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New online interactive quiz to gauge risk for cavities

Your risk for cavities can be gauged in minutes, thanks to a new interactive quiz launched today by a group of Delta Dental companies.

3 Sep 2009

m.pulse system for MCP therapy installed in ten hospitals

Cardiola AG announced today that it has placed its patented m.pulse system in 10 hospitals located in Germany and Switzerland, on the heels of the system’s CE-Mark approval. MCP was previously only available in a clinical setting. Now, m.pulse is the world’s first and only device enabling CAD patients to receive MCP therapy at home.

3 Sep 2009

Healthcare-acquired infection costs $1 billion per annum

Infections caught in hospital are costing the Australian healthcare system more than 850,000 lost bed days, according to a new study by Queensland University of Technology.

3 Sep 2009

Members of Congress say they will advocate for more health funding in Rwanda

Five members of Congress who are visiting Rwanda said they will advocate for more funding for the country's health sector, New Times/allAfrica.com reports. The delegation includes Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), and Melvin Watt (D-N.C.) (Musoni, 9/1).

3 Sep 2009

GDC-0449 inhibits the Hedgehog signaling pathway

The Hedgehog signaling pathway is involved in a preliminary study and case report describing positive responses to an experimental anticancer drug in a majority of people with advanced or metastatic basal cell skin cancers. One patient with the most common type of pediatric brain cancer, medulloblastoma, also showed tumor shrinkage.

3 Sep 2009

Insecticide-treated bed nets prevent infant deaths from malaria

Giving insecticide-treated bed nets to nearly 18,000 mothers at prenatal clinics in the Democratic Republic of Congo prevented an estimated 414 infant deaths from malaria, a study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers concludes.

3 Sep 2009

FDA's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee votes in favor of FOLOTYN NDA

Allos Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALTH) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) voted 10-4 that the response rate and duration of response observed with FOLOTYNTM (pralatrexate) are reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit in patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL).

3 Sep 2009

Pfizer to pay $2.3 billion for health care fraud settlement

American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and its subsidiary Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc. (hereinafter together "Pfizer") have agreed to pay $2.3 billion, the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the Department of Justice, to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of certain pharmaceutical products, the Justice Department announced today.

3 Sep 2009

Senate Republicans prepare robust objections to stall Democrat's health reform bill

Republicans are preparing a spate of procedural objections to use in the event Senate Democrats try to employ budget reconciliation rules to advance their health reform proposals.

3 Sep 2009

Preliminary lab results of SHBAN hand sanitizer solution announced

BioTech Medics, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: BMCS) announces that it has received preliminary independent clinical testing of its patented SHBAN™ Hand Sanitizer Solution to demonstrate it kills the H1N1 (Swine) Influenza A virus.

3 Sep 2009

American diners prefer meals that offer the most nutrition for the calories

When dining out, 65 percent of Americans prefer to see nutritional information on a restaurant menu over calories alone. As several cities around the country adapt to menu-labeling mandates that require restaurants to post calorie-counts on their menu, it is yet to be determined if it will have the desired impact on consumer behavior and therefore overall public health.

3 Sep 2009

Researchers to analyse nanoparticles

Researchers at Swansea University's Centre for NanoHealth have been awarded £1 million by the Research Councils' Nanoscience through Engineering to Application cross-council programme, led by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC), to analyse the levels at which nanoparticles can be deemed safe within cells.

3 Sep 2009

Ohio state to expand Medicaid program to more counties

Unison Health Plan of Ohio announced the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services will extend a contract that will enable Unison to offer its programs for aged, blind and disabled (ABD) Medicaid recipients in 18 additional Northwest Ohio counties.

3 Sep 2009

New York Times examines efforts to stop spread of dengue in Asia

"While emerging diseases like influenza A(H1N1), also known as swine flu, continue to dominate the headlines, experts say dengue is not only thriving in many endemic areas, it is also spreading to countries previously unaffected by the disease," New York Times writes.

3 Sep 2009

Increase in Rifampicin dosage shortens tuberculosis treatment duration

According to Dutch researcher Hanneke Later-Nijland, it may be possible to shorten the duration of treatment for tuberculosis. Due to the long duration of treatment, not every patient sees it through. Partly because of this, tuberculosis is one of the most lethal diseases in developing countries.

3 Sep 2009

Sepracor to be acquired by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma for $2.6 billion

Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. (“DSP”, TSE: 4506) and Sepracor Inc. (“Sepracor”, Nasdaq: SEPR) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which DSP will acquire Sepracor for approximately $2.6 billion through a cash tender offer of $23.00 per share, followed by a merger to acquire all remaining outstanding Sepracor shares at the same price paid in the tender offer.

3 Sep 2009

Research reveals that 21% of death claims are rejected by California's largest private insurers

More than one of every five requests for medical claims for insured patients, even when recommended by a patient's physician, are rejected by California's largest private insurers, amounting to very real death panels in practice daily in the nation's biggest state, according to data released today by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee.

3 Sep 2009

New study finds severe injuries vary by sport, gender and type of exposure

High school football and wrestling athletes experienced the highest rate of severe injuries, according to the first study to examine severe injuries - injuries that caused high school athletes to miss more than 21 days of sport participation among a nationally representative sample of high school athletes. Severe injuries accounted for 15 percent of all high school sport-related injuries.

3 Sep 2009

Congressional event to raise awareness about young women’s breast cancer risks

NeoMatrix, makers of the HALO Breast Pap Test, is a sponsor of a congressional reception Sept. 9 on Capitol Hill, which will focus on the EARLY Act and raising awareness about young women’s breast cancer risk.

3 Sep 2009

Molecular pathology laboratories gear up for swift swine flu detection

Dr. Jan Nowak, President of the Association for Molecular Pathology presented public comments today at the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee meeting.

3 Sep 2009