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IMRT leads to fewer cases of xerostomia than other types of radiation: AHRQ report

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.

28 May 2010

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia announces availability of proton therapy at Roberts Proton Therapy Center

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.

28 May 2010

Carolina Conceptions receives IRB approval to study on new egg freezing technology

Carolina Conceptions, an infertility practice in Raleigh, NC, announces IRB approval to commence a study on egg freezing - a newer technology that is growing in demand. While embryo and sperm freezing have been the standard of care for decades, egg freezing has been slower to achieve the same level of success.

26 May 2010

Lumizyme receives FDA approval for patients with late-onset Pompe disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Lumizyme (alglucosidase alfa) for patients ages 8 years and older with late-onset (non-infantile) Pompe disease, a rare genetic disorder.

26 May 2010

Federal law to expand coverage to kids is off to slow start

USA Today: "A federal law that President Obama signed early last year to expand health insurance to 4 million more low-income children has gotten off to a slow start because of budget problems in the states. The law makes more than $10 billion in federal aid available each year through 2013 but requires state funds as well."

25 May 2010

Sonomax Technologies signs collaboration agreement with DEC

Sonomax Technologies Inc. is pleased to announce that is has signed a collaboration agreement with the Dynamic Ear Company. DEC is a leading manufacturer and developer of innovative in-ear products that permit users to control the volume of external sound that reaches their ears, which by doing so, contribute to hearing safety and a comfortable sound experience.

25 May 2010

Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical pleads guilty for promoting epilepsy drug Topamax for psychiatric use

Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical LLC, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston to one count of misdemeanor violation of the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act for illegally promoting its epilepsy drug Topamax for uses that were not approved by the FDA. The company was also sentenced at today's hearing.

24 May 2010

State roundup: Genetic testing on campus, Texas docs in Mass., and more

"A plan by the University of California, Berkeley to voluntarily test the DNA of incoming freshman has come under fire from critics who said the school was pushing an unproven technology on impressionable students. The university has said it will send test kits to 5,500 new students to analyze genes that help control the body's responses to alcohol, dairy products and folic acid" (Wohlsen, 5/21).

24 May 2010

Baucus: No guarantee of Berwick confirmation hearing by July 4

Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee "said Thursday he hopes to have a confirmation hearing on the nomination of Donald Berwick to become administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services before the Fourth of July recess.

24 May 2010

AANS/CNS issue statement on Congress hearing of impact of concussions on high school athletes

On Thursday, May 20, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor held a hearing to learn more about the impact of concussions on high school athletes and how the injury can impact academic achievement. A concussion is an injury to the brain that results in loss of normal brain function and is usually temporary.

20 May 2010

HHS sends letter to Committee on Education and Labor over improper practices by Head Start grantees

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent a letter to Chairman George Miller and the Committee on Education and Labor regarding the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into improper practices by Head Start grantees. The investigation is the subject of the Committee's upcoming hearing. Secretary Sebelius' letter outlines HHS's plans and steadfast commitment to upholding the integrity of this critical program.

19 May 2010

Millions of Americans continue to risk losing their hearing each day, warns audiologist

May is Better Hearing Month, but millions of Americans are continuing to needlessly risk losing their hearing each day, warns audiologist Dr. Cindy Beyer. "Almost all hearing loss is due to the aging process or to noise, but only noise-induced hearing loss can be prevented," says Dr. Beyer, senior vice president of HearUSA, a nationwide provider of hearing care and hearing aids.

18 May 2010

Sonova Group financial year 2009/10 sales increase 20.1% to CHF 1,500.3 million

The Sonova Group increased its sales in financial year 2009/10 to CHF 1,500.3 million from CHF 1,249.2 million, thus posting an excellent growth rate of 20.1% in Swiss francs, despite a negative currency effect of 3.7%. The Group achieved organic growth of 18.4% in local currencies, which significantly surpassed the market as a whole. Market growth in 2009/10 is estimated at around 4% in units sold.

18 May 2010

Researchers treat undiagnosed FIM with experimental stem cell transplant

Researchers at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and the Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital have identified a previously undiagnosed condition and successfully treated it by performing an experimental stem cell transplant.

18 May 2010

Court approves Chem Rx's first-day motions, allows normal business operations

Chem Rx Corporation, the third largest long term care pharmacy in the United States, along with certain operating subsidiaries today announced that it has received Court approval for all of its first-day motions, allowing normal business operations, including the purchase and distribution of all drugs and services to its clients.

15 May 2010

Health law raises questions about future of Florida's agencies that care for uninsured

Palm Beach County's Health Care District "hired contractors to move ahead with a $9-million purchase and renovation project for a new headquarters, even though the need that drove the district's creation in the first place -- providing health care to the indigent and uninsured -- could begin to dissolve in four years with implementation of the federal health law.

15 May 2010

New way to coax embryonic stem cells and reprogrammed adult cells to develop sensory cells

After ten years of effort, researchers reporting in the May 14th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, say they have found a way to coax embryonic stem cells as well as reprogrammed adult cells to develop into sensory cells that normally reside in the mammalian inner ear. Those mechanosensitive sensory hair cells are the linchpin of hearing and balance.

14 May 2010

Stanford researchers make hair-cell-like cells in a petri dish

Deep inside the ear, specialized cells called hair cells detect vibrations in the air and translate them into sound. Ten years ago, Stefan Heller, PhD, professor of otolaryngology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, came up with the idea that if you could create these cells in the laboratory from stem cells, it would go a long way toward helping scientists understand the molecular basis of hearing in order to develop better treatments for deafness.

14 May 2010

States take different actions in plans for implementing health overhaul law

WPRI: Rhode Island Governor, Donald Carcieri, continues to ask Attorney General Patrick Lynch to file a lawsuit against the federal health reform law. "But Lynch says he will not do it. In a statement, Lynch says he believes quality health care is a right for all citizens. He also says the law does not infringe on the rights of states" (Gouthro, 5/10).

14 May 2010

Groups plead for more health funding as Chairman warns about cuts to proposed HHS budget

House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., said Wednesday that groups pressing for $14 billion more in funding for education, health and labor programs will likely be disappointed because the budget proposed by President Barack Obama already faces cuts of about $3.5 billion in those areas.

14 May 2010

Hearing News and Research

IMRT leads to fewer cases of xerostomia than other types of radiation: AHRQ report

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia announces availability of proton therapy at Roberts Proton Therapy Center

Carolina Conceptions receives IRB approval to study on new egg freezing technology

Lumizyme receives FDA approval for patients with late-onset Pompe disease

Federal law to expand coverage to kids is off to slow start

Sonomax Technologies signs collaboration agreement with DEC

Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical pleads guilty for promoting epilepsy drug Topamax for psychiatric use

State roundup: Genetic testing on campus, Texas docs in Mass., and more

Baucus: No guarantee of Berwick confirmation hearing by July 4

AANS/CNS issue statement on Congress hearing of impact of concussions on high school athletes

HHS sends letter to Committee on Education and Labor over improper practices by Head Start grantees

Millions of Americans continue to risk losing their hearing each day, warns audiologist

Sonova Group financial year 2009/10 sales increase 20.1% to CHF 1,500.3 million

Researchers treat undiagnosed FIM with experimental stem cell transplant

Court approves Chem Rx's first-day motions, allows normal business operations

Health law raises questions about future of Florida's agencies that care for uninsured

New way to coax embryonic stem cells and reprogrammed adult cells to develop sensory cells

Stanford researchers make hair-cell-like cells in a petri dish

States take different actions in plans for implementing health overhaul law

Groups plead for more health funding as Chairman warns about cuts to proposed HHS budget

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

Exploring the G:Box and for high-quality imaging

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