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African leaders agree to expand maternal health campaign as AU Summit concludes

African leaders participating in the 15th African Union Summit, which concluded on Tuesday, agreed to expand a campaign aimed at curbing maternal mortality on the continent and adopted other "key actions" in an effort to reduce infant and maternal mortality, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports.

29 Jul 2010

WellCare Health Plans awarded URAC accreditation

WellCare Health Plans, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a Full Health Plan Accreditation for its HealthEase of Florida and WellCare of Florida subsidiaries by URAC, a Washington, DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry. URAC's Health Plan Accreditation standards include key quality benchmarks for network management, provider credentialing, utilization management, quality management and improvement and consumer protection.

29 Jul 2010

MedTera, HealthPrize Technologies partner to help patients self-manage their diseases

MedTera, an integrated marketing solutions company dedicated to improving education, promotion and communications in the healthcare, life sciences and pharmaceutical industries, today announced its formal partnership with HealthPrize Technologies, a web-based software company that motivates people to fill and stay on prescription medications.

29 Jul 2010

Intensive chemotherapy may benefit elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia

The prognosis for nearly three-quarters of elderly patients on intensive chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is poor, with a median survival of less than six months, according to a study published online today in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology. AML is the most common form of acute leukemia among adults and is a rapidly growing cancer of the bone marrow that requires immediate treatment. The average age at diagnosis is 67, and more than 12,000 people will be diagnosed with AML this year (according to the National Cancer Institute).

29 Jul 2010

Scientists identify new targets to develop treatment for HD

Scientists at the Buck Institute for Age Research have discovered that a particular family of enzymes are involved in the breakdown of proteins that modify the production of toxic fragments that lead to the pathology of Huntington's disease. These enzymes, matrix metalloproteinases, provide new targets for drug therapies for the disease - targets that have already been shown to respond to cancer drugs currently in clinical development.

29 Jul 2010

Scientists develop new surgical procedure for prostate cancer using natural orifices

With a recent first of its kind surgery, physicians at Mayo Clinic in Arizona have developed a new surgical procedure for the treatment of prostate cancer using natural orifices - signaling the next step in the evolution of minimally invasive surgery.

29 Jul 2010

Genetic signals determine neurotransmitter use for communication

Cascades of genetic signals determine which neurotransmitter a brain cell will ultimately use to communicate with other cells. Now a pair of reports from biologists at the University of California, San Diego, have shown for the first time that electrical activity in these developing neurons can alter their chemical fate-and change an animal's behavior-by tweaking this genetic program.

29 Jul 2010

Study reveals high rate of atrial fibrillation in patients with early stages of CKD

Millions of Americans in the early stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at an increased risk of having atrial fibrillation (AF) - a major risk factor for stroke - according to new research by investigators at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

29 Jul 2010

Mayo leaps into social media marketing

The Mayo Clinic is opening a school of social media for health providers, the (Minneapolis-St. Paul) Star Tribune reports. The new "Center for Social Media… [will] train other health care organizations to use Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to connect patients and doctors.

29 Jul 2010

Harvard psychologists develop new tests to predict suicide risk

Two powerful new tests developed by psychologists at Harvard University show great promise in predicting patients' risk of attempting suicide.

29 Jul 2010

FRC Action, pro-life groups urge FDA to reject approval of Ella

Today FRC Action joined 19 pro-life groups in a letter sent to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg requesting that Ella, a drug under consideration for FDA approval that can cause abortions but is misleadingly labeled as an "emergency contraceptive," not be approved.

29 Jul 2010

Expanded Kindred Hospital Sacramento opened in Folsom, California

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. today announced the opening of the newly constructed and expanded Kindred Hospital Sacramento in Folsom, California, and the expansion of its Peoplefirst HomeCare and Hospice business in Boston, Massachusetts, and Denver, Colorado.

29 Jul 2010

PFSCM wins Supply Chain Innovation Award, Best Value Supply Chain Provider Award

The Partnership for Supply Chain Management, a partner of the U.S. Agency for International Development under the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, has won two prestigious awards for groundbreaking work on PEPFAR's Supply Chain Management System. PFSCM received the Supply Chain Innovation Award and Best Value Supply Chain Provider Award during the European Supply Chain and Logistics Summit held in Prague.

29 Jul 2010

Community Health Systems second-quarter net operating revenues increase 5.1% to $3.2 billion

Community Health Systems, Inc. today announced financial and operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2010.

29 Jul 2010

IBM, UPMC partner to provide redesigned SmartRoom solution with service-oriented architecture

IBM and UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) are teaming up to bring "smarter" hospital rooms to patients nationwide. Created by UPMC three years ago to bring the right patient information to the bedside when it's needed, the high-tech "smart room" now features new capabilities, namely a system for automatically organizing and prioritizing the work of nurses and other caregivers. Under a new agreement, IBM will be the exclusive sales channel for the SmartRoom solution and will help to implement the technology for customers.

29 Jul 2010

State Senate passes legislation to protect, return wandering elders with Alzheimer's disease

The Alzheimer's Association announced that passage of legislation today by the State Senate to establish a Silver Alert program will help hundreds of thousands in Massachusetts. The legislation, passed unanimously last week in the House, calls for program similar to Amber Alert with distinct differences. Silver Alert will be activated when an adult with Alzheimer's or other type of dementia wanders.

29 Jul 2010

Sanofi-aventis U.S joins Dispensary of Hope's Continued Access Program

The Dispensary of Hope is pleased to announce that sanofi-aventis U.S., the U.S. affiliate of sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, has become the latest pharmaceutical company to participate in the Dispensary's Continued Access Program, which provides uninsured patients with access to medicines that they otherwise couldn't afford.

29 Jul 2010

Champions Biotechnology fiscal 2010 operating revenues increase to $4.89 million

Champions Biotechnology, Inc., a company engaged in the development of advanced preclinical platforms and tumor specific data to enhance the value of oncology drugs, today announced its financial results for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2010.

29 Jul 2010

Quest Diagnostics' Fragile X Syndrome test receives New York State health department approval

An accurate, faster testing option to identify female carriers and other patients with genetic abnormalities that cause Fragile X Syndrome is now available to physicians in all fifty states with the recent approval in New York. Fragile X is the leading cause of inherited mental retardation and the most common known single gene cause of autism.

From Quest Diagnostics 29 Jul 2010

New implantable sensor to continuously monitor tissue glucose

Bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego and GlySens Incorporated have developed an implantable glucose sensor and wireless telemetry system that continuously monitors tissue glucose and transmits the information to an external receiver. The paper, published in the July 28, 2010 issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine, describes the use of this glucose-sensing device as an implant in animals for over one year. After human clinical trials and FDA approval, the device may be useful to people with diabetes as an alternative to finger sticking and short-term, needle-like glucose sensors that have to be replaced every three to seven days.

29 Jul 2010

Medical News

African leaders agree to expand maternal health campaign as AU Summit concludes

WellCare Health Plans awarded URAC accreditation

MedTera, HealthPrize Technologies partner to help patients self-manage their diseases

Intensive chemotherapy may benefit elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Scientists identify new targets to develop treatment for HD

Scientists develop new surgical procedure for prostate cancer using natural orifices

Genetic signals determine neurotransmitter use for communication

Study reveals high rate of atrial fibrillation in patients with early stages of CKD

Mayo leaps into social media marketing

Harvard psychologists develop new tests to predict suicide risk

FRC Action, pro-life groups urge FDA to reject approval of Ella

Expanded Kindred Hospital Sacramento opened in Folsom, California

PFSCM wins Supply Chain Innovation Award, Best Value Supply Chain Provider Award

Community Health Systems second-quarter net operating revenues increase 5.1% to $3.2 billion

IBM, UPMC partner to provide redesigned SmartRoom solution with service-oriented architecture

State Senate passes legislation to protect, return wandering elders with Alzheimer's disease

Sanofi-aventis U.S joins Dispensary of Hope's Continued Access Program

Champions Biotechnology fiscal 2010 operating revenues increase to $4.89 million

Quest Diagnostics' Fragile X Syndrome test receives New York State health department approval

New implantable sensor to continuously monitor tissue glucose

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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