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Medicaid cuts hurt Calif. dental coverage, drive away doctors in Okla; Public hospitals in NYC fear possible reductions

NPR: "In California, it's been seven months since some 3 million poor and disabled adults lost their dental coverage to budget cuts. ... While the recession may be easing, California and other states across the country continue to face eye-popping budget deficits. As a result, states are cutting deep into public health programs, and dental benefits for Medicaid recipients top the list. ... Before the state budget cuts, Medicaid patients here could get annual exams, cleanings and, if needed, root canals to save their teeth.

23 Feb 2010

Medical test for aging adults could be helpful in determining infants’ intestinal conditions

A medical test initially researched for aging adults also could be helpful for premature babies, according to scientists with Texas AgriLife Research.

23 Feb 2010

UCI researchers create new breed of flightless mosquitoes for dengue control

UCI researchers and colleagues from Oxitec Ltd. and the University of Oxford created the new breed. Flightless females are expected to die quickly in the wild, curtailing the number of mosquitoes and reducing - or even eliminating - dengue transmission. Males of the strain can fly but do not bite or convey disease.

23 Feb 2010

Study shows hospitals costs vary widely and are not associated with quality of care

The costs that hospitals incur in treating patients vary widely and do not appear to be strongly associated either with the quality of care patients receive or their risk of dying within 30 days, according to a report in the February 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

23 Feb 2010

Cancer Institute awards MCRA designation to Cooper University Hospital

Enhancing its collective strength in the area of oncology research in the state, The Cancer Institute of New Jersey has announced that Cooper University Hospital will be the fourth affiliate hospital within its Network to receive the prestigious Major Clinical Research Affiliate designation.

23 Feb 2010

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals commences dosing in MM-121/Tarceva combination Phase 1/2 study for NSCLC

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the first patient has received an initial dose in a Phase 1/2 clinical study combining MM-121 with Tarceva® (erlotinib) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This is the first of multiple trials that Merrimack and sanofi-aventis expect to initiate in 2010 as part of a broad Phase 2 clinical development program for MM-121.

23 Feb 2010

Agilent Technologies wins breach of contract case against Advanced Materials Technology

Agilent Technologies Inc. today announced a favorable decision in its trade secrets and breach of contract case against Advanced Materials Technology, Inc. (AMT) and three of its employees in the Delaware Court of Chancery. Agilent filed the lawsuit in January 2008 to protect confidential and proprietary information relating to its high-performance liquid chromatography technology.

23 Feb 2010

Global rules barring TB patients from flying are too stringent, study says

A "controversial" study, released on Sunday, "suggests international rules that bar potentially infectious tuberculosis patients from flying are too stringent and airline passengers are really at little risk from catching TB from a fellow traveler," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports. The paper is being published in the March edition of Lancet Infectious Diseases (Stobbe, 2/21).

23 Feb 2010

Nation-wide study to assess risk of suicide among men

The introduction of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing as a screening tool for early detection of prostate cancer (PCa) in the beginning of the 1990s drastically increased the detection of PCa. The risk of suicide is increased among cancer patients including men with PCa.

23 Feb 2010

Watson Laboratories files ANDA for generic Aplenzin ER in treatment of major depressive disorder

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company, today confirmed that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc.- Florida, filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking approval to market its 174 mg and 348 mg strength bupropion hydrobromide tablets prior to the expiration of patents owned by Biovail. Watson's 174 mg and 348 mg strength bupropion hydrobromide tablet products are generic versions of Biovail's Aplenzin™ ER, which is indicated for major depressive disorder.

23 Feb 2010

LFB Biotechnologies provides new loan financing to GTC Biotherapeutics for key strategic programs

GTC Biotherapeutics, Inc. (“GTC”, NASDAQ: GTCB) announced that it has entered into an agreement with its strategic partner, LFB Biotechnologies (Les Ulis, France), pursuant to which LFB has agreed to provide $7 million of new loan financing to GTC.

23 Feb 2010

KHN column - Malpractice Reform: A test case for bipartisanship at the health summit

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, done in collaboration with The New Republic, Jonathan Cohn writes: "Ever since President Barack Obama announced he'd be having a bipartisan meeting to talk about health care reform, Republicans have been denouncing it as a charade.

23 Feb 2010

Senate, FDA reports increasing concerns about controversial diabetes drug

"Hundreds of people taking Avandia, a controversial diabetes medicine, needlessly suffer heart attacks and heart failure each month, according to confidential government reports that recommend the drug be removed from the market ... ," The New York Times reports. "The internal F.D.A. reports are part of a fierce debate within the agency over what to do about Avandia, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline."

23 Feb 2010

DSAEK cornea transplant offers potential long-term benefits

One year post-surgery, patients who underwent Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty experienced greater cell loss overall compared to those who underwent penetrating keratoplasty, according to a new analysis of data collected from the Cornea Donor Study Investigator Group's 2008 Specular Microscopy Ancillary Study.

23 Feb 2010

AAAS meeting examines test-and-treat model's potential for fighting HIV spread, TB co-infection

Researchers speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting on Saturday, discussed how a strategy to promote universal voluntary HIV tests and early antiretroviral treatment for patients living in high-risk areas might "derail the spread of [HIV/]AIDS, a battle where a successful vaccine remains elusive," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports

23 Feb 2010

Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceutical to advance pramlintide/metreleptin combination therapy development

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited announced today that the companies have selected the combination treatment of pramlintide, an analog of the natural hormone amylin, and metreleptin, an analog of the natural hormone leptin, for advancement toward Phase 3 development. The decision to advance the program followed encouraging results from a 52-week blinded, placebo-controlled Phase 2 extension study. The pramlintide/metreleptin combination met the key target criteria of sustained and robust weight loss.

23 Feb 2010

AAN guideline evaluates drugs’ safety and efficacy for treatment of muscle cramps

A new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology recommends that the drug quinine, although effective, should be avoided for treatment of routine muscle cramps due to uncommon but serious side effects.

23 Feb 2010

Enzymerx completes enrollment for clinical trial of pegsitacase

EnzymeRx, LLC, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, announced completion of the enrollment of its first clinical trial of pegsitacase (formerly called Uricase-PEG 20), and the recent launch of a second clinical study. Pegsitacase is a pegylated uricase being developed by EnzymeRx for the treatment of refractory gout and for the management of hyperuricemia associated with tumor lysis syndrome.

22 Feb 2010

Researchers measure diffusion coefficient of a protein in a primary cilium

A team of researchers led by Peter Calvert (SUNY Upstate Medical University) has, for the first time, measured the diffusion coefficient of a protein in a primary cilium and in other major compartments of a highly polarized cell. The study appears in the March issue of the Journal of General Physiology.

22 Feb 2010

Maine studies prospects for state reform efforts while N.Y. experience shows impact of guaranteeing access to coverage

In Maine, insurance regulators say measures aimed at expanding health coverage to more people in that state should wait for final action in Congress, The Associated Press/WBZ reports. A Maine report "released last week, stems from a 2009 law that asks the superintendent to review ways to improve the availability and affordability of Maine's individual health insurance market." In the report, the authors write that Maine's options to expand access and make coverage more affordable will depend on what Congress does.

22 Feb 2010

Medical News

Medicaid cuts hurt Calif. dental coverage, drive away doctors in Okla; Public hospitals in NYC fear possible reductions

Medical test for aging adults could be helpful in determining infants’ intestinal conditions

UCI researchers create new breed of flightless mosquitoes for dengue control

Study shows hospitals costs vary widely and are not associated with quality of care

Cancer Institute awards MCRA designation to Cooper University Hospital

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals commences dosing in MM-121/Tarceva combination Phase 1/2 study for NSCLC

Agilent Technologies wins breach of contract case against Advanced Materials Technology

Global rules barring TB patients from flying are too stringent, study says

Nation-wide study to assess risk of suicide among men

Watson Laboratories files ANDA for generic Aplenzin ER in treatment of major depressive disorder

LFB Biotechnologies provides new loan financing to GTC Biotherapeutics for key strategic programs

KHN column - Malpractice Reform: A test case for bipartisanship at the health summit

Senate, FDA reports increasing concerns about controversial diabetes drug

DSAEK cornea transplant offers potential long-term benefits

AAAS meeting examines test-and-treat model's potential for fighting HIV spread, TB co-infection

Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceutical to advance pramlintide/metreleptin combination therapy development

AAN guideline evaluates drugs’ safety and efficacy for treatment of muscle cramps

Enzymerx completes enrollment for clinical trial of pegsitacase

Researchers measure diffusion coefficient of a protein in a primary cilium

Maine studies prospects for state reform efforts while N.Y. experience shows impact of guaranteeing access to coverage

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