Get Smart About Antibiotics
When you get a bad case of the flu, an ear infection, or a wound that has become infected, the common treatment is antibiotics. However, antibiotics do not work on everything and the over-prescription and misuse of antibiotics has given rise to antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in a way that reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of ... Read More »
Smokers to Get Hit with Tougher Cigarette Warnings
The number of adults smoking in 2009 was found to be virtually unchanged since 2004 at 20 percent. Despite a barrage of advertising, the development of numerous smoking cessation drugs and techniques, and the government restrictions placed on smoking in public spaces, Americans seem to be loathe to give up the tobacco habit. To combat this problem, which contributes to ... Read More »
UPDATE: Alcohol + Energy Drinks = Federal Ban?
UPDATE: On November 17, 2010, FDA warned four companies that the caffeine added to their alcoholic malt beverages is an “unsafe food additive” and that the products named in the Warning Letters are being marketed in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Further action, including seizure of their products, is possible under federal law. The companies receiving ... Read More »
Affordable Care Act Regulating Insurance Premium Profits
[HHS] New regulations issued today by the Department of Health and Human Services will require health insurers to spend 80 to 85 percent of consumers’ premiums on direct care for patients and efforts to improve care quality. This regulation, known as the “medical loss ratio” provision of the Affordable Care Act, will make the insurance marketplace more transparent and make ... Read More »
Novartis MS Pill to Cost $48,000 Per Year
ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG said the average annual cost of its oral multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya will be $48,000 in the United States. Gilenya won U.S. backing last month to become the first pill for the disease there and some investors believe sales at rivals, such as Biogen Idec Inc., could be hit, as their treatments involve ... Read More »
Protein Test Ups Diabetes Diagnoses in Some Races
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Efforts to adopt a more accurate test for diagnosing diabetes may have hit a snag. Comparing the age-old oral glucose tolerance test to the newer hemoglobin A1c test confirms earlier evidence that race may influence test results, Danish researchers report. “The prevalence of diabetes differed considerably according to diagnostic method,” they write in the Journal of ... Read More »
New Consumer Benefits of the Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act, pass by Congress and signed into law earlier this year, is now providing some new consumer benefits. As of October 1, consumers are able to compare important details about private plans offered to individuals and families. You can now get the following information from Health.gov on insurers: Monthly premium estimates Percentage of people who pay more than the ... Read More »
New Skin Cancer Diagnostic Tool
This year over 1 million Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer, and of those approximately 60,000 will find out that they have melanoma—the most severe and deadly of skin cancers. Yet we persist in the sun and make no attempt to be routinely checked by our doctors, which some would consider a foolhardy and dangerous way to live a ... Read More »
Tiny electrical shocks to the brain enhance memory
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Lightly shocking a person’s brain just before they learned a new task appeared to strengthen memory in a handful of patients with epilepsy, a tantalizing result that could have implications for Alzheimer’s disease, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. Pacemaker devices known as deep brain stimulators made by Medtronic and St. Jude Medical are already used to calm ... Read More »
HealthNews Salutes: Up and Coming Health Innovations
Recently, Popular Mechanics announced the winners of its sixth annual Breakthrough Awards. These awards recognize innovators and products poised to change the world in the fields of technology, medicine, aviation, environmental engineering, and more. Three are promising medical/health breakthroughs, with far-reaching implications and represent the advancement of medicine through technology. In mobile healthcare, the Cellphone Microscope developed by Aydogan Ozcan of the University of ... Read More »
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