Latest Health News

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the funding of a project in California that will improve wastewater services for the community of Los Osos, create construction jobs and support community development. USDA officials made the announcement at the San Luis Obispo County Government Center where they highlighted the environmental, health and economic benefits to be provided to the community. The project is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act)...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the funding of a project in New York that will improve wastewater services for the Village of Monticello, create construction jobs and support community development. The project is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act). "This project not only will improve water quality in the community and surrounding area, it contributes to the Obama administration's continued efforts that improve the local quality of life and create opportunities for job growth," Vilsack said...

CSI Laboratories®, a private national cancer diagnostic laboratory, announced the lease of a new 65,000 square foot facility in Alpharetta, GA, located north of the city of Atlanta. CSI Laboratories is committing $15 million to its strategic expansion project, and this newly leased space will house its next generation laboratory, with clinical operations beginning in mid-2011...

An international study of clinical data led by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)-Harvard University cardiologist found that patients with deposits of fatty plaque in their arteries are at especially high risk for life-threatening cardiovascular events if they have diabetes, disease in multiple arteries or a history of heart attack or stroke. "This study was an impressive international collaboration that may hold important clinical benefits for Veterans and others with cardiovascular disease," said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki...

What is the Problem? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to discard cheeses from Estrella Family Creamery of Montesano, Wash., because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Environmental samples and one product sample collected by the FDA during an August 2010 inspection at the facility have tested positive for L. mono. The company had previously recalled cheeses due to L. mono contamination, but resumed marketing in May 2010...

Australians' blasé attitude towards medicines is leading to further health problems for many people and is placing avoidable pressure on our health system. An article published in MJA has detailed serious health effects in patients who misused pain killers containing ibuprofen and codeine, and notes more than half a million Australians use combination pain relief products for non-medical purposes. Because of its opioid effects, codeine can cause dependence with long term use, and this may lead people to increase their dose...

Consuming energy drinks during team sports could help young people perform better, a study suggests. Sports scientists found that 12-14 year olds can play for longer in team games when they drink an isotonic sports drink before and during games. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh measured the performance of 15 adolescents during exercise designed to simulate the physical demands of team games such as football, rugby and hockey...

Dr. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President of the American Action Forum and former Director of the Congressional Budget Office, will give a presentation at the upcoming Healthcare Reform: Dealing with Hurdles and Building Up Successes Conference, to be held in Washington, DC, Nov. 8-9, 2010, by GTCbio. This informative conference will provide an extensive look at the new changes and developments caused by the healthcare reform act, and what the healthcare industry and related areas are doing to adapt...

Wayne C. Koff, Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President of Research and Development (R&D) at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI.org), will give the keynote presentation titled "Future Directions in AIDS Vaccine Development: The Decade Ahead" at the 8th Annual Vaccines: All Things Considered Conference to be held this year in Washington, DC on Nov. 8-9, 2010 by GTCbio. Dr...

Two further clinical trials are planned to confirm a vaginal gel which has shown potential in reducing the risk of HIV. The results of the first trial of the gel, which were announced in July at the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, must be confirmed before the product can be made available for general use. The tenofovir-based gel was found to be 39% effective to reduce a woman's risk of becoming infected with HIV during sex in a study completed by the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), a UNAIDS Collaborating Centre on HIV prevention research...

As Hurricane Earl moves up the East Coast, Rite Aid stores along the coast and in anticipated areas of impact have stocked up on supplies to help residents get ready and urge them to plan ahead. These stores have increased supplies of bottled water, batteries, flashlights, small lanterns, candles, film and one-time- use cameras useful for insurance purposes, duct tape and masking tape, coolers, canned foods and other emergency provisions. Many Rite Aid stores also have emergency generators on stand-by in case of power outages, so that the stores can keep operating if possible...

This week an insurance research firm reported that ownership in life insurance has reached a 50-year low, with nearly a third of U.S. households not having a form of this financial protection. As the benefits industry begins Life Insurance Awareness Month in September, Unum (NYSE: UNM) shares the concern that this decline exposes working Americans to financial uncertainty. "Life insurance is one of the building blocks of a solid financial plan," says Debbie Cecil, director of life products for Unum...

Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) announced it has received a Paragraph IV Certification Letter advising that Natco Pharma Limited of Hyderabad, India, submitted an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The application requests authorization to manufacture and market generic versions of REVLIMID® (lenalidomide) 5, 10, 15 and 25 mg capsules in the United States...

Peter Mansell explores how effective concordance can take the strain off industry-patient group partnerships. Pharmaceutical companies and patient organizations are never going to be the easiest of fits. It is not so much due to any fundamental unwillingness to work together, or lack of common ground, but rather to the kind of attention these relationships inevitably attract. That attention may range from the suspicious to the downright hostile, whether it comes from regulators, budget holders, or a watchful media...

Progress in childhood cancer is a good news story. Children treated for cancer have an overall 70-80 per cent cure rate. As the numbers of survivors of childhood cancer increases, studies of the long-term survivors allow research that can guide newer treatment protocols and further improve the outlook for newly diagnosed patients...

An integrated approach to cancer care needs to be developed in Australia that incorporates psychosocial and biological interventions, according to an article published in a Medical Journal of Australia supplement. The Anxiety, Depression and Cancer supplement is the product of a partnership between beyondblue and the Cancer Council Australia...

Although codeine-ibuprofen can be considered a relatively weak opioid analgesic, it is nevertheless addictive and more research is needed to develop health care responses to its misuse, according to an article in the Medical Journal of Australia. Dr Matthew Frei, Clinical Head at Southern and Eastern Health Alcohol and Drug Services and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology and Psychiatry, Monash University, Melbourne, and co-authors investigated morbidity related to the misuse of over-the-counter (OTC) codeine-ibuprofen analgesics between May 2005 and December 2008...

The Health Protection Agency is aware of a significant increase in reports of cases of West Nile Virus (WNV) in Northern Greece. To date there have been 164 cases and 14 deaths reported in Greece, most of which have occurred in the last month. There have also been seven confirmed and three probable cases with two deaths seen in Romania and three cases in Hungary. Cases have been reported in these countries in previous years. Cases of WNV are rare in people in Europe. The infection is spread through mosquito bites, and it is not transmitted directly from person-to-person...

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has received encouraging results of UK testing on the silicone gel breast implants manufactured by the French company Poly Implant Prosthese (PIP). The tests found no evidence of genotoxicity (potential for cancer) or chemical toxicity of the filler material in the implants. The tests are not as extensive as those being carried out in France, but they have provided initial information as to whether there is a safety issue with the filler material...

Lancet Editorial Makes Recommendations For Health-System Strengthening "There is strong consensus in the global health community, among donors, recipient countries, and policy makers, about the need for health system strengthening in low-income and middle-income countries," write the authors of a Lancet Comment. The article recommends areas in health-system strengthening that need "more attention and better analysis," including building consensus, and responding to specific country health system needs...