Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Bioheart awarded patent for heart repair method

Bioheart, Inc. has announced that it has been awarded U.S. Patent #: 7341062 (J. Chachques and H. Leonhardt) for a method to repair damaged myocardium (heart tissue) by a combination of cell transplantation and electrostimulation.

18 Mar 2008

Blood vessel protein reverses macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy in mice

Two major eye diseases and leading causes of blindness—age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy can be reversed or even prevented by drugs that activate a protein found in blood vessel cells, researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine and several other institutions have announced in a new study.

17 Mar 2008

Aspirin cuts asthma risk in women

A small dose of aspirin on alternate days can cut the risk of developing asthma among women, suggests a large study, published ahead of print in Thorax.

14 Mar 2008

Prescribing costs increase dramatically when people reach 65

Prescribing costs increase dramatically when people reach 65, according to a detailed analysis of more than five million patients published in the March issue of the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

14 Mar 2008

Oral methadone dosing for chronic pain: practitioner's guide

Methadone, a strong opioid analgesic, is an effective and economical choice for the management of cancer pain and chronic noncancer pain, both as a first line medication and as a replacement opioid.

14 Mar 2008

Low cost tactics improve medication use after heart attack

Direct-to-patient communication about the importance of continuing prescription drug treatment after a heart attack is a simple, low-cost way to increase the likelihood of patients adhering to life saving therapies at least four out of every five days.

14 Mar 2008

Programme of fertility treatment for developing countries

since the world's first "test-tube" baby was born in July 1978 - the benefits of modern infertility treatments have been largely confined to couples in developed countries.

13 Mar 2008

New cancer research model bridges health disparity gap

The Accelerated Community Oncology Research Network (ACORN), a national oncology clinical trial network, has announced that it is bridging the disparity gap in healthcare to underserved communities by enrolling more than double the national average of African Americans in cancer-related clinical trials.

12 Mar 2008

Warnings over DIY health tests

Leading health experts in Britain have expressed their concern about the boom in tests and scans for the "worried well".

12 Mar 2008

Life gets longer but only for the educated

New research has revealed that while life expectancy in the United States has risen in the last decades not everyone has benefited from the increased long levity.

11 Mar 2008

Virtual reality therapy for stroke patients

Israeli hospitals have recently started to use virtual reality therapy for stroke patients.

11 Mar 2008

Tackling antimicrobial resistance

Drug resistance is making many diseases increasingly difficult and sometimes impossible to treat, according to Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

11 Mar 2008

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine receives new Gates funding to fight disease

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has been awarded grant funding totalling $46.4 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and $12.7 million from other partners, to help find new and effective ways of treating and preventing malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS.

10 Mar 2008

New rapid blood test for tuberculosis

A new blood test could enable doctors to rule out tuberculosis (TB) infection within days rather than weeks, according to a new study published this week in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

10 Mar 2008

Fugitive cancer cells can be blocked by stopping blood cells that aid them

Cancer cells get a helping hand from platelets, specialized blood cells involved in clotting.

10 Mar 2008

Contemplative brain network less complex in children

A brain network linked to introspective tasks - such as forming the self-image or understanding the motivations of others - is less intricate and well-connected in children, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have learned.

10 Mar 2008

Roche on Tamiflu label revision

Roche has informed healthcare professionals that the prescribing information for Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) has been updated to reflect recommendations made by the FDA Pediatric Advisory Committee at a November 27, 2007 meeting regarding neuropsychiatric events.

6 Mar 2008

FDA approves Aloxi injection for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting

Eisai Corporation of North America, its U.S. subsidiary, MGI PHARMA, INC., and Helsinn Healthcare SA today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Aloxi (palonosetron hydrochloride) injection for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) for up to 24 hours following surgery.

4 Mar 2008