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Adverse publicity about energy drinks has no effect, sales continues to increase

Amid the constant publicity about the potential danger of energy drink ingredients, Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD) reveals that the latest energy drink launches aren’t getting any healthier.

29 Aug 2009

Insurance workers: We're not 'villains'

Politicians have targeted the insurance industry in their pitch to overhaul health care. House speaker Nancy Pelosi went as far as calling insurers "villains" and "immoral." "I'm certainly not villainous or immoral in any way, shape or form," Max Shireman, a project manager for the insurer Humana, told The New York Times. Various insurance company employees had different interpretations and explanations for their demonization.

29 Aug 2009

Antibiotic functioning as an off switch being developed for gene therapy of Parkinson's disease

A common antibiotic can function as an "off switch" for a gene therapy being developed for Parkinson's disease, according to University of Florida researchers writing online in advance of September's Molecular Therapy.

29 Aug 2009

Medtronic defends payments to physicians

Medtronic, which has been the focus of recent reports detailing its payments to doctors, is defending that practice. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports: "At the annual shareholder meeting of Medtronic Inc.

28 Aug 2009

Bishops turn against reform, conservative Christians ramp up opposition

Catholic Bishops have been speaking out against health care reform proposals in recent weeks, after largely embracing the overhaul's goals last month as a continuation of their efforts to secure health care for the poor, The New York Times reports.

28 Aug 2009

Lawmakers, though still elbowing, agree on some health care reforms

Lost in the debate over key issues is the fact that lawmakers working on health care reform agree on major parts of reform, The Los Angeles Times reports.

28 Aug 2009

Genetic variants on chromosome 9q may influence asthma development in Mexican children

Genetic variants in a region on chromosome 9q may influence asthma development in Mexican children, according to research published in the August 28 issue of the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

28 Aug 2009

DaVita's nocturnal dialysis treatment allows patients to dialyze in-clinic while sleeping overnight

DaVita Inc., a leading provider of kidney care services for those diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), today announced its nocturnal dialysis patient population has reached a milestone, with 1,000 patients having received this life-saving treatment in more than 90 DaVita(R) centers around the nation. DaVita has one of the largest nocturnal patient populations in the country.

28 Aug 2009

Scientists study the impact of nerve growth factors for treating Parkinson's disease

Scientists in the Academy of Finland's Neuroscience Research Programme have reported promising new results with potential implications for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. They have been studying the impacts of nerve growth factors in the treatment of PD, and their latest results show that a certain growth factor can be used to halt the progress of damage brought on by a nerve poison and possibly even restore the function of damaged cells.

28 Aug 2009

HIV subtype D infected patients more likely to develop dementia

Patients infected with a particular subtype of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are more likely to develop dementia than patients with other subtypes, a study led by Johns Hopkins researchers shows. The finding, reported in the September Clinical Infectious Diseases, is the first to demonstrate that the specific type of HIV has any effect on cognitive impairment, one of the most common complications of uncontrolled HIV infection.

28 Aug 2009

Researchers discover that some wild plants possess a high nutritional value

A group of researchers from the Fat Institute (CSIC) and the University of Seville have confirmed that some wild plants have a high nutritional value. The scientists have found that several species of lupins from the mountains of Andalusia have a protein content similar to that of other cultivated legumes, as they publish in the online version of the Food Chemistry magazine.

28 Aug 2009

Covalon Technologies announces fiscal 2009 third-quarter results

Covalon Technologies Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:COV) announces the release of its financial statements for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 ending June 30, 2009. Revenues from product sales, coating services and licensing fees for the three months ended June 30, 2009 were $401,837, an increase of $64,575 over the same period in the previous year.

28 Aug 2009

Small business groups worry about reform

Small businesses are already strapped by health care costs and are concerned about the efforts on reform, according to the Baltimore Sun. "As Congress works to fix the health care system, controlling the growing tab for medical insurance is an especially important concern for the nation's 6 million small businesses, whose support is crucial to any reform. While trying to extend coverage to 47 million uninsured Americans, lawmakers are also trying to reduce expenses," the Sun reports.

28 Aug 2009

Research round-up: Highlights from recent releases

American Health Care Association (AHCA): State-by-State Medicare Cuts to Nursing Homes -- "A new [AHCA] analysis of the pending House health reform bill [HR 3200], combined with the impact of a recently-enacted Medicare regulation cutting Medicare-funded nursing home care by $12 billion over ten years, finds seniors in fifteen states requiring nursing and rehabilitative care will face total funding cuts in excess of $1 billion over that same time period," according to an AHCA description of the study. "The assessment was based on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score of both HR 3200 and the recent CMS funding rule, along with Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) utilization data." A breakdown of each of the 15 states facing ten-year billion dollar cuts to Medicare-funded nursing homes is available online (8/20).

28 Aug 2009

Physician payment plan stirs concern over reform efforts

Issues surrounding physician payments and addressing the primary care doctor shortage are central to health care reform efforts.

28 Aug 2009

Rhonix - a new online medical translation community forum from ENLASO

ENLASO Corporation, a leading provider of medical and life sciences translation and localization solutions, today announced that it has launched a new social networking forum dedicated to helping improve the quality in medical and life sciences translations.

28 Aug 2009

New intelligent reminder system with Artificial Intelligence techniques for the elderly

A team of researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) has created a system with Artificial Intelligence techniques which notifies elderly people or people with special needs of the forgetting of certain everyday tasks. This system uses sensors distributed in the environment in order to detect their actions and mobile devices which remind them, for example, to take their keys before they leave home.

28 Aug 2009

Iowa hospital uses innovative design to reduce error

The Des Moines Register reports on the design of Mercy Medical Center-West Lakes, a $100 million hospital with 83 beds set to open Sept. 8, that uses innovative approaches to try to reduce medical errors.

28 Aug 2009

Sinovac to supply its Anflu seasonal flu vaccine to the Beijing Public Health Bureau

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (NYSE: SVA), a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced today that the Beijing Public Health Bureau has selected Sinovac as one of the four manufacturers to supply Anflu(R), Sinovac's seasonal influenza vaccine, for the benefit of the citizens of Beijing. The Beijing Public Health Bureau completed the bidding process for the purchase of flu vaccines and corresponding services for 2009 on August 26, 2009. The agreement will be executed after the public notice period.

28 Aug 2009

Bavarian Nordic generates a revenue of DKK 33 million in the first half of 2009

In the first half of 2009 Bavarian Nordic generated revenue of DKK 33 million and recorded a loss before tax of DKK 188 million. As of 30 June 2009 the Group's net free liquidity was DKK 489 million.

28 Aug 2009