UPI Health Business articles from November 2006

UPI Health Business archives from November 2006

Analysis: Moving on up -- to poorer health.
November 1, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- For some of America's poorest citizens, moving to a better neighborhood does not mean improved health. Instead, they may be as much as twice as likely to die of diseases like heart...

Analysis: Altruism and the bottom line.
November 1, 2006... Byline: LAURA HEATON WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- In the effort to confront some of the reported socioeconomic and racial disparities in the U.S. healthcare system, a new initiative comes from one of the most vilified actors in the mix: the...

Ped Med: Clash of the researchers.
November 1, 2006... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Two independent researchers who gained entry to an immunization-information repository used by government scientists to clear vaccines of blame in the rise of autism diagnoses came up...

Undiagnosed adult ADHD may affect many.
November 1, 2006... Byline: AARON RUPAR WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Many adults with a depressive, bipolar or anxiety disorder may also have undiagnosed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, according to a medical-claims analysis sponsored by the...

Breast cancer killing more black women.
November 1, 2006... Byline: AMBER CORRIN WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- African-American women are more likely to suffer worse outcomes of breast cancer than Hispanic and Caucasian women, according to a recent study by researchers at the University of Texas M.D....

Analysis: Biogen Idec posts strong Q3.
November 1, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Biogen Idec posted robust third-quarter results, driven by strong performances from Tysabri and Avonex that exceeded Wall Street's expectations. Michael Aberman, an analyst with Credit...

Analysis: Hearts recover with drugs/device.
November 1, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN BOSTON, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- British doctors reported Wednesday that the combination of a mechanical device and a cocktail of drugs reversed heart failure in a small group of patients supposedly suffering from "end-stage"...

Analysis: New lung cancer screening tool?
November 1, 2006... Byline: ASTARA MARCH ROCHESTER, N.Y., Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Computer software that enhances plain chest x-rays and identifies areas that need further work-up is now being tested in China and could be available in the United States in the next...

Analysis:The missing piece of the race gap.
November 2, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- In the United States today, black residents overall can expect to live six fewer years than their white counterparts, and the main culprits are cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes,...

Laser disappoints against eye disease.
November 2, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Laser treatments do not guard against age-related macular degeneration and vision loss, a major, multi-clinic study has concluded. The Complications of Age-related Macular...

Analysis: Ancient medicine useful today.
November 2, 2006... Byline: ANNE DECECCO WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Two new studies, one in animals, suggest that ancient medicine may have a lot more to offer than traditional drugs. A study in the November issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism Journal...

Patch new option for treating ADHD.
November 2, 2006... Byline: LEAH CARLINER WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Medication for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, can now be delivered through a patch, researchers reported Friday. The patch, called DAYTRANA, is meant...

Study sheds light on myelination process.
November 2, 2006... Byline: AARON RUPAR WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- A new finding has opened the door to research that could help scientists learn more about ways to treat the root causes of diseases such as multiple sclerosis. The study, published in the...

HealthWrap: SIDS and nerve abnormalities.
November 2, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER LONDON, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Sudden infant death syndrome, much feared by the parents of young children, may not be as random as once thought. According to new research conducted by scientists from Children's Hospital in...

Analysis: IT, evening care lag in U.S.
November 2, 2006... Byline: LAURA GILCREST WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- A new report shows dramatic differences among seven developed countries in adopting changes that experts say are the building blocks of a sleek, turbo-charged system of primary healthcare...

Analysis: Analysts mixed on Altana.
November 2, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Altana's third-quarter profits rose 42 percent, beating Wall Street's expectations, but analysts were split in their rating of the stock going forward. "The figures are quite strong,...

Analysis: Medicare pay for performance?
November 2, 2006... Byline: KRISTYN ECOCHARD WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- With out of control health-care spending gobbling up 15 percent of the United States' Gross Domestic Product (GDP) each year, economists, politicians and health-care experts are...

Alcohol benefits vary by gender, intake.
November 3, 2006... Byline: KRISTYN ECOCHARD WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Go ahead, have that beer while you watch the game -- but make sure it's just one. Starting in the 1950s, studies focused primarily on the hazards of alcohol. Then, with the landmark...

FluWrap: China's dirty secret.
November 3, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER LONDON, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- In an apparent failure to learn from the lessons of the 2003 SARS epidemic, the Chinese government has been holding back vital information relating to the emergence of a new strain of avian...

Ped Med: Compelling clues to autism puzzle.
November 3, 2006... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Some provocative, though not proof-positive, clues to the autism puzzle are starting to emerge from research investigating differences in children with the disorder. Among the most...

Eat To Live: Counting fast-food calories.(Recipe)
November 3, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON RYE, England, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants calories listed alongside food choices in fast-food outlets. It's not a bad idea, the eating-out equivalent of pasting a photo of a...

Analysis: Alnylam taking lead in RNAi.
November 3, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Alnylam's third-quarter earnings beat Wall Street's expectations and the company is fast emerging as the leader in the RNAi space, since Sirna is being acquired by Merck. Michael King,...

CDC: Chronic fatigue syndrome real, brutal.
November 3, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- The CDC Friday launched a campaign to advance knowledge of chronic fatigue syndrome, a debilitating illness that goes widely underdiagnosed in the United States. Although...

Analysis: Study targets MS root cause.
November 4, 2006... LOS ANGELES, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- A newly discovered protein called Par-3 plays an important role in creating the myelin sheaths on nerves outside the spinal cord, and might help clinicians create treatments for serious neurological disorders like...

Analysis: Something fresh in Denmark?
November 6, 2006... Byline: LEAH CARLINER WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- The United States and Canada have vastly different healthcare systems, but still have something in common: Both are lagging behind other countries in moving toward nationwide electronic...

Black suicide attempt rate is high.
November 6, 2006... Byline: LEAH CARLINER WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The attempted suicide rate of blacks living in the United States is higher than expected at 4 percent, according to a new study. The study, which was composed of data collected by the...

Eat To Live: Sichuan heat for health.(Recipe)
November 6, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON LONDON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Ask London enthusiasts of Chinese take-out what their favorite dishes are and they're likely to grin and say Number This or Number That with an order of Number The Other on the side. Or some...

Analysis: Animal advocates' homes raided.
November 6, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The FBI and the Santa Monica Police Department have raided the homes of several animal rights advocates in California, an indication that law enforcement authorities are intensifying their...

Experts pinpoint best cancer treatments.
November 6, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- A series of new international studies on cancer therapies has identified treatments that may improve survival and limit harm to patients, researchers reported Monday. A phase-III...

Analysis: Claim denials made clearer.
November 6, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Health plan enrollees baffled over why their health insurance claims were rejected may get some relief, as a lawsuit settlement announced Monday could lead to clearer claim rejections. ...

Analysis: Three-way punch to lung cancer.
November 6, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Doctors said Monday that radiation treatment combined with chemotherapy after lung cancer surgery can double the survival time for patients with cancer that hasn't yet spread through the...

HealthWrap: Sex Ed. and public opinion.
November 7, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER LONDON, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Interesting news from the United States, as the country heads for the polls. In what appears to be a startling revelation about the country's attitudes to sex education, the majority of American...

Caregiving: Lesson from Buffalo -- 5.
November 7, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN BUFFALO, N.Y., Nov. 7 (UPI) -- In the aftermath of a natural disaster, whether it's a flood or 7 feet of snow, there is no sweeter sight than the appearance of the National Guard. Sure they bring manpower,...

Analysis: Elections hold sway for health.
November 7, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- This Election Day voters are taking health to the ballot box through several state initiatives and their views on medical research, experts say. A series of midterm ballot...

Analysis: New deivce prevents breast burns.
November 7, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- State-of-the-art radiation technology can markedly reduce the risk of skin burns that often occur in women being treated to prevent recurrence of breast cancer following lumpectomy surgery....

Analysis: Lipid tests and Hodgkin's?
November 7, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Researchers suggested Tuesday that it would be cost-effective to screen survivors of Hodgkin's disease -- a cancer of the lymph system that often strikes young persons -- for high levels of...

Ped Med: Mixed bag of mercury test results.
November 8, 2006... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Thus far, research looking at mercury levels in children with and without autism has produced mixed results. Studies that measured concentrations of the metal in the blood, urine...

Analysis: Dems' 'Plan B' for Part D.
November 8, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Democrats, now in control of the House, have vowed to make the ability of Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices a priority for the next session of Congress. Proponents say allowing the...

Eat To Live: Real food and sports for kids.
November 8, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON LONDON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- It's dismal to learn that a British company has come up with an exercise machine for kids designed to make them work out while playing computer games. It's a step machine linked to a...

FluWrap: Suspected Indonesia death.
November 8, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER LONDON Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Earlier this week an Indonesian teenager died of what appeared to be avian influenza, but tests have yet to confirm the exact cause of death. The 17-year-old, who has only been identified as...

Analysis: Stopping prostate cancer spread.
November 8, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN PHILADELPHIA Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Researchers said that a new look at a critical study on treatment of prostate cancer indicates that use of anti-hormone therapy can prevent spread of the disease. But another group of...

Analysis: Teva faces competitor threats.
November 8, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Teva posted strong third-quarter results that beat Wall Street's expectations, but analysts think 2007 will be challenging for the company as many of its generic products will face...

Analysis: Medicare tops Dems' agenda.
November 8, 2006... Byline: TODD ZWILLICH WASHINGTON Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Medicare will be among the first programs to face changes when Democrats take control of the House next year, the party's leader said Wednesday. In her first news conference as the...

Interview: Why we all take risks.
November 8, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Bad habits are tough to break -- apparently even when you know why they're bad for you. People bombarded with health information are all too aware of why smoking, tanning or drinking...

HealthWrap: Conceiving harder for smokers.
November 9, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER LONDON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Women who are heavy smokers are liable to find it more difficult to conceive, new research has shown, as it damages the lining of the womb. The study, published in the journal Human...

Analysis: 11M units Perrigo tabs recalled.
November 9, 2006... Byline: TODD ZWILLICH WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A Michigan company has recalled as many as 11 million bottles of store-brand acetaminophen tablets because of possible contamination with pieces of metal in the pills, federal health...

Analysis: Docs don't ask about cost.
November 9, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Doctors prescribing medication rarely ask patients if they can afford them -- and patients are not likely to volunteer the information, said a study released this week. An estimated 47...

Stem cells a priority for new Congress.
November 9, 2006... Byline: KRISTYN ECOCHARD WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Stem cell issues emerged as an important platform during the midterm elections, and despite some moral concerns the new Congressional leadership is poised to bring the issue to the...

The Age of Autism: Still's and Pink's.
November 9, 2006... Byline: DAN OLMSTED WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Does it matter that Donald T., the first child diagnosed with autism in the 1930s, also had a rare and mysterious autoimmune disorder that nearly killed him? The disorder, called Still's...

New insights into Kaposi's sarcoma.
November 9, 2006... PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The virus that causes Kaposi's sarcoma works by destroying tumor suppressors inside cells, say researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. Kaposi's sarcoma is found in elderly men of Jewish, Mediterranean...

Analysis: Cancer vaccines to top $8B.
November 9, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The cancer vaccine market will grow from its current level of $481 million to more than $8 billion by 2012, with five new approvals anticipated to come as early as 2008, an analyst report...

Analysis: Health mandate or blind date?
November 10, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Voters may be ready for sweeping healthcare reform -- or not; the outcome of the midterm elections has been interpreted by congressional Democrats and others as a showing of support for a...

Ped Med: Autism guards its secrets.
November 10, 2006... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Exactly what and even how much doctors know about autism and its causes is a matter of debate. Vaccine makers and most public health authorities thought long ago the piles of...

Eat To Live: Learn to love offal.(Recipe)
November 10, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- On Nov. 9, 2006, the $260 steak reached Washington, D.C. Among the capital's foodies this induced almost the same shock that has engulfed Republicans this week. BLT Steak, the New...

Analysis: Vioxx-like drugs fight cancer?
November 10, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Researchers suggested this week that drugs such as Vioxx -- Merck's painkiller that was taken off the market when it was linked to heart disease -- might help prevent spread of prostate...

Analysis: The politics of health reform.
November 10, 2006... Byline: AARON RUPAR WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Healthcare reform will emerge as a key political issue over the next two years, says Joel E. Miller, senior vice president for operations at the National Coalition on Health Care. ...

Analysis: Genentech buying Tanox for $919M.
November 10, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Analysts reacted enthusiastically Friday to Genentech's deal to buy Tanox for $919 million, predominantly because it eliminates Genentech's responsibility to pay royalties to Tanox on...

Choosing the right pain reliever.
November 13, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Despite a recent recall of 11 million bottles of generic acetaminophen, the medication likely poses an "essentially nil" risk to consumers, experts say. Perrigo Co., which...

Analysis: Insurance horizons expanding.
November 13, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Steps that many countries are taking toward greater privatization of their healthcare systems are changing the global health-insurance market, according to a recent report. "While the...

Eat To Live: What is organic farmed fish?(Recipe)
November 13, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Chilean sea bass is now back on sale at Whole Foods. It's been seven years since they have sold the fish that features high on the danger list of unsustainable stocks. But one small...

Analysis: Erbitux to top head/neck cancer.
November 13, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Erbitux, made jointly by ImClone, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck KGaA, will become the market leader for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck by 2015, achieving sales of $250...

Malaria drug for metabolic syndrome?
November 13, 2006... Byline: ANNE DECECCO WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- New research suggests metabolic syndrome, a disorder that affects one in four American adults, may be treatable with a malaria drug called chloroquine. The drug's potential was...

Diabetes drug stalls heart disease.
November 13, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A commonly prescribed drug to treat diabetes apparently prevents changes in the walls of blood vessels -- changes that may lead to heart attacks and strokes, U.S. researchers said Monday. ...

Analysis: Insurers unveil reform package.
November 14, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. health-insurance industry this week unveiled a plan for universal health coverage that has something for everyone. The plan, with elements intended to have appeal across the...

Research: Teens do think rationally.
November 14, 2006... Byline: LEAH CARLINER WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Just because an adolescent decides to drive drunk -- a bad choice, to be sure -- doesn't mean he or she hasn't thought about the risk. In fact, adolescents are more likely to consider...

HeathWrap: Red meat increases cancer risk.
November 14, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER LONDON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Female meat eaters in the United States could be putting themselves at increased risk of developing breast cancer, new research has shown. Researchers from Harvard University's Medical...

New look at anti-depressant/suicide risk.
November 14, 2006... Byline: AARON RUPAR WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- The National Institute of Mental Health is funding a variety of new research projects that hope to shed light on the possible link between a particular type of anti-depressant medication and...

Analysis: ICDs: Can't take it with ya.
November 14, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Devices that protect people from sudden life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms -- such as the defibrillator implanted in Vice President Dick Cheney's chest -- may be giving patients the wrong...

Heart-disease test by age 30?
November 14, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- In the future, doctors may able to detect signs of early-onset coronary artery disease in the blood of patients as young as 30, researchers reported Tuesday. With a type of...

Analysis: Bill targets animal activists.
November 14, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Congress passed an update to the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act and President Bush is expected to sign it into law, but animal rights activists say the new legislation will do little to...

Analysis: Artery procedure unnecessary?
November 14, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Tens of thousands of heart artery procedures performed each year in the U.S. don't do patients any good -- and might actually be harmful, doctors said Tuesday. At the 79th annual scientific...

Analysis: Bracing for Alzheimer's avalanche.
November 15, 2006... Byline: LAURA HEATON WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Preparing for the crush of an estimated 7.7 million Americans who will be afflicted with the debilitating mental disorder Alzheimer's disease by 2030, leaders from science, business,...

Analysis: Heart patients get 'a leg up'.
November 15, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Doctors took cells from the leg muscles of heart-failure patients and injected them by the millions into the scar from a heart attack and appear to see important changes in the overall structure...

Ped Med: Doctors fight vaccine-autism fear.
November 15, 2006... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Many medical practitioners express frustration with what they see as persistent and problematic autism-related claims circulating on the Internet that unjustly give vaccines in...

Caregiving: Lesson from Buffalo -- 6.
November 15, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN BUFFALO, N.Y., Nov. 15 (UPI) -- The American Red Cross "wants the business community to know there is information available to keep companies operating during the toughest times," a recent release said. That's a bit...

Analysis: CROs may prosper under Democrats.
November 15, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Pharmaceutical stocks are slipping due to concerns about the incoming Democratic Congress, but contract research organizations should thrive in this environment because of an anticipated...

Vaccine aids colon cancer patients.
November 15, 2006... NOTTINGHAM, England, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- A vaccine developed in the U.K. stimulated the production of killer T cells in up to 70 of colorectal cancer patients. Researchers at the University of Nottingham cloned an antibody called 105AD7 from...

EcoWellness: Lead's toxic legacy.
November 16, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Scientists have known lead can damage the nervous systems, particularly of children, for decades. But they are still figuring out how children growing in the mother's womb are...

Analysis: Is insurance the problem?
November 16, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- What Americans think of as "basic" health-insurance coverage is not such a basic question, health experts said this week, noting that expectations about what health insurance is expected to...

Eat To Live: Red wine and chocolate cures?
November 16, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Things are looking decadent on the nutrition front. First we learn that a glass or two of red wine a day might be able to do more than prevent heart disease, as we learned some years ago....

Ped Med: Sides far apart in autism debate.
November 16, 2006... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Thus far, the opposing mindsets on the question of vaccines' role in the rise of autism diagnosis in America's young remain far apart. Those who believe in such a connection...

Analysis: Concerns on Amgen anemia drug.
November 16, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Data from two studies could raise concerns about Amgen's anemia and kidney disease treatment Aranesp, but the company's cancer drug Vectibix appears to have a bright future, analysts said...

Interview: How to live to a healthy 100.
November 16, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL AMORE WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Chances are you've already heard the oft-repeated advice for a long life: don't smoke; eat well and in moderation; and exercise. But there are hundreds more measures you can take to...

Analysis: Dividing the SCHIP pie.
November 16, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- At a Senate subcommittee hearing Thursday, advocates called on Congress to increase funding and flexibility for a key children's health insurance program -- but a battle looms over how the...