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Bristol-Myers Squibb to present multiple compounds’ data at AASLD annual meeting

New data on multiple Bristol-Myers Squibb Company compounds will be presented at the 61st annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) in Boston from October 29 to November 2.

3 Oct 2010

Scientists find new replicating mechanism of Salmonella bacteria

New findings by National Institutes of Health scientists could explain how Salmonella bacteria, a common cause of food poisoning, efficiently spread in people. In a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers describe finding a reservoir of rapidly replicating Salmonella inside epithelial cells. These bacteria are primed to infect other cells and are pushed from the epithelial layer by a new mechanism that frees the Salmonella to infect other cells or be shed into the intestine.

3 Oct 2010

Sulindac drug derivative effective in preventing colon cancer: Research

Researchers in the Division of Cancer Prevention, Department of Medicine, at Stony Brook University have discovered that a novel derivative of sulindac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) known to prevent colon cancer, is more effective and safer than sulindac in preventing colon cancer in animals. The study results are reported in the October issue of the journal Gastroenterology.

3 Oct 2010

Isotechnika announces CONFIRM1 clinical trial results at TCT 2010 Symposium

Isotechnika Pharma Inc. announces that the results of the CONFIRM1 clinical trial conducted by its medical device partner, Atrium Medical Corporation, were presented by Glenn Van Langenhove, MD, PhD (Middelheim Hospital in Antwerp, Belgium), the principal investigator, at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2010 Scientific Symposium in Washington, DC last week.

3 Oct 2010

Stem cell research breakthrough

Australian researchers have grown new human stem cells outside the body and this may provide new hope to cancer patients and those with genetic disorders. The team found a way to manipulate the environment of blood-forming stem cells to make them multiply.

3 Oct 2010

Osteoporosis common but underestimated in old men: Study

According to the latest research osteoporosis a diseases common in women that makes bones brittle and easily breakable with age also affects men. The study suggests that this debilitating condition is often overlooked in elderly Australian men.

3 Oct 2010

Health warning on iodine levels in food

After a health scare that involved consumption of Bonsoy milk, health experts have warned about iodine levels in food. Nearly twenty five people who developed illnesses because of high iodine levels in the soy milk filed a Supreme Court writ last week, seeking damages from Bonsoy's Australian distributors.

3 Oct 2010

Shoulder pain costs American health system $7 billion

25 out of 1,000 visits to the family doctor are related to shoulder pain. This is currently the cause of 13% of sick leaves, and it costs the American health system 7 billion dollars.

1 Oct 2010

Record number of Americans signed up for Medicaid last year, straining state budgets

Associated Press: "A record number of Americans signed up for Medicaid last year, as the recession wiped out jobs and workplace health coverage. A report released Thursday by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation found that enrollment in the safety-net medical insurance program jumped to more than 48 million — a record 15.7 percent share of the U.S. population.

1 Oct 2010

Selling insurance across state lines: Still a partisan fight

Kaiser Health News staff writers Phil Galewitz and Lexie Verdon report: "When Republican House leaders recently unveiled their 'Pledge To America,' they revived an idea long popular with conservatives: legislation that would allow consumers to buy health insurance across state lines so that residents of a state with expensive health plans could find cheaper options elsewhere" (Galewitz and Verdon, 9/30).

1 Oct 2010

Bloomberg analysis finds 'doughnut hole' deal to cost drugmakers less than 1% of profits

News outlets report how closing the Medicare 'Doughnut Hole' affects drugmakers and seniors.

1 Oct 2010

Insurer jumps ship, but is the health law to blame?

The New York Times: The Principal Financial Group of Iowa will stop selling health insurance plans - which currently cover about 840,000 people who get coverage from employers - as provisions of the health overhaul take effect. "Principal's decision closely tracks moves by other insurers that have indicated in recent weeks that they plan to drop out of certain segments of the market, like the business of selling child-only policies.

1 Oct 2010

RadNet completes acquisition of Image Medical

RadNet, Inc., a national leader in providing high-quality, cost-effective, fixed-site outpatient diagnostic imaging services through a network of 191 fully-owned and operated outpatient imaging centers, today reported it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Image Medical Corporation, parent of eRAD, Inc.

1 Oct 2010

Bipartisan deficit commission unlikely to make big Medicare changes

National Journal: "For all of the attention surrounding President Obama's bipartisan commission on deficit reduction, the country's biggest cost centers — health care in general and Medicare specifically — will likely remain unscathed when the panel offers its recommendations in December.

1 Oct 2010

Health insurance prices, restrictions now on federal consumer website

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jessica Marcy talked with Todd Park, the chief technology officer of the Department of Health and Human Services, and Karen Pollitz, who heads the consumer support division at HHS Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, about the detailed health plan cost and benefits information unveiled today on Healthcare.gov.

1 Oct 2010

Political cartoon: 'Don't Worry'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Don't Worry" by Chip Bok.

1 Oct 2010

Med schools say doctor shortage to worsen under new health law

The new health law will worsen the physician shortage as newly insured patients seek care, according to a new report from the Association of American Medical Colleges.

1 Oct 2010

Merck to pay millions over Mass. allegations of inflated wholesale rate

Bloomberg Businessweek: A Massachusetts court ordered the drug maker Merck to pay $4.6 million in damages for inflating wholesale prices for generic asthma drugs. "Massachusetts claimed the companies reported inflated wholesale acquisition-cost prices for the generics, and that MassHealth, the state component of the Medicaid program, would rely on those prices for reimbursements" (McQuillen, 9/30).

1 Oct 2010

Today's OpEds: Sebelius' tough talk; Changing the malpractice system; Different perspectives on the health overhaul

The problem is, quite simply, the centerpiece of the entire health care overhaul -- guaranteed coverage for so-called "preexisting" conditions. As long as both parties insist on this, the national discussion over real health care reform is going nowhere (Jason Lewis, 9/30).

1 Oct 2010

Argos' AGS-003 in combination with sunitinib demonstrates favorable PFS for renal cell carcinoma

Argos Therapeutics announced that its Arcelis immunotherapy for renal cell carcinoma (RCC), AGS-003, demonstrated favorable progression-free survival (PFS) and safety in combination with sunitinib, based upon updated results from an ongoing Phase 2 trial.

1 Oct 2010