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Minnesota lawmakers seek suspension of proposed Medicaid rule that would reduce Federal funding for MinnesotaCare

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) have introduced bills to suspend a proposed federal Medicaid rule that would reduce funding for the state's MinnesotaCare program and that potentially could cut up to 18,000 low- and middle-income beneficiaries from the program, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

16 Sep 2008

Older antipsychotic drugs as effective, offer fewer side effects in children than newer drugs, study finds

The two most frequently prescribed antipsychotic drugs for children and adolescents offer no additional benefit and are more likely to cause side effects than an older, less costly medication, according to a National Institute of Mental Health study published on Monday, the New York Times reports.

16 Sep 2008

CMS to suspend competitive acquisition program for medications covered under Medicare Part B

A CMS official last week said that the agency on Jan. 1 will suspend the Competitive Acquisition Program, launched in 2006 to supply certain medications to physician offices, because of "contractual issues" related to proprietary data, CQ HealthBeat reports.

16 Sep 2008

Newly reported HIV cases increasing in Alberta, Canada

The number of newly reported HIV cases in Alberta, Canada, increased by 29% in 2007 compared with 2005, the CP/Calgary Sun reports.

16 Sep 2008

HIV, malaria interventions help reduce mortality among young children, challenges remain, UNICEF report says

Disease interventions, such as the use of insecticide-treated nets to prevent malaria and increased access to HIV treatment and prevention, have helped reduce the number of deaths among children younger than age five worldwide to 9.2 million in 2007, down from 9.7 million in 2006 and 12.7 million in 1990, according to a UNICEF report published Friday in the journal Lancet, Reuters reports (Kahn, Reuters, 9/12).

16 Sep 2008

FDA grants priority review status to Novartis' ACT Coartem

Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis on Monday announced that FDA has granted priority review status for its malaria treatment Coartem, Dow Jones reports.

16 Sep 2008

Indian High Court forms committee to address HIV/AIDS in prisons

The high court in Mumbai, India, on Thursday formed a committee to create guidelines aimed at preventing the spread of HIV in prisons in response to the increasing spread of the virus among inmates, the Daily News & Analysis reports.

16 Sep 2008

IRIN/PlusNews examines issues surrounding male circumcision in Kenya's Luo community

Kenya's plan to launch a male circumcision campaign in the province of Nyanza in late September to curb the spread of HIV is facing difficulties from some members of the Luo community, IRIN/PlusNews reports.

16 Sep 2008

Webcam technology helps Arizona hospitals better communicate with non-English-speaking patients

A webcam language interpretation service is helping three Arizona hospitals better serve Spanish-speaking patients in their emergency departments, the East Valley & Scottsdale Tribune reports. The Iasis Healthcare hospitals had relied on telephone interpretation services before implementing the new webcam system.

16 Sep 2008

Rate of new HIV infections among blacks in South Carolina six times higher than among other races, Health Department estimates find

The rate of new HIV infections among blacks in South Carolina was six times higher than among all other races combined in 2006, according to new estimates released Friday by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, the Columbia State reports.

16 Sep 2008

Study identifies immune response that enables TB bacteria to multiply, provides new target for TB drugs

Researchers have identified an immune system response to tuberculosis that enables TB bacteria to spread through the lungs, providing a new target for TB drug development, according to a study published Sunday in Nature Immunology, AFP/Washington Times reports.

16 Sep 2008

Vicor Technologies announces publication of positive results in study conducted in collaboration with U.S. Army

Vicor Technologies, Inc. today announced publication of the results of its first clinical study conducted in collaboration with the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR).

15 Sep 2008

Novel treatment for prostate cancer

Scientists at Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) are developing and commercializing a promising novel therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer that may offer patients a faster and more precise treatment than existing clinical alternatives, with fewer side effects.

15 Sep 2008

Trabectedin shows promise for ovarian cancer

Women with recurrent ovarian cancer can be helped by an experimental therapy using a drug already touted for its ability to fight other cancers, a finding that provides hope for improved treatment of this deadly disease.

15 Sep 2008

Unusual case of a woman who suffered stroke after having sexual intercourse

Minutes after having sexual intercourse with her boyfriend, a 35-year-old woman suddenly felt her left arm go weak. Her speech became slurred and she lost feeling on the left side of her face.

15 Sep 2008

FDA grants approval to Talecris Biotherapeutics for Gamunex for neurological disorder CIDP

Talecris Biotherapeutics, Inc. announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for Gamunex (Immune Globulin Intravenous [Human], 10% Caprylate/Chromatography Purified) as a treatment for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). CIDP is a debilitating neurological disorder that results in muscle weakness and fatigue, which can lead to severe impairment of motor skills.

15 Sep 2008

Variations in cyclin D1 gene increase susceptibility to malignant melanoma

People who carry a particular genetic variant are at significantly increased risk of developing malignant melanoma, new research shows.

15 Sep 2008

Parents of dying newborns need clearer explanation of options

Parent-doctor discussions about whether to maintain or withdraw life support from terminally ill or severely premature newborns are so plagued by miscommunication and misunderstanding that they might as well be in different languages, according to a small but potentially instructive new study from Johns Hopkins Children's Center reported in the September issue of Pediatrics.

15 Sep 2008

Sun-damaged skin does not improve with estrogen treatments

Treating the skin with estrogen can stimulate collagen production-which improves the appearance of the skin-in areas not typically exposed to the sun, according to new research from the University of Michigan Health System.

15 Sep 2008

Promising new treatment option for women with recurrent ovarian cancer

Combining the new drug trabectedin with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin provides clinical benefit to women with relapsed ovarian cancer, according to new results presented at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.

15 Sep 2008

Medical News

Minnesota lawmakers seek suspension of proposed Medicaid rule that would reduce Federal funding for MinnesotaCare

Older antipsychotic drugs as effective, offer fewer side effects in children than newer drugs, study finds

CMS to suspend competitive acquisition program for medications covered under Medicare Part B

Newly reported HIV cases increasing in Alberta, Canada

HIV, malaria interventions help reduce mortality among young children, challenges remain, UNICEF report says

FDA grants priority review status to Novartis' ACT Coartem

Indian High Court forms committee to address HIV/AIDS in prisons

IRIN/PlusNews examines issues surrounding male circumcision in Kenya's Luo community

Webcam technology helps Arizona hospitals better communicate with non-English-speaking patients

Rate of new HIV infections among blacks in South Carolina six times higher than among other races, Health Department estimates find

Study identifies immune response that enables TB bacteria to multiply, provides new target for TB drugs

Vicor Technologies announces publication of positive results in study conducted in collaboration with U.S. Army

Novel treatment for prostate cancer

Trabectedin shows promise for ovarian cancer

Unusual case of a woman who suffered stroke after having sexual intercourse

FDA grants approval to Talecris Biotherapeutics for Gamunex for neurological disorder CIDP

Variations in cyclin D1 gene increase susceptibility to malignant melanoma

Parents of dying newborns need clearer explanation of options

Sun-damaged skin does not improve with estrogen treatments

Promising new treatment option for women with recurrent ovarian cancer

How microRNA is transforming science: From discovery to diagnostics

Advancing benzodiazepine detection

The Surgeon-Scientist Pioneering Regenerative Engineering

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