Health and Medical News Headlines for December 11, 2009

Chinese health officials step up flu prevention (AP)

AP - China's Health Ministry warned Friday that the swine flu outbreak in the country could peak over the next several months, especially as hundreds of millions of people return home for the traditional Chinese New Year.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 11 Dec 2009 | 2:25 am

UPDATE 1-New Chinese rules put AXA's Taikang sale on hold

* Rules imply owner of insurance stakes should be strategic
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 11 Dec 2009 | 1:52 am

UPDATE 1-New Chinese rules put AXA's Taikang sale on hold

* Rules imply owner of insurance stakes should be strategic
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 11 Dec 2009 | 1:52 am

Chinese health officials step up flu prevention

China's Health Ministry warned Friday that the swine flu outbreak in the country could peak over the next several months, especially as hundreds of millions of people return home for the...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 11 Dec 2009 | 1:50 am

China mobile carriers to simplify, reduce fees

* Shares for country's 3 telcos drop, trailing market
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 11 Dec 2009 | 1:48 am

Health care loophole would allow coverage limits (AP)

AP - A loophole in the Senate health care bill would let insurers place annual dollar limits on medical care for people struggling with costly illnesses such as cancer, prompting a rebuke from patient advocates.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 11 Dec 2009 | 1:33 am

New Chinese rules put AXA's Taikang sale on hold

HONG KONG, Dec 11 (Reuters) - The auction for French insurer AXA's stake in China's No.4 life insurer, Taikang Life, has been put on hold amid growing concerns about new rules from China's insurance regulator,...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 11 Dec 2009 | 1:03 am

New Chinese rules put AXA's Taikang sale on hold

CFIA warns Heinz Mixed Cereal for babies may be contaminated.

OTTAWA - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Heinz Canada are warning the public that Heinz Mixed Cereal for babies should not be consumed. They say the product - Heinz Mixed...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 11 Dec 2009 | 1:03 am

Cox close to Epix deal with Viacom - Bloomberg

Dec 11 (Reuters) - Cox Communications [COXC.UL], the third-biggest U.S. cable system, is close to an agreement with Viacom Inc to carry new movie channel Epix, Bloomberg said on Friday, citing people...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 11 Dec 2009 | 12:33 am

EQT, Singapore fund to buy Springer Media

STOCKHOLM, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Swedish private equity firm EQT said on Friday it and the Singapore government would buy Springer Science and Business Media for an undisclosed sum.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 11 Dec 2009 | 12:31 am

Bone Drugs Taken by Some Women May Lower Breast Cancer Risk, Studies Say

Two new studies suggest that bisphosphonate drugs taken to prevent bone loss may help fight breast cancer.

Source: NYT > Health | 11 Dec 2009 | 12:27 am

Senate Tied in Knots Over Proposal to Allow Imported Drugs

Democratic leaders delayed a vote because they feared the proposal would be approved, blowing apart a deal negotiated by the White House and the pharmaceutical industry.

Source: NYT > Health | 11 Dec 2009 | 12:27 am

High Premiums in Senate Democrats’ Health Plan

Preliminary calculations reflect the steep challenges that Senate Democrats face as they await a new cost analysis of their proposal.

Source: NYT > Health | 11 Dec 2009 | 12:26 am

CVS Caremark in $1 bln Texas pension fund contract

BANGALORE, Dec 11 (Reuters) - CVS Caremark Corp said it has won a contract worth roughly $1 billion from the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) to provide pharmacy benefits for two years.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 11 Dec 2009 | 12:22 am

Swine Flu Death Toll at 10,000 Since April

Federal health officials said Thursday that almost 10,000 people had died of swine flu since April, a significant jump from mortality numbers released last month.

Source: NYT > Health | 11 Dec 2009 | 12:20 am

Blindness fear

Beauty queen's aim before she loses her sight
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 11 Dec 2009 | 12:06 am

Doctor and Patient: Lessons From the War Zone

Seeing the casualties of combat has the paradoxical power to create doctors with an extraordinary appreciation for all humanity.

Source: NYT > Health | 11 Dec 2009 | 12:04 am

More Sleep On Many Americans' Holiday Wish List

The kids may be sleeping soundly this season with "visions of sugar plums in their heads," but almost half of the nation's moms and dads (44%) say they are worried about being able to afford the holidays this year, with one in six Americans (17%) expecting to lose sleep due to holiday-induced stress. The findings are part of a national year-end survey - the SleepBetter.org Holiday Slumber Index, which measures the impact of the holidays on Americans' sleep patterns. According to the survey, parents are most susceptible to sleep changes...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 11 Dec 2009 | 12:00 am

Tripep Receives Approval For Expanding The ChronVac-C(R) Study With One More Vaccination

Tripep (STO:TPEP) received the approval from the Swedish Medical Products Agency and the local ethical committee to give three patients in the highest dose group in the ChronVac-C® study one additional treatment with the therapeutic vaccine. All twelve patients in the study have earlier received four treatments with ChronVac-C® given at three different doses and one month apart. The highest dose was given to six patients...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 10 Dec 2009 | 10:00 pm

Addiction Meds May Help Gamblers (HealthDay)

HealthDay - THURSDAY, Dec. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Drugs used to treat substance addictions could prove effective in treating pathological gambling, U.S. researchers say.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 10 Dec 2009 | 9:49 pm

Bad Behavior as a Kid Linked to Early Death in Men (HealthDay)

HealthDay - THURSDAY, Dec. 10 (HealthDay News) -- A history of juvenile delinquency raises a man's risk of dying or becoming disabled by the time he is 48 years old, according to U.K. researchers.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 10 Dec 2009 | 9:49 pm

Swine Flu Has Infected 1 in 6 Americans: CDC (HealthDay)

HealthDay - THURSDAY, Dec. 10 (HealthDay News) -- The H1N1 swine flu has sickened nearly 50 million Americans, sent more than 200,000 people to the hospital and killed nearly 10,000 -- more than 8,000 of them children and young adults, a federal health official said Thursday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 10 Dec 2009 | 9:49 pm

Adding Chemo to Tamoxifen Helps Some Breast Cancer Patients (HealthDay)

HealthDay - THURSDAY, Dec. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Adding chemotherapy to standard cancer-suppressing tamoxifen can boost survival in postmenopausal women with the most common type of breast cancer, known as estrogen receptor-positive, and it's best given before the tamoxifen regimen starts, according to a new study.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 10 Dec 2009 | 9:49 pm

Neurologix Completes All Surgical Procedures In Its Clinical Trial For Parkinson's Disease

Neurologix, Inc. (OTCBB:NRGX), a biotechnology company engaged in the development of innovative therapies for the brain and central nervous system, announced the completion of all planned surgeries in an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial of the company's gene transfer approach to the treatment of advanced Parkinson's disease. The controlled, double blinded, 44 patient Phase 2 trial is investigating the safety and efficacy of a novel non-dopamine approach to restore motor function in Parkinson's patients who are sub-optimally responsive to available drug therapy...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 10 Dec 2009 | 9:00 pm

Hyperion Therapeutics Enrolls First Patient In Phase II Hepatic Encephalopathy Trial

Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. announced that the first patient has been enrolled in its phase II clinical trial of investigational compound HPN-100 (glycerol phenylbutyrate). The multi-center study consists of an open label safety component followed by a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study that will enroll approximately 140 patients with episodic hepatic encephalopathy in the US and Eastern Europe. The primary efficacy measure will be the proportion of patients who exhibit a hepatic encephalopathy episode during the four-month treatment period...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 10 Dec 2009 | 8:00 pm

New HealthMedia(R) Digital Coaching™ Programs Address Heart Disease Risk Factors And Help Reduce Health Care Costs

HealthMedia, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, introduced two new Digital Coaching™ programs that help lower cardiovascular disease risk for employee populations. HealthMedia® ACHIEVE™ and HealthMedia® CONTROL™ improve cholesterol and blood pressure self-management through comprehensive and scalable Digital Coaching™ that focuses on behavior change and personal motivation. HealthMedia® Digital Coaching™ programs simulate a live health coaching session with the privacy, convenience, and 24/7 access that only the web can deliver...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 10 Dec 2009 | 7:00 pm

Old Math Reveals New Thinking In Children's Cognitive Development

Five-year-olds can reason about the world from multiple perspectives simultaneously, according to a new theory by researchers in Japan and Australia. Using an established branch of mathematics called Category Theory, the researchers explain why specific reasoning skills develop in children at certain ages, particularly at age five. The new theory, published December 11 in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology, shows that these reasoning skills have similar profiles of development because they involve related sorts of processes...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 10 Dec 2009 | 6:00 pm

Alcohol post-breast cancer risk

Women who have had breast cancer should stick to three alcoholic drinks or less a week, researchers suggest.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 10 Dec 2009 | 5:03 pm

20mph zones 'cut injuries by 40%'

20mph traffic speed zones can reduce road injuries by more than 40%, research based on a study in London suggests.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 10 Dec 2009 | 5:03 pm

Amneal Receives FDA Approval For Nizatidine Oral Solution, The First Generic Oral Solution For Axid(R) In The Market

Amneal Pharmaceuticals is pleased to announce that it has received U.S. FDA approval to manufacture Nizatidine Oral Solution in the 15 mg/mL strength effective November 18, 2009. It is an AA-rated, therapeutically equivalent alternative to Axid® Oral Solution (a licensed trademark of Braintree Labs). Nizatidine Oral Solution is the first available generic in oral solution form and marks Amneal's fourth liquid approval. It represents the company's first exclusive generic - Amneal has 180-day exclusivity to market the product beginning from the date of first shipment...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 10 Dec 2009 | 5:00 pm

Chemotherapy boosts breast cancer survival: study (Reuters)

Reuters - Chemotherapy helps improve breast cancer survival in post-menopausal women, adding to a long-standing debate about how best to treat these women, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 10 Dec 2009 | 4:57 pm

Nasal-Aire(R) II Petite Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance For Pediatric Use

It is estimated that almost 2 million kids in the United States alone suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and may require continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. This number has increased more than 10 times in the last 30 years, thanks mainly to the nation's obesity epidemic. However, pediatric OSA appears to be an underserved and misunderstood market, reports the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). That's because primary care physicians often misdiagnose daytime sleepiness as related to bedwetting, nightmares or some other common childhood issue - not OSA...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 10 Dec 2009 | 4:00 pm

CDC: 10,000 H1N1 Flu Deaths

H1N1 swine flu killed 10,000 Americans, sent 213,000 to the hospital, and sickened 50 million -- 1/6 of the population -- by mid-November, the CDC estimates.
WebMD Health News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 10 Dec 2009 | 3:55 pm

CDC: About 1 in 6 Americans have had swine flu (AP)

AP - Swine flu has sickened about 50 million Americans, and killed about 10,000, according to new estimates released by federal health officials on Thursday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 10 Dec 2009 | 3:48 pm

Radiation From Cardiac CT Can Be Slashed Without Losing Image Quality

The radiation dose from coronary CT angiography can be almost cut in half without reducing the diagnostic value of the images, researchers in Innsbruck have shown.
Heartwire
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 10 Dec 2009 | 3:39 pm

Cancer Survivors at "Substantial" Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

In The Largest Cohort Of childhood and adolescent cancer survivors ever studied for subsequent cardiac problems, US researchers have found a substantial risk of certain cardiovascular conditions, occurring up to 30 years after cancer diagnosis.
Heartwire
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 10 Dec 2009 | 3:39 pm

Does Cannabis Extract Reduce Spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis?

A systematic review suggests that some MS patients may achieve relief from spasticity with cannabis extracts, but at least 1 expert says the data are unconvincing.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 10 Dec 2009 | 3:10 pm

Studies: Bone drugs may help prevent breast cancer (AP)

AP - New results from a landmark women's health study raise the exciting possibility that bone-building drugs such as Fosamax and Actonel may help prevent breast cancer.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 10 Dec 2009 | 3:00 pm

The Need For Cardio-Oncology: Treating Cancer And Protecting The Heart

Cardiologists and oncologists must work together in an attempt to avoid or prevent adverse cardiovascular effects in patients from certain chemotherapies, especially for those who may be at a higher risk for such effects, according to a new review published online December 10 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. With an aging population, it is highly probable that an increasing number of people may have both cancer and cardiovascular disease...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 10 Dec 2009 | 3:00 pm

Nutra Pharma Announces Upcoming Webinar To Discuss The Company's Over-the-Counter (OTC) And Prescription Treatments For Chronic Pain

Nutra Pharma Corp. (OTCBB: NPHC), a biotechnology company that is developing treatments for Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN), HIV and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), has announced today that it will be hosting an online webinar on December 10, 2009, at 9PM ET to discuss current progress with Cobroxin and Nyloxin Rx , the Company's treatments for chronic pain...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 10 Dec 2009 | 2:00 pm

Pelosi asks to see better way than public option

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled her willingness Thursday to consider a health care bill without a government-run public health insurance option.

Source: CNN.com - Health | 10 Dec 2009 | 1:52 pm

T-Cell Depletion Improves Transplant Outcomes in Adults With Acute Myeloid Leukemia

T-cell depletion appears to be an effective strategy for reducing of graft-versus-host disease in patients with acute myeloid leukemia who undergo allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 10 Dec 2009 | 1:11 pm

Routine Laboratory Monitoring Not Required for Safe Delivery of Antiretroviral Therapy

However, CD4 cell count should be monitored from the second year to inform the switch to second-line treatment; the money saved could mean expanded treatment for Africans with HIV.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 10 Dec 2009 | 1:09 pm

Vital Signs: Risks: Study Ties Alcohol to Recurrence of Breast Cancer

Researchers at Kaiser Permanente found that women who had three to four drinks a week were 34 percent more likely to have a cancer recurrence.

Source: NYT > Health | 10 Dec 2009 | 12:46 pm

States Spending Less to Fight Smoking

States spent $567 million on smoking prevention and cessation programs in the latest fiscal year, a 15 percent decrease from the year before, a report said.

Source: NYT > Health | 10 Dec 2009 | 12:17 pm

Senate Democrats See Hope on Health Bill

Senate Democrats voiced guarded optimism that a deal over disputes would help them pass health care legislation.

Source: NYT > Health | 10 Dec 2009 | 11:35 am

What really killed the beauty queen?

As investigators try to determine what actually caused the death of Argentine beauty queen Solange Magnano, the Empowered Patient tells you what you can do to survive plastic surgery unharmed.

Source: CNN.com - Health | 10 Dec 2009 | 10:58 am

FDA Approves Extended-Release Clonidine

The FDA has approved the first once-daily oral formulations of clonidine for the treatment of hypertension.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 10 Dec 2009 | 10:52 am

Defibrotide Prophylaxis Reduces Veno-Occlusive Disease in Pediatric Transplant Patients

The use of prophylactic defibrotide, an experimental agent, reduced the incidence of veno-occlusive disease by 40% in pediatric patients undergoing stem cell transplantation.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 10 Dec 2009 | 10:51 am

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