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Senate health bill could come this week, 'compromise' public option now seems likely

Senate Democrats will need to move quickly if they want to pass some version of health overhaul legislation by the end of the year.

27 Oct 2009

Transcatheter valve may eliminate repeat surgeries in children with heart defects; multicenter study shows good outcomes

Children born with certain heart defects have impaired blood flow from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery leading to the lungs, requiring implanted devices (known as right-ventricular outflow tract conduits) to maintain the flow. However, these conduits fail over time, and children typically face multiple open-heart operations during their lives to reopen the passage.

27 Oct 2009

Physicians launch SUCCEED, program for breast cancer survivors

Breast cancer. A diagnosis of those two words elicits an array of emotions ranging from fear and anger, to confusion and uncertainty. To cope, women often look to family, friends and survivors for support, forming a network of people to help guide them through their diagnosis and treatment. As treatment begins, the plan seems clear.

27 Oct 2009

Reid to announce his support for public plan

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to announce at a 3:15 press conference today his support for inclusion of a public option in health care reform legislation.

27 Oct 2009

School to college transition can trigger eating disorders in young adults

Research shows that the transition to college, with its inherent pressures and changes, can increase the likelihood of eating disorders in young adults. While college students are empowered with newfound independence, this freedom can also trigger unhealthy and dangerous behaviors.

27 Oct 2009

NCI funds new Center on Microenvironment and Metastasis to research on cancer

Adding potent research firepower and fresh physical perspectives to combat cancer, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has funded the new Center on the Microenvironment and Metastasis, which will be headquartered at Cornell University.

27 Oct 2009

BioMarin Pharmaceutical announces the acquisition of Huxley Pharmaceuticals

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. announced today that it has acquired Huxley Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Huxley), which has rights to a proprietary form of 3,4-diaminopyridine (3,4-DAP), amifampridine phosphate, for the rare autoimmune disease Lambert Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (LEMS).

27 Oct 2009

New discount prescription program for Wyoming residents

Officials have confirmed that a new statewide prescription assistance program, called Wyoming Rx Card, is being launched tomorrow. The program will provide free discount prescription drug cards to Wyoming residents.

27 Oct 2009

Researchers show link between alcohol and cancer

Alcohol consumption has long been linked to cancer and its spread, but the underlying mechanism has never been clear.

27 Oct 2009

Opinions: Africa Food Aid; International Violence Against Women Act; brain drain

While the drought and starvation in the Horn of Africa are "ghastly to be sure," when "you see children on TV with distended bellies keening over their dying parents ... do them a favour. Sit on your hands," Sam Kiley, a former Africa bureau chief with the London Times, writes in a newspaper opinion piece.

27 Oct 2009

Romer sees health care reform as critical to ease deficit

Top White House advisor Christina Romer said that health reform would help to ease the deficit at a speech today. Reuters reports: "While some critics say Democrats' efforts to regulate the insurance sector should wait until the deficit is under control, they should instead see it 'as the most significant act we could take to tackle the deficit,' Romer said in speech to the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based think-tank" (Heavey, 10/26).

27 Oct 2009

AdherenceRx announces the development and integration of Patient Adherence Index

AdherenceRx (www.adherencerx.com) is pleased to announce the development & integration of the Patient Adherence Index™ (PAI™). This new index brings together evidence-based patient behavior mapping scores associated with Positive Psychology & Behavior Change… and the Patient Activation Measure™ (PAM™) developed by Judith Hibbard, Ph.D., and her colleagues at the University of Oregon.

27 Oct 2009

Innovative approach to build a new drug to treat a number of CNS diseases

Working like an architect, Prof. Hagit Eldar-Finkelman of Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine is "building" a new drug, L803-MTS, to treat a number of central nervous system (CNS) diseases like Alzheimer's. In pre-clinical studies, it also shows promise against Parkinson's, Huntington's and diabetes.

27 Oct 2009

President Obama declares H1N1 national emergency

President Barack Obama declared the H1N1 (swine) flu outbreak a national emergency, the Wall Street Journal reports. "The declaration, which Mr. Obama signed Friday, authorizes the administration to waive or modify certain federal requirements involving Medicare, Medicaid and health-privacy rules to speed treatment," the newspaper writes (McKay/Simpson/Whalen, 10/26).

26 Oct 2009

Post-storm conditions in Philippines continue to threaten health

Filipinos are "struggling to live in flooded suburbs or crowded shelters one month after devastating rains began pounding the Philippines, and officials warn no quick fix is in sight," Agence France-Presse reports. According to the WHO, 1.43 million people, "mostly in and around Manila, continue to endure a dangerous existence living in flooded districts" (Morella, 10/26).

26 Oct 2009

Medicare fraud: One of the most profitable crimes in U.S.

Medicare "provides a rich and steady income stream for criminals who are constantly finding new ways to steal a sizable chunk of the half trillion dollars that are paid out each year in Medicare benefits," 60 Minutes reports. "In fact, Medicare fraud - estimated now to total about $60 billion a year - has become one of, if not the most profitable, crimes in America." Medicare fraud leaves little evidence: an FBI agent in South Florida said "the only visible evidence of the crimes are the thousands of tiny clinics and pharmacies that dot the low-rent strip malls.

26 Oct 2009

Cantor Fitzgerald teams up with Healthcare Interactive to introduce new healthcare software management tool

Cantor Insurance Group, a unit of Cantor Fitzgerald LP, has joined with Healthcare Interactive to introduce Cantor Health Interactive, a new healthcare software management tool to help businesses monitor and reduce their healthcare costs.

26 Oct 2009

Congressional hearing addresses International Violence Against Women Act

VOA News reports on the recent appeals by human rights advocates for the U.S. Congress to pass the International Violence Against Women Act, a bill that would fund "a five-year program to reduce violence in countries where the problem is most serious." Then Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.) first introduced the legislation in 2007.

26 Oct 2009

Observer examines calls for reworking health spending focus in Africa

The Observer examines the recent appeal by some health experts for an "overhaul of health spending in Africa," which, they say, focuses on HIV/AIDS and overlooks other deadly diseases, such as diarrhea.

26 Oct 2009

National Cancer Institute awards Johns Hopkins $14.8 million for cancer research

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology have been awarded $14.8 million from the National Cancer Institute to launch a research center aimed at unraveling the physical underpinnings of the growth and spread of cancer.

26 Oct 2009