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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

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