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Congress must increase funding for school nutrition programs

As more of America's children depend on free and reduced price school meals during the economic downturn, schools are grappling with rising costs that surpass the federal reimbursement rate for these meals.

15 Oct 2009

Online medical journal to be launched

Two Johns Hopkins Children's Center researchers have assembled a 25-member editorial board of international experts to launch a quarterly online medical journal devoted to original research and commentary on the use of computer automation in the day-to-day practice of medicine.

15 Oct 2009

Surveillance of travel-related illness helps to detect and respond to H1N1 influenza

Because pandemics unfold in unpredictable ways, surveillance of travel-related illness is among the most powerful tools health officials and doctors can use to detect and respond to new pathogens like the novel H1N1 influenza, says the physician who heads the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Travelers' Clinic.

15 Oct 2009

Institute of Medicine elects two new members from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Michael Kastan, M.D., Ph.D., and Mary Relling, Pharm.D., of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, have been elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), a prestigious branch of the National Academy of Sciences.

15 Oct 2009

New food reports highlight growing global hunger

Reforms are required to curb global hunger, which was already "growing" before the worldwide financial downturn, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a report, released in Rome, ahead of World Food Day on Friday, the BBC reports (10/14).

15 Oct 2009

Jazz Pharmaceuticals to present Phase III sodium oxybate trial data at ACR 2009 meetings

Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that data from the company's first Phase III clinical trial of sodium oxybate (JZP-6) for the treatment of fibromyalgia will be presented during the American College of Rheumatology 2009 Annual Meeting (ACR) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and also in November during the US Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress (US Psych Congress) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

15 Oct 2009

ACRO urges Congress to include clinical testing in biosimilars legislation

The Association of Clinical Research Organizations has called on Congress to ensure that any biosimilars legislation it passes requires clinical testing to ensure patient safety, efficacy, purity and potency. ACRO’s recommendations were included in a letter to the congressional committees with jurisdiction over health care policy.

15 Oct 2009

House bill would extend parents' coverage for young adults

In a new development in the House health bill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has agreed to insert language allowing young adults to stay on their parents' insurance plan through the age of 26.

15 Oct 2009

Five research teams receive $2.4 million to help breast cancer survivors

A total of $2.4 million has been awarded to five research teams in the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance/Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Special Research Competition on Psychosocial Aspects of Breast Cancer.

15 Oct 2009

News outlets examine efforts to control TB in South Africa

Agence France-Presse examines the ongoing fight to control the spread of tuberculosis in South Africa. "The World Health Organisation estimates almost one percent or 461,000 South Africans develop TB annually, with government figures showing that the disease was the country's leading natural cause of death in 2006," the news service writes.

15 Oct 2009

New relocatable radiation therapy system from TomoTherapy

TomoTherapy Incorporated announced today the availability of the industry's first relocatable radiation therapy solution -- TomoMobile™ -- which is designed to quickly and cost-effectively bring cutting-edge radiation therapy solutions to patients in underserved and rural markets.

15 Oct 2009

Also in Global Health News: 'Delivering as one'; syringe vending machine; hospital preparedness

Rwanda will host a three-day U.N. meeting next week to discuss ways to improve the U.N.'s ability to "provide development assistance in a more coordinated way," the New Times/allAfrica.com reports. "Rwanda is one of the 8 pilot countries implementing the U.N. 'Delivering as One' initiative, as part of the body's reform process," the publication writes. Participants in the meeting will share their experiences and lessons learned from the program since its implementation in 2007 (Gathoni, 10/14).

15 Oct 2009

Healthways announces acquisition of behavioral economics company, HealthHonors

Healthways, Inc. today announced the acquisition of HealthHonors, a market-leading behavioral economics company that specializes in behavior change science and optimized use of incentives, in a cash for stock transaction.

15 Oct 2009

UCLA to establish a new Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center

The UCLA School of Public Health has received a major grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a center that will facilitate research to strengthen the ability of federal, state and local public health agencies to prepare for, respond to and recover from natural and human-induced disasters, including terrorism.

15 Oct 2009

Biosante Pharmaceuticals, Cell Genesys successfully complete merger

BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Cell Genesys, Inc., today announced the successful completion of their previously announced merger of Cell Genesys with and into BioSante, with BioSante as the surviving company, under which BioSante now has acquired all of the outstanding shares of Cell Genesys common stock.

15 Oct 2009

IMF policies harm Kenyan health system, report says

According to a report released Tuesday, policies set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have restricted government spending on health services, "denying sick Kenyans access to drugs and quality healthcare," Business Daily reports.

15 Oct 2009

Veterans Affairs establishes service-connection benefits for Vietnam Veterans

Relying on an independent study by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki decided to establish a service-connection for Vietnam Veterans with three specific illnesses based on the latest evidence of an association with the herbicides referred to as Agent Orange.

15 Oct 2009

Dramatic effects on Norway's health service

If we continue to use our hospitals in the same way as we do now, the health service in 2030 will need to employ every second young person in the country and increase hospital bed capacity by 5000.

15 Oct 2009

HealthPartners to establish new clinic in Minnesota

HealthPartners today announced that it will open a new 5,000 square foot clinic at 7500 80th Street south in Cottage Grove, Minn. in early 2010.

15 Oct 2009

DNA Precision offers services for genetic research and healthcare research

DNA Precision has begun offering services for genetic research and healthcare research. These include gene discovery, Agilent ® microarray processing and bioinformatics. DNA Precision is a division of EcoArray, Inc., a 7-year old environmental genomics firm in Gainesville, FL.

15 Oct 2009