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Kaiser examines latest data and trends in Medicaid long-term services and supports

The Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) has released a package of resources that examine the latest data findings regarding Medicaid’s long-term services and supports for seniors and people with disabilities.

7 Feb 2011

Obesity rates double worldwide

The latest research has shown that obesity is on the rise worldwide and has actually doubled since 1980. On the other hand people in the developed countries have also managed to reduce their blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This comes from three new studies published online Feb. 3 in The Lancet.

7 Feb 2011

Gastric bypass surgery good for the heart in obese: Study

A new study has found that gastric bypass surgery, besides enabling severely obese people to lose weight, may also help their overly stressed hearts return to more normal function and appearance. The study appeared in the Feb. 8 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

7 Feb 2011

Bottle-feeding may lead to severe tooth decay in babies: Experts

Dental experts have urged parents to stop bottle-feeding their babies because of rising rates of severe tooth decay in infants as young as 12 months. In the warning from Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, experts say that prolonged feeding with bottles of breast milk and infant formula are linked to the problem, especially at night, when children suck on bottles in their cots for extended periods.

7 Feb 2011

Nutritional deficiencies among indigenous populations: two studies

They find iodine deficiency for the first time among an Aboriginal population in the NT. This deficiency was previously thought to occur only in the nation’s south-eastern states. The study involved nearly 400 teenagers of aboriginal origin living in remote as well as urban areas of the Darwin Health Region, which covers 120,000 km-square of the top end of the NT.

7 Feb 2011

Mothballs may cause brain damage in babies: Experts

Pediatricians have called for a ban on the sale of mothballs containing the chemical naphthalene citing evidence that these can lead to severe blood problems and even brain damage for significant numbers of Australian babies.

7 Feb 2011

Health care fraud: No longer a faceless crime, now it has a mug shot

Health care fraud once was a faceless crime. Now it has a mug shot, even a smile.

7 Feb 2011

Abortion issues will take center stage this week in the House

Two House subcommittees are scheduled to hold hearings on separate pieces of legislation that would expand restrictions on federal funding for abortions.

7 Feb 2011

Zeria obtains Japanese regulatory clearance for HemCon products

HemCon Medical Technologies, Inc. is pleased to announce that its partner in Japan, Zeria Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., has obtained regulatory clearance from the Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare for the HemCon® Bandage, GuardaCare™ and ChitoGauze™ product lines and will begin sales through Zeria's subsidiary, Zeria Shoji Co., Ltd.

7 Feb 2011

CryoPort announces closing of first round of private placement

CryoPort, Inc. today announced it has closed the first round of a private placement with various accredited investors for $4.4 million. The Company obtained agreements to purchase 6,335,318 units at $0.70 per share; each unit consists of one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $0.77 per share, pursuant to a Securities Purchase Agreement.

7 Feb 2011

State Roundup: Setting up health insurance exchanges; Community-based clinics cuts; Autism legislation; End-of-life care

The board of the Health Benefit Exchange is going to be small and mighty. ... This exchange will concentrate the health insurance buying power of millions of Californians, and will be the central force in implementing national health care reform in California (Gorn, 2/4).

7 Feb 2011

Acupuncture and exercise help women with PCOS

Acupuncture and physical exercise improve hormone levels and menstrual bleeding pattern in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), reveals research from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

7 Feb 2011

Ornim receives FDA 510(k) clearance for non-invasive monitoring of blood flow in tissue

Ornim, Inc. is pleased to announce the receipt of 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the CerOx 3210F monitor. Additionally to its previous clearance for non-invasive monitoring of regional hemoglobin oxygen saturation in the brain or skeletal muscle, the CerOx 3210F is now also intended for use as a non-invasive monitor of blood flow in tissue of adults.

7 Feb 2011

Viewpoints: (Still) Debating health law's constitutionality; Food labels; Lawmakers' abortion divide

For state governments, the bill presents huge new costs, as we are required to enroll 15 million to 20 million more people in our Medicaid systems. ... Perhaps worse, the law expects to conscript the states as its agents in its takeover of health care. It assumes that we will set up and operate its new insurance "exchanges" for it (Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, 2/7).

7 Feb 2011

XDx and LabCorp enter non-hospital provider agreement for AlloMap molecular expression tests

XDx, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company focused on noninvasive gene expression tests to monitor immune-mediated conditions, today announced that it has entered into a multi-year agreement with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings to provide heart transplant patients eligible for XDx's AlloMap® test with the convenience of having their blood drawn at participating LabCorp sites across the United States.

7 Feb 2011

Harbor BioSciences closes U.S.-based Apoptone Phase I/IIa clinical trial for castration resistant prostate cancer

Harbor BioSciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, metabolic and inflammatory diseases, today announced it is closing the clinical sites of its U.S.-based Phase I/IIa clinical trial with Apoptone® (HE3235) for castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) – also referred to as hormone resistant prostate cancer.

7 Feb 2011

CMD co-founder receives Prize4Life award for discovery of new ALS biomarker

Convergence Medical Devices (CMD) today announced that its co-founder, Dr. Seward Rutkove, Chief of the Division of Neuromuscular Disease at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, received Prize4Life's prestigious award for the discovery of a new biomarker for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

7 Feb 2011

Scientists develop low cost, nanometer-sized drug to treat chronic wounds

A low cost, nanometer-sized drug to treat chronic wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers or burns, has been developed by a group of scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Harvard Medical School and others in the U.S. and Japan.

7 Feb 2011

SANUWAVE Health raises $4,102,660 from exercise of Options

SANUWAVE Health, Inc., an emerging medical technology company focused on regenerative medicine, announces that it has raised gross proceeds of $4,102,660 from the exercise of Options that were issued as part of the sale of Units to accredited investors during 2010. The Options had an expiration date of January 31, 2011.

7 Feb 2011

Unison Health Plan of Pennsylvania announces name change to UnitedHealthcare Community Plan

Unison Health Plan of Pennsylvania, based in Monroeville, has joined its Philadelphia-based sister company, AmeriChoice of Pennsylvania, under the name UnitedHealthcare Community Plan. The combined plans serve more than 280,000 health plan members in Pennsylvania.

7 Feb 2011