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Research on genetic mutations could lead to accurate diagnosis of USH, says scientist

Usher syndrome, an inherited condition involving both hearing and vision loss, is not a simply recessively inherited disease, a scientist will tell the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Saturday). Dr. Hanno Bolz, Associate Medical Director of the Bioscientia Centre for Human Genetics, Ingelheim, Germany, and active in teaching and research at the University Hospital of Cologne, will say that his team's research challenges the traditional view that USH was inherited as a single gene disorder, and shows that it may result from at least two different genetic mutations.

14 Jun 2010

Scammers use promise of Medicare rebate checks to steal personal info

The Illinois Attorney General is warning that scammers are trying to trick Medicare-eligible seniors into revealing personal information in order to get a rebate check, The Associated Press reports.

11 Jun 2010

Otonomy completes $10 million Series A financing with Avalon Ventures

Otonomy, Inc. announced today that it has completed a $10 million Series A financing with Avalon Ventures. Proceeds from the financing will be used to support the ongoing clinical trial for OTO-104 in Meniere's disease, initiate IND-enabling studies for OTO-203, and continue early-stage development of a third program.

11 Jun 2010

$125M added to plaintiffs' compensation in WTC site operations

The WTC Captive Insurance Company, the City of New York, the contractors the City hired, their subcontractors, and attorneys for over 10,000 plaintiffs alleging injuries from the rescue, recovery and debris removal operations at the World Trade Center site operations after 9/11 today announced amendments to a March 11, 2010 settlement of those claims.

11 Jun 2010

FRC supports new blood donation policy

Tomorrow (Friday, June 11), Family Research Council Senior Fellow Peter Sprigg will testify before the Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability (ACBSA) of the Department of Health and Human Services.

11 Jun 2010

Protein IL-10 removes Escherichia coli K1 bacterium from blood and reverses brain damage

A team of researchers at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), along with colleagues from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and the Universite Auvergne, France, have discovered an important role for a small, naturally occurring protein called interleukin-10 (IL-10) in removing bacteria from the blood of infected mice and reversing damage to the brain.

11 Jun 2010

Northstar issues response to Canada Healthcare Acquisition's unsolicited offer

Northstar Healthcare Inc. today announced it has issued a Directors' Circular in response to the unsolicited offer by Canada Healthcare Acquisition Inc., a corporation indirectly controlled by Dr. Donald L. Kramer, a former CEO and former director of Northstar, to acquire all the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company for Cdn $0.95 per common share.

11 Jun 2010

LSTM designated WHO Collaborating Centre for Evidence Synthesis for Infectious and Tropical Diseases

The World Health Organization (WHO), in consultation with the government of the United Kingdom, has designated the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Evidence Synthesis for Infectious and Tropical Diseases.

11 Jun 2010

Raw and cooked gingers reduce pain associated with muscle injury by 24%: Reed's

Reed's, Inc., maker of the top-selling sodas in natural food stores nationwide, commented today on a recent study in The Journal of Medicine that both raw and cooked ginger reduce pain associated with muscle injury by about 24%, compared with placebo. The study was supported by the McCormick Science Institute.

10 Jun 2010

Sonomax signs MOU with ETS for $750,000 Industrial Research Chair

Sonomax Technologies Inc. signs a memorandum of understanding with the École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS) of the Université du Québec to create a five-year renewable $750,000 Industrial Research Chair to conduct unprecedented development of advanced in-ear technologies.

9 Jun 2010

Health Canada approves Novartis' Menveo for prevention of meningococcal disease

Novartis Pharmaceutical Canada Inc. announced that Menveo (Meningococcal (Groups A, C, Y and W-135) Oligosaccharide CRM197 Conjugate Vaccine), a quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine was approved by Health Canada for active immunization of adolescents (11 to 18 years of age) and adults (19 to 55 years of age) to prevent invasive meningococcal disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, C, Y and W-135.

8 Jun 2010

British PM calls for G8, G20 to reduce maternal mortality, announces new health worker training fund

In a Guardian opinion piece, published on Thursday, British Prime Minister David Cameron says G8 and G20 nations should reduce maternal mortality in developing countries and set "'an ambitious target' of saving three million more lives by 2015," the Guardian reports (Watt, 6/3).

5 Jun 2010

Sebelius defends Berwick for CMS post

The Wall Street Journal: HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "Thursday rejected criticism of the Obama administration's nominee to run Medicare and Medicaid, saying Republicans were being unfair to Donald Berwick and she was confident he would be confirmed. Dr. Berwick, a Harvard pediatrician and health-quality advocate, has come under sharp attack from Republicans over his ties to Britain's national health system and past writings about how to make health care more efficient.

5 Jun 2010

Three in five Americans may develop noise-induced hearing loss

Use of ear bud headphones by youngsters may save your ears from being assaulted by the noise of your teenagers' music or electronic game but are they damaging your child's hearing?

3 Jun 2010

Proton therapy offers life-changing benefits to children with cancer

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia announces the availability of proton therapy, a precise form of cancer radiation that offers potentially life-changing benefits to children with brain tumors and other solid tumors. The Hospital's Cancer Center has recently begun using proton treatment at the new Roberts Proton Therapy Center, a cutting-edge radiation oncology facility located across the street from Children's Hospital in Penn Medicine's Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine.

2 Jun 2010

Infighting threatens COBRA subsidy extension, longer Medicare doc pay 'fix'

Roll Call reports that infighting over some unemployment benefits and a scheduled "fix" of Medicare physician payments has left Democratic congressional leaders at a "dramatic low" in their relationship. "And while publicly, House and Senate leaders refused to assign blame, the behind-the-scenes story was far different. The deadline for the benefits package had been looming for weeks.

2 Jun 2010

Sound repetition helps memorize complex sounds

Sound repetition allows us to memorize complex sounds in a very quick, effective and durable way. This form of auditory learning, which was evidenced for the first time by researchers from CNRS, ENS Paris, and Paris Descartes and Toulouse 3 universities, is believed to occur in daily life to help us identify and memorize sound patterns; it allows, for example, immediate recognition of sounds which become familiar through experience, such as the voice of relatives.

1 Jun 2010

P2i completes £5.5m fund raising to support its international growth

P2i Limited, the world leader in liquid repellent nano-coating technology, has completed a £5.5m fund raising, to provide further working capital to support its rapid international growth. The funding has come from existing shareholders, Naxos Capital Partners, Swarraton Partners, Porton Capital, Unilever Ventures and Rainbow Seedfund.

1 Jun 2010

IMRT avoids xerostomia, but effectiveness on controlling cancer unclear

An advanced type of cancer radiation is more successful than traditional radiation in avoiding "dry mouth" when treating head and neck cancers, but it is unknown whether the treatment is better or worse at reducing the size of tumors, according to a new comparative effectiveness review funded by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

31 May 2010

FDA may seek criminal penalties against J & J for faulty recall of children's Tylenol, other medicines

The Wall Street Journal: "The Food and Drug Administration said it is weighing whether to seek criminal penalties against the Johnson & Johnson unit that made children's Tylenol and other over-the-counter kids' medicines recalled last month. Joshua Sharfstein, the FDA's principal deputy commissioner, told lawmakers at a hearing Thursday that J&J's McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit had a 'pattern of noncompliance' with good manufacturing practices.

29 May 2010