Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

New York Gov. Spitzer defends proposed health care cuts in TV ad

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) on Wednesday began airing a television advertisement defending a plan included in his fiscal year 2007-2008 budget proposal that would reduce state health care spending by about $1 billion, the New York Times reports (Hicks, New York Times, 3/1).

4 Mar 2007

FDA investigating norovirus linked to San Antonio Bay oysters

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating an outbreak of norovirus-associated illness linked to eating raw oysters harvested from San Antonio Bay, TX.

4 Mar 2007

UNISON condemns NHS pay rise

UNISON has condemned the government's decision to stage the pay rise for NHS staff covered by the pay review body as a "real let down".

4 Mar 2007

FDA follows up on Salmonella outbreak

As a follow-up to the recent Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is conducting an extensive inspection of ConAgra's Sylvester, Georgia processing plant.

1 Mar 2007

AHF launches ad campaign against Bristol-Myers Squibb over antiretroviral pricing in Mexico

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation recently launched an advertisement campaign against Bristol-Myers Squibb over the price of the pharmaceutical company's antiretroviral drugs Reyataz and Videx in Mexico, the AP/Forbes reports.

28 Feb 2007

New method for rapid diagnosis of intestinal illnesses

Academics have found, for the first time, smells from healthy faeces and people with infectious diarrhoea differ significantly in their chemical composition and could be used to diagnose quickly diseases such as Clostridium difficile (C. Diff.).

27 Feb 2007

Roman Catholic leaders criticize New York City for distributing condoms

Roman Catholic leaders in New York City on Thursday released a joint statement criticizing the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's efforts to deliver about 26 million condoms to organizations and venues in the city to help curb the spread of HIV, the New York Post reports.

22 Feb 2007

New changes for UK pharmaceutical regulation

The Chief Pharmaceutical Officers from England, Scotland and Wales came together today to reveal plans for historic changes to the regulation of the pharmacy profession.

21 Feb 2007

Health professionals would prioritize spending on the young over the old

In prioritizing health care spending, health professionals rank childhood immunization highest and cancer treatment for smokers lowest, according to a new international survey published in PLoS Medicine.

20 Feb 2007

Battle looming between NHS and pharma giants

According to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in Britain, the National Health Service (NHS) is paying far too much to drug companies for branded medicines.

20 Feb 2007

New York City to unveil official condom as part of HIV prevention efforts

New York City health officials on Wednesday are scheduled to unveil the city's official condom as part of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's efforts to curb the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports.

19 Feb 2007

Jesse Jackson urges HIV awareness, testing, more research for a cure

The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Monday in Philadelphia at the 2007 National Conference on African-Americans and AIDS called for increased research funding to find a cure for HIV/AIDS, as well as more awareness about HIV testing, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

19 Feb 2007

Problems of the U.S. healthcare system are growing

The United States is the only major industrialised nation without universal health insurance, writes Karen Davis, President of the Commonwealth Fund. Coverage varies widely between states and has deteriorated in recent years.

18 Feb 2007

Drug montelukast reduces trips to doctor for childhood asthma attacks

Young children with attacks of sporadic, recurring asthma who were treated with the prescription drug montelukast by their parents had fewer unscheduled trips to the doctor, missed less days from school or childcare, and caused their parents to take fewer days off work for their care.

15 Feb 2007

Serious proliferation of multiresistant Staphylococcus in intensive care units

Multiresistant bacteria are a severe problem that costs lives at hospitals the world over. A new doctoral thesis from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that the spread of disease between seriously ill patients in intensive care units is surprisingly rife.

15 Feb 2007

New hospital gowns to combat MRSA

The fight against the MRSA bug will take a step forward this week when a new-style hospital gown goes on trial at a London hospital.

11 Feb 2007

Scientists discover master switches for adult blood stem cells

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have found a set of "master switches" that keep adult blood-forming stem cells in their primitive state.

8 Feb 2007

High-dose Lipitor therapy cuts risk of hospitalizations for heart failure

Patients with coronary heart disease who took Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) 80 mg tablets reduced their risk of hospitalizations due to heart failure compared to patients taking the 10 mg dose of Lipitor, according to a new analysis of a subset of patients from the five-year TNT (Treating to New Targets) study, published in today's issue of Circulation.

7 Feb 2007

Britain to debate availability of HRT and the pill over the counter

The organisation in the UK which regulates drugs and treatments, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is to hold a seminar in London as part of a campaign to improve women's health.

6 Feb 2007

New guidelines on the treatment of diabetes, cardiovascular and valvular heart diseases published

The first, pan-European guidelines to be published on the treatment of valvular heart disease, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases have made a series of new recommendations which experts hope will contribute to improving the outcome of patients with these diseases.

6 Feb 2007