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Hormone melatonin improves egg quality in IVF

Poor egg (oocyte) quality is an important cause of female infertility. Low quality eggs may have several problems, for example they may not divide properly, or they may be missing certain chromosomes. Egg quality also declines with age, and certain medical conditions, such as PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome, can lead to poor quality eggs.

15 Sep 2010

Number of people enrolled in FEHBP expected to rise

Federal News Radio: "The number of people covered by the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program is expected to jump dramatically next year and the number of people switching from self-only to family coverage will also go up. Those eligible for FEHBP coverage will include dependent children and foster children up to age 26 who are not living with their federal parents.

15 Sep 2010

microRNA 451 enhances treatment response in stomach cancer patients: Research

"The high presence of microRNA 451 enhances the response to treatment with chemo-radiotherapy and increases the survival of patients with stomach cancer", explained Dr. Jesús García-Foncillas, chief researcher of the Pharmacogenomics Laboratory at the Applied Medical Research Centre (CIMA) and Director of Oncology at the University Hospital of Navarra. This was one of the results presented at the IV Congress of the Spanish Society for Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomic, recently held at CIMA.

15 Sep 2010

Pregnant women should get immunized against flu

There will be only one flu shot needed this year and pregnant women should make sure they're at the front of the line to get it.

15 Sep 2010

Aspirin can prevent stroke and heart attacks: Study

In a large scale Australian study, researchers have found that Aspirin can save lives and drastically reduce rates of stroke and heart attack.

15 Sep 2010

USF receives grant for studying ways to protect fetal brain from maternal infection

University of South Florida (USF) neuroscientists have been awarded a $400,000 federal grant to study ways of protecting the developing fetal brain from the damaging effects of maternal infections, a suspected cause for certain types of autism.

15 Sep 2010

Legal challenge to new law gets a day in court: Today

A federal judge will preside over a lawsuit in Florida challenging the legitimacy of the health law today, "as 20 states and an influential small-business group argue that the bill amounts to a sweeping constitutional overreach, Politico reports. "The states argue that the federal government cannot impose a requirement on individuals to purchase insurance, the so-called individual mandate, and then force them to pay a fine if they don't.

15 Sep 2010

Researchers identify risk gene for schizophrenia

An international team of researchers has identified a risk gene for schizophrenia, including a potentially causative mutation, using genome-wide association data-mining techniques and independent replications.

15 Sep 2010

Insurers expand business overseas

The Wall Street Journal: "Cigna Corp. is expanding overseas, leading a push by health insurers to find growth amid uncertainties at home. Next month, the Philadelphia-based firm will launch an insurance policy in Spain that it says is the first of its kind to be sold by U.S. insurers. The new plan is sold directly to local individuals, as opposed to employer-sponsored or supplemental policies offered by Cigna in 26 other countries.

15 Sep 2010

Elsevier launches new Pharmacokinetics Module of PharmaPendium

Elsevier today announces that it has significantly increased its service offering to pharmaceutical R&D professionals with the launch of a new Pharmacokinetics Module of PharmaPendium-, the online resource for authoritative drug development data.

15 Sep 2010

Helix BioPharma receives authorization to list shares on NYSE Amex stock exchange

Helix BioPharma Corp. today announced that it has been authorized to list its shares of common stock on the NYSE Amex stock exchange. The Company expects that shares of its common stock will begin trading on the NYSE Amex on September 15, 2010, under the trading symbol "HBP."

15 Sep 2010

Key health law provisions begin Sept. 23

In her latest Kaiser Health News consumer column, Michelle Andrews writes: "The elimination of lifetime caps on benefits is one of several provisions that will begin to take effect Sept. 23, six months after enactment of the law.

15 Sep 2010

School leavers at risk for obesity: Study

In a large scale national study it has been found that the period of leaving school is a high risk one for obesity and weight gain. The study authors say that obesity rates double in the short transition from adolescence to adulthood in over 1,500 young people included in the study.

15 Sep 2010

Provectus completes enrollment in first cohort of PV-10 Phase 1 trial for liver cancer

Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it has completed enrollment in the first of two dose cohorts in its Phase 1 clinical trial of PV-10 for liver cancer, and that the therapy was very well tolerated by all three subjects treated, with substantial evidence of efficacy.

15 Sep 2010

Volcano Corporation announces pricing of convertible senior notes due 2015

Volcano Corporation today announced the pricing of its offering of $100 million aggregate principal amount of 2.875 percent convertible senior notes due September 1, 2015 registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Prior to June 1, 2015, the notes will be convertible only upon certain circumstances.

15 Sep 2010

Early alcohol, tobacco exposure may delay puberty in girls: Study

The list of possible health effects from an early introduction to alcohol and tobacco use has just gotten longer. A new study suggests that early drinking and smoking might delay onset of puberty in girls.

15 Sep 2010

Opinions: Global nursing; U.S. funding of Global Fund; Global demands for water; Food security

"Almost every nation, regardless of its wealth and resources, faces a continuing shortage of nurses and an acute lack of nursing faculty available to educate more nurses. This dearth of practicing nurses and nurse educators is particularly critical in countries like Haiti and other developing high-risk, low-resourced nations," Martha Hill, dean of Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, writes in a Baltimore Sun opinion piece encouraging the expansion of global nursing.

15 Sep 2010

Kings Cross drug injection center to become permanent fixture

After running for quite some time amidst intense debates, the New South Wales Government has announced plans to make the medically-supervised drug injecting centre at Kings Cross a permanent fixture. This unit has been functioning since 2001 and was still looking for permanency. A latest review of this trial center showed that it has successfully managed more than 3,000 overdoses and helped 12,000 drug users.

15 Sep 2010

$Savient's KRYSTEXXA receives FDA approval for chronic gout in adult patients refractory to conventional therapy$

Savient's KRYSTEXXA receives FDA approval for chronic gout in adult patients refractory to conventional therapy

Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved KRYSTEXXA™ (pegloticase), a PEGylated uric acid specific enzyme indicated for the treatment of chronic gout in adult patients refractory to conventional therapy. Chronic gout that is refractory to conventional therapy occurs in patients who have failed to normalize serum uric acid and whose signs and symptoms are inadequately controlled with xanthine oxidase inhibitors at the maximum medically appropriate dose or for whom these drugs are contraindicated.

15 Sep 2010

FDA approves Krystexxa drug to treat gout

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Krystexxa (pegloticase) to treat the painful condition known as gout in adults who do not respond to or who cannot tolerate conventional therapy.

15 Sep 2010