05/22/2012
The Health Care Cost Institute is compiling a database containing more than 3 billion de-identified medical claims from more than 33 million individuals. The project aims to help researchers conduct large-scale analyses of information on medical costs. Washington Post, Politico.
05/15/2012
The Obama administration has announced a plan aimed at finding an effective way to treat and prevent Alzheimer's disease by 2025. Officials also launched a website offering information for families and caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease. AP/San Francisco Chronicle et al.
05/09/2012
A U-T San Diego editorial notes that although "we do not often support tax increases ... we support" Proposition 29, a June ballot initiative that would increase California's tax on cigarettes by $1 per pack to raise funds for cancer research and smoking prevention. The editorial argues that the measure is "good for public health. It's good for San Diego and California. And it's good for California kids." It concludes, "we strongly endorse and urge a 'yes' vote on Proposition 29." U-T San Diego.
05/08/2012
A Merced Sun-Star editorial states that although "[w]e don't like being on the same side as Big Tobacco ... and we do not in any way endorse smoking," Proposition 29 -- a June ballot initiative that would increase California's tax on cigarettes by $1 per pack to raise funds for cancer research -- "is not good public policy or governance." It argues that "instead of using this new tax revenue to address one of the state's many unmet needs, it would create a new semi-independent bureaucracy and a mammoth new medical research program." Merced Sun-Star.
05/01/2012
Type 2 diabetes progresses more quickly and is harder to treat in children and teenagers than in adults, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The findings could foreshadow a major strain on the U.S. health care system because poorly controlled diabetes significantly increases the risk of costly medical conditions. New York Times et al.
04/30/2012
Despite progress in the treatment and prevention of HIV, a UC-San Francisco study involving 288 homeless men with HIV finds that unmet basic needs -- such as shelter, regular meals and good hygiene -- had the largest effect on the physical and mental health of patients. A 2011 study involving homeless women had similar findings. San Francisco Chronicle.
04/27/2012
Tobacco firms have spent $21 million on efforts aimed at persuading voters to reject a June ballot measure that would raise the tobacco sales tax by $1 per pack. Most of the funding generated by the tax hike would go toward cancer research. San Jose Mercury News et al.
04/19/2012
Sacramento-based SynGen announced that it received $5 million in funding from the San Francisco venture capital firm Bay City Capital to further develop its stem cell harvesting systems. SynGen will use the funding to develop, market and obtain regulatory approval for SynGen-1000, which harvests stem and progenitor cells for use in various treatments. Sacramento Bee.
04/17/2012
In a Sacramento Bee opinion piece, columnist Dan Morain notes that the tobacco industry "will spend tens of millions of dollars telling [voters] why Proposition 29 ... is a terrible idea." The June 5 ballot initiative would raise California's tobacco tax by $1 per pack and generate hundreds of millions of dollars for medical research and tobacco cessation, prevention and enforcement initiatives. Morain writes that many Californians "will find reasons to vote against it, courtesy of tobacco-funded ads," but that the "$441 million fund for research is one reason to vote for Proposition 29, so long as the money stays in California." Sacramento Bee.
04/16/2012
A Sacramento Bee editorial argues that the Sacramento-area medical community "should capitalize on the status of the newly renamed UC-Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, now in the top tier of cancer centers nationwide -- as the Boston area did in the late 1990s." It concludes, "Now is the time for the region to come together to use the university's 'comprehensive cancer center' designation effectively to make a dent in the fight against cancer." Sacramento Bee.
04/11/2012
Researchers from UC-Berkeley and UC-San Francisco have found that automated text messages that include medication reminders or questions about patients' moods are beneficial to patients with depression and other mental health problems. San Francisco Business Times.
04/09/2012
UC-Berkeley has received a five-year, $4 million NIH grant to train and teach global health researchers to study how diseases affect people living in slums. UC-Berkeley will partner with Florida International University, Stanford University and Yale University on the training initiative. NIH also is providing funding for a separate academic consortium that includes UC-Davis and UC-San Francisco, which will launch a similar training program. San Francisco Business Times.
04/09/2012
A new UC-Davis study published in the journal Pediatrics finds that women who are obese are 70% more likely to have a child with autism and twice as likely to have a child with other types of developmental delays as normal-weight women with normal blood pressure and no diabetes. Sacramento Bee, Los Angeles Times.
04/06/2012
A study by the UCLA School of Medicine finds that patients who underwent robotic-assisted surgeries to remove cancerous bladders had lower mortality and complication rates than those who underwent traditional surgeries. However, the study -- which was partly funded by the Department of Defense -- notes that the robotic procedures cost an average of $3,000 more than traditional surgeries. Payers & Providers.
03/16/2012
On Thursday, New Jersey-based drugmaker Merck announced that it will invest up to $90 million over seven years to establish The California Institute for Biomedical Research in La Jolla. The not-for-profit center, which will focus on research into new drugs and treatments, is expected to hire as many as 150 scientists and staff members. Merck would have priority to license any research results. AP/San Francisco Chronicle.