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New research shows cutting tobacco smoking reduces cancer deaths in Europe

New research on deaths from cancer in Europe concludes that the key priority for continuing to reduce mortality is cutting tobacco smoking. The study shows that, while deaths for men from lung cancer in the EU have declined overall, by 17 % from 1995 to 2004, they rose by 27% for women over the same period.

17 Jan 2010

Cardiologists contest Medicare cuts

A cardiologists' lobby filed suit against Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, claiming cuts to heart care services, especially diagnostic tests, are unjustified, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

17 Jan 2010

Protectus Medical Devices and Moll Industries sign manufacturing agreement

Protectus Medical Devices, Inc. ("Protectus Medical Devices"), a developer and marketer of innovative medical devices, today announced the signing of a three-year manufacturing agreement with Moll Industries, Inc. to provide injection molded plastic manufacturing services for the Protectus Safety Syringe.

17 Jan 2010

NewCardio awarded core patent concerning its CardioBip ECG telemonitoring solution

NewCardio, Inc., a cardiac diagnostic technology provider, announced today that on January 12, 2010, it received notice of allowance for U.S. patent 7,647,093, titled "Apparatus and method for cordless recording and telecommunication transmission of three special ECG leads and their processing," from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

17 Jan 2010

Role of H. pylori in autoimmune atrophic gastritis

Experimental animal studies have shown that H. pylori shares several antigenic regions in common with acid secreting cells in gastric mucosa. Antibodies triggered by H. pylori destroy acid secreting cells due to this antigenic mimicry.

17 Jan 2010

Democratic leaders debate health reform at the White House

President Obama was meeting Wednesday afternoon with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in an effort to produce a compromise between House and Senate legislation, underscoring "their desire to strike a quick deal."

17 Jan 2010

CSI receives authorization to begin its pivotal trial of ORBIT II

Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSI), has received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conditional Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) approval to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of its Diamondback 360® System in the treatment of calcified coronary lesions. With this conditional approval, CSI is authorized to begin its pivotal trial, ORBIT II, in early 2010 and initially enroll up to 100 patients at as many as 50 U.S. sites.

17 Jan 2010

California health information organization closes after losing state bid

A California nonprofit meant to facilitate health information exchange has closed its doors after losing a bid to become the state's main exchange organization, Modern Healthcare reports. Board members for California Regional Health Information Organization, or CalRHIO, voted to disband after their company failed to win contracts with the state or negotiate a partnership that would fulfill state requirements.

17 Jan 2010

Karolinska Development signs co-operation agreement with Uminova Invest

Karolinska Development AB and Uminova Invest AB have entered into a co-operation agreement that will enrich the flow of investment opportunities available to Karolinska Development and enable cost effective commercial development for Uminova Invest's portfolio companies.

17 Jan 2010

As budgets squeeze, states seek more federal help with Medicaid responsibilities

New York Gov. David Paterson is trying to build a coalition of states to seek a "federal takeover of health care costs for the elderly poor who receive benefits under both Medicare and Medicaid," to help ease the burden on state budgets, The Associated Press reports.

17 Jan 2010

AMGA reports significant growth in 2009; 2010 paves way for another successful year

The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) announced significant growth in 2009, during which it added 40 new member groups, representing more than 9,700 physicians treating 11 million patients.

17 Jan 2010

Unions, Democratic leaders and White House reach agreement on 'Cadillac' health insurance plans

Los Angeles Times: "The White House and labor leaders agreed Thursday on a formula to tax high-cost insurance plans, removing one of the last obstacles to President Obama's healthcare overhaul, officials said." Organized labor had staunchly opposed the proposed "Cadillac" tax, but as part of the agreement, "reached after an intense round of negotiations this week, union leaders dropped their opposition ... in exchange for concessions to limit its scope."

17 Jan 2010

Also in Global Health News: Family planning in Philippines; drug pricing in Africa

A government survey in the Philippines "found 73 percent of married women would use birth control if it were available, 22 percentage points higher than the 51 percent that did use such methods," Agence France-Presse reports.

17 Jan 2010

Results from Bionovo's phase 1B clinical trial of Bezielle published

Bionovo, Inc. announced today the publication of their results from its phase 1B clinical trial of Bezielle (BZL101) for metastatic breast cancer. The results of the study are available online in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment and demonstrate that Bezielle continues to be safe and well tolerated with clinical evidence of anticancer activity in a heavily pretreated population of women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.

17 Jan 2010

Boston Scientific commences patient enrollment in its WallFlex Biliary RX Fully Covered Stent trial

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in a clinical trial to evaluate its WallFlex® Biliary RX Fully Covered Stent for the treatment of benign bile duct strictures. This multi-center, prospective study plans to enroll 187 patients at 11 centers worldwide over the next 18 months.

17 Jan 2010

Aid begins flowing into Haiti, up to 3m may be affected

"Aid started flowing into Haiti Wednesday in the wake of the earthquake that slammed the impoverished nation late Tuesday afternoon," CNN reports. "One of two [U.S] military cargo planes carrying a 30-man assessment team arrived at Port-au-Prince airport Wednesday evening to assess Haiti's needs."

17 Jan 2010

CT-guided biopsy: An alternative method for patients with pancreatic masses

It is reasonable to obtain a histological diagnosis before treating patients who have pancreatic masses and are unsuitable or unwilling to undergo surgery. As the pancreas is a deep seated organ surrounded by other vital structures, it is a challenge for the physician to obtain an adequate specimen for histological examination.

17 Jan 2010

Studies show treatment success for chronic hepatitis C may be predicted by rapid virological response

The likelihood of treatment success of 48 wk peg-interferon (PEG-IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV) therapy for chronic hepatitis C may be predicted by viral kinetics on therapy. In particular, recent studies have shown that sustained virological response (SVR) can be predicted by a rapid virological response (RVR), and an early virological response (EVR).

17 Jan 2010

New tools to assess daily stress amongst schoolchildren

Researchers from the University of Malaga have created the 'Inventory of Daily Stressors', a method aimed at schoolchildren. According to experts, worrying about physical appearance, taking part in numerous extracurricular activities and being alone a lot are some of the factors that increase the risk of suffering from childhood stress.

14 Jan 2010

Bone loss around dental implants more common than previously thought

Bone loss around dental implants is far more common than previously realised, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Around a quarter of patients loose some degree of supporting bone around their implants.

14 Jan 2010