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New online tool to evaluate health reform proposals

The RAND Corporation today launched an online tool to provide policymakers and interested parties with a unique way of understanding and evaluating the effects and unintended consequences of health care reform proposals certain to be introduced in the new 111th Congress and beyond.

13 Jan 2009

Vicks VapoRub may create respiratory distress in young children

New research out of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center suggests that Vicks® VapoRub®, the popular menthol compound used to relieve symptoms of cough and congestion, may instead create respiratory distress in infants and small children.

13 Jan 2009

Oncolytics Biotech issued new U.S. patent

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. has announced that it has been granted its 31st U.S. Patent, # 7,476,382, entitled "Reovirus for the Treatment of Neoplasia." The patent includes claims to pharmaceutical compositions containing reovirus.

13 Jan 2009

Older women less likely than men to be listed on a kidney transplant list

A Johns Hopkins transplant surgeon has found strong evidence that women over 45 are significantly less likely to be placed on a kidney transplant list than their equivalent male counterparts, even though women who receive a transplant stand an equal chance of survival.

13 Jan 2009

Photoacoustic tomography changes lymph node biopsy, reduces radiaiton exposure

Information obtained from a new application of photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is worth its weight in gold to breast cancer patients.

13 Jan 2009

New folate antagonists selectively target pathway important in rheumatoid arthritis

Methotrexate (MTX), a folate antagonist that blocks folic acid activity, is the most widely used disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) for rheumatoid arthritis.

13 Jan 2009

Numerical analysis estimates numbers of older US adults who may benefit from statin therapy

Researchers estimate more than 11 million older Americans may be newly eligible for statin therapy if findings from a recently published large clinical trial are adopted into clinical practice guidelines, according to a new analysis of the trial data.

13 Jan 2009

Thumbs down by experts on plans to make certain meds OTC

Government plans to make certain prescription-only drugs for common problems available over the counter have overwhelmingly been given the thumbs down by healthcare professionals, reveals a survey of readers of the influential Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin ( DTB ).

13 Jan 2009

Cell phone use not linked to melanoma of the eye

Mobile phone use is not associated with the risk of melanoma of the eye, researchers report in the January 13 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

13 Jan 2009

Research confirms value of risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy for women with BRCA mutations

Prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy-removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes--reduces the relative risk of breast cancer by approximately 50 percent and the risk of ovarian and fallopian tube cancer by approximately 80 percent in women who carry a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, researchers report in the January 13 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

13 Jan 2009

Question marks over herbal remedies for menopausal symptoms

There is no strong evidence either way for several herbal remedies commonly taken to relieve troublesome menopausal symptoms, concludes the January issue of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin ( DTB ).

13 Jan 2009

Expert warns parents to limit amount of TV children watch before age of two

A leading child expert is warning parents to limit the amount of television children watch before the age of two, after an extensive review published in the January issue of Acta Paediatrica showed that it can do more harm than good to their ongoing development.

13 Jan 2009

Important discovery in human insulin-producing cells

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have successfully induced human insulin-producing cells, known as beta cells, to replicate robustly in a living animal, as well as in the lab.

13 Jan 2009

HPV testing followed by cytology and repeat HPV testing may improve cervical cancer screening

The use of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing as an initial screening step followed by triage with a standard Pap test (cytology) and repeat HPV DNA testing may increase the accuracy of cervical cancer screening, according to a study in the Jan. 13 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

13 Jan 2009

Hospital diabetes care standards not met by US academic medical centers

A benchmarking study published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine evaluated contemporary hospital glycemic management in United States academic medical centers, determining glucose control practices are suboptimal and do not meet current American Diabetes Association (ADA) hospital diabetes care standards.

13 Jan 2009

High caffeine consumption linked to hallucinations

High caffeine consumption could be linked to a greater tendency to hallucinate, a new research study suggests.

13 Jan 2009

Infection with hepatitis C virus may increase pancreatic cancer risk

A new study shows that infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) increases a person's risk for a highly fatal cancer of the biliary tree, the bile carrying pathway between the liver and pancreas.

13 Jan 2009

Strong quadriceps may benefit those with knee osteoarthritis

Studies on the influence of quadriceps strength on knee osteoarthritis (OA), one of the leading causes of disability among the elderly, have shown conflicting results.

13 Jan 2009

Variations in mismatch repair genes predict prognosis in pancreatic cancer

Variations in mismatch repair genes can help predict treatment response and prognosis in patients with pancreatic cancer, according to research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center presented today in advance of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

13 Jan 2009

Gene therapy kills brain tumors through selective recruitment of immune cells

Scientists seeking to harness the power of the immune system to eradicate brain tumors face two major hurdles: recruiting key immune cells called dendritic cells into areas of the brain where they are not naturally found and helping them recognize tumor cells as targets for attack.

13 Jan 2009