Health and Medical News Headlines for March 13, 2009

UPDATE 1-Healthways to settle lawsuit with former employee

March 13 (Reuters) - Healthcare management provider Healthways Inc agreed to a $28 million settlement of a lawsuit related to its former Diabetes Treatment Center of America business and said it would...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 13 Mar 2009 | 12:05 pm

UPDATE 1-Pacific Energy gets creditor protection in Canada

March 13 (Reuters) - Pacific Energy Corp said it obtained creditor protection in Canada after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month, adding that the decline in crude oil prices made it difficult...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 13 Mar 2009 | 12:03 pm

Fitch cuts Roche rating on Genentech deal

LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings on Friday cut its credit rating and outlook on Roche Holding citing the company's increased debt after a deal was reached for it to buy the 44 percent it did...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 13 Mar 2009 | 11:44 am

Palatin Technologies to Present at Cowen Annual Health Care Conference on March 19, 2009

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 13 Mar 2009 | 11:30 am

Rigel Commences Phase 2 Trial of R788 in Peripheral T-Cell Lymphomas

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 13 Mar 2009 | 11:30 am

Hooper Holmes Announces Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2008 Results

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 13 Mar 2009 | 11:00 am

Settlement Hearing on Schering-Plough Corporation Securities Litigation to be Held on June 1, 2009 at 2:00 P.M.

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 13 Mar 2009 | 11:00 am

Econiche(TM) Vaccine Shows 92% Reduction in Colonization of E. coli O157 in Vaccinated Cattle

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 13 Mar 2009 | 11:00 am

SIS Offers Increased Financial and Operational Efficiencies with Pyxis Supply Technologies

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 13 Mar 2009 | 11:00 am

UPDATE 3-Independent's O'Reilly quits as debt deadline looms

* Will allow group to focus on debt repayment, asset sales
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 13 Mar 2009 | 10:53 am

FDA hazy on e-cigarettes' safety

At first glance, it looks like the real thing. It's white, with a brown filter. When the tip glows red, a smoke-like puff follows. But this is not a typical cigarette -- it's an "e-cig." A what? An electronic cigarette.

Source: CNN.com - Health | 13 Mar 2009 | 9:30 am

New Data On Link Between Cancer And Nutrition Discussed At European Symposium

European experts in cancer and nutrition are meeting in Zurich, Switzerland late this month to discuss cutting-edge research in one of the most important and fiercely debated topics in cancer prevention: the link between diet and cancer. There is growing evidence that many cancers may be prevented through healthy lifestyle, including a nutritionally balanced diet.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Mar 2009 | 9:00 am

On World Glaucoma Day, Keep An Eye On The Future

On the second annual World Glaucoma Day (March 12), leading global glaucoma experts are working together to help educate patients diagnosed with glaucoma and those who may be at risk for the condition.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Mar 2009 | 9:00 am

N.C. House Committee Passes Bill To Allow Alternative To Abstinence-Only Sex Education

North Carolina's House Education Committee on Tuesday passed a bill (H.B. 88) that would expand the state's abstinence-only sex education curriculum for grades seven through nine to allow discussions on contraception, the AP/Raleigh News & Observer reports.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Mar 2009 | 9:00 am

Cephalon Response To NICE Guidance On Advanced Breast Cancer Treatment Published 25 February 2009, UK

Liz Hardaker, medical director of Cephalon UK. "We are disappointed and surprised that NICE has not taken this opportunity to distinguish between different forms of anthracycline treatment; specifically the use of liposomal-encapsulated doxorubicin. "Myocet, in combination with cyclophosphamide, is indicated for the first line treatment of metastatic breast cancer in women (SmPC).
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Mar 2009 | 9:00 am

Acupuncture Is Grounded In Science, Not Myth And Magic - British Medical Journal

The principles of acupuncture are firmly grounded in science, and you don't need Chinese philosophy either to make it work, or to practise it, says a leading medically trained acupuncturist.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Mar 2009 | 9:00 am

Rutgers Researchers Progress Toward AIDS Vaccine

Rutgers AIDS researchers Gail Ferstandig Arnold and Eddy Arnold may have turned a corner in their search for a HIV vaccine. In a paper just published in the Journal of Virology, the husband and wife duo and their colleagues report on their research progress.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Mar 2009 | 9:00 am

American Lung Association Commends SC Johnson

Statement from Charles Connor, President and CEO of the American Lung Association: The American Lung Association commends SC Johnson for its decision today to fully disclose all of the ingredients in its cleaning products.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Mar 2009 | 9:00 am

GPs Debate Chocolate Tax, Scotland

GPs at a conference in Glasgow narrowly defeated a motion to tax chocolate. Although the debate recognised the need to address Scotland's soaring obesity levels, the motion, which called for chocolate to be taxed in the same way as alcohol, was lost by just two votes.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Mar 2009 | 9:00 am

Hybrigenics' Positive Meeting With FDA On US Clinical Development Of Inecalcitol - Prostate Cancer

Hybrigenics, a bio-pharmaceutical company with a focus on research and development of new cancer treatments and specialized in protein interactions, announced today the comprehensive review by the American Food and Drug Administration of the pharmaceutical, preclinical and clinical information on inecalcitol.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Mar 2009 | 9:00 am

People Who Sleep Less Than Six Hours Nightly Risk Developing Diabetes

To the many problems associated with lack of sleep -- moodiness, memory problems, difficulty concentrating -- add the risk of developing diabetes. A study from the University at Buffalo shows that people who sleep less than six hours a night during the work-week are 4.5 times more likely to have elevated levels of blood sugar than those who slumber 6-8 hours.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Mar 2009 | 9:00 am

$125 Million Is Pledged to Big Medical Center

Charles F. Feeney, the iconoclastic philanthropist known as “the billionaire who wasn’t,” is giving $125 million to a California medical center, the first gift of $100 million or more since last fall.

Source: NYT > Health | 13 Mar 2009 | 7:26 am

Morning Rounds: Economic Stress, Recalled Defibrillators and Another Drug Company Acquisition

Health news from around the Web.

Source: NYT > Health | 13 Mar 2009 | 7:24 am

Report: U.S. on Short End of Health Care ‘Value Gap’

A report from the Business Roundtable, which represents C.E.O.s of major companies, says America’s health care system has become a liability in a global economy.

Source: NYT > Health | 13 Mar 2009 | 7:24 am

Recipes for Health: Black Bean Chili

A medium-hot vegetarian chili that freezes well.

Source: NYT > Health | 13 Mar 2009 | 7:24 am

Lifesaving Kidney Treatment, but Only to a Point

Medicare covers treatments for anyone with end-stage renal failure, but only for 36 months.

Source: NYT > Health | 13 Mar 2009 | 7:24 am

Bill Proposes Restrictions on Raw Milk Sales

In reaction to an outbreak of E. coli that was traced to a Connecticut dairy last summer, a proposed bill attempts to restrict raw milk sales to the farms where it is produced and to farmers’ markets.

Source: NYT > Health | 13 Mar 2009 | 6:27 am

Gilead, a White Knight, to Buy CV Therapeutics

The bid, about $1.4 billion, was higher than an earlier offer from Astellas Pharma of Japan.

Source: NYT > Health | 13 Mar 2009 | 5:20 am

Intensive care errors 'frequent'

Errors in the administration of injected medication in intensive care units occur frequently, a study in 27 countries suggests.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 13 Mar 2009 | 1:49 am

Ovarian changes may link obesity and infertility (Reuters)

Reuters - Obese women have alterations in the environment around the ovary before they ovulate that appear to play a role in the well-documented association between obesity and reduced fertility, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 12 Mar 2009 | 11:20 pm

Asthma "coaches" keep kids out of the hospital (Reuters)

Reuters - Community health workers acting as asthma coaches are able to reduce the need for rehospitalization for asthma episodes among children in low-income families, researchers report in the March issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 12 Mar 2009 | 11:18 pm

Health Tip: Prevent Bleeding Gums (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Bleeding gums can occur because teeth haven't been properly brushed and flossed, or as a side effect of conditions including leukemia, scurvy or vitamin K deficiency.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 12 Mar 2009 | 11:06 pm

Some Elderly Heart Failure Patients Get Little Help From Meds, Study Finds (HealthDay)

HealthDay - THURSDAY, March 12 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly people suffering from a type of heart disease called diastolic heart failure do not seem to benefit from the commonly prescribed heart failure drugs, researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles report.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 12 Mar 2009 | 11:06 pm

Finger Length Predicts Speed, Aggression, Smarts, Motivation

Boys with ring fingers longer than their index fingers run faster.
Source: Livescience.com - Health | 12 Mar 2009 | 10:23 pm

USDA approves shot for cows aimed at E. coli (AP)

AP - A Minnesota company has won federal approval to become the first in the U.S. to market an E. coli vaccine for cattle, a new weapon against a foodborne disease that can cause serious illness in people and even death.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 12 Mar 2009 | 10:19 pm

Non-LDL Statin Effects Credited With Improving Stroke Functional Outcomes

Patients with ischemic stroke and normal low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels thanks to statin therapy were in a better functional state vs those who had normal baseline levels without statins.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:00 pm

Disability Similar Over Time With Levodopa or Dopamine Agonist as Initial PD Therapy

Patients with early Parkinson's disease appear to have similar overall levels of disability and quality of life 6 years after beginning treatment with either levodopa or a dopamine agonist.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:00 pm

FDA Safety Changes: Celebrex, Crixivan, Rifater

The FDA has approved revisions to the safety labeling for celecoxib capsules (Celebrex), indinavir sulfate tablets (Crixivan), and isoniazid plus pyrazinamide and rifampin tablets (Rifater).
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 12 Mar 2009 | 9:00 pm

Michelle Obama’s Agenda Includes Healthful Eating

In her first weeks in the White House, Michelle Obama has emerged as a champion of healthful food and living.

Source: NYT > Health | 12 Mar 2009 | 8:23 pm

Study: Some heart patients undoing drug benefits (AP)

AP - European heart patients are taking more medication than ever before to lower their blood pressure and cholesterol, but bad habits such as overeating and smoking are undermining the drugs, a new study says. Despite big increases in heart patients on medication, most still have high blood pressure and nearly half have high cholesterol.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 12 Mar 2009 | 8:06 pm

Weight loss enhances obese men's sexual well-being (Reuters)

Reuters - Obese men who undergo gastric bypass surgery will not only lose weight; their sex lives are likely to improve, too, new research shows.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:55 pm

Two Parkinson's drugs similar for early treatment (Reuters)

Reuters - As a treatment strategy for early Parkinson's disease, initial therapy with levodopa versus pramipexole appears to be comparable in delaying the progression of this neurological disease.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:53 pm

Bipartisan Call for Food Safety Fixes

Lawmakers discussed changes to the nation’s food safety system to work toward reducing the number of contaminated food products.

Source: NYT > Health | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:53 pm

Ex-New York Health Commissioner Is F.D.A. Pick

President Obama intends to nominate Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, a former New York City health commissioner, to lead the Food and Drug Administration, according to people briefed on the decision.

Source: NYT > Health | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:49 pm

Safety net health centers struggle to meet demand (AP)

AP - The health care safety net is straining. Just look at Jeffrey Taylor's parking lot.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:30 pm

Quinacrine Fails to Improve Survival in Patients with Prion Diseases

Results are in for the first prospective clinical trial of quinacrine for prion diseases.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:23 pm

Medical Food for Alzheimer's Disease Launched in United States, But Alzheimer's Association Urges Caution

A new product deemed a medical food by the Food and Drug Administration is now available in the United States, the manufacturer has announced. The food was shown in a phase 2 trial to improve cognition and memory in patients with mild to moderate AD. However, the Alzheimer's Association urges caution, saying that little is really known about the product's benefit.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 12 Mar 2009 | 7:02 pm

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