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Nevada governor considers dropping out of Medicaid

State governors and other lawmakers continue to worry that an expansion of Medicaid could put their budgets in crisis.

18 Jan 2010

New findings may yield novel therapies for chronic neurodegenerative diseases

We all have at one time or another experienced the typical signs of an infection: the fever, the listlessness, the lack of appetite. They are orchestrated by the brain in response to circulating cytokines, the signaling molecules of the immune system. But just how cytokines' reach extends beyond the almost impenetrable blood-brain barrier has been the topic of much dispute.

18 Jan 2010

FDA grants orphan drug exclusivity approval for Octapharma AG's wilate

Octapharma AG, one of the largest manufacturers of plasma products in the world, today announced that it has received orphan drug exclusivity approval for wilate® from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

18 Jan 2010

Dispute erupts between Reid and Lieberman around 'double-cross' quote

In a preview of a Jan. 24 magazine article, The New York Times reports on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's struggle to keep members of his caucus in line on health reform. In December, for instance, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., told a talk show host he would not support the health overhaul plan without significant changes, surprising the majority leader.

18 Jan 2010

Results show neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy improves patients with EC

Esophageal carcinoma (EC) is one of the major malignant diseases worldwide. Surgery alone cannot obtain satisfactory effects in patients with EC. Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy has been a hotspot for EC treatment research. Several related randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been published, but opinions vary among clinicians as to the therapeutic effect of the new method.

18 Jan 2010

Proposed tax expansions could help pay for health reform

Democratic congressional leaders are considering a new strategy to help finance their ambitious healthcare plan -- applying the Medicare payroll tax not just to wages but to capital gains, dividends and other forms of unearned income.

18 Jan 2010

H.I.G. Capital acquires Allion Healthcare

H.I.G. Capital, LLC, a leading global private equity firm, today announced that an affiliate has closed its previously announced acquisition of Allion Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALLI).

18 Jan 2010

Scientists discover new links between inherited blindness and AHI1 gene

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered new links between a common form of inherited blindness affecting children and a gene known as Abelson helper integration site-1 (AHI1).

18 Jan 2010

Dems back at the negotiating table with final health bill deal 'very close'

MarketWatch: After health negotiations stretched until the wee hours of the morning Friday, "House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said [later that morning] ... congressional Democrats are 'very close' to reaching final agreement on legislation." He said he hoped that "within the next 24, 48, 72 hours" such agreement would be reached. Meanwhile, Democratic leaders are expected to return to the White House today for more negotiations. This would "mark the third straight day of talks between Obama and Democrats over the health bill. Obama is anxious to sign a bill and move on to other issues including job creation" (Schroeder, 1/15).

18 Jan 2010

Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation supports unique event for breast cancer awareness

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation is pleased to commend the 'Bust a Move' for Breast Health event to be held on January 30, 2010 at the Halifax Metro Centre. Hundreds of Canadians are expected to unite for this unique event to raise funds and awareness for the breast cancer cause, hosted by the QEII and IWK Foundations.

18 Jan 2010

AVIR Green Hills Biotechnology commences deltaFLU Phase II study

AVIR Green Hills Biotechnology, the innovative biotech company based in Vienna, has started the New Year by embarking on the first clinical phase II study for the seasonal vaccine deltaFLU. The study will be carried out at the Medical University of Vienna. With this step, AVIR Green Hills has set yet another important milestone in the development of effective and modern influenza vaccines.

18 Jan 2010

States threaten lawsuit over Nebraska's Medicaid deal in Senate health bill

Several news outlets report on a possible lawsuit against the Medicaid compromise for Nebraska that Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., brokered with Senate leaders.

18 Jan 2010

Treatment for chronic hepatitis C with pegylated-interferon and ribavirin proves effective

The current standard treatment for chronic hepatitis C with pegylated-interferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin is effective in approximately 50%-60% of patients, so that a substantial proportion of patients remain unresponsive.

18 Jan 2010

New class of drugs could help prevent skin cancer

A new study by Loyola University Health System researchers could lead to alternative treatments that would shrink skin cancer tumors with drugs. The drugs would work by turning on a gene that prevents skin cells from becoming cancerous, said senior author Mitchell Denning, Ph.D.

18 Jan 2010

Study raises concerns about drug-resistant HIV

The emergence of drug-resistant strains of HIV could one day threaten efforts to control the global HIV pandemic, according to a study published online Thursday in the journal Science, HealthDay News/U.S. News & World Report reports. The researchers based their findings on "a mathematical model that tracks the transmission of multiple strains of HIV" in San Francisco, the news service writes (1/14).

18 Jan 2010

Androgen replacement therapy may ward off heart damage, says study

A man's male hormones may ward off heart damage by helping vessels around the heart regenerate, suggest Australian researchers in a report posted January 13 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (www.jem.org).

18 Jan 2010

State budgets in straits as health programs sap resources

States are grappling with budget crises and lost revenues that have affected health programs.

18 Jan 2010

WHO official rejects claims agency overhyped threat of H1N1

Keiji Fukuda, the special adviser to the WHO director general on pandemic influenza, on Thursday dismissed allegations that the agency exaggerated the threat of the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic and has been influenced by the pharmaceutical industry, the Washington Post reports.

18 Jan 2010

Celgene acquires Gloucester Pharmaceuticals

Celgene Corporation today announced it has closed its acquisition of Gloucester Pharmaceuticals following the early termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

18 Jan 2010

Democrats endure political anxieties as health talks continue

"President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats stand within days if not hours of striking final deals on historic health care legislation after key labor unions won concessions and pledged their support," The Associated Press reports. "Dozens of issues still needed to be finalized to reconcile bills passed separately by the House and Senate, but several lawmakers said that in the wake of the deal on the insurance plan tax, they felt a logjam had been broken" (Werner, 1/15).

18 Jan 2010