Nutrition
American health care reform has become a "hot topic north of the border," the Washington Times reports. "If Mr. Obama succeeds, the U.S. could draw even more Canadian doctors and nurses to the U.S., exacerbating a shortage of medical professionals, said Dr. Brian Day, a Canadian health care critic and former head of the Canadian Medical Association. If Mr. Obama fails, perhaps Canada could open its system to "medical tourism" from the U.S., Dr. Day said." Under the Canadian system, everyone is insured and has "access to basic health care without ever seeing a doctor or hospital bill." But 70% of Canadians also have "some form of supplemental health insurance," in part because of long wait times for tests and treatments under the government plan. For Canadian citizens who become ill in the U.S., it is often cheaper to "ride on a private Lear jet back to Canada" than to be treated in a U.S. hospital.
Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), warned consumers not to eat SENG Chen PiMei Candy, after tests by CDPH found unacceptable levels of lead. Consumers in possession of the candy should discard it immediately.
This week, the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) reported 24 new cases of H1N1 swine flu, bringing the state"s total number of cases to 58. The new cases are in Harrison (7), Jackson (4), Hinds (3), Holmes (2), Rankin (2), Jones (2), Lowndes (2), Lauderdale (1) and Madison (1) counties.
Undertaking a supervised exercise programme can have beneficial effects on functional status and physical function, reduce the need for daily corticosteroid and anti-inflammatory intake and improve levels of depression and anxiety in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a new study presented at EULAR 2009, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Copenhagen, Denmark.
A team of researchers led by Amy G. Hise, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor at the Center for Global Health and Diseases, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, is the first to discover how the body fights off oral yeast infections caused by the most common human fungal pathogen, Candida.
Simple weight-loss advice from a physician and regular follow-up helped obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome lose a substantial amount of weight, a new study found. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society"s 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Neurim Pharmaceuticals presented the preliminary results of a large-scale Phase III study of Circadin(R) 2mg, prolonged release melatonin in insomnia, demonstrating long term efficacy and safety in elderly patients. The results were reported in the Late Breaking Abstracts session of SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, (APSS) held at Seattle, Washington. The SLEEP meeting attracts the largest audience of sleep specialists in world.
STAAR Surgical Company (Nasdaq: STAA), a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of minimally invasive ophthalmic products, today announced that the FDA has granted 510(k) clearance for its Epiphany Injector System for use with the Affinity(TM) Collamer(R) Three-Piece NTIOL and the Elastimide(TM) Silicone NTIOL. Introduction of the Epiphany will usher in a new era of insertion devices for the company and pave the way for the future introduction of a preloaded injector for the U.S. market.
Many interested parties and organizations have provided recommendations on U.S. health care reform, but there is much to be done in terms of mapping out its future. As leading health care professionals, actuaries are looked to for their points of view on this important topic. Providing new health insights, the Society of Actuaries" Health Section has published a collection of 29 essays from actuaries, health care professionals and academics titled, "Visions for the Future of the U.S. Health Care System." The essays cover a wide array of health care issues, but there are four underlying angles: general reform and restructuring of the health care system; risk pooling and risk-adjusted payments; evidence-based medicine and more efficient cost/care.
A report broadcast during the CBS Evening News on June 8 noted that one in 200 patients die during elective coronary angioplasty procedures and suggested that patients may be safest at institutions where surgical backup is readily available when complications occur. The report also noted that as many as 40 percent of the angioplasties performed may be unnecessary because patients could experience the same benefits from drug therapies.
Analyses of data from three studies provide insight into the use of ENBREL®(etanercept) in the treatment of three conditions for which ENBREL is indicated: moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS). These analyses, presented this week during the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Annual Meeting in Copenhagen, add to the body of evidence that supports treatment with ENBREL for patients with these conditions.
Given Imaging Ltd.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health has awarded a three-year, $3-million grant to Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University to establish a research center to study the neurological complications that afflict people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
It is well established that seat belts save lives. However, many pregnant women do not wear seat belts, for fear that the belt itself could injure the baby in a car crash. But is this actually the case? Does the seat belt put the baby at risk?
U.S. Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced legislation sponsored by the California Medical Association to eliminate one of the biggest barriers for seniors to get access to health care - low Medicare reimbursement rates in several counties.
Legislation released June 9 by Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA) would expand access to pharmacist-delivered medication therapy management (MTM) services for patients suffering from chronic diseases.
Awarepoint Corporation announced deployment of its Real-time Location System (RTLS) at the Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center. This deployment adds a third UCSD Medical Center hospital to Awarepoint"s RTLS coverage, which currently includes the system"s Thornton and Hillcrest campuses. The Awarepoint enterprise RTLS installation has now been expanded to include nearly 1.5 million square feet with more than 2,000 assets under management, covering three hospitals across nearly 14 miles.
PharmaCom BioVet, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: PHMB) is pleased to announce that the Company has begun the process to potentially apply and endeavor to receive a Minor Use/Minor Species (MUMS) drug approval from the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). Meeting the MUMS requirement is part of the New Drug Approval Process if the Company decides to potentially run clinical trials on a histone deacetylase inhibitor for canines with hemangiosarcoma, which the Corporation is considering the development of. The histone deacetylase inhibitor would be directed for dogs suffering from an acute type of cancer, canine hemangiosarcoma. The Minor Use and Minor Species Animal Health Act became law in 2004.
Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers have discovered that low-oxygen regions in prostate tumors can be used to predict a rise in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, a marker of tumor recurrence in prostate cancer. The long-term study results were presented at the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Orlando, FL.
Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found a high frequency of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative rods (GNRs) in two of the largest neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in the city of Manila, Philippines. Improved infection control methods could reduce the vast number of hospital acquired neonatal infections. The BUSM study appears online in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
Insomnia is associated with increased frontal cerebral metabolism during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. Cerebral hypothermia, or cooling of the brain, has been found to reduce cerebral metabolism in other medical conditions, but its effects in insomnia are unknown.
Women who have stable marriages or who have recently gained a partner reported better sleep than women who are unmarried or who have lost a partner, according to a new University of Pittsburgh study.
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) announced that it received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to market the BRYAN® Cervical Disc System for the treatment of single-level cervical disc disease (radiculopathy and/or myelopathy). In July 2007, Medtronic"s PRESTIGE® Cervical Disc was the first artificial cervical disc to be approved by the FDA. With the BRYAN® Disc and the PRESTIGE® Disc, Medtronic now offers a diverse portfolio of artificial cervical discs that address varying philosophies among spine surgeons about optimal implant materials, fixation methods, surgical techniques, and other unique design features.
NanoScan Imaging, LLC announced the publication of new data demonstrating the use of its investigational, radio-opaque contrast agent (N1177) to visualize vulnerable plaques that can cause heart attack or stroke using advanced, non-invasive and high-resolution computed tomography (CT) techniques. Results of the study were published in the current issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Nuclear Medicine (J Nucl Med. 2009 Jun;50(6):959-965).
Orphan Therapeutics, LLC and Ikaria Holdings, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the final section of the New Drug Application (NDA) filing seeking marketing approval for LUCASSIN(R) (terlipressin for injection) for the treatment of hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) Type 1. The filing was completed on May 4, 2009, and LUCASSIN has been granted Priority Review as well as Orphan Drug status and Fast Track designation.
A distinguished panel of clinical and policy experts gathered by Novo Nordisk recently convened in Washington, D.C. to explore solutions to address the exponential growth of diabetes in America. The universal theme from the renowned speakers, including Larry Hausner, CEO of the American Diabetes Association (ADA), was that the cost of the disease to our nation, at $218 billion annually, is startling and the lag in patient motivation to take action to offset the disease is distressing. Without intervention at both a national and patient level, our nation runs the risk of reaching a projected 50 million Americans having diabetes by the year 2025.
Medigap policyholders are overwhelmingly satisfied with their coverage and say it provides good value for their money, according to a new survey released today by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and America"s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).
For modern implants and the growth of artificial tissue and organs, it is important to generate materials with characteristics that closely emulate nature. However, the tissue in our bodies has a combination of traits that are very hard to recreate in synthetic materials: It is both soft and very tough. A team of Australian and Korean researchers led by Geoffrey M. Spinks and Seon Jeong Kim has now developed a novel, highly porous, sponge-like material whose mechanical properties closely resemble those of biological soft tissues. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, it consists of a robust network of DNA strands and carbon nanotubes.
The labour force in the health services is shrinking, there are more and more old people, and a very high proportion of them are plagued by deteriorating short- and long-term memory. All this has created a need for computer-based solutions that will enable elderly people to live safely in their own homes, but at the same time, the technology needed to take special care of them is expensive. On top of this, different standards for home sensors create problems.
UroToday.com - In the online edition of Urologic Oncology, Dr. Michael Cookson and his colleagues at Vanderbilt University reviewed the impact of surgeon and hospital volume on outcomes of radical prostatectomy (RP). They concluded that better outcomes are associated with higher volume surgeons and centers.
Nearly 20 years ago, it was discovered that bacteria known as Helicobacter pylori were responsible for stomach ulcers. Since then, antibiotics have become the primary therapy used to combat the H. pylori infection, which affects approximately six percent of the world population and is also a primary cause of stomach cancer. But today the bacteria is growing increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
Depression is an established risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) in healthy patients and for adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with existing CHD. Dietary factors resulting in lower levels of omega 3 fatty acids not only increase CHD risk, but may also be involved in the pathophysiology of depression. The investigators measured red blood cell levels of two omega 3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and assessed depressive symptoms in a cross-sectional study of 987 adults with CHD. Omega 3 fatty acids were blindly measured in fasting venous blood samples using capillary gas chromatography to measure the fatty acid composition of red blood cell membranes. Red blood cell levels of EPA and DHA are presented as a percentage composition of total fatty acid methyl esters. The investigators assessed current depression using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire. They evaluated the association between omega 3 fatty acid levels and depressive symptoms as continuous variables using linear regression.
UroToday.com - Large urothelial carcinoma of the renal pelvis poses a diagnostic as well as surgical challenge to the urologist. This type of malignancy is frequently mistaken preoperatively for renal cell cancer due to its low incidence (10% of all renal malignancies) especially when associated with tumor extension into the inferior vena cava. The presence of a large renal mass should therefore not dissuade the urologist to perform cystoscopy and cytology in order to complete hematuria work-up. Opening the specimen in the operating room will provide clues for the origin of the tumor.
Globally, millions of people die each year as a result of accidents or serious injury. Unfortunately, many of those deaths could have been prevented had first aid been administered at the scene immediately, before the emergency services arrived. First aid, or emergency first aid is the care that is given to an injured or sick person prior to treatment by medically trained personnel. According to Medilexicon"s medical dictionary, first aid is "Immediate assistance administered in the case of injury or sudden illness by a bystander or other layperson, before the arrival of trained medical personnel."
Clare Lewis-Jones, Chief Executive of Infertility Network UK (I N UK) and More to Life, the largest national charity providing help, support and information to those suffering the effects of infertility, has been awarded an MBE in the Queen"s Birthday Honours List for her services to healthcare.
Prevalence of multiple sclerosis in the United Kingdom - study estimates now 100,000 people with MS in UK.
The National Asthma Council Australia is urging the two million Australians with asthma to remain extremely vigilant and seek an immediate lung function check from their GP following new data from the US which confirms people with an underlying medical condition are at highest risk of complications from swine flu - with more than 40 percent of people in New York hospitalised from swine flu having asthma1.
Merck & Co., Inc. issued the following statement in response to today"s communication from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) addressing updated information on leukotriene inhibitors, including SINGULAIR® (montelukast sodium).
"The nation"s deep recession is helping to alleviate the decade-long nursing shortage, as workers who had left the field in better times are returning in droves," the Wall Street Journal reports. The paper quotes a study, one of six papers on the nursing workforce published today in the journal Health Affairs, that found "nearly a quarter-million nurses entered the work force in 2007-08, an 18% surge that was the largest two-year increase in at least three decades." Many of them had left nursing, but "re-entered the work force to compensate for a spouse"s lost income or health benefits, the study said." The increase is "particularly remarkable at a time when the U.S. economy has shed more than six million jobs, helping to solidify the profession"s "recession-proof" image." The study found that the surge in new nurses is due to "efforts to expand nursing schools, attract more young people into the field and improve working conditions," along with an increase in the number of foreign-born nurses.
Data presented at the 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) confirm that Diovan® (valsartan) and valsartan-based combinations deliver sustained, 24-hr blood pressure (BP)-lowering efficacy2-6.
At the 2009 HIV Implementers" Meeting in Namibia Thursday, Paul DeLay, deputy executive director of UNAIDS, said the global economic crisis will impact countries who receive international aid for HIV/AIDS programs, so recipients of such aid should identify priorities for their programs, the China Post reports (China Post, 6/12).
The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada praised the government"s announcement of $15 million to study the impact of a wide variety of neurological conditions, including multiple sclerosis.
Twenty-two people in the adult film industry have tested positive for HIV in the last five years in Los Angeles County, according to a new report released on Thursday by county health officials, the Los Angeles Times reports. Officials were prompted to release the report after an adult film star last week tested positive for HIV. An outbreak occurred in 2004, in which at least five people tested positive for HIV, and caused the industry to shut down for one month. The cases in 2004 prompted a series of public hearings over the years that sought to require the industry to adopt safer practices, but no legislation was introduced. "The report ņ¦ is bringing renewed scrutiny to the estimated $12-billion-a-year industry"s long history of resisting regulation and condom use," according to the Times. Michael Weinstein, president of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said, "This industry screams for regulation," adding that the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health "needs to require that condoms be used in any film." Sharon Mitchell, co-founder of the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation, the clinic which tests people in the adult film industry for sexually transmitted infections, said the clinic promotes HIV prevention and testing, but added "we are not the police department of the industry nor wish to be" (Yoshino/Rong-Gong, Los Angeles Times, 6/12).
Cellulose is a fibrous molecule that makes up plant cell walls, gives plants shape and form and is a target of renewable, plant-based biofuels research. But how it forms, and thus how it can be modified to design energy-rich crops, is not well understood. Now a study led by researchers at the Carnegie Institution"s Department of Plant Biology has discovered that the underlying protein network that provides the scaffolding for cell-wall structure is also the traffic cop for delivering the critical growth-promoting molecules where needed. The research, conducted in collaboration with colleagues at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and published in the advance online publication (AOP) of Nature Cell Biology on June 14th, is a significant step for understanding how the enzymes that make cellulose and determine plant cell shape arrive at the appropriate location in the cell to do their job.
A novel bacterium that has been trapped more than three kilometres under glacial ice in Greenland for over 120 000 years, may hold clues as to what life forms might exist on other planets.
Calcium and dairy products play major roles in health maintenance and the prevention of chronic disease. Because peak bone mass is not achieved until the third decade of life, it is particularly important for young adults to consume adequate amounts of calcium, protein and vitamin D found in dairy products to support health and prevent osteoporosis later in life. In a study in the July/August issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, researchers report that young people actually reduce their intake of calcium and dairy products as they enter their twenties.
Boehringer Ingelheim and Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced today that they have entered into a significant worldwide collaboration to research and develop beta-secretase (BACE) inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer"s disease. Current therapies for Alzheimer"s disease can improve symptoms, but do not affect the progression of the disease. The inhibition of BACE - an enzyme involved in the formation of amyloid-beta plaques which accumulate in the brains of patients with Alzheimer"s disease - offers the potential to slow or even halt disease progression.
A protein known to be overly active in breast cancer can exist in a form that seems to change the structural composition of mammary tissue, potentially making it more conducive to tumor progression, say researchers from the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC).
Gallstones are lumps or stones that develop in the gallbladder or bile duct. Some of the chemicals which exist in the gallbladder, such as cholesterol, calcium bilirubinate, and calcium carbonate, harden into either one large stone or many small ones. According to Medilexicon"s medical dictionary, a gallstone is "A concretion in the gallbladder or a bile duct, composed chiefly of a mixture of cholesterol, calcium bilirubinate, and calcium carbonate, occasionally as a pure stone composed of just one of these substances". An article describes a gallbladder in the bile duct similar to trying to squeeze a golf ball through a straw.
Vitamin D deficiency was found to be prevalent in cancer patients regardless of nutritional status, according to the results of a recent study conducted at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA). Based on these results, CTCA researchers determined that screening for vitamin D deficiency and aggressive vitamin D repletion should be considered for all people with cancer.
AEterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ: AEZS; TSX: AEZ), a global biopharmaceutical company focused on endocrine therapy and oncology, reported that patient follow-up in the open-label safety study (study 041) of its Phase 3 program in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with its lead endocrinology compound, cetrorelix pamoate, is scheduled to be completed at the end of this week. Therefore, data analysis and reporting will be brought forward from the scheduled fourth quarter into the third quarter of 2009, and will follow the disclosure of results from the first double-blind placebo controlled efficacy study (study 033). BPH is a benign enlargement of the prostate, affecting more than 20 million men in the U.S. alone.
Possessing a greater purpose in life is associated with lower mortality rates among older adults according to a new study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center.
Geisinger Health System senior investigator and U.S. Army veteran Joseph Boscarino, Ph.D., is proud of his military service, yet he doesn"t like to talk much about his combat experiences.
Sanofi Aventis (Euronext: SAN and NYSE: SNY) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: REGN) announced that advanced ovarian cancer patients with recurrent symptomatic malignant ascites (SMA) receiving aflibercept (VEGF Trap) in a randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 study experienced a statistically significant improvement in the primary study endpoint, mean time to first repeat paracentesis (removal of fluid from the abdominal cavity), versus placebo control. Symptomatic malignant ascites is an abnormal build-up of fluid in the abdominal cavity in patients with advanced cancer.
Cheltenham Borough Council has today lost its case to sue former employee Christine Laird for ÷£1million for not disclosing her past experience of depression. Leading mental health charity Mind says the landmark ruling serves as an important reminder to employers about the importance of providing adequate support to people with mental health problems in the workplace.
John A. Gans, PharmD, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer for the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) has been selected as a recipient of the Food and Drug Administration"s (FDA) Commissioner"s Special Citation Award. The award will be bestowed upon Dr. Gans today during a ceremony at Martin"s Crosswinds, Greenbelt, Maryland.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is enforcing the laws that protect consumers from illegal products marketed through the Internet that claim to diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat or cure the 2009 H1N1 flu virus.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is conducting a three-week tour featuring a mobile testing unit named for former National Basketball Association player Earvin "Magic" Johnson that provides free HIV testing to local residents, WDSU.com reports. During the tour, which recently stopped in New Orleans, AHF will present $5,000 grants to local HIV/AIDS organizations (WDSU.com, 6/14). In related news, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) sponsored a health awareness festival in Pensacola, Fla. that sought to raise HIV/AIDS awareness among the black community as part of its annual state convention. According to Art Rocker, head of the local SCLC chapter, since 2007, there has been an increase in the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Escambia County, Fla., which prompted the organization to focus its event on HIV/AIDS (Dugas, Pensacola News Journal, 6/14).
Finance ministers from Italy, Canada and Russia Friday voiced their support for a program aimed at lowering the prices of vaccines for developing countries, the AFP/Google.com reports. "The Advanced Market Commitment (AMC) programme was first outlined in 2007 and will encourage pharmaceutical companies to invest in research for vaccines against deadly diseases by promising to buy the vaccines at a fixed price," the AFP/Google.com writes (AFP/Google.com, 6/12).
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plans to decrease the prices of many of its leading medicines in emerging markets following the success of a pilot program in the Philippines, Andrew Witty, GSK"s chief executive, said, Financial Times reports. Witty said the price cuts are part of an effort to diversify and expand globally.
Mayo Clinic cardiology researchers have found a peptide that helps preserve and improve kidney function during heart failure, without affecting blood pressure. Earlier variations of this peptide caused blood pressure to drop limiting the potential benefits to the kidneys. The findings appear in the current Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries with plaque buildup, is the underlying cause of heart disease and stroke, which together account for more than half of all death and disability in developed nations. The world"s largest forum for new research on the topic, the International Symposium on Atherosclerosis (ISA), will hold its 15th triennial meeting at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center in Boston, June 14 to 18.
Today, the Israeli medtech startup company CLT Ltd. announced the establishment of Closed Loop Therapies (CLT) BV - a joint venture between Erasmus University Medical Centre (Rotterdam, the Netherlands), a highly prominent medical institute in Europe, and CLT Israel. The joint venture aims to develop and commercialise a novel therapeutic system, consisting of an arrhythmia-detecting drug pump combined with a unique drug, for automatic and immediate treatment of emerging atrial fibrillation (AF). Market size is estimated at 2.5-3 billion Euro, annually.
The Government has, for the first time, declared its support for what could be England"s first Autism Bill. The National Autistic Society (NAS) celebrated the move as a vital development for people with autism as Care Services Minister Phil Hope committed to enshrining in law a raft of new measures, via the Autism Bill, which could drive a dramatic improvement in local authority and NHS services for people with the condition.
Scientists from the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research in Braunschweig, Germany and the Medical School Hannover, Germany have succeeded in treating immune cells in a way that enables them to inhibit unwanted immune reactions such as organ rejection. Their results have now been published in the current issue of the scientific journal Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.
Scientists from A*STAR"s Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) and the University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy, have discovered another signaling pathway for the activation and apoptosis, or programmed cell death, of dendritic cells[1] . This discovery was published in the advanced online publication of Nature on 15 Jun 2009.
Boston University Biomedical Engineer Joyce Wong will work to create engineered blood vessels aimed at correcting pediatric heart defects under a major grant from The Hartwell Foundation. Wong is one of just 12 researchers nationwide to win the foundation"s prestigious Individual Biomedical Research Award.
Paul Kubes and colleagues, at the University of Calgary, Canada, have provided evidence in mice to refute the paradigm that the initial phase of the immune response to infection with Gram-negative bacteria (the recruitment of immune cells known as neutrophils to the site of infection) is triggered following immune sentinel-cell recognition of the bacterial molecule LPS via the protein TLR4. Rather, the researchers found that LPS recognition by TLR4 on the cells that line blood vessels (endothelial cells) is the crucial event that initiates neutrophil recruitment and bacterial clearance in mice.
Programs that bring colleges and their surrounding neighborhoods together may help reduce off-campus drinking problems, a new study suggests.
In response to the press release and position paper released Tuesday by the American College of Medical Genetics-the 2007 recipient of a $4 million, five-year federal grant to serve as the National Coordinating Center (NCC) for the Regional Genetics and Newborn Screening Collaborative Groups-the Citizens" Council on Health Care (CCHC) released the following statement from CCHC"s president, Twila Brase:
Today, in an address to the American Medical Association, President Obama made the case for health care reform focused on bringing down long-term costs. He also pledged that his plan to expand insurance coverage would be deficit neutral over the next decade, and outlined some of the $948 billion in savings he has proposed to finance his health care reform - including the $313 billion announced this weekend.
A new technique known as stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is safe for patients with recurrent head and neck cancers and may improve their quality of life, according to researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI). Results of the phase I study were reported today in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.
June is National Osteoporosis Month and health experts from NHS Somerset are urging people to look after their bones by living well and eating well.
Kidney stones, usually comprised of a compound called calcium oxalate, are the result of a build-up of dissolved minerals on the inner lining of the kidneys. These deposits can grow to the size of a golf ball while maintaining a sharp, crystalline structure. They may be small and pass unnoticed out of the urinary tract, but they may also cause extreme pain upon exiting. Kidney stones that remain inside the body can lead to many conditions, including severe pain and ureter (the tube connecting the kidney and bladder) blockage that obstructs the path urine uses to leave the body.
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM) reported that researchers will present data at the SNM 2009 Annual Meeting showing that its brain cancer agent Cotara(R) specifically localizes to brain tumors at high concentrations with minimal radiation exposure to other organs. Cotara is a targeted monoclonal antibody linked to a radioisotope being developed as a potential new treatment for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a deadly form of brain cancer. The results reported from an ongoing dosimetry study at U.S. brain cancer centers show that in patients dosed in the first two cohorts of the study, the concentration of Cotara in brain tumors was on average more than 300-fold higher than in other normal organs. In addition, these patients have all either met or exceeded the expected median survival time of six months for recurrent GBM patients. Cotara is currently being tested in this Phase I dose response and dosimetry trial and in a Phase II clinical trial in recurrent GBM patients.
URAC, the leading health care accreditation and education organization, and CARF International, a premier, global, independent accreditor of health and human services, announced a new tool for case management professionals. The uSPEQ(R)/URAC Participant Experience Survey for Case Management (uSPEQ-CM) will help evaluate and improve the quality of health care programs and services offered to consumers.
Summer is the peak season for lightning-related injuries. When planning outdoor activities, know what shelter is available and where to go if you hear thunder.
It is well known that chronic pain and clinical depression go together, but a study in The Journal of Pain, published by the American Pain Society, shows that the connection between pain and depression is strongest in middle-age women and African Americans.
A German study published in The Journal of Pain showed that an external suction technique mainly used outside the U.S., called cupping, is effective for providing temporary relief of pain from carpal tunnel syndrome (CPS).
When: 8 July 2009 6:00pm - 8:00pm
A nationally representative study found that immigrants spent less on medical expenses than their US-born counterparts, even after controlling for level of health insurance coverage and other confounding factors.
Scientists in Brazil say they have isolated and identified a new strain of the A(H1N1) swine flu virus from a patient who was hospitalized in SĆ£o
Some things in life are multi-purpose. Now miniature technology used to cool the central processing units in computers may have found a use in mainstream medicine!
Over one-fifth of U.S. medical schools improved their conflict-of-interest rules in the past year, yet dozens of others lag behind according to the 2009 American Medical Student Association (AMSA) PharmFree Scorecard, released today. The Scorecard, developed by AMSA and the Pew Prescription Project, finds that 45 of 149 medical schools now receive a grade of A or B for their policies governing pharmaceutical industry interaction with medical school faculty and students, compared with only 29 last year. However, for the second year, dozens of schools received grades of D or F and remain far behind the national leaders.
The battle over health care reform will happen in the Senate, even though President Obama keeps getting all the attention, The Washington Post"s The Fix reports.
"General Electric Co. said its GE Capital division will make no-interest loans to hospitals and health-care providers that purchase GE"s health-care information technology," The Wall Street Journal reports. The company "expects to offer $100 million in interim financing to hospitals and health-care providers for projects that are expected to qualify for funds from the U.S. government"s economic-stimulus package" as part of a program called Stimulus Simplicity. "GE said the move offers doctors, community health clinics and hospitals a bridge to qualify for stimulus funds and faster access to electronic medical records."
A joint legislative budget committee in California on Monday rejected a number of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger"s (R) proposals to cut funding from some state programs to address the state"s $24.3 billion deficit, including a plan to cut $80.1 million from HIV/AIDS programs, the Sacramento Bee reports (Wiegand/Sanders, Sacramento Bee, 6/14). The committee voted to reduce the $80.1 million proposal, which would affect a number of HIV/AIDS education, prevention and treatment services, by roughly $50 million, to $33.5 million, according to the Los Angeles Times (Goldmacher, Los Angeles Times, 6/15).
The California-based clinic Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation (AIMHF), which serves the adult film industry, said on Monday it will boost its HIV prevention measures by urging the industry to use an online database to verify that employees have recently been tested for HIV, the Los Angeles Times reports. The industry currently requires that workers be tested every 30 days. Los Angeles County health officials recently reported that there had been 16 unpublicized cases of HIV in adult film workers in the county since 2004 after news emerged last week that an adult film actress tested positive for HIV (Yoshino, Los Angels Times, 6/15).
Despite the current global economic crisis, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called for a continued international commitment to investing in health, Xinhua/People"s Daily reports. "We can cut back on health expenditures and incur massive losses in lives and fundamental capacity for growth. Or we can invest in health and spare both people and economies the high cost of inaction," Ban said during an address at the U.N. Forum on Advancing Global Health in the Face of Crises, a day-long forum at U.N. headquarters in New York. "The cost of cutting back is just unthinkable" (Xinhua/People"s Daily, 6/16).
Despite significant efforts from Pakistani authorities and humanitarian organizations to respond to the world"s largest and fastest displacement of people in more than a decade, relief efforts are barely coping, according to an Oxfam report published on Monday, the International News reports.
Pakistan "s Allocations For Public Health MDG Lagging
It"s not every day one wakes up and decides to ride their bike from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., but if you are Shawne Camp, anything is possible. Camp suffers from an extremely painful and rare lung disease called spontaneous pneumothorax, which can cause a sudden collapse of the lung. After enduring chest tubes, surgery to essentially glue his right lung to his chest wall and countless hours of pulmonary rehabilitation, Shawne has since made a full recovery.
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Agreements have been signed between the UK Government and vaccine manufacturers to secure supplies of up to 90 million doses of pre-pandemic H1N1 vaccine before a pandemic begins, the Department of Health announced today.
The Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) announced that results of the largest meta-analysis to date comparing mortality rates for drug-eluting stents (DES) versus bare metal stents (BMS) were published online June 15 in the journal Circulation. The study also compared the rates of myocardial infarction (MI) and target vessel revascularization (TVR).
As panic surrounding the spread of swine flu heightens following the World Health Organization"s declaration of a global pandemic, many may be fooling themselves into believing that their state or national border can provide protection from the virus, based on new research from NYU Stern on people"s tendency to treat arbitrary political boundaries as safeguards.
In the rarified world of protein crystal hunters, Fluidigm"s TOPAZ® system is the tool that has helped researchers solve the structures of proteins from the Ebola Virus and Avian Flu Influenza. Now Fluidigm is introducing its new 1.96 Diffraction Capable (DC) integrated fluidic circuit which will allow researchers something they have long sought - direct screen-to-beam capabilities without the need to physically harvest a crystal from the device.
Nanoparticles specially engineered by University of Central Florida Assistant Professor J. Manuel Perez and his colleagues could someday target and destroy tumors, sparing patients from toxic, whole-body chemotherapies.
Autistics are up to 40 percent faster at problem-solving than non-autistics, according to a new Universitē© de Montrē©al and Harvard University study published in the journal Human Brain Mapping. As part of the investigation, participants were asked to complete patterns in the Raven"s Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM) - test that measures hypothesis-testing, problem-solving and learning skills.
Gene regulatory networks in cell nuclei are similar to cloud computing networks, such as Google or Yahoo!, researchers report today in the online journal Molecular Systems Biology. The similarity is that each system keeps working despite the failure of individual components, whether they are master genes or computer processors.
Trial reports of the Evolife range of products in France have pointed to significant benefits and enhanced quality of life for cancer patients who use the products before, during and after chemo or radiotherapy treatment. Evolife is a natural range of cosmetics that is 100% dedicated to the support care of cancer patients.
The most popular type of gastric bypass surgery appears to nearly double the chance that a patient will develop kidney stones, despite earlier assumptions that it would not, Johns Hopkins doctors report in a new study. The overall risk, however, remains fairly small at about 8 percent.
How molecules of the oldest branch of the human immune system have interconnected has remained a mystery. Now, two new structures, both involving a central component of an enzyme important to the complement system of the immune response, reveal how this system fights invading microbes while avoiding problems of the body attacking itself.
For many women who suffer from migraines, pregnancy can be a period of relief from their headaches. Studies have found that preexisting migraines diminish or disappear in 42% to 98% of pregnant women. However, new, persistent, or worsening migraines during pregnancy can signal a serious problem that could result in a stroke. A study published in the March 2009 issue of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) stroke found that migraine was associated with a 17-fold increase in pregnancy-related stroke.
The Lancet has partnered with over 40 Elsevier-published journals and 11 learned societies to launch a new H1N1 Flu Re Centre for healthcare professionals at TheLancet.com. Developed byThe Lancet editors, this new online information clearinghouse aggregates infectious disease and public health information from across Elsevier"s spectrum of content.
The flow of water into and out from the cell may play a crucial role in several types of cancer. Scientists at the University of Gothenburg have now found the gate that regulates the flow of water into yeast cells. The discovery, which has been published in the journal PLoS Biology, raises hopes of developing a drug that inhibits the spread and growth of tumours.
JustAnswer®, the website where people go when they need answers from Doctors, Lawyers, Mechanics or other Experts, today announced it is partnering with the Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF), as part of Vision Research Month. The collaboration is to help the non-profit educate, identify and treat individuals with glaucoma. This disease, diagnosed in 2.4 million people per year worldwide, leads to blindness if untreated.
Discovering for the first time that copy number variation or CNV, where a strip of DNA is duplicated or missing, may
Brain injuries are the number one killer and disabler of people under the age of 45 in Canada. These injuries are
A new approach to stimulating immune cells enhances their anticancer activity, resulting in a powerful anti-tumor response in mice, according to a study by researchers at the National Cancer Institute, a part of the National Institutes of Health. This work represents an important advance in the development of immunotherapy for cancer and appears online June 14, 2009 in Nature Medicine.
Concerns over whether the tests a treatment undergoes before release onto the market are enough to ensure its long-term safety are raised in an editorial published by BMJ Clinical Evidence today.
Insecticides used in and around homes - including products voluntarily removed from the market years ago - were measured on the floors of U.S. residences, according to the first study large enough to generate national data on pesticide residues in homes. It is scheduled for the June 15 issue of ACS" semi-monthly journal Environmental Science & Technology.
TR BioSurgical, LLC, announced highly encouraging results using their new medical device (bioscaffold) in canine patients with advanced osteoarthritis. The new bioscaffold is implanted in or near diseased tissue and provides a structural matrix for local repair cells, such as stem cells or fibroblasts, to attach and heal tissue by local, physiological repair mechanisms. The new bioscaffold implant contains no drugs, cells or growth factors and is eventually resorbed by the infiltrating cells. The implant is made from a proprietary, copolymerized collagen and is sterile, cost effective, and non- immunogenic.
ZOLL Medical Corporation (Nasdaq GS: ZOLL), a manufacturer of resuscitation devices and related software solutions, announced that the ambulance service, RAV Gooi en Vechtstreek in Hilversum, The Netherlands, is the first EMS organization to equip its ambulances with a revolutionary new system that allows rescuers to defibrillate a heart without the need to stop chest compressions.
Antisense Therapeutics Ltd. (ASX: ANP) is pleased to report further positive results from its collaborative preclinical research studies on the therapeutic potential of ATL1101 in prostate cancer. In experimental models, ATL1101 treatment significantly enhanced the tumor-suppressive effect of the cancer drug Paclitaxel. Paclitaxel is one of a class of drugs known as taxanes. Along with androgen (a male hormone) blockade, taxane chemotherapy is an important treatment option in the most dangerous form of the disease, castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).
Cytokinetics, Incorporated (NASDAQ: CYTK) announced that the company has initiated a first-time-in-humans, Phase I clinical trial of CK-2017357 in healthy male volunteers. CK-2017357 is a fast skeletal muscle troponin activator and is the lead drug candidate that has emerged from the company"s skeletal sarcomere activator program. CK-2017357 selectively activates the troponin complex and increases its sensitivity to calcium, subsequently leading to an increase in skeletal muscle force. This mechanism of action has demonstrated encouraging pharmacological activity in preclinical models that may relate to the potential treatment of diseases associated with aging, muscle wasting, and neuromuscular dysfunction.
A new National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) assay using a "glow or no glow" technique may soon help the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defend the nation against a spectrum of biological weapons that could be used in a terrorist attack. One very dangerous toxin on the list is ricin, a protein derived from castor beans that is lethal in doses as small as 500 micrograms - about the size of a grain of salt.