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Almost half of all Americans use prescription drugs each month

Nearly half of all Americans used at least one prescription drug per month in 2008, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Bloomberg reports. That's a 10 percent increase over the preceding decade. Over that time, yearly spending by Americans on drugs doubled to $234 billion. "The two biggest-sellers last year were Pfizer Inc.'s Lipitor for high cholesterol and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s clot-buster, Plavix.

4 Sep 2010

At U.N. MDG summit, ministers will propose world currency tax to fund development aid

"A group of 60 nations, including France, Britain and Japan, will propose at the U.N. [summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)] this month that a tax be introduced on international currency transactions to raise funds for development aid, ministers said on Wednesday," Reuters reports (Irish, 9/1).

4 Sep 2010

PELC to conduct annual survey on physicians in health care organizations

Physician Executive Leadership Center (PELC), the nation's only executive search firm focused solely on the recruitment and placement of physicians in executive leadership positions, is conducting their annual survey of physicians serving in leadership positions in health care organizations.

4 Sep 2010

Decline in ownership of life insurance

This week an insurance research firm reported that ownership in life insurance has reached a 50-year low, with nearly a third of U.S. households not having a form of this financial protection. As the benefits industry begins Life Insurance Awareness Month in September, Unum (NYSE: UNM) shares the concern that this decline exposes working Americans to financial uncertainty.

4 Sep 2010

Research provides new framework for quantifying risk of avian-borne diseases

In 2005 an outbreak of the H5N1 'bird flu' virus in South East Asia led to widespread fear with predictions that the intercontinental migration of wild birds could lead to global pandemic.

4 Sep 2010

IAS urges to review guidelines for implementing HIV prevention and care

Following the imprisonment of Maxim Popov in April 2010, sentenced to 7 years jail primarily for the promotion of HIV prevention efforts in Uzbekistan, the International AIDS Society (IAS) notes with alarm the detention of a medial practitioner working in HIV prevention in Ukraine.

4 Sep 2010

New insight into abnormalities in cancer cells

A basic requirement for growth and life of a multicellular organism is the ability of its cells to divide. Chromosomes in the cells duplicate and are then distributed among the daughter cells. This distribution is organized by a protein complex made up of several hundred different proteins, called the centrosome. In cancer cells, the centrosome often assumes an unnatural shape or is present in uncontrolled numbers. The reasons for this were previously largely unknown.

4 Sep 2010

CMS to withdraw provisions of Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement formula under AMP rule: NACDS, NCPA

We are pleased that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed a rule that would withdraw provisions of what is known as the Medicaid average manufacturer price rule. The proposed rule calls for the withdrawal of existing provisions that define AMP, that determine the calculation of federal upper limits, and that define 'multiple source drug.'

4 Sep 2010

VOA News examines U.S. Global Health Initiative

VOA News examines President Barack Obama's $63 billion Global Health Initiative (GHI), noting the initiative's emphasis on cost-effective strategies to improve child- and maternal-health as well as programs to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. The article includes recent comments by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on the role the GHI will play in strengthening health systems and the administration's on-going commitment to global HIV/AIDS programs.

4 Sep 2010

AVAC calls for economic and political support for CAPRISA 004 microbicide trial's critical follow-up studies

AVAC today issues a call to action to donors, policy-makers, researchers and advocates to ensure that critical follow-up studies to the landmark CAPRISA 004 microbicide trial receive the economic and political support needed to move forward as quickly as possible. The call comes as a group of microbicide and public health experts have agreed upon a plan for further studies, which are expected to cost $100 million over three years, of which only $58 million has been committed.

4 Sep 2010

RIFM publishes special issue on safety assessment of unsaturated alcohols

The Research Institute for Fragrance Materials, Inc. (RIFM) has now published on the RIFM web site, in the Publications section, a special issue of Food and Chemical Toxicology, Volume 48, Supplement 3, on the RIFM Human Health Group Summary, A Safety Assessment of Non-cyclic Alcohols with Unsaturated Branched Chain when used as Fragrance Ingredients.

4 Sep 2010

Exmovere commences development of urban electric vehicle for active women

Exmovere Holdings, Inc., a biomedical engineering company, today announced that it is developing a stand and ride road vehicle to complement its Chariot product line, called the "Red Fury." On June 22nd of this year, Exmovere Holdings engaged Sarah Park as lead industrial designer for this product. The Red Fury is an urban electric vehicle that is based on Sarah Park's unique trapezoid-based design language and is intended to supplant mopeds and electric bicycles.

4 Sep 2010

Up to 5 million kids uninsured but eligible for government programs

As many as 5 million uninsured kids are eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, according to a report published Friday in the journal Health Affairs, Reuters reports.

4 Sep 2010

Uninsured minority pedestrians hit by cars are at higher risk of death: Research

Uninsured minority pedestrians hit by cars are at a significantly higher risk of death than their insured white counterparts, even if the injuries sustained are similar, new research from Johns Hopkins suggests.

4 Sep 2010

Researchers to study protein fragments released into bloodstream after heart attack

A blood test to diagnose which heart attack survivors will suffer heart failure is the goal of a new five-year, $11.6 million contract to the UT Health Science Center San Antonio from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

4 Sep 2010

Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge to enroll five million uninsured children in Medicaid, CHIP

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan today highlighted the Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge to enroll five million children in Medicaid and CHIP within five years. Since Sebelius announced the Challenge last February, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have built an unprecedented coalition of partners, ranging from state governors to national advocacy organizations, who have stepped up to the challenge to enroll kids and educate families.

4 Sep 2010

Study suggest PET/CT scanning may offer effective breast cancer detection, spread

About one-third of women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer will have their cancer travel, or metastasize, to other parts of the body, with the bone being the most common site of initial detectable spread. Controversy continues to surround the question of whether CT and bone scans should be standard in evaluating patients for these metastases, or whether integrated PET/CT scanning might be more effective at detecting breast tumors that have reached nearby bones.

4 Sep 2010

IMF, World Bank announce increased aid measures for flood relief in Pakistan

"The IMF and the World Bank have stepped up aid to flood-hit Pakistan to help the country cope with its worst-ever humanitarian disaster," Agence France-Presse reports.

4 Sep 2010

Colo. lawmaker pushes bill to permit stem cell research

Politico reports that as "Congress prepares to return for a limited pre-election agenda, Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said she has picked up wide support for her bill to permit embryonic stem-cell research and expects it will pass this month. Although it has been strongly opposed by anti-abortion activists, she voiced confidence that the measure will be a political boost for its backers as well as good policy.

4 Sep 2010

Research findings help understand effect of cognitive functions in people with Parkinson's disease

Researchers at Queen's University have found that people with Parkinson's disease can perform automated tasks better than people without the disease, but have significant difficulty switching from easy to hard tasks. The findings are a step towards understanding the aspects of the illness that affect the brain's ability to function on a cognitive level.

4 Sep 2010

Medical News

Almost half of all Americans use prescription drugs each month

At U.N. MDG summit, ministers will propose world currency tax to fund development aid

PELC to conduct annual survey on physicians in health care organizations

Decline in ownership of life insurance

Research provides new framework for quantifying risk of avian-borne diseases

IAS urges to review guidelines for implementing HIV prevention and care

New insight into abnormalities in cancer cells

CMS to withdraw provisions of Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement formula under AMP rule: NACDS, NCPA

VOA News examines U.S. Global Health Initiative

AVAC calls for economic and political support for CAPRISA 004 microbicide trial's critical follow-up studies

RIFM publishes special issue on safety assessment of unsaturated alcohols

Exmovere commences development of urban electric vehicle for active women

Up to 5 million kids uninsured but eligible for government programs

Uninsured minority pedestrians hit by cars are at higher risk of death: Research

Researchers to study protein fragments released into bloodstream after heart attack

Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge to enroll five million uninsured children in Medicaid, CHIP

Study suggest PET/CT scanning may offer effective breast cancer detection, spread

IMF, World Bank announce increased aid measures for flood relief in Pakistan

Colo. lawmaker pushes bill to permit stem cell research

Research findings help understand effect of cognitive functions in people with Parkinson's disease

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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