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Confusion surrounds regulation of various types of drug makers

Far from triggering a quick fix, the deaths or illnesses of 620 people in 19 states that have been linked to a Massachusetts pharmacy have only underscored confusion over how to regulate the various types of drug-makers in the United States.

4 Jan 2013

Babies begin absorbing language while still in the womb

Babies only hours old are able to differentiate between sounds from their native language and a foreign language, scientists have discovered. The study indicates that babies begin absorbing language while still in the womb, earlier than previously thought.

2 Jan 2013

Roundup: Calif. hospitals fined over serious errors; Mass. pharmacy waiting period continues; Hospitals acquiring 'tough reimbursement climate' in Alabama?

Ten California hospitals received fines Thursday for errors that resulted in either serious injury or death to a patient. The California Department of Public Health issued a total of $785,000 in penalties for errors that include removing the wrong kidney, leaving surgical objects behind and failing to call for assistance when a patient began bleeding excessively (Gorman, 12/21).

21 Dec 2012

Republicans press Obama administration for information on contractors

GOP members of the Senate Finance Committee say they want more information from the Department of Health and Human Services, even as House and Senate GOP lawmakers pressed for details about the contractors who will set up insurance markets in states that don't do it themselves.

21 Dec 2012

Ambulance diversion not an effective way to control emergency department crowding

Massachusetts' 2009 ban on ambulance diversion not only did not increase emergency department length of stay or ambulance turnaround time but may actually have led to improvements in both areas, according to a study published online today in Annals of Emergency Medicine ("The Effect of an Ambulance Diversion Ban on Emergency Department Length of Stay and Ambulance Turnaround Time").

21 Dec 2012

FDA seeks input from states on drug compounders

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg convened a meeting that included federal officials and representatives from state boards of pharmacy and governors' offices. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reports on "rogue pharmacists."

21 Dec 2012

New technique may prevent inheritance of mitochondrial diseases in children

A joint team of scientists from The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Laboratory and Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) has developed a technique that may prevent the inheritance of mitochondrial diseases in children.

21 Dec 2012

Festive season can trigger new cases of tinnitus

On the run-up to New Year, most of us stock-up with remedies for a sore head, bloated tummy, itching eyes and a bout of flu. But have you ever stopped to consider your hearing?

19 Dec 2012

House Republicans assail administration on health law implementation

Members of the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health assert administration officials have not been helpful to states.

14 Dec 2012

Fatal imbalance between global disease burden and drug development

Despite important progress in research and development (R&D) for global health over the past decade, only a small fraction of new medicines developed between 2000 and 2011 were for the treatment of neglected diseases, highlighting the 'fatal imbalance' between global disease burden and drug development for some of the world most devastating illnesses, said Doctors Without Borders/M-decins Sans Fronti-res (MSF) and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), in an analysis to be presented today at an international conference aimed at spurring medical innovations for these diseases.

13 Dec 2012

Unisense FertiliTech announces new partnership with William Demant Invest

Danish medtech company Unisense FertiliTech A/S announces a new partnership with Oticon Funds investment company William Demant Invest (WDI). WDI owns 32% of Unisense FertiliTech A/S after the purchase of new and existing shares in the company worth 24 million USD.

13 Dec 2012

Cleft palate children need regular hearing check-ups

Children with cleft palate require regular audiologic and otologic follow-up to ensure their management is appropriate and timely, say researchers.

12 Dec 2012

Picaa app helps children and teenagers with some kind of cognitive, visual or hearing disability

This application -named Picaa- can be used on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and has been translated into several languages (English, Galician, Arab, etc.). This application has topped the 20,000 downloads from App Store -mainly from Spain and the USA- since its release. Picaa is a system designed for the development of learning and communication activities to be performed in class.

12 Dec 2012

SCOTUS agrees to hear 'pay-for-delay' drug case

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the legality of drug companies paying their generic-making counterparts to keep generic drugs -- in this case, a testosterone gel -- off the market.

11 Dec 2012

Auditory systems differ between sexes in sparrows depending on the season

Auditory systems differ between sexes in sparrows depending on the season, a Georgia State University neuroscientist has found. The work adds to our knowledge of how the parts of the nervous system, including that of humans, are able to change.

10 Dec 2012

Parents prefer hearing screenings for kids

Just yelling "turn it down" isn't enough when young people are blasting music directly into their ears via earbuds and headphones, parents say. A new poll from the University of Michigan shows parents are strongly in favor of required hearing screenings for kids all the way up to age 17.

10 Dec 2012

DOW Chemical to attend the 4th World Drug Delivery & Formulation Summit

The pharmaceutical industry is experiencing a massive paradigm shift as the era of the highly profitable blockbusters comes to a close. In an attempt to remain competitive, companies are under more pressure than ever to push novel compounds through the development pipeline and so it has been largely left to those in formulation and delivery to optimise their product portfolio using winning business strategies and leading technologies.

10 Dec 2012

Christie rejects state-run health insurance exchange

The New Jersey governor said he didn't have enough information about the alternatives.

7 Dec 2012

Benefits under health law will vary by state; Restaurant chain backs off plan to move to part-time workers to avoid insurance costs

The New York Times looks at the wide variations in essential health benefits defined by states, while The Associated Press reports that Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden and Red Lobster, has decided not to try to avoid health law requirements and will not switch full-time employees to part-time status.

7 Dec 2012

$Orthoses improve pain, balance in fracture-prone elderly$