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Democrats reportedly settle key issues on health bill but no final accord yet

Politico reports: "President Barack Obama and senior Democratic lawmakers closed in Friday on a final health care reform package, finishing a week of intensive negotiations on tax and coverage issues that had once threatened to derail the bill.

18 Jan 2010

Japan's MHLW approves InSightec's ExAblate MRgFUS system

InSightec Ltd. announced today that Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has approved the company's ExAblate(R) MR-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) system for the treatment of women with uterine fibroids.

18 Jan 2010

Results from Bionovo's phase 1B clinical trial of Bezielle published

Bionovo, Inc. announced today the publication of their results from its phase 1B clinical trial of Bezielle (BZL101) for metastatic breast cancer. The results of the study are available online in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment and demonstrate that Bezielle continues to be safe and well tolerated with clinical evidence of anticancer activity in a heavily pretreated population of women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.

17 Jan 2010

European approval for Abbott's new ovarian cancer diagnostic test

A new diagnostic tool, which studies show can aid in determining the risk of whether a pelvic mass is benign or malignant, is now available in Europe. This simple blood test is expected to help in the assessment of epithelial ovarian cancer, the most lethal form of gynecological cancer.

14 Jan 2010

Breast cancer organizations form new agreement to raise funds for research

Leading breast cancer organizations Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation in Canada today announce a new agreement to raise funds and explore possibilities to partner in research, education, advocacy and awareness programs across borders.

13 Jan 2010

FBR releases new PSA, Jen's Story 2

The Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR) announced today the release of its new PSA, "Jen's Story 2," as part of its ResearchSaves national campaign. The 60-second spot reunites viewers with Jen, a real biomedical researcher who specializes in breast cancer research and is battling the disease herself.

13 Jan 2010

Autologous stem cell transplantation may benefit breast cancer patients

Compared to conventional chemotherapy, autologous stem cell transplantation can extend "event-free survival" for breast cancer patients. Clinical trials provide proof of this for breast cancer with and without distant metastases. However, there are indications that this type of stem cell transplantation can more frequently give rise to severe complications affecting almost all organ systems. This is the conclusion of the final report of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) published on 16 December 2009.

13 Jan 2010

LUMEN 2010 analyzes strategies to reduce rising mortality in women with cardiovascular disease

It is no longer a theory. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary angioplasty is the best treatment for a person presenting with STEMI (ST- elevation myocardial infarction), a heart attack caused by complete obstruction of a coronary artery.

13 Jan 2010

Karolinska Institutet receives donation to advance breast cancer research

"We are very happy to be donating money to the fight against breast cancer, especially in light of our own family history," says M-rit Rausing. "Hans's mother and grandmother both died of the disease, and his father, Ruben, put considerable effort into finding a cure. Of course, it's also important when you think that breast cancer is one of the most common diseases."

13 Jan 2010

Congress expected to shun mammography recommendations in final health bill

The Wall Street Journal: "The final health-care bill is likely to require coverage for more mammograms than the new guidelines recommend after women's groups, doctors and imaging-equipment makers stepped up pressure on lawmakers -- one of many threads of the bill negotiated behind the scenes." In November, the federally funded U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued a report saying that "routine mammograms weren't necessary for women in their 40s who have normal cancer risk.

13 Jan 2010

UNAIDS chief calls for reduction in MTCT in Africa

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe on Monday during a five-day trip in Kenya, called for a drastic reduction in mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, Capital News reports. "In our continent we still have 400,000 babies born every year with HIV and we know if we are capable of making sure that testing will become available universally to all our pregnant women, (and) that pregnant women also have access to treatment, we will prevent the transmission," Sidibe said (Karong'o, 1/11).

13 Jan 2010

Preliminary results from Nektar Therapeutics' NKTR-102 Phase 2 study in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer

Nektar Therapeutics today announced preliminary results from the first stage of a two-stage Phase 2 clinical study evaluating NKTR-102 in women with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. In the first stage of the study, 39 patients enrolled with platinum-resistant disease were evaluable for the primary endpoint of overall response rate using Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup (GCIG) criteria, i.e., a combination of response by tumor imaging

12 Jan 2010

Women with high BP face greater risk for dementia later in life

High blood pressure may put women at greater risk for dementia later in life by increasing white matter abnormalities in the brain, report researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health in a study published online in the Journal of Clinical Hypertension.

12 Jan 2010

Salt Lake City research center joins international drug trial program for painful menstrual cramps

A leading clinical research center in Salt Lake City has joined an international trial program to test an experimental new drug designed to treat painful menstrual cramps, or dysmenorrhea, a condition that affects between 45 and 90 percent of women of childbearing age in the United States. Although not life threatening, dysmenorrhea can be debilitating and psychologically taxing and is one of the leading causes of absenteeism from work and school.

12 Jan 2010

Mango effective against colon and breast cancer

Mango. If you know little about this fruit, understand this: It's been found to prevent or stop certain colon and breast cancer cells in the lab.

12 Jan 2010

Yoga lowers number of compounds in blood and reduces inflammation

Regularly practicing yoga exercises may lower a number of compounds in the blood and reduce the level of inflammation that normally rises because of both normal aging and stress, a new study has shown.

12 Jan 2010

Insurance mandates spark GOP fight while proposed insurance pools, abortion issues are examined

The Wall Street Journal: "As congressional Democrats try to iron out differences in the House and Senate health-care bills, Republicans are attacking the legal premise of the legislation, saying Congress has no power to make people carry health insurance or pay a penalty or tax." The article also notes that some experts say the provision — if passed — could become fodder for a constitutional challenge on congressional authority.

12 Jan 2010

More women die of breast cancer in areas where mammography centers are few

More women die of breast cancer in areas where mammography centers are few and far between, according to research by a Medical College of Georgia radiology resident.

12 Jan 2010

KV Pharmaceutical, Hologic amend Gestiva asset purchase agreement

KV Pharmaceutical Company ( KVa/KVb) today announced it has entered into an amendment to the existing asset purchase agreement with Hologic, Inc. to secure the full U.S. and worldwide rights to Gestiva(TM), subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the amendment. Upon approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the "FDA"), Gestiva(TM) will be the first and only FDA-approved treatment for the prevention of preterm birth in women who are pregnant with a single baby and have spontaneously delivered a single baby preterm in the past.

From Hologic, Inc. 12 Jan 2010

Detroit paper explores pain of facing breast cancer without insurance

A woman with a $7,000 annual income and $67 in the bank was diagnosed with breast cancer, leading to a week of phone calls from her surgeon to state, federal and hospital officials before a charitable agreement was struck with a medical center, the Detroit Free Press reports.

12 Jan 2010