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Increased Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Expression In Patients With Bladder Pain Syndrome/Interstitial Cystitis
UroToday.com - Angiogenesis is thought to be important in many chronic inflammatory disorders, including diabetic retinopathy, atherosclerosis, and inflammatory bowel disease. It has also been suggested that the angiogenic components of these diseases contribute to and exacerbate disease conditions. Increased levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) have been detected in patients with asthma and have been shown to be correlated with the severity of the disease. Anti-VEGF therapy has been shown to ameliorate inflammation in animal models of chronic inflammatory bowel disease. This background forms the prelude to a very interested study by Kiuchi and colleagues from Osaka, Japan.

UK To Play Lead Role In European Fight Against Dementia
The UK will play a leading role in coordinated European action to tackle dementia from.
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Senate Judiciary Committee Vote On Sotomayor Reset For July 28
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday postponed its vote on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor until July 28 at the request of Republican members who said they need one more week to review written answers she recently submitted to the panel, CongressDaily reports. Both Republicans and Democrats expect Sotomayor to be approved by the committee and confirmed by the Senate, CongressDaily reports (CongressDaily, 7/21).The delay came as Senate Republicans continued to weigh whether they would vote to confirm Sotomayor, the Wall Street Journal reports. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced plans to vote for Sotomayor and issued a statement calling the judge "committed to applying the law impartially without bias or favoritism." Four other moderate Republicans have said they will support Sotomayor, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) indicated that more might follow suit. "There are a number of Republicans who have announced they plan to vote for her," Leahy said, adding, "There are a number of others who"ve not made that announcement yet, but plan to vote for her" (Peterson, Wall Street Journal, 7/21). Leahy said he is confident that Sotomayor will be confirmed in time for the Supreme Court"s first meeting on Sept. 9.Some strong conservatives, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), have said they will oppose Sotomayor (Hirschfeld Davis, AP/Denver Post, 7/22). Among the Senate Republicans who have not announced their intentions are Sens. John Cornyn (Texas), who serves on the Judiciary Committee, and Judd Gregg (N.H.) (Wall Street Journal, 7/21).NARAL Endorses Sotomayor NARAL ProChoice America recently said that it will endorse Sotomayor, the AP/Seattle Times reports. The group said that Sotomayor"s testimony shows that she is a stronger supporter of privacy rights than the last two Supreme Court nominees -- Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. Sotomayor said several times during her confirmation hearings that privacy rights include a woman"s right to have an abortion, NARAL said. According to the AP/Times, NARAL did not endorse Sotomayor until now because of uncertainty over her views on abortion rights (Hirschfeld Davis, AP/Seattle Times, 7/21).
Nutrition

New Communication Technologies Help Cardiac Patients Improve Their Prognosis

The use of phone and internet between patients and healthcare providers is an effective way to reduce risk factors for coronary heart disease and the risk of further events after a heart attack, according to new research published today in the June issue of the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation.(1) The study"s senior investigator, Professor Ben Freedman from the Department of Cardiology at Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney, Australia, says that the provision of "telehealth" models could help increase the uptake of coronary prevention activities by those without access to cardiac rehabilitation, and "narrow the gap between evidence and practice". That evidence has already shown that formal cardiac rehabilitation programmes consistently reduce the risk of further events (secondary prevention), improve personal risk factor profiles, encourage compliance with drug therapy, and enhance quality of life through exercise and education. However, according to Professor Freedman, it is also known that only one-third of eligible patients participate in cardiac rehabilitation programmes in Europe, the USA and Australia. This new study, a systematic review of trials applying new communication technologies in cardiac prevention, suggests that telehealth can indeed provide an "innovative model" by which access is increased and the "diverse nature of people and communities accommodated". The review analysed all published randomised trials evaluating a telephone or internet-based intervention whose end-points were a measure of mortality, changes in levels of multiple risk factors for heart disease, or quality of life. Says the study"s lead author Lis Neubeck from Concord Repatriation General Hospital in Sydney: "We aimed to determine if, in a world increasingly dominated by electronic technology, interventions for preventing recurrent coronary disease could be delivered in innovative ways to enable more people to access effective secondary prevention. Our analysis, which involved more than 3000 patients across 11 studies, suggests that the electronic age is indeed providing effective alternatives for the delivery of preventive health change." The study defined telehealth prevention programmes as those which made at least 50 per cent of their patient contact through telephone or internet. However, total patient contact in the studies assessed varied in length - from just 40 minutes to nine hours. In more than half the studies a nurse delivered the intervention. The most common methods of contact were by telephone, and around half the trials supplemented new technology communication with written information. Only two of the 11 trials used an internet programme, which included progress graphs, online rewards and discussion groups with experts and other patients. No trials using other communication technologies - such as video conferencing - were found. Results of the analysis showed that the telehealth interventions were associated with a 30 per cent lower mortality rate than non-intervention controls, but this was not statistically significant and reflected a real-life "absolute" risk reduction of 1 per cent. However, there were significant findings in the effect of telehealth on modifiable risk factors for coronary disease. Follow-up showed lower total cholesterol levels in the telehealth patients than in controls, lower levels of systolic blood pressure, and fewer people continuing to smoke. Favourable effects were also found in levels of physical activity and quality of life. "People today are increasingly time-poor," says Lis Neubeck, "and attendance at a centre-based programme for the secondary prevention of recurrent coronary events tends to limit access. Utilising electronic technologies has the potential to increase access for these services without compromising outcomes. "It"s worth noting that three of the programmes we reviewed were from Australia. The CHOICE study, for example, showed that a brief flexible intervention provides effective risk factor reduction for 12 months following an acute heart event. Reaching people in rural and remote communities is a particular problem in Australia and these interventions have the potential to overcome barriers of time and distance, thus enabling us to reach populations with problems in accessing healthcare, at affordable cost." 1) Neubeck L, Redfern J, Fernandez R, Briffa T, Bauman A, Freedman SB. Telehealth interventions for the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease: a systematic review. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil 2009; 16; 281-289. 2) The European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation is a journal of the European Society of Cardiology. ESC Press Office European Society of Cardiology


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