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Mass. regulators and nursing homes fight inappropriate medicating; officials deal with Hawaii doctor shortage

State regulators and the Massachusetts nursing home industry are launching a campaign today to reduce the inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications for residents with dementia.

19 Nov 2010

Robot-assisted endoscope removes salivary stone, repairs duct

Dr. Rohan Walvekar, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Director of Clinical Research and the Salivary Endoscopy Service at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has reported the first use of a surgical robot guided by a miniature salivary endoscope to remove a 20mm salivary stone and repair the salivary duct of a 31-year-old patient.

19 Nov 2010

Study: Hospitals use clout to jack up prices

A new study claims some hospitals command far greater prices from commercial insurers than their nearby competitors, suggesting they have the clout to demand higher rates.

19 Nov 2010

Medicare committee recommends expensive drug for some prostate-cancer patients

A new treatment for prostate cancer called Provenge won a vote of confidence from a Medicare coverage advisory committee Wednesday, suggesting the federal program is likely to pay for the $93,000-per-patient medicine.

19 Nov 2010

Transplantation of gene-modified hematopoietic stem cells eliminates cancer: Research

A potent anti-tumor gene introduced into mice with metastatic melanoma has resulted in permanent immune reconfiguration and produced a complete remission of their cancer, according to an article to be published in the December 2010 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

19 Nov 2010

Fla. Republicans want flexibility; facing shortfall, Idaho looks to volunteers; Mass. dental audit reveals millions in wasted funds

Florida Republican leaders made a clear statement during a special legislative session Tuesday: They want to overhaul the Medicaid program and don't want the federal government tying their hands. But that might ignore Washington realities. Congress this year required states to increase the number of people eligible for Medicaid in the future — the opposite of giving Florida more flexibility to run the program.

19 Nov 2010

FDA clears Multi-Lead Trialing Cable for SCS therapy

Medtronic Inc., the leader in spinal cord stimulation for more than 25 years, today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance and the global launch of the Multi-Lead Trialing Cable for use in the patient screening test for Medtronic spinal cord stimulation (SCS) therapy.

19 Nov 2010

Multinational team identifies novel retinal disease gene

A multinational team effort of Regensburg's Institute of Human Genetics, Washington University in St. Louis, other partners and Genomatix elucidated a transcriptional network in photoreceptors and thereby identified a novel retinal disease gene

19 Nov 2010

National monitoring essential for preventing emergence of malaria drug resistance

WHO is calling on countries to be increasingly vigilant in monitoring antimalarial drug efficacy in order to allow for early detection of artemisinin resistance.1 This is one among several conclusions of the Global report on antimalarial drug efficacy and drug resistance: 2000-2010, released today. The report is based on 1100 studies conducted by national malaria control programs and research institutes over the ten-year period.

19 Nov 2010

Glutaminase inhibitor: New potential target for brain tumors

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have identified a compound that could be used to starve cancers of their sugar-based building blocks. The compound, called a glutaminase inhibitor, has been tested on laboratory cultured, sugar-hungry brain cancer cells and, the scientists say, may have the potential to be used for many types of primary brain tumors.

19 Nov 2010

Crescent Healthcare to open infusion pharmacy in New Jersey

Crescent Healthcare today announced a planned expansion of their east coast operations in 2011. They signed a lease to open an infusion pharmacy in Totowa, New Jersey, central to providing immune globulin therapies and services to current patients in Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, and Rhode Island.

19 Nov 2010

Kansas Attorney General-elect announces plans to fight health law in court

Challenges to the federal health law grow but a group of bipartisan lawmakers ask a judge in Florida to let them express support for the measure in that important case.

19 Nov 2010

AVEO announces results from tivozanib Phase 1b clinical trial for advanced gastrointestinal cancers

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing cancer therapeutics, today announced results from a Phase 1b clinical trial evaluating the company's lead product candidate, tivozanib, a highly potent and selective inhibitor of VEGF receptors 1, 2, and 3, in combination with FOLFOX6, a standard chemotherapy regimen, in patients with advanced gastrointestinal (GI) cancers.

19 Nov 2010

COG to conduct Phase I REOLYSIN trial in pediatric patients with solid tumors

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. announced today that the Children's Oncology Group (COG) intends to conduct a Phase I trial of REOLYSIN in combination with cyclophosphamide in pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory solid tumors.

19 Nov 2010

Scientists solve receptor structure that responds to neurotransmitter dopamine

A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has solved the structure of one of the receptors that responds to the neurotransmitter dopamine. Although dopamine transmission is essential to normal brain functioning, the biological assembly of the molecules involved in this crucial neuronal interplay had not been known until now.

19 Nov 2010

Zalicus presents data on novel synergistic drug combinations for cancer at EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium

Zalicus Inc. presented data today on its discovery of novel synergistic drug combinations for the treatment of cancer at the EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics Meeting in Berlin, Germany on November 18, 2010.

19 Nov 2010

IPS explores what efforts to reduce U.S. federal deficit could mean for global health funding

Inter Press Service explores some advocates' concerns over how the new emphasis in Washington on reducing government spending could affect U.S. funding for global health programs, including HIV/AIDS.

19 Nov 2010

3Sbio converts US$2.58 million debenture into Isotechnika Pharma

3SBio Inc. ("3SBio") (Nasdaq: SSRX), a leading China-based biotechnology company focused on researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing biopharmaceutical products today announced that it has recently converted the remaining US$2.58 million of a US$4.5 million debenture convertible into Isotechnika Pharma Inc. ("Isotechnika") common shares issued on August 23, 2010.

19 Nov 2010

OXiGENE updates data on FALCON trial for non-small cell lung cancer

OXiGENE, Inc., a clinical-stage, biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics to treat cancer and eye diseases, announced today that it presented updated safety and clinical activity data from the FALCON trial, a randomized, controlled Phase 2 study of ZYBRESTAT(TM) (CA4P) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

19 Nov 2010

Advanced Life Sciences submits application to FDA for ALS-886 to treat ARDS

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, oncology and respiratory diseases, today announced that the Company has applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for orphan drug designation for ALS-886, a novel therapy to reduce and prevent tissue damage, for the treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).

19 Nov 2010