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New steps to measure error rates in Medicare payments

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced new steps to measure error rates in Medicare payments more accurately and comprehensively at the contractor level, and to further reduce improper payments through targeted error improvement initiatives.

14 Dec 2004

New cancer detection technology from Rubicon Genomics

Rubicon Genomics has invented a more effective technology for the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer compared to what hospitals and reference laboratories use today. MethylPlex™ is the most sensitive method in use to detect the patterns of abnormal DNA methylation arising in the serum and urine of patients during tumor formation and progression.

14 Dec 2004

Increased Australian assistance for Sudan and Chad

In response to the ongoing crisis in Africa, Australia will provide an additional $10 million to help relieve the suffering of people in Darfur, Sudan and in Eastern Chad. $7 million has been allocated for Darfur and $3 million for Eastern Chad. This brings Australia's total assistance to the Sudan/Chad crisis to $30 million.

14 Dec 2004

M.E. emerges from the wilderness

In 1955 medical literature first defined and described M.E., an illness that had probably been with us for hundreds of years. But with a wide range of symptoms, no diagnostic test and much misunderstanding about its cause, people with M.E. often had to struggle to manage the illness with little support from specialist services.

14 Dec 2004

Landmark studies that may change the treatment standards for breast cancer

The 27th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium that took place December 8-11 included the presentation of several landmark studies that may change the treatment standards for breast cancer.

14 Dec 2004

Safety of AIDS drug to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV questioned

In light of several recent drug industry scandals roiling the nation's public health and raising serious questions about the US bodies that license and regulate the industry -- and startling new revelations today concerning National Institutes of Health (NIH) officials and the safety of a brand name AIDS drug used to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the HIV

14 Dec 2004

False positive cancer screening tests result not only in anxiety but also additional economic costs

Cancer screening tests can frequently produce false positive outcomes that may result not only in anxiety but also additional economic costs as well, according to research conducted by scientists at the Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Mich., and published in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention

14 Dec 2004

Parasitic worms, or helminths, may be an effective treatment for Crohn's disease

Helminths, such as roundworms and threadworms, are rare in developed countries, where rates of Crohn's disease are high. But in developing countries where corresponding rates of the disease are low, many people carry these parasitic worms.

13 Dec 2004

Men seem to stop trying when they remarry

Men seem to stop trying when they remarry, suggests research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. They put on weight and cut down on exercise.

13 Dec 2004

High pressure work deadlines boost heart attack risk six-fold

A high pressure work deadline boosts the chances of a heart attack within the next 24 hours by a factor of six, reveals research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

13 Dec 2004

More people live to be 100 in Switzerland than anywhere else in Europe

More people live to be 100 in Switzerland than anywhere else in Europe, and the country is one of the world leaders in the longevity stakes, reveals research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

13 Dec 2004

Race may play an important role in determining a person's obesity and fitness levels

Race may play an important role in determining a person's obesity and fitness levels, shows a new study in the December issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP).

13 Dec 2004

Detrol LA significantly reduces symptoms of overactive bladder

Pfizer today announced results of a comprehensive six-year review of efficacy and safety data for Detrol LA (tolterodine tartrate extended release capsules) indicating that Detrol LA significantly reduces symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB) with a low occurrence of side effects, and should be considered first-line therapy.

13 Dec 2004

Children who wear rigid gas-permeable contact lenses had slower progression of their myopia than patients who wear soft contact lenses

According to the article, “myopia affects approximately 25 percent of the U.S. population, and it typically develops between eight and 16 years of age.” Previous studies have reported that rigid contact lenses may slow myopia progression, but other studies have found that rigid contact lenses have no effect on myopia progression in children, the article states.

13 Dec 2004

Annual decline in cognitive functioning is similar in patients with Parkinson disease and dementia and patients with Alzheimer disease

The average annual decline in cognitive functioning is similar in patients with Parkinson disease (PD) and dementia and patients with Alzheimer disease (AD), according to an article in the December issue of The Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

13 Dec 2004

Risk of having a heart attack is elevated in the weeks after stopping use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

The risk of having a heart attack is elevated in the weeks after stopping use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, according to an article in the December issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

13 Dec 2004

Ads for full-body scans to detect potential diseases, called into question

A burgeoning industry that sells full-body scans to detect potential diseases - without a doctor's referral - is running advertisements that frequently include unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of getting CT and MRI scans, while rarely providing information about the technology's limitations and risks.

13 Dec 2004

Instead of chemotherapy, drugs that influence the X protein's behavior might become an alternative cancer therapy

Identifying the link between chronic hepatitis B infection and liver cancer may one day help cancer patients sidestep the poison of chemotherapy, a Purdue University study suggests.

13 Dec 2004

Link found between bisphosphonates and a serious bone disease called osteonecrosis of the jaw

Doctors at Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center recently discovered a link between a common chemotherapy drug and a serious bone disease called osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ).

13 Dec 2004

Combined positron emission tomography and computerized tomography can help diagnose hidden recurrent cancer

Combined positron emission tomography and computerized tomography (PET/CT) can help diagnose occult (hidden) recurrent cancer, possibly a cancer patient's greatest post-treatment fear, report a team of Israeli physicians in the December issue of the Society of Nuclear Medicine's "Journal of Nuclear Medicine."

13 Dec 2004

Medical News

New steps to measure error rates in Medicare payments

New cancer detection technology from Rubicon Genomics

Increased Australian assistance for Sudan and Chad

M.E. emerges from the wilderness

Landmark studies that may change the treatment standards for breast cancer

Safety of AIDS drug to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV questioned

False positive cancer screening tests result not only in anxiety but also additional economic costs

Parasitic worms, or helminths, may be an effective treatment for Crohn's disease

Men seem to stop trying when they remarry

High pressure work deadlines boost heart attack risk six-fold

More people live to be 100 in Switzerland than anywhere else in Europe

Race may play an important role in determining a person's obesity and fitness levels

Detrol LA significantly reduces symptoms of overactive bladder

Children who wear rigid gas-permeable contact lenses had slower progression of their myopia than patients who wear soft contact lenses

Annual decline in cognitive functioning is similar in patients with Parkinson disease and dementia and patients with Alzheimer disease

Risk of having a heart attack is elevated in the weeks after stopping use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Ads for full-body scans to detect potential diseases, called into question

Instead of chemotherapy, drugs that influence the X protein's behavior might become an alternative cancer therapy

Link found between bisphosphonates and a serious bone disease called osteonecrosis of the jaw

Combined positron emission tomography and computerized tomography can help diagnose hidden recurrent cancer

How does norepinephrine influence anxiety-related behaviours?

Transforming Lab Workflows with Cell Culture Automation

Building Bridges to Scalable Allogeneic Cell Therapy

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