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Are vitamin D and calcium supplements needed?

The IOM raised the recommended dietary allowance of vitamin D from the amount cited in their last report, released 13 years ago. It said that although 600 international units (IUs) of vitamin D or more each day is sufficient to maintain bone health in majority. But those aged 71 and older may need as much as 800 IUs daily, the IOM experts say. However 1997 recommendations advised 400 IUs per day for people aged 51 to 70 and 600 IUs per day for those over 70.

30 Nov 2010

Number of big babies rise along with obstetric complications

Doctors say that with more babies born oversized mostly to obese or overweight mothers the risks of shoulder injury and getting stuck during labour is on the rise. Horrifyingly sometimes obstetricians are resorting to breaking baby’s collarbones to facilitate delivery because their shoulders get stuck during childbirth. This is usually done in a potentially life-threatening is known as shoulder dystocia that compresses the umbilical cord or puts pressure on the neck, leaving the child starved of oxygen if not delivered immediately.

30 Nov 2010

Doctors on Facebook beware!

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) released a document that details the cautions doctors and medical trainees should take while using social media to protect patient confidentiality and medical careers.

30 Nov 2010

Queensland allied health workers go on strike over pay issues

Nearly 10,000 allied health professionals of Queensland health have gone on strike for 24 hours from midnight (AEST) over a pay dispute with the government. The health workers include occupational therapists, social workers, radiographers, pharmacists, physiotherapists, speech therapists, theatre technicians and dental workers. They feel that the government’s proposed 7.5 per cent pay increase over three years is not enough.

30 Nov 2010

HIV testing rates rise among Americans

A U.S. government report released Tuesday says that a record number of Americans are getting tested for HIV but more than 200,000 Americans are infected and are unaware of their status. In 2009 82.9 million adults age 18 to 64 had been tested for HIV. This is 11.4 million more than the total in 2006. Also until 2009 45 percent of adults had been tested at least once in their lives, up from 40 percent four years ago. However 55 percent of adults, and 28.3 percent of adults at risk for HIV, have never been tested, according to the report.

30 Nov 2010

Gavi Alliance elects new chair to continue global immunisation efforts

Former Norwegian Minister of Health and current member of parliament Dagfinn Høybråten was unanimously elected by the GAVI Alliance Board as its new Chair, GAVI announced on the first day of its board meeting taking place in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

30 Nov 2010

Internists plead Congress to avert scheduled Medicare SGR cut

The American College of Physicians (ACP) today is sending a video to Congressional leaders and others that features internists - speaking in their own words (http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/video/sgr.htm) - issuing a heartfelt plea for Congress to avert the scheduled Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) cut and work toward putting an end to the repeated cycle of cuts. The 3-minute and 25-second video emphasizes how patients, in particular, will be hurt by the scheduled cuts.

30 Nov 2010

Canadians at increased risk for flu complications not aware of all the facts

It starts with a headache, chills or that all-over-achy feeling. It comes on quickly, yet too many Canadians ignore the rapid onset of flu symptoms. But for the millions of Canadians at increased risk for developing serious complications from the flu, including people 65 and older, pregnant women and those with chronic medical conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, heart disease and diabetes, this 'laissez faire' attitude could be putting their health in jeopardy.

30 Nov 2010

Evidence of evolutionary protection against inbreeding in women?

Through an innovative use of cell phone records, researchers at UCLA, the University of Miami and Cal State, Fullerton, have found that women appear to avoid contact with their fathers during ovulation.

30 Nov 2010

Columbia board amends Stockholder Rights Plan

Columbia Laboratories, Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors has amended its Stockholder Rights Plan (the "Rights Plan"), adopted March 12, 2002, to preserve the value of significant tax assets associated with the Company's tax net operating loss carryforwards ("NOLs") under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code.

30 Nov 2010

Accelr8 extends technology evaluation agreement for BACcel rapid diagnostic system

Accelr8 Technology Corporation announced that it extended its technology evaluation agreement for its BACcel™ rapid diagnostic system with a global diagnostics company. The original agreement was announced on June 17, 2010. The essential terms remain unchanged and continue the funding to Accelr8 during the extended project period.

30 Nov 2010

Ascension Health to deploy MedAssets' suite of charge integrity solutions

Ascension Health, the nation's largest Catholic and non-profit health system, signed a long-term agreement to deploy MedAssets' suite of charge integrity solutions and consulting services to drive best practices and standardize the management of its charge and acquisition cost data at more than 65 of its acute care locations.

30 Nov 2010

Largest remote health monitoring project in the world launched in China

Canada-based IDEAL LIFE and China's Shandong NovaTech Biological Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer and medical products distribution network in China, announced the launch of the largest remote health monitoring project in the world, bringing wireless, remote health monitoring to the People's Republic of China.

30 Nov 2010

RRIA adds ZixGateway Inbound email scanner for unsecure protected health information

Zix Corporation, the leader in email encryption services, announces that Riverside Radiology and Interventional Associates (RRIA) has enhanced its current three-year contract by adding ZixGatewayTM Inbound, an appliance that automatically scans inbound email for unsecure protected health information (PHI).

30 Nov 2010

Neuraltus reports positive results from NP001 Phase 1 study for ALS

Neuraltus Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing high-impact therapeutics that address critical unmet medical needs, primarily for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, announced today top-line results from the Company's Phase 1 clinical study of NP001 for the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease).

30 Nov 2010

NxStage Medisystems division commences distribution through Metro Medical

NxStage Medical, Inc., a leading manufacturer of innovative dialysis products, today announced that its Medisystems division has started distributing its in-center products through Metro Medical Supply, Inc., a leading full-service dialysis supplies provider. NxStage has given Metro Medical non-exclusive distribution rights to Medisystems' products, including its premier bloodline, Streamline® and its MasterGuard® and ButtonHole® needles, to dialysis centers throughout the United States.

30 Nov 2010

Intellikine and MMRC commence INK128 Phase I trial in multiple myeloma

Intellikine, a leader in the development of small molecule drugs targeting the PI3K/mTOR pathway, and the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) today announced the initiation of a phase I trial of INK128, a novel, orally-available small molecule kinase inhibitor of the TORC1 and TORC2 complexes, in patients with multiple myeloma.

30 Nov 2010

Kenneth Rainin announces 2011 Innovator Awards Program for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The Kenneth Rainin Foundation announced today its 2011 Innovator Awards Program for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The Program, now in its second year, is designed to accelerate the pace of discovery in IBD research.

30 Nov 2010

Zogenix completes enrollment in ZX002 Phase 3 study for moderate to severe pain

Zogenix, Inc. today announced completion of enrollment in its open-label Phase 3 safety study (Study 802) of ZX002. ZX002 is a novel, oral, single-entity, controlled-release formulation of hydrocodone for the treatment of moderate to severe pain in patients requiring around-the-clock opioid therapy for an extended period of time.

30 Nov 2010

Cyrenaic announces results of CYR-101 Phase IIa clinical trial for schizophrenia

Cyrenaic Pharmaceuticals Inc. a private drug development company focused on the treatment of CNS disorders, today announced Phase IIa clinical results for CYR-101, its novel investigational drug for the treatment of schizophrenia. The results from the study showed that the drug alleviated the symptoms of the disease, including the negative and cognitive symptoms.

30 Nov 2010