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Australian to lead the world in cancer fight

Professor David Hill, Director of The Cancer Council Victoria, will commence in his role as President of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) on 27 August 2008 at the World Cancer Congress in Geneva.

27 Aug 2008

FDA grants CLIA waiver to American Bio Medica for drug test

American Bio Medica Corporation has announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted CLIA waived status to the Company's Rapid TOX point of collection drug test product line.

From Medica Corporation 27 Aug 2008

FDA clears non-invasive test to help manage heart transplant patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced it has cleared for marketing a non-invasive test that uses molecular expression techniques to assist doctors in managing heart transplant patients post-surgery for potential organ rejection.

27 Aug 2008

Young type-2 diabetic men suffer low testosterone levels

Young men with type 2 diabetes have significantly low levels of testosterone, endocrinologists at the University at Buffalo have found -- a condition that could have a critical effect on their quality of life and on their ability to father children.

27 Aug 2008

Researchers partner with moms to overcome breastfeeding obstacles

The message, "breast is best" may be familiar and powerful, but it's not enough to get some women to breastfeed. A new University of Rochester Medical Center project creates a partnership with mothers who are not likely to breastfeed exclusively, and tries to improve the rates by first understanding their perspective and obstacles.

27 Aug 2008

UT Southwestern discovery may lead to new drug-abuse treatments

Increased connections among brain cells caused by excessive drug use may represent the body's defense mechanism to combat addiction and related behaviors, scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

27 Aug 2008

Time is right to make cancer control a development priority

For public health, the complexity of cancer control has increased enormously following the shift of the disease burden from wealthy to less affluent countries. Cancer causes around 7.9 million deaths worldwide each year. Of these deaths, more than 72% are now occurring in low- and middle-income countries. This is a shocking statistic, with huge implications for human suffering, health systems, health budgets, and the drive to reduce poverty.

27 Aug 2008

High levels of toxic metals found in Ayurvedic medicines

Alternative medicine is in the news again with scientists in the U.S. saying they have found high levels of toxic metals in popular herbal medicines sold online.

27 Aug 2008

Protherics announces start of Prolarix phase 2 study in liver cancer

Protherics PLC today announced the initiation of a phase 2a proof-of-concept study of Prolarix, a targeted prodrug chemotherapy being developed for the treaent of primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma or "HCC"). This follows promising data from a phase 1 study of Prolarix, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago, USA on 2 June 2008.

27 Aug 2008

Chronic stress alters our genetic immune response

Most people would agree that stress increases your risk for illness and this is particularly true for severe long-term stresses, such as caring for a family member with a chronic medical illness. However, we still have a relatively limited understanding of exactly how stress contributes to the risk for illness. In the August 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry, researchers shed new light on one link between stress and illness by describing a mechanism through which stress alters immune function.

27 Aug 2008

Potential new targets for antidepressants

The news about antidepressant medications over the past several years has been mixed. The bad news from large multicenter studies such as STAR*D is that current antidepressant medications are effective, but not as effective as one might hope. Thus, there is a significant need for new treatment mechanisms for depression. On that front, there has been mixed news as well.

27 Aug 2008

Doctor's job in jeopardy after he prescribed sleeping tablets to a suicidal patient

The job of a Scottish doctor is under jeopardy after he prescribed sleeping tablets to a suicidal patient who then took her own life.

27 Aug 2008

Child's aggressive cancer spotted in a photo sent to a friend

A baby girl's photograph shown online to a friend of her mother has led to the child being diagnosed with a cancerous tumour.

27 Aug 2008

Drug Lucentis to save eyesight of thousands in the UK

The eyesight of thousands of people in the UK will be saved with a new drug available under the National Health Service.

27 Aug 2008

Many people mistaken about the causes of cancer

A large international survey for the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) has revealed that many people have misconceptions about what causes cancer.

27 Aug 2008

Changes to California health insurance programs might result in loss of coverage for thousands of children

Efforts by California to expand health insurance to all children have "stalled," and "thousands of kids are in danger of losing insurance" as a result of recent changes to state programs, the Los Angeles Times reports.

26 Aug 2008

Alabama board approves plan to charge state employees for obesity, health problems

The Alabama State Employees' Insurance Board last week approved a plan that will require state employees who are obese or have health problems to make progress to address those issues or pay a monthly charge for health insurance, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

26 Aug 2008

Democratic National Committee approves platform with health care language; Obama campaigns in Iowa

The Democratic National Committee on Monday during the Democratic National Convention voted to adopt a non-binding party platform that includes language about health care, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports. According to the AP/Newsday, the platform in large part follows recommendations from presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) but moves "beyond his proposals in calling for guaranteed health care for all" (Woodward, AP/Long Island Newsday, 8/26).

26 Aug 2008

Stanford University to limit pharmaceutical industry financing of CME

Stanford University officials on Tuesday plan to announce a new policy under which pharmaceutical and medical device companies no longer will have the ability to select continuing medical education courses that they seek to finance for physicians at the university's School of Medicine, the New York Times reports.

26 Aug 2008

Blue Cross Blue Shield plans consider consolidation amid tightening managed-care market

Some Blue Cross Blue Shield not-for-profit organizations are considering either merging or converting to for-profit status to help them compete with larger insurers in an "increasingly concentrated managed-care industry," the Wall Street Journal reports.

26 Aug 2008