the hormone insulin.

11 Oct 2011