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Edward Kennedy working toward bipartisan support for major health care initiative in 2009

The office of Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) has begun to hold a series of meetings with a number of health care experts to "begin laying the groundwork for a new attempt to provide universal health care," the Boston Globe reports.

3 Jul 2008

Back log of 900 whistle-blower lawsuits at Department of Justice

Whistle-blower lawsuits alleging that pharmaceutical companies and government contractors defrauded the federal government have created a backlog of more than 900 cases at the Department of Justice, the Washington Post reports. According to the Post, more than 500 of the cases involve the health care and pharmaceutical industries, as well as Medicare and Medicaid.

3 Jul 2008

North Carolina mental health parity law comes into effect

North Carolina health care insurers must provide the same amount of coverage for certain mental conditions as they do for physical ailments under a state law that took effect on Tuesday, the Winston-Salem Journal reports.

3 Jul 2008

USA Today examines financial strain on retirees with fixed incomes as health care costs, other essentials rise

USA Today on Tuesday, in the first article of a series about retirement issues in the 21st century, examined how retirees are seeing "inflation wring much of the value out of their fixed incomes."

3 Jul 2008

Former Pa. Sens. Santorum, Wofford serve as state co-chairs of ONE Vote '08, bring attention to HIV/AIDS

Former Pennsylvania Sens. Rick Santorum (R) and Harris Wofford (D), who competed in a "bitter and high-profile" Senate race in the 1990s, are joining together to serve as state co-chairs of ONE Vote '08 -- which aims to bring attention to issues of extreme poverty and global disease, including HIV/AIDS, during the presidential campaign -- the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

3 Jul 2008

Study examines death rates for people newly diagnosed with HIV

In the five years after their diagnosis, people living with HIV in developed countries and receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy are no more likely to die than HIV-negative people, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Reuters reports (Kahn, Reuters, 7/1).

3 Jul 2008

India reduces rate of HIV transmission in some states

India has managed to reduce the rate of HIV transmission in some states through increased awareness, resources and legislation, according to a report released Monday by India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Reuters reports.

3 Jul 2008

WHO, Stop TB Partnership, UNITAID announce new tuberculosis test that quickly diagnoses MDR-TB

The World Health Organization, Stop TB Partnership, UNITAID and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics on Monday announced a joint project to distribute a new diagnostic test for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis that can produce results in two days instead of the standard two or three months, the New York Times reports. Difficulty in identifying MDR-TB has been a "major obstacle" in controlling TB because many patients die or spread the disease while waiting for test results, the Times reports.

3 Jul 2008

Weight loss program or exercise, which is best?

In the first study of its kind, using sophisticated methods to measure body composition, the nationally known commercial weight loss program, Weight Watchers, was compared to gym membership programs to find out which method wins in the game of good health.

3 Jul 2008

Chemists create synthetic catalyst that folds its molecular structure into a specific shape

When chemists want to produce a lot of a substance -- such as a newly designed drug -- they often turn to catalysts, molecules that speed chemical reactions. Many jobs require highly specialized catalysts, and finding one in just the right shape to connect with certain molecules can be difficult. Natural catalysts, such as enzymes in the human body that help us digest food, get around this problem by shape-shifting to suit the task at hand.

3 Jul 2008

Microchip-based device determines the genetic signature of lung tumors

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have shown that an MGH-developed, microchip-based device that detects and analyzes tumor cells in the bloodstream can be used to determine the genetic signature of lung tumors, allowing identification of those appropriate for targeted treatment and monitoring genetic changes that occur during therapy. A pilot study of the device called the CTC-chip will appear in the July 24 New England Journal of Medicine and is receiving early online release.

3 Jul 2008

New computational tool to study complex clusters of genes

Two Texas A&M University researchers have developed a computational tool that will help scientists more accurately study complex units of clustered genes, called operons, in bacteria.

3 Jul 2008

Cancer cases up but survival more than doubles in breast and bowel cancer

The number of people surviving some of the most common types of cancer for at least five years has doubled since the National Health Service was founded 60 years ago.

3 Jul 2008

Women over 90 significantly more likely to have dementia than men of the same age

...according UC Irvine researchers involved with the 90+ Study, one of the nation's largest studies of dementia and other health factors in the fastest-growing age demographic.

3 Jul 2008

New understanding of how herpes simplex virus 1 hides during inactive phase

Now that Duke University Medical Center scientists have figured out how the virus that causes cold sores hides out, they may have a way to wake it up and kill it.

3 Jul 2008

Controlling bone disease improves survival of hemodialysis patients

Consistently maintaining certain blood levels of markers of bone metabolism and disease can prolong the lives of patients on hemodialysis, according to a study appearing in the September 2008 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

3 Jul 2008

Computational research hones cancer-fighting strategies

A Florida State University faculty member who uses computational techniques to evaluate a new class of cancer-killing drugs is attracting worldwide attention from other researchers.

3 Jul 2008

New insight into role of statins in dementia

Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins have a profound effect on an elite group of cells important to brain health as we age, scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have found. The new findings shed light on a long-debated potential role for statins in the area of dementia.

3 Jul 2008

U.S. Senate forgoes agreement on AIDS, TB, and malaria bill until after G8 summit

World Vision commends the U.S. Senate for approving increases for hunger and developmental assistance for fiscal years 2008 and 2009 in the Supplemental Appropriations Act, including $850 million in the first year to address the global food crisis.

3 Jul 2008

Genetic link between Crohn's and asthma discovered

Research into the genetic causes of Crohn's disease has revealed that the gene ORMDL3, known to be a risk factor for childhood asthma, is also associated with Crohn's disease, and in the process links between the condition and other diseases have been found.

2 Jul 2008

Medical News

Edward Kennedy working toward bipartisan support for major health care initiative in 2009

Back log of 900 whistle-blower lawsuits at Department of Justice

North Carolina mental health parity law comes into effect

USA Today examines financial strain on retirees with fixed incomes as health care costs, other essentials rise

Former Pa. Sens. Santorum, Wofford serve as state co-chairs of ONE Vote '08, bring attention to HIV/AIDS

Study examines death rates for people newly diagnosed with HIV

India reduces rate of HIV transmission in some states

WHO, Stop TB Partnership, UNITAID announce new tuberculosis test that quickly diagnoses MDR-TB

Weight loss program or exercise, which is best?

Chemists create synthetic catalyst that folds its molecular structure into a specific shape

Microchip-based device determines the genetic signature of lung tumors

New computational tool to study complex clusters of genes

Cancer cases up but survival more than doubles in breast and bowel cancer

Women over 90 significantly more likely to have dementia than men of the same age

New understanding of how herpes simplex virus 1 hides during inactive phase

Controlling bone disease improves survival of hemodialysis patients

Computational research hones cancer-fighting strategies

New insight into role of statins in dementia

U.S. Senate forgoes agreement on AIDS, TB, and malaria bill until after G8 summit

Genetic link between Crohn's and asthma discovered

Exploring the role of confocal-based high-content imaging in advancing core facilities

Transforming Cardiovascular Care: Insights from Mina Makar at AstraZeneca

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

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