MRI ananlysis detects autism. A McClean Hospital neuroimaging researchers distinguished people with autism from control subjects 94 percent of the time using a magnetic resonance imaging scan that took about 10 minutes, reports the The Boston Globe‘s White Coat Notes blog.
2009 was a record year for H.I.V. tests. More American adults were tested for H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, in 2009 than in any other year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports the The New York Times.
J&J recalls Mylanta and contact lenses. Recalls are a frequent occurance for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) lately. The company recalled 13 different heartburn treatment products — 12 Mylanta liquid and one AlternaGEL product — and separately widened a recall of daily-use contact lenses in Japan and elsewhere due to traces of an acid, according to The Wall Street Journal‘s Health Blog.
No vote for prostate drugs. Would the Food and Drug Administration advisory committee recommend that the labels of two drugs — dutasteride, made by GlaxoSmithKline and sold as Avodart; and finasteride, a generic made by Merck and sold as Proscar — be changed to say they can reduce a man’s risk of getting prostate cancer? The answer was no, reports The New York Times.
GE, Dutch company look for Alzheimer’s marker. GE Healthcare (NYSE:GE) and Janssen Pharmaceutica NV LLC will work together to use data integration, informatics, genomics and imaging to identify a biosignature for Alzheimer’s disease.
Having your cake… UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) is predicting lower profit in 2011, in part because of federal health reform, while at the same time painting itself as well-positioned for the changes reform will bring, according to the Star Tribune.
A life’s savings for medical expenses. Some medical costs have fallen this year, thanks to healthcare reform laws, but U.S. retirees will still need hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings to cover their lifetime medical expenses, according to a Reuters report about an Employee Benefits Research Institute study.
Union puts off HCA strike. SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West union members have decided to postpone until Friday a planned one-day strike at five Hospital Corporation of America hospitals in California to return to the bargaining table, according to FierceHealthcare.
Bariatric surgeon charged with embezzlement. Dr. Eric De Maria, former director of Duke University’s bariatric surgery program, and his former department business manager have been charged with embezzling $267,000 from the university, reports the News & Observer. Both De Maria and John William Cotton ended their positions on Aug. 1 for undisclosed reasons.
Chicago plastic surgeon suing patients. Dr. Jay Pensler, a Chicago cosmetic surgeon, is suing three patients for $100,000 apiece in compensatory and punitive damages for attempting to “ruin the professional reputation of a well respected plastic surgeon, through false and defamatory statements” by using Yelp and Citysearch to review Pensler, who the patients say botched their breast surgeries, ABC News reports.
Material from MedCity News was used in this report.
