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Cancer drug could be effective for treating recurrent nose bleeds

Patients suffering from hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), an inherited vascular condition characterized by profuse nosebleeds, may find hope in a cancer-fighting drug called bevacizumab, also known as Avastin.

12 Feb 2010

Scientists find single-dose of drug cures visceral leishmaniasis

A study has shown that a single infusion of Gilead Sciences' drug AmBisome, known generically as iposomal amphotericin B, cured nearly all patients with visceral leishmaniasis, or kala-azar, a parasitic infection, Reuters reports.

12 Feb 2010

SonoSite reports lower revenues in fourth-quarter, full-year results

SonoSite, Inc., the world leader and specialist in hand-carried ultrasound for the point-of-care, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.

12 Feb 2010

pSivida reports consolidated net loss of $24,000 for quarter ended December 31, 2009

pSivida Corp. , a drug delivery company with two of the only three ophthalmic sustained release delivery products approved by the FDA for treatment of back-of-the-eye diseases, today announced financial results for its second quarter and six months ended December 31, 2009.

12 Feb 2010

Measures to tackle school avoidance in children

Children and adolescents who refuse to attend school should not be given doctors' sick notes. In the current issue of Deutsches -rzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010; 107[4]), child and adolescent psychiatrist Martin Knollmann and colleagues explain the causes of school avoidance and describe measures to tackle the problem.

12 Feb 2010

States push for insurers to increase coverage

States tackle several health care policy issues focused on health insurance coverage mandates and requirements.

12 Feb 2010

Therapeutic cell types obtained from iPS cells demonstrate abnormal expansion and early cellular aging

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. or “ACT” reported that a range of therapeutic cell types obtained from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells exhibit abnormal expansion and early cellular aging. The research, which appears online (published-ahead-of- print) in the journal STEM CELLS by ACT and its collaborators at Stem International (SCRMI), Harvard Medical School, and the University of Illinois, compares a variety of replacement cell types derived from human iPS cells with their embryonic stem (ES) cell counterparts. The findings support the use of ACT’s single blastomere-derived human embryonic stem cell lines which do not display early aging.

12 Feb 2010

Mesa Laboratories reports fiscal third quarter results

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. today reported sales and earnings for both its fiscal third quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2009.

12 Feb 2010

HIE leaders convene to discuss prospect of healthcare delivery

Dr. David Kibbe, recognized healthcare futurist and Senior Advisor, American Academy of Family Physicians, headlined Medicity’s Customer Summit last week, which attracted the nation’s most progressive healthcare organizations engaged in health information exchange (HIE) across the largest ecosystem of connected providers nationwide.

12 Feb 2010

New York's detained youth lack coordinated mental health care

The New York Times: "The State of New York does not have a single full-time staff psychiatrist charged with overseeing the treatment of the 800 or so young people who are detained in state facilities at any given time." The Times reports that all 17 psychiatrists at the detention facilities in the state's juvenile justice system are working either on contract and part time.

12 Feb 2010

HealthSpring enters into $350M senior secured credit facility

HealthSpring, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a new $350 million senior secured credit facility. The new agreement consists of $175 million in five-year term loans and a four-year, $175 million revolving credit facility, $25 million of which was drawn at closing. Outstanding loans under the new credit facility bear interest at a spread over a base rate or LIBOR (initially 325 basis points), depending on the Company’s total leverage ratio.

12 Feb 2010

Study could lead to new ways to combat obesity

The tiny tongue of a fruit fly could provide big answers to questions about human eating habits, possibly even leading to new ways to treat obesity, according to a study from a team of Texas A&M University researchers.

12 Feb 2010

Blood test to detect elevated levels of antibodies unique to Alzheimer’s disease developed

OPKO Health, Inc. today announced the development of a simple diagnostic blood test for Alzheimer’s disease. The test, designed to detect elevated levels of antibodies unique to Alzheimer’s disease, was approximately 95% accurate in initial testing.

12 Feb 2010

Mass. Gov. seeks greater authority to attack health costs

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick asked the state legislature to grant his administration broad new authority to "review and reject" excessive rates charged by medical providers in hopes of curbing costs and making health care more affordable, The Boston Globe reports. Under a bill filed Wednesday by Patrick, the rates that "hospitals and other health providers charge insurers would be 'presumptively disapproved as excessive' if they increased faster than the level of medical inflation, and they could be rejected after a public hearing."

12 Feb 2010

NewLink Genetics receives FDA SPA approval for HyperAcute immunotherapy Phase 3 pancreatic cancer trial

NewLink Genetics Corporation announced that it has reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) process for a pivotal Phase 3 trial of its HyperAcute immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is highly lethal and is currently an area of very significant unmet medical need. The SPA is a written agreement between NewLink as the trial sponsor and the FDA regarding the design, endpoints, and planned statistical analysis of a Phase 3 trial to be used in support of a Biologic License Application (BLA).

12 Feb 2010

Additional data from Phase III clinical trial of taliglucerase alfa in patients with Gaucher disease presented

Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc., announced today that additional data from the Company's pivotal Phase III clinical trial of taliglucerase alfa in patients with Gaucher disease was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Lysosomal Disease Network: WORLD Symposium 2010 in Miami, Florida, during an oral session titled, "Novel Enzyme Replacement Therapy for Gaucher Disease: Phase III Pivotal Clinical Trial with Plant Cell Expressed Recombinant Glucocerebrosidase (prGCD) - taliglucerase alfa."

12 Feb 2010

Researchers discover cancer gene in ancestral metazoan

To find the causes for cancer, biochemists and developmental biologists at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, retraced the function of an important human cancer gene 600 million years back in time. For the first time, they have identified the oncogene myc in a fresh water polyp and they have shown that this oncogene has similar biochemical functions in ancestral metazoan and in humans.

12 Feb 2010

Opinions: Rebuilding Haiti

In a Baltimore Sun opinion piece, Richard Santos - president and CEO of IMA World Health, a non-profit that provides health care services and supplies - describes what he sees as the top three priorities for the rebuilding of Haiti, beginning with healthcare, which he describes as " foundational to all else." He continues, "Development groups have experience setting up basic health care systems in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other difficult environments.

12 Feb 2010

New amplitude gating technique helps scanners pinpoint tumors

When one diagnoses a cancer patient, it's important to gather as much information about that person as possible. But who would have thought an accurate diagnosis would depend on throwing some of that information away?

12 Feb 2010

New screening system developed to discover molecules that block HCV life cycle

A newly designed system of identifying molecules for treating hepatitis C should enable scientists to discover novel and effective therapies for the dangerous and difficult-to-cure disease of the liver, says Zhilei Chen, a Texas A&M University assistant professor of chemical engineering who helped develop the screening system.

12 Feb 2010