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Contradictions between personal and systemic health issues could thwart reform

Health care reform efforts must confront a paradox, the Los Angeles Times reports: "Millions of Americans say the system they depend on for everything from routine flu shots to life-saving heart surgery is broken and needs fixing.

9 Sep 2009

Mentally ill smokers also benefit from treatment, says research paper

People with mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety are the heaviest smokers in the country, but their doctors are afraid to ask them to quit. They assume that if their patients try to quit smoking, their mental disorders will get worse.

9 Sep 2009

ADDF's grant to Abiant for developing accurate imaging diagnostic approach

The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) announced today that it is providing a grant of $200,000 to Abiant, Inc. (Deerfield, IL), for the development of a highly accurate imaging diagnostic for Alzheimer's Disease.

9 Sep 2009

Baucus aims for health agreement in advance of Obama speech tonight

Democrats are promising to send President Obama a health reform plan this year as Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus continues to try to get key Republicans on board with a new proposal.

9 Sep 2009

Change to Win urges congress to implement a comprehensive health care reform

"Tonight, President Obama made the case to fix the broken health care system that has become a tremendous burden on working families and a constant threat to an already fragile economy. Congress must act now by implementing comprehensive health care reform that guarantees all Americans have high quality, affordable coverage.

9 Sep 2009

ARUP Laboratories' scientist receives grant to research HIV therapies

ARUP Laboratories, a national clinical and anatomic pathology reference laboratory and a leader in innovative laboratory research and development, announced that ARUP's Tanya Sandrock, PhD, Research & Development scientist, received a prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to research additional HIV therapies.

9 Sep 2009

American Medical News examines clinical trials outsourcing

American Medical News examines the ethical considerations of outsourcing pharmaceutical clinical trials to developing countries. The article highlights how it is less expensive for a drug company to conduct a trial in India, where it runs about $2,000 to track a patient through a trial, compared to the cost in the U.S., which is "10 times more."

9 Sep 2009

Members of Blue Shield of California to receive administrative costs of the H1N1 virus vaccine

Blue Shield of California announced today that it will cover the administrative costs of the H1N1 virus (swine flu) vaccine for all its members, regardless of which plan they have. Blue Shield will be waiving prior authorizations, copays and deductibles for office visits when members go to an in-network doctor to get H1N1 vaccinations.

9 Sep 2009

AARP committed to health reform, but seniors remain split

AARP leaders, like Morie Smile, the association's acting director in Colorado, have been asked to help "calm the fury and correct the misinformation that has poured forth this summer and rattled so many senior citizens," the Washington Post reports.

9 Sep 2009

Health care reform should make system efficient for patients and physicians: AMA

"It is clear that the status quo is unacceptable. The AMA will continue to work for reform that makes the system work better for patients and physicians. We must seize this opportunity this year to achieve meaningful health reform for America's patients and physicians.

9 Sep 2009

American Asthma Foundation awards $750,000 for asthma research

Dr. Serpil Erzurum, one of the nation's leading experts in asthma, has been awarded $750,000 by the American Asthma Foundation (AAF). Dr. Erzurum will collaborate with experts in nuclear medicine and physics to develop an innovative way for clinicians to observe changes in the lungs of patients during an asthma attack.

9 Sep 2009

University of California receives $3.5 million grant from NIDA for AIDS vaccine research

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has awarded a $3.5 million grant for AIDS vaccine research to Phillip Berman, professor and chair of biomolecular engineering at the Jack Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

9 Sep 2009

News organizations offer last minute decoders for health debate

Media organizations have presented a variety of health care decoders today, in anticipation of President Obama's speech tonight. Timelines, glossaries and a list of interest groups' ambitions seek to put the debate in context.

9 Sep 2009

Chemgenex completes NDA submission for its omacetaxine mepesuccinate to the FDA

ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX:CXS) announced today the completion of its New Drug Application (NDA) submission to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for OMAPRO™ (omacetaxine mepesuccinate). OMAPRO™ is being developed for the treatment of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who have failed treatment with imatinib and who have developed the Bcr-Abl T315I mutation.

9 Sep 2009

An examination of Medicare cost and quality issues

Chronic conditions and readmission to the ER trigger significant costs to the hospital system and Medicare while efforts are underway to save Medicare money by preventing hospital infections and falls.

9 Sep 2009

North Carolina Biotechnology Center awarded a transformational grant by the Biogen Idec Foundation

The Biogen Idec Foundation today announced it has awarded a $1 million Transformational Grant in Science Education to the North Carolina Biotechnology Center to support the expansion of the Center’s educational training facility for K-12 science teachers. The grant is part of the Biogen Idec Foundation’s new Transformational Grants in Science Education initiative. The Foundation has awarded approximately $1.5 million in transformational grants since the program was initiated in 2008.

9 Sep 2009

With summer jobs, med students experience health system challenges first hand

A group of University of Washington medical students had an eye-opening experience with the health care system this summer, The New York Times reports. A record number of students from the university this year participated in a summer program that sends rising second-year medical students "across the Northwest to provide primary care in rural or underserved areas."

9 Sep 2009

Disposable Grind-No-More dental night protector launched by Plackers

Plackers(R), makers of the first disposable dental flosser, expands its line of convenient home dental care products with the Grind-No-More(R) Night Protector, the first disposable, ready-to-use night protector on the market that combats bruxism, commonly known as teeth grinding.

9 Sep 2009

St. Jude Medical's Brio neurostimulator receives CE Mark approval

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) today announced CE (Conformité Européenne) Mark approval of the Brio™ neurostimulator, the world’s smallest, longest-lasting rechargeable deep brain stimulation (DBS) device for treating the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. A 67-year-old man who has suffered from Parkinson’s disease for more than 26 years became the first person to be implanted with the Brio neurostimulator.

9 Sep 2009

American International Pathology Laboratories provides jobs to Walter Reed AFIP pathologists

American International Pathology Laboratories (AIPL), a division of Bostwick Laboratories, opens its doors today, providing positions to more than 40 civilian pathologists and staff formerly of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The 150-year-old Institute will cease operations when Walter Reed closes under the Federal Base Realignment and Closure program.

9 Sep 2009