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Study suggests reimbursements can address inappropriate antibiotic usage

Antibiotic use appears to have increased among older adults whose prescription drug coverage improved as a result of enrolling in Medicare Part D, with the largest increases for broad-spectrum, newer and more expensive drugs, according to a report in the August 9/23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

10 Aug 2010

Duke University physicists develop technique to inject material into cells through sharp fluid jets

Duke University physicists have developed a way to produce sharp fluid jets with enough precision that they can inject material into a single, living cell. The technique promises a way to deliver drugs to cells one at a time, which is likely to be very valuable for research involving stem cells and other cellular-level studies. The research appears in the current issue of the APS journal Physical Review Letters.

10 Aug 2010

Poniard second-quarter net loss decreases to $6.5 million

Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative oncology therapies, today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

10 Aug 2010

Scientists suggest daily intake of vitamin D helps to reduce disease frequency

Anthony Norman, a leading international expert in vitamin D, proposes worldwide policy changes regarding people's vitamin D daily intake amount in order to maximize the vitamin's contribution to reducing the frequency of many diseases, including childhood rickets, adult osteomalacia, cancer, autoimmune type-1 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity and muscle weakness.

10 Aug 2010

Reports warn of new costs, gaps unfilled in health overhaul

Insurance rates may rise next year even more than anticipated because of the health overhaul for mid-sized companies. "While most major pieces of the new health law don't go into effect until 2014, some reforms affecting health insurance carriers take effect this year. These include provisions that require health plans to cover adult children until age 26, extend coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, end maximum lifetime spending limits and end the practice of retroactively canceling a member's coverage for any reason other than fraud."

10 Aug 2010

Repros Therapeutics second-quarter net loss decreases to $1.3 million

Repros Therapeutics Inc. today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

10 Aug 2010

Scientists work towards creating a vaccine for Parkinson's disease

Nina Brown, 68, and millions of others with a debilitating neurological condition called Parkinson's disease are counting on researchers for a cure. At The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), protein chemists are working to develop a therapeutic vaccine.

10 Aug 2010

Ikaria announces voluntary recall of INOMAX DS drug-delivery system in US and Canada

Ikaria, Inc. announced today that its INOMAX® DS drug-delivery systems in the United States are being voluntarily recalled due to the potential failure of a pressure switch which may have an impact on the administration of INOMAX® (nitric oxide) for inhalation to patients. This potential failure was identified by Ikaria as part of its ongoing quality monitoring and review processes. This class I recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). All INOMAX DS systems in Canada also are being voluntarily recalled.

10 Aug 2010

UCLA study identifies neurocognitive pathways involved in inflammatory responses to acute social stress

Everyone experiences social stress, whether it is nervousness over a job interview, difficulty meeting people at parties, or angst over giving a speech. In a new report, UCLA researchers have discovered that how your brain responds to social stressors can influence the body's immune system in ways that may negatively affect health.

10 Aug 2010

House members returning for vote on extra Medicaid help

House members are returning to Washington for a Tuesday vote on $16 billion in extra Medicaid funds for cash-strapped states, The Associated Press reports. "The unusual in-and-out session was called because the Senate waited until last Thursday, after the House had already recessed for its summer break" to pass the bill, which includes $10 billion in state aid for teachers' jobs, too. "Republicans forced back to the Capitol to vote against a bill see it differently.

10 Aug 2010

GenMark second-quarter revenues increase 162% to $651,000

GenMark Diagnostics, Inc. today reported revenues of $651,000 for the quarter ending June 30, 2010, a 162% increase over second quarter 2009. Net loss for the second quarter was $5.1 million, or $0.60 per share, compared to a net loss of $4.3 million and $1.08 per share for the same period last year.

10 Aug 2010

Vena cava blood clot filters may cause potential life-threatening complications: Study

Two specific types of vena cava filters, devices used to prevent blood clots from reaching the lungs, appear to have evidence of fracturing inside the body, with some fractured fragments traveling to the heart and causing potentially life-threatening complications, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the November 8 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

10 Aug 2010

DOJ likely to intervene in St. Jude heart device kickback lawsuit

The U.S. Department of Justice may intervene in a lawsuit against heart-device maker St. Jude Medical Inc. after allegations the company used medical studies to "pay kickbacks and boost product usage," The Wall Street Journal reports. "The U.S. Attorney's office in Boston launched an industry-wide probe nearly five years ago into whether makers of pacemakers and defibrillators were making improper payments to doctors.

10 Aug 2010

Scientist develops nano-methods to destroy tumors with fewer side effects

Though a valuable weapon against cancerous tumors, radiation therapy often harms healthy tissue as it tries to kill malignant cells. Now, Prof. Israel Gannot of Tel Aviv University's Department of Biomedical Engineering is developing a new way to destroy tumors with fewer side effects and minimal damage to surrounding tissue.

10 Aug 2010

Athersys second-quarter revenues increase to $1.9 million

Athersys, Inc. today announced its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010.

10 Aug 2010

Private sleuths take time referring fraud cases to Medicare

The Associated Press: While President Barack Obama "has set a high priority on battling health care fraud and waste" in Medicare, private contractors are slow in referring cases to law enforcement. "According to congressional investigators, the exact average was 178 days [to refer the case for prosecution].

10 Aug 2010

Increase of alcohol taxes can reduce alcohol-related deaths

Adjusting the alcohol tax in Florida to account for inflation since 1983 would prevent 600 to 800 deaths each year in that state from diseases caused by chronic heavy alcohol use, according to a new study from the University of Florida. The Florida legislature last increased alcohol taxes in 1983.

10 Aug 2010

RNL BIO research identifies adult stem cell's ability to inhibit cancer

The leading biopharmaceutical company specialized in adult stem cell therapeutics, RNL BIO Co., Ltd, announced on July 27th that adult stem cell was identified to have cancer suppressive activity in a preclinical study.

10 Aug 2010

Healthy eggs require tremendous amount of zinc to reach maturity for fertilization: Research

Scientists as well as fertility doctors have long tried to figure out what makes a good egg that will produce a healthy embryo. It's a particularly critical question for fertility doctors deciding which eggs isolated from a woman will produce the best embryos and, ultimately, babies.New research reveals healthy eggs need a tremendous amount of zinc to reach maturity and be ready for fertilization,a finding that may ultimately help physicians assess the best eggs for fertility treatment, according to a study from Northwestern University.

10 Aug 2010

Alzheimer’s disease can now be predicted with 100% accuracy: Study

In a new development, Alzheimer's disease can now be predicted with up to 100 percent accuracy several years before its onset using three special marker proteins present in the spinal fluids. The study was published in the American Medical Association's Archives of Neurology.

9 Aug 2010