Medical News

RSS

Additional data from ALS patients enrolled in confirmatory Phase III STAR trial announced

AVANIR Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced additional data from the subset of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) enrolled in the confirmatory Phase III STAR trial.

9 Dec 2009

OPDQ adopts global vision on food and nutrition

The Ordre professionnel des diététistes du Québec (OPDQ) believes it is time to reflect on the future of the profession. The OPDQ has therefore initiated a wide-scale consultation process, first with its own members and later with partners and stakeholders in various food-related and nutrition-related sectors. The results of this process will ultimately be the topic of discussions during an interdisciplinary summit to be held next March.

9 Dec 2009

More number of obese adults are turning to bariatric surgery as a last resort, says WHO

The obesity epidemic is a staggering public health problem and despite increased attention and education, the WHO still predicts the number of obese adults worldwide to increase from 400 million to 700 million between 2005 and 2015.

9 Dec 2009

General Mills reduces sugar and increases key nutrients in children's ready-to-eat cereals

General Mills announced today a public commitment to reduce sugar in cereals advertised to children to single-digit grams of sugar per serving. The initiative is in place and progress has been made, the company said, “with further reductions to continue until single-digit levels are reached on all cereals advertised to children.”

9 Dec 2009

Shah nomination advances to full Senate for consideration

"The nomination of [President Barack] Obama's pick to head USAID, Dr. Rajiv Shah, moved to the full Senate for consideration after receiving a unanimous voice vote from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee" Tuesday, Politico's Laura Rozen reports on her blog (12/8).

9 Dec 2009

Reid to meet this afternoon with Democrats on health care reform deal

"Senate Democrats plan to hold a special caucus on health care reform at 5 p.m. Wednesday to discuss a tentative deal on how to change the bill's public insurance option," Roll Call reports. "A group of 10 Democrats — five centrists and five liberals — agreed Tuesday night to send a set of proposals to the Congressional Budget Office for an official score, but the details have yet to be presented to all 60 Members of the Democratic Conference.

9 Dec 2009

Pitt professor suggests incorporating guidelines for weekend and holiday eating into food pyramid

The holidays can be challenging for even the most diligent dieters. But are weekends just as detrimental? Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., found that weekend eating patterns change significantly.

9 Dec 2009

Preliminary study shows 'mini' stem cell transplantation may safely reverse severe sickle cell disease

Results of a preliminary study by scientists at the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins show that "mini" stem cell transplantation may safely reverse severe sickle cell disease in adults.

9 Dec 2009

Also in global health news: Illegal drug trade in E. Africa; Somalia humanitarian crisis; alcohol, IV drug use in Russia; HIV/AIDS in China; FBOs engage in HIV fight

"[D]ozens of people" from China's Henan province who contracted HIV/AIDS from blood transfusions "demonstrated in front of the country's health ministry in Beijing" to highlight the challenges facing Chinese AIDS patients, the Irish Times reports.

9 Dec 2009

Roche to present data on its Herceptin, Avastin and T-DM1 studies at CTRC-AACR Symposium

Roche announced today that new 5 year follow-up data from two pivotal studies with Herceptin(R) (trastuzumab) in early breast cancer; key results from a study of Avastin(R) (bevacizumab) in the second-line treatment of advanced breast cancer and strong data on the use of trastuzumab-DM1 (T-DM1), the first antibody-drug conjugate in development for very advanced HER2-positive breast cancer, will all be presented during the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) from 9 to 13 December 2009.

9 Dec 2009

St. Luke's Hospital acquires computer-assisted surgery system from BrainLAB

BrainLAB, a manufacturer of software-driven systems for targeted, less-invasive medical treatments, announced today that St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has acquired VectorVision® flex, a powerful computer-assisted surgery (CAS) system featuring Digital Lightbox© with TraumaCad(TM), a pre-operative planning and digital templating software solution.

9 Dec 2009

Pacific Beach BioSciences signs licensing agreement with major pharmaceutical company

Pacific Beach BioSciences, Inc. today reported that it has granted non-exclusive rights to a large pharmaceutical company for the use of one of its anti-fungal compounds required for the manufacturing of a clinical stage product.

9 Dec 2009

DOTS has cured 36m People, prevented up to 8m TB deaths over 15 years, WHO says

Since the WHO developed Directly Observed Therapy, Short-course (DOTS) in 1994 for the treatment of tuberculosis, approximately 36 million people have successfully completed treatment and been cured over the past 15 years, according to new data released by the WHO on Tuesday, health-e reports (Thom, 12/8).

9 Dec 2009

Reid continues to court moderates for health bill support

Some news organizations are watching how certain key swing senators are reacting to the negotiations on a public option in the health care legislation.

9 Dec 2009

NIH awards Lentigen a SBIR grant for program to generate Hepatitis C Virus-Like Particles

Lentigen Corporation, a biotechnology company specializing in the development and manufacture of lentiviral gene delivery technologies, announced today that it has received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) small business innovation research (SBIR) grant for a program on "A Novel Method of Generating Hepatitis C Virus-Like Particles using Lentivirus". In this program, Lentigen will collaborate with Epixis SA (Paris, France).

9 Dec 2009

Polls show stable attitudes on public option, abortion

A Bloomberg poll conducted Dec. 3-7 found, on health care, "about half of poll respondents saying they disapprove of the plans in Congress to overhaul the system. Sixty-two percent of Americans say they are mostly pessimistic they would benefit from [a health-care bill Congress may pass.] The youngest Americans are more optimistic, with 47 percent of those under 35 saying they would benefit."

9 Dec 2009

Reid says 'broad agreement' on public option, senators await details

Coverage of the Senate's "broad agreement" to create a national health insurance plan continues, with Democratic leaders remaining mum on details while insisting the compromise leaves a "public" option in the bill. (See KHN's Tuesday night breaking news round-up).

9 Dec 2009

Community Memorial Health System selects Allscripts EHR and PM solution to enhance patient experience

Allscripts announced today that Community Memorial Health System has selected the Allscripts Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Practice Management (PM) solution, with Allscripts Revenue Cycle Management, to enhance the quality of care, improve patient communications, and better manage the cost of care delivery.

9 Dec 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

The language in our amendment is completely consistent with the Hyde Amendment, which in the 33 years since its passage has done nothing to inhibit private health insurers from offering abortion coverage. There is no reason to believe that a continuation of this policy would suddenly create undue hardship for the insurance industry — or for those who wish to use their private insurance to pay for an abortion (Rep. Bart Stupak, 12/8).

9 Dec 2009

New York cuts drug reimbursements, states trim tobacco prevention funding

The Associated Press: "States cut funding for state tobacco prevention programs more than 15 percent this year, pushing it further than ever below federally recommended levels, according to a report that a coalition of public health groups is releasing Wednesday.

9 Dec 2009

Medical News

Additional data from ALS patients enrolled in confirmatory Phase III STAR trial announced

OPDQ adopts global vision on food and nutrition

More number of obese adults are turning to bariatric surgery as a last resort, says WHO

General Mills reduces sugar and increases key nutrients in children's ready-to-eat cereals

Shah nomination advances to full Senate for consideration

Reid to meet this afternoon with Democrats on health care reform deal

Pitt professor suggests incorporating guidelines for weekend and holiday eating into food pyramid

Preliminary study shows 'mini' stem cell transplantation may safely reverse severe sickle cell disease

Also in global health news: Illegal drug trade in E. Africa; Somalia humanitarian crisis; alcohol, IV drug use in Russia; HIV/AIDS in China; FBOs engage in HIV fight

Roche to present data on its Herceptin, Avastin and T-DM1 studies at CTRC-AACR Symposium

St. Luke's Hospital acquires computer-assisted surgery system from BrainLAB

Pacific Beach BioSciences signs licensing agreement with major pharmaceutical company

DOTS has cured 36m People, prevented up to 8m TB deaths over 15 years, WHO says

Reid continues to court moderates for health bill support

NIH awards Lentigen a SBIR grant for program to generate Hepatitis C Virus-Like Particles

Polls show stable attitudes on public option, abortion

Reid says 'broad agreement' on public option, senators await details

Community Memorial Health System selects Allscripts EHR and PM solution to enhance patient experience

Today's opinions and editorials

New York cuts drug reimbursements, states trim tobacco prevention funding

Evolving spectrophotometry for modern biopharma workflows

Scaling B-cell cloning workflows for antibody development

Fluidics in Modern Healthcare & Medical Device Innovation

Latest News