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Medicare Advantage premiums to go down next year: HHS

On average, Medicare Advantage premiums will be 4 percent lower in 2012 than in 2011, and plans project enrollment to increase by 10 percent, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today.

16 Sep 2011

'Super committee' moves behind closed doors; public confidence in Washington at stake

The leaders of a bipartisan congressional committee charged with finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade say Americans' confidence in Washington hinges on their success. … If the committee deadlocks or fails, $1.2 trillion still would be cut automatically from future deficits, divided between defense and domestic spending, including Medicare. Hensarling likened that threat to "a hammer in the closet".

16 Sep 2011

New report finds improvements in hospital performance

Meanwhile, Reuters reports on the quality of weekend care at stroke centers and nursing homes are trying to reduce their use of powerful antipsychotic drugs for patients with dementia.

16 Sep 2011

New paper describes unique process that is central to induction of MSRA antibiotic resistance

A new paper by a team of University of Notre Dame researchers that included Shahriar Mobashery, Jeffrey Peng, Brian Baker and their researchers Oleg Borbulevych, Malika Kumararasiri, Brian Wilson, Leticia Llarrull, Mijoon Lee, Dusan Hesek and Qicun Shi describes a unique process that is central to induction of antibiotic resistance in the problematic bacterium methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

16 Sep 2011

U.S. HIV/AIDS policy and funding should be guided by science, policy statement recommends

The IDSA Center for Global Health Policy and the HIV Medicine Association recently released a policy statement responding to the results of the HPTN 052 study sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at NIH, which found that people with HIV who received immediate antiretroviral therapy (ART) were more than 96 percent less likely to sexually transmit the infection to their uninfected partners.

16 Sep 2011

Animals burn protein during long, cold hibernation

When Arctic ground squirrels are getting ready to hibernate they don't just get fat - they pack on muscle at a rate that would make a bodybuilder jealous. And they do it without suffering the harmful effects that high levels of testosterone and other anabolic steroids usually cause. University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) researchers have started to untangle how the squirrels manage it, and their results could someday have implications for human health.

16 Sep 2011

Obama deficit-reduction plan details emerging

As President Barack Obama prepares to present to Congress his detailed plan to rein in the nation's debt, changes to Social Security appear unlikely, but the outlook for Medicare is less certain.

16 Sep 2011

Teva to invest in CDI for development of novel antiviral drugs

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that it has signed a collaboration option to license and share purchase agreements to invest in Cocrystal Discovery Inc. (CDI), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel antiviral therapeutics for the treatment of serious and chronic viral diseases.

16 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: NY Times on uninsured; Wilensky's 'sobering reflection'; caring for aging parents

Nearly one million more Americans went without health insurance in 2010 than in 2009. ... The only consolation was that government insurance programs were able to mitigate some of the damage. ... The new health care reforms will expand Medicaid coverage for the poor and provide subsidies to help middle-income people buy private health insurance.

16 Sep 2011

Positive thoughts improve mental health in men with testicular cancer

Men who channeled positive thoughts into a five-week writing assignment about their testicular cancer showed signs of improved mental health afterward, in contrast to men who wrote negatively or neutrally about their condition, according to results of a Baylor University pilot study.

16 Sep 2011

$Bachmann, Perry embroiled in HPV fracas$

Bachmann, Perry embroiled in HPV fracas

Since Monday night's GOP primary debate, the two presidential hopefuls continue to be the targets of discussion and coverage regarding both the style and substance of the HPV vaccine issue.

16 Sep 2011

TCT to showcase major scientific research breakthroughs in cardiovascular medicine

The Cardiovascular Research Foundation has announced the late breaking trials and first report investigations that will be presented at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2011 scientific symposium. Presented in partnership with the American College of Cardiology (ACC), TCT 2011 is the world's leading educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine and will take place November 7-11, 2011 in San Francisco.

16 Sep 2011

In Md., hospital stay costs rise; VA hospital in Calif. revamps to meet needs of female vets

The cost of a hospital stay in Maryland is on the rise, but not as much as that nationally, according to a report released Wednesday by the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission. The average cost to stay in a Maryland hospital was $10,983 in fiscal year 2010, compared to $10,767 the previous year, according to the report. The 2 percent increase was lower than that nationally, where the cost of a hospital stay increased 3 percent.

16 Sep 2011

GSA's two forthcoming publications focus on pain relief and medication for seniors

To highlight Pain Awareness Month in September, The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) - the nation's largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging - is announcing two forthcoming publications focused on pain relief and medication for seniors.

16 Sep 2011

Potential new treatment for fragile X syndrome

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in collaboration with Seaside Therapeutics in Cambridge, Mass., have achieved a milestone in the development of a potential new treatment for fragile X syndrome, the most common genetic cause of autism.

16 Sep 2011

Shorter treatment with telaprevir-based combination regimen may benefit hepatitis C patients

Treatment with a telaprevir-based combination regimen for hepatitis C - heretofore a chronic, destructive and difficult to manage disease - effectively can be shortened to six months in about two-thirds of patients, finds a new study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

16 Sep 2011

Researchers identify molecular pathway that may play key role in evolution of chemotherapy resistance

For patients with ovarian cancer and their physicians, resistance to chemotherapy is a serious concern. However, researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have identified a molecular pathway that may play a key role in the evolution of chemotherapy resistance.

16 Sep 2011

Experimental malaria vaccine shows positive results among children in small Burkina Faso study

"An experimental malaria vaccine tested on children in Burkina Faso has shown 'a high level of efficacy' in protecting against the disease, a study published in" Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine said, according to Agence France-Presse.

16 Sep 2011

New study aims to reduce number of pediatric pharmaceutical poisoning

Pharmaceutical poisoning remains a common childhood injury, despite years of concerted prevention efforts, such as improved safe guards on packaging. Over half a million children are exposed to pharmaceuticals each year. A new study soon to be published in The Journal of Pediatrics attempts to understand this growing problem to aid in the progress of reducing the number of childhood injuries due to pharmaceutical poisoning.

16 Sep 2011

Scientists discover new type of spinal cord stem cell

A group led by a University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health scientist has discovered a type of spinal cord cell that could function as a stem cell, with the ability to regenerate portions of the central nervous system in people with spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

16 Sep 2011

Medical News

Medicare Advantage premiums to go down next year: HHS

'Super committee' moves behind closed doors; public confidence in Washington at stake

New report finds improvements in hospital performance

New paper describes unique process that is central to induction of MSRA antibiotic resistance

U.S. HIV/AIDS policy and funding should be guided by science, policy statement recommends

Animals burn protein during long, cold hibernation

Obama deficit-reduction plan details emerging

Teva to invest in CDI for development of novel antiviral drugs

Viewpoints: NY Times on uninsured; Wilensky's 'sobering reflection'; caring for aging parents

Positive thoughts improve mental health in men with testicular cancer

Bachmann, Perry embroiled in HPV fracas

TCT to showcase major scientific research breakthroughs in cardiovascular medicine

In Md., hospital stay costs rise; VA hospital in Calif. revamps to meet needs of female vets

GSA's two forthcoming publications focus on pain relief and medication for seniors

Potential new treatment for fragile X syndrome

Shorter treatment with telaprevir-based combination regimen may benefit hepatitis C patients

Researchers identify molecular pathway that may play key role in evolution of chemotherapy resistance

Experimental malaria vaccine shows positive results among children in small Burkina Faso study

New study aims to reduce number of pediatric pharmaceutical poisoning

Scientists discover new type of spinal cord stem cell

Membrane proteins in focus: Turning high-risk targets into routine workflows

How metabolic phenotyping can detect viral infections in minutes

Directed enzyme evolution and the Nobel Prize: Making enzymes evolve in the lab

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