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Herpes zoster vaccine reduces risk of developing shingles by 55%

Receiving the herpes zoster vaccine was associated with a 55 percent reduced risk of developing shingles, according to a Kaiser Permanente study of 300,000 people that appears in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

12 Jan 2011

5 easy steps to improve heart health

Did you know that a good night's sleep can help prevent heart disease? There are many simple ways to lower your risk.

12 Jan 2011

Coventry Health Care offers new medicare plans for employer group

Coventry Health Care of Florida is first to the greater Tampa market with a portfolio of hybrid PPO health care plans that blend the best features of traditional co-pay based plans with the freedom and affordability of consumer-directed plans.

12 Jan 2011

More states join lawsuit challenging the health law

As power shifts at the state level, news outlets report that Georgia, Ohio and Wisconsin are joining the multi-state challenge. The individual mandate is the focus of this legal action.

12 Jan 2011

Behavioral therapies help improve bladder control in men following prostate cancer surgery

Behavioral therapies such as pelvic-floor-muscle training and bladder-control strategies can reduce incontinence episodes by more than 50 percent in men following prostate-cancer surgery, according to new research from the Center for Aging at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Birmingham/Atlanta Veterans Affairs Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center.

12 Jan 2011

Vermillion receives USPTO patent for PAD biomarker

Vermillion, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent number 7,867,719 entitled "Beta-2 microglobulin as a biomarker for peripheral artery disease" to the Company.

12 Jan 2011

SCRI to lead clinical development of AstraZeneca's novel targeted oncology compound

AstraZeneca and Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI), an international leader in advancing therapies for cancer patients through clinical research, today announced that SCRI will lead the clinical development of a novel targeted oncology compound from AstraZeneca.

12 Jan 2011

Digital medical records continue to trigger difficult issues

News outlets report on challenges associated with the push to go digital in the next five years.

12 Jan 2011

Common rubber products can cause contact allergy: Study

Common rubber products can form isothiocyanates in contact with skin and cause contact allergy. This is the conclusion of research carried out at the University of Gothenburg. Isothiocyanates are a group of reactive substances that are potent contact allergens.

12 Jan 2011

Avinger raises $25 million for catheter development and commercialization

Avinger, Inc., medical device manufacturer of innovative, multi-functional catheters for treating peripheral artery disease (PAD), recently completed a $25 million Series B round of funding from a syndicate of highly successful entrepreneurs and executives.

12 Jan 2011

Acne bacterium may also cause infections all over the body

A bacterium which causes acne and is commonly found on the skin, is now known to cause infections all over the body. Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes)5 has been associated with infections of artificial joints and heart valves (endocarditis), as well as eye infections and chest infections - which are common at this time of year.

12 Jan 2011

BPH, hair loss prevention drugs may produce adverse side effects in men

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine, in collaboration with colleagues at Lahey Clinic and from Denmark and Germany, have found that 5a-reductase inhibitors, while improving urinary symptoms in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia and possible hair loss prevention, produces significant adverse effects in some individuals including loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory dysfunction and potential depression.

12 Jan 2011

Emerging Healthcare enters option agreement with OceanBASIS

Emerging Healthcare Solutions, Inc. announced today that it has entered into an option agreement with OceanBASIS, a German company specializing in stem-cell and marine-collagen technologies and products.

12 Jan 2011

Eli Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim enter global agreement to develop and commercialize diabetes compounds

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company today announced a global agreement to jointly develop and commercialize a portfolio of diabetes compounds currently in mid- and late-stage development.

12 Jan 2011

WSJ: After years of decline, abortion rate rises

Rachel Jones, senior research associate at Guttmacher, said the stalled decline may be tied to several factors, such as the fact that teenage-pregnancy rates appear to have stopped falling and the absence of any gains in contraceptive use in recent years.

12 Jan 2011

FDA accepts Merck's JANUMET extended-release formulation NDA for type 2 diabetes

Merck today announced that the New Drug Application (NDA) for the Company's investigational extended-release formulation of JANUMET for type 2 diabetes has been accepted for standard review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Company is also moving forward as planned with regulatory filings in countries outside the United States.

12 Jan 2011

Patients who consume painkillers may face cardiovascular risk

The drugs include traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as well as new generation anti-inflammatory drugs, known as COX-2 inhibitors. The researchers say that doctors and patients need to be aware that prescription of any anti-inflammatory drug needs to take cardiovascular risk into account.

12 Jan 2011

Researchers: Docs often use treatments that have little scientific support

Even when following medical guidelines to the letter, doctors often use treatments that have little or no scientific support, U.S. researchers said Monday.

11 Jan 2011

Pro and con: Varying perspectives on the overhaul

While Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, detailed what he sees as flaws in the health overhaul, Obama administration advisor Nancy-Ann DeParle defended the measure.

11 Jan 2011

Rib-X raises $20M to support development of broad spectrum antibiotics pipeline

Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the Company has raised $20 million to support ongoing development of the Company's industry-leading broad spectrum antibiotics pipeline, including late-stage clinical development of delafloxacin, which is expected to enter a Phase 2b study in early 2011.

11 Jan 2011