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HHS limits, but can't eliminate, child-only policy double-standards

The New York Times: "The Obama administration, aiming to encourage health insurance companies to offer child-only policies, said Wednesday that they could charge higher premiums for coverage of children with serious medical problems, if state law allowed it. ... Earlier this year, major insurers, faced with an unprofitable business, stopped issuing new child-only policies.

15 Oct 2010

Experts use multi-disciplinary approach to provide innovative care for children

Liver tumors affect more than 300 children in the United States each year and management of these children requires coordinated comprehensive care from experts in many disciplines. To answer this problem, Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine announced today the formation of a new Liver Tumor Center that brings together renowned specialists in all aspects of liver cancer who will utilize a multi-disciplinary approach to provide the most comprehensive and innovative care for children afflicted with these diseases.

15 Oct 2010

Delcath executes melphalan supply agreement with Synerx and Bioniche Teoranta

Delcath Systems, Inc. announced today that it has executed a multi-year supply agreement with Synerx Pharma, LLC and Bioniche Teoranta, an affiliate of Mylan, Inc., for the supply of Delcath's branded melphalan hydrochloride for injection ("melphalan"). Melphalan is the chemotherapeutic drug used with Delcath's Chemosaturation system in its Phase III clinical study for the treatment of patients with hepatic metastases from ocular or cutaneous melanoma.

15 Oct 2010

SAMHSA awards grants to expand substance abuse treatment in offender reentry programs

Nearly 650,000 people are released from state and federal prison yearly and arrive on the doorsteps of communities nationwide. A far greater number reenter communities from local jails.

15 Oct 2010

Belief in willpower influences behavior

It could happen to students cramming for exams, people working long hours or just about anyone burning the candle at both ends: Something tells you to take a break. Watch some TV. Have a candy bar. Goof off, tune out for a bit and come back to the task at hand when you're feeling better. After all, you're physically exhausted.

15 Oct 2010

Caris Life Sciences presents new diagnostic data at ACG 2010

Caris Life Sciences, Inc., a leading biosciences company focused on enabling precise and personalized healthcare through the highest quality anatomic pathology, molecular profiling and blood-based diagnostic technologies, today announced upcoming highlights from the Company's presentations at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology ("ACG 2010") held in San Antonio, TX, October 15-20. In total, Caris was awarded 17 accepted abstracts, three of which are ACG Presidential Poster Award recipients.

15 Oct 2010

Study: Characteristics of children with OCD could help predict personalized medicine approach

New research from the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center may help clinicians better predict how a child with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) will respond to some of the most commonly used treatment approaches. The findings, published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, could help guide important clinical decisions about the best intervention for children with this often debilitating anxiety disorder.

15 Oct 2010

Federal judge in Florida allows part of suit against health reform law to proceed

"A federal judge says some parts of a lawsuit by 20 states challenging the Obama administration's health care overhaul as unconstitutional can go to trial," The Associated Press reports. "District Judge Roger Vinson ruled Thursday in Pensacola, Fla., that some parts of the lawsuit need to be heard. The administration had asked him to dismiss the entire lawsuit, which was spearheaded by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum," a Republican (Nelson, 10/14).

15 Oct 2010

Proper dosing of beta blockers can save many lives after heart attack

For nearly 40 years a class of drugs known as beta blockers have been proven to increase patients' survival prospects following a heart attack by decreasing the cardiac workload and oxygen demand on the heart. In a breakthrough study released in the American Heart Journal, Northwestern Medicine cardiologist Jeffrey J. Goldberger found the majority of patients are frequently not receiving a large enough dose of these drugs, which can put their recovery from heart attacks and overall health into peril.

15 Oct 2010

Alimera Sciences obtains $32.5M senior secured credit facility

Alimera Sciences, Inc. announced today that it has obtained a $32.5 million senior secured credit facility to help fund its working capital requirements. The credit facility consists of a $20 million revolving line of credit provided by Silicon Valley Bank and a $12.5 million term loan provided by MidCap Financial, LLC and Silicon Valley Bank.

15 Oct 2010

UCB announces winners of 2010 UCB Crohn's and Me Scholarship Program

UCB, Inc., a global leader in the research and development of medications to treat immunology disorders, today announced the winners of its 2010 UCB Crohn's and Me Scholarship Program for outstanding individuals affected by this condition. UCB has selected 31 winners to receive a scholarship worth up to $10,000 to help them seek personal growth through higher education.

15 Oct 2010

Issuing first report on NTDS, WHO aims for 'complete control' by 2015

The WHO said on Thursday that it was aiming for 'complete control' by 2015 of tropical diseases that affect one billion impoverished people and kill an estimated 534,000 people each year, Agence France-Presse reports.

15 Oct 2010

Sanofi-aventis announces TEMSO phase III study results for relapsing multiple sclerosis

Sanofi-aventis announced today the results from the two year phase III TEMSO study of teriflunomide, a novel oral disease modifier investigated for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS).

15 Oct 2010

Democrats mostly silent on health law in their Ads as election approaches

Democrats are mostly remaining silent on the new health law as they release advertisements in bids to retain their seats in Congress, NPR reports.

15 Oct 2010

Octapharma USA accepts applications for 25th Anniversary Grants Program

Octapharma USA is accepting applications for the Octapharma 25th Anniversary Grants Program, which supports clinical or pre-clinical research focused on human protein therapies in coagulation disorders, immune therapy, intensive care and emergency medicine. The application deadline is April 1, 2011.

15 Oct 2010

MRI-guided laser ablation offers way to kill tumors

Physicians at Mayo Clinic's Florida campus are among the first in the nation to use a technique known as MRI-guided laser ablation to heat up and destroy kidney and liver tumors. So far, five patients have been successfully treated meaning no visible tumors remained after the procedure.

15 Oct 2010

Cheetah Medical launches new NICOM System with integrated Pulse Oximetry functionality in Europe

Cheetah Medical today announced the European launch of its new NICOM(R) System which offers an integrated Pulse Oximetry functionality (OxiMax(R) Covidien plc). In addition to core hemodynamic parameters including Cardiac Output (CO), Stroke Volume (SV), Noninvasive Blood Pressure (NIBP), Total Peripheral Resistance (TPR) and Stroke Volume Variation (SVV), the new system provides a new important parameter, Oxygen Delivery Index (DO2I).

15 Oct 2010

Officials address several drug issues including medical risks, proper disposal of unused medicine

Federal and state officials are addressing several drug issues including the risks associated with bone-strengthening drugs, complaints about a blood-thinning drug and a new law to help people safely dispose of unused medicine.

15 Oct 2010

More minorities attending American medical schools

News outlets report on issues affecting the doctor workforce, including increased diversity at medical schools and questions about whether rural doctors will qualify for the Medicare payment bonus for primary care physicians.

15 Oct 2010

New insights into HIV infection process may allow antiviral drug development

New insights into the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection process, which leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), may now be possible through a research method recently developed in part at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where scientists have glimpsed an important protein molecule's behavior with unprecedented clarity.

15 Oct 2010