Posts Tagged ‘research’
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Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 03:32 | Comments Off
Health Blog Video: How Serious a Party Foul is Double Dipping?Categories: Wall Street Journal
As we all gather ’round the Super Bowl snack spread this Sunday, how worried should we be about the health consequences of the party foul known as double dipping?
We tackled that question as part of our “Is It True?” video series here at the Health Blog — you can see the video below.
The WSJ’s Christina Tsuei set out to find if, as Seinfeld’s George Costanza was told by a horrified party guest, that re-dipping a chip after you’ve ..read more
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Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 at 04:57 | Comments Off
Say Cheese, Carrots! Veggie Photos in Lunch Trays Boost ConsumptionCategories: Wall Street Journal
Simple photos of green beans in cafeteria trays spurred more kids to take them.
The simple act of putting photos of green beans and carrots in cafeteria-tray compartments sparked increased consumption among elementary-school students, according to a small study that suggests one more potential avenue for getting kids to eat their veggies.
A research letter published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association describes the experiment, which took place at a Minnesota school cafeteria serving kindergartners through fifth graders. Researchers ..read more
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Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 at 01:16 | Comments Off
A.M. Vitals: Prostate-Cancer Drugs Improve Survival in TrialsCategories: Wall Street Journal
Prostate-Cancer Drug Studies: The results from two trials of experimental drugs for advanced prostate cancer add to recent progress against the disease, the WSJ reports. Medivation’s MDV3100 extended survival by nearly five months in a 1,199-patient study, while Bayer and Algeta’s Alpharadin, which homes in on cancer that has already spread to the bone, boosted survival by almost three months in a 922-patient study, the paper reports.
No Consensus on Repeat Breast-Cancer Surgery: Rates of repeat lumpectomies vary ..read more
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Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 at 07:41 | Comments Off
FDA Approves Vertex’s Kalydeco, But It Won’t Come CheapCategories: Wall Street Journal
A young patient holds Kalydeco, a cystic-fibrosis treatment from Vertex just approved by the FDA.
Certain cystic-fibrosis patients will now have an FDA-approved treatment that targets an underlying cause of their disease.
But that drug — Kalydeco, from Vertex Pharmaceuticals — won’t come cheap.
As Dow Jones Newswires reports, the annual cost will be $294,000. Vertex has set up a patient-assistance program to help patients pay for the treatment.
Kalydeco was approved to treat the estimated 4% of cystic-fibrosis patients who have a mutation ..read more
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Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 at 01:44 | Comments Off
Informed Patient: Taking Quality of Life into Account in Health DecisionsCategories: Wall Street Journal
Quality-of-life questions are becoming increasingly important in medical care, especially when it comes to helping patients make decisions about treatments, today’s Informed Patient column reports.
Since the 1970s, researchers have been using quality-of-life measurement tools for a wide variety of medical conditions, primarily in population studies and clinical trials. Outside the U.S. they are often used by national medical systems to help determine payment policies for more costly drugs or treatments.
But there is growing interest in using such tools in the ..read more
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Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 at 01:32 | Comments Off
A.M. Vitals: J&J Shakes Up Oversight of McNeil UnitCategories: Wall Street Journal, insurance
McNeil Oversight Changes: Johnson & Johnson is replacing two company group chairmen who had been charged with turning around the McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit after a series of recalls, the WSJ reports. Patrick Mutchler, charged with overseeing McNeil last April, is retiring and will be replaced by Roberto Marques. Meantime, the duties of Pericles Stamatiades, chief strategist for J&J’s consumer business since last spring, will be divvied up between other company officials when he departs the company, ..read more
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Saturday, January 28th, 2012 at 08:35 | Comments Off
What Are the Obstacles to Digital Health Records?Categories: Wall Street Journal
What’s standing in the way of the wider spread of health IT?
Plenty of things, according to a new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center. The report says boosting use of electronic medical records and other health IT “enjoys bipartisan support.” It’s also being pushed by billions of dollars in government incentives.
The assumption is that health IT can help improve health outcomes, improve the experience of care and save money. But there are gaps and barriers to its effective use, the ..read more
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Friday, January 27th, 2012 at 00:56 | Comments Off
A.M. Vitals: Roche Bets Big on Wider Use of Genetic MappingCategories: Wall Street Journal
Roche’s Genomics Bet: Roche’s $6 billion hostile bid for DNA-sequencing company Illumina represents a bet that the technology will filter down from academic and government research centers to doctors’ offices and hospitals, the WSJ reports. Roche believes sales of genetic mapping machines will almost double to $2.1 billion by 2015, but some analysts say widespread use is by no means certain.
Former Executive Arrested: Jean-Claude Mas, former head the now-shuttered French company Poly Implant Prothese accused of making ..read more
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Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 00:33 | Comments Off
A.M. Vitals: Roche Bids $5.7 Billion For IlluminaCategories: Wall Street Journal, insurance
Hostile Bid For Illumina: Swiss drug maker Roche is making a $44.50 per-share hostile bid for Illumina, valuing the gene-sequencing company at $5.7 billion, the WSJ reports. Illumina has already rejected an offer of $40 per share, Roche says. The latest bid represents a premium of about 18% to Illumina’s $37.69 closing price Tuesday. Illumina said today it would review Roche’s proposal.
PFCs and Vaccines: A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that ..read more
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Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 09:02 | Comments Off
Some Promising Findings on Embryonic Stem CellsCategories: Wall Street Journal
Very early results from research into embryonic stem cell treatments suggest that the therapy was safe in use against macular degeneration, a major cause of blindness. The findings, though preliminary, are the first published results involving embryonic stem cells in human patients.
In the report, which covered two patients followed over four months, the patients reported some visual improvement that may — or may not — spring from the treatment. But much more research needs to be done before the therapy ..read more
