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Special dementia care plan does not slow functional decline compared with usual care: Study

A special dementia care plan, involving regular assessments of patients with Alzheimer's disease in specialist memory clinics, does not slow functional decline compared with usual care, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

4 Jun 2010

Administration claims about Dartmouth Medicare analyses questioned

The New York Times, in a front page story, reports: "In selling the health care overhaul to Congress, the Obama administration cited a once obscure research group at Dartmouth College to claim that it could not only cut billions in wasteful health care spending but make people healthier by doing so.

4 Jun 2010

United Health, Cigna differ on how plans will change after exchanges begin

United Health's CEO Stephen Hemsley said he expects companies to keep offering benefits instead of pushing people to health exchanges created in 2014 by the federal government, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

4 Jun 2010

ASGE issues guidelines on ethnicity, gastrointestinal diseases and endoscopic procedures

The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) has issued guidelines addressing ethnicity, gastrointestinal diseases and endoscopic procedures. The guideline suggests that colorectal cancer screening should begin at age 45 for average risk African-American men and women, and that it is recommended that colorectal cancer screening be emphasized for other minority ethnic groups that have lower screening utilization rates.

4 Jun 2010

McMaster University researchers discover chemical clue directing Staphylococcus aureus

McMaster University researchers have discovered a central controller or processing unit of a superbug's weaponry. An article on the breakthrough appears in the high-impact journal Science today.

4 Jun 2010

YM BioSciences raises $3.2M through non-brokered private placement of common shares

YM BioSciences Inc., announced today that it has raised approximately US$3.2 million through a non-brokered private placement of 2,500,000 common shares to be issued at US$1.27. The sale price is at no discount to the closing price of the shares on the NYSE Amex on June 1, 2010.

4 Jun 2010

ViiV Healthcare to provide additional cost savings to cash-strapped ADAPs

AHF is pleased to report that yet another drug company: ViiV Healthcare, a new drug company formed in a partnership between GSK and Pfizer, has announced an agreement that will provide additional cost savings to cash-strapped ADAPs nationwide.

4 Jun 2010

WHO says H1N1 remains pandemic

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan on Thursday announced the WHO still considers H1N1 (swine) flu a pandemic, despite the fact "its most intense activity has passed in many parts of the world," Reuters reports (Lynn, 6/3).

4 Jun 2010

Delicate balance of microbes in vagina can vary between healthy women: New study

The delicate balance of microbes in the vagina can vary greatly between healthy women, according to a new study led by the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute for Genome Sciences. Researchers hope further study will lead to personalized reproductive medicine for women, allowing doctors to tailor each woman's treatment and health maintenance strategies to her individual microbial make-up.

4 Jun 2010

Report ranks best children's hospitals

U.S. News & World Report reports on the nation's best children's hospitals: "Out of all of the roughly 5,000 U.S. hospitals, only about 1 in 30 has deep expertise in caring for children with serious problems. For youngsters who need that quality of care, the Best Children's Hospitals rankings showcase the medical centers that see kids every day who have cancer, cystic fibrosis, defective hearts, and countless other life-threatening or rare conditions beyond the capabilities of most hospitals, even those with sizable pediatric departments.

4 Jun 2010

BSGI effective for evaluating unclear mammographic or ultrasound findings

Researchers at the Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland, Oregon presented data on the clinical use of Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI), a molecular breast imaging technique, at the American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual meeting in Las Vegas in April: Breast Specific Gamma Imaging Used As An Adjunct to Mammography.

4 Jun 2010

Study: 10% increase in cigarette pricing can reduce smoking among people with alcohol, drug disorders

A new study from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA suggests that increasing cigarette taxes could be an effective way to reduce smoking among individuals with alcohol, drug or mental disorders.

4 Jun 2010

Detailed analysis of epigenetics of Wilms tumor reveals similarities to stem cells

A detailed analysis of the epigenetics - factors controlling when and in what tissues genes are expressed - of Wilms tumor reveals striking similarities to stem cells normally found in fetal kidneys. These findings by Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center researchers have revealed new cellular pathways that are critical for Wilms tumor development and may also apply to other pediatric cancers.

4 Jun 2010

CHOC Children's receives royalty-free research license to certain StemCells' patents

StemCells, Inc. and the Children's Hospital of Orange County ("CHOC Children's") announced today that they have entered into an agreement that provides CHOC Children's with a royalty-free research license to certain of StemCells' patents. This license authorizes CHOC Children's to proliferate, maintain and use human neural stem cells for non-commercial purposes.

4 Jun 2010

Sebelius to highlight geographic differences in Medicare hospital payments

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius visits Rochester's Mayo Clinic Thursday morning. ... The visit comes after a recent report that Minnesota will receive money earmarked for states which provide low-cost, high-value health care. But just how much money Minnesota will receive is far from certain. Sebelius is expected to get a first-hand look at the clinic's technology for tracking health care information.

4 Jun 2010

Vermont regulator demands $3 million payback from insurer

Burlington Free Press: "Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont overpaid its former chief executive officer by $3 million over an eight-year period and has been ordered to pay the money back to its subscribers by 2012 in the form of reduced premiums, a top state regulator said Wednesday. The action by the state Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration Department follows last year's disclosure that William Milnes, the nonprofit firm's former CEO, received a $7.2 million payout when he stepped down in 2008."

4 Jun 2010

Latest version of LOINC for electronic health information exchange to be released

As the practice, regulation and reimbursement of health care become more complicated, and as the demand for electronic medical records and health information exchange grows, a universal method of identifying test results and other clinical measurement is essential.

4 Jun 2010

USPTO decision confirms validity of Haemonetics' '983 Patent

Haemonetics Corporation announced today that on May 28, 2010, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a decision confirming the validity of Haemonetics' '983 Patent in light of numerous prior art references cited by Fenwal Inc. As such, the USPTO explicitly rejected Fenwal's position that the Patent was invalid over the prior art.

4 Jun 2010

Royal Philips Electronics, RXi Pharmaceuticals sign joint research agreement

Royal Philips Electronics and RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a US-based biopharmaceutical company, today announced that they have entered into a joint research agreement to explore the benefits of combining proprietary technologies from both companies for the targeted delivery of experimental therapeutics based on RNA interference.

4 Jun 2010

Ontarians from racialized backgrounds more likely to live in poverty, face barriers to find job: Study

Ontarians from racialized backgrounds are far more likely to live in poverty, face barriers to finding a job, and receive less pay for work, says a study of Census data by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

4 Jun 2010

Medical News

Special dementia care plan does not slow functional decline compared with usual care: Study

Administration claims about Dartmouth Medicare analyses questioned

United Health, Cigna differ on how plans will change after exchanges begin

ASGE issues guidelines on ethnicity, gastrointestinal diseases and endoscopic procedures

McMaster University researchers discover chemical clue directing Staphylococcus aureus

YM BioSciences raises $3.2M through non-brokered private placement of common shares

ViiV Healthcare to provide additional cost savings to cash-strapped ADAPs

WHO says H1N1 remains pandemic

Delicate balance of microbes in vagina can vary between healthy women: New study

Report ranks best children's hospitals

BSGI effective for evaluating unclear mammographic or ultrasound findings

Study: 10% increase in cigarette pricing can reduce smoking among people with alcohol, drug disorders

Detailed analysis of epigenetics of Wilms tumor reveals similarities to stem cells

CHOC Children's receives royalty-free research license to certain StemCells' patents

Sebelius to highlight geographic differences in Medicare hospital payments

Vermont regulator demands $3 million payback from insurer

Latest version of LOINC for electronic health information exchange to be released

USPTO decision confirms validity of Haemonetics' '983 Patent

Royal Philips Electronics, RXi Pharmaceuticals sign joint research agreement

Ontarians from racialized backgrounds more likely to live in poverty, face barriers to find job: Study

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

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