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Omega Healthcare Investors second-quarter net income decreases to $15.5 million

Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. today announced its results of operations for the quarter ended June 30, 2010. The Company also reported Funds From Operations ("FFO") available to common stockholders for the three months ended June 30, 2010 of $29.7 million or $0.32 per common share.

5 Aug 2010

Amplimmune collaborates with GSK to develop PD-1 targeting therapies

Amplimmune, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a broad strategic alliance with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to further develop PD-1 targeting therapies that may be effective in the treatment of cancer and other diseases. GSK will obtain exclusive worldwide rights to AMP-224 as well as other potential next generation fusion proteins that target PD-1.

5 Aug 2010

Scientists discover Deep Brain Stimulation as potential treatment for early Alzheimer's

In a world first, Dr. Andres M. Lozano and his team at Toronto Western Hospital has shown using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) on patients with early signs of Alzheimer's disease is safe and may help improve memory. The phase one safety trial of six Ontario patients took place from 2005 to 2008. All patients left hospital within 2 to 3 days of surgery, and continue to participate in regular follow-up cognitive assessments.

5 Aug 2010

EEG patterns can predict schizophrenia patients' response to clozapine therapy

A commonplace electroencephalography (EEG) test may hold the key to predicting whether a person will respond to certain prescribed drugs, particularly those related to psychiatric conditions.In a study to be published by Clinical Neurophysiology, and now posted online, engineering and health sciences researchers at McMaster University applied machine learning to EEG patterns and successfully predicted how patients with schizophrenia would respond to clozapine therapy.

5 Aug 2010

Thinking of God reduces distress to anxiety-provoking mistakes: Study

Thinking about God may make you less upset about making errors, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The researchers measured brain waves for a particular kind of distress-response while participants made mistakes on a test. Those who had been prepared with religious thoughts had a less prominent response to mistakes than those who hadn't.

5 Aug 2010

Florida orders company to stop selling unauthorized health insurance

The Association for Independent Managers may have already sold 1,800 unauthorized policies in Florida that "could leave Floridians who buy the coverage without insurance when they need medical care," The Miami Herald reports. "The Department of Financial Services has received complaints from about 100 consumers involving 49 agents selling health benefits provided by AIM" (Shah, 8/3).

5 Aug 2010

FDA clears iCAD's VeraLook computer-aided detection product for virtual colonoscopy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given clearance to VeraLook™, iCAD's computer-aided detection product used in the interpretation of virtual colonoscopy exams. iCAD is an industry-leading provider of advanced image analysis solutions for the early detection of cancer.

5 Aug 2010

Scientist invents new approach to boost body's response to vaccinations

As the medical community searches for better vaccines and ways to deliver them, a University of Rochester scientist believes he has discovered a new approach to boosting the body's response to vaccinations.Richard P. Phipps, Ph.D., found that the same molecules used in drugs that treat diabetes also stimulate B cells in the immune system, pushing them to make antibodies for protection against invading microorganisms.

5 Aug 2010

Cardiogenesis second-quarter 2010 revenue increases 9% to $2.43 million

Cardiogenesis Corporation, a leading developer of surgical products used to treat cardiac patients suffering from severe angina, today reported financial results for its second quarter and first half ended June 30, 2010.

5 Aug 2010

Andy Griffith Medicare ad prompts showdown with GOP

Veteran television star Andy Griffith appeared in a new commercial for Medicare that promotes health law changes the administration says should help seniors, such as free wellness visits and lower drug costs, U.S. News & World Report writes. "The commercial, launched on the 45th anniversary of Medicare last week, is part of a public education campaign about changes to Medicare benefits. Retirees' knowledge about the health reform law's impact on Medicare remains mixed.

5 Aug 2010

Scientists invent Global Focus microscope for tuberculosis diagnosis

A compact microscope invented at Rice University is proving its potential to impact global health. In a paper published online today in the journal PLoS ONE, Rice alumnus Andrew Miller and co-authors show that his portable, battery-operated fluorescence microscope, which costs $240, stacks up nicely against devices that retail for as much as $40,000 in diagnosing signs of tuberculosis.

5 Aug 2010

Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern attains National Cancer Institute designation

The Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center has attained National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation, an elite distinction held by only the top-tier cancer centers nationwide.

5 Aug 2010

FDA designates XOMA 052 orphan drug for Behcet's disease

XOMA Ltd., a leader in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has designated XOMA 052, an antibody to interleukin-1 beta, an orphan drug for the treatment of Behcet's disease. As previously announced, the Committee for Orphan Medical Products of the European Medicines Agency has recommended the granting of orphan medicinal product designation for XOMA 052 for the same indication in the European Union.

5 Aug 2010

RTI Biologics second-quarter worldwide revenues in sports medicine increase 14%

RTI Biologics Inc., a leading processor of orthopedic and other biologic implants, reported operating results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

5 Aug 2010

Tips for healthy eating at college

For college students, the campus dining hall offers a tantalizing feast: ice-cream sundaes every night, thirty varieties of cereal and a limitless supply of french fries."It's like a smorgasborg on a cruise ship," said Cynthia Bulik, PhD, director of the Eating Disorders Program at the UNC School of Medicine. All-you-can-eat dining halls, along with changes in exercise habits, have been blamed for the "freshman 15," in which first-year students gain weight.

5 Aug 2010

Americans continue to get fatter, CDC finds

The New York Times: "Americans are continuing to get fatter and fatter, with obesity rates reaching 30 percent or more in nine states last year, as opposed to only three states in 2007, health officials reported on Tuesday. The increases mean that 2.4 million more people became obese from 2007 to 2009, bringing the total to 72.5 million, or 26.7 percent of the population.

5 Aug 2010

Acceleron's ACE-031 protein therapeutic for DMD receives FDA Fast Track designation

Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics that modulate the growth of cells and tissues including muscle, bone, fat, red blood cells and the vasculature, today announced it received FDA Fast Track designation for ACE-031 for the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a fatal neuromuscular disease in which patients suffer from the progressive loss of muscle mass and strength. ACE-031 is an investigational protein therapeutic being developed to increase muscle mass and strength.

5 Aug 2010

ArQule second-quarter net loss decreases to $8,227,000

ArQule, Inc. today announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2010.

5 Aug 2010

Hospital advertising spending remains strong in Dallas region

"The weak economy has siphoned money from advertising budgets in most major industries, but local hospital advertising has remained steady, thanks to one company. Texas Health Resources, the largest hospital system in North Texas, accounted for about half of not-for-profit advertising spending last year" and "tripled its advertising spending from 2008 to 2009 with the launch of its rebranding campaign, said Steve Hanson, senior vice president for growth and development at Texas Health.

5 Aug 2010

Roche inaugurates National Infusion Site Awareness Week to promote diabetis management

Roche Diabetes Care, makers of the ACCU-CHEK portfolio of diabetes management products and services, is pleased to announce the inaugural National Infusion Site Awareness Week, Aug. 30-Sept. 5. Roche made the announcement during the 37th annual American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) conference to highlight the important role that certified diabetes educators and other health care professionals play in promoting better site management for the 400,000 people in the United States with Type 1 diabetes who use an insulin pump.

5 Aug 2010