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Medical News Headlines

Researchers reveal types of genes necessary for brain development
Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Brandeis University have successfully completed a full-genome RNAi screen in neurons, showing what types of genes are necessary for brain development. Details of the screen and its novel methodology are published July 4th in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

Researchers solve structure of proteins known as sodium glucose co-transporters
Researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA have solved the structure of a class of proteins known as sodium glucose co-transporters (SGLTs), which pump glucose into cells.

A noisy brain is a healthy brain
Canadian scientists have shown that a noisy brain is a healthy brain. "Brain noise" is a term that has been used by neuroscientists to describe random brain activity that is not important to mental function.

Screening athletes for heart disorders would save lives
Athletes who take part in competitive sport should be screened for potentially fatal heart problems before they compete, according to a study published on BMJ.com.

Breast cancer: How tumor cells break free and form metastases
When tumor cells acquire the capacity to move around and invade other tissues, there is a risk of metastases and cancer treatment becomes more difficult. At the Institut Curie, CNRS Director of Research Philippe Chavrier and his group have just discovered how breast cancer cells break the bonds that tether them to the tumor. The basement membrane around the mammary gland is a barrier to the spread of cancer cells. Three proteins in the tumor cells transport enzymes needed to perforate this barrier, and another protein puts these enzymes in the right place.

California pharmacies expect disaster after Loss in lawsuit loss to stop 10% Medi-Cal provider cuts
Today, a state court denied eight retail pharmacies' motion to stop the ten percent Medi-Cal provider cuts. The pharmacies sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) from Sacramento Superior Court against the California Department of Health Care Services and its director Sandra Shewry to block the cuts from being implemented.

Revised study maintains link between FDA approvals made soon before deadlines, safety risks
Harvard University professor Daniel Carpenter has made revisions to a study published in March that found prescription drugs hurried through the FDA approval process are more likely to later be linked to safety risks, but he maintains that the study's conclusions are still accurate, the Wall Street Journal reports.

UnitedHealth Group announces lower profit outlook
UnitedHealth Group on Wednesday lowered its earnings guidance because of reduced commercial businesses and higher-than-expected Medicare-related costs and said it would restructure the company with a greater focus on regional coverage, the Chicago Tribune reports (Chicago Tribune, 7/3).

GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis found guilty of overcharging Alabama Medicaid Program
An Alabama state court jury on Tuesday found pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis guilty of defrauding the state Medicaid program by charging artificially high prices for medications and ordered the two companies to pay more than $114 million in restitution, the AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Pennsylvania health care cost containment council employees let go after program authorization lapses
Nearly the entire staff of the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council has been let go due to a political disagreement between Gov. Ed Rendell (D) and state Senate Republicans over whether a bill to reauthorize the council should also include an extension of a malpractice insurance subsidy for physicians, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Goldstein, Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/2).

San Francisco Chronicle examines 'Healthy San Francisco' program enrollment progress
Although city officials estimated in July 2007 that Healthy San Francisco would offer access to health care to all city residents by January, the program one year later remains open only to individuals with incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Massachusetts cigarette tax increases by $1 per pack to fund state health insurance law
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) on Tuesday signed into law a bill that increases the state cigarette tax by $1 per pack, the AP/Boston Globe reports. The increase, which brings the tax to $2.51, took effect immediately.

Gene technique that alters CCR5-producing gene increases resistance to HIV in mice
Altering the gene that produces CCR5 protein on the surface of immune cells using a harmless virus was found to significantly increase resistance to HIV in mice, according to a study published Sunday in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the Press Trust of India reports (Press Trust of India, 7/1).

Bush calls on congress to reauthorize PEPFAR ahead of G8 summit
President Bush on Wednesday called on Congress to quickly reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ahead of the Group of Eight industrialized nations summit next week in Hokkaido, Japan, Reuters reports.

NGO leader in Angola seeks to mobilize country's youth for HIV prevention
Young people in Angola have a poor record of participation in HIV prevention efforts, including voluntary testing and condom use, according to Antonio Coelho, executive secretary of the Angolan Network of AIDS Service Organisations, Angola Press Agency/AllAfrica.com reports.

Number of abortions decreasing among HIV-positive women in Belarus
The number of HIV-positive women in Belarus who are forgoing abortions is increasing, Svyatlana Shylava, chief ob-gyn for the country's Ministry of Health, said on Tuesday, BelaPAN reports.

DHS Inspector General issues recommendation on reporting procedures of immigrant detainee deaths
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau should promptly report all deaths of immigrants held at federal detention centers in the U.S. to the Department of Homeland Security, as well as to state authorities where required by law, according to recommendations in a report released Tuesday by the DHS Office of Inspector General, the New York Times reports.

Scientists discover way to protect against death following plague infection
Bacteria that cause pneumonic plague can evade our first-line defences, making it difficult for the body to fight infection. In fact, a signature of the plague is the lack of an inflammatory response.

New target for the potential treatment of tuberculosis
Scientists have uncovered a new target for the potential treatment of tuberculosis (TB), finally resolving a long-running debate about how the bacterial cell wall is built.

Cases of malaria increasing in UK
A huge rise in the numbers of UK residents travelling to malaria endemic areas, combined with a failure to use prevention measures, has significantly increased cases of imported falciparum malaria in the UK over the past 20 years, according to a study published on BMJ.com.

Resveratrol mimics the beneficial effects of eating fewer calories
Large doses of a red wine ingredient can ward off many of the vagaries of aging in mice who begin taking it at midlife, according to a new report published online on July 3rd in Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication.

Nanostructures improve bone response to titanium implants
Titanium implants were successfully introduced by P.-I. Branemark and co-workers in 1969 for the rehabilitation of edentulous jaws.

Canadian case of foreign-accent syndrome after stroke
A woman in southern Ontario is one of the first cases in Canada of a rare neurological syndrome in which a person starts speaking with a different accent, McMaster University researchers report in the July issue of the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences.

Fourth edition of the British National Formulary for Children
The fourth edition of the British National Formulary for Children (BNFC) arms health professionals with the information they need to tackle recent controversial health concerns in young people, including rising rates of teenage pregnancy and the increasing incidence of sexually transmitted infections.

Lord Darzi's final vision for primary care is positive though undermined by previous announcements
While many of the ambitions within the government's Vision for Primary and Community Care are welcome, previously announced government proposals will undermine the positive in this report, the BMA said today (Thursday 3 July 2008).

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