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Majority Leader still aims to bring health bill to Senate floor next week

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid continues to aim to get a health care reform bill to the floor next week, his spokeswoman said Friday, MarketWatch reports. "No date has been set to bring the bill to the floor for debate, she said, adding that Reid wants to bring it up 'as soon as we can.'"

16 Nov 2009

New surgical technique may benefit brain injured athletes

NFL players and other athletes who suffer serious or multiple concussions may benefit from ground-breaking research being conducted by scientists at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center. The scientists are developing a surgical technique that involves hypothermia in specific regions of the brain.

16 Nov 2009

Medicare open enrollment starts Sunday, premiums will rise 11 percent on average

U.S. News & World Report/HealthDay News reports that seniors who participate in Medicare Part D's will likely notice significant changes during this year's open enrollment period, which begins Nov. 15. "Monthly premiums will rise 11 percent to $38.94, on average, according to an analysis published by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. That's up 50 percent from 2006, the first year that Medicare Part D drug benefits were offered."

16 Nov 2009

Cappella commences evaluation of the Sideguard Coronary Sidebranch Stent & Delivery System

Cappella, Inc., a medical device company developing dynamic solutions for the treatment of coronary bifurcation disease, announced the start of Sideguard 3, an IVUS/OCT evaluation of the Sideguard® Coronary Sidebranch Stent & Delivery System. This is a European multicenter study to evaluate the vascular response to Sideguard in de novo bifurcation lesions of native coronary arteries.

16 Nov 2009

News outlets examine USAID administrator nomination

PBS' Online NewsHour explores the recent nomination of Rajiv Shah as USAID administrator and the outlook for the agency. "While Shah still needs to be confirmed by the Senate, there has been high anticipation for a successor to be named. There is broad consensus in the government and aid community that the agency … is in need of realignment," the NewsHour writes.

16 Nov 2009

SCM Microsystems announces financial results for the third quarter of 2009

SCM Microsystems, Inc., a leading provider of solutions for secure access, secure identity and secure exchange, today announced results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2009. In the second reporting period following SCM's merger with Hirsch Electronics Corporation, revenue more than doubled, reflecting the success of the Company's strategy to increase its revenue by expanding its customer base and market reach through acquisitions and market investment.

16 Nov 2009

TIME examines efforts to combat malaria resistance along Thai-Cambodia border

TIME reports on evidence along the Thai-Cambodia border that the malaria parasite is gaining resistance to artemisinin - "the only remaining effective drug in the world's arsenal against malaria's most deadly strain."

16 Nov 2009

Feds overlooked Medicare scam warnings, The AP reports

The Associated Press reports that the Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services "received roughly 30 warnings from inspectors (on suspected Medicare fraud) over three years during the Bush and Obama administrations but didn't respond to half of them, even after repeated letters." The news story was based on records received from Sen. Chuck Grassley's office.

16 Nov 2009

Recent releases in Global Health

As a follow-up to a survey conducted in May 2009, this poll examines Americans' attitudes toward U.S. global health investments and priorities.

16 Nov 2009

NIDA awards $17 million to University of California to establish TMARC

Igor Grant, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues have been awarded a $17 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to establish the Translational Methamphetamine AIDS Research Center (TMARC) at UC San Diego. Grant is director of the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center (HNRC), a clinical research center designated and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

16 Nov 2009

Maternal mortality, abortion rates decline in former Soviet bloc

Over the last decade, the maternal mortality rate has dropped by 50 percent in some former Soviet bloc and Balkan countries, according to a U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) report released Thursday, Agence France-Presse/France24 reports.

16 Nov 2009

Patent number for Microfluidic Valve Mechanism received

Microfluidic Systems, a privately-held company, announced today that they received patent number 7,607,641, entitled "Microfluidic Valve Mechanism". This patent covers a broad set of claims regarding the integration of a diaphragm membrane into a rigid body of a cartridge functioning as both a fluidic seal and cover of the cartridge, and as a valve mechanism for fluidics control within the cartridge.

16 Nov 2009

WHO revises clinical H1N1 guidelines, sends antivirals to some hard-hit nations

On Thursday, the WHO issued revised guidance for the clinical management of H1N1 (swine) flu, the Associated Press reports. According to the AP, the WHO "says doctors shouldn't wait for lab confirmation before giving anti-viral drugs to pregnant women and other at-risk groups with suspected swine flu" (11/12).

16 Nov 2009

CMS report on House health bill: Many more insured means more, not less, spending

The Associated Press: "Overall spending on health care would rise as a result of legislation approved a week ago by the House, and billions of dollars in projected savings contained in the measure will be difficult to maintain, according to a report by a top official at the agency that oversees Medicare.

16 Nov 2009

Investing in disease prevention receives majority support among Americans

Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) released a new public opinion survey today that finds that 71 percent of Americans favor an increased investment in disease prevention and that disease prevention is one of the most popular components of health reform. Forty-four percent of Americans strongly favor investing more in prevention.

16 Nov 2009