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Dems eye Ryan Medicare plan as political opportunity

With Obama administration officials part of the campaign against the Ryan plan, other opponents also are stepping forward and launching a new wave of television ads in Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan's very own congressional district. Meanwhile, The Washington Post analyzes some of the poll numbers behind where voters may stand on Medicare cuts.

27 Apr 2011

Researchers investigate new device that can recognize early heart attack signs

When a heart attack begins, a stopwatch starts. With each passing minute heart tissue is deprived of blood, causing it to deteriorate or die. In order to minimize damage to the heart, blood flow must be restored promptly, or the effects can be serious, often even fatal.

27 Apr 2011

Grant Memorial selects HMS to provide full suite of products for Petersburg hospital

Grant Memorial Hospital has selected Healthcare Management Systems Inc. to provide a full suite of integrated clinical and financial applications for the 45-bed hospital in Petersburg, W.V. Having evaluated a number of systems, Grant was impressed with HMS' ability to address its patient-care needs as a small community hospital.

27 Apr 2011

EPO grants patent to Microbix' VIRUSMAX vaccine enhancement technology

Microbix Biosystems Inc., a biotechnology company commercializing novel technologies to enhance vaccine production yields, and other innovative biologics, announced today that the European Patent Office recently granted patent protection for the company's proprietary VIRUSMAX technology, which is designed to increase influenza vaccine yields and has demonstrated an average yield increase of at least two-fold over current vaccine production methods.

27 Apr 2011

Children, adolescents with liver disease may not benefit from vitamin E or metformin

In contrast to previous preliminary data, use of vitamin E or the diabetes drug metformin was not superior to placebo on a measured outcome for treating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in children and adolescents, according to a study in the April 27 issue of JAMA.

27 Apr 2011

Brain-derived protein in colorectal cancer

Tumor progression is usually ensured by more than one proliferative mechanism. When one of these is shut down by a specifically targeted drug, other mechanisms may emerge. While these events may lead to treatment failure, they may also become an opportunity for researchers to identify novel targets to be further explored.

27 Apr 2011

World could meet U.N. goal of almost ending malaria deaths by 2015, U.N. special envoy for malaria says

International efforts to fight malaria are "on track" to almost end malaria-related deaths by 2015, Ray Chambers, the U.N. secretary-general's special envoy for malaria, said on Monday, the Associated Press reports.

27 Apr 2011

Synthes, JNJ sign merger agreement for orthopaedics business

Johnson & Johnson, the world's most comprehensive and broadly-based manufacturer of health care products, and Synthes, Inc., a premier global manufacturer of orthopaedic devices, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Johnson & Johnson will acquire Synthes for CHF159 per share, or $21.3 billion.

27 Apr 2011

Blueberries may help fight obesity

Recently a study out of the Texas Women's University looked at whether blueberries with their high polyphenol content could help in fighting obesity. Blueberries after all have already been cited as having positive health effects on other conditions like cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. The study was conducted in Petri dishes (not live animals) using a blueberry polyphenol extract and tissue cultures from mice.

27 Apr 2011

BioInvent, ThromboGenics initiate TB-402 Phase IIb trial for VTE prophylaxis

ThromboGenics NV and co-development partner BioInvent International announce today that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase IIb trial with their novel long-acting anticoagulant TB-402 for the prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism after total hip surgery.

27 Apr 2011

Study finds gender difference in immune responses to PTSD

Men and women had starkly different immune system responses to chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, with men showing no response and women showing a strong response, in two studies by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.

27 Apr 2011

Boehringer Ingelheim initiates enrollment in BI 201335 Phase 3 clinical trial for chronic HCV

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that enrollment has commenced at North American sites in its pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial program for BI 201335, the Company's investigational, oral protease inhibitor for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV).

27 Apr 2011

Brookside Surgery Center to participate in iUni G2 knee implant trial

Dr. Joseph Burkhardt of Brookside Surgery Center is participating in a ten year follow-up trial of the ConforMIS iUni G2 knee resurfacing device, an FDA cleared implant for patients with osteoarthritic damage in a single compartment of the knee.

27 Apr 2011

Rxi secures SBIR grants to develop novel RNAi therapeutics for ALS

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative therapies addressing major unmet medical needs using RNA-targeted and immunotherapy technologies, today announced that it was awarded two Small Business Innovation Research grants from the National Institutes of Health.

27 Apr 2011

Study links readmissions with nurse overtime

Fewer patients returned to the hospital soon after leaving when hospitals reduced nurse overtime, according to a newly released study. The research, published in the journal Health Services Research, analyzed records for roughly 1,900 patients at four hospitals during the first half of 2008.

27 Apr 2011

Positive results from Sanofi-aventis and Regeneron ZALTRAP Phase III study in mCRC

Sanofi-aventis and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the Phase III VELOUR trial evaluating the investigational agent ZALTRAP, also known as VEGF Trap, in combination with the FOLFIRI chemotherapy regimen versus a regimen of FOLFIRI plus placebo met its primary endpoint of improving overall survival in the second-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.

27 Apr 2011

Heparan sulfate may have a key role in tumor-spurred lymphatic vessel growth

Cancer has a mighty big bag of tricks that it uses to evade the body's natural defense mechanisms and proliferate. Among those tricks is one that allows tumor cells to turn the intricate and extensive system of lymphatic vessels into something of a highway to metastasis. Yet research unveiled this week may aid in the development of therapeutics that will put the brakes on such cancer spread, and the researchers who completed the study say the findings may extend to other lymphatic disorders.

27 Apr 2011