Health and Medical News Headlines for January 14, 2010

Clubbers 'turn to new legal high'

People going to clubs are thought to be switching to the legal high mephedrone instead of taking ecstasy or cocaine, according to new research.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 14 Jan 2010 | 2:49 am

UPDATE 1-TSMC to recruit over 3,000, mostly engineers

* Planned increase represents 13 percent of total workforce
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 14 Jan 2010 | 12:36 am

UPDATE 1-Misys H1 op profit up 11 pct; says on track

LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - British IT firm Misys reported an 11 percent rise in first-half profit, meeting market expectations, as software maintenance revenue offset subdued IT spending by customers...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 14 Jan 2010 | 12:35 am

UPDATE 1-T. Italia appeals Argentine antitrust ruling

MILAN, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia has appealed Argentina's antitrust ruling that it must sell its stake in Telecom Argentina parent Sofora, it said on Thursday, claiming competition issues concerned...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 14 Jan 2010 | 12:30 am

UPDATE 1-T. Italia appeals Argentine antitrust ruling

New Official Named With Portfolio to Unite Agencies and Improve Food Safety

The White House appointed Michael R. Taylor to oversee the Food and Drug Administration’s nutrition programs and address the nation’s fractured food safety system.

Source: NYT > Health | 14 Jan 2010 | 12:30 am

Obesity Rates Hit Plateau in U.S., Data Suggest

The rates for very overweight people have remained constant for at least five years among men and for nearly 10 years among women and children, new numbers indicated.

Source: NYT > Health | 14 Jan 2010 | 12:29 am

After a Year of Learning, the First Lady Seeks Out a Legacy

With her family settled in, Michelle Obama is now looking to influence policy by spearheading an initiative to reduce childhood obesity.

Source: NYT > Health | 14 Jan 2010 | 12:28 am

Morphine May Help Traumatic Stress

Findings on combat casualties in Iraq could have implications for a wider variety of traumas, like those resulting from rape or muggings.

Source: NYT > Health | 14 Jan 2010 | 12:27 am

Calorie Postings No Match for Holiday Gluttony

People picked lighter food after a city law requiring calorie counts, but lost control during the holidays, a study said.

Source: NYT > Health | 14 Jan 2010 | 12:09 am

Largest religious festival on Earth under way in India

Hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees took a ritual bath in India's holy Ganges river before daybreak Thursday as the world's largest religious gathering got under way. Braving chilly...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 14 Jan 2010 | 12:07 am

BRIEF-Telecom Italia on Argentina antitrust order

MILAN, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia said in a statement on Thursday:
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 13 Jan 2010 | 11:51 pm

Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitions

Jan 14 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies were reported by 0600 GMT on Thursday.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 13 Jan 2010 | 11:32 pm

Proposals Clash on States’ Role in Health Plans

The House legislation calls for a national marketplace for health care plans. Senators would rather let the states oversee 50 separate exchanges.

Source: NYT > Health | 13 Jan 2010 | 11:31 pm

Sample of Nestlé Cookie Dough Has E. Coli Bacteria

The company said the tainted dough had not left the factory and no recall was necessary.

Source: NYT > Health | 13 Jan 2010 | 11:21 pm

Diagnostic Hybrids Announces FDA Clearance Of D3(R) FastPointTM L-DFATM RSV/MPV Identification Kit

Diagnostic Hybrids, a leading developer of in vitro diagnostic fluorescent staining kits and cell culture products, announces the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (510k) clearance of its D3 FastPointTM L-DFATM RSV/MPV Identification Kit, which allows for the identification of respiratory syncytial virus and human metapneumovirus from a patient's specimen in under 25 minutes. The D3 FastPoint L-DFA RSV/MPV ID Kit represents the third product in the company's D3 FastPoint L-DFA product line, and its second cleared MPV testing device...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Jan 2010 | 11:00 pm

Obama and Lawmakers Seek Accord on Health Care

President Obama and top Democrats met to resolve differences between the House and the Senate legislation.

Source: NYT > Health | 13 Jan 2010 | 10:49 pm

Fitness: When the Gym Isn’t Enough

Young men love supplements, but is there any muscle behind them?

Source: NYT > Health | 13 Jan 2010 | 10:47 pm

UPDATE 1-SK Tel aims for 2 mln new smartphone users in 2010

* Beefing up smartphone offering to boost data usage
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 13 Jan 2010 | 10:19 pm

Market Chatter -- Corporate finance press digest

BANGALORE, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The following corporate finance-related stories were reported by media on Thursday:
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 13 Jan 2010 | 10:16 pm

Market Chatter -- Corporate finance press digest

BANGALORE, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The following corporate finance-related stories were reported by media on Thursday:
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsHealth | 13 Jan 2010 | 10:16 pm

Male Chromosome May Evolve Fastest

The Y chromosome’s rapid rate of change does not mean men are evolving faster than women, but its innovation is likely having reverberations in the human genome.

Source: NYT > Health | 13 Jan 2010 | 10:00 pm

NCCN Organizing National Summit For Appropriate Use Of REMS In Cancer Care

Risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS), which can be required by the FDA for drugs or biologics with significant toxicity and/or risks, are emerging as a priority topic for a variety of individuals. The goal of REMS to mitigate known or potential drug risks must be balanced with concerns that such programs may be overly complex and burdensome to physicians and other healthcare providers...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Jan 2010 | 10:00 pm

Loss of Smell Could Be Early Sign of Alzheimer's (HealthDay)

HealthDay - TUESDAY, Jan. 12 (HealthDay News) -- New research in mice suggests that loss of smell could serve as an early indicator of Alzheimer's disease.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 13 Jan 2010 | 9:48 pm

Clinical Trials Update: Jan. 13, 2010 (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com:
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 13 Jan 2010 | 9:48 pm

U.S. Obesity Rates Leveling Off, But Still High (HealthDay)

HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, Jan. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Some good news in the war on weight: Obesity in the United States may finally be stabilizing instead of increasing, two new studies show.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 13 Jan 2010 | 9:48 pm

Taking Viagra Won't Spur Risky Sexual Behavior (HealthDay)

HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, Jan. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Men worried that taking Viagra will lead to sexually risky behavior can relax: A new study suggests that drugs for erectile dysfunction don't make men more likely to engage in potentially unhealthy sex.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 13 Jan 2010 | 9:48 pm

Stress on Cells Can Turn Them Cancerous (HealthDay)

HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, Jan. 13 (HealthDay News) -- New research in fruit flies offers insight into how cells turn cancerous.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 13 Jan 2010 | 9:48 pm

Artificial Pancreas Prototype in Development for Type 1 Diabetics (HealthDay)

HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, Jan. 13 (HealthDay News) -- The first version of an artificial pancreas -- a potentially revolutionary way to manage insulin delivery in people with type 1 diabetes -- may be available in as little as four years.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 13 Jan 2010 | 9:48 pm

Xcellerex Initiates Phase I Clinical Trial Of Novel Yellow Fever Vaccine

Xcellerex, Inc. today announced that it has initiated a Phase I clinical trial of XRX-001, a novel, prophylactic vaccine against yellow fever, a tropical virus disease that is often fatal. The company is developing the vaccine to prevent yellow fever in persons traveling to tropical countries where yellow fever is endemic. The only currently available yellow fever vaccine is an attenuated, live vaccine with rare but potentially serious adverse effects. XRX-001 is an inactivated virus vaccine adsorbed to alum adjuvant...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pm

NexMed Announces The Ability Of The NexACT(R) Technology To Deliver Drugs Orally And With Enhanced Bioavailability

NexMed, Inc. (Nasdaq: NEXM), a specialty CRO and a developer of products based on the NexACT® technology, today announced that pre-clinical results from its research and development group at Bio-Quant successfully demonstrated the ability of the NexACT technology to deliver an oral formulation of Taxol® (paclitaxel) and to enhance the drug's bioavailability by approximately ten-fold through this oral administration...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Jan 2010 | 8:00 pm

Belgian doctors give injured woman a new windpipe (AP)

AP - For more than 2 1/2 years, Linda De Croock lived with constant pain from a car accident that smashed her windpipe. Today, she has a new one after surgeons implanted the windpipe from a dead man into her arm, where it grew new tissue before being transplanted into her throat. The way doctors trained her body to accept donor tissue could yield new methods of growing or nurturing organs within patients, experts say.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 13 Jan 2010 | 7:04 pm

Study Of Evidence-Based Treatment For Lung Cancer Patients Shows Enhanced Value: Equivalent Outcomes And A 35 Percent Cost Savings

A study recently conducted by US Oncology and Aetna (NYSE:AET) finds that evidence-based care for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) results in an average cost savings of 35 percent over 12 months while demonstrating equivalent health outcomes. The study, which compared patients treated with evidence-based guidelines (also known as 'on pathway') to those treated with non-evidence-based guidelines (also known as 'off pathway'), was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Oncology Practice...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Jan 2010 | 7:00 pm

Pathway Genomics Launches New Online Tool To Educate Consumers About Genetic Testing Services

Pathway Genomics™, a privately held, venture-backed company, today launched a new campaign designed to facilitate discussions around consumer genetic testing services. Called 'DNA Conversation Starters,' Pathway will address a range of topics about genetic testing, further educating members of the media, the genetic testing community, and consumers about the benefits of genetic testing services and the depth of information obtained from Pathway's Genetic Health and Ancestry tests...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Jan 2010 | 6:00 pm

Inquest probes locum doctor care

An inquest will investigate the deaths of two Cambridgeshire patients treated by a German doctor during his first UK shift.
Source: BBC News | Health | World Edition | 13 Jan 2010 | 5:01 pm

Novo Nordisk Starts Phase I Trial With Long-Acting Oral GLP-1 Analogue

Emisphere Technologies, Inc. today announced that Novo Nordisk has initiated its first Phase I clinical trial with a long-acting oral GLP-1 analogue (NN9924). This milestone releases a $2 million payment to Emisphere, whose proprietary Eligen® Technology is used in the formulation of NN9924. GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like Peptide-1) is a natural hormone involved in controlling blood sugar levels. It stimulates the release of insulin only when blood sugar levels become too high. GLP-1 secretion is often impaired in people with Type 2 Diabetes...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Jan 2010 | 5:00 pm

Farmed or wild fish: Which is healthier?

Got a wish for fish?

Source: CNN.com - Health | 13 Jan 2010 | 4:36 pm

New Position Paper Offers Ethical Guidance To Physicians For Developing Mutually Supportive Patient-Physician-Caregiver Relationships

The American College of Physicians (ACP) has issued a position paper to guide ethical relationships among patients, physicians, and caregivers. The Journal of General Internal Medicine has published "Family Caregivers, Patients and Physicians: Ethical Guidance to Optimize Relationships." The text and an online appendix of resources to help physicians manage relationships with patients and caregivers are available on ACP's Web site...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Jan 2010 | 4:00 pm

Haiti quake could lead to medical 'perfect storm'

Tuesday's earthquake could decimate what fragile medical care exists and spawn a "perfect storm" in a struggling country.

Source: CNN.com - Health | 13 Jan 2010 | 3:41 pm

Data: US obesity rate high, but not rising (AP)

AP - Raise a glass of diet soda: The nation's obesity rate appears to have stalled. But the latest numbers still show that more than two-thirds of adults and almost a third of kids are overweight, with no sign of improvement.

Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 13 Jan 2010 | 3:24 pm

Movies for kids still depict unsafe behaviors (Reuters)

Reuters - While movie makers have gotten better at portraying appropriate injury-prevention tactics in movies made for kids, many scenes still show characters riding bikes without helmets, on boats without life vests, and riding in cars without buckling up, a US government study found.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 13 Jan 2010 | 3:18 pm

Siblings key in pregnancy-related diabetes risk (Reuters)

Reuters - Women with a family history of diabetes who are free from the disease themselves are more likely to develop pregnancy-related diabetes, a new study confirms.
Source: Yahoo! News: Health News | 13 Jan 2010 | 3:15 pm

Medical Specialists Petition Congress To Preserve Access To Care For Millions Of Medicare Patients

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) sent a petition to Congress signed by 1,325 AACE members, non-AACE member physicians, allied health professionals and patients opposing a new Medicare policy, which would eliminate consultation codes for specialists. Overturning this policy would preserve access to care for millions of Medicare patients seen by a medical specialist...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Jan 2010 | 3:00 pm

CETP Variant Linked to Slower Cognitive Decline and Reduced Dementia Risk

The CETP gene, already associated with longevity and lower cardiovascular risk, now is found to be associated with slower memory decline and a reduced risk for dementia, including Alzheimer's.
Medscape Medical News
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Jan 2010 | 2:54 pm

Medical Marijuana Incorporated Applauds The State Of New Jersey For Passing The Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act

Medical Marijuana Inc (PINKSHEETS: MJNA) applauds the New Jersey State Assembly and Senate for having approved "The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act" on Monday, January 11, 2010. A804/S119 removes state-wide penalties for possession of up to two ounces of marijuana when a New Jersey licensed Physician recommends it for one of the qualified medical conditions including Aids, Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis and Crohn's disease among others...

Source: Health News from Medical News Today | 13 Jan 2010 | 2:00 pm

Anti-TNF Therapy May Help Keep Arthritis Patients on the Job

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers may help patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) maintain or increase their hours at work, investigators in Stockholm report in a new study.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Jan 2010 | 1:59 pm

FDA Warnings Target Four Drug Companies

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked Bayer AG, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly, and Cephalon to stop using "misleading" promotions for some drugs, according to letters released by the agency on Tuesday.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Jan 2010 | 1:59 pm

Screening Hospital Patients Could Curb MRSA

Patients who undergo treatment at more than one hospital in Europe should be screened for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to help prevent its spread, scientists said on Tuesday.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Jan 2010 | 1:59 pm

Anti-HIV Efficacy Drops With Switch to Raltegravir From Lopinavir-Ritonavir

Switching from lopinavir-ritonavir to raltegravir can improve lipid concentrations in HIV patients - but at the cost of virologic efficacy, according to a January 13th online report in The Lancet.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Jan 2010 | 1:59 pm

Treatment of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Does Not Cure Barrett's Esophagus

Barrett's esophagus is not cured when patients undergo chemoradiation for esophageal adenocarcinoma, researchers have found.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Jan 2010 | 1:59 pm

No Improvement in Ejection Fraction With Stem Cell Therapy for Acute MI

Patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) of the anterior wall who received intracoronary infusions of bone marrow stem cells (BMSC) did not have better ejection fractions than a control group, a randomized study from Poland shows.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Jan 2010 | 1:59 pm

"Extraordinary" Increases in Drug Prices: Report

Prices for hundreds of brand-name drugs have soared since the beginning of the decade, especially those that treat depression, infections and heart disease, according to a U.S. government report on Monday.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Jan 2010 | 1:59 pm

Second Round of Gefitinib Worth Trying in NSCLC

When disease progression develops in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that initially responded to gefitinib, retreatment with the same drug will be helpful in a "significant proportion" of cases, Korean researchers announced at a conference in California this week.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Jan 2010 | 1:59 pm

Magnetic Resonance Angiography Useful in Assessing "Thunderclap" Headaches

Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is a valid method of evaluating reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndromes (RCVS), which are characterized by recurrent severe "thunderclap" headaches, new research indicates.
Reuters Health Information
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines | 13 Jan 2010 | 1:59 pm

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