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Bio-Dome wound interface dressings superior than GranuFoam

ConvaTec, a world-leading developer and marketer of innovative medical technologies for community and hospital care, today announced new in vitro study results. The Engenex Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) system's Bio-Dome wound interface showed superior tensile strength and lower simulated bioadhesion when compared with GranuFoam (polyurethane foam).

27 Sep 2010

Calcitonin combination therapy may help treat osteoarthritis: Study

Tarsa Therapeutics, Inc. and Unigene Laboratories, Inc. today reported preclinical data showing that calcitonin may have synergistic effects in combination with other drugs in reducing the collagen degradation associated with osteoarthritis.

27 Sep 2010

Study finds inconsistent surveillance method for CA-BSI infections

A new study looking at how hospitals account for the number of pediatric patients who develop catheter-associated bloodstream infections (CA-BSIs) found substantial inconsistencies in the methods used to report the number of patients who develop these infections.

27 Sep 2010

MMRF receives contract to analyze solid-organ transplantation data

As part of the federal government's ongoing effort to improve the lives of organ transplant recipients and patients awaiting organ transplants, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded researchers at the Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation (MMRF) a multimillion-dollar contract to maintain and analyze data on solid-organ transplantation in the United States.

27 Sep 2010

Post-stroke patients experience phantom limb sensations: Report

After the loss of a limb, most patients experience the feeling of a phantom limb - the vivid illusion that the amputated arm or leg is still present. Damage to the nervous system, such as stroke, may cause similar illusions in weakened limbs, whereby an arm or leg may feel as if it is in a completely different position or may even feel as if it is moving when it is not. Cases of phantom limbs in non-amputees have previously been considered rare events, but a new study published in the October 2010 issue of Elsevier's Cortex reports that more than half of patients recovering from stroke may in fact experience phantom limb sensations.

27 Sep 2010

Dual eligible patients more likely to be hospitalized than Medicare beneficiaries: AHRQ

Americans who were eligible for coverage under both Medicare and Medicaid in 2008 were hospitalized for bed sores, asthma and diabetes at more than twice the rate of other Medicare beneficiaries, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

27 Sep 2010

Americans eating fewer vegetables and getting fatter

Despite two decades of public health initiatives, stricter government dietary guidelines, record growth of farmers' markets and the ease of products like salad in a bag, Americans still aren't eating enough vegetables. This month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a comprehensive nationwide behavioral study of fruit and vegetable consumption.

27 Sep 2010

U.S. Department of State joins 'Together for Girls' to end sexual violence

The U.S. Department of State became an official partner of Together for Girls the global partnership to end sexual violence against girls announced last year by President William J. Clinton at the Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 27 Sep 2010

AHF issues call for action against cuts in AIDS funding

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today issued a call for action after AIDS activists heckled President Barack Obama during a New York City fundraiser last night.

27 Sep 2010

Vertex exercises option to purchase additional $25 million notes

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that the underwriter for its offering of 3.35% convertible senior subordinated notes due 2015 has exercised in full its option to purchase an additional $25 million aggregate principal amount of notes. The exercise of the option brings the total aggregate principal amount of notes sold in the offering to $400 million

27 Sep 2010

FDA approves OZURDEX implant for uveitis treatment

Allergan, Inc. today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved OZURDEX (dexamethasone intravitreal implant) 0.7 mg for the treatment of non-infectious ocular inflammation, or uveitis, affecting the posterior segment of the eye.

27 Sep 2010

Stirling Products’ drug delivery technology interests big ‘pharma’

Healthcare group, Stirling Products Limited (ASX:STI) has advised that following the recent TeleMedCare e-health acquisition and the conditional addition of the recently announced pathology business (subject to due diligence completion and shareholder approval), the Company is now in process of its strategised business integration.

26 Sep 2010

Victorian health report card

Results from the 2008 Victorian Population Health Survey of more than 34,000 people are out. Broadly the picture is not too pleasing with signs of poor health like weight gain and disease. People are eating less fruit and vegetables, but smoking is down and asthma is less prevalent than it was earlier in the decade.

26 Sep 2010

WA teenage death related to swine flu

Teenager Andrew Allan died hours after being sent home from Northam Hospital, Western Australia (WA) with some Paracetamol by a nurse on the 17th September. He was ill with fever and vomiting but was not assessed by a doctor. Health officials now believe his illness was due to swine flu and are urging people to get vaccinated. Nine people have died from swine flu in WA this year.

26 Sep 2010

Wealthy live longer than the poor: Study

According to the latest research poorer Australians die at least three years before their wealthy counterparts. The report entitled, “The Health Lies in Wealth” by the University of Canberra's National Centre for Social and Economic Modeling found that people in the lowest socio-economic group died on average at 79.6 years of age compared with 82.7 years for the highest socio-economic group. Factors that influence life expectancy include household income, work status, education level and support networks.

26 Sep 2010

New Concordia research links hormones with attention and learning

Feeling a little sluggish and having trouble concentrating? Hormones might be to blame according to new research from Concordia University published in the journal Brain and Cognition. The study shows that high estrogen levels are associated with an inability to pay attention and learn - the first such paper to report how this impediment can be due to a direct effect of the hormone on mature brain structures.

24 Sep 2010

The House approves six health-related measures, including legislation related to the disposal of unused prescription drugs

The Hill's Healthwatch Blog: "The House passed six health-related bills Wednesday evening, including efforts to combat Medicare fraud and dispose of unused prescription drugs." The measures were approved under suspension of the rules, "an expedited procedure that only allows for 40 minutes of debate followed by a voice vote."

24 Sep 2010

GOP 'pledge' to create jobs, control spending, repeal health law draws mixed reaction

The New York Times: "In the legislative blueprint that Republicans hope will serve as a roadmap to winning control of the House, they declared their two highest priorities to be creating jobs and stopping 'out-of-control spending' by the federal government." It includes a call to repeal the health law, while retaining "popular provisions."

24 Sep 2010

Genta commences new tesetaxel Phase 2 clinical trial in advanced bladder cancer

Genta Incorporated today announced that the Company has initiated a new Phase 2 clinical trial of tesetaxel in patients with advanced bladder cancer. Tesetaxel is the leading oral taxane in clinical development. The new trial will be conducted at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, and at least one site in the EU.

24 Sep 2010

Insurers irked by latest draft of spending requirements

"One of the most critical aspects of the federal health overhaul for insurers is shaping up as a mixed bag for the industry, as regulators issued draft rules Thursday on how the companies must account for how much they spend directly on patients' medical care," The Wall Street Journal reports. At issue is which expenses count as medical, versus administrative.

24 Sep 2010