CVS Caremark Offers $5 Million In Free Flu Vaccinations To Uninsured Individuals

CVS Caremark and Direct Relief USA have joined forces to offer $5 million in free flu vaccinations to community clinic and health center patients who have no health insurance coverage. CVS Caremark informs that the shots are currently available at all its CVS pharmacies and MinuteClinics throughout the USA. The company says free flu-shot vouchers will be distributed by CVS Caremark and Direct Relief USA to participating medical centers...

Medical Malpractice System Accounts For 2.4% Of America's Health Care Spending, $54.4 Billion Annually

A new report reveals that $54.4 billion is spent annually on medical malpractice systems; 2.4% of America's health care spending. America's health care has existed with two separate, but related crises - its high rates of medical errors, and dissatisfaction with the malpractice liability system. The Institute of Medicine, in a 1999 study estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 thousand patients died annually as a result of avoidable errors in inpatient hospital treatment. This perceived "crisis" has been around for much longer than people realize. Over 20 years ago, Howard H...

FDA Warns Tea Drink Makers About Unsubstantiated Claims

Ever heard of tea-flavored beverage makers making health claims for their teas which really should only be made for properly brewed tea? It seems the FDA (Food and Drug Administration, USA) has, and is warning both Dr. Pepper Snapple Group about its Canada Dry Sparkling Green Tea Ginger Ale and Unilever Americas over its website claims and labeling for Lipton Green Tea. It accuses them of making unsubstantiated claims, among other things...

Machine Translates Brain Signals Into Words "Better Than Chance"

US scientists have moved a step closer to developing a mind-reading machine: they wired a man's brain up to a computerized device that helped them to determine at a rate significantly better than chance, which brain signals represented which word he had read from a list. The study is the work of a team based at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and also another researcher from the University of Washington in Seattle. A paper about their research was published online on 1 September in the Journal of Neural Engineering...

Weight Loss Raises Industrial Pollutant Levels In Blood

People with long-term weight loss have higher levels of persistent organic pollutants in their blood, which are known to increase the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes, according to an article published today in the International Journal of Obesity. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic compounds, they are resistant to environmental degradation - they do not break down easily, so they persist and build up in the environment. POPs can bioaccumulate (build up) in human and animal tissue, as well as food chains...

Study: Preventive Services Can Saves Lives, Billions Of Dollars, At Little Or No Cost

Preventive health services such as daily aspirin use, tobacco cessation screening and alcohol abuse screening can potentially save 2 million lives and nearly $4 billion annually, according to a new paper produced by the National Commission on Prevention Priorities (NCPP). The NCPP is convened by the Partnership for Prevention. Four of the five lead authors perform research with HealthPartners Research Foundation. The paper, "Greater Use Of Preventive Services In U.S. Health Care Could Save Lives At Little Or No Cost," is published in the September issue of Health Affairs...

Can-Fite BioPharma Announces The Initiation Of Phase 3 In Dry Eye Syndrome

Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd (TASE:CFBI), a biotechnology company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, announced today that it has opened an Investigational New Drug application (IND) with the US-FDA for a Phase 3 study of its lead drug, CF101, in patients with moderate to severe Dry Eye Syndrome. In an earlier Phase 2 study, in which CF101 taken orally as a monotherapy for 12 weeks, a statistically significant benefit in the clearing of fluorescein staining in the nasal, temporal, pupillary and inferior parts of the cornea was documented...

GE Awarded $538,000 Grant From National Institutes Of Health For Human Microbiome Studies

Researchers from GE Global Research have been awarded a $538,000 human microbiome project from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop new technology that would allow for the study of individual cells growing inside and outside the body believed to have a significant impact on human health. The human microbiome refers to the collection of microorganisms, which grow on and in a person's body and are thought to have an influence on their health...

Survey Reveals Cereal Tops The List Of Preferred Ways To Serve A Quick And Nutritious Breakfast

A recent Kix® survey shows 79 percent of parents eat breakfast with their children, and the majority (96 percent) agree it's essential to pass along healthy habits and good nutrition. As parents shift back to routine, busier schedules leave many looking for simple solutions to meet the nutritional and developmental needs of their "big kids'" growing bodies. Data published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association shows frequent cereal eaters, including kids, tend to have healthier body weights, making cereal an important part of the busy morning ritual for many families...

BioAlliance Pharma Announces The Grant Of Its European Acyclovir Lauriad(R) Patent

BioAlliance Pharma SA (Paris:BIO)(Euronext Paris - BIO), a company dedicated to the supportive care and treatment of cancer patients, announced the grant of a European patent protecting its product acyclovir Lauriad®. This patent is now validated in all European countries; this first patent validation is a major step and the procedures up to the grant are ongoing in the other major global areas, America and Asia. This patent specifically protects the muco-adhesive tablet containing acyclovir, its process for manufacturing and its clinical application...