Activity In Brain Synapses And Developmental Abnormalities Linked With Schizophrenia Gene

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) researchers have identified a function of neuregulin1 (NRG1), a gene previously linked to schizophrenia but whose role in the disease was unknown. “We found that when this gene or this pathway is impaired,” explained CSHL’s…

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HHS To Allocate $195M In Grants To Gulf Coast Clinics To Provide Primary Care To Uninsured Residents, Recruit Physicians

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Thursday said the department will allocate $195 million in a one-time round of grants to Gulf Coast health services, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. About $100 million of the grant money will go to clinics…

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Mexico Supreme Court Accepts Petition To Review Mexico City Law Legalizing Abortion During First Three Months’ Gestation

The Mexico Supreme Court on Friday announced that it has accepted a petition, filed by the National Human Right’s Commission, to review the constitutionality of a Mexico City law that allows pregnant women to obtain an abortion during the first…

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CQ’s Carey Examines War Spending Bill With SCHIP Funding, House Measures To Expand Veterans Health Care, Medical Malpractice Legislation

Mary Agnes Carey, associate editor of CQ HealthBeat, discusses SCHIP funds included in the fiscal year 2007 supplemental war appropriations bill, House approval of veterans’ health care legislation and the introduction of bicameral measures that would provide funds for states…

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California Governor Does Not Plan To Submit Health Care Proposal To Legislature Until Possibly Later This Session

Advisers to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) say his health care expansion proposal will not be introduced as legislation because they do not want it to be dissected in legislative hearings, the AP/Los Angeles Daily News reports. Instead, the administration…

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Racial Disparities In Colorectal Cancer Survival Driven By Social Factors Not Genetics

Correcting social, economic and healthcare inequalities may have the most significant impact in reducing survival differences in colorectal cancer (CRC) between African Americans and Caucasians, according to a new study. Published in the June 1, 2007 issue of CANCER, a…

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Incentives For Prescription Drug Tests In Children Should Continue, According To Op-Ed

“The question is not whether we should study the safety of drugs for children, but how we make that research happen,” and the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act, which will expire this year, “has generated more clinical information for the…

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Drug-Eluting And Bare-Metal Stents Equal In Risk Of Blood Clots, Heart Attacks And Death

Although the use of stents to treat coronary artery disease has soared during the past decade thanks to novel equipment and new implant techniques, clinical data has recently raised concerns around the safety of drug-eluting stents (DES) and their risk…

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Pfizer’s Sutent Receives FDA Approval To Include New First-Line Advanced Kidney Cancer Data In Label

Pfizer Inc said today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved new labeling of Sutent(R) (sunitinib malate) which includes first-line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a type of advanced kidney cancer, based on results of…

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Advanced BioHealing Enrolls First Patient In Celaderm(TM) Pilot Venous Leg Ulcer Clinical Trial

Advanced BioHealing, Inc. (ABH) announced today that it has enrolled the first patient in its initial Celaderm(TM) pilot study. The study, whose primary purpose is to evaluate the safety of Celaderm in humans, will also assess the potential for Celaderm…

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Statin Therapy Associated With Regression Of Coronary Atherosclerosis With Key Lipid Level Changes

An analysis of data from four clinical trials suggests that statin therapy is associated with regression of coronary atherosclerosis when low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C or “bad” cholesterol) is substantially reduced and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C or “good” cholesterol) is increased,…

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Senate Finance Committee Leaders ‘Stop Short’ Of Endorsing Norwalk As Permanent CMS Administrator

The leaders of the Senate Finance Committee, which would conduct confirmation hearings on nominations for a permanent CMS administrator, on Tuesday “stopped short” of endorsing acting agency administrator Leslie Norwalk for the position, CQ HealthBeat reports. Committee Chair Max Baucus…

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EPG Patient Direct – A Portal Enabling The Millions Of Patients Seeking Knowledge And Information About Personal Care And Health

IMR International Limited, developers of e-communication and clinical information solutions, today announced that it will launch EPG Patient Direct in June 2007. The service, designed specifically for public and patient use, will provide visitors with access to a vast range…

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Wal-Mart, SEIU, Others To Launch Campaign Seeking Universal Health Coverage, Shared Responsibility

Wal-Mart Stores and the Service Employees International Union on Wednesday in a joint news conference will announce “a major new campaign with a focus on health care,” according to a news release issued Tuesday, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (AP/Houston Chronicle,…

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Recommendations For Diagnosis And Management Of Venous Thromboembolism

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and American College of Physicians (ACP) has released new clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Key elements of the diagnosis guideline include the use of clinical prediction…

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Physicians Worry Poor Breast Cancer Drug Compliance Could Lead To Recurrence, Reduced Chance Of Survival, Los Angeles Times Reports

Some physicians are concerned by recent research that showed as many as one-third of women taking breast cancer drugs developed in the past 10 years do not complete their recommended five-year course, which could lead to a recurrence of the…

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Editorials, Opinion Pieces Address Bill To Require HHS Secretary To Negotiate Medicare Prescription Drug Prices

Several recent editorials and opinion pieces addressed entitlement spending, including a bill passed last week by the House that would require the HHS secretary to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies on prices for medications under the Medicare prescription drug benefit.…

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Mayo Clinic Research Shows 35 Percent Of 49 Young People Who Died Suddenly And Inexplicably Had Genetic Heart Defects

In 49 young people who died suddenly and inexplicably at an average age of 14, conventional autopsies found no cause of death. But when Mayo Clinic researchers conducted a sophisticated form of postmortem genetic testing — known as a molecular…

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World’s First Users Meeting On Endoluminal Surgery Unites Leading Digestive Surgeons And Gastroenterologists Throughout Europe

EndoGastric Solutions, Inc. (EGS), the world leader in endoluminal intragastric surgery, announces that over 120 surgeons and gastroenterologists from more than 50 hospitals across Europe came together to discuss the evolution of incisionless transoral digestive surgery for the treatment of…

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FDA Approves NovoLog(R) Category Change For Use In Pregnant Women With Type 1 Diabetes

Novo Nordisk announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved NovoLog(R) (insulin aspart [rDNA origin] injection) for pregnancy Category B rating, further validating NovoLog(R) as a safe and effective treatment for pregnant women with Type…

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Imaging Technique Is Highly Accurate In Diagnosing, Locating Pancreas Defects In Newborns

The noninvasive imaging technology called positron-emission tomography (PET scan) is extremely accurate in diagnosing a type of congenital hyperinsulinism (HI), a rare but severe imbalance of insulin levels in newborns. When that disease is confined to a limited section of…

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CIMZIATM (Certolizumab Pegol) Maintained Response And Remission In Crohn’s Patients Previously Treated With Infliximab

New data from a post hoc analysis of the PRECiSE clinical trial program demonstrated that the anti-TNF CIMZIATM (certolizumab pegol) maintained response and remission in patients with moderate to severe Crohn’s disease, regardless of whether or not they had been…

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Survey Rates Hospital Safety, NEJM Examines Trend To Seek Medical Care Abroad

* “Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey,” The Leapfrog Group: The survey evaluated 1,200 hospitals nationwide to determine the state of health care quality and safety in U.S. hospitals. Using the survey results, Leapfrog named 59 participating hospitals to the…

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Cypher® Sirolimus-Eluting Coronary Stent Outperformed Taxus Stent In Long Coronary Lesions, New Trial

Results from a multicenter, prospective, randomized clinical trial indicate that the CYPHER® Stent performed better than the Taxus Stent in procedures involving long coronary lesions, which are considered some of the most complex blockages to treat with balloon angioplasty. The…

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The Thermo-expandable Metallic Stent For Managing Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: A Systematic Review

The surgical management of LUTS or urinary retention secondary to BPH is not without risks, especially in the older patient or those with significant co-morbidities. The urethral stent was developed for these patients as an alternative to long-term urethral or…

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Unprecedented Cross Institute Collaboration On Behalf Of Patients With Tourette Syndrome

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is an often disabling hereditary condition characterized by motor and phonic tics that today affects approximately 200,000 children and adults in the U.S. and Canada. In a meeting jointly sponsored by the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders…

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Human Genome Sciences Reports Positive Results Of Phase 1 Clinical Trial Of CCR5 MAb In Patients Infected With HIV-1

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGSI) today announced that the results of a Phase 1 clinical trial of HGS004 (CCR5 mAb) demonstrate that it was well tolerated and exhibited antiviral activity in patients who are infected with HIV-1, the retrovirus…

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American College Of Physicians Expresses Support For Executive Order On Health Care Transparency

The American College of Physicians (ACP) today expressed its support for the goals of the executive order signed by President Bush, noting that the ACP has provided the White House with detailed recommendations on introducing transparency in health care decision-making…

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University Of Manchester Researchers Say HIV Drug Could Be Used To Prevent Cervical Cancer

Researchers at the University of Manchester are developing a topical treatment against the human papilloma virus (HPV) which is responsible for pre-cancerous and cancerous disease of the cervix as well as other genital malignancies. In the UK many thousands of…

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Kenyan Parliament To Debate Changes In Patent Law, Could Decrease Generic Drug Access, Advocates, Officials Say

Kenya’s Parliament on Thursday is scheduled to debate proposed amendments to its patent law, some of which are opposed by some HIV/AIDS advocates because they say the amendments could decrease access to antiretroviral drugs, Reuters South Africa reports (Kanina, Reuters…

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Conservative Democratic Lawmakers Seek To Block Pennsylvania Funding For Embryonic Stem Cell Research

A group of self-described “pro-life Democrats” in Pennsylvania convened a hearing on Tuesday to rally efforts to block state funding for embryonic stem cell research, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. According to the Inquirer, Democrat-sponsored state legislation that would finance stem…

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In The Interests Of Patients, Roche Will Consider All Options Following CHMP Opinion On Tarceva In Pancreatic Cancer

Roche announced today that its cancer medicine Tarceva (erlotinib) has received a negative opinion from the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for use in combination with gemcitabine chemotherapy for the first line treatment of advanced pancreatic…

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“Price Transparency” Provision Removed From House Health Care Information Technology Bill

House leaders on Wednesday removed a provision that would have required hospitals to make public some price information from a health care information technology bill (HR 4157), CQ Today reports (Crowley, CQ Today, 7/26). The legislation, sponsored by Reps. Nancy…

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California To Delay Enforcement Of Federal Rule Requiring Proof Of Citizenship For Medicaid Eligibility

California health officials on Tuesday said they are postponing the enforcement of a new federal law that will require Medicaid enrollees and applicants to show proof of U.S. citizenship, the Los Angeles Times reports (Lin, Los Angeles Times, 6/7). Under…

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Spending On Specialty Drugs On The Rise, Expected To Double By 2009, Express Scripts Says

Spending on specialty drugs — a category that includes many biotech treatments for chronic conditions — increased 17.5% in 2005, while spending on traditional medications increased 10%, according to a study released on Wednesday by Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit…

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Tufts Senior VP Appointed By Romney Administration To Head Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, USA

As expected, Jon Kingsdale, a senior vice president of policy development at Tufts Health Plan was appointed by the Romney administration as head of the Common Health Insurance Connector Authority, the Boston Globe reports (Krasner, Boston Globe, 5/26). Under the…

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High-Deductible Health Plans Growing In Popularity Among Large Companies, USA

The Detroit Free Press on Tuesday examined health savings accounts and how many automakers and other large U.S. companies are offering employees the option of high-deductible health plans with HSAs. According to America’s Health Insurance Plans, 3.2 million U.S. employees…

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Washington Post Examines Concerns Over Potential Misuse Of Prescription Drugs Caused By Advertisements

The Washington Post on Tuesday examined concerns raised by critics about prescription drug advertisements “taking something that is within normal bounds and labeling it a disease needing pharmaceutical treatment.” The Post profiles recent GlaxoSmithKline ads for Requip, a medication approved…

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Pennsylvania Managed Care Companies Push For Higher Medicaid Reimbursements

Insurance companies operating managed care plans under Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program are objecting to a proposed payment increase that they say is too low to keep up with growing medical expenses, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Gov. Ed Rendell’s (D) fiscal year…

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San Francisco Chronicle Examines Use Of Pill-Splitting Programs By Health Insurers

The San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday examined how several large insurers are “encouraging patients to save money by splitting their pills in half.” Consumers can save on copayments by cutting pills in half because pharmaceutical companies typically charge the same…

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Some Patient Groups Have Financial Ties To Pharmaceutical Companies

The Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday examined how “many patient groups and drug companies maintain close, multimillion-dollar relationships while disclosing limited or no details about the ties.” According to the Inquirer, “such coziness raises questions about the impartiality of groups that…

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Canadian Health Minister Clement Notes Progress At G8 Health Ministers Meeting

Canadian Health Minister Tony Clement was pleased with the outcome of discussions at the first-ever meeting of G8 Health Ministers in Moscow. Ministers renewed their international commitment to combat avian influenza and prevent and prepare for a possible human pandemic…

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Abbott’s HUMIRA(R) (Adalimumab) Receives Positive Opinion From European Medicines Agency For The Treatment Of Ankylosing Spondylitis

Abbott today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), granted a positive opinion recommending approval of HUMIRA(R) (adalimumab) for the treatment of severe active ankylosing spondylitis. The…

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Abbott’s New Tablet Formulation Of Kaletra(R) (Lopinavir/Ritonavir) Receives Positive Opinion From The European Medicines Agency

Abbott announced today that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), has issued a positive opinion recommending approval of a new, more convenient tablet formulation of its protease inhibitor…

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Pharmacokinetic Data For Nastech’s Intranasal Parathyroid Hormone (PTH1-34) Demonstrated Similar Profile To Approved Injectable Product

Nastech Pharmaceutical Company Inc. (Nasdaq: NSTK) presents data today from a Phase I pharmacokinetic study of Parathyroid Hormone (PTH1-34) nasal spray demonstrating a similar pharmacokinetic profile to the approved subcutaneous product, Forteo(R) (teriparatide). The data are being presented at the…

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Clinical Utility Of Two Novel Genes That Can Identify Patients At Higher Risk For Early Breast Cancer Recurrence

AviaraDx, Inc., formerly known as Arcturus Bioscience, Inc., a leader in molecular cancer profiling, announced today that a study, conducted in collaboration with Mayo Clinic, demonstrated the clinical utility of two novel genes that can identify patients at higher risk…

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Positive Phase II Results With Orally Active GnRH Receptor Antagonist In Endometriosis – Neurocrine Biosciences Inc

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: NBIX) today announced positive results of its ‘proof of concept’, safety, efficacy and dose-finding Phase II clinical trial using its proprietary, orally-active small molecule Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) receptor antagonist (NBI-56418). The 3-month data comes from a…

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New Research Identifies Specific Teenage And Young Adult Cancers And Points To Possible Causes

An analysis of new data by a leading cancer researcher has revealed specific cancers that are most likely to affect teenagers and young adults, and it points to infections, adolescent growth spurts, and hormones as being among the possible causes.…

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Helping Mentally Retarded Children And Adolescents: Support From Families And Health Care Professionals Have Significant Impact

The costs associated with mental retardation (MR) for persons born in 2000 will total over 51 billion dollars. While direct health and educational costs are significant, lifetime indirect costs due to productivity losses are much greater. Better efforts to understand…

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Impact On Patients Of NHS Dentistry Changes Must Be Thoroughly Reviewed, Dentists Tell PM, UK

Comments by the Prime Minister about the new contract for dentists have prompted a strong warning from the profession’s leadership about the future of NHS dentistry. Susie Sanderson, Chair of the British Dental Association’s Executive Committee, has written to Tony…

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Private Psychiatrists Key To Better Mental Health Care, Australian Medical Association

Australian Medical Association (AMA) Vice President, Dr Choong-Siew Yong, today strongly defended private psychiatrists against claims of being ‘failures’ under Medicare, saying they provide the specialised expertise that builds quality into the mental health system and holds it together. Dr…

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