UPI Health Business articles from August 2006

UPI Health Business archives from August 2006

Caregiving: Choosing a doctor.
August 1, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN ALBANY, N.Y., Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Choosing a doctor can involve a lot of research, but some extra effort can mean the difference between muddling through and finding a good match. "See four or five different doctors --...

HealthWrap: Obesity, beauty, fertility.
August 1, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER Following successful trials in rats comes the news that the much-longed-for obesity vaccine may be one step closer to market. When injected into rats, the vaccine, which is based on affecting the hormone ghrelin --...

Analysis: Post-war brain still 'on guard'.
August 1, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- For at least as long as three months after soldiers return from the Iraq battle zone, their brain function stays "on guard" and does not immediately return to pre-deployment activity, says a new...

Analysis: More Rx fakes in U.S. -- Canadian firm.
August 1, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- An online Canadian pharmacy says that while the U.S. government warns consumers that purchasing drugs from Canada may be risky, America has one of the highest numbers of counterfeit-drug...

Study: Potency of HPV viruses race-related.
August 1, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- How long a human papillomavirus infection persists in women may be a question of where their ancestors are from, according to a study released Tuesday. Researchers found...

Analysis: Plan B stalls FDA confirmation.
August 1, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Accusations by Senate Democrats that politics are interfering with science at the Food and Drug Administration stalled the potential confirmation Tuesday of acting commissioner Andrew von...

Eat To Live: GM cornfields under attack.
August 2, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON A headline you are unlikely to read in the United States has been appearing in various versions in the newspapers of southern France this past couple of days. "Mowers attack harvest" is the general theme. The...

HealthWrap: The psychic costs of warfare.
August 2, 2006... Byline: DAN OLMSTED WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- As war in the Middle East grinds on, three new studies showcase the high costs of conflict for children, civilians and soldiers alike. The most distressing report found that 98 percent...

Analysis: Rx uncertainty clouds Sanofi Q2.
August 2, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Sanofi-aventis beat Wall Street's expectations in its second-quarter earnings, but market analysts warned that uncertainties surrounding the company's blood thinner Plavix and its...

Analysis: Curbing futile heart revivals.
August 2, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN BOSTON, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Almost two-thirds of the frantic -- and mostly futile -- rush of heart-attack victims to the emergency rooms could be avoided if paramedics adopted a "rule" that suggests when it is time to stop....

FluWrap: New cluster prompts concern.
August 2, 2006... Byline: DAN OLMSTED WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- A cluster of suspected bird flu cases in Indonesia has raised concerns about human-to-human transmission -- just as a new American study suggests such cases may never lead to a pandemic. ...

Caregiving: Bush's physical an eye-opener.
August 3, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN ALBANY, N.Y., Aug. 3 (UPI) -- All that early-to-bed, early-to-rise, exercise-six-days-a-week lifestyle seems to be paying off for George W. Bush, and after reading the results of the president's physical, I know more...

Analysis: Docs mis-prescribing antibiotics.
August 3, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN DES PLAINES, Ill., Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Hospital doctors frequently select inappropriate antibiotics to treat patients with serious hospital-acquired infections -- and the result can be fatal, researchers said Thursday. ...

HealthWrap: Breast-fed babies beat stress.
August 3, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER OXFORD, England, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- A Swedish study of 9,000 British babies has found that breast-fed babies are better able to cope with stress in later life. The researchers, who published their findings online at...

Vaccine effective against genital lesions.
August 4, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- A new therapeutic vaccine has eradicated pre-malignant lesions in a trial of women with early signs of vulvar cancer, a Dutch researcher has reported. In a research trial...

Analysis: Analysts downgrade Medtronic.
August 4, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Several analysts downgraded Medtronic Thursday after the company warned that its first-quarter profit for 2007 would fall short of Wall Street's expectations. Morgan Stanley analyst...

Eat To Live: Mice tell the snack story.
August 4, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON You have to wonder how honest people feel they need to be when called upon to answer a survey. Masters and Johnson's analysis of people's sex lives left pretty much everyone feeling disgruntled and jealous of everyone...

Army report on GI Iraq suicides due soon.
August 4, 2006... Byline: ELIZABETH NEWELL WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- An Army report addressing the mental health of soldiers in Iraq -- including a spike in suicides last year -- is expected to be released in the next few weeks, months later than similar...

Analysis: Health data goes 'Blue'.
August 4, 2006... Byline: LAURA GILCREST WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Touting it as the nation's "largest health information resource" to date, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) Friday unveiled plans for a massive medical information database...

Do's and don'ts for nips and tucks.
August 4, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- The death of a Massachusetts woman last week from a sham liposuction should raise red flags to consumers about fraudulent cosmetic procedures, experts say. Fabiola DePaula, 24,...

Analysis: Extremist Web sites alarm pharma.
August 4, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- The pharmaceutical industry is concerned animal-rights extremists' growing and popular presence on myspace.com, a social networking Web site that links users from around the world, will...

Analysis: Experts blast stem cell veto.
August 4, 2006... Byline: LISA CHUN WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Health experts said Friday they believe the lack of federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research will stagnate progress for the medical community. "It's very difficult to think about a...

Analysis: Medical radiation 'alarming'.
August 4, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN LONDON, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- A person who undergoes medical tests that include use of radioactive material may have enough residual radiation in his or her body to trigger security devices as long as three months after the...

Analysis: A Plan B for Bush?
August 4, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- The recent ruckus over Plan B, the emergency contraceptive also known as the 'morning after' pill, appears to have landed at the White House doorstep. Depositions in a lawsuit filed this...

Women perplexed by choices for menopause.
August 7, 2006... Byline: STEPHANIE SONNTAG WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- As treatment options for menopause continue to expand, patients now have a variety of treatments available that can be tailored to their needs, experts say. Yet many women are...

Eat To Live: Apricots -- cure and candy.
August 7, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON Unless you have a peach tree growing unfettered in your back garden, you won't have experienced a peach as it should taste. Before commercial production, old poets penned verses to these exquisite velvety globes. ...

Analysis: OTC Plan B common abroad.
August 7, 2006... Byline: MARA GORDON WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- American women may be one step closer to accessing emergency contraception without a prescription. Despite widespread over-the-counter access and acceptance worldwide, expanding access...

Analysis: Liability CPR for disaster docs.
August 7, 2006... Byline: LAURA GILCREST WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Doctors who rush to the scene of a disaster -- like last summer's Hurricane Katrina -- to render medical care are finding themselves in a less-expected sort of harm's way: They may not be...

Analysis: Stem cell firms moving overseas.
August 7, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- President Bush's embryonic stem cell policy appears to be driving U.S. companies to move promising research in this field overseas. Geron, which is based in Menlo Park, Calif., said...

Analysis: Mass. plan a la carte?
August 8, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- The governors of Michigan and New Mexico reaffirmed their commitment to achieve universal health coverage at the National Governors Association annual meeting this week. Both are...

Lonely kids could become unhealthy adults.
August 8, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Being a wallflower throughout childhood isn't just lonely -- it might make you an unhealthy adult, researchers report. In a prospective 26-year study of New Zealanders, an...

Caregiving: Choosing a hospital -- Part 1.
August 8, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN ALBANY, N.Y., Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Choosing a U.S. hospital can be a difficult process, and even careful selection is no guarantee against being one of the 2 million who get a hospital-acquired infection each year. It...

Analysis: Researcher bows to extremists.
August 8, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- The recent incident of a university researcher who ceased experiments involving monkeys due to pressure from animal-rights extremists has the pharmaceutical industry concerned activists...

More fresh produce in WIC may benefit all.
August 8, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- The proposal to add fruits and vegetables to the federal Women, Infants and Children food assistance program may also provide incentives for local groceries to expand their produce...

Analysis: Gene may be key to Parkinsons.
August 8, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Mayo Clinic researchers suggested Tuesday that the abnormal length of a key gene may be linked to substantially increasing the risk that a person will develop Parkinson's disease. "We...

Analysis: AED safety needs a jolt.
August 8, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- About one in five of the automatic external defibrillators -- the lunchbox-sized devices that deliver a jolt of electricity to the chest of patients suffering from sudden cardiac arrest --...

Eat To Live: No confidence in 'Organic'.
August 9, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON LE BUGUE, France, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- When it comes to food labeled "Organic," what you read is not necessarily what you get. This is the shocking discovery exposed by the Dallas Morning News after its investigative...

Commercial chemicals' safety unknown.
August 9, 2006... Byline: MICHAEL MCLAUGHLIN WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Thousands of untested industrial chemicals may threaten the public health -- despite a 30-year old law to review and regulate their use. Chemicals in commercial products often...

Street Pulse: Guarding Aricept: Eisai CEO.
August 9, 2006... WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- United Press International interviewed Eisai's U.S. President and Chief Operating Officer Lonnel Coats about the future direction of the company and its effort to protect the patent exclusivity of Aricept, the...

Bigger babies are not necessarily better.
August 9, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- We may coo over their folds and wrinkles, but today's infants have too much baby fat for their own good, a new study says. In a 22-year study of thousands of infants and...

Analysis: Vitamin C loss and Alzheimer's.
August 9, 2006... Byline: ASTARA MARCH PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 9 (UPI) -- A leaky blood-brain barrier that allows crucial antioxidants to spill out of the cerebrospinal fluid may contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease, researchers said this...

Analysis: SCHIP helps kids, but how long?
August 10, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Since the State Children's Heath Insurance Program for low-income children was launched by Congress in 1997, the number of uninsured children has been reduced by more than 20 percent,...

Caregiving: Choosing a hospital -- Part 2.
August 10, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN ALBANY, N.Y., Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Hospitals and physician offices are hiring "mystery shopping services" to pose as uninsured patients to help evaluate patient service performance as part of the new consumer-driven...

Male drive for beefy bodies unhealthy.
August 10, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- The bulging Olympic weight lifter's body is out of reach for most college-aged men, but that doesn't stop them from trying -- sometimes to their detriment, a new study says. ...

Analysis: Case renews online drug concerns.
August 10, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- U.K. doctors Thursday reported a case of a woman who developed cataracts and glaucoma from medication she purchased over the Internet, raising new concerns about the dangers of buying...

Analysis: Ending the Medicare two-step.
August 10, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- It is summer in Washington and Medicare and Congress are again dancing their dangerous two-step -- the formula used to calculate what physicians are paid for services dictates a potentially...

Eat To Live: Inspectors fault French fare.
August 11, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON LE BUGUE, France, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- With France the most popular tourist destination in the world, inspectors from the Finance Ministry have been working hard this summer to keep the country sanitized. Since the...

Analysis: Pfizer may rule in schizophrenia.
August 11, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- The global schizophrenia market will begin to decline after 2010 due to the launch of generics and Pfizer will be the only big pharma company with a strong presence in the sector after...

FluWrap: Indonesia worst, China first.
August 11, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER OXFORD, England, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Indonesia has reported two deaths from avian influenza this week, bringing the country's death toll from the disease to 44. The island nation now has the dubious honor of being the...

Analysis: Less is more for prostate CA?
August 11, 2006... Byline: ASTARA MARCH ANN ARBOR, Mich., Aug. 11 (UPI) -- More than half of men with low-risk prostate cancer would do better with a "watch and wait" approach to their illness, instead of receiving aggressive treatment that produces no...

Analysis: AIDS science, politics mingle.
August 11, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN TORONTO, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- More than 24,000 people began assembling in Toronto, Canada, Friday as the biannual International AIDS Conference convenes for the 16th time since 1985 -- a meeting often highlighted by...

Analysis: Backers eye fair-share revamp.
August 12, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Maryland's fair share healthcare law was struck down last month, but that does not necessarily mean the end of employer health-coverage mandates. Proponents of the measure -- which...

Eat To Live: Indians on wrong soda soapbox.
August 14, 2006... We've seen those photos of students in India demanding the soda's ban from school and university cafeterias, saying the India-made version contains a high level of pesticides. We've read Coca-Cola's largest plant in India has been accused...

Analysis: One drug holds AIDS at bay.
August 14, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN TORONTO, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Doctors said Monday that patients with well-controlled human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection might stop taking part of their antiretroviral therapy and still not have to worry about their...

Analysis: Aim high, new AIDS rules say.
August 14, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN TORONTO, Ontario, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- New guidelines for the treatment of HIV/AIDS urge doctors treating patients to "go for a home run" and use new weapons to bludgeon the deadly AIDS virus to undetectable levels. "In...

Low testosterone linked to high mortality.
August 14, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Low testosterone has been linked to higher mortality in older men, new research shows. In an eight-year analysis of male veterans, nearly 35 percent of men with low...

HealthWrap: Of kids, aging and white wine.
August 14, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN Contrary to the popular belief that many U.S. children are overscheduled, new research those who participate in organized activities function better. The conclusion, in the journal Social Policy Report, stems from an...

Analysis: Animal advocates storm D.C.
August 14, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Animal rights advocates held demonstrations outside the Washington, D.C., offices of several major pharmaceutical companies Monday to protest testing of potential medications on animals....

Caregiving: Choosing a hospital -- Part 3.
August 15, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN The U.S. government says there are 2 million hospital-acquired infections annually, which result in 90,000 deaths and cost $4.5 billion. So you'd think hygiene might be taken more seriously. "Most training for future...

FluWrap: Swan-dive in Michigan.
August 15, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER Two swans found in Michigan have been confirmed to have a form of H5N1 avian influenza that does not pose a risk in humans. The mute swans, both wild birds, were found on the shores of Lake Erie, at Pointe Mouillee...

Analysis: Why docs. don't say sorry.
August 15, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- The psychological difficulty of telling a patient about a medical error may do more to prevent physician disclosure than the litigious medical malpractice climate, a new study says. ...

Analysis: Novavax's flu shot shows promise.
August 15, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Novavax reported a net loss of $6.4 million for the second quarter, but some analysts continue to rate the company highly because they think it will ultimately cash in on its flu vaccine...

Analysis: Drugs defeat resistant AIDS.
August 15, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN TORONTO, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Almost half the patients infected with highly resistant strains of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) suppressed the microbe that causes AIDS to undetectable levels in their blood when the new...

How to keep that airport stress grounded.
August 15, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Just the thought of security lines at the airport on a regular day can make your face turn redder than, well, a Caribbean sunburn. But with the longer lines and added restrictions...

Analysis: Chemo riskier than believed?
August 15, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Chemotherapy for breast cancer may lead to more frequent serious complications that previously thought, according to a new study. Meanwhile, new therapies promise more patient-friendly...

The Age of Autism: Something Wicked -- 1.
August 16, 2006... Byline: DAN OLMSTED WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- The Combating Autism Act passed by the U.S. Senate earlier this month includes millions of dollars for research into possible environmental causes of autism. It's about time. ...

HealthWrap: Skin test for Alzheimer's?
August 16, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER U.S. researchers believe they have discovered an Alzheimer's test that is quick, easy and painless, in the form of a skin test. Scientists at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute of Maryland have found...

Analysis: Stroke costs to top $2.2 trill.
August 16, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Health professionals Wednesday urged increased funding for stroke research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) because expenditures due to the disorder are projected to top $2.2...

Arkansas halts childhood obesity rise.
August 16, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- An aggressive partnership between schools and state health agencies has stabilized Arkansas' childhood obesity rate over a three-year period, officials announced Wednesday. ...

Analysis: AIDS: many treated, more to go.
August 16, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN TORONTO, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- One in four people who desperately need anti-AIDS medication is getting treatment -- but that is far less than the original "3 by 5" goal -- three million people in treatment by the end of 2005...

Eat To Live: New obesity reports disturb.
August 17, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON Like the scientists warning of the dangers of global warming who are dismissed as emotional woolly liberals, those producing devastating predictions on the cost to personal health and government health budgets of...

Caregiving: Choosing a hospital -- Part 4.
August 17, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN Some 90,000 Americans die each year from hospital-acquired infections, but choose the right hospital and your chances of getting infection drop significantly. The trouble is, finding out the infection rate of a...

Analysis: Pitfalls for Part D's poorest?
August 17, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Medicare's widely-touted, feel-good announcement this week that its prescription drug benefit, Part D, will cost less than predicted belies some hidden trouble spots that have ramifications...

Analysis: Shire deal protects ADHD niche.
August 17, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Shire reached a deal with Barr to delay the launch of its generic Adderall XR until 2009 and some analysts see the move as a positive that will give Shire time to establish NRP104, a...

HealthWrap: Stroke risk spikes twice daily.
August 17, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER The day contains two "time zones," one in the morning and one in the evening, when the risk of stroke is greatest, researchers have found. The Japanese scientists, who published their findings in the Journal of...

Analysis: Medicaid doc pool shrinking.
August 17, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Patients in Medicaid -- the federal-state program that provides coverage for poor families -- are relying on a shrinking number of providers for care, a new study says. While this is...

Analysis: Why doping tests are dependable.
August 18, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- As battered Tour de France winner Floyd Landis claims his innocence in an international doping scandal, experts say the tests used to detect synthetic drugs in athletes are...

FDA wants more data on Lilly's Arxxant.
August 18, 2006... INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Eli Lilly said Friday the Food and Drug Administration wants more data before approving Arxxant for diabetic retinopathy. The agency made the request in an approvable letter for Arxxant. Lilly did not...

Analysis: TB strain kills HIV patients.
August 18, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN TORONTO, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- A fast-killing strain of tuberculosis -- virtually untouchable by any drug available -- has ravaged a South African hospital. Researchers said this week that the aggressive infection killed...

Eat To Live: Yogurt gets functional.
August 18, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON LE BUGUE, France, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- To an American, dairy cabinets in French supermarkets would come as something of a surprise. Milk is either whole or "half-cream." There's none with added vitamins or nutrients. And...

HealthWrap: Fitness help for mentally ill.
August 18, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN The British government has begun an effort to improve the physical fitness of people with mental illness. Those living with severe mental illness have much worse levels of physical health and are more likely to...

The muddy equation that fuels AIDS.
August 18, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN TORONTO, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Betty Makoni is one of the foot soldiers who battle the social complications of the AIDS epidemic in Zimbabwe in southern Africa. "Eight girls a day come to us. These are girls who have been...

Analysis:Targeted cancer drugs rise to top.
August 18, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- An analyst report released Friday projects Sanofi-Aventis' Eloxatin and Taxotere will lose their top spots in the oncology market by 2015 and could be replaced by targeted therapies from...

Analysis:AIDS docs try to ease pill burden.
August 20, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN TORONTO, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- The reality that infection with human immunodeficiency virus -- the microbe that causes AIDS -- means lifetime treatment, has prompted several research teams to find ways of lessening the burden...