Medical News

RSS

Health Care REIT declares second-quarter cash dividend

Health Care REIT, Inc. announced today that its Board of Directors declared a cash dividend for the quarter ended June 30, 2010 of $0.69 per share. The dividend will be the company's 157th consecutive quarterly payment, payable August 20, 2010, to stockholders of record on August 9, 2010. The dividend is a one cent increase from the dividend paid for the first quarter of 2010.

30 Jul 2010

Medtronic launches Defeat-HF clinical trial to evaluate SCS for heart failure

Medtronic, Inc. today announced the global launch of the Defeat-HF (Determining the Feasibility of Spinal Cord Neuromodulation for the Treatment of Chronic Heart Failure) clinical trial. It is the industry's first prospective, randomized study evaluating the clinical feasibility of spinal cord stimulation, or neurostimulation, to improve clinical signs and symptoms of heart failure.

30 Jul 2010

Curaxis completes reverse merger with Auto Search Cars

Curaxis Pharmaceutical Corp. is pleased to announce the completion of its reverse merger with Auto Search Cars, Inc.. The effective date of the Merger is July 29, 2010.

30 Jul 2010

Life Time Fitness plans to open LifePower Yoga studio in Minnesota

Life Time Fitness, Inc. today announced plans to open its first LifePower Yoga studio in Minnesota. With a planned August 2010 opening, the new location will mark Life Time's 25th center in Minnesota, and its first dedicated solely to yoga and pilates. The company already operates two LifePower studios: LifePower at Pima Crossing, in Scottsdale, Arizona, and LifePower Phoenix.

30 Jul 2010

New findings on snake venom toxin hold promise for developing heart disease, cancer therapies

Researchers seeking to learn more about stroke by studying how the body responds to toxins in snake venom are this week releasing new findings that they hope will aid in the development of therapies for heart disease and, surprisingly, cancer. The Japanese team is reporting in a Journal of Biological Chemistry "Paper of the Week" that they are optimistic that inhibiting a protein found on the surface of blood cells known as platelets may combat both irregular blood clotting and the spread of certain cancers throughout the body.

30 Jul 2010

HCA second-quarter revenues increase 3.7% to $7.756 billion

HCA Inc. today announced financial and operating results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

30 Jul 2010

Strategies for AKI prevention are possible, study results suggest

Reduced kidney function and protein in the urine place a person at risk for kidney injury, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The results suggest that improved recognition of these warning signs could help reduce preventable forms of acute kidney injury.

30 Jul 2010

Hospitals accomodate obese patients by purchasing new, larger equipment

Hospitals are accommodating the increasing number of obese patients by buying larger medical equipment, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

30 Jul 2010

Support for health law remains steady while opposition drops

"The percentage of people who view the new health bill unfavorably dropped 6 points to 35 percent in the past month, but that has not translated into a significant increase of supporters, according to the July tracking poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Overall support remained stable since the June survey, with about half the public expressing a favorable view of the overhaul, the poll found" (Verdon, 7/29).

30 Jul 2010

Anthera initiates PEARL-SC Phase 2b study of A-623 for lupus

Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing drugs to treat serious diseases associated with inflammation, today announced it has initiated PEARL-SC, the Phase 2b study of A-623, a novel inhibitor of B-Cell Activating Factor, or BAFF, for the treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (lupus). Lupus patients suffer from a chronic autoimmune disease, which often leads to severe skin rash, fatigue, joint pain, major organ complications, and cardiovascular disease.

30 Jul 2010

IPC announces acquisition of Ann Arbor Inhospital Physicians

IPC The Hospitalist Company, Inc., a leading national hospitalist physician group practice company, announced today that it has acquired Ann Arbor Inhospital Physicians, PLLC. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the acquisition represents an expansion in the Michigan market where IPC has an established presence. The practice has an annualized volume of approximately 11,000 patient encounters. The owner, Hamidullah Halimi, MD, will remain with the practice.

30 Jul 2010

Respiratory symptoms are accurate indicators of influenza infection

New research shows that individuals with mild H1N1 infection may go undetected using standard diagnostic criteria, according to a study in the August issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, (APIC). The study concludes that coughing or other respiratory symptoms are more accurate in determining influenza infection than presence of a fever.

30 Jul 2010

EHNAC honors HERAE with Crystal Recognition Award

HERAE, one of the nation's largest healthcare payment services providers, was honored with the Crystal Recognition Award from the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission. EHNAC's accreditation recognizes excellence in healthcare, and indicates compliance with industry-established standards and HIPAA regulations.

30 Jul 2010

Researchers develop new fluorescent biosensor for drug development

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a new fluorescent biosensor that could aid in the development of an important class of drugs that target a crucial class of proteins called G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

30 Jul 2010

Amgen second-quarter total revenue increases 2% to $3,804 million

Amgen reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.38 for the second quarter of 2010, an increase of 7 percent compared to $1.29 for the second quarter of 2009. Adjusted net income increased 1 percent to $1,326 million for the second quarter of 2010 compared to $1,311 million for the second quarter of 2009.

30 Jul 2010

Insured Americans are using fewer medical services while employers consider wellness incentives

Insured Americans are using fewer medical services, raising questions about whether patients are consuming less health care as they pick up a greater share of the costs. The drop in usage is showing up as health-care companies report financial results. Insurers, lab-testing companies, hospitals and doctor-billing concerns say that patient visits, drug prescriptions and procedures were down in the second quarter from year-ago levels. Others say that consumers are beginning to forgo elective procedures like knee replacements.

30 Jul 2010

Republicans take on cost-cutting panel backed by budget chief Orszag

Several Senate Republican leaders are now pushing a new, partial health-overhaul repeal bill that targets a Medicare cost-cutting panel, The Hill reports. The panel, the Independent Payment Advisory Board, would make cost-cutting recommendations whenever spending exceeds set benchmarks. Congress would have to adopt them, or come up with its own plan.

30 Jul 2010

GSK exercises option to obtain exclusive licence to develop, commercialise GSK '052

Anacor Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline PLC today announced that GSK has exercised its option to obtain an exclusive licence to develop and commercialise GSK2251052 (GSK '052), formerly known as AN3365. GSK '052 is a novel, systemic antibiotic derived from Anacor's boron chemistry platform.

30 Jul 2010

Fecal occult blood tests make cost effective alternatives in colorectal cancer screening

While colonoscopies are the most accurate method for the early detection of colorectal cancers, screening with fecal occult blood tests results in more efficient use of limited budgets, according to a new study by researchers at RTI International.

30 Jul 2010

Orexigen's Contrave COR-I trial results published online in journal Lancet

Orexigen® Therapeutics, Inc. announced that results from its COR-I trial of Contrave® were published online today in the journal Lancet. COR-I was the largest of the four, 56-week, Phase 3 trials supporting the New Drug Application for Contrave, currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Results show that patients taking Contrave were two to three times more likely to lose at least 5% or 10% of their body weight compared to those taking placebo, on both an intent-to-treat (ITT) and completers basis.

30 Jul 2010