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KHN Column: Reminding ourselves what has gone right with the health law

In this Kaiser Health News column, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who has a new book about the health care debate, writes Six months after the passage of health care reform, it is easy to forget how far we have come in such a short time.

7 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 7, 2010

Today's headlines include stories on waivers given some companies that offer only minimal health insurance coverage, insurers' political efforts during this campaign season and efforts in New York to bar the use of food stamps to buy soda.

7 Oct 2010

AnalizaDx SIA technology, Nanosphere Verisens assay effective for prostate cancer diagnosis

At the annual meeting of the North-Central American Urological Association, Mark Stovsky, MD, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Case Medical Center, and principal investigator, presented positive data combining the AnalizaDx SIA technology with the Nanosphere Verisens ultra-sensitive PSA assay.

7 Oct 2010

Researchers unveil clues to combat enteritis in humans

The bacterium Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of food poisoning in humans. It is normally transmitted from contaminted chicken meat, as it is frequently found in the intestines of chickens, where it apparently does not result in any symptoms. Researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna have now solved the puzzle, showing that Campylobacter can survive ambient oxygen levels thanks to the presence of other bacteria, species of Pseudomonas.

7 Oct 2010

Lowering blood pressure may reduce risk of kidney disease progression

Keeping blood pressure at a low level in African-Americans with kidney disease may slow the progression of the condition in patients with proteinuria, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers found in a national study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

7 Oct 2010

IDEV Technologies completes $46 million Series D round of financing with PJC Capital

IDEV Technologies, Incorporated, an emerging leader in the development and commercialization of minimally invasive medical technologies, today announced that it has completed a $46 million Series D round of financing, with Piper Jaffray & Co.'s Merchant Banking Fund and a leading strategic global healthcare company as the two new investors.

7 Oct 2010

Study shows radioembolisation with TheraSphere effective for primary liver cancer

MDS Nordion, a leading provider of products and services to the global health science market, today announced that the first large European study using Yttrium-90 (Y-90) glass microspheres has been published on the use of TheraSphere, an innovative radioembolisation therapy for the localised treatment of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or primary liver cancer.

7 Oct 2010

Vical to manufacture pDNA vaccines against HIV

Vical Incorporated today announced that the company has agreed to manufacture plasmid DNA (pDNA) vaccines against HIV under a $2.4 million contract with the IPPOX Foundation, a collaborating institution for the Poxvirus Vaccine Regimen Design (PVRD) led by the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) under the auspices of the Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery (CAVD).

7 Oct 2010

Viking Systems launches Next Generation 3DHD Visualization System

Viking Systems, Inc. reported today that it officially launched its Next Generation 3DHD Visualization System on October 4, 2010 at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress (ACS) held October 3-7 in Washington, DC. The Company also announced today its first distribution partners for the new system.

7 Oct 2010

Vivaglobin therapy effective for patients with primary immunodeficiency

Vivaglobin (subcutaneous immunoglobulin [IgG]) (SCIg) is an effective and safe initial therapy for treatment-naive patients with primary immunodeficiency (PI) and may offer an attractive alternative to intravenous IgG (IVIg) therapy in the newly diagnosed, according to data presented today at the XIVth Meeting of the European Society for Immunodeficiencies.

7 Oct 2010

Should Medicare consider cost-effectiveness when setting reimbursement rates?

Medicare reimbursement rates should be based on how cost effective the treatment is for a particular illness, according to a piece by two policy experts in the October edition of Health Affairs.

7 Oct 2010

Humana Pharmacy agrees to highest standards of transparency for prescription-drug pricing

Humana Inc. announced today that its Humana Pharmacy Solutions division is one of only five pharmacy-benefit managers (PBMs) in the U.S. to agree to the highest level of transparency for prescription-drug pricing set by the HR Policy Association.

7 Oct 2010

Researchers shed new light about long non-coding RNA molecules

Despite progress in decoding the genome, scientists estimate that fully 95 percent of our DNA represents dark, unknown territory. In the October 1 issue of the journal Cell researchers at The Wistar Institute shed new light on the genetic unknown with the discovery of the ability of long non-coding RNA (ncRNA) to promote gene expression.

7 Oct 2010

Myrexis to present MPI-0485520 preclinical data at Annual Scientific Meeting

Myrexis, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel treatments for cancer, today announced it will present a poster at the 74th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology/Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ACR/ARHP), to be held November 7-11, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia.

7 Oct 2010

Sucampo submits marketing application for Amitiza drug

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Abbott today announced that Sucampo Pharma Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has submitted a marketing application to the Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency for approval to market Amitiza (lubiprostone) 24 mcg for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC).

7 Oct 2010

Elevated levels of iron in brain enhance brain-destroying plaque production in Alzheimer's patients: Research

Massachusetts General Hospital researchers say they have determined how iron contributes to the production of brain-destroying plaques found in Alzheimer's patients.

7 Oct 2010

Dr. Fresh expands social media-based initiatives to support FireFly franchise

Entertain and interact. That's the marketing mantra at Dr. Fresh, Inc. the creator of the best-selling children's FireFly toothbrush and the company behind the successful revival of the Binaca brand. The company has recently mounted a number of social media-based initiatives to support its FireFly franchise as well as other brands in its growing portfolio.

7 Oct 2010

Simple tips to prevent breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting American women and may lead to more than 38,000 deaths this year. Medical Doctor, Researcher and Cancer expert, Dr. Isaac Eliaz shares 8 simple tips during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so you can learn more about treating and preventing breast cancer.

7 Oct 2010

Integra to present multi-center study of peripheral nerve repair at Mexico joint meeting

Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation announced today that the results of the multi-center human clinical trial comparing NeuraGen Nerve Guide with direct suture repair have been accepted, in abstract form, for presentation at the joint meeting of the American Association for Hand Surgery (AAHS), American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM), and American Society for Peripheral Nerve (ASPN), January 12-18, 2011, Cancun Mexico.

7 Oct 2010

Integra Total Wrist Fusion System to be featured at ASSH Annual Meeting

Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation announced today that it is featuring the Integra Total Wrist Fusion System at the 65th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) on October 7-9, in Boston, Massachusetts.

7 Oct 2010