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New organs can be grown in body

A novel technique enabling vital new organ tissue to be grown in a special bio-chamber in the body has been developed by scientists at the University of Melbourne and the Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery (BOBIM).

30 Aug 2006

Plants can be used to unlock secrets useful for human stem cell research

Plants share many similar stem cell traits to humans and can be used to unlock secrets useful for human stem cell research, according to University of Melbourne biology experts.

30 Aug 2006

Newly discovered molecular motor helps a cell determine which way is up

The sense of top and bottom is often lost in cells that become cancerous and may be an important factor in metastasis.

30 Aug 2006

Disabling carbohydrate trigger reduces obesity and appetite

Until about 15 years ago, insulin was believed primarily responsible for turning carbohydrates into fat. But then it became apparent that diet alone could stimulate glucose metabolism and fat synthesis, even when insulin levels were low or absent.

30 Aug 2006

Mayo clinic finds NSAIDs may prevent or delay enlarged prostate

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin or ibuprofen may prevent or delay benign prostatic hyperplasia.

30 Aug 2006

Report questions CMS Cancer Care Research Program

HHS inspector general Daniel Levinson in a report released on Wednesday questioned the legitimacy of a one-year research program conducted by CMS in which the federal government and Medicare beneficiaries paid oncologists a total of about $275 million to report information on chemotherapy side effects that might lead to improved care for cancer patients, the AP/South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

30 Aug 2006

Summary of editorials on approval of nonprescription plan B sales to women over age 18

Some editorials respond to FDA's decision on Thursday to approve Barr Laboratories' application for nonprescription sales of its emergency contraceptive Plan B to women ages 18 and older.

30 Aug 2006

Massachusetts Council adopts new regulations on embryonic stem cell research

The Massachusetts Public Health Council on Tuesday adopted new regulations on human embryonic stem cell research that Harvard University and several state research centers and hospitals say could expose scientists to criminal penalties for conducting certain research activities, the Boston Globe reports.

30 Aug 2006

90% of dermatologists report having problems with Isotretinoin drug registry

The online FDA tracking database iPledge -- with which all people taking the acne drug isotretinoin, sold by Roche under the brand name Accutane, must register to receive their prescriptions -- has caused problems for about 90% of dermatologists.

30 Aug 2006

Federal Judge orders NYC to provide food stamps to immigrant women and children who have experienced violence

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff on Tuesday ruled that the state and city of New York cannot deny food stamps and other aid to immigrant women and children who have experienced violence, the New York Times reports.

30 Aug 2006

Primary care physicians should receive pay by the hour

"We must make primary care a more manageable business by changing the way we pay for it," with primary care physicians paid by the hour, Robin Cook, a physician and author of the novel "Crisis," writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

30 Aug 2006

Some large employers contract directly with medical groups to reduce health care costs

Investor's Business Daily on Monday examined how some large employers, such as Sprint Nextel and Waste Management, have begun "cutting the middleman in heath insurance" and have "signed direct-contracting deals with medical groups instead of insurers" to help reduce costs.

30 Aug 2006

FDA advisory panel recommends approval of experimental preterm labor prevention drug

An FDA advisory committee on Tuesday voted 13-8 that clinical trial data regarding Adeza's experimental preterm labor prevention drug Gestiva was adequate to approve the drug, Dow Jones reports (Corbett Dooren, Dow Jones, 8/29).

30 Aug 2006

HIV/AIDS fosters collaboration between traditional healers, western medicine in Zambia

The spread of HIV in Zambia is fostering collaboration between traditional healers and practitioners of Western medicine, IRIN News reports.

30 Aug 2006

Temple in Thailand providing HIV/AIDS services set to close

A temple in Thailand that provides medical care and shelter for HIV-positive people within three months is scheduled to close because of a lack of public resources, according to Chalermphol Pholmuk, secretary-general of the Dharmarak Foundation, the Bangkok Post reports.

30 Aug 2006

Nine million free condoms given away in New York

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene over the past six months has distributed more than nine million condoms at no cost via a Web site as part of an initiative to curb the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, the New York Post reports.

30 Aug 2006

Prosecutor calls for death penalty for Bulgarian nurses in Libya

A Libyan prosecutor on Tuesday issued another call for the execution of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor on trial for allegedly infecting Libyan children with HIV, the New York Times reports (Smith, New York Times, 8/30).

30 Aug 2006

Severe mental illness in Gulf Coast doubled after Katrina

The rate of severe mental illness in the Gulf Coast region about doubled in the six months after Hurricane Katrina, according to a report surveying a sample of the storm's survivors published on Monday in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, USA Today reports (Sternberg, USA Today, 8/29).

30 Aug 2006

Schering-Plough to pay $435M and plead guilty to conspiracy

Schering-Plough on Tuesday agreed to pay $435 million and plead guilty to criminal conspiracy charges to settle a federal investigation into the company's marketing practices and Medicaid charges, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (AP/Houston Chronicle, 8/30).

30 Aug 2006