Far more of today’s heart attack patients receive emergency angioplasty treatment or clot-busting drugs to re-open their clogged heart arteries than even a decade ago, a new study finds.But 10 percent of patients who could benefit from this urgent treatment — which is known to save lives and prevent lasting damage to the heart muscle — don’t get it at all, the study shows. [click link for full article]

One of the unique characteristics of humans that distinguish us from the animal kingdom is the ability to represent others’ beliefs in our own minds. This sort of intuitive mind-reading, according to experts, lays the cognitive foundations of interpersonal understanding and communication.Despite its importance, scientists have yet to reach a consensus on how this psychological function develops. [click link for full article]

The Australian government has pledged 100 million Australian dollars, or about $86 million, to improve HIV/AIDS services in Indonesia as part of a partnership between the two countries, according to a statement released on Friday by the Australian Embassy, the ANTARA/Jakarta Post reports. [click link for full article]

Lead in goat blood might not be on the top of your shopping list, but for U.S. medical personnel who each year perform more than 2 million human blood measurements, Standard Reference Material (SRM) 955c from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) can’t be beat.SRM 955c is an improved version of SRM 955b, a material clinicians already relied on heavily to provide quality assurance for lead blood measurements. [click link for full article]

Secondary prevention programs for coronary heart disease that contain less than 10 hours contact with health professionals and those provided by family doctors are just as effective in saving lives as more expensive, longer and more specialized hospital-based alternatives, according to cardiovascular researchers at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.Dr. [click link for full article]

A bill that would reauthorize the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, which expires on Sept. 30, and expand FDA oversight of prescription drug safety likely will not move to conference committee before the August recess after House and Senate staff ended negotiations without an agreement, according to CQ Today. [click link for full article]

Ontario, Canada, this fall is scheduled to launch a program that would provide Merck’s human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil at no cost to all eighth-grade girls in the province, government officials announced on Thursday, the Toronto Star reports (Ferguson, Toronto Star, 8/3). [click link for full article]

There are gaps in the US coverage for the current vaccine financing system, according to a survey of state immunization managers. A new report in the August 8 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests that several underinsured children might not receive recommended vaccinations. [click link for full article]

Stinging insects can present a serious allergy threat - and can even be life-threatening for some people. Other than the typical “bee-sting” allergy that many people are familiar with, allergic…

The use of an evidence-based sedation protocol for endoscopic procedures improves the quality of practice and reduces the incidence of sedation-related adverse events, according to an “AGA Institute Review of Endoscopic Sedation” published in the August issue of Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute. [click link for full article]