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FDA approves addition of 10 sites to WorldHeart's Levacor VAD BTT clinical study

World Heart Corporation, a developer of mechanical circulatory systems, announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the addition of ten sites to the Levacor ventricular assist device (VAD) Bridge-to-Transplant (BTT) clinical study. WorldHeart's pivotal BTT study is now approved to enroll patients at 20 sites in the U.S.

28 Jul 2010

Advocacy group critiques patient debt load in Indiana

A new survey has sparked an Indiana patient advocacy group to say hospitals in the state should earn their nonprofit status by providing more low-cost charity care, The Indianapolis Star reports. "Armed with a survey that showed close to half of hospital patients going into debt to pay their bills, the Consumer Action Coalition Education Fund and Indiana Legal Services said hospitals are doing too little to inform people about alternative payment plans." Medical debt is a large problem in the city, said the study's author and the education fund director.

28 Jul 2010

Aflac second-quarter total revenues increase 15.5% to $5.0 billion

Reflecting the benefit from a stronger yen/dollar exchange rate and lower realized investment losses, total revenues rose 15.5% to $5.0 billion in the second quarter of 2010, compared with $4.3 billion in the second quarter of 2009. Net earnings were $581 million, or $1.23 per diluted share, compared with $314 million, or $.67 per share, a year ago.

28 Jul 2010

Scientists unveil new biomarkers for stroke, coronary heart disease

Analysis of blood protein data from the Women's Health Initiative cohorts has revealed new biomarkers for stroke and coronary heart disease (CHD). Research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Medicine found that beta-2 microglobulin (B2M) levels were significantly elevated in postmenopausal women with CHD, and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 4 (IGFBP4) was strongly associated with stroke.

28 Jul 2010

Report: Generic drugs offer savings for Medicaid

A new report suggests that expanding use of generic drugs could offer significant savings for Medicaid.

28 Jul 2010

Research on method to open blood-brain barrier for safe cancer drug delivery

One of the human body's most powerful defensive tools, the blood-brain barrier is a chemical labyrinth that prevents toxins and viruses in the bloodstream from reaching the brain. This foolproof security system, however, limits the ability of physicians to deliver drugs directly to the brain, making it difficult to treat brain tumors. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are endeavoring to solve this problem by investigating new methods for bypassing the blood-brain barrier and combating the spread of brain cancer.

28 Jul 2010

MabCure's MAbs 94% accurate in identifying ovarian cancer

Biotechnology company MabCure, Inc. today announced that a confirmatory study demonstrated the company's proprietary monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) successfully identified ovarian cancer in blood (94 percent accuracy) and with no false positives or cross-reactions with benign ovarian tumors or healthy blood. MabCure's serum diagnostic test is the first to recognize unique tumor markers or cancer fingerprints present only in ovarian cancer, the deadliest of all gynecological cancers.

28 Jul 2010

Scientists develop novel chemotherapeutic method for anticancer drug delivery

Combining nature and Greek mythology, researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed a tiny "Trojan Horse" system for delivering cancer-fighting drugs. With this system, the drugs are delivered only once they are inside the cancerous cells, so there is no damage to the healthy cells in the surrounding area.

28 Jul 2010

Attaching transferrin to nanoparticle surface can kill cancer cells

A normally benign protein found in the human body appears to be able - when paired with nanoparticles - to zero in on and kill certain cancer cells, without having to also load those particles with chemotherapy drugs.The finding could lead to a new strategy for targeted cancer therapies, according to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists who made the discovery.

28 Jul 2010

NSW school heaters to be replaced

Unflued gas heaters in public schools posed a risk of respiratory ailments to students, a report found. Education Minister Verity Firth announced yesterday that the NSW government will replace these heaters. The government funded study to look at the effects of these low-emission unflued gas heaters in NSW public schools found “no measurable adverse changes in lung function” but said it was important to seek “alternative, effective and efficient sources of domestic and public space heating that does not have adverse effects”.

27 Jul 2010

Early weaning linked to chronic diseases later in life: Study

Lack of breastfeeding in infancy may lead to chronic diseases later in life say researchers. At present 90% of people aged between 35 and 40 were not breastfed as babies.

27 Jul 2010

WWHI participates in joint meeting to explore barriers to wireless communications, health care solutions

The West Wireless Health Institute today announced its participation in the first joint meeting hosted by the Federal Communications Commission and Food & Drug Administration to explore the potential barriers that may slow the convergence of wireless communications and health care solutions.

27 Jul 2010

Growth in dental implant sales to propel bone-graft-substitute market

According to new dental reports by iData Research, the leading global authority in medical device, dental and pharmaceutical market research, the U.S. market for dental implants is expected to regain double-digit growth by 2013, and will help drive the dental prosthetic market to reach over 82 million prosthetic placements by 2016.

27 Jul 2010

Millennium Laboratories urges for increase in physician reimbursement for POC urine drug screening

Millennium Laboratories, Inc., a national, research-based medication monitoring company specifically focused on clinicians who treat chronic pain, strongly advocated for an increase in physician reimbursement for point-of-care urine drug screening at the Annual Clinical Laboratory Public Meeting of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on July 22, 2010.

27 Jul 2010

Adherence improves long-term effectiveness of exercise therapy in OA patients

Patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee or hip who adhere to the recommended home physical therapy exercises and physically active lifestyle experience more improvement in pain, physical function, and self-perceived effect according to a study from researchers in The Netherlands. Research also shows that maintenance of exercise behavior and physically active lifestyle after discharge of physical therapy improves the long-term effectiveness of exercise therapy in patients with knee or hip OA.

27 Jul 2010

ProTron Technologies creates Stethotron Intra-vascular Atherosclerotic Detector

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease are the major causes of death in the world. Atherosclerotic plaque, the narrowing of blood vessels, causes audible turbulence in the bloodstream. Standard and electronic stethoscopes are designed to listen to heart and lung signals between 10-300 Hz. But as these waves do not travel in straight paths, and this frequency is a physiological sound, this uncertainty of origin may cause diagnosis errors.

27 Jul 2010

New specially designed operatory for Oral Surgery, IV Sedation Dentistry

Union Dental Holdings, Inc. - http://www.uniondental.com - a provider of multi-state dental services for union members, is pleased to announce that it has built a specially designed operatory to perform Oral Surgery and IV Sedation Dentistry. This opens a completely new element of dentistry because there are a tremendous amount of patients who require the sedation in order to perform these procedures.

27 Jul 2010

YesDTC, BioElectronics receive Japanese regulatory review notification for ActiPatch and Allay products

YesDTC Holdings, Inc., a direct-to-consumer marketer and global distributor of consumer goods and products and BioElectronics Corp., manufacturers of innovative pain relieving medical devices, today announced the companies have received notification of the pending review by Japanese government medical device regulators for the ActiPatch™ and Allay™ Menstrual Relief products. This review will take place on Wednesday, July 28th.

27 Jul 2010

Free health, vision and dental screenings for children, adults at Family First Health in York

The Highmark Partners for a Healthy Community will offer free health, vision and dental screenings from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 7 at Family First Health in York. The event is open to children and adults who are uninsured or have minimal coverage.

27 Jul 2010

Sysmex America to debut expanded cell image analysis portfolio at AACC Annual Conference

Sysmex America, Inc., a leading medical diagnostic instrument manufacturer and information systems developer, today announced plans to debut its expanded cell image analysis portfolio during this year's American Association of Clinical Chemistry's (AACC) Annual Conference and Clinical Lab Expo July 25 - 29 in Anaheim, California.

From Sysmex America, Inc. 27 Jul 2010