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Republicans increase challenges to health law, repeal rhetoric

With their eyes on the 2012 election, Republicans are preparing to maximize conflict with Democrats over healthcare in the new Congress and minimize potential compromises, according to GOP strategists, lawmakers and lobbyists. That strategy is setting the stage for a bitter stalemate on Capitol Hill over the next two years ... Republican leaders and strategists think a renewed battle over healthcare will help the party expand its electoral gains and drive President Obama from the White House.

16 Nov 2010

RNA-based drugs may prevent premature birth: Research

Tiny molecules called microRNAs act together with hormones to control the onset of labor, raising the prospect that RNA-based drugs might be able to prevent premature labor, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in a preclinical study.

15 Nov 2010

Inovio third quarter total revenue decreases from $3.6 million to $1.3 million

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2010.

15 Nov 2010

Hartford Hospital research team receives $238,000 grant from InHealth to study prostate cancer

The Institute for Health Technology Studies (InHealth) has awarded a grant totaling more than $238,000 to a research team at the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut to study how various prostate cancer treatments affect a patient's "social capital" the ability to continue working productively in a paying job.

12 Nov 2010

Advocacy groups and politicians stake out health overhaul strategies in the changed political landscape

Kaiser Health News reports that advocates of the health law, which is under renewed attack by Republicans after the mid-term election, are "huddling … in an effort to thwart GOP efforts" to overturn the law. "Groups that back the law aren't likely to coalesce around a single message to increase public support. Some patient groups, for example, are likely to try to steer clear of partisan politics and focus instead on promoting the law and pressing for its full implementation.

12 Nov 2010

GOP lawmakers push health law investigation, Democrats consider revisions and legacy

GOP lawmakers are considering using their new posts in powerful House committees to go after President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, and they're focusing on questions uppermost in the minds of consumers.

10 Nov 2010

Forceps delivery can pose risk to mother and child

Forceps might be a better instrument than a vacuum cup for assisting a successful birth, but new mothers might experience more trauma and complications after a forceps delivery, according to a new review of studies.

10 Nov 2010

Flu vaccination programs can protect employee health, save businesses money

Each year, influenza poses a tremendous burden on working adults and the many businesses that employ them, contributing to absenteeism and lost productivity. Yet, annual influenza immunization rates remain very low. New data out today show that employer-sponsored influenza vaccination programs held early in the flu season not only protect employee health, but save businesses money.

10 Nov 2010

Assaults on Victoria’s heath workers to be punished more severely under new laws

Victoria’s nursing and health care staff are among those most at risk of physical assault from violent patients and families and now the Victorian government has come up with new laws to protect them.

8 Nov 2010

Water purification woes

According to an expert desalination plants that are built close to sewage outflows risk contaminating drinking water. An Australian National University professor of infectious diseases and microbiology Peter Collignon said that membrane technology is not fool proof when it comes to screening bugs. This comes coincidentally just after a “reporting error” by Sydney Water that showed E.coli had been found in processed drinking water at its $1.9 billion Kurnell desalination plant in Sydney's south. The plant's intake, which collects water to supply 1.5 million Sydney homes, is about 2.5km north of the Cronulla near-shore sewage outflow.

8 Nov 2010

Bendigo hospital debate escalates to political level

A public rally yesterday saw Bendigo Hospital staff and patients upset that cancer services will not be consolidated in the new redeveloped facility. There were severe protests against the renovations that led to a debate between the Victorian Government and Opposition. Labor and the Coalition have both promised to rebuild the hospital. Coalition committed a $630 million to a new hospital after Labor announced a new $528 million hospital in May.

5 Nov 2010

Higher-quality medical care in the U.S. than in England, says study

Older Americans are less healthy than their English counterparts, but they live as long or even longer than their English peers, according to a new study by researchers from the RAND Corporation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London.

4 Nov 2010

Volunteering benefits older adults with functional limitations

Volunteering is known to provide health benefits to the person doing the volunteering. Now, a new study finds that older adults with functional limitations (trouble conducting daily tasks like cooking meals) in particular appear to reap the benefits from helping others.

4 Nov 2010

BioCurex files patent for synthetic peptide in RECAF test

BioCurex, Inc. today announced that it has filed a new patent within the Patent Cooperation Treaty, which presently includes 142 countries.

4 Nov 2010

Quantros Indicator Scorecard provides rate-based metrics on adverse medical events

Quantros, a leading provider of clinically-focused data management and decision support solutions for the healthcare industry, has introduced its new Indicator Scorecard™ product. Part of the Quantros SRM™ (Safety and Risk Management) solution suite, Indicator Scorecard provides rate-based reporting on various adverse medical events for healthcare organizations interested in monitoring and improving their quality of care.

3 Nov 2010

Labor-HHS bill to provide 3.2% increase in fiscal year 2011 for NIH

Despite innovative cancer research being presented at the Ninth Annual AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, as well as numerous other conferences organized by the American Association for Cancer Research each year, the pace of scientific discovery in cancer research will slow if Congress does not pass the pending appropriations bill for fiscal year 2011.

3 Nov 2010

New PHQ-9 screening test evaluates major depression in adults

Primary-care clinicians know teen depression is common, but they've lacked a reliable screening test for it. Now researchers at the University of Washington (UW), Seattle Children's, and Group Health report the PHQ-9 is a good screening test for major depression in adolescents.

1 Nov 2010

Summit discusses value, cost-effectiveness of America's investment in wellness and prevention

America's historic investment in wellness and prevention mandated under the Affordable Care Act may not always save money – but it will be worth it.

30 Oct 2010

Largest annual Pregnancy Wellness report distributed to millions

MediaPlanet published the largest Pregnancy Wellness report distributed to millions with the help of The American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG), The March of Dimes, in support of Prematurity Awareness Month this November and with Every Little Bottom Campaign, Huggies, Best for Babes, and Peggy O'Mara, Mothering Magazine and much more.

30 Oct 2010

New MBP solution helps provide lifesaving HIV-prevention medications to mothers and babies

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is pleased to partner with UNICEF and other organizations in the roll-out of the Mother-Baby Pack (MBP), an innovative solution to help bring lifesaving HIV-prevention medications to mothers and babies.

30 Oct 2010