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Insurance companies make the best of a very bad year

"Rising unemployment, swine flu and the threat of health care reform all ganged up on managed care companies in the third quarter and could hurt their performance heading into 2010," the Associated Press reports.

7 Nov 2009

Gastroschisis may be associated with infections during pregnancy

Results of an investigation conducted by University of Nevada, Reno researchers, public health officials and area physicians published this week in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, indicate that Washoe County experienced a cluster of a particular birth defect, gastroschisis, during the period April 2007 - April 2008.

7 Nov 2009

American Academy of Nursing inducts seven editors of LWW as Academy Fellows

The American Academy of Nursing today inducted seven editors and editorial board members of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) nursing publications as Academy Fellows. LWW is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

7 Nov 2009

Researchers find compound that reverses type 1 myotonic dystrophy

A compound already used to treat pneumonia could become a new therapy for an inherited muscular wasting disease, according to researchers at the University of Oregon and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York.

7 Nov 2009

Reuters examines China's involvement in fighting Malaria in Africa

Chinese scientists have been working on enhancing "the rare sweet wormwood shrub, from which artemisinin - the best drug to fight malaria - is derived" in an effort to fight malaria "not on its own soil, where the deadly disease has been sharply pruned back, but in Africa, where it still kills one child every 30 seconds," Reuters reports.

7 Nov 2009

Poll examines the American public's response to H1N1 vaccine shortage

A new national poll from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that a majority of adults who tried to get the H1N1 vaccine for themselves or their children have been unable to do so. The poll, which examines the American public's response to the H1N1 vaccine shortage, is the fifth in a series of surveys of public views concerning the H1N1 flu outbreak undertaken by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at HSPH.

7 Nov 2009

Halozyme Therapeutics announces results of its insulin variability study

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. today announced insulin variability study results that demonstrated reduced intrasubject absorption variability for the combination of lispro, a meal time analog insulin, plus PH20 (hyaluronidase) compared to subcutaneous injection of lispro alone.

7 Nov 2009

Rituximab drug potentially effective for treating Graves' eye disease, shows study

A small group of patients with severe Graves' eye disease experienced rapid improvement of their symptoms - and improved vision - following treatment with the drug rituximab. Inflammation around their eyes and damage to the optic nerve were significantly reduced. The same patients had not previously responded to steroids, a common treatment for Graves' eye disease.

7 Nov 2009

Roper Industries to acquire Verathon

Roper Industries, Inc. (NYSE: ROP) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Verathon, Inc., a leading provider of proprietary medical devices. The Verathon Board of Directors has approved the transaction and the closing is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions, including shareholder approval. The parties expect the closing to be completed in early December.

7 Nov 2009

Health policy research roundup

Health Affairs: Enrollment Is Driving Medicaid Costs—But Two Targets Can Yield Savings - "Although Medicaid spending has grown faster than the rate of increase in national health spending, much of this is explained by increased enrollment," write the authors of this paper, who present data showing that "[p]er enrollee, Medicaid spending actually compares favorably to increases in medical care prices and gross domestic product."

7 Nov 2009

NIH awards UAB School of Public Health $11.5M to research new methods of identifying youth with HIV

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health has been awarded a total of $11.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to explore new ways to identify adolescents and young adults infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and link them to medical care.

7 Nov 2009

Nytimes looks at doctors' crucial role in reshaping U.S. health system

Doctors and hospital payment systems remain at the center of the health care reform debate as news outlets examine the benefits of replacing the current fee-for-service approach.

7 Nov 2009

PPD acquires Excel PharmaStudies

PPD, Inc. today announced it has completed its acquisition of Excel PharmaStudies, Inc., the market leader and one of the largest contract research organizations in China. The acquisition strengthens PPD’s full range of drug development services in the country and positions it to capitalize on the tremendous growth of the outsourcing market in Asia Pacific.

7 Nov 2009

Elevated PSA levels in men are not necessarily a predictor of the need for a prostate biopsy: Study

Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered that some elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in men may be caused by a hormone normally occurring in the body, and are not necessarily a predictor of the need for a prostate biopsy.

7 Nov 2009

Law Enforcement Intelligent Devices to install its locker system and patent-pending BACS

Auburn Hills, MI-based Law Enforcement Intelligent Devices, LLC (LEID) will be installing its locker system and patent-pending Biometric Access Control System(TM) (BACS) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health (NIH) based in Bethesda, MD.

7 Nov 2009

Men's Wellness Center launched at AHF Blair Underwood Healthcare Center’

On Thursday, November 5th, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, which provides medical care and/or services to more than 120,000 individuals in 22 countries worldwide, opened a Men's Wellness Center at the new ‘AHF Blair Underwood Healthcare Center’ located in Washington D.C.

7 Nov 2009

WHO, MSF highlight poor health situation in Southern Sudan

Three quarters of people in South Sudan, which has a population of 8 million, do not have access to health care, and 10 percent of children there and in Darfur die before the age of 1, Mohammad Abdur Rab, the WHO's representative to Sudan, said Thursday, Reuters/ABC News reports.

7 Nov 2009

Only 30 per cent of bystanders in Toronto who witness a cardiac arrest willing to help, say researchers

Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital working in conjunction with EMS services, paramedics and fire services across Ontario found that a bystander who attempts cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can quadruple the survival rate to over 50 per cent. But Dr. Laurie Morrison and the research team at Rescu (www.rescu.ca) have found only 30 per cent of bystanders in Toronto are willing to help, one of the lowest rates of bystanders helping others in the developed world.

7 Nov 2009

Increased use of CAS procedures to treat carotid stenosis associated with adverse clinical outcomes

Among eligible Medicare beneficiaries, increased use of carotid arterial stenting (CAS) procedures to treat carotid stenosis-the narrowing of the carotid artery-is associated with higher rates of mortality and adverse clinical outcomes, including heart attack and stroke, according to researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

7 Nov 2009

Health experts report rising number of oral cancer in younger age groups

Mouth cancer (also called oral cancer) is a malignant growth which can occur in any part of the mouth including the lips and tongue. In the UK, the numbers of new cases have risen by over 41 per cent over the last ten years(1).

7 Nov 2009