Law and Health Weekly

Medical Discoveries, Inc. - Biopharmaceutical research company reduces debt

Medical Education - Tour allows medical students to compare U.S. and Canadian healthcare systems

Medical Errors - Doctor won't be sanctioned for failing to notify family of woman's death

Medical Errors - Thousands of babies need to retake hepatitis B vaccine

Medical Faculty, Stara Zagora - Epstein-Barr virus and Helicobacter pylori may be causes of gastric cancer

Medical Malpractice - Minnesota man gets $850,000 after surgeons operate on wrong side of brain

Medical Malpractice - Utah healthcare network reverses policy on mandatory arbitration

Medical Technology Systems - Maker of OnDemand systems reports 25% increase in third quarter revenue

Medicare - Bush puts higher program costs on more seniors moving to HMOs

Medicare - New fund rates will result in lower premiums, better benefits

Medicare - Senator says Bush officials hid Medicare bill costs

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Cntr. - ERT poses little recurrence risk for women treated for early-stage disease

Mental Health - Group touts Nebraska governor's plan for system reform

Mental Illness - Economic debate drives discussion of mental illness bill in Ohio

Mergers and Acquisitions - Hillenbrand acquires remainder of NaviCare Systems

Mergers and Acquisitions - IPVoice completes Medical Office Software acquisition

Mergers and Acquisitions - U.S. Federal Trade Commission challenging merger of two Chicago hospitals

Model N, Inc. - Revenue-execution company gets $11M to expand presence in life science market

Molinette Hospital - Hepatitis C virus infection raises the risk for oral squamous cell carcinoma

Motion DNA Corp. - Diagnostics company goes public

Motion DNA Corp. - Insurers will reimburse some expenses for mobility assessment

Myogen, Inc. - Kirk Calhoun appointed to board of directors

NIPRD, Abuja - High-dose artemisinin has D₂ receptor-mediated sedative effect

NOBEX Corp. - Drug delivery company appoints new VP, finance and administration

Nastech Pharmaceutical Co. - Company licenses patents to siRNA technology

National Cancer Center, Tokyo - CPT-11+ cisplatin results in better survival than etoposide+cisplatin

National Cancer Inst., Milan - Road traffic exhaust might be involved in childhood leukemia

National Cardiovascular Center, Osaka - The pyridoxine 5'-phosphate oxidase gene may be linked to hypertension

Natl. Defense Medical College, Saitama - Panfungal PCR useful for cerebral aspergillosis diagnosis

Natl. Research Inst. for Family Planning, Beijing - Mifepristone and misoprostol combine to open the emergency contraception window

Natural Living, Inc. - MIM acquires regional specialty provider

Natural Products & Glycotechnology Res., Inc. - Synthetic prototype of P. falciparum GPI developed

Nektar Therapeutics - Company discloses collaboration with Roche for CERA

Neose Technologies, Inc. - Ketan Desai to lead clinical development

Netherlands Cancer Inst. - CHEK2*1100delC germline mutation carriers are at risk for another breast tumor

New York Academy of Medicine - Many Manhattan residents increased smoking and drinking after September 11 attacks

Northwestern University - Assessment of the obese patient reviewed

Oak Ridge National Laboratory - Putative Mycoplasma gallinarum leucine aminopeptidase gene characterized

Obstetrics - South Dakota lawmakers reject midwifery bill

Obstetrics - Unlicensed midwives in South Dakota not permitted to help home births

Ohio State University - A little stress may go a long way toward boosting skin's immunity

OneWorld Health - Nonprofit drug company attacks developing-world diseases

OpGen, Inc. - Whole genome optical map completed of world's most frequent fungal infection

Oxford University - Free estradiol and breast cancer risk can be calculated for use in studies

Paoli-Calmettes Institute - RIC SCT feasible for patients with advanced solid tumors

Patient Privacy - Death row inmate waived medical privacy rights at trial

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals - Cotara phase I hepatic cancer study published in cancer journal

Personnel - Breast cancer expert becomes nutraceutical research company's medical director

Personnel - Caputo named IPC medical director of utilization management in Phoenix, Arizona

Personnel - Massachusetts-area hospital executive quits amid state and federal probes

Personnel - Prison physician forced out

Pfizer Inc. - Study uncovers barriers to diagnosis, treatment of postpartum depression

Pfizer, Inc. - European regulators grants Sildenafil orphan drug designation

Poznan School of Medicine - Leptin enhances secretory activity of regenerating rat adrenal cortex

Prince Henry's Inst. of Medical Research - Role of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists for heart failure reviewed

Procter & Gamble Co. - Anti-infective technology licensed to GMP

Purohit General Hospital - The new Purohit technique avoids abdominal or laparoscopic hysterectomy

Queen Alexandra Hospital - Gemcitabine and mitomycin C may be effective in treating advanced GI cancer

R2 Technology - FDA panel recommends approval of new CAD system

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. - TB4 stimulates critical wound healing protein, study shows

Regulatory Issues - Researchers urge that ideology and bureaucracy be kept out of science

RehabCare Group, Inc. - Neurologic Rehabilitation and Research Unit of UCLA acquired

Renal Care Group, Inc. - Acquisition of dialysis services provider valued at $345 million

Response Biomedical Corp. - Biomedical company announces new member of board of directors

Roche - Highest therapy response rates to date seen in coinfected patients

Ross University - Geomagnetic disturbances at birth may be linked to a risk for schizophrenia

Royal Infirmary, Midlothian - Segment III intrahepatic cholangiojejunostomy is modified to reduce bile leakage

Rush University - Microbead-conjugated anti-gp41 antibodies can isolate HIV-infected cells

SE Michigan Partners Project - Availability of work site vaccinations increases rate of adult flu shots

Salvatore Maugeri Foundation - Nolomirole attenuates monocrotaline-induced heart failure

Sanger Institute - For-profit system unsustainable

Sarah Cannon Cancer Center, Tennessee Oncology - Patient education is important in targeted therapy for lung cancer

Schering-Plough Research Institute - Sarasar clinical study in non-small cell lung cancer discontinued

Sejong University - Transcriptional activator promotes chromium stores in Saccharomyces

Semafore Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - Drug discovery company announces name change, new appointments

Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - FDA approves first transdermal gel for estrogen therapy

St. Antoine Hospital - Placental vascular diseases can have deadly consequences

St. Jude Children's Hospital - Destructive wizardry of Ozz-E3 ligase appears key to building skeletal muscles

Staffing - Healthcare positions are among Mississippi's fastest growing professions

Stanford University - Bacteria lingering in body may pose future food poisoning risks

Stanford University - Surprising patterns of stem-cell engraftment identified

Stanford University - U.S. push for diesel poses risk to public health

State Medicaid - Feds coming down on states' "creative" financing practices

State Medicaid - Illinois governor approves $500 million tax plan to bring in more money

State Medicaid - Mississippi's program getting cost-cutting help from federal agency

Stem-Cell Research - Campaign to make California stem cell capital under way

Stratus Research Labs - Houston firm set to begin human trials of new HIV treatment

Sung Kyun Kwan University - NAD(P)H oxidase inhibitor prevents aldosterone-induced hypertension

Swiss Inst. for Experimental Cancer Res. - 5-Fluorocytosine increases the toxicity of oncolytic viruses

Targeted Genetics Corporation - Genomics company completes $25.5M public offering of common stock

Terra Nostra Technology Ltd. - Bio-insecticide applications show promise in controlling West Nile virus

Texas A&M University - Pubescent Fisher rats are more affected by gestational low level lead exposure

The Waismann Institute - Report shows 56% of opiate dependencies begin through legal prescriptions

ThermoGenesis Corp. - Remaining patent issued for the CryoSeal platform products

Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - Pharmaceutical company announces dismissal of all lawsuits

Trestle Holdings Inc. - Telepathology product installed for drug discovery and research

Tuberculosis - New Mexico health department, University study spread of TB at the border

Tulane University - Electroporation augments the transfection of marrow stromal cells

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Exogeneous hormone rescues bromodichloromethane-induced pregnancy loss in rats

U.S. Food & Drug Administration -  Enterobacter sakazakii thermally inactivated in rehydrated infant formula

U.S. Food & Drug Administration - Medical device regulation complicated by multiple agency involvement

United Nations - Starvation in mothers can program children for obesity

Univ. Hospital Graz - Imaging technology for renal tumors cannot determine diagnosis

Univ. Medical Center St. Radboud - Mentally retarded patients without 15q11-q13 defects should have MECP2 analysis

Univ. of Bologna - Combo GET therapy well tolerated in metastatic breast cancer

Univ. of Bologna - Paget carcinoma cells differ from those of the underlying carcinoma

Univ. of California, Los Angeles - Low-fat diet slows cancer growth, increases survival times in laboratory models

Univ. of California, San Diego - Methamphetamines augment HIV replication in humans

Univ. of California, San Francisco - Multiple sclerosis susceptibility mapped to HLA-DR locus in African Americans

Univ. of Missouri, Columbia - Estrogen may have protective effect, study finds

Univ. of Nijmegen - Bone cement is acceptable to fix the transducer to the ossicular chain

Univ. of Pennsylvania - A new computational method quantifies the effects of osteoporosis therapy

Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo - Hypocretin-1 increases in cerebrospinal fluid after REM sleep deprivation

Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona - Improving glycemic control increases LDL particle size in type 2 diabetes

University College Dublin - Lipoxins act as endogenous regulators of inflammation

University College London - An enhanced inhibitory reflex would improve incontinence of neurogenic origin

University College, London - HBV treatment can lead to recovery of virus-specific T-cell responses

University of Auckland - Crystal structure of M. tuberculosis MshB determined

University of Bristol - More children affected with gut illness than previously suspected

University of California - Cigarettes getting more screen time in blockbuster films

University of Cambridge - PGC-1 alpha expression reduced in adipose tissue of morbidly obese subjects

University of Chicago - Scorpion toxins inhibit store-operated calcium entry in kidney-293 cells

University of Chile - Murine ACE gene mutations influence cardiac fibrosis development

University of Copenhagen - In utero exposures to maternal smoking place men's reproductive health at risk

University of Dundee - Research shows how cells ensure genetic material shared evenly between daughters

University of Florida - Alpha-1 antitrypsin gene therapy prevents type I diabetes in NOD mice

University of Freiburg - Late CMV PRP reported after stem-cell transplantation

University of Heidelberg - Joint targeting of pericytes and endothelial cells encourages tumor regression

University of Hong Kong - Truncated hepatitis B virus X gene sequences associate with liver cancer

University of Illinois - Cholesterol drugs may lower risk for mental impairment after stroke

University of Iowa - International grant supports study related to preventing organ rejection

University of Iowa - Researchers - again - pinpoint why stress kills

University of Laval - Uncoupling protein 2 is novel player in neuroprotection

University of Leicester - Alkaline comet assay predicts bladder cancer cell radiosensitivity

University of Madras - The garlic extract allicin defends against hepatotoxicity in vivo

University of Maryland - Prescription drug abuse a growing problem in America

University of Michigan - Health risks, obesity interact to raise medical costs

University of Michigan - Patients with testicular cancer had less distress than other cancer patients

University of Milano Bicocca -  Saccharomyces cerevisiae 14-3-3 proteins respond to DNA damage

University of Minnesota - Membrane type-1 matrix metalloproteinase encourages melanoma invasion

University of North Carolina - Proteasome is target for cancer therapy

University of Oklahoma - Optical detection system plus colposcopy yields improved detection rates

University of Oxford - Human serum haptoglobin is toxic to cultured P. falciparum

University of Padua - Cancer patients are at high risk for recurrent thromboembolism

University of Padua - Cellular growth factors join to antagonize iatrogenic apoptosis

University of Pavia - Voluntary abortion in Italy shows regular patterns and has declined

University of Pennsylvania - Immune response to telomerase tumor antigen studied as possible vaccine

University of Pittsburgh - Bone mineral density measurements should be scaled for men and women

University of Pittsburgh - Daily hour-long exercise necessary for weight control

University of Pittsburgh - Genetic fingerprinting finds associations between prostate cancer and BPH

University of Rostock - Treosulfan-fludarabine conditioning regimen safe and effective

University of Siena - ISOL myocyte apoptosis screening leads to fewer false-positive results

University of Tokyo - "Full-malaria" cDNA database updated

University of Tokyo - Human cytoplasmic poly(A) nuclease complex identified

University of Toronto - Redox modulation of inotropic response to dobutamine is impaired

University of Virginia - Ras signaling may be responsible for prostate cancer progression

University of Washington - Special training may help people recognize faces

University of Wisconsin - "Bat saliva" drug and new MRI techniques offer hope for acute stroke treatment

University of Zurich - Rifampicin reduces focal ischemia-induced brain damage

Vanderbilt University - Prolonged menstruation is associated with developing endometrial cancer

Vasomedical, Inc. - PEECH trial reaches enrollment target

Velindre Cancer Center - Chemoradiation is effective in patients with inoperable esophageal carcinoma

Verispan - New products gaining traction in managed care, report says

Vion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - Update announced on clinical trials of Triapine as a single agent

Wake Forest University - ¹³C NMR used to study role of glial metabolism in diabetic encephalopathy

Washington University - Researchers pinpoint brain areas that process reality, illusion

Weizmann Institute Science - Antivascular therapy offers an option for bypassing drug-resistant tumors

Weizmann Science Inst. - Tumor growth is inhibited by targeted alliinase delivery

Wolfson Institute - Not all tests should be advocated

World Health Organization - Herbal medicine guidelines issued

Xencor - Structure of key autoimmune disease target discovered

XenoPort, Inc. - Biopharmaceutical company raises $37M to advance clinical development programs

Yale University - Vascularized skin equivalents would benefit those with impaired angiogenesis

Yonsei University - Mechanisms of testosterone-induced coronary artery relaxation clarified