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Alloantigen-specific Treg cells targeted for organ transplantation

An increased understanding of the role of the body's immune system in the development of diseases such as prostate cancer, squamous cell carcinoma (a type of skin cancer), type 1 diabetes, autoimmune liver disease, and in the rejection of transplanted organs by some transplant patients, has paved the way for a pioneering research programme which aims to develop 'enhanced' cells as therapies.

3 Sep 2009

Tort reform and changes to doctor payment could cut health costs

Limiting medical malpractice lawsuits and changing the doctor payment system are being debated as possible ways to make health care more cost-effective.

3 Sep 2009

Hong Kong's healthcare workers to refuse H1N1 vaccine, says study

According to a study released August 26, 2009 by the British Medical Journal, more than half of Hong Kong's healthcare workers surveyed said they would refuse the H1N1 shot, which is not yet available, because they are afraid of side effects and doubt how safe and effective it will be. More importantly, the study suggested the trend would be repeated worldwide.

3 Sep 2009

Avastin increases survival rates in recurrent glioblastoma affected patients

The targeted therapy Avastin, alone and in combination with the chemotherapy drug CPT-11, significantly increased response rates, progression-free survival times and survival rates in patients with a deadly form of brain cancer that had recurred.

3 Sep 2009

How to make the most of expiring health coverage

"Job loss or the fear of it has pushed more people to use their employer-sponsored health insurance before they lose it. Major health insurers have seen their medical costs rise in recent quarters, in part because people covered by employer-sponsored plans have rushed to use services before their benefits are cut off."

3 Sep 2009

Mexico's response to H1N1 outbreak praised by Associated Press

The Associated Press praised Mexico's response to the swine flu, or H1N1 outbreak, in a recent article.

3 Sep 2009

Vitamin C deficiency may impair mental development in newborn babies

New research at LIFE - Faculty of Life Sciences at University of Copenhagen shows that vitamin C deficiency may impair the mental development of new-born babies.

3 Sep 2009

MRG's new report on neurovascular embolectomy device market

According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, the emerging market for neurovascular embolectomy devices for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke is poised for healthy yet conservative growth of close to 15% annually in Europe over the next 5 years.

3 Sep 2009

Global economic downturn increases malnutrition, death rates among African children, U.N. assessment indicates

The global economic downturn is "raising malnutrition and death rates among Africa's children" and restricting their access to health care, according to a U.N. assessment released ahead of a G20 leaders meeting later this month that will focus on ways to minimize the effect of the downturn on the world's poorest people, VOA News reports.

3 Sep 2009

Players’ fencing response yields visual clues on brain injury

Brain injury researchers at the University of Kentucky have spent hundreds of hours watching YouTube videos of people getting smacked, punched and knocked in the head during sporting events and recreational activities. But those researchers weren't goofing off on the Internet; they were doing hard science.

3 Sep 2009

New target for cancer cure identified

Researchers Dr. Marc Therrien at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Universit- de Montr-al, and Dr. Frank Sicheri, at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, have discovered a new target that may be instrumental in the development of new, more effective cancer therapies.

3 Sep 2009

New therapy for advanced and metastatic basal cell skin cancer

A study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine reports a potential new investigational therapy for advanced and metastatic basal cell skin cancer tested at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare and other sites appears to demonstrate tumor shrinkage and limited side effects in patients.

3 Sep 2009

Colorado braces for mental health cuts, Florida nursing homes brace for Medicare cuts, and other developments

Kaiser Health News: "Three years after Massachusetts implemented a state program to provide near universal health care, officials said that a key to their success was that stakeholders from the state's health care sector and the business community had a commitment to implementing the program." Despite successes, one state official said cost containment remains a challenge (Marcy, 9/1).

3 Sep 2009

Individual mandate would spread risk but could prove difficult to enforce

"If health care reform occurs, it is likely to include an individual mandate — a requirement that every American have health insurance," The Kansas City Star reports. "In theory, health coverage would work something like the requirement that drivers buy auto insurance. But everyone knows someone who has been hit by an uninsured, and sometimes even an unlicensed, driver."

3 Sep 2009

Also in global health news: Vietnam PEPFAR funding; remote village health care; HIV in India; UNICEF budget; mapping drug shortages

PEPFAR will continue to fund HIV/AIDS programs in Vietnam, Hoang Thanh Hai, a spokesperson, said on Tuesday at a memorial for 100 people who died as a result of complications from the disease, Bernama reports. "Since 2004, PEPFAR has provided $320 million to help Vietnam provide comprehensive services on taking precautionary measures against the disease and care and treatment of HIV" patients, the news service writes (9/2).

3 Sep 2009

New method for treating hand disorder discovered

Researchers in the Department of Orthopaedics at Stony Brook University Medical Center have developed an injectable form of the enzyme, collagenase, that significantly improves outcomes of Dupuytren's contracture (or disease), a debilitating disorder caused by progressive accumulation of collagen that deforms fingers and limits motion. Reported in September 3, 2009, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, the study involved treatment of 308 patients with Duputren's disease in 16 sites nationwide. The results indicate that the injections are safe and effective.

3 Sep 2009

Estrogen supplements do not suppress bone loss in postmenopausal women

Dietary supplements claiming to help postmenopausal women with bone health may not be doing what they say, according to new research from Purdue University.

3 Sep 2009

Patients with advanced NSCLC predict their overall survival rates

Research published in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology has found that an individual's quality of life prior to treatment can help predict the overall survival of patients with advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

3 Sep 2009

AVA issues guidelines for disinfecting IV catheters

How to meet new infection-control guidelines from the Joint Commission and the SHEA/IDSA Compendium will be the focus of a panel discussion at the upcoming annual meeting of the Association for Vascular Access (AVA).

3 Sep 2009

Death rate from unintentional poisoning triples in middle-aged white women

While the total mortality rate from unintentional injury increased in the U.S. by 11 percent between 1999 and 2005, far larger increases were seen in some subgroups analyzed by age, race, ethnicity and type of injury by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy.

2 Sep 2009