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Immune system’s role in breast cancer

Researchers working with Dr Marcus Schmidt in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University Medical Center Mainz have unlocked the key to the immune system's significance in cases of breast cancer, thus identifying its long-neglected role in the prognosis of the disease.

16 Jun 2009

Farmed fish and mad cow disease – researchers air new concerns

University of Louisville neurologist Robert P. Friedland, M.D., questions the safety of eating farmed fish in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, adding a new worry to concerns about the nation's food supply.

16 Jun 2009

Sinovac completes construction of H1N1 virus seed bank

Sinovac Biotech announced today that it has completed construction of the H1N1 virus seed bank necessary to produce a virus antigen.

16 Jun 2009

Genomic discovery: Protecting kidney function during heart failure

Mayo Clinic cardiology researchers have found a peptide that helps preserve and improve kidney function during heart failure, without affecting blood pressure. Earlier variations of this peptide caused blood pressure to drop limiting the potential benefits to the kidneys. The findings appear in the current Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

16 Jun 2009

Cognitive shortcut causes people to miscalculate weight and caloric intake

Psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania have identified a cognitive shortcut, or heuristic, they call "Unit Bias," which causes people to ignore vital, obvious information in their decision-making process, points to a fundamental flaw in the modern, evolved mind and may also play a role in the American population's 30 years of weight gain.

16 Jun 2009

New findings on how stress causes sexual dysfunction and infertility

University of California, Berkeley, researchers have found what they think is a critical and, until now, missing piece of the puzzle about how stress causes sexual dysfunction and infertility.

16 Jun 2009

Skin disease psoriasis associated with cardiovascular disease and increased mortality

The skin disease psoriasis is associated with atherosclerosis (a buildup of plaque in the arteries) characterized by an increased prevalence of ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral artery disease and an increased risk of death, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Dermatology.

16 Jun 2009

Could hormones explain gender differences in neurological disease?

Neurological diseases including Parkinson's, Tourette's, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Alzheimer's, and schizophrenia are all associated with alterations in dopamine-driven function involving the dopamine transporter (DAT).

16 Jun 2009

Marker in blood may explain susceptibility to interstitial cystitis

A marker in the blood of both cats and humans that was identified in a recent study might signal both species' susceptibility for a painful bladder disorder called interstitial cystitis, a condition that is often difficult to diagnose.

16 Jun 2009

Distributed drug discovery for neglected diseases

Researchers from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) have developed Distributed Drug Discovery (D3), a new low-cost strategy to accelerate the discovery of drugs to treat neglected diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy, leshmaniasis, dengue fever, and Chagas disease.

16 Jun 2009

Access issues persist for Indians, rural Americans, immigrants

Several reports today focus on inadequate health care for certain population groups within the United States.

15 Jun 2009

Physicians wait for health IT guidelines, officials want 'every doctor's office' online

Physicians are still waiting for clear cut rules for how they must use health information technology in order to be eligible for economic stimulus-funded incentives, American Medical News, a publication of the American Medical Association, reports.

15 Jun 2009

Many key lawmakers hold stakes in health industry

"Almost 30 key lawmakers helping draft landmark health-care legislation have financial holdings in the industry, totaling nearly $11 million worth of personal investments in a sector that could be dramatically reshaped by this summer's debate," The Washington Post reports.

15 Jun 2009

Agencies and health departments prepare for swine flu

Governments and drug companies are struggling with efforts to prepare for a possible resurgence of swine flu in the fall as well as questioning who should receive swine flu vaccines as they ramp up production.

15 Jun 2009

Lawmakers spar over health reform

As the Senate Finance Committee prepares to unveil a health overhaul proposal this week, key players have been weighing in on aspects of potential legislation.

15 Jun 2009

Medical isotope shortage hurts hospitals and disrupts medical tests

Reuters reports that "a North American shortage of medical isotopes has forced many U.S. hospitals to begin rationing scores of diagnostic tests, and doctors said on Friday they see no quick solution."

15 Jun 2009

Maryland hospital fined for not reporting errors

Regulators have fined a hospital in Lanham, Maryland, for not reporting errors. The Washington Post reports that "Doctors Community Hospital in Prince George's County has been fined by Maryland health regulators after failing to notify them that a patient had died and that at least seven others suffered serious harm last year as a result of mistakes by the medical staff.

15 Jun 2009

Obama considers taxing health benefits to pay for reform

As President Obama looks for a way to pay for health care reform in the United States, key Democrats advocate taxing employer-provided health benefits, The Washington Post reports.

15 Jun 2009

Medicare tapped for savings to cover reform costs, again

In his weekly Internet and radio address Saturday, President Obama announced a plan to cut $313 billion in Medicare and Medicaid spending over the next decade as a way to raise money for overhauling the health care system and covering millions of the uninsured, the Los Angeles Times reports.

15 Jun 2009

Administration could find compromise in ‘co-op’ plan

"With Republicans fighting the idea of a government-run health insurance plan, members of President Barack Obama's team said Sunday that they are open to a compromise: a cooperative program that would expand coverage with taxpayer money but without direct governmental control," the Associated Press reports. The non-profit, health insurance cooperatives were suggested in Congress by Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the concession could be a path to bipartisan health reform legislation (Elliott, 6/15).

15 Jun 2009