UPI Health Business articles from October 2006

UPI Health Business archives from October 2006

Outside View: Tort caps: Verdict's in.
October 2, 2006... Byline: STUART WEINSTEIN WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Have insurance companies in Texas suddenly become less greedy? Last week Texas Medical Liability Trust, the state's largest provider of liability insurance to Texas physicians,...

Eat To Live: Goodbye to allergy attacks?
October 2, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Two springtimes ago at a conference in New Orleans the American Society for Microbiology was given a ground-breaking briefing. A research team led by Gary Huffnagle at the University of...

Analysis: Super bug not only in hospitals.
October 2, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Once it was confined to infections that occurred in hospitals, but now a potentially lethal, multi-drug resistant bacteria is now found about as often in the general community as it is in...

Analysis: J&J's paliperidone delayed.
October 2, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Johnson & Johnson received an approvable letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for paliperidone for schizophrenia, but analysts were cautiously optimistic the company would...

Study: Low-birth-weight babies may have lower IQs.
October 2, 2006... Byline: AARON RUPAR WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Non-disabled adolescents who were born weighing less than 2,000 grams -- about 4.5 pounds -- are more likely to have cognitive and motor difficulties than adolescents who were born at a...

Analysis: Part D prognosis mixed for 2007.
October 3, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Last year seniors had six months to enroll in a Medicare Part D prescription-drug plan, yet many enrollees still found the new program daunting -- but while a smoother process is predicted...

HealthWrap: New lung-cancer detection.
October 3, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER LONDON, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- French scientists have announced they have identified subtle changes in the blood that occur during the early stages of lung cancer, a discovery that could revolutionize the disease's survival...

Caregiving: Takes a toll -- Part 3.
October 3, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN ALBANY, N.Y., Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Whether a person becomes a caregiver overnight because of a loved one's heart attack or stroke, or whether it is a gradual responsibility, many turn to the Internet for help and support --...

Analysis: Merck's obesity drug scrapped.
October 3, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Merck's anti-obesity treatment candidate MK-0577 failed to induce significant weight loss in a clinical trial released Tuesday, but the company appears to be moving ahead with another...

Interview: Taking steps against PAD.
October 3, 2006... Byline: KRISTYN ECOCHARD WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Aches and pains are just another a part of growing old, right? Not necessarily. Researchers say if you're more than 50 years old, leg muscle discomfort could be a symptom of a serious...

Obesity, smoking double whammy for health.
October 3, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Obese people who smoke may increase drastically their risk of death compared to those of normal weight who don't smoke, a large, long-term study has found. Researchers discovered...

Analysis: Health spending high, steady.
October 4, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Private healthcare spending growth stabilized last year, but the 7.7 percent rate of increase is little to celebrate, a new study says. The increase in health spending per insured...

FluWrap: West Java goes own way.
October 4, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER LONDON, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- West Java, the Indonesian province worst-hit by avian influenza, has opted out of a government-backed special commission on public bird-flu education, saying it will instead focus its efforts on...

Analysis: Dynavax's allergy shot promising.
October 4, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Dynavax's experimental vaccine appears to prevent hay fever symptoms for at least two years after just six injections, a significant improvement over conventional allergy shots that can...

Analysis: Drug stops, reverses vision loss.
October 4, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN BOSTON, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- A breakthrough treatment not only halts the progression of age-related blindness, but in more than one-third of cases patients' vision showed dramatic improvement, doctors said Wednesday. ...

EcoWellness: Asthmatics in hot water?
October 4, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- The rising tide of childhood asthma has again been linked to a classic American pasttime -- the swimming pool. In a new study, Belgian researchers showed that exposure to indoor...

Eat To Live: How sweet it is.(Recipe)
October 4, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- My neighbor was distracted last spring by children so missed getting into shape for the bikini season. Now that school is back, she's focusing on losing weight by Thanksgiving. It's tougher...

Ped Med: Debate mounts over autism counts.
October 5, 2006... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Even as new numbers are reported of autism diagnoses in America's children, the sum total of their meaning remains embroiled in controversy. So much so, divisions are being drawn...

Shopping for healthcare? Be wary.
October 5, 2006... Byline: KRISTYN ECOCHARD WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- In every sector of the economy, consumers demand to know whether they are getting "bang for their buck" -- every sector, that is, except healthcare. Recent Bush administration...

HealthWrap: Cup of stress relief?
October 5, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER LONDON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Researchers at Britain's University College London have found that drinking black tea over a prolonged period reduces the effects of stress, perhaps explaining the country's long-held affection...

Analysis: Designer drugs need biomarkers.
October 5, 2006... Byline: AARON RUPAR WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Medical treatments that are specifically tailored to fit a single patient and his or her unique genetic profile -- an emerging area known as personalized medicine -- and the ability to track...

Analysis: FDA comes up short on nanotech.
October 5, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- A former high-ranking Food and Drug Administration official says the agency lacks the funding and legal authority to adequately regulate drugs, medical devices and other products that...

Eat To Live: Trouble in the pumpkin patch.(Recipe)
October 6, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The weekend September turned into October, neighborhood stoops and steps blossomed with the golden globes of pumpkins. But there may not be so many around this year. Growers from New...

Caregiving: Takes a toll -- Part 4.
October 6, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN ALBANY, N.Y., Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Caregiving -- for children, the disabled or the elderly -- can throw a wrench into career plans, but it was the resignation of Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., that reminded me how workers are...

Your personal gene map may be coming soon.
October 6, 2006... Byline: ALAN J. MCCOMBS WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Americans may one day walk into their local clinic and have their doctor bring up a file containing only their last checkup but their entire genetic makeup. While the potential may be...

Analysis: New focus for breast cancer.
October 6, 2006... Byline: ASTARA MARCH LOS ANGELES, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The discovery of breast cancer stem cells in the bone marrow of patients with early-stage disease is producing both new ways to predict breast cancer outcomes and fruitful new avenues of...

Analysis: Analysts like Wyeth's outlook.
October 6, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Analysts see a positive future for Wyeth after the company raised its 2006 earnings forecast this week and boasted about several drugs in its pipeline. Bank of America analyst Chris...

Survey: Eating disorders common in college.
October 6, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- A new survey reveals more than half of college students know someone with an eating disorder, and the majority of those who have the disorders fail to seek treatment. The 2006...

Ped Med: A backward glance at autism.
October 6, 2006... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- In trying to look forward toward what the autism trends in America's children portend, some researchers are taking a backward glance at the disorder's history. Many scientists...

Analysis: Activists fuel reform in states.
October 9, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- With health reforms at the federal level stalled, states have become the new battlegrounds, but all states are not created equal. While healthcare advocates have been able to score...

Analysis: Dems push for 'wellness' agency.
October 9, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Congress should establish a new federal agency charged with promoting wellness and preventive care, advocates at the Center for American Progress, a prominent liberal think tank, said...

Eat To Live: Bagging a home-cooked meal.
October 9, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- You may never have heard of Stephanie Allen, but she may be on her way to doing as much for non-cooks as "The Joy of Cooking." Since June 2003 Allen has helped put more than 2 million...

Study suggests link between cola, BMD loss.
October 9, 2006... Byline: AARON RUPAR WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- A new study suggests that drinking cola may contribute to lower bone mineral density in older women, increasing their risk for osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease of porous and...

Smarter, fitter stay sharp in old age.
October 9, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Call it survival of the smartest: A study has found people with higher IQs are more physically fit and enjoy healthier cognitive abilities as they age. A team of British...

Analysis:Drug/gambling link doubted.
October 9, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Researchers suggested Monday that compulsive behaviors -- particularly excessive gambling -- on the part of patients with Parkinson's disease might have something more to do with the illness than...

Analysis: Vote '06: The lost issue?
October 10, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Healthcare issues could be a large issue for senior voters in the upcoming congressional elections, a new poll says, but it is not clear what that impact will be. "We've seen over and...

Two-drug approach regenerates hurt hearts.
October 10, 2006... BOSTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- A drug combination tried by researchers in Boston helps regrow cardiac muscle after heart attacks. The study authors, based at Children's Hospital in Boston, explained that, after a heart attack, damaged heart...

HealthWrap: Band-Aid in a tube?
October 10, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER LONDON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- While it's up to five years away from being widely available, the developers of a gel that can stop bleeding say they have made a tremendous breakthrough that will help everyone from surgeons to...

Analysis: The Parkinson's patch.
October 10, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- A once-daily patch containing an experimental treatment for Parkinson's disease eases the symptoms of the movement disorder illness, researchers told United Press International Tuesday. ...

Analysis: Hypertension drugs soar in China.
October 10, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Sales of drugs to treat hypertension in China will nearly double from the current level of $440 million to $800 million in 2010, according to projections from an analyst report released...

Psoriasis tied to heart-attack risk.
October 10, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Researchers have discovered that psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin condition, is an independent risk factor for heart attacks. Previous research had suggested the skin...

Scraping your way to better breath.
October 10, 2006... Byline: MICHAEL STOTHARD WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Tongue scrapers are useful for reducing the effects of halitosis, but the positive results are temporary, says a new report. The study, conducted by the Academy of General...

Eat To Live: Kitchens are going green.(Recipe)
October 11, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Have you checked into a hotel room recently and found in the bathroom a note saying, if you care about the environment, don't chuck your towels on the floor, hang them up and use them...

Ped Med: Autism rates hinge on definition.
October 11, 2006... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- At its most basic level, part of the debate over the cause and consequence of the climbing numbers of autism diagnoses among America's young centers on bookkeeping. Defining,...

Group urges passage of Preemie Act.
October 11, 2006... Byline: AARON RUPAR WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- The March of Dimes is urging the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Preemie Act, legislation that would increase funding for research relating to premature births. "Premature...

Analysis: Sci-Fi 'brain' restores motion.
October 11, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN CHICAGO, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Researchers have pulled a page out of science fiction books, creating brain interfaces that have the potential to give sight to the blind, voice to the speechless and motion to the paralyzed. ...

Analysis: Genentech impresses analysts.
October 11, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Genentech's third-quarter figures for its key cancer drugs were below Wall Street's expectations, but analysts anticipate a rebound and a positive future for the company. The...

Analysis: Good news for Medicaid.
October 11, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- For the first time since 1998, state spending on Medicaid -- the joint federal and state health insurance program for the poor and disabled -- increased less in 2006 than state revenues,...

HealthWrap: Sugar as good as medicine?
October 12, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER LONDON, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Anti-psychotics used to treat Alzheimer's may be no more effective than a placebo made of sugar, new research has found. In a multi-center study run by the U.S. National Institute of Mental...

Caregiving: Takes a toll -- 5.
October 12, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN ALBANY, N.Y., Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Many caregivers shoulder the entire burden of caring for a frail elderly person. Instead of appreciation and some programs for assistance, they often get disdain from many for "not knowing...

Analysis: Genzyme's Q3 fails to impress.
October 12, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Genzyme posted third-quarter earnings that were below estimates Thursday, and analysts were lukewarm on the company's future outlook. "It's a mixed bag," Chris Raymond, an analyst...

EcoWellness: Perchlorate perils.
October 12, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- The most definitive study to date on the health effects of perchlorate, a chemical used in rocket fuel, has shown the substance is more dangerous than previously thought, experts...

Analysis: Hospitals lack language plans.
October 13, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Hospitals want to offer more language services for patients who do not speak English well -- but that is easier said than done. "It's like the wild west out there," Don Schinske,...

Eat To Live: A new meaning for Slow Food.(Recipe)
October 13, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The cooking pendulum is on the swing again. Forget white-heat temperatures that produce a roast and the fire brigade in half an hour. Top chefs are taking things slow, real slow. At...

Ped Med: Autism's changing face.
October 13, 2006... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Many practitioners with autistic patients consider one of their biggest challenges to be keeping up with what one of them refers to as "the changing face" of the disorder. "It's...

Caregiving: Takes a toll -- Part 6.
October 13, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN ALBANY, N.Y., Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Many in healthcare have picked up on one of pop psychology's latest afflictions, the "disease to please," and they are using it against caregivers. Oprah Winfrey; Dr. Nancy Snyderman,...

Analysis: McClellan's legacy.
October 15, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Transparency and quality were the watchwords of Mark McClellan's tenure as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator, so it comes as no surprise that on his last day on...

Analysis: Staph bug grows in community.
October 15, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN TORONTO, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- A deadly version of Staphylococcus aureus has become so widespread that it now shows up more often in patients coming into the hospital for treatment than among patients already being treated....

Analysis:Malaria drug helps at-risk group.
October 16, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Amodiaquine, an important treatment for malaria, is safe and effective for treating pregnant women -- one of the groups most threatened by the disease, a new study has found. "Malaria in...

Analysis: Shake-up in the leukemia market.
October 16, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- An analyst report projects Pfizer's acute myeloid leukemia treatment Idamycin will lose its top spot to Wyeth's Mylotarg and Genzyme/Bioenvision's Clolar over the next 10 years. The...

Analysis: Vaccine lags, so does bird flu.
October 16, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN TORONTO, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Infectious disease specialists say the spectre of pandemic bird flu today is only a threat to birds -- and that's a good thing, because man's attempts to create a vaccine that could prevent a...

Study suggests compound can treat epilepsy.
October 16, 2006... Byline: AARON RUPAR WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A new study suggests that a sweet-tasting compound called 2DG has great potential as a treatment for epilepsy. 2DG (2-deoxy-glucose) has long been used in radio labeling, medical...

Eat To Live: Health from fermented drink?
October 16, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Living in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s was a challenge for Moscow's foreign community. The same applied to the native citizens, but they had an advantage over us. We didn't have...

The Age of Autism: Many, many more.
October 16, 2006... Byline: DAN OLMSTED WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- The debate over the cause or causes of autism has been hung up for years on a point that should have been settled by now: whether the rate is in fact increasing. This column long ago...

CostRx: It's healthcare cost, stupid.
October 17, 2006... WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- United Press International interviewed Robert Blendon, director of the Harvard Program on Public Opinion and Health and Social Policy, who says healthcare is likely to be a second-tier issue in upcoming...

Body awareness may reduce child obesity.
October 17, 2006... Byline: LEAH CARLINER WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Childhood-obesity campaigns are ineffective if they only generate negative body images, according to new British research. The study, from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom,...

Take 10 laps and call me in the morning.
October 17, 2006... Byline: KRISTYN ECOCHARD WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Prescribing exercise may be more effective than simply recommending it, new research suggests. The study -- "Exercise and Older Patients: Prescribing Guidelines" -- is by Ann...

HealthWrap: One-quarter of smokers to get COPD.
October 17, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER LONDON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Approximately 25 percent of smokers will develop an incurable lung disease at some stage in their lives, a new study has found. As part of a heart study in the Danish city of Copenhagen,...

New study links diesel emissions, asthma.
October 17, 2006... Byline: AARON RUPAR WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- A new study suggests that soot emissions from diesel trucks may exacerbate asthma in children. "We went in and actually measured personal exposures to traffic pollution, which had not...

Caregiving: Lesson from Buffalo -- 1.
October 17, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN ALBANY, N.Y., Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Despite lots of experience with snow, ice storms and power outages -- and despite funds for emergency preparedness training and planning for a pandemic or terrorist attack -- some in the...

Analysis: Drug mishaps leading to ER.
October 17, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- More than 700,000 people wind up in the emergency room each year due to adverse drug events that occur in the outpatient setting, according to the first national study of this issue. ...

Seafood's benefits overshadow risks.
October 17, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The health benefits of eating seafood have been lost in a sea of conflicting public health messages, even though benefits outweigh the risks from exposure to environmental...

Analysis: Book defends U.S. health system.
October 18, 2006... Byline: OLGA PIERCE WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. healthcare system is not as underperforming compared to other developed nations as some evidence suggests, the authors of a new book say. "There is the phenomenon that we spend...

FluWrap: Indonesia defends H5N1 fight.
October 18, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER LONDON, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- In a week that has seen three deaths from avian influenza in three days, all in Indonesia, the country defended its efforts in the battle against bird flu. "We are doing the best we can,"...

Eat To Live: 'All Greek to us' no longer.
October 18, 2006... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- People can be very sniffy about Greek food. It's always tepid, they complain. It's swimming in oil. They're superior, too, about Greek wine. "Reminds me of pine-scented bathroom cleaner."...

Ped Med: Confounding autism counts.
October 18, 2006... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- One of the confounding factors that make it difficult to get to the bottom of autism's causes, counts and consequences is the high rate of co-existing conditions in children with the...

Analysis: Abbot's strong Q3 impresses.
October 18, 2006... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Abbott reported a strong third-quarter performance Wednesday, and most analysts expect the company to display more of the same over the next several years. Abbott also announced a new...

EcoWellness: Something fishy.
October 18, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- An upsurge in the number of male fish growing female reproductive parts is sounding an alarm bell for the dangers of pollutants and estrogen-like compounds in U.S. rivers, where...

Analysis: Is stent less safe in stroke?
October 18, 2006... Byline: ED SUSMAN BOSTON, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- A major operation to prevent strokes by opening up a neck artery and clearing out blockages appears safer than a less invasive procedure in which doctors implant a stainless-steel coil to prop...

Interview: Wider HIV testing cuts cost.
October 19, 2006... STANFORD, Calif., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued new guidelines advising that all people in the United States ages 13 to 64 be tested for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Previously,...

Caregiving: Lesson from Buffalo -- 2.
October 19, 2006... Byline: ALEX CUKAN ALBANY, N.Y., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- When an area of more than 1 million people gets socked with an unexpected snowstorm in October, toppling trees, pulling down porches and downing power lines leaving 380,000 households...

Slower aging on the horizon?
October 19, 2006... Byline: KRISTYN ECOCHARD WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- New studies on the aging process may lead to preventions that could improve quality of life and reduce healthcare costs for those over 65, researchers say. In the last century the...

Ped Med: Counting on autism counts.
October 19, 2006... Byline: LIDIA WASOWICZ SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Many are counting on the numbers keepers to provide critical clues to some fundamental questions about the rising rates of autism diagnoses in America's children. In particular,...

HealthWrap: Lack of sleep means obesity?
October 19, 2006... Byline: KATE WALKER LONDON, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Lack of sleep may be the explanation behind the ever-growing childhood obesity problem. Dr. Shahrad Taheri of Britain's Bristol University asserts that hormone imbalances in children caused...