Medical News

RSS

Insurance companies denied policies to 1 of every 7 applicants, probe finds

The Wall Street Journal: The four largest for-profit health insurers in the U.S. -- Aetna Inc., Humana Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc., and WellPoint Inc. -- "on average denied policies to one out of every seven applicants based on their prior medical history," according to a congressional investigative report released yesterday by Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.).

14 Oct 2010

World Food Prize symposium to give out award; focus on issues facing smallholder farmers

Global agriculture officials and as many as 60 farmers from around the world this week at the annual World Food Prize symposium in Des Moines, Iowa will focus on the challenges facing small farmers, the Associated Press reports.

14 Oct 2010

Yoga program improves fibromyalgia symptoms and functional deficits

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a debilitating condition affecting 11󈝻 million individuals in the US alone. FM carries an annual direct cost for care of more than $20 billion and drug therapies are generally only 30% effective in relieving symptoms and 20% effective in improving function. Standard care currently includes medications accompanied by exercise and coping skills approaches. In a study published in the November 2010 issue of PAIN, researchers report patients participating in a "Yoga of Awareness" program showed significantly greater improvement in FM symptoms and functioning compared to patients on a standard FM care program.

14 Oct 2010

GSK to expand donation of albendazole medicine to treat children with STH risk

At the launch of the World Health Organization's (WHO) first report on Neglected Tropical Diseases today, GSK announced a new five year commitment to expand the donation of its medicine albendazole to treat children at risk of intestinal worms, known as soil-transmitted helminths (STH).

14 Oct 2010

Stony Brook professor receives 2010 NIH Director's New Innovator Award

Balaji Sitharaman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Stony Brook University, is a 2010 recipient of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director's New Innovator Award.

14 Oct 2010

'Keyhole' procedure safer than invasive approaches in removing acoustic neuroma without hearing loss

Results from a newly released 9-year study is bringing newfound hope to the approximately 3,000 Americans diagnosed each year with acoustic neuromas (AN), little-known brain tumors that can have devastating and even fatal consequences for sufferers.

14 Oct 2010

Anger, seniors and Ad campaigns: Health reform politics

A poll released Tuesday shows most seniors in Medicare's prescription drug benefit program don't know that the health law "closes Part D's coverage gap," The Hill's Healthwatch blog reports.

14 Oct 2010

AACE publishes consensus statement for continuous glucose monitoring

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) today published a consensus statement for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) online, and the statement will be published in the next issue of the association's official medical journal Endocrine Practice.

14 Oct 2010

Osteotech granted early termination of Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period for proposed Medtronic merger

Osteotech, Inc., a leader in the emerging field of biologic products for regenerative healing, announced today that it has received notification that the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission granted early termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period for its proposed merger with Medtronic, Inc.

14 Oct 2010

Workshop to focus on FDA process that grants orphan drug designation

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has scheduled the third in a series of workshops on orphan drug designation for academics, biotechnology companies, and those unfamiliar with the process for Nov. 4-5, 2010, in Lansdowne, Va.

14 Oct 2010

Justices wrestle with issue of protecting vaccine makers

The Supreme Court is grappling with the question of how much protection the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act was meant to provide vaccine manufacturers against lawsuits. The case involves Hannah Bruesewitz, whose parents claim that a Wyeth-manufactured D.T.P. vaccine she received as an infant in 1992 led to developmental problems.

14 Oct 2010

Labopharm announces European approval of twice-daily tramadol-acetaminophen

Labopharm Inc. today announced its twice-daily tramadol-acetaminophen has received a positive opinion under the European Union Decentralized Procedure in eight countries (Czech Republic, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain). Marketing Authorization will be granted in each country subject to the approval of translations of the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) and other labeling documents.

14 Oct 2010

Drugs that restore mitochondria function may treat Alzheimer's disease at early stages: Research

Before Alzheimer's patients experience memory loss, the brain's neurons have already suffered harm for years. A new study in mouse models by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center has found that the brain's mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cell, are one of the earliest casualties of the disease. The study, which appeared in the online Early Edition of PNAS, also found that impaired mitochondria then injure the neurons' synapses, which are necessary for normal brain function.

14 Oct 2010

Researchers propose Nintendo Wii gaming to control gestational diabetes in women

Many women have trouble finding time to exercise in their busy lifestyles. That's especially true for pregnant women who live in northern climates such as Canada, where the weather can limit outdoor activity during winter months every year. But exercise is critical to managing gestational diabetes, a growing problem that occurs in 2 to 9 per cent of pregnancies.

14 Oct 2010

Stop TB Partnership launches Global Plan to Stop TB 2011-2015

The WHO's Stop TB Partnership "laid out a new plan on Wednesday to combat tuberculosis and the nearly 2 million deaths it causes each year," Reuters reports.

14 Oct 2010

Mystery of arsenite solved

Scientists have solved an important mystery about why an arsenic compound, called arsenite, can kill us, and yet function as an effective therapeutic agent against disease and infections. According to new research published in the October 2010 issue of Genetics scientists from Johns Hopkins, Baylor and Stanford discovered that arsenite, a common water contaminant in many parts of the world, affects a special protein folding machine in yeast, called TCP, also present in humans.

14 Oct 2010

Scientists suggest lemon-lime soft drink can improve effectiveness of oral anticancer drug

Experiments with an artificial stomach suggest that a popular lemon-lime soft drink could play an unexpected role in improving the effectiveness of an oral anticancer drug. The experiments produced evidence that patients will absorb more of the unnamed drug, tested in Phase I in clinical trials, when taken with "flat" or degassed Sprite. The study appears in ACS' Molecular Pharmaceutics, a bi-monthly journal.

14 Oct 2010

Experts reach consensus about DBS treatment for Parkinson's disease

Since the late 1990s, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has proven to be a lifeline for some patients suffering from Parkinson's disease, a cruel neurological disorder that can cause lack of control over movement, poor balance and coordination, and rigidity, among other symptoms.

14 Oct 2010

Researchers seek to end disparities in cancer, stroke care

HealthDay/U.S. News & World Report: Research has shown that there is a racial gap in breast cancer care, "with black and Hispanic women less likely to get recommended breast cancer treatments than white patients."

14 Oct 2010

Stony Brook professor receives NIH grant to optimize cardiovascular devices

Danny Bluestein, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Stony Brook University, has been awarded a five-year, $7.5 million grant by the National Institutes of Health. The award marks the first time a Stony Brook professor has received a Phase II Quantum Grant, given by The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), a division of the NIH, to make a profound improvement or quantum leap forward—in health care.

14 Oct 2010