Palomar Medical Technologies Inc. will go ahead with the commercialization of its FDA-cleared home-use laser device for treatment of periorbital wrinkles, despite the termination of its commercialization agreement with Johnson & Johnson. Palomar plans to launch the products during the second half of next year. With the agreement cancellation, JJCC avoids having to commit to the significant level of funding required to successfully launch a new product into the mass market.

Light BioScience LLC has received a 510(k) over-the-counter (OTC) clearance from the FDA for its GentleWaves LED Photomodulation technology. The LED (light emitting diode) based, anti-wrinkle treatment is already being used by physicians to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The company claims that the technology helps to stimulate collagen production as well as to slow down collagen breakdown. Light BioScience can now develop a device that can be sold without a prescription.

Lifestyle-related factors, including maintaining body weight, abstaining from smoking and regular exercise, play a vital role in ensuring one lives to the age of 90, according to researchers led by Dr. Laurel Yates of the Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston. The researchers followed 2,357 men from 72 years of age and conducted the survey over two decades. The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, showed that the chances of reaching 90 years was 54% in the absence of smoking, diabetes, obesity, hypertension and a sedentary lifestyle.

The FDA has delayed the final approval of GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s Requip XL. The drug is a once-a-day oral treatment for Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological disorder that slows body movement. The delay affects SkyePharma Plc, since it uses the company’s slow release technology. The FDA is expected to announce a decision on the drug’s approval in the second quarter of this year.

President Bush has proposed a cut in spending in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, which provide medical care to millions of the elderly and poor in the U.S., by $196 billion over the next five years, federal officials said. According to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Mike Leavitt, the cut has been proposed to stop Medicare from going bankrupt in about 11 years. The proposed cuts would reduce annual spending growth from 7% at present to 5% in Medicare and from 7.3% to 7% in Medicaid.

The proposed bill is likely to meet strong opposition in Congress.

A sedentary lifestyle may accelerate biological aging, according to The King’s College London study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The researchers studied twins with different activity levels and the study, based on DNA samples, found that people with less physically active lifestyles had shorter leukocyte telomeres than those who were more active. The length of leukocyte telomeres is considered as “markers” of a person’s biological age.