Fatty Diet Preventing Seizures May Lead to Epilepsy Drugs By Elizabeth Lopatto - 2012-05-23T16:00:00Z A fatty diet that helps control epileptic seizures may do so by triggering a chemical change in the brain, a discovery that could lead to new treatments, according to a Harvard University study. The diet may force a protein to switch the brain’s fuel to fat byproducts called ketones from its preferred energy, glucose, according to a study in genetically manipulated mice in the journal Neuron. Making the brain operate on ketones is known to shut down overexcited neurons that cause seizures. This so-called ketogenic diet is used by epilepsy patients who aren’t helped by seizure-reducing drugs. The patients are only allowed a saltine cracker’s worth of carbohydrates daily, said Gary ... Continue reading →

Heart-Failure Patients’ Cells May Be Used for Repair By Kristen Hallam - 2012-05-22T23:05:00Z Israeli scientists for the first time succeeded in transforming the skin cells of heart-failure patients into healthy heart-muscle cells, suggesting that it may be possible to repair the organ with a person’s own tissue. The cells from two men with the disease, once genetically reprogrammed, were able to blend in with healthy heart tissue in rats, scientists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, wrote today in the European Heart Journal, a publication of the European Society of Cardiology. Testing the cells in human hearts may be as long as a decade away, as scientists hone the technique in animal studies, they said. The finding points to ... Continue reading →

Enlarge image Novo’s Insulin Pill Quest is Holy Grail for Diabetics Anders Boggild/Novo Nordisk An employee holds oral insulin pills, produced by Novo Nordisk A/S, at the company's research and development unit in Malov. An employee holds oral insulin pills, produced by Novo Nordisk A/S, at the company's research and development unit in Malov. Photographer: Anders Boggild/Novo Nordisk Enlarge image Novo Nordisk A/S CEO Lars Soerensen Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Chief Executive Officer Lars Soerensen kicked off the pill hunt six years ago. Chief Executive Officer Lars Soerensen kicked off the pill hunt six years ago. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Jackie Chaline needs four shots of insulin a day to survive. The 66-year-old Frenchwoman, who was diagnosed with diabetes 16 years ago, says switching to a pill would ... Continue reading →

Alexion to Replace Motorola Mobility in S&P 500 WWII Chemical Exposure May Pass Down Disease, Study Finds By Ryan Flinn - 2012-05-21T19:37:26Z The World War II generation may have passed down to their grandchildren the effects of chemical exposure in the 1940s, possibly explaining current rates of obesity, autism and mental illness, according to one researcher. David Crews, professor of psychology and zoology at the University of Texas at Austin, theorized that the rise in these diseases may be linked to environmental effects passed on through generations. His research showed that descendants of rats exposed to a crop fungicide were less sociable, more obese and more anxious than offspring of the unexposed. The results, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, ... Continue reading →

Alexion to Replace Motorola Mobility in S&P 500 Prostate-Cancer Test Not Worth Risk, Advisory Panel Says By Alex Nussbaum - 2012-05-21T21:00:00Z Enlarge image Prostate-Cancer Test Carries More Risk Than Benefit Justin Sullivan/Getty Images DNA samples on a gel while searching for variations in genetic samples that would point to someone's susceptibility to lung, prostate, breast and colo rectal cancer at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center. DNA samples on a gel while searching for variations in genetic samples that would point to someone's susceptibility to lung, prostate, breast and colo rectal cancer at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center. Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images The PSA prostate-cancer test used by half of U.S. men older than 40 carries more risks than benefits and shouldn’t be used to diagnose ... Continue reading →

Your Brain on Facebook 10:15 AM Friday May 18, 2012 by David Rock | Comments While Facebook's rise took many by surprise, its success was little surprise to the hundreds of researchers who study social interactions in neuroscience labs across the country. Over the last decade, these neuroscientists have uncovered some unexpected quirks of the brain, that all link to one big idea: we are far more socially oriented, at the level of brain structure and systems, than we account for in daily life. Why does this matter? It certainly matters to Google, or to any organization wanting to get people's attention. Yet this insight also has a dark side that deserves some airtime too. Here's how social the brain is: the brain network that ... Continue reading →

DaVita to Pay $4.42 Billion for HealthCare Partners By Makiko Kitamura - 2012-05-21T09:11:52Z Enlarge image DaVita Inc. Chairman and CEO Kent Thiry DaVita Inc. Chairman and CEO Kent Thiry said, “We believe our combined enterprise will offer new and exciting levels of clinical quality, service, and consumer/taxpayer savings.” DaVita Inc. Chairman and CEO Kent Thiry said, “We believe our combined enterprise will offer new and exciting levels of clinical quality, service, and consumer/taxpayer savings.” Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg DaVita Inc. (DVA), whose biggest shareholder is billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), agreed to pay about $4.42 billion in cash and stock to acquire HealthCare Partners, continuing an international spending spree on providers of medical care. DaVita, a U.S. provider of kidney dialysis services, will pay ... Continue reading →

FDA’s $6.4 Billion Plan for Quick Reviews Moves to Senate By Anna Edney - 2012-05-21T04:00:01Z Enlarge image FDA’s $6.4 Billion Plan to Rush Reviews Hits Senate ‘Sweet Spot’ Medtronic's capsure sense lead, a device that is inserted into a heart pacemaker. Fees for device makers will more than double to $609 million, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Photo: Munshi Ahmed/Bloomberg Medtronic's capsure sense lead, a device that is inserted into a heart pacemaker. Fees for device makers will more than double to $609 million, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Photo: Munshi Ahmed/Bloomberg A $6.4 billion effort to speed U.S. reviews of new drugs and medical devices is a step closer to law as the agreements Mylan Inc. (MYL), Pfizer Inc. (PFE) and other ... Continue reading →

Enlarge image Castlight Health Inc. CEO Giovanni Colella Court Mast/Castlight Health Inc. via Bloomberg Giovanni Colella, co-founder of Caslight Health Inc. Giovanni Colella, co-founder of Caslight Health Inc. Photographer: Court Mast/Castlight Health Inc. via Bloomberg May 21 (Bloomberg) -- Peter Isaacson, chief marketing officer of Castlight Health Inc., talks about the company's site that allows users to compare the cost of health care. Castlight compiles claims data from employers and insurers, then publishes that information on a website for its customers, letting them see how much doctors, labs and hospitals charge for their services, as well as their quality ratings. Isaacson spoke in San Francisco on May 15. (Source: Bloomberg) Enlarge image "Travelocity" for Medical Costs David Paul Morris/Bloomberg A screen shot of the Castlight ... Continue reading →

Health-Care Costs Rise Faster Than U.S. Inflation Rate By Alex Nussbaum - 2012-05-21T04:01:00Z Doctors, hospitals and drugmakers raised prices faster than inflation in 2010, driving U.S. health costs higher as fewer Americans sought care after the recession. Spending on workers covered on the job grew 3.3 percent per person in 2010, twice the general inflation rate, according to a report today from the Health Care Cost Institute, a Washington group that examined data from insurers including UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) and Aetna Inc. (AET) While costs increased, enrollment in employer-sponsored plans declined, the researchers said. U.S. medical spending almost doubled in the last decade, reaching $2.6 trillion in 2010, according to federal government statistics. Today’s data suggest policymakers may have to consider the market power ... Continue reading →