Cardiovascular
The tubes that power X-ray machines are shrinking, improving the clarity and detail of their Superman-like vision. A team of nanomaterial scientists, medical physicists, and cancer biologists at the University of North Carolina has developed new lower-cost X-ray tubes packed with sharp-tipped carbon nanotubes for cancer research and treatment.
An analysis of rare genetic disorders in which children lack some genes from one parent suggests that maternal and paternal genes engage in a subtle tug-of-war well into childhood, and possibly as late as the onset of puberty.
The Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area established by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has issued the MAK and BAT Values List for 2009. This year"s list contains 62 changes and new entries.
Over 50 pharmacists have been trained to provide seasonal flu vaccinations under a private Patient Group Direction that the NPA is facilitating. Training days were conducted in London and Birmingham with further training days scheduled at the start of September 2009 in Newport, Durham, St Albans and Haydock.
A small trial testing the benefits in multiple sclerosis (MS) of a drug used to treat type II diabetes, in combination with beta-interferon-1a, has been shown to potentially prevent brain cell loss.
Lawmakers are considering two new taxes to help pay for a health care overhaul: a tax on fatty foods and taxing insurers on so-called Cadillac plans. Both proposals were scrutinized in news articles.
Various states weigh in about health care reform with particular concerns about financial difficulties and different reform models. Massachusetts looks to its own experience to offer advice.
Obama"s Plan Isn"t The Answer The Washington Post
In an open letter to Cambodia"s prime minister and health minister, more than 100 international HIV/AIDS advocates and human rights organizations "accused the Cambodian government of herding HIV-affected families into an "AIDS colony" outside the capital, Phnom Penh," the Guardian reports (McCurry, 7/28).
The Illinois attorney general on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the Center for AIDS Prevention for unlawful fundraising and falsifying official documents, ProPublica reports (Weaver, 7/27). Attorney General Lisa Madigan said the state revoked the organization"s registration 20 years ago, but its director, Steve Neely, also known as Morrell Neely, has continued to solicit donations in the state. "The state says the group tried to reregister as a nonprofit using a phony Chicago address, though its boss, ň€¦ lives in Riverside, Calif.," Courthouse News Service reports (Freeland, 7/27). "If the suit is successful, Illinois could seize money illegally raised there, bar Neely and others involved with the center from future charitable work in the state, freeze their assets, force them to pay back donations they may have "misused and/or wasted" with interest, and attempt to shut the group down for good by revoking its corporate status," ProPublica reports (7/27).
A new test developed by Edmonton-based Innovotech Inc. (TSX VENTURE:IOT) will now allow doctors to more accurately identify the right antibiotics required to treat serious, chronic infections that are biofilm based. With more than 80 per cent of infections in the developed world caused by biofilms, the potential for this new breakthrough test, called bioFILM PATM, is of immense significance to the medical community.
By a wide margin, health care leaders believe that individuals should have a choice of public and private health plans, and strongly support other central components of health reform such as innovative provider payment reform and a national insurance health exchange with strong standard-setting authority. In addition, two-thirds (68%) of opinion leaders feel it is urgent to enact comprehensive health care reform this year, according to the latest Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey.
Sylentis, a bio-pharmaceutical company Zeltia Group (MC: ZEL), a
One of the hotly contested issues in the debate about health care reform is whether or not there should be a new government health plan to compete with the plans offered by the insurance industry to employers and individuals. This idea is strongly supported by President Obama and most Democratic members of Congress but Republican members of Congress unanimously oppose it.
Audiologists from America Hears, Inc. now make online house calls to hearing aid customers who install the latest version of the company"s Virtual Office hearing aid programming software on their personal computers at home. The leading online supplier of premium digital hearing instruments introduced a new version of its Virtual Office software with remote-control capabilities enabling America Hears professionals to provide technical support and training over the Internet on customers" personal computers at home.
In order to increase productivity, healthcare providers have started to integrate many IT-based ancillary systems such as EMR, HIS and PACS. So far, this has purely been a service-oriented business, in which IT systems have accelerated healthcare practices. However, the lack of qualified staff, such as technologists, physicians and radiologists is creating a challenge for hospitals. A huge number of radiological examinations and the interpretation of images has to take place, and many hospitals are outsourcing this work to speed up productivity.
Cervical screening in women aged 20-24 has little or no impact on rates of invasive cervical cancer up to age 30, concludes a study published on bmj.com.
New evidence suggests that children who have a diet high in calcium and who consume dairy products may have a lower mortality rate compared with those who do not, according to research published ahead of print in the journal Heart.
People in less affluent countries appear to suffer from more severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) than people in wealthy countries, suggests research published ahead of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
For many women, their hair is one of their most defining characteristics. From short and sassy bobs to long, cascading curls, the right hairstyle can make any woman look more pulled together and can even take years off of her appearance. That"s why hair loss can be particularly devastating for women, and dermatologists advise that it should be addressed at the first noticeable signs of a problem.
Pediatric researchers have found that a gene previously shown to be involved in the development of type 2 diabetes also predisposes children to having a lower birth weight. The finding sheds light on a possible genetic influence on how prenatal events may set the stage for developing diabetes in later childhood or adulthood.
"Although the number of mentally ill immigration detainees" at the La Mesa, Calif.-based private psychiatric hospital Alvarado Parkway Institute "at any one time seems to range from as few as two to only five or so, their situation needs to be addressed quickly," a San Diego Tribune editorial states (San Diego Tribune, 5/19). Some disability rights lawyers and advocates for the mentally ill say that conditions at many of the private facilities, including API, violate state and federal laws governing treatment of mentally ill people. Ann Menasche, a lawyer with the legal advocacy group Disability Rights California, last month sent a letter to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement claiming that after visiting API and interviewing detainees, she found that the conditions are "excessive, unjustifiable and punitive" (Kaiser Health Disparities Report, 5/18).According to the Tribune, "California"s strict patients" rights laws specify that psychiatric patients can have daily visitors, use the telephone, exercise, socialize and be free from restraint unless the chief of the facility determines that a specific individual is a threat to himself or others," but, according to Menasche, patients at API are being denied those rights. The editorial adds that the conditions Menasche describes "may sound appalling, but it is unclear whether they are proper for the circumstances," and an "independent probe by the state Department of Public Health ... is needed to determine whether the detainees are being treated properly" (San Diego Tribune, 5/19).
Today, there are more ways than ever before to "get a little work done." From skin fillers to fat-reduction procedures, the options are endless for those looking to improve their appearance and boost their self-esteem. But with so many physicians and options from which to choose, consumers can be confused about where to start and who to trust to perform a cosmetic procedure.
A groundbreaking study in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggests that having the human papillomavirus (HPV) improves survival in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Furthermore, African Americans had far less HPV infection than whites, which led to worse survival.
There is no evidence that organically produced foods are nutritionally superior to conventionally produced foodstuffs, according to a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The fiscal year 2010 Senate Appropriations Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee spending bill approved on Tuesday by voice vote does not include funding for abstinence-only programs, CQ Today reports.Subcommittee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said that when the full committee marks up the bill on Thursday, it will not include funding for abstinence-only sex education. The bill will provide money for comprehensive sex education programs, which can include teaching abstinence. The recently approved House version (HR 3293) takes a similar approach. CQ Today calls Harkin"s support for defunding abstinence-only "another nail in the coffin" for the programs, which had grown during President George W. Bush"s administration. According to CQ Today, since taking control of Congress in 2007, Democrats have been "slowly bleeding the program," saying most research has shown that abstinence-only programs are "ineffective at ensuring teen chastity."The subcommittee approved the bill"s funding table, which would provide $163.1 billion in discretionary funding. The amount of discretionary funding is $1.6 billion more than President Obama requested, $2.1 billion more than the House bill and $3.2 billion more than the fiscal year 2009 spending bill (Wolfe, CQ Today, 7/28).
Amnesty International on Monday launched a campaign to repeal a 2006 Nicaraguan law that bans abortion procedures in all circumstances, including rape, incest or danger to the woman"s life, the Los Angeles Times reports. The group said the law is a violation of human rights and has increased maternal deaths. According to a new Amnesty International report, the law puts Nicaragua among the 3% of nations that do not allow abortion under any circumstances. According to the Times, Nicaragua has one of Latin America"s highest rates of sexual violence, and much of the abuse is perpetrated by fathers, uncles or other relatives.According to the report, at least half of reported rapes are of minors, and most of those who become pregnant are younger than age 15. Citing statistics from the Nicaraguan Health Ministry, the report found that 33 women and girls died from pregnancy-related complications in the first 19 weeks of this year, and 20 died in the same period in 2008. The report adds that the real numbers likely are much higher.Kate Gilmore, executive deputy secretary-general of Amnesty International, said, "A festering, debilitating human rights situation (is) bringing grave fear, threat, harm and even death to Nicaragua"s girl children and women." Leonel Arguello, president of the Nicaraguan Society of General Medicine, said, "Not being allowed to do everything to save your patient goes against medical ethics." He added that many physicians decline to treat pregnant women in obstetric emergencies or delay treatment because they fear breaking the law. The law includes penalties of eight years in prison for women who have abortions or physicians who provide the procedure.According to the Times, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega expressed support for the law during the 2006 election season to gain support of the Roman Catholic Church and return to power. The ban ended a 100-year-old exception that had allowed abortion when the woman"s health was at risk. Gilmore said that Ortega refused to meet with Amnesty International officials to discuss the report. In addition, the health minister dismissed the group"s findings of a growing mortality rate among pregnant women as unfounded (Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 7/28).
A federal vaccine advisory panel scheduled to meet Wednesday likely will recommend that pregnant women be among the first groups to receive the H1N1 influenza vaccine if a limited number of doses are available, the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention usually accepts the recommendations of the panel, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. According to the AP/Journal-Constitution, health care workers are expected to be the No. 1 priority for receiving the vaccine.For more than 10 years, the panel has recommended that pregnant women get vaccinated for seasonal flu, which can be a threat even to those who are young and healthy. CDC data show that pregnant women, who make up 1% of the U.S. population, have accounted for 6% of H1N1 flu deaths in the country since April, when the pandemic began.British and Swiss health officials have recommended that women consider delaying pregnancies if possible. Most health officials have said that advice oversteps the available evidence, but they have agreed that pregnant women face significant risk from the H1N1 flu. A recent World Health Organization report stated that pregnant women appear to be "at increased risk for severe [H1N1] disease, potentially resulting in spontaneous abortion and/or death, especially during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy." However, WHO has not yet recommended that pregnant women get priority vaccinations. Kevin Ault, an obstetrician at Emory University, said that pregnant women are especially vulnerable because of changes in the lungs and immune system that make it more difficult to overcome respiratory infections (Stobbe, AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/28).
Sex differences in how the brain processes visual information could be a legacy of our hunter-gather past. This is the conclusion of a paper published online today, 30th July 2009, in the British Journal of Psychology.
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and ranking member, Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), on Tuesday "introduced a bill to overhaul the U.S. system for providing global development aid," the Boston Globe reports (Smith, 7/29). The legislation was also introduced by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), according to a release from Menendez"s office (7/28).
At the 3rd Inter-Country Certification Committee Meeting -- where policymakers and experts from South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, the WHO and UNICEF gathered to address issues surrounding polio -- the WHO"s Nicholas Eseko lauded all three countries for becoming and staying polio free, according to BuaNews. He also encouraged them to remain committed to keeping the disease at bay: "Although the number of endemic countries has significantly dropped from 125 to four, some of the previously free countries in our neighbourhood have been re-infected in recent years, therefore posing a very real risk to our children" (Khumalo, 7/27).
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Tuesday signed a state budget in which he made $489 million in line-item veto cuts that "will affect child welfare and children"s health care, the elderly, state parks and AIDS treatment and prevention, going beyond the dramatic cuts that were part of the deal Schwarzenegger negotiated with legislative leaders," the Los Angeles Times reports (Rothfeld/Goldmacher, 7/28). "Services for people with AIDS, which had previously been spared by the Legislature, were reduced by $52 million by Schwarzenegger on Tuesday. That cut will mean no state spending on HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, education or housing services for people with the disease. The state will continue paying for AIDS medications and for tracking the epidemic," the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Buchanan, 7/29). Schwarzenegger said, "The legislators have given me a budget with a $156 million negative reserve, so now I had to go in over this weekend and work with my team and make additional cuts." He added, "That"s ugly, when already we have cut so much, and then we had to make additional cuts" (Steinhauer, New York Times, 7/28). Mark Cloutier, executive director of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, said of the cuts to HIV/AIDS programs, "This means there are going to be more people who are HIV-positive who are unwittingly infecting others" (Buchanan, 7/29).
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiled the Girlfriends Project, a domestic violence and HIV/AIDS education program implemented by the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force that targets at-risk black women in three Allegheny County, Pa., cities. Blacks "comprise just 7 percent of the total population in southwestern Pennsylvania but 41 percent of those living with HIV/AIDS, according to Allegheny County Health Department statistics provided by the task force," the Post-Gazette reports. "The Girlfriends Project was designed for Braddock, Clairton and Duquesne "because we knew nobody was doing outreach there," project coordinator, Lisa Dukes, said. As part of the project, Dukes hosts Tupperware party-style gatherings in homes of residents where she provides HIV testing and education, sexual health information, safe sex products and cash gift cards. The project is an outgrowth of the CDC"s prevention program Sisters Informing Sisters About Topics on AIDS, or SISTA, and has been so successful that CDC "has asked the task force to introduce it at the CDC"s 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta Aug. 23," the article states (Smith, 7/29).
Scientists in the US have found a way of slowing the growth of ovarian cancer tumors in mice by using nanoparticles to deliver suicide genes to
U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) joined with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on an effort to require all Medicare and Medicaid provider payments to be made through direct deposit at federally-insured banking institutions. If signed into law, this measure will make it easier to track providers engaged in fraud thereby dramatically reducing the estimated loss of more than $60 billion every year.
A novel anticancer agent, consisting of a monoclonal antibody linked to a chemotherapy drug, showed substantial antitumor activity in ovarian cancer cell lines and in mice, according to a study published online July 29 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Although Hispanic women tend to develop breast cancer less than Caucasian women, it is usually more aggressive and advanced when it does develop.
The Appointments Commission and the Department of Health have published guidance to help Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) with their governance arrangements for Provider Committees.
New research has uncovered an early disruption in the process of memory formation in older humans who exhibit some early brain changes associated with Alzheimer"s disease (AD) but show little or no memory impairment. The work, published by Cell Press in the July 30th issue of the journal Neuron, sheds light on the role of amyloid protein in memory impairment and may lead to development of strategies for predicting and treating cognitive decline in individuals who are at-risk for AD.
Italian and U.S. biologists this week report that a little-understood protein previously implicated in a rare genetic disorder plays an unexpected and critical role in building and maintaining healthy cells. Even more surprising, their report in the journal Nature shows that the protein, called "atlastin," does its work by fusing intracellular membranes in a previously undocumented way.
The latest findings of the North Carolina-Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project reveal potential new targets for reducing racial disparities in prostate cancer survival and highlight the importance of the health care delivery system. The study reports differences in physician trust, access to care, and continuity of care between African American and Caucasian men which result in advanced prostate cancer at the time of diagnosis and contribute to the higher death rate among African American men. The study is published in the early view issue of Cancer online July 27, 2009.
Informa Healthcare - one of the world"s leading medical and scientific publishers- has announced that the new interactive http://www.informahealthcare.com site is now live and delivers online content from more than 180 peer-reviewed journals.
Older adults who have less strength, poor physical function and low muscle density are at higher risk of being hospitalized compared to adults with more strength and better function. That"s the finding of a new study in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society.
Sciele Pharma Inc., a Shionogi Company, and Plethora Solutions Holdings PLC ("Plethora" - AIM:PLE), announced that a second and final Phase III double-blind, placebo-controlled study of PSD502 for the treatment of premature ejaculation ("PE") has met all co-primary endpoints of Intra-vaginal Ejaculation Latency Time ("IELT"), Index of Premature Ejaculation ("IPE," Ejaculatory Control, Sexual Satisfaction and Distress domains).
Memory is a fundamental function of nerve cells in the brain, and loss of memory is a key symptom in many people with Alzheimer"s disease.
Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted unanimously in favor of SAPHRIS(R) (asenapine) sublingual tablets as effective and safe for the acute treatment of manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adults and in favor of use in acute treatment of schizophrenia in adults. If approved by FDA, SAPHRIS would be the first psychotropic drug to be approved initially for both of these indications.
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF), International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and World Heart Federation (WHF) issued a joint statement that calls on the international community to address urgently the epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), responsible for 35 million deaths a year. The statement demands a substantial increase in funding for NCDs and greater availability of essential medicines, among other urgent responses, in a way to accelerate achievement of the health Millennium Development Goals.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Colcrys to treat acute flairs in patients with gout, a recurrent and painful form of arthritis, and patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), an inherited inflammatory disorder. The medication"s active ingredient is colchicine, a complex compound derived from the dried seeds of a plant known as the autumn crocus or meadow saffron (Colchicum autumnale).
Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. ("SCT" or "the Company") (TSX VENTURE:SSS) is pleased to announce the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has provided a verbal confirmation to remove its clinical hold placed on NTx®-265 on September 18, 2008. This will allow SCT to commence the recruitment of patients under an amended protocol using NTx®-265 for the Company"s Phase IIb clinical trial treating acute ischemic stroke.
There is growing concern among California HIV/AIDS advocates "that the Golden State will reverse course and see spikes in new HIV cases after Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger this week further slashed the state Office of AIDS budget in order to deal" with a more than $20 billion deficit, the Bay Area Reporter reports (Bajko, 7/30). David Brinkman, executive director of the Desert AIDS Project in Palm Springs, which provides services to people living with HIV in the area, said, "This is the worst-case scenario cut. It"s going to cut, possibly eliminate [HIV] education" (Brambilla, Desert Sun, 7/29).
Cold and flu remedies containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine will remain as pharmacy (P) medicines after tighter controls were found to minimise the misuse of these ingredients in the illegal manufacture of methylamphetamine (crystal meth).
Nine-year-olds can and should learn CPR. A study of 147 schoolchildren, published in BioMed Central"s open access journal Critical Care, has shown that, although the smallest may lack the requisite strength, the knowledge of how to perform basic life support is well retained by young children.
Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a substance in the liver that helps process fat and glucose. That substance is a component of the common food additive lecithin, and researchers speculate it may one day be possible to use lecithin products to control blood lipids and reduce risk for diabetes, hypertension or cardiovascular disease using treatments delivered in food rather than medication.
Richard Chapman, from Selsdon, near Croydon, stood on Trafalgar Square"s Fourth Plinth yesterday from 9pm to 10pm to raise funds and awareness for Diabetes UK.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed 2.2 percent home health market basket update to the home health prospective payment system (HH PPS) rates for calendar year (CY) 2010. Also, as part of ongoing efforts to address potential fraud and abuse with regards to outlier payments under the HH PPS, CMS is proposing modifications to its outlier policy.
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced new findings on INTUNIV (guanfacine) extended release, a selective alpha-2A-agonist, at a major psychiatric meeting. This randomized placebo controlled trial met its primary objective, which was to evaluate the effects of INTUNIV on oppositional symptoms in children aged 6 to 12 years with a diagnosis of ADHD and the presence of oppositional symptoms. The data presented today on this investigational compound reviewed secondary efficacy measures from three different rating scales.
Front-line staff in the nursing and care sector would welcome sensor and robot technology in nursing homes and the homes of elderly people.
Allergan, Inc. (NYSE: AGN) announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ACUVAIL(TM) (ketorolac tromethamine ophthalmic solution) 0.45%, an advanced, preservative-free formulation of ketorolac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) indicated for the treatment of pain and inflammation following cataract surgery. Cataracts are a leading cause of blindness among older adults and cataract surgery is the most frequently performed surgical procedure in the United States, with more than 3 million procedures performed each year.1
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announces that it has received a Complete Response letter for INTUNIV TM (guanfacine) Extended Release from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This decision comes following labeling discussions with the FDA that did not result in agreement in time to meet the PDUFA date.
As lawmakers disagree over which taxes to raise to pay for health care reform, they "also face another problem: They"re confronting the fear that"s made it hard to raise taxes for more than 30 years. Republicans and moderate Democrats think that any tax increase is political poison back home," McClatchy Newspapers reports. "Republicans are pouncing on Democrats, charging that the party is eager to add a new tax burden to already-strapped constituents in the midst of a recession. ň€¦ The current House Democratic plan would raise an estimated $543.9 billion over 10 years by imposing what it calls a "graduated surcharge" on higher-income earners." One criticism of the proposal is that "small businesses will be hurt. Surcharge backers cite data from Congress" Joint Committee on Taxation that indicate that 96 percent of small businesses wouldn"t be affected."
"Creating an electronic health record for every American by 2014 is a big part of Obama"s agenda but it may be easier said than done," CNN Money reports. "For one, the cost can be prohibitive - easily running into the tens of millions of dollars. Getting physicians on board can be challenging. And the sheer magnitude of implementing the technology can be overwhelmingly cumbersome - translation: try creating a system for a hospital that serves 600,000 patients." The ambitious idea is to eventually create a network between hospitals and doctors offices all across the nation (Goldman, 7/31).
China Aoxing Pharmaceutical Company, Inc. (OTCBB: CAXG) ("China Aoxing"), a pharmaceutical company specializing in research, development, manufacturing and marketing of narcotic and pain-management products, announced that it has acquired all rights to TJSL, a novel drug at Phase II development stage to treat primary dysmenorrhea ("PD"), or menstrual pain, in adult women.
This week Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and other Washington, D.C., officials "were racing to persuade congressional leaders to erase a House amendment that would essentially reinstate" a ban on using the district"s tax dollars to fund needle exchange programs, the Washington Post reports. A House bill including an amendment addressing needle exchange approved last week, which gives the district its federal appropriation for fiscal year 2010, "would prohibit the city from providing money to any needle exchange program that operates within 1,000 feet of virtually any location where children gather," according to the Post. Norton said, "It essentially wipes out the program," adding that she is calling on other lawmakers to pay close attention to any similar language in the Senate"s version of the bill, which is still in committee. According to the Post, "If the Senate does not include a similar amendment in its version of the bill, members would iron out their differences in a conference committee after Congress returns from its August recess. That"s where [district] officials and AIDS activists hope to kill the amendment" (Fears, 7/31).
Transposons are mobile genetic elements found in the hereditary material of humans and other organisms. They can replicate and the new copies can insert at novel sites in the genome. Because this threatens the whole organism, molecular mechanisms have evolved which can repress transposon activity. Professor Klaus Förstemann of the Gene Center of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich and a team of researchers working with the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster have now uncovered a new type of cellular defence that acts against DNA sequences present in high copy numbers inside the cell, even if they have not integrated into the genome. Small molecules of RNA (a class of nucleic acid closely related to the genetic material DNA) play the central role. "Transposons are genomic parasites, so to speak", says Förstemann. "If they are allowed to proliferate, the genome can become unstable or cancers can develop. We now want to find out whether mammalian cells possess this newly discovered defence mechanism and to elucidate precisely how it works." (EMBO Journal online, 30 July 2009.)
Some people who are serious about wanting to reduce their "carbon footprint" on the Earth have one choice available to them that may yield a large long-term benefit - have one less child.
By searching millions of DNA variations in the genomes of thousands of women with and without ovarian cancer, scientists have discovered a
The Medical Defence Union (MDU) has recruited three new medico-legal advisers in Scotland, bringing its team of experts north of the border to nine - its biggest ever team in the country.
Data presented today at the 8th European Congress on Menopause
Response Genetics Inc. (Nasdaq: RGDX), a company focused on the development and sale of molecular diagnostic tests for cancer, will announce the results of separate analyses of KRAS gene mutations and TS and RRM1 gene expression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) during the 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer, which will be held July 31 to August 4. Results will provide insights into which patient subtypes are most likely to benefit from the commonly prescribed chemotherapies pemetrexed and gemcitabine.
"Confusing claims and outright distortions have animated the national debate over changes in the health care system," the Associated Press reports. The AP lists examples:
The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed an amendment to their broad health reform bill giving drug makers 12 years of exclusive rights to market new biologic drugs, "a setback" to the administration and consumer advocates who hoped to make generic drugs more widely available, the Wall Street Journal reports. The panel voted 47-11 on the measure, which "would also allow "evergreening," the practice by pharmaceutical companies of making minimal adjustments to their drugs, such as creating extended-release versions, as a way to lengthen their monopoly."
The Washington Post examines the devastating toll the conflict in the Congo has had on the health of the country"s displaced civilians, as told through the death of a 36-year-old farmer, who succumbed to typhoid fever far away from the home he abandoned. The newspaper writes, "By some estimates, at least 5 million Congolese have died in more than a decade of conflict touched off by the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda, which sent a flood of militiamen across the border into mineral-rich eastern Congo."
A new oral vaccine against sylvatic plague is showing significant promise in the laboratory as a way to protect prairie dogs and may eventually protect endangered black-footed ferrets who now get the disease by eating infected prairie dogs, according to results by a USGS researcher at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center. Sylvatic plague is an infectious bacterial disease usually transmitted from animal to animal by fleas. This exotic disease is usually deadly for black-footed ferrets and their primary prey, prairie dogs, resulting in local extinctions or regional population reductions. Along with other wild rodents, prairie dogs are also considered a significant reservoir of plague for other wildlife, domestic animals, and people in the western U.S. Prevention of plague in wild rodents by immunization could reduce outbreaks of the disease in animals, thereby reducing the risk for human exposure to the disease.
Survivors of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma are eight times more likely to have chronic health conditions, less likely to be married, and more likely to have lower incomes than their siblings, according to a study published online July 31 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Assisted dying laws do not mean that fewer people use palliative care, according to a study published on bmj.com today.
A new study published in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that positron emission tomography (PET) is an important tool for depicting the extent of neuroblastoma in some patients, particularly for those in the early stages of the disease. Neuroblastoma accounts for six to ten percent of all childhood cancers in the United States and 15 percent of cancer deaths in children. Accurately identifying where in the body the disease is located and whether it is spreading is critical for choosing appropriate types of treatment, which can include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and-in the most advanced cases-a combination of all of these treatments along with bone marrow transplant or investigational therapies.
About half of the car trips in the U.S. are less than five miles - a distance easily navigated by walking or cycling. Reducing short-distance car trips has many benefits - it decreases car accidents, has positive benefits for the environment and increases physical health and activity, says communication professor Edward Maibach of George Mason University. An expert in climate change communication research, Maibach says that community leaders should make promotion of physical activity a priority.
Brain cancer is among the deadliest of cancers. It"s also one of the hardest to treat. Imaging results are often imprecise because brain cancers are extremely invasive. Surgeons must saw through the skull and safely remove as much of the tumor as they can. Then doctors use radiation or chemotherapy to destroy cancerous cells in the surrounding tissue.
Brain scientists and cardiac surgeons at Johns Hopkins have evidence from 227 heart bypass surgery patients that long-term memory losses and cognitive problems they experience are due to the underlying coronary artery disease itself and not ill after-effects from having used a heart-lung machine.
Flasks, beakers and hot plates may soon be a thing of the past in chemistry labs. Instead of handling a few experiments on a bench top, scientists may simply pop a microchip into a computer and instantly run thousands of chemical reactions, with results - literally shrinking the lab down to the size of a thumbnail.
The new anti-wrinkle facial filler Dysport, which could be used as an alternative to Botox, noticeably reduced frown lines between the eyes, according to users and independent reviewers in a study involving plastic surgeons at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
A marker of the likely course of diabetic nephropathy (DN) has been found. An 18-year study, published in the open access journal BMC Medicine, has shown that Immunoglobulin M (IgM) is a reliable predictor of cardiovascular complications in DN patients.
The University of Rhode Island has been awarded a five-year, $18 million grant by a branch of the National Institutes of Health to strengthen biomedical research capacity in Rhode Island. One of the largest grants in the University"s history, the grant is the third in a series of multi-million dollar awards the agency has given URI for this purpose since 2001, for a total of $42 million.
Recent research has uncovered an unexpected vulnerability in deadly melanoma cells that, when exploited, can cause the cancer cells to turn against themselves. The study, published by Cell Press in the August issue of the journal Cancer Cell, identifies a new target for development of future therapeutics aimed at selectively eliminating this aggressive skin cancer which is characterized by a notoriously high rate of metastasis and treatment-resistance.
Small-scale farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America are
The new medical consensus statement on accelerated partial breast irradiation is an important step toward defining patient selection criteria and highlights the importance of targeting radiation, said two of the nation"s leading APBI physicians.
Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANPI, TSX: ANP) announced the launch of a series of new, proprietary Quill(TM) SRS product codes specifically designed for laparoscopic, or minimally invasive, gynecology procedures, including hysterectomies and myomectomies. In 2008, there were approximately 750,000 hysterectomies performed in the United States of which approximately 130,000 were performed laparoscopically. In addition, there were approximately 72,000 myomectomies performed in the United States to remove uterine fibroid tumors. Management estimates 6-8% annual growth in laparoscopically assisted hysterectomies through 2014.
An article published Online First exposes the facts of the poisoning of Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko in 2004. It is the work of Professor Jean Saurat, from the Swiss Centre for Human Applied Toxicology, and the University Hospital, in Geneva, Switzerland, and his collaborators. It establishes that there is a need for routine analytical techniques to test for metabolites of TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) which is a type of dioxin and the poison that was used. This will help to provide proper treatment.
Planned Parenthood of Alaska and an Anchorage high school teacher filed a lawsuit in Anchorage Superior Court on Friday to block a voter initiative that would make it illegal for minors younger than age 18 to obtain abortion services without parental notification, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Supporters of the initiative, which was certified on July 2, must gather nearly 33,000 signatures in order for it to be put on the ballot in August 2010.The lawsuit claims that the initiative should not have been certified because of what the newspaper termed "legal technicalities" and because the ballot description of its impact is misleading. According to legal documents filed by Planned Parenthood and teacher Susan Wingrove, the language of the initiative indicates that minor changes would be made to an existing law "rather than making clear that the initiative is abolishing rights currently afforded to the citizens of Alaska who are minors." They also claim that the initiative does not make it clear that violations of the law would be a felony and that it would be the responsibility of the physician to inform parents.Previous attempts to enact parental notification and consent laws have failed in Alaska. The Alaska Parental Consent Act, which was approved in 1997, said that parental notification or approval from a judge was necessary before a minor could obtain an abortion. Legal challenges prevented the act from going into effect, and the Alaska Supreme Court in 2007 ruled that the law was unconstitutional. In addition, a bill that would have required girls younger than age 17 to notify a parent failed to make it through the state Legislature this year.Former Lt. Gov. Loren Leman (R), a supporter of the new initiative, called Planned Parenthood of Alaska and the teacher "desperate," adding that they "would deny the people of Alaska the opportunity to participate in the initiative process" (Holland, Anchorage Daily News, 7/31).
DNA-Prokids (http://www.dna-prokids.org), an international project on human trafficking prevention and fight using genetic identification of victims and their relatives, was officially presented, at the University of Granada (UGR) headquarters, in Spain.
Kaiser A small, rural hospital in Missouri is "rolling the dice" on electronic medical records, its CEO tells the Associated Press. The 47-bed hospitals borrowed nearly $1 million to implement an electronic records system, and that"s on top of a $370,000 operating deficit and staff layoffs. The executives are banking on a government bailout in the form of a "$3 million windfall" of stimulus-funded incentives for hospitals to switch to electronic record-keeping.
Third Person In China Dies Of Pneumonic Plague, Officials Seal-Off Area
Officials at an East Texas health care organization, Health Horizons, which provides HIV testing and other services to people in 12 counties, "has seen more East Texans test positive for [HIV] so far this year than it did for all of 2008," the Lufkin Daily News reports. Executive Director Wilbert Brown said, "We"ve had eight people out of more than 800 test positive for HIV in the first seven months of this year. Most of those have been African-American men. Last year we had a total of six out of more than 1,000. I expect us to see two or three more positives before the year is out. The state average for testing positive is one in 100, and we"re getting close to that number." According to the article, "Brown said he attributes the increase to Health Horizon"s aggressive outreach program targeting high-risk groups and to people realizing the importance of getting tested." The Daily News article also profiles a client of Health Horizons (Cooley, 8/2)
Cooling unconscious cardiac arrest survivors can increase survival and has a cost effectiveness comparable to other widely accepted treatments in modern health care, researchers report in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
Elevated cholesterol levels in midlife - even levels considered only borderline elevated - significantly increase the risk of Alzheimer"s disease and vascular dementia later in life, according to a new study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente"s Division of Research and the University of Kuopio in Finland. The study appears in the journal Dementia & Geriatric Cognitive Disorders.
As of Wednesday, July 29, the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) reported 150 lab-confirmed cases of novel H1N1 influenza A (Swine Flu) in Arkansas in residents from 38 of the state"s 75 counties. There have been no deaths due to H1N1 influenza A in Arkansas.
Death notification forms should include voluntary questions about whether the deceased was a smoker, according to an article published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
In the first study of its kind, researchers at Saint Louis University are recruiting patients for a clinical trial that will use cutting-edge imaging equipment to map the brain injuries of combat veterans and civilians, aiming to better understand the nature of their injuries. Funded by a $5.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, researchers will use three types of imaging equipment together, producing better data and a more complete taxonomy of brain injuries, information that investigators hope may lead to better treatment for blast injuries and car accidents.
Washington, D.C., officials are planning to make testing for sexually transmitted infections available at all public high schools in the coming school year, adding D.C. to a growing list of cities that test students for STIs, the Washington Post reports. All 50 states and the district allow minors older than age 12 to be tested for STIs without parental consent.The new program requires all students to attend a lecture about STIs, after which they are escorted into restroom areas in groups of 15 to 20. They are then given paper bags with urine collection cups and go into the stalls, at which point they can decide whether to provide a sample. All students return the paper bags, regardless of whether they provided samples. Students give a password and can call a week later to receive their confidential results and, if necessary, treatment at the school or an STI clinic, which is paid for by the city. The district first offered the program two years ago at two charter schools, and eight high schools were included during the past school year.A 2007 study by the D.C. public school system found that 60% of high school students and 30% of middle school students reported having sex. According to the study, 20% of high school students reported having sex with four or more partners and 12% of middle school students reported having three or more partners.According to the D.C. Department of Health, the program at eight high schools last year found that 13% of 3,000 students tested positive for an STI, most commonly chlamydia or gonorrhea. Fifty percent of the chlamydia and gonorrhea cases in the district are among teenagers.According to the D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, the new program is an important step toward curbing the district"s HIV/AIDS rate, which is among the highest in the U.S. Walter Smith, executive director of D.C. Appleseed, said, "If 13% of these students are testing positive for [STIs], those same kids could get HIV," adding, "A lot needs to be done to get the message out to the schools, ... and this very high [STI] rate is an indication that what we"ve been doing is not effective" (Fears/Hernandez, Washington Post, 8/5).
"The increasingly heated fight over health-care legislation is saturating the summer airwaves, with groups on all sides of the debate pouring tens of millions of dollars into advertising campaigns designed to push the cause of reform forward, slow it down or stop it in its tracks," the Washington Post reports. So far, drug makers, labor groups, Democrats and Republicans - among others - have spent $52 million to finance the ad campaigns, a heady start that could lead to a "record-breaking legislative battle."
During a presentation about the Health Agenda for the Americas at the "Seventh
A team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Missouri and Japan has been studying a compound they believe might prevent HIV transmission, the Columbia Tribune reports. According to the Tribune, "Tests show the microbicide, known as EFdA, stops HIV from replicating or spreading when applied to human cells." Stefan Sarafianos, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Missouri"s School of Medicine, and a researcher working on the compound, said, "Women would be able to apply it to themselves and have control over the situation, unlike other forms of protection," adding that although the compound is in an early stage of research, "hopefully companies will eventually license and develop it as a product." The article also discusses findings from a study by an Indiana University School of Medicine researcher that "found that students who know their lifestyle puts them at risk for sexually transmitted diseases would be more likely to receive an HIV vaccination" if it were available, but that they would be less likely to get a vaccine if they are worried about what others might think of them (Heavin, 8/3).
Researchers from CIC bioGUNE"s Structural Biology Unit and Columbia University (New York) have conducted a joint research project, published in the prestigious scientific journal Structure, to gain in-depth knowledge of the structure of pyruvate carboxylase when it is in solution (in the "natural" state).
Predicting the infection patterns of influenzas requires tracking both the ecology and the evolution of the fast-morphing viruses that cause them, said a Duke University researcher who enlists computers to model such changes.
People living with HIV will benefit from a new test developed by Victoria, Australia scientists that offers a simpler and cheaper way of monitoring the disease in sufferers, Victorian Innovation Minister Gavin Jennings said today.
Timberline Knolls, one of the country"s leaders in the treatment of eating disorders, is recognizing well-known tennis star, Monica Seles, for disclosing her history with an eating disorder in her new book Get a Grip. Ms. Seles" display of courage and candor has the potential to help many others who have similar struggles, especially young female athletes.
Leaders in biotechnology research and patient advocacy joined forces today at the 2009 BIO International Convention to discuss the latest breakthroughs in HIV/AIDS treatments. Following a keynote speech by Sir Elton John focused on the needs of the HIV/AIDS community, representatives of biotech companies previewed the next generation of treatments while patient advocates reiterated the need for new therapies, particularly for those who have developed resistance to existing medications. Researchers are developing new therapies that are more effective in treating HIV/AIDS, including an AIDS vaccine and new methods of delivery that hold the potential to increase patient compliance.
Siemens Corporate Research (SCR), Inc. announced that it developed the RAPID2 system to speed the biomarker discovery process for the development of rapid diagnostic tests. This system marries the power of information technology with today"s improved genomic sequencing to quickly identify genomic signatures unique to the set of organisms to be detected. These signatures are the foundation for a new generation of molecular diagnostic tests for the rapid detection of healthcare-associated infections such as the potentially deadly Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA).