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IBC offers more personalized online information about PHR to its members

Independence Blue Cross now offers its members more personalized online information about their health – as the amazon.com experience is to the savvy shopper, the ibxpress.com experience is to the smart health care consumer. Personal health information began to flow into members' electronic health records this month – available through ibxpress.com, the company's member website.

9 Jul 2010

Accudial's weight-based rotating labels prevent underdosing and overdosing in children's OTC medications

There is plenty to worry about when it comes to the job of parenting. However, wondering if a child is receiving the correct amount of over-the-counter (OTC) medication can now be a concern of the past, thanks to Children's AccuDial(R), a patented new line of children's medication available across Canada, with a dosing system based on body weight, not age.

9 Jul 2010

Dysautonomia linked to CKD: Study

Individuals with a high resting heart rate and a low beat-to-beat heart rate variability have an increased risk of developing kidney disease, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology. The findings suggest that the behavior of the autonomic nervous system may be a sentinel marker for late development of certain cases of kidney disease.

9 Jul 2010

Que She herbal weight loss supplement contains harmful ingredients, FDA warns

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today warned that Que She, marketed as an herbal weight loss supplement, contains active pharmaceutical ingredients not listed on the product label that could harm consumers, especially those with cardiovascular conditions.

9 Jul 2010

MSU-led research team to create new malaria prevention, control strategies in Malawi with $9.1M federal grant

As part of a continued effort to eliminate the scourge of malaria in the southern African nation of Malawi, a Michigan State University-led research team will use a $9.1 million federal grant to create new prevention and control strategies in the small, landlocked country.

9 Jul 2010

State AIDS programs struggle as joblessness increases demand

Growing joblessness and shrinking state and federal budgets have exacerbated the financial burden on the government that provides prescription drug treatment to people with HIV/AIDS. "Now, many people with HIV are losing jobs, along with insurance, or discovering that they are infected at a time when the AIDS Drug Assistance Program — ADAP — they depend on is being overwhelmed by demands being made on it.

9 Jul 2010

Patients enrolled in CLARITY-AF study

Biosense Webster, Inc., a worldwide leader in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, announces that more than 10 patients have now been enrolled in the CLARITY-study, comparing the efficacy, safety and efficiency of CARTO 3 System guided radiofrequency ablation using the NAVISTAR THERMOCOOL catheter versus fluoroscopy guided radiofrequency ablation using the Pulmonary Vein Ablation catheter (Ablation Frontiers, Medtronic) in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

9 Jul 2010

New rules pave way for veterans' PTSD disability claims

The New York Times: Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder who are seeking disability benefits will get a break when new rules go into effect as early as next week.

9 Jul 2010

Study finds EUS associated with improved outcomes in patients with localized pancreatic cancer

A new study has found that endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is associated with improved outcomes in patients with localized pancreatic cancer, possibly due to the detection of earlier cancers and improved stage-appropriate management, including more selective performance of curative intent surgery. This is the first study to analyze a large population-based cancer registry and demonstrate that EUS evaluation is associated with improved pancreatic cancer survival.

9 Jul 2010

Research finding uncovers alternative treatments for people with hereditary colorectal cancer

By solving the three-dimensional structure of a protein involved in repairing DNA errors, a group of McMaster University researchers have revealed new avenues to develop assessment tools and alternative treatments for people living with hereditary colorectal cancers.

9 Jul 2010

Men with higher baseline PSA value more likely to die from prostate cancer, say researchers

Men who have a baseline PSA value of 10 or higher the first time they are tested are up to 11 times more likely to die from prostate cancer than are men with lower initial values, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers.

9 Jul 2010

IRIC scientists identify vitamin B3 as potential antifungal treatment

A team of scientists from the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the University of Montreal have identified vitamin B3 as a potential antifungal treatment. Led by IRIC Principal Investigators Martine Raymond, Alain Verreault and Pierre Thibault, in collaboration with Alaka Mullick, from the Biotechnology Research Institute of the National Research Council Canada, the study is the subject of a recent article in Nature Medicine.

9 Jul 2010

Emotional well-being predicts adolescents' physical health: Study

Happier youths are also healthier youths, according to Emily Shaffer-Hudkins and her team, from the University of South Florida in the US. Adolescents' positive emotions and moods, as well as their satisfaction with life, could be more important than their anxiety or depression levels for predicting their physical health, they argue.

9 Jul 2010

Haemonetics settles patent infringement suit against STRADIS-MED

Haemonetics GmbH today announced settlement of its pending legal action against STRADIS-MED GmbH and its General Manager, Jochen Kirchner, for the infringement of two German utility models of Haemonetics (DE 200 10 825 U1 and DE 203 10 937 U1) related to Haemonetics' plasma technology.

9 Jul 2010

Australian, Vietnamese researchers develop simple tool for identifying individuals at high risk of Type 2 diabetes

Australian and Vietnamese researchers have estimated the current prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in Vietnam, and have developed a simple tool for identifying individuals at high risk.

9 Jul 2010

Jasmine can be used instead of sleeping pills or mood enhancers: Study

Instead of a sleeping pill or a mood enhancer, a nose full of jasmine from Gardenia jasminoides could also help: in collaboration with Dr. Olga Sergeeva and Prof. Helmut Hass from the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, researchers from Bochum led by Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. Hanns Hatt have discovered that the two fragrances Vertacetal-coeur (VC) and the chemical variation (PI24513) have the same molecular mechanism of action and are as strong as the commonly prescribed barbiturates or propofol.

9 Jul 2010

Move to have businesses manage Medicaid is triggering concern

The Washington Post: Since Congress passed the health overhaul, businesses that manage Medicaid "are rushing to get a foothold in states that outsource Medicaid. … But the experience in some states suggests pitfalls ahead. A recent report found that 2.7 million children on Medicaid in nine states, most of them states that outsource Medicaid, are not receiving required screenings and immunizations.

9 Jul 2010

NeuroPace submits PMA to FDA for world's first responsive neurostimulation system

NeuroPace, Inc. today announced that it has submitted its Premarket Approval (PMA) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its RNS® System, a novel investigational device that utilizes responsive neurostimulation to monitor and interrupt abnormal electrical activity in the brain before seizures occur. The PMA application is for an indication to treat people with medically refractory partial onset epilepsy originating from one or two locations in the brain.

9 Jul 2010

Pregnant teenagers at higher risk of preterm delivery

Pregnant women aged 14-17 years are at higher risk of preterm birth and of having a child with low-birth-weight, especially if they are having their second child. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth demonstrate this association and call for better health education and the promotion of contraception after a teenager has given birth for the first time.

9 Jul 2010

Media outlets examine efforts to tackle HIV/AIDS worldwide

Ahead of the International AIDS Conference, set for July 18-23 in Vienna, Austria, Reuters features an interview with Gottfried Hirnschall, the new director of the WHO's HIV Department, who speaks of the need for current funds for the global HIV/AIDS programs to be used more efficiently to achieve universal access to treatment for all HIV/AIDS patients.

9 Jul 2010