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Sponsors of Medicare-approved discount cards will begin marketing their cards

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) announced last week that 28 private sponsors will offer 49 different Medicare-sponsored drug discount cards, beginning June 1. Additionally, 43 private health plans have received CMS approval to offer Medicare drug discount cards to their members only.

11 Apr 2004

China steps up fight against AIDS

China will increase medical aid and offer free education to hundreds of children orphaned by AIDS in a central province ravaged by the deadly disease.

11 Apr 2004

Government warns medicare drug card sponsors

Medicare card sponsors of drug discount cards who pay pharmacists to attract customers to their cards could violate federal fraud and abuse laws, health inspectors warned Friday.

10 Apr 2004

Effects of lead in petrol are well-known however a recent additive to petrol manganese may be just as toxic

The disastrous environmental and health effects of lead in petrol are well-known, and western countries have been phasing it out for many years now. However, a recent additive to petrol - manganese - may be just as toxic. A Macquarie University study aims to find out.

7 Apr 2004

Ohio university to get major expansion cancer program

The Ohio State University Board of Trustees today has authorized the preparation of architectural and engineering plans for a possible major expansion of the university’s cancer program.

5 Apr 2004

Video consultations to ease stress on frail patients

Monash University's Department of Geriatric Medicine is pioneering a high-tech way of consulting with elderly patients so they do not have to leave their nursing home beds.

4 Apr 2004

New Zealand researcher awarded largest renal failure grant ever

With the incidence of kidney failure on the increase in this country, it is timely that the NZ Kidney Foundation has recently awarded a $76,000 grant to Professor Zoltan Endre to further research into renal failure. The grant is the largest single amount awarded by the NZ Kidney Foundation and has been largely funded from funds donated via an ongoing nationwide telephone appeal.

29 Mar 2004

Listening to music can ease osteoarthritis pain

US research has shown listening to music for 20 minutes a day can reduce perceived pain levels among older people suffering from chronic osteoarthritis.

29 Mar 2004

Oral medication for diabetes a step closer

University of Toronto researchers have shown that "designer molecules" can interact with the body's insulin receptor, a step toward the development of an oral medication for diabetes. U of T professors Lakshmi Kotra, Cecil Yip, Peter Ottensmeyer and Robert Batey have created the first small molecules using the three-dimensional structure of the insulin receptor. A receptor is the site on the surface of a cell to which molecules with specific tasks, such as hormones, attach themselves. Insulin's task is to initiate the utilization of sugar in the blood.

26 Mar 2004

Alfuzosin, new treatment for Acute Urinary Retention

The results of the ALFAUR (ALFuzosin in Acute Urinary Retention) study, announced today at the XIXth European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Vienna, Austria, indicate that the uroselective alpha1-blocker alfuzosin 10 mg once daily (OD) may have a beneficial effect in the management of male patients suffering from acute urinary retention (AUR), a sudden inability to pass urine that results in a painful distension of the bladder, requires immediate management with urethral catheterization and could necessitate surgical intervention.

25 Mar 2004

Molecules That Trigger a Heartbeat

Two biomedical engineering students at Johns Hopkins are mapping the interaction of molecules within a cardiac cell, describing microscopic movements that could be critical for maintaining a healthy heartbeat. The students, seniors Bhuvan Srinivasan and Carol Xiaoying Koh, have presented their findings at two prestigious computational biology conferences and are now collaborating with their faculty supervisor on a paper for a scientific journal.

22 Mar 2004