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More groups challenge Democrats on health issues as GOP lays out repeal clues

Procedural motions that Republicans filed during the healthcare reform debate offer the best insights into which provisions of the law the party wants to repeal first, a top staffer for a senior House Republican told The Hill.

21 Oct 2010

Report finds shortage of Mass. physicians is getting worse

The Boston Herald: "The state's physician shortage is getting worse -- with many practices closed to new patients and a critical need for doctors in key specialties, according to a Massachusetts Medical Society report released today. ... The most acute need is for primary-care physicians who practice family or internal medicine. The study called the shortages in those two key areas 'critical.'

21 Oct 2010

Hormone therapy increases breast cancer mortality risk, study finds

Hormone treatment after menopause, already known to increase the risk of breast cancer, also makes it more likely that the cancer will be advanced and deadly, a study finds.

21 Oct 2010

Researchers identify common link among malignant tumor types in all grades of cancer

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in collaboration with investigators of the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) of France led by Nicolae Ghinea, PhD, have found a common link among several malignant tumor types in all grades of cancer. This breakthrough may ultimately provide a new diagnostic or therapeutic target to detect cancer early or stop tumor growth.

21 Oct 2010

Study on health effects of alcohol consumption with HIV

Living with HIV is difficult under the best of circumstances, but for people carrying the virus, alcohol consumption can become particularly perilous in intricate ways that are only beginning to be understood. At the Brown Alcohol Research Center on HIV (ARCH) funded by a new $7.5-million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health, Brown University scientists will study the health effects of drinking with HIV and provide doctors and patients with the latest guidance their results suggest.

21 Oct 2010

Partnership between institutions in high- and low-resource areas can improve pediatric sarcoma treatment

Raising the survival rate of children with sarcoma in low-income countries will require steps to diagnose the disease sooner, train cancer pathologists, expand radiation therapy services, create multi-specialty teams to review each case, and other actions, according to an international study led by Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Center researchers. The findings will be presented at the 42nd Congress of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) in Boston on Friday, Oct. 22.

21 Oct 2010

Employers not dropping coverage as Mental Health Parity law is enacted

American Medical News: The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act hasn't made employers drop coverage as some feared it might. The full effects won't be felt until early 2011 as health plans begin their new enrollment years, but "[e]arly indications ... are that relatively few employers are dropping mental health coverage in response to the law's mandate, a concern of some of the bill's opponents."

21 Oct 2010

Idaho halts Medicaid cuts for dental care; Georgia and justice department reach accord on mental health services

Gov. C.L. 'Butch' Otter removed a political abscess Tuesday, restoring all previously contracted dental care providers to the state's Medicaid-funded Idaho Smiles program.

21 Oct 2010

Agensys and Seattle Genetics initiate ASG-5ME phase I clinical trial for castration-resistant prostate cancer

Agensys, Inc., an affiliate of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc., and Seattle Genetics, Inc. today announced that they have initiated a phase I clinical trial of ASG-5ME for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer. ASG-5ME is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting the SLC44A4 antigen and is being co-developed by both companies for the treatment of solid tumors.

21 Oct 2010

Valensa enters agreement with Mercola for Flex Pro ES formulation

Valensa International and Mercola Health Resources, LLC announced today that they have entered into a license and supply agreement that provides Mercola Health Resources with Valensa's new Flex Pro ES(TM) joint health formulation.

21 Oct 2010

Menopausal estrogen replacement therapy speeds growth of ovarian cancer

Estrogen therapy used by menopausal women causes a type of ovarian cancer to grow five times faster, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center.

21 Oct 2010

Cost of health plans rise, but health law only one reason

Most Ohioans will face higher health insurance premiums starting in January with hikes ranging from 8 percent to 18 percent giving rise to fresh complaints about the White House-backed health care law.

21 Oct 2010

Burn injuries in children show vitamin E depletion in fat tissues

Severe burn injuries in children have been shown to rapidly deplete the levels of vitamin E in their body's adipose, or fat tissues, a new clinical study has found.

21 Oct 2010

HHS did not violate federal law for Medicare ads, GAO says

The Hill Healthwatch: "The Department of Health and Human Services did not violate federal prohibitions on publicity and propaganda with its health reform advertising and technical assistance contracts, the Government Accountability Office said Tuesday. Two HHS television ads, however, 'overstate one of (the law's) benefits,' GAO writes in a letter to Reps. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). The lawmakers requested the office's legal opinion about the ads and HHS's contracts with MIT economist Jonathan Gruber.

21 Oct 2010

Unitedhealth says it will test lump sum payments for some cancer care, reports earnings

Health insurer UnitedHealth said Tuesday that it will test a new way payment method for cancer doctors. The program pays doctors a lump sum payment for providing care during an entire course of care for the disease instead of how it's done now with a fee for each service a doctor provides.

21 Oct 2010

Study: p63 gene stifles spread of cancer

Long overshadowed by p53, its famous tumor-suppressing sibling, the p63 gene does the tougher, important job of stifling the spread of cancer to other organs, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the Oct. 21 issue of Nature.

21 Oct 2010

C PORT Solutions releases new mobile computing platform for healthcare facilities

With the launch of MEDI PORT, C PORT Solutions is the world's first company to converge all forms of communication and collaboration with patient data, medical applications, and existing healthcare technologies so all healthcare professionals can diagnose or treat a patient with the highest level of care regardless of the healthcare professional's location.

21 Oct 2010

CMS head Berwick praises new center for Medicare and Medicaid innovation

The planned Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation has the potential to be the 'jewel in the crown' of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Donald M. Berwick, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

21 Oct 2010

VA checklists save lives, study says

The Associated Press: Going through a "surgery checklist" to confirm the basic procedures of a planned operation can help save lives, according to a study of 74 Veterans Affairs hospitals. In the hospitals being studied, "Surgery team members all created checklists and discussed them in briefings before, during and after surgery," reviewing basic information such as the reason for the surgery and the identity of the patient.

21 Oct 2010

Aqueous cream worsens eczema: Study

Researchers claim that a cream that is often used in a skin condition called eczema may actually make the condition worse. The research conducted at Bath University found that aqueous cream thinned the skin after a few weeks of use. They found that the cream contains a detergent rather than just moisturizers. The team also said that most GPs seemed unaware of official advice not to prescribe the cream as a moisturizer.

21 Oct 2010