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AstraZeneca grants $2.5 million to 14 U.S.-based organizations to improve cardiovascular health

The AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation today announced grants totaling more than $2.5 million to 14 U.S.-based nonprofit organizations from Maine to California dedicated to improving cardiovascular health in local communities.

8 Mar 2011

Costs and profits: News from the hospital industry

The Boston Globe reports on how Children's Hospital Boston is zeroing in on its costs. Meanwhile, the LA Times reports on another example of regional variation in the cost of care.

8 Mar 2011

Experts develop financial modeling tool to assess economic impact linked with accountable care

Experts from 28 of the nation's leading health systems developed a comprehensive financial modeling tool to assess the economic impact associated with a system-wide transition to accountable care.

8 Mar 2011

Ambry, RainDance enter new collaboration to develop and commercialize ADME screening

RainDance Technologies, Inc. and Ambry Genetics, today announced a new collaboration focused on the development and commercialization of a comprehensive drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion genetic screening panel for use on next-generation sequencing systems.

8 Mar 2011

FDA clears Spacelabs' EFM Visualization used in Anesthesia System

OSI Systems, Inc., a vertically-integrated provider of specialized electronic products for critical applications in the Security and Healthcare industries, today announced that its Healthcare division, Spacelabs Healthcare, has received FDA 510k clearance for Enhanced Flow Meter Visualization which will be utilized on the BleaseSirius Anesthesia System.

7 Mar 2011

13 heart disease risk genes identified

Researchers have found 13 new gene variants that might increase the risk of heart disease. Heart disease being the largest killer worldwide, this discovery could shed light on causes and lead to more effective treatments.

7 Mar 2011

New Lupus drug marching towards approval

A new drug for lupus from the Human Genome Sciences Inc is all set to get clearance in the US this week. If all goes through, this drug will offer patients the first approved treatment option in a half-century, setting the manufacturer up for huge sales.

7 Mar 2011

Prevalence of eating disorders higher than previously thought

A new study shows that many American adolescents suffer from an eating disorder and struggle with related psychiatric disorders, including suicidal tendencies. The researchers write, “The prevalence of these disorders is higher than previously expected in this age range, and the patterns of [co-existing illnesses], role impairment and suicidality indicate that eating disorders represent a major public health concern.” Led by Sonja A. Swanson, of the National Institute of Mental Health, the research team reported the findings online March 7 in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

7 Mar 2011

Prevalence of bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric disorder that swings between depression and mania. It strikes early and can cause lifelong disability. Reports show that it is chronically undertreated in many low-income countries.

7 Mar 2011

Down’s syndrome could be detected in mother’s blood test

European researchers have devised a blood test that could help pregnant women avoid the invasive procedures now used to diagnose Down syndrome prenatally and make the diagnosis with 100% accuracy. The study report was published this Sunday in Nature Medicine.

7 Mar 2011

FDA says no cause for alarm on vaccines for meningitis and pneumonia

According to US health officials there are no reports that arouse new safety concerns over two children’s vaccines that have been suspended in Japan following the deaths of four babies.

7 Mar 2011

5a-reductase inhibitors for male health problems can affect sexual health

A new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine reveals that, for the first time, 5a-reductase inhibitors commonly used to treat urinary problems in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and found in popular medications to treat hair loss, can produce, persistent erectile dysfunction (ED), depression and loss of libido, even after the medication has been discontinued.

7 Mar 2011

Now get a 3-D kidney printout to replace damaged kidneys: A regeneration science innovation

In what seems like science fiction, Dr. Anthony Atala, a regenerative medicine specialist at Wake Forest University, is pioneering the use of printing techniques to reconstruct and repair human flesh and organs. His basis is a combination of cultured human cells and scaffolding built or woven from organic material.

7 Mar 2011

Mother and baby report card for NSW

The Government statistics on births in New South Wales Mothers and Babies 2008, which was released on Saturday. It showed that 96,343 babies were born in NSW that year - 12 per cent more than the 85,262 born in 2004.

7 Mar 2011

Flinders overcrowding problems to be addressed

The Health Minister John Hill has promised to find ways to ease overcrowding at Flinders Medical Centre (FMC) in Adelaide. At present ambulance crews have left people on stretchers in the hospital’s corridors or in ambulances for long periods before they can be given emergency beds sources reveal.

7 Mar 2011

Olivia’s cancer center’s future hangs in balance due to funds crunch

After the new Victorian government said that there is a “black hole” in funding the project, the proposed Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre in Melbourne may face difficulties in coming into being. About 2000 Victorians are expected to receive treatment at the centre, which was due to open in early 2013.

7 Mar 2011

New concerns over prescription narcotics use

Over fifty Australian general practitioners have come under the scanner as part of a national crackdown on inappropriate prescribing of narcotics. The three-month campaign is being carried out by the Medicare following high levels of prescriptions for drugs such as OxyContin and OxyNorm. One GP has been found to be writing over 90 per cent of their prescriptions for narcotics. There are further concerns that the painkillers are being resold on the black market.

7 Mar 2011

Article sheds new light on neural mechanisms for flashbacks

Flashbacks are an elusive phenomenon, but an article published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics sheds some new light on potential mechanisms in an healthy man with an history of near drawing.

7 Mar 2011

Aerie Pharmaceuticals closes $30 million Series B financing

Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of medical innovations in ophthalmology, today announced the closing of a $30 million Series B financing.

7 Mar 2011

Hadasit, Yissum license innovative regenerative membrane implant to RegeneCure

Yissum Research Development Company Ltd., the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Hadasit Medical Research Services & Development Ltd., the technology transfer company of the Hadassah University Medical Center, today announced that they have licensed innovative regenerative membrane implant technology to RegeneCure, which will further develop and commercialize the technology for bone tissue engineering for applications in trauma, spine, and reconstructive cranial and facial orthopedics.

7 Mar 2011