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The American Legion applauds the Senate for the passage of Caregiver bill

The national commander of The American Legion applauds the Senate for their overwhelming support of the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009 with a resounding 98-0 vote yesterday. “This legislation will improve the lives of so many veterans and their families,” said National Commander Clarence E. Hill. “Especially those with serious health care challenges.”

20 Nov 2009

New multimedia application from ASM

Want to get the latest microbiology news, podcasts and video content in the palm of your hand? Now there is an app for that. A new application from the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) allows users to access and interact with audio and video content on MicrobeWorld, its award winning multimedia website, directly from their iPhones and iPod Touches.

20 Nov 2009

Senate health care reform bill disappointing: National Retail Federation

The National Retail Federation today expressed disappointment in the Senate health care reform bill introduced by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

20 Nov 2009

The Economist examines attention to world's food supply

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20 Nov 2009

UNICEF report highlights gains in child health, while 1b still lack essential services

A special edition of UNICEF's annual State of the World's Children report, released 20 years after the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, shows that "fewer youngsters are dying and more are going to school - but an estimated 1 billion still lack services essential to their survival and development," the Associated Press reports.

20 Nov 2009

Children with kidney disease likely to have "masked" hypertension

Spot blood pressure readings in children with chronic kidney disease often fail to detect hypertension - even during doctor's office visits - increasing a child's risk for serious heart problems, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center and other institutions. A report of the findings appears online in the Journal of American Society of Nephrology.

20 Nov 2009

FDA approves sNDA for pediatric autism drug ABILIFY

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for ABILIFY® (aripiprazole) for the treatment of irritability associated with autistic disorder in pediatric patients ages 6 to 17 years, including symptoms of aggression towards others, deliberate self-injuriousness, temper tantrums, and quickly changing moods.

20 Nov 2009

5% tax on cosmetic surgery opposed by AAFPRS

The United States Senate is about to consider health system reform legislation which contains a 5% tax on cosmetic surgery deemed unnecessary for medical purposes. The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) announces it strongly opposes the inclusion of this tax as it is discriminatory and has already failed in other states.

20 Nov 2009

First-quarter fiscal 2010 results announced by Escalon Medical

Escalon Medical Corp. announced the results for its fiscal first quarter ended September 30, 2009.

20 Nov 2009

8.3% of households in Massachusetts struggle with food insecurity

Project Bread, the state's leading anti-hunger organization, released numbers from its upcoming annual status report on hunger in the Commonwealth. The disquieting trends described in this report, caused by high unemployment, point to 554,000 people in the Commonwealth struggling with hunger.

20 Nov 2009

USAID nominee visits Capitol Hill

President Barack Obama's nominee to head USAID, Rajiv Shah, "made the rounds" on Capitol Hill Thursday, which included a meeting with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair John Kerry (D-Mass.), Politco's Laura Rozen reports on her foreign policy blog. Rozen also examines this week's markup of the Kerry-Lugar foreign aid reform bill and quotes a Hill staffer saying that there is a "fundamental disagreement between what USAID should look like and what it should do between the administration and Congress."

20 Nov 2009

FDA Warning Letter for Deconsal: Cornerstone Therapeutics preparing a response

Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing significant products primarily for the respiratory and related markets, today reported that it had received a Warning Letter from the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") alleging that its Deconsal CT chewable tablets (Phenylephrine HCl 10 mg, Pyrilamine Maleate 16 mg) and Deconsal DM chewable tablets (Phenylephrine HCl 10 mg, Pyrilamine Maleate 16 mg, Dextromothorphan HBr 15 mg) are new drugs lacking an approved application and as such should not be introduced into interstate commerce.

20 Nov 2009

Nelson says he'll vote to allow debate, others still up in the air

With the Senate's test vote fast approaching, some lawmakers are disclosing where they stand. For instance, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said Friday he will vote with Democrats to advance to debate on a health care reform bill but that he's reserving the right to vote down the bill on final passage.

20 Nov 2009

GOT YOUR BACK launches The Spinalis Chair

GOT YOUR BACK will be hosting an Open House at their retail location at 521 East Hector Street, Conshohocken, PA on December 12th from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Guests will include health and wellness professionals, chiropractors, massage therapists and those interested in alternative fitness and wellness throughout the tri-state area. Visitors will enjoy food, beverages, a free chair massage, and free on site diagnosis of the spine. This event is also open to the public and special discounts will be offered throughout the store exclusively for attendees of this event.

20 Nov 2009

Lancet examines Uganda's child-health volunteers

A Lancet World Report examines how a small group of village volunteers trained in basic health care are helping to improve the health of Ugandan children. "In a country where government spending on health is US$39 per person and 13% of children younger than 5 years die, trained volunteer health workers can make a substantial difference in remote rural areas," said Jerome Kabakyenga, dean of Medicine at the Mbara University of Science and Technology (MUST).

20 Nov 2009

Study recommends chest ultrasound for evaluating pediatric patients with complicated pneumonia

Chest ultrasound can serve as a viable alternative to chest CT in the evaluation of pediatric patients with complicated pneumonia and parapneumonic effusion (a build-up of fluid between the lung and chest wall), according to a study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

20 Nov 2009

Evidence does not connect H1N1 vaccine to patient deaths, WHO says

The deaths of 41 people from six countries who had received the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine were not directly linked to the vaccine, the WHO said Thursday, the Associated Press/MSNBC reports (11/19).

20 Nov 2009

Antibiotic resistance a growing problem, particularly in southern, eastern Europe

Antibiotic resistance is increasing throughout the world because of excessive use, Agence France-Press reports. The news service writes, "Experts at the 2nd annual European antibiotics awareness day held by the Stockholm-based European Centre for Diseases Prevention and Control (ECDC) said new, hyper-resistant bacteria were emerging, threatening the pillars of global health."

20 Nov 2009

News outlets examine malaria drug resistance, hope for malaria eradication in Africa

Experts at an American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene meeting this week said that resistance to the best available drug to treat malaria "is more widespread in Southeast Asia than previously reported," Science News/Wired Science reports. Researchers have been monitoring drug resistance along the Thailand-Cambodia border where patients taking artemisinin combination therapy - the most potent treatment for malaria - have been clearing the parasite from their bodies more slowly.

20 Nov 2009

"Hotline" report on finasteride for prevention of prostate cancer

In response to a recent New York Times article that questions why currently available medications designed to treat and prevent some cancers are being ignored, ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit organization, is offering a roadmap to the evidence on Finasteride for Prevention of Prostate Cancer for free download.

20 Nov 2009