Health and Medical News Headlines for February 12, 2009

UPDATE 1-Foundation Coal Q4 profit up on higher production

* Q4 adj EPS $0.89 vs est $0.51 * Sees 2009 capex $190 mln-$240 mln
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 12 Feb 2009 | 1:20 pm

UPDATE 2-Viacom profit slumps with charges, ad troubles

* Took $454 mln charge (Adds cost cutting measures, CEO comment)
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 12 Feb 2009 | 1:09 pm

UPDATE 2-Shell warns on Nigeria Bonny oil exports

LAGOS, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell warned on Thursday that unrest in Nigeria's Niger Delta meant it may be unable to meet some oil export obligations from its Bonny terminal for the rest of this...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 12 Feb 2009 | 1:02 pm

UPDATE 1-Patterson-UTI earnings dip 7 percent

NEW YORK, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Patterson-UTI Energy Inc , an onshore drilling contractor, posted 7 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit as energy companies pared back their spending on new wells.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 12 Feb 2009 | 12:30 pm

UPDATE 1-Alexion Q4 profit beats Street

Feb 12 (Reuters) - Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings as revenue from its genetic-disorder drug Soliris more than doubled.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 12 Feb 2009 | 12:23 pm

UPDATE 1-Syneron posts surprise Q4 loss

* Q4 rev $14.2 mln vs est $25.5 mln * Q4 gross margins fell to 55 pct
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 12 Feb 2009 | 12:22 pm

UPDATE 1-Lufkin Q4 profit beats Wall Street

* Domestic mkt sees order cancellations, slower new orders
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 12 Feb 2009 | 12:17 pm

UPDATE 1-Nexen posts Q4 loss on impairment charge

Feb 12 (Reuters) - Canada's No. 4 independent oil explorer Nexen Inc posted a fourth-quarter loss, hurt by impairment charges and marketing losses.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 12 Feb 2009 | 12:16 pm

PRN Funding Introduces the PRN Funding YouTube Channel

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 12 Feb 2009 | 12:10 pm

MedeFinance and Health Integrated Partner to Give Health Plans Competitive Advantage

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 12 Feb 2009 | 12:05 pm

Study: Paying smokers to quit boosts success rate (AP)

AP - Dangling enough dollars in front of smokers who want to quit helps many more succeed, an experiment with hundreds of General Electric Co. workers indicates. Among those paid up to $750 to quit and stay off cigarettes, 15 percent were still tobacco-free about a year later. That may not sound like much, but it's three times the success rate of a comparison group that got no such bonuses.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 12 Feb 2009 | 11:45 am

New England Journal Of Medicine Publishes Results From The Landmark ATHENA Trial With Multaq(R) (dronedarone) In Atrial Fibrillation

Sanofi Aventis (Paris Bourse: EURONEXT: SAN; and New York: NYSE: SNY) announced that the ATHENA trial was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The trial showed that Multaq(R) (dronedarone), in addition to standard therapy, significantly reduced the risk of first cardiovascular hospitalization or death by 24 percent (31.9% vs. 39.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 12 Feb 2009 | 10:00 am

China Pharma Holdings, Inc. Announces Clinical Trials Already Underway For Candesartan

China Pharma Holdings, Inc. ("China Pharma") (OTC Bulletin Board: CPHI), which develops, manufactures, and markets specialty pharmaceutical products in China, announced today that the company has initiated clinical trials for the generic version of the leading hypertension drug Candesartan. The clinical trials for this product are anticipated to require approximately 18 months to complete.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 12 Feb 2009 | 10:00 am

Healthy People With High Urinary Protein Levels Have Elevated Kidney Disease Risk

Measuring the amount of protein lost in the urine can identify individuals at risk of developing kidney disease, according to a study appearing in the April 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results suggest that a simple and low-cost urine screen is a promising way to address the epidemic of chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 12 Feb 2009 | 10:00 am

Survey Finds Smile Is 'Most Attractive' Physical Feature

Valentine's Day is around the corner, and what do people find most attractive in others? The smile. A national survey from the American Dental Association, Crest(R) and Oral B(R) finds that the smile outranked eyes, hair and the body as the most attractive physical feature. Yet men and women differ when it comes to taking care of their teeth and gums.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 12 Feb 2009 | 10:00 am

Phase 1 Trial Of Quadramet In Combination With Velcade Shows Positive Results

Quadramet (153 Samarium-lexidronam) is a radioactive medication that targets the bone, specifically bone cancer, and is used to treat pain caused by cancer that has metastasized or spread to the bone. Velcade (bortezomib) is approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma alone and in addition to chemotherapy.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 12 Feb 2009 | 10:00 am

Researchers Develop New Platinum Based Anti Tumor Compound

Researchers in the Department of Chemistry at Wake Forest University in collaboration with colleagues at the Wake Forest University Health Sciences Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a new class of platinum-based anti-tumor drugs that animal studies have shown to be 10 times more effective than current treatments in destroying certain types of lung cancer cells.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 12 Feb 2009 | 10:00 am

Bone Marrow Transplant Patients May Benefit From New Immune Research

Bone marrow transplant (BMT) researchers at The Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center in Milwaukee may have found a mechanism that could preserve the leukemia-killing effects of a transplant graft, while limiting the damage donor immune cells might do to the recipient host's vital organs.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 12 Feb 2009 | 10:00 am

'Five-in-One' Vaccine Increases On-Time Immunization In Children

A "5-in-1" combination vaccine increases the percentage of children receiving all recommended vaccinations at the scheduled time, reports a study in the February issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 12 Feb 2009 | 10:00 am

PREZISTA(R) Now Available For Pediatric Patients Six Years Of Age And Older As Part Of HIV Combination Therapy

Tibotec Therapeutics, a division of Centocor Ortho Biotech Products, L.P., announced the availability of a lower-dose (75 mg) formulation of PREZISTA (darunavir) for pediatric patients with HIV.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 12 Feb 2009 | 10:00 am

World's First Cardiac Adult Stem Cell Trial To Take Place In Louisville

The world's first phase one FDA approved clinical trial using adult cardiac stem cells to treat heart disease will be conducted by a team of University of Louisville doctors at Jewish Hospital.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 12 Feb 2009 | 10:00 am

Exercise 'cuts colon cancer risk'

Bowel cancer screening will save more than 2,200 lives in the UK every year by 2025, researchers say.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 12 Feb 2009 | 8:55 am

Can a Urine Test Detect Deadly Prostate Cancer? (Time.com)

Time.com - Researchers continue to search for an accurate test for prostate cancer, the most common cancer among men in the developed world.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 12 Feb 2009 | 7:45 am

City Unveils Facebook Page to Encourage Condom Use

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has introduced a Facebook page and Facebook application to promote the use of condoms.

Source: NYT > Health | 12 Feb 2009 | 7:31 am

Peanut Products Sent Out Before Tests

The company made shipments before receiving results of tests showing contamination, documents show.

Source: NYT > Health | 12 Feb 2009 | 6:44 am

Birth of Octuplets Puts Focus on Fertility Clinics

Experts say many doctors implant too many embryos, leading to costly or sometimes dangerous multiple births.

Source: NYT > Health | 12 Feb 2009 | 6:31 am

Bone Drugs May Help Fight Breast Cancer

A drug of a class commonly used to combat bone loss may reduce by a third the chance that some breast cancers will spread or recur, a large study has found.

Source: NYT > Health | 12 Feb 2009 | 5:41 am

Sanofi Drug Found Promising for Heart Ailment

Sanofi-Aventis got a big push Wednesday for a new drug for a potentially serious heart condition when a leading medical journal reported promising results from a clinical trial.

Source: NYT > Health | 12 Feb 2009 | 5:22 am

Health Tip: Diabetics and Drinking (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- If you have diabetes and get insulin shots or take other diabetes medication, you may end up with low blood sugar if you drink alcohol, the American Diabetes Association says.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 12 Feb 2009 | 4:47 am

Cash bribes 'help smokers quit'

The US company General Electric says its staff are more likely to stop smoking if paid cash incentives.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 12 Feb 2009 | 3:06 am

W Africa starts anti-polio drive

Twenty million children in West Africa are due to be vaccinated during the next three days in a major effort to eradicate polio.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 12 Feb 2009 | 1:49 am

Rulings on autism-vaccination connection expected

A Department of Justice special court will hand down rulings Thursday in cases asking whether certain vaccines cause autism, the lead plaintiffs' attorney told CNN Wednesday.

Source: CNN.com - Health | 12 Feb 2009 | 1:45 am

The New Old Age: Politically Incorrect Terms

The list of politically incorrect terms to describe the elderly — er, persons of age — has just grown longer.

Source: NYT > Health | 12 Feb 2009 | 12:08 am

Morning Rounds: The Flu Season Begins, Paying for Autism Treatment and the Debate Over Fibromyalgia

Health news from around the Web.

Source: NYT > Health | 12 Feb 2009 | 12:04 am

Videogames seen good for children (Reuters)

Reuters - Videogames can be good for children, encouraging creativity and cooperation, a European Union report concluded Wednesday which ran counter to the violent reputation of some titles.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 11 Feb 2009 | 11:42 pm

Long-Term Use of Popular Inhalers May Increase Risk for Pneumonia in COPD

Inhaled corticosteroid use for at least 24 weeks in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was associated with a significantly increased risk for serious pneumonia but not for death.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 11 Feb 2009 | 11:30 pm

Daily Consumption of Diet Soda Linked to Metabolic Syndrome, Type 2 Diabetes

An observational study found that drinking diet soda at least daily was associated with significantly greater risks for select incident metabolic syndrome components and type 2 diabetes.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 11 Feb 2009 | 11:23 pm

Taxpayers may have to cover octuplet mom's costs (AP)

AP - A big share of the financial burden of raising Nadya Suleman's 14 children could fall on the shoulders of California's taxpayers, compounding the public furor in a state already billions of dollars in the red.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 11 Feb 2009 | 11:21 pm

FDA Safety Changes: Promethazine HCl and Codeine Oral Solution, Ranexa, Ethyol

The FDA has approved revisions to the safety labeling for promethazine HCl and codeine phosphate oral solution, ranolazine extended-release tablets, and amifostine injection.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 11 Feb 2009 | 11:15 pm

The science of romance: Brains have a love circuit (AP)

AP - Like any young woman in love, Bianca Acevedo has exchanged valentine hearts with her fiance. But the New York neuroscientist knows better. The source of love is in the head, not the heart. She's one of the researchers in a relatively new field focused on explaining the biology of romantic love. And the unpoetic explanation is that love mostly can be understood through brain images, hormones and genetics.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 11 Feb 2009 | 11:15 pm

Mother's Obesity Raises Risk of Birth Defects (Time.com)

Time.com - A new study suggests that obesity during pregnancy is a powerful and far-reaching risk factor for birth defects
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 11 Feb 2009 | 10:45 pm

Dangerous low blood sugar linked to sex drugs (Reuters)

Reuters - Illegal anti-impotence drugs and herbs contaminated with the diabetes drug glyburide have caused some 150 cases of dangerously low blood sugar, researchers in Singapore reported on Wednesday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 11 Feb 2009 | 10:30 pm

Financial Incentives May Facilitate Smoking Cessation

A randomized study found that financial incentives offered by employers significantly increased rates of smoking cessation.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 11 Feb 2009 | 10:17 pm

Zoledronic Acid Benefit in Breast Cancer: Data Published in NEJM

Zoledronic acid, when added to adjuvant endocrine therapy, improved disease-free survival in premenopausal women with estrogen-responsive early breast cancer.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 11 Feb 2009 | 10:02 pm

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Is Typically Preceded by Monoclonal B-Cell Lymphocytosis

Circulating monoclonal B cells can be detected years before the development of leukemia in virtually all patients with CLL.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 11 Feb 2009 | 10:02 pm

FDA Safety Changes: Promethazine HCl and Codeine Oral Solution, Ranexa, Ethyol

Staying Active and Drinking Moderately Is Key to a Long Life

Both physical activity and moderate alcohol intake are important to lower the risk for fatal ischemic heart disease and all-cause mortality, a study shows.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 11 Feb 2009 | 10:00 pm

Long-Term Use of Popular Inhalers May Increase Risk for Pneumonia in COPD

Presentation, Prognosis, Treatment of Most Common Newborn Rashes Reviewed

In a review article, the authors summarize the most common rashes in the first 4 weeks of life, particularly seborrheic dermatitis, which should be distinguished from atopic dermatitis.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 11 Feb 2009 | 10:00 pm

Man appears free of HIV after stem cell transplant

A 42-year-old HIV patient with leukemia appears to have no detectable HIV in his blood and no symptoms after a stem cell transplant from a donor carrying a gene mutation that confers natural resistance to the virus that causes AIDS, according to a report published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Source: CNN.com - Health | 11 Feb 2009 | 9:51 pm

Peanut butter officials spurn Congress' questions

The president of a peanut company and a plant manager accused of knowingly distributing contaminated food both refused to answer questions posed by members of Congress on Wednesday, citing their Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

Source: CNN.com - Health | 11 Feb 2009 | 8:43 pm

Rate of memory decline differs by dementia type (Reuters)

Reuters - The rate at which people with dementia lose their memory differs significantly according to the type of dementia they have, new research from France suggests. The research also highlights the importance of early health care in elderly people who develop dementia.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 11 Feb 2009 | 8:16 pm

In New Procedure, Artificial Arm Listens to Brain

An advance in prosthetic arms allows people to move them more automatically than ever.

Source: NYT > Health | 11 Feb 2009 | 7:29 pm

A woman's personality traits may be "written all over her face"

A woman's personality traits may be "written all over her face", Glasgow University research suggests.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 11 Feb 2009 | 6:10 pm

Facing Tests for Genetic Disorders, Parents Avoid Pregnancy

Parents of children with genetic disorders tend to avoid future pregnancies rather than be tested.
Source: Livescience.com - Health | 11 Feb 2009 | 5:02 pm

Arrests in Nigeria baby poisoning

Nigerian drug regulators annouce 12 arrests in connection with the deaths of 84 children from poisoned medicine.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 11 Feb 2009 | 5:00 pm

Study: Humidifiers may help fight flu

The cold, dry air of winter can give you chapped lips, cracked hands, and now, a study suggests, a better chance of getting the flu. A new analysis of previous data shows that in low-humidity conditions, the influenza virus is more likely survive, possibly giving it a better shot at spreading from person to person and making its way to you.

Source: CNN.com - Health | 11 Feb 2009 | 4:57 pm

National Briefing | West: California: Inquiry in Fertility Case

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine says it is investigating whether fertility treatment guidelines were broken in the case of a Southern California woman who gave birth to octuplets last month. The society said in a statement that it had asked the woman, Nadya Suleman, and the doctor for more details about her latest pregnancy. Ms. Suleman’s six other children were also conceived through in vitro procedures. The voluntary, nonprofit group has guidelines for the number of embryos that should be implanted to prevent multiple births, but it cannot stop doctors from practicing.

Source: NYT > Health | 11 Feb 2009 | 4:11 pm

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