Health and Medical News Headlines for July 31, 2009

Breastfeeding could save 1.3 million child lives: WHO (Reuters)

Reuters - Teaching new mothers how to breastfeed could save 1.3 million children's lives every year, but many women get no help and give up trying, the World Health Organization said on Friday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 31 Jul 2009 | 5:16 am

Abortion pill approved in Italy

Italy's drug regulators approve use of the abortion pill, RU486, prompting protests from the Vatican.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 31 Jul 2009 | 5:13 am

Cutting Edge iPhone(TM)/iPod(R) Touch Apps Improve Quality of Life for Those With Celiac/Coeliac & Food Allergies

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 31 Jul 2009 | 5:00 am

Pharmasset Reports Positive Preliminary Antiviral Data With PSI-7851 for the Treatment of Hepatitis C

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 31 Jul 2009 | 5:00 am

Disability benefit claims surging (AP)

AP - Social Security officials say they expect an even larger spike in new disability claims than they had expected, as aging, injured baby boomers tumble out of the work force and need income.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 31 Jul 2009 | 4:43 am

UPDATE 1-BofA-Merrill appoints China corporate finance head

* To originate and execute transactions for China clients (Adds Wang's background, BoA-Merrill's China plan)
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 31 Jul 2009 | 4:18 am

UPDATE 1-BofA-Merrill appoints China corporate finance head

* To originate and execute transactions for China clients (Adds Wang's background, BoA-Merrill's China plan)
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 31 Jul 2009 | 4:18 am

Journal retracts study that claimed to make sperm (AP)

AP - The editor of a scientific journal that published a controversial paper claiming to have created human sperm from embryonic stem cells for the first time has retracted the study.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 31 Jul 2009 | 4:16 am

RU486 abortion drug to be allowed in Italy

Italy's health and drugs authorities have approved the use of the abortion drug RU486, drawing immediate protests by the Vatican. The Italian Drug Agency ruled after a meeting that ended
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 31 Jul 2009 | 4:15 am

RU486 abortion drug to be allowed in Italy (AP)

AP - Italy's health and drugs authorities have approved the use of the abortion drug RU486, drawing immediate protests by the Vatican.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 31 Jul 2009 | 4:15 am

AMERIGROUP Reports Q2 Net Income of $49.6 Million or $0.94 per Diluted Share, Including $0.43 per Diluted Share Positive Impact from Tax Adjustment

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 31 Jul 2009 | 4:00 am

United Therapeutics Corporation Reports Second Quarter 2009 Financial Results

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 31 Jul 2009 | 4:00 am

CuraGen Reports Second Quarter 2009 Financial Results

Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 31 Jul 2009 | 4:00 am

TonenGeneral shuts 92,000 bpd FCC at Kawasaki plant

TOKYO, July 31 (Reuters) - Japan's TonenGeneral Sekiyu shut down its 92,000 barrels per day (bpd) fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit at its 335,000 bpd Kawasaki refinery on Friday after a minor leak...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 31 Jul 2009 | 3:40 am

UPDATE 1-Smartphone firm HTC sees revenue fall on product delay

* Expects to maintain gross margins at around 32 percent
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 31 Jul 2009 | 3:23 am

House panel prepares to wrap up health care bill (AP)

AP - As recently as two weeks ago it might not have looked like much of a victory. But after a series of delays and some rancorous disputes over President Barack Obama's top domestic priority, final House committee action on a health overhaul bill is sure to be hailed as a big step forward.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 31 Jul 2009 | 2:27 am

Private transplants to be banned

UK government to ban private transplants of organs from dead donors after concerns foreign patients pay to jump the queue.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 31 Jul 2009 | 2:16 am

Are Imaging Features Of Hepatic Angiomyolipoma Related To Its Clinical Setting?

This study consisted of 10 patients (three male and seven female) with hepatic angiomyolipoma, with a mean age of 55.1 years (age range, 19-78 years).
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 31 Jul 2009 | 2:00 am

Standardized Health Plans Help Consumers Choose The Right Benefits And Better Financial Protection

Consumers are best protected when they can choose from among a manageable number of standardized health benefits packages, and when those standards include annual out-of-pocket limits covering all services, a new report finds.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 31 Jul 2009 | 2:00 am

New Partnership Boosts Support For General Practice Managers, Australia

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Australian Association of Practice Managers (AAPM) will work together to promote the speciality area of management in general practice. The three year partnership will focus on enhancing management in general practice to deliver better health care outcomes for patients.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 31 Jul 2009 | 2:00 am

Low Levels Of Contamination Found In Ready-to-eat Speciality Meats Sold In UK

A new report published highlights that 99% of ready-to-eat speciality meats sold in the UK are safe to eat. However the study also reveals that a very small proportion of the meats contained Salmonella or unsafe levels of Listeria monocytogenes.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 31 Jul 2009 | 2:00 am

Smokefree Innotec, Inc. Addresses FDA Concerns About Electronic Cigarettes

Smokefree Innotec, Inc. (Pink Sheets: SFIO) issued a statement referring to articles in USA Today and The New York Times of Wednesday, July 22, and Thursday, July 23rd, regarding the FDA taking aim at electronic cigarettes.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 31 Jul 2009 | 2:00 am

FDA Advisory Committee Votes In Favor Of SAPHRIS(R) (asenapine) For Acute Bipolar I Disorder And Acute Schizophrenia

Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) announced that the U.S.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 31 Jul 2009 | 2:00 am

American Diabetes Association Launches My Health Advisor -- Online Calculator That Shows Risk For Diabetes, Heart Disease And Stroke

With an estimated 57 million Americans with pre-diabetes, the American Diabetes Association today launches My Health Advisor, an online tool that helps people understand their personal risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. My Health Advisor is available at http://www.CheckUpAmerica.org/MHA.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 31 Jul 2009 | 2:00 am

New UCLA Method Predicts Which Brain Tumors Will Respond To Avastin

UCLA researchers have uncovered a new way to scan brain tumors and predict which ones will be shrunk by the drug Avastin - before the patient ever starts treatment. By linking high water movement in tumors to positive drug response, the UCLA team predicted with 70 percent accuracy which patients' tumors were the least likely to grow six months after therapy.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 31 Jul 2009 | 2:00 am

Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. Announces Publication Of Phase I Stroke Data

Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. ("SCT" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:SSS) is pleased to announce the acceptance and publication of the paper entitled "Open labeled, uncontrolled pharmacokinetic study of single intramuscular hCG dose in healthy male volunteers" by the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Vol. 47, August 2009. This paper was authored by Drs.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 31 Jul 2009 | 2:00 am

Alzheimer's Comment On Research That Genes In Early Onset Are Associated With Memory, Published In Nature, 28 July 2009

Memory is a fundamental function of nerve cells in the brain, and loss of memory is a key symptom in many people with Alzheimer's disease. In order for memory to function correctly, nerve cells must be able to communicate effectively with each other.
Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 31 Jul 2009 | 2:00 am

Phys Ed: How to Avoid Heatstroke

Why do some people become seriously ill while exercising in hot weather and others don’t?

Source: NYT > Health | 31 Jul 2009 | 12:07 am

Nasal Vaccine Holds Promise Against Swine Flu

As the nation girds for a possible swine flu pandemic, one of the big weapons may come from an unexpected source — a vaccine squirted or dropped into the nose.

Source: NYT > Health | 31 Jul 2009 | 12:07 am

Americans spend $34B for alternative medicine (AP)

AP - Americans spend more than a 10th of their out-of-pocket health care dollars on alternative medicine, according to the first national estimate of such spending in more than a decade.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 30 Jul 2009 | 11:29 pm

Hepatitis Group Is Harassed in China

The raid on the office of a group that advocates for people with hepatitis comes at a precarious time for China’s civil society groups.

Source: NYT > Health | 30 Jul 2009 | 11:18 pm

House Health Care Bill Criticized as Panel Votes for Public Plan

As Republicans stepped up their criticism, liberal Democrats expressed concern over concessions made to more conservative members of their party.

Source: NYT > Health | 30 Jul 2009 | 11:06 pm

In House, Freshman Democrats Make a Stand

Junior Democrats want to be sure they can embrace the emerging health care plan, particularly after they had to cast a difficult vote on climate-change legislation.

Source: NYT > Health | 30 Jul 2009 | 11:06 pm

Vital Signs: Anesthesia Does Not Harm Development in Babies Born by C-Section

Exposure to an anesthetic during labor and delivery did not harm the newborn’s brain, a study finds.

Source: NYT > Health | 30 Jul 2009 | 9:53 pm

Pregnant Women, Health-Care Workers Top Swine Flu Vaccine Candidates (HealthDay)

HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, July 29 (HealthDay News) -- Women who are pregnant, children 6 months and older and health-care workers should all get top priority when the H1N1 swine flu vaccine arrives this fall, a U.S. government advisory panel recommended late Wednesday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 30 Jul 2009 | 9:48 pm

Clinical Trials Update: July 30, 2009 (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com:
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 30 Jul 2009 | 9:48 pm

Muscle Density Linked to Disability (HealthDay)

HealthDay - THURSDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) -- Exercise programs designed to increase muscle density in the elderly could help reduce rates of disability and hospitalization, new research suggests.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 30 Jul 2009 | 9:48 pm

Virus May Affect Survival in Head and Neck Cancer (HealthDay)

HealthDay - THURSDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) -- Infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) may improve survival in patients with head and neck cancer, U.S. researchers report.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 30 Jul 2009 | 9:48 pm

House Approves New Food-Safety Laws

The House passed legislation to require more frequent inspections of food-processing plants and to give the government the authority to order the recall of tainted foods.

Source: NYT > Health | 30 Jul 2009 | 9:41 pm

Rapid chlamydia diagnosis for men

A urine test can diagnose the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia in men within an hour, enabling quicker treatment.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 30 Jul 2009 | 6:12 pm

Obesity 'spreads among the young'

Teenagers who have overweight friends tend to develop a weight problem themselves, mounting evidence suggests.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 30 Jul 2009 | 6:03 pm

Obama's former doctor is critical of reform plan

President Obama talks often about all of the forces lining up against his health care plan. But there's one critic who has remained relatively mum in the debate.

Source: CNN.com - Health | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:27 pm

Migraine May Lower Breast Cancer Risk

The two hormonally mediated diseases may be linked, suggest researchers.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 3:03 pm

Nap Time! One-third of Americans Do It

A new survey reveals who is most likely to take naps.
Source: Livescience.com - Health | 30 Jul 2009 | 2:42 pm

Chinese Workers Say Illness Is Real, Not Hysteria

Officials said breathing difficulty and paralysis that affected more than 1,000 were mass hysteria.

Source: NYT > Health | 30 Jul 2009 | 1:38 pm

Texas Hospital Flexing Muscle in Health Fight

A major source of campaign contributions for Senate Democrats is a physician-owned hospital that is trying to soften health care legislation.

Source: NYT > Health | 30 Jul 2009 | 1:33 pm

Pfizer and Nigerian state in deal

US-based pharmaceutical company Pfizer signs a deal worth $75m with the Nigerian state of Kano, a joint statement says.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 30 Jul 2009 | 1:25 pm

Discovery May Help Treat Obesity

In a new study, researchers raise the possibility that if certain brown fat cells could be made more active, a person might burn more fat.

Source: NYT > Health | 30 Jul 2009 | 1:07 pm

Senators: No health deal until recess over

Two of the three Senate Republicans negotiating a bipartisan deal on health-care reform said late Wednesday they consider an agreement out of reach before the Senate goes on its August recess.

Source: CNN.com - Health | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:57 pm

Cognitive Testing and MRI May Predict MS Progression

Neuropsychological tests and imaging may help clinicians predict short-term disease evolution, researchers say.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 12:00 pm

Clinical Alerts Modestly Improve Flu Vaccine Uptake by Asthmatic Children

Electronic health record-based alerts to clinicians, to remind them their pediatric and adolescent asthma patients need an influenza vaccine, result in only a small improvement in vaccine delivery.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 11:59 am

Higher Infliximab Dose Does Not Help Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Increasing the dosage of infliximab from 3 mg/kg to 5 mg/kg did not significantly reduce symptoms among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who were incomplete responders at the lower dose, according to the findings of a randomized, double-blind study by researchers in the Czech Republic.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 11:59 am

Delayed In-Hospital Defibrillation Unexplained by Traditional Factors

Delay in defibrillation of hospitalized patients with cardiac arrest beyond 2 minutes, as well as rates of survival to hospital discharge, vary widely in hospitals across the US, according to new research.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 11:59 am

Artemisinin-Resistant Malaria Detected in Western Cambodia

New research indicates that artemisinin resistance among Plasmodium falciparum isolates is common in western Cambodia and that in vitro testing may give false results.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 11:59 am

MS woman wins right-to-die fight

A woman with multiple sclerosis has won a landmark case to have the law on assisted suicide clarified.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 30 Jul 2009 | 11:56 am

Blue Dye Stops Spinal-Cord-Injury Progression

IV injections of Brilliant Blue G, a dye used in eye surgery, may stop secondary damage and prevent paralysis after SCI.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 10:55 am

FDA Approves Injectable Poly-L-Lactic Acid to Correct Smile Wrinkles

The FDA has approved injectable poly-L-lactic acid for use in immune-competent people to correct shallow to deep nasolabial fold contour deficiencies and other facial wrinkles.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 10:11 am

High Success Rate With Multiple Assisted Reproductive Cycles

Infertile women using assisted reproductive technology (ART) have a greater than 50% chance of having a baby after four ART cycles, according to the results of a study in the July 20th issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 10:09 am

Cervical Screening Has Little Impact on Cancer Rates in Young Women

New research suggests that cervical screening with Pap smears in women between 20 and 24 years of age does not affect the rate of invasive cervical cancer before 30 years of age. By contrast, in older women, cervical screening is associated with a marked reduction in rates of invasive disease and associated mortality, the results indicate.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 30 Jul 2009 | 10:09 am

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