UPI Health Business articles from June 2007

UPI Health Business archives from June 2007

Ped Med: What's in a drug label?
June 1, 2007... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ SAN FRANCISCO, June 1 (UPI) -- By numerous estimates, up to 70 percent of medicines are doled out to U.S. minors "off label," meaning they carry neither official sanction nor formal instructions for such use. ...

Eat To Live: The high, hidden cost of milk.
June 1, 2007... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- The search for new car fuel options could affect the cost of your milk, yogurt and cheese as soon as this summer. Turning land over to corn grown to produce ethanol could see a rise in the...

Health tips: Getting beach ready.
June 1, 2007... Byline: ALEX CUKAN Men losing bad skin, fat and back hair before beach More and more men are turning to cosmetic surgery techniques such as Botox, Microdermabrasion and liposuction before hitting the beaches this summer. "Women...

Analysis: Corporate giving -- with strings.
June 1, 2007... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- Multinational businesses -- desperate to solve their public image crisis -- used to be content to simply shell out donations. Now, they want a share of the action, executives from some of the...

Analysis: Scandal heats up as ASCO begins.
June 1, 2007... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, June 1 (UPI) -- More than 31,000 cancer and health care professionals crowded into Chicago's spacious McCormick Place Convention Center Friday as the 43rd annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical...

Analysis: Less is more for cancer patients.
June 4, 2007... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, June 4 (UPI) -- Researchers suggested Monday that by giving less therapy, cancer patients do just as well -- and with less inconvenience and fewer unwanted side effects. At the 43rd annual meeting of the...

Eat To Live: Beef company sues USDA.(Recipe)
June 4, 2007... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- Would you want to know the beef you eat is safe from "mad cow" disease? Or would you prefer just to hope for the best that it's not infected with the disease that eats fatally away at the...

Analysis: Bayer drug aids in liver cancer.
June 4, 2007... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, June 4 (UPI) -- After 30 years and 100 failed clinical trials, researchers said Monday they have an oral drug that extends survival for people stricken with deadly liver cancer. "We now have with sorafenib...

Analysis: Antipsychotics linked to death.
June 4, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- Both newer atypical antipsychotics and older conventional drugs in this class increase the risk of death when used in older adults with dementia, according to a study released Monday. ...

Analysis: Medicare crisis looms, docs say.
June 4, 2007... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- Facing down the perennial threat of Medicare physician payment cuts, a leading physicians' group said Monday slashing what doctors are paid would keep many seniors from accessing care. ...

Health Tips: Avoiding allergies' sting.
June 5, 2007... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ Out with the ouch It's nearly summertime, and living with insect-bite allergies is anything but easy. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology cautions that as the warmer weather brings out the...

Interview: Disease expert on rare TB case.
June 5, 2007... Byline: ROSALIE WESTENSKOW WASHINGTON, June 5 (UPI) -- Recent trans-Atlantic air travel by a man infected with a rare strain of tuberculosis has raised serious public health concerns and exposed a communication meltdown between medical...

Caregiving: Is TB a worry?
June 5, 2007... Byline: ALEX CUKAN ALBANY, N.Y., June 5 (UPI) -- The trouble with being a caregiver -- especially for the elderly, who are frail -- is that we tend to get germ-phobic. We carry bottles of alcohol-based cleaner in all of our pockets and we...

Analysis: Pharmion impresses at ASCO.
June 5, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 5 (UPI) -- Pharmion is not usually a company on which Wall Street focuses heading in to the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology, but the firm's presentations over the past...

Analysis: Health IT a bipartisan issue?
June 5, 2007... Byline: ROSALIE WESTENSKOW WASHINGTON, June 5 (UPI) -- Health information technology may be the first aspect of healthcare reform to wriggle through the political labyrinth surrounding the issue and find consensus, IT advocates said...

Analysis: Do docs listen when money talks?
June 5, 2007... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, June 5 (UPI) -- The chance to get paid more is just one motivation for hospitals to improve the quality of their care, a new study says. "Hospitals across the board are getting better," said study...

Eat To Live: Mark of Mediterranean diet.
June 6, 2007... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, June 6 (UPI) -- As long ago as the early 1990s, non-profit food issues advocacy group Oldways developed the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid. It was responding to what it calls the low-fat mistake promoted in the...

Analysis: Stem cells without the embryo.
June 6, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 6 (UPI) -- Scientists say they have developed a method in mice for creating the equivalent of embryonic stem cells without using eggs or destroying an embryo, a finding that could help circumvent the...

Analysis: Court allows retiree 'exception'.
June 6, 2007... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, June 6 (UPI) -- Employers are now allowed to change the health benefits they offer retirees when they become eligible for Medicare. In a surprise reversal of an earlier decision, the U.S. Court of...

Analysis: House defeats cloning bill.
June 7, 2007... Byline: TODD ZWILLICH WASHINGTON, June 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. House of Representatives defeated a measure Wednesday banning the use of cloned human embryos in reproduction. Lawmakers defeated the measure despite opposition of virtually...

HealthSmarts: Beware the hookah.
June 7, 2007... Byline: DR. TASNEEM BHATIA According to the World Health Organization, water-pipe tobacco smoking is becoming a global epidemic. Water pipes, also known as hookahs, narghiles, shishas and gozas, have been used for centuries in other...

Analysis: Gilead may get boost from Viread.
June 7, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 7 (UPI) -- Gilead's HIV drug Viread may get a boost from a phase 3 trial showing it's better for treating hepatitis B than the company's currently approved drug for the condition, Hepsera. "This...

Analysis: New bill to expand drug discount.
June 7, 2007... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, June 7 (UPI) -- A bill introduced Thursday would expand a program that lowers drug prices for hospitals and clinics that serve the poor. "This program is vital, needed and important," said Rep. Bobby...

Analysis: Stem cell bill to Bush again.
June 8, 2007... Byline: TODD ZWILLICH WASHINGTON, June 8 (UPI) -- Congress sent a bill to the White House Thursday calling for expanded federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, though only after President Bush had already promised to again veto...

PedMed: Drug numbers keep rising.
June 8, 2007... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ SAN FRANCISCO, June 8 (UPI) -- Recently released research shows a steady rise in the use of prescription drugs by children and adolescents, particularly among girls. Numerous studies document the favoritism shown...

Health Tips: Summer slimming.
June 8, 2007... Byline: ALEX CUKAN Eating to slim down Forty-seven percent of women identify their body type more with that of Rosie O'Donnell than those of Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Garner, Cameron Diaz or Nicole Richie. Although 37 percent of the...

Eat To Live: Eat more, exercise, lose more.
June 8, 2007... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, June 8 (UPI) -- "Exercising makes me fat" may sound a crazy justification for not keeping fit. But it's not such a rare declaration as you might imagine. People who exercise often find themselves hungry...

Analysis: MRI or X-ray for mammography?
June 8, 2007... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, June 8 (UPI) -- New research suggests that magnetic resonance imaging, when performed by experienced doctors and technicians, may be a better way of detecting early and more dangerous breast cancers than standard...

Analysis: GOP stakes health-reform claim.
June 8, 2007... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, June 8 (UPI) -- Republican presidential candidates are fighting for a slice of the healthcare reform pie -- in their own way. "You can't have a major issue and not have a position on it," said Robert...

Analysis: Animal group faults USDA report.
June 8, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 8 (UPI) -- An animal rights group says a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report vastly underestimates the number of animals in research facilities, and the organization is pushing for the...

EatToLive: Not as healthy as we think.
June 11, 2007... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, June 11 (UPI) -- After all that's been written over the last year about trans fats, calories consumed against calories dispatched through exercise, and the vital importance of eating breakfast, how adequate...

Analysis: Shake-up for Alzheimer's market.
June 11, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 11 (UPI) -- Elan/Wyeth's bapineuzumab, the first biologic agent expected to win approval for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, will triple the market for medications for the brain illness to $8.8...

Analysis: Insomnia costs thousands.
June 12, 2007... Byline: ED SUSMAN MINNEAPOLIS, June 12 (UPI) -- Insomnia is expensive for the patient and for the employer of the person who has trouble getting to sleep at night. Researchers said Monday that a worker who suffers from insomnia costs...

Analysis: The 'Grannie Mae' solution?
June 12, 2007... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, June 12 (UPI) -- Paying for long-term care does not have to mean seniors -- and the country -- go broke, health experts said Monday. A good system "supports life -- really living -- instead of simply...

Analysis: FDA concerned about Sanofi drug.
June 12, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 12 (UPI) -- Food and Drug Administration reviewers say Sanofi-aventis' obesity treatment, Zimulti, which goes before an advisory panel Wednesday, is effective in helping patients lose weight, but...

Caregiving: Managing diabetes.
June 13, 2007... Byline: ALEX CUKAN ALBANY, N.Y., June 13 (UPI) -- About 85 percent of the complications of diabetes could be avoided with proper blood sugar management, but all too often a lack of information on diabetes or how to manage blood sugar...

EatToLive: Not as effective as they say?(Recipe)
June 13, 2007... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- What happens in the United States percolates outwards everywhere else sooner or later -- which is what irritates the Nike-wearing, Disney-watching, iPod-listening French so much, and how...

Analysis: Street likes Celgene's Revlimid.
June 13, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- Wall Street is betting Celgene's Revlimid will win European approval, which could drive sales of the cancer drug outside the United States to jump to $800 million by 2010. Matthew...

Analysis: State-quality glass empty, full.
June 13, 2007... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- Healthcare is improving nationwide, but no state is safe from serious quality lapses, according to a new U.S. study. "Each state has something positive they can point to," said Edward...

Analysis: Panel stops Sanofi obesity drug.
June 13, 2007... Byline: TODD ZWILLICH WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel rejected a Sanofi-Aventis obesity drug Wednesday on worries that it causes depression and suicidal thoughts. The panel unanimously...

Analysis: Health IT's privacy factor.
June 13, 2007... Byline: ROSALIE WESTENSKOW WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- Uploading healthcare records nationwide to an electronic system could increase efficiency and lower cost but, if done incorrectly, may pose serious threats to patient privacy, experts...

Analysis: Sound sleep in the pipeline.
June 14, 2007... Byline: ED SUSMAN MINNEAPOLIS, June 14 (UPI) -- For people who have trouble getting to sleep at night, there is help on the way, researchers said in Minnesota. The researchers at the 21st annual meeting of the Associated Professional...

HealthSmarts: 10 steps to a good physical.
June 14, 2007... Byline: DR. TASNEEM BHATIA WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- For years, the routine physical has been a standard of American healthcare. As children, we were reluctantly dragged into pediatricians' office every summer sometime before the first...

Analysis: Bad care for poor, bad for all?
June 14, 2007... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- States with the worst healthcare for the poor have the worst healthcare for everyone, health experts said this week. "Health system performance -- which affects everyone -- is tied to...

Analysis: Sanofi loss upsets obesity field.
June 14, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- Sanofi-aventis' shares dipped after a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel rejected its obesity drug, Zimulti, but Wall Street thinks the ramifications of the committee's vote...

Analysis: Is grass greener in Canada?
June 15, 2007... Byline: ROSALIE WESTENSKOW WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- As the push for universal healthcare access gains momentum in the United States, many of the countries seen as potential models for a new American system are themselves edging away...

Analysis: The cost of going it alone.
June 15, 2007... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, June 15 (UPI) -- For many Californians in the individual and small-group markets, skyrocketing healthcare costs mean benefit drop-offs or spiking premiums, a new study says. Some healthcare reform...

Health Tips: Appreciating, caring for dad.
June 15, 2007... Byline: ALEX CUKAN Few are donation-worthy Father's Day expresses the need for fathers to be appreciated, but research seems to indicate sperm-donors may be underappreciated. Sociologist Rene Almeling studied the operations of U.S....

Analysis: Novartis' Prexige shows promise.
June 15, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 15 (UPI) -- Novartis said a new study shows its COX-2 inhibitor Prexige may be safer than ibuprofen in osteoarthritis patients, but some analysts are not convinced that this will be enough to get it...

Analysis: Insurers sell marketing limits.
June 15, 2007... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, June 15 (UPI) -- Seven of the largest insurers selling private Medicare fee-for-service plans have voluntarily agreed to suspend sales efforts, amid numerous reports that shady salespeople were taking...

Analysis: Encysive's loss is Gilead's gain.
June 18, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Gilead's pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment, Letairis, and the drug may get an unexpected boost from the agency's rejection of...

Analysis: Families struggle with GI care.
June 18, 2007... Byline: ROSALIE WESTENSKOW WASHINGTON, June 18 (UPI) -- Managing a wounded soldier's care becomes a full-time job for some family members, who sometimes spend months, or even years, trying to get their loved ones adequate treatment,...

Analysis: Bird flu fears reignited.
June 19, 2007... Byline: ED SUSMAN TORONTO, June 19 (UPI) -- While the threat of a bird flu pandemic continues to hang over the world, authorities in the United Kingdom now believe a second strain of avian flu -- previously considered of little human risk...

Caregiving: New hope in hospital care.
June 19, 2007... Byline: ALEX CUKAN ALBANY, N.Y., June 19 (UPI) -- A survey of 3,000 U.S. nurses this week found that 59 percent reported their facilities have a standard group of strategies to prevent hospital-acquired central line infections. The trouble...

Analysis: GSK's future may be looking up.
June 19, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 19 (UPI) -- GlaxoSmithKline's Avandia prescriptions appear to be stabilizing after dropping by one-third, suggesting concerns about heart risks with the diabetes drug have leveled off. The...

Analysis: Heart surgeons under the knife.
June 19, 2007... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, June 19 (UPI) -- A severe shortage of heart and lung surgeons is looming, and -- since training new ones takes 12 years -- it won't be fixed in a heartbeat, a doctor group said this week. "This is the...

Analysis: Burning smokers to help kids.
June 20, 2007... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, June 20 (UPI) -- A hefty cigarette tax increase could help smoke the problem of uninsured children, children's health advocates said this week. "A higher cigarette tax is a win-win solution," said...

Analysis: 'Sicko' gives Congress fever.
June 20, 2007... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, June 20 (UPI) -- In an atmosphere that was part political rally and part tent revival, film director Michael Moore brought his scathing healthcare critique, "Sicko," to Congress Wednesday. "You wouldn't...

Analysis: Alkermes impresses the Street.
June 20, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 20 (UPI) -- Alkermes impressed Wall Street at its Analyst Day, leading some to forecast a bright future for its alcoholism treatment, Vivitrol, and its schizophrenia medication, Risperdal Consta. ...

Analysis: Bush again blocks stem cell bill.
June 21, 2007... Byline: TODD ZWILLICH WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- President Bush vetoed an embryonic stem cell research bill, blocking for the second time in a year a measure to allow more federal spending on such research. Congress twice has passed...

Eat To Live: Non-profit teaches food-power.
June 21, 2007... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- In her early 40s, a decade where most of us believe we are on a settled trajectory, Liesel Flashenberg changed her entire life. A successful consultant in community development, she had...

Eat to Live: Crunch time for sweet cereal?
June 21, 2007... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- Has Kellogg just dropped the ball? It looks like it's just missed a golden opportunity to give a whole new lease of life to its original breakfast cereal. The world's leading cereal...

Analysis: Pfizer move hurts Coley.
June 21, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- Coley shares plunged after Pfizer discontinued trials of the biotech firm's lung cancer drug, but Pfizer was dealt a blow itself by the Food and Drug Administration's surprising delay in...

Analysis: Parkinson's great genetic hope?
June 21, 2007... Byline: ADRIANNE APPEL NEW YORK, June 21 (UPI) -- In the first study of its kind, genes injected into the brains of 12 Parkinson's patients significantly improved symptoms for up to one year, scientists said Thursday. The early study...

CostRx: 'Sick' of for-profit healthcare?(Interview)
June 22, 2007... WASHINGTON, June 22 (UPI) -- Although one letter shy of documeister Michael Moore's provocative new documentary "Sicko," author Jonathan Cohn's new book "Sick" uses a technique similar to Moore's: presenting real-life nightmares of people...

Health Tips: Take a vacation, just go.
June 22, 2007... Byline: ALEX CUKAN Take that vacation and take it easy Surveys show more than one-third of Americans do not use all of their allotted vacation time -- but they should, says a U.S. expert. "Taking a vacation helps rest your mind and...

Analysis: Novo Nordisk drug may fall short.
June 22, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 22 (UPI) -- Shares of Novo Nordisk jumped after the company released positive data for liraglutide, but Wall Street thinks the diabetes drug may fail to measure up to Amylin's Byetta LAR. "It...

Eat to Live: Controls to keep food clean.(Recipe)
June 25, 2007... Byline: JULIA WATSON LE BUGUE, France, June 25 (UPI) -- During a recent trip round Indochina, the food was as much a marvel as some of the local sites. Full of contrasts of flavor and texture, it was wonderfully scented and spiced, easy to...

Interview: Health cost relief in sight?
June 25, 2007... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) -- United Press International interviewed Michael Thompson, a principal in health practice at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and author of "Behind the Numbers: Healthcare Cost Trends for 2008." Q:...

Analysis: Hotel glasses in AMA crosshairs.
June 25, 2007... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, June 25 (UPI) -- The cleanliness of drinking glasses in hotel rooms grabbed the attention of the American Medical Association House of Delegates as it debated whether the organization needs to take action to...

Analysis: Amylin's Symlin shows promise.
June 25, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) -- Amylin presented data at the American Diabetes Association meeting suggesting Symlin improves control of diabetes when used in combination with another drug, leading some analysts to...

Analysis: Can gov't force TB treatment?
June 25, 2007... Byline: ROSALIE WESTENSKOW WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) -- Controlling tuberculosis requires a massive effort, and although many communities effectively track and treat the disease, success relies heavily on patient cooperation, experts say....

HealthTips: Rules of the (safe) road.
June 26, 2007... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ Keep a cool head in summer heat Rather than getting hot under the collar when on the road during the sizzling summer months, experts advise keeping your cool for safety's sake. Climbing temperatures can lead...

Eat To Live: Potatoes may check weight.
June 26, 2007... Byline: JULIA WATSON LE BUGUE, France, June 26 (UPI) -- Pity the poor potato. Has any vegetable been so maligned? In England in 1733, it was described by writer and garden designer Stephen Switzer, who worked on England's Castle Howard and...

Analysis: AMA, vets team to battle disease.
June 26, 2007... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, June 26 (UPI) -- Leaders of the American Medical Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association have pledged new cooperation in the war on animal-borne diseases that ultimately affect humans. In...

Analysis: Senate biologics bill unveiled.
June 26, 2007... Byline: TODD ZWILLICH WASHINGTON, June 26 (UPI) -- Details are emerging in the Senate about a deal to provide regulated follow-on biologic drugs for the first time. Under an outline released Monday, the measure would give brand-name...

The Age of Autism: Study sees vaccine risk.
June 26, 2007... Byline: DAN OLMSTED WASHINGTON, June 26 (UPI) -- A new, privately funded survey finds vaccinated U.S. children have a significantly higher risk of neurological disorders -- including autism -- than unvaccinated children. In one...

Analysis: AMA scrutinizes in-store clinics.
June 26, 2007... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, June 26 (UPI) -- A possible conflict of interest could exist with pharmacies that also run mini-health clinics, delegates to the American Medical Association said Tuesday. The AMA's House of Delegates call...

Analysis: Spectrum riding on satraplatin.
June 26, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 26 (UPI) -- Spectrum may get a boost from a new deal licensing satraplatin rights in Japan and the filing this week for European approval of the prostate cancer therapy. Spectrum's partner, GPC...

Caregiving: Hospital heart data useful?
June 27, 2007... Byline: ALEX CUKAN ALBANY, N.Y., June 27 (UPI) -- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released its first comparison of death rates from heart attack and heart failure, which some characterize as a baby step in addressing...

Analysis: AMA cools video game objections.
June 27, 2007... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, June 27 (UPI) -- The Darth Vader-like image of video games sucking the psychic life out of young teenagers was ratcheted down a number of notches as the American Medical Association's House of Delegates held up...

Analysis: Street split on Millennium.
June 27, 2007... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, June 27 (UPI) -- Sales of Millennium's Velcade grew by 30 percent in May, leading some Wall Street analysts to forecast higher sales of the cancer drug for the year. Jim Reddoch, an analyst with...

Analysis: Senate mulls doc gift disclosure.
June 28, 2007... Byline: LAURA GILCREST WASHINGTON, June 27 (UPI) -- Whether it's the flow of "valid scientific information" that marks gatherings between doctors and drug industry representatives -- or the flow of expensive wine in luxurious restaurants...

Analysis: Medical homes cut care disparity.
June 28, 2007... Byline: ROSALIE WESTENSKOW WASHINGTON, June 28 (UPI) -- Patients who belong to "medical homes" -- medical practices that provide patients with a sense of consistency and accessibility -- experience none of the racial disparity commonly...