August 7, 2012
Stem-cell pioneer banks on future therapies
Progress toward stem-cell therapies has been frustratingly slow, delayed by research challenges, ethical and legal barriers and corporate jitters. (Nature News)
Monthly Archives: August 2012
August 7, 2012
Hospital Chain Inquiry Cited Unnecessary Cardiac Work
In the summer of 2010, a troubling letter reached the chief ethics officer of the hospital giant HCA, written by a former nurse at one of the company’s hospitals in Florida. (NY Times)
August 6, 2012
Transplant Centers Struggle With Donors’ Obesity
When his mother’s kidneys began to fail three years ago, Ed Guillen knew what he had to do: donate one of his kidneys to her. But Mr. Guillen received a shock during a phone call with the Stanford Kidney Transplant … Read More
August 6, 2012
Chinese organ trafficking ring dismantled
Some 127 “organ suppliers” were also rescued, according to China’s state-run news agency Xinhua. (Telegraph)
August 6, 2012
Prenatal drug therapy targeted lesbians, researchers charge
When Jenny and Roland Westphal’s first child was born, doctors initially couldn’t say whether they had a daughter or a son. (NBC News)
August 6, 2012
Appeals court could uphold gene patents, legal experts say
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating a set of diagnostic test patents might not affect a similar case centering on whether isolated genes are patentable, legal observers said. (American Medical News)
August 3, 2012
‘Spray-on skin’ helps heal leg ulcers
A “spray-on skin” which coats a wound with a layer of skin cells could help healing, according to US and Canadian researchers. (BBC News)
August 3, 2012
Report: Generic medicines saved $193 billion in 2011, more than $1 trillion over past decade
Growing use of generic medicines has reduced U.S. health care spending by more than $1 trillion over the past decade, according to an industry-funded study released Thursday. (Washington Post)
August 3, 2012
NHS considers organ donation shakeup
The NHS is considering its biggest shakeup of the ethical, legal and professional rules governing transplants, floating ideas to prolong the lives of people who have no chance of surviving in order to harvest their organs, and to make people … Read More
August 3, 2012
U.S.-backed study exploited China prisoners: rights group
A medical study published in the weekly journal Science and partially funded by the U.S. government was conducted at detention centers in China that engage in severe violations of human rights, according to a letter published by the journal Thursday. … Read More
August 3, 2012
U.S. rule highlights Catholic tensions over contraception
New rules requiring free access to prescription birth control for women with health insurance go into effect on Wednesday, but controversy lingers at some Catholic institutions struggling to balance the requirement with their opposition to contraception. (Reuters)
August 2, 2012
Medical Debt Collector to Settle Suit for $2.5 Million
Accretive Health, one of the nation’s largest collectors of medical debt, has agreed to pay $2.5 million to the Minnesota state attorney general’s office to settle accusations that it violated a federal law requiring hospitals to provide emergency care, even … Read More
August 2, 2012
Stem cells blamed for cancer re-growth
Researchers presented evidence Wednesday for the existence of cancer stem cells, with three different studies seeking to end a decades-old scientific dispute about how tumours grow. (AFP)
August 2, 2012
New women’s health benefits go into effect
New U.S. health insurance plans are required beginning Wednesday to provide new preventive benefits at no cost to covered women as part of healthcare reform. (UPI)
August 2, 2012
A need to plan for end-of-life care
Rather than ever losing his ability to think, remember or recognize his wife and children, Dr. Daren Heyland would sooner be dead. (Vancouver Sun)
August 2, 2012
Catholic business owners win temporary halt to Obama birth control mandate
A Colorado business owned by a Catholic family does not have to comply with President Barack Obama’s new healthcare mandate that private employers provide employees with insurance coverage of birth control, a Colorado federal judge ruled on Friday. (Reuters)
August 1, 2012
Judge says religious couple’s brain-damaged baby can be allowed to die
Mr Justice Hedley said the one-year-old was comatose after a “catastrophic accident†and it was “unrealistic†to think his condition would ever improve. (Telegraph)
August 1, 2012
Namibia court in landmark HIV ruling
The women, who ranged in age between mid 20s and mid 40s, had all opted to have caesarean sections to reduce the risk of passing Aids to their babies. But they were told by doctors in public hospitals in Namibia … Read More
August 1, 2012
Malaria vaccines could make the disease worse
Malaria vaccines could make malaria nastier. In mice given an experimental vaccine now in trials, the malaria parasite evolved to get round the immunity – and in the process caused more severe disease. (New Scientist)
August 1, 2012
Wrong medical equipment ‘undermining aid effort’
Inappropriate equipment is undermining the medical aid effort in developing countries, experts say. (BBC News)
August 1, 2012
Whooping Cough Vaccine Too Weak To Protect Against Disease?
The United States might see the highest number of cases of whooping cough in more than five decades this year, possibly caused by a weaker vaccine, many experts say. (ABC News)
