Patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with ACTEMRA” (tocilizumab) experienced a rapid and significant reduction in the signs and symptoms of their disease, according to a study published in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

“Findings From the 2007 EBRI/Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Survey,”

CVS Caremark on Tuesday agreed to pay $36.7 million to settle allegations that the company overbilled Medicaid for the antacid ranitidine, a generic version of Zantac, for more than six years, the Chicago Tribune reports (Sachdev, Chicago Tribune, 3/19).

The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday examined how as the private sector is increasingly providing more Medicare and Medicaid services, new types of fraud are “cropping up that are harder to spot, more complicated to prosecute and potentially more harmful to patients,” prompting the federal government to increase scrutiny of managed care.

A rule proposed by CMS that would allow states to revise premiums and cost-sharing for some Medicaid beneficiaries could make those payments higher than Congress intended, Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) wrote in a letter to

The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday examined the use of estrogen to treat memory loss related to menopause. Several studies have found that decreasing levels of estrogen during menopause can cause women to experience memory loss, often leading them to believe they are developing Alzheimer’s disease.

The British government on Tuesday announced that it will provide 225 million rand, or about $28 million, over the next four years to fight HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, SAPA/iAfrica.com reports. According to Russ Dixon, a spokesperson for the British High Commission, the funding is a continuation of the government’s support for Soul City initiatives.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia (FM) are two serious and debilitating diseases with no confirmed cause and limited treatment options. However, results of a new comprehensive literature study propose a simplified treatment process that could help alleviate symptoms for patients suffering from these diseases.Kent Holtorf, M.D., medical director of the Holtorf Medical Group Center for Endocrine, Neurological and Infection related illness Torrance, Calif.

Preliminary research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that community acquired pneumonia (CAP) caused by the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium may be more common than originally suspected, including that caused by antibiotic resistant strains. Researchers reported their findings at the 2008 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta, Georgia.”Over the last few years we have been receiving reports of a severe CAP caused by S.

A new US study found that cardiac surgery patients who received blood transfusions of blood that had been stored for 2 weeks or less had lower rates of complications and death than those who received blood that was older.The study was the work of researchers based at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, and is published in the 20th March issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).