Cardiovascular
In a disappointing move, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did an about face in issuing a final regulation classifying dental amalgam without calling for stringent precautions for pregnant women and children. Last June, a court settlement filed by the Consumers for Dental Choice required the FDA to withdraw claims of mercury amalgam"s safety from its Web site and issue an advisory indicating: "Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses."
A new study from Thomson Reuters found that patients with bipolar disorder were at greater risk for a wide range of medical conditions than a control group of patients with no mental health diagnoses.
A group of researchers at Johns Hopkins University has designed nanoparticles that can carry cancer-treating radioisotopes through the body and deliver them selectively to tumors. Today in Anaheim, CA, they will report the latest results of their research, including studies in animal models, at the 51st meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM).
The Medical Protection Society (MPS) welcomes the Court of Appeal decision that NHS hospital doctors have the right to legal representation at disciplinary hearings, where serious charges are raised. The ruling gives doctors a contractual right to legal representation by a lawyer instructed by a medical defence organisation (MDO).
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.
An 11th patient taking Biogen Idec"s multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Tysabri has developed a potentially deadly brain infection.
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries. ~ "Mainstream Media Reinforces Unexamined Arguments Against Public Funding for Abortion," Amanda Marcotte, RH Reality Check: It "seems that mainstream media s ... believe that abortion is an effective cudgel to beat health care reform to death," Marcotte writes. According to Marcotte, the "unvarnished truth" is that there is "no way that any kind of public health care plan will have elective abortion coverage. Nor is there any real chance of abortion becoming mandated coverage." However, "you wouldn"t know it to read the media coverage of this issue," she writes, continuing that "we"ve got the toxic mixture of pants-on-fire lying anti-choicers and cowardly media outlets that give the opponents of health care reform an opportunity to lie about the potential for taxpayer-funded abortions." Those who defend health care reform are "so busy trying to shut down the misinformation about abortion coverage that we"re not having the more interesting discussion about whether or not abortion should be covered," Marcotte says. She adds, "And by not having that discussion, we"re allowing the belief that some people"s moral objections to abortion should dictate federal policy lay unchallenged," she continues. She writes that she "suspect[s] that anti-choicers latched onto taxpayer-funded abortions because they can count on a lot of the public to imagine the government funding female licentiousness." Marcotte concludes that the "good news is that this contempt for female sexuality has receded enough that the media debate hasn"t -- yet -- turned to whether or not health care reform should cover contraception" (Marcotte, RH Reality Check, 7/28).~ "Privileging Opposition to Abortion," Jamison Foser, Media Matters for America: Some reporters "have skewed their reports in favor of those who oppose" coverage of abortion in federally subsidized insurance plans, according to Foser. For example, Foser writes that on a recent episode of MSNBC"s "Hardball," host Chris Matthews asked Sens. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) "leading questions that encouraged them to state their opposition to insurance coverage of abortion" but never asked them "one simple question: Why shouldn"t abortion be covered, given that the procedure is legal?" Foser adds, "Nor has he asked if there are any other legal procedures that shouldn"t be covered." The "premise that taxpayers who oppose abortion shouldn"t have to pay for them with their tax money carries obvious implications the media ignores," Foser writes. He adds that the "idea that taxpayers shouldn"t pay for insurance that covers medical services they don"t support is fundamentally incompatible with the very concept of insurance." He continues, "If every interest group wields veto power over the medical care insurance can cover, insurance simply can"t work." However, this is not the "only logical inconsistency on the part of abortion foes that the media fail to examine" in their coverage of abortion issues in the health reform debate, he writes. "Many of those who are most adamant that the government not allow abortion to be paid for by health insurance plans are the same conservatives who argue against health care reform by warning of the prospect of a government bureaucrat getting between you and your doctor," according to Foser. He continues that the "same people who want a government ban on insurance coverage for a legal medical procedure turn around and demagogue about government bureaucrats making medical decisions," which is "a pretty obvious inconsistency, the kind any reporter should be able to spot easily." However, the "tension between those two positions has gone unexplored in news reports about the abortion controversy," Foser concludes (Foser, Media Matters for America, 7/24).~ "Obama Abortion Backtrack Shows He"s All Rhetoric, No Fight," Bonnie Erbe, U.S. News & World Report"s "Thomas Jefferson Street": "[O]ne thing we know will not be incl
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.
Cannabis Science Inc. (OTCBB: CBIS), an emerging pharmaceutical cannabis company, is pleased to report that the FDA has provided the Company with documentation to assist the Company to review and plan its initial applications to get its first drug into formal testing.
TCT will also host forum on electronic medical records
Sylentis, a bio-pharmaceutical company Zeltia Group (MC: ZEL), a
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.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final regulation today, Wednesday, saying that at the levels dentists use for tooth cavity
England"s ethnic minorities are just as likely to access GP services as their white counterparts and have similarly positive clinical outcomes, a study published this month has found.
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.
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.
Retroviruses such as HIV that are already within cells are much more easily transmitted when they are next to uninfected cells than if they are floating free in the bloodstream.
A coalition of Hispanic organizations on Tuesday urged parents of Hispanic teenagers to talk with their children about sex to curb the high teenage birth rate among the group, the McClatchy/Miami Herald reports. Hispanics are predicted to make up 25% of the teenage population nationwide by 2025 and efforts to curb their teen pregnancy rate is key to reducing unwanted pregnancies among all teenagers, according to the McClatchy/Herald. More than half of Hispanic teenage girls will become pregnant before age 20 -- nearly twice the national average and the highest of any ethnic or racial group in the U.S., according to coalition, which includes MANA, a national Hispanic women"s organization. Ana Sol Gutierrez, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates and a participant in the coalition, said the higher pregnancy rates among Hispanic teenagers can be attributed in part to a "different mind-set" among the group that embraces motherhood even at a young age. She said the key to reducing unplanned teenage pregnancies among Hispanics is to educate them about choosing "when and how" to become parents, while still embracing maternity. The National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy surveyed more than 1,600 Hispanic teenagers and adults nationwide and found that 76% of teens said their parents most influenced their decisions about sex but that most parents said they did not know how to have such a conversation with their children. The finding was particularly evident among parents who only speak Spanish. Ruthie Flores, a co-author of the study, said the solution is culturally appropriate education (Chung, McClatchy/Miami Herald, 5/19).
"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).
Despite having access to some of the best health care in the world, many Americans with the most common form of eczema, known as atopic dermatitis, have sought relief from "alternative medicines." However, dermatologists caution that patients seeking alternative treatments to alleviate symptoms of this common, chronic, inflammatory skin disease marked by red, itchy rashes, risk developing more severe symptoms by delaying treatment.
Although acne traditionally has been considered a disease of teenagers, it is also extremely common in adult women. Studies show that acne affects more than 50 percent of women between the ages of 20-29 and more than 25 percent of women between the ages of 40-49 (1). In fact, after age 20, women are far more likely to report having acne than men. While there is no cure for acne, dermatologists are finding that hormonal therapies can help some women fight bothersome acne that occurs in adulthood.
The Washington Post: "Three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee are expected to wrap up their arduous multi-week talks in the coming days, and Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said he expects a panel vote before the Senate recess, which will begin Aug. 7. Assuming the fragile committee coalition holds, the legislation it produces would scramble the reform landscape by introducing policy ideas that have their origins in the political center. The bill is bound to disappoint liberals."
"You can think of Congress"s efforts to pay for health reform as being a little bit like a battle to slay a many-headed Hydra," writes the New York Times" economic columnist, David Leonhardt. Congress has floated idea after idea for paying for comprehensive health reform, but their proposals have failed to make ends meet because they "do not raise revenue as quickly as health costs rise." Most new taxes - such as a surtax on the rich proposed in the House - increase only as quickly as the economy, while health costs have inflated much more quickly over the last decade.
The Congressional Budget Office has so far "failed to attribute any savings to increased efforts to provide preventive efforts like stop-smoking programs," challenging the notion that preventive care saves money for the health care system, NPR reports. "Former CBO health analyst Joe Antos, now at the American Enterprise Institute, says preventive services often cost more than they save. In screening people for cancer, for example, he says, "you screen literally millions of people, sometimes at fairly high cost per screen. You"ll pick up some true positives, people who really have the disease. You"ll pick up some false positives." Then all those people have to be followed up by the medical system, which costs even more money."
"As Congress struggles with a massive health care overhaul, several lobbying powerhouses - including the pharmaceutical industry and the nation"s largest advocacy group for retirees - are locked in a contentious fight over the future of biotechnology drugs," USA Today reports in a front page package. "Both sides have spent heavily to sway lawmakers in the debate over how long to keep the expensive drugs exempt from generic competition." The pharmaceutical industry is fighting for 12 years of exclusivity, while President Barack Obama is "pushing for seven years of exclusivity as he looks to trim costs to help pay for his health care plan. ... The pharmaceutical industry counters that a longer period of exclusivity is needed to recover its investments in "biologic drugs," which are made from living organisms and used to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis and other serious diseases."
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.
Patients being tested for HIV from a mouth swab placed in their mouth can now get their results in just 20 minutes.
On the 16th May Member of European Parliament Magor Imre Csibi (Romanian MEP of the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats), the UK National Obesity Forum (NOF) and the Belgian Obese Patients organisation (BOLD) launched the "European Obesity Day" online survey. With excess weight and obesity increasing across Europe at an alarming rate, the online survey seeks to understand to what degree this is of concern to European citizens and what steps we think should be taken to address this pressing issue.
Today there are an estimated 5.3 million Americans with Alzheimer"s disease. Although the majority of Alzheimer cases are individuals age 65 and older, there is still a significant number of individuals under age 65 impacted by this fatal disease that today has no cure. For people under age 65 with Alzheimer"s disease or a related dementia, their cognitive impairment can quickly reach a point where they can no longer maintain gainful employment. The Alzheimer"s Association applauds the Social Security Administration (SSA) for holding a hearing today to examine whether these individuals with younger-onset Alzheimer"s disease or related dementias should be included in its Compassionate Allowances Initiative.
Men who have a regular, ongoing relationship with a health care provider are more likely to receive prostate cancer screening and less likely to be diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, regardless of their race, according to a University of North Carolina study published in the current issue of the journal Cancer.
The US-based PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Malaria Vaccine Development Program (MVDP), and Dutch biopharmaceutical company Crucell N.V. (Euronext, Nasdaq: CRXL; Swiss Exchange: CRX) today announced a collaboration to accelerate development of a promising type of malaria vaccine. Through funding from the USAID MVDP, the partners will conduct studies to determine the effectiveness of Crucell"s novel prime-boost vaccine approach against the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. This approach uses Crucell"s proprietary recombinant adenoviruses (a type of virus associated with the common cold and other mild respiratory infections) to deliver a malaria antigen to the immune system.
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Researchers at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer have found that head and neck cancer patients who test positive for the human papillomavirus (HPV) have much better survival rates than patients who don"t have the virus, according to a new study in the journal Cancer Prevention Research. The researchers also discovered that blacks in the study had a very low rate of HPV infection, and consequently worse survival, which may explain why African-American patients traditionally have had a poor prognosis for head and neck cancer.
A unique event to discuss Autism and employment was held at Goldsmiths, University of London this week. For the first time charities, researchers, business and government were brought together to look at how people with Autism, and related disorders, can be supported effectively into employment.
Most people think arthritis is worse in the cold, winter months but a dirty little secret is that it can be just as painful during the hot, summer months as well.
The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery announces the results of its 2009 Less Common Cosmetic Procedures consumer survey. While the media has coined these cosmetic procedures as "fringe" and made it seem that they are in high demand, it is important to clarify the facts. The results reveal that less common cosmetic procedures are generally over-hyped and over-analyzed.
A research team comprised of faculty at Worcester Polytechnic Institute"s (WPI) Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center (LSBC) and investigators at CellThera, a private company also located at the LSBC, has discovered a novel way to turn on stem cell genes in human fibroblasts (skin cells) without the risks associated with inserting extra genes or using viruses. This discovery opens a new avenue for reprogramming cells that could eventually lead to treatments for a range of human diseases and traumatic injuries by coaxing a patient"s own cells to repair and regenerate the damaged tissues.
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.
A UK hospital that combined its bereavement and donation services saw a forty-fold increase in tissue donations, such as corneas, in just five years, according to research in the August issue of Anaesthesia.
The American Red Cross is pleased to announce five new additions to its National Celebrity Cabinet, a group of celebrity supporters who promote Red Cross services by donating their time, helping neighbors prepare for emergencies, responding to disasters and lending a helping hand to those in need.
U.S. Senators Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Herb Kohl (D-WI) of the Special Committee on Aging held a hearing to address the issue of transparency in physician-industry financial relationships. Among the hearing"s topics were the industry"s involvement in continuing medical education and its potential use as a method for promoting "off-label" prescribing. The senators heard from witnesses about different ways to achieve balance between appropriate industry involvement in continuing medical education while mitigating unethical and illegal promotion.
With an estimated 57 million Americans with pre-diabetes, the American Diabetes Association today launches My Health Advisor, an online tool that helps people understand their personal risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. My Health Advisor is available at http://www.CheckUpAmerica.org/MHA.
Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. ("SCT" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:SSS) is pleased to announce the acceptance and publication of the paper entitled "Open labeled, uncontrolled pharmacokinetic study of single intramuscular hCG dose in healthy male volunteers" by the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Vol. 47, August 2009. This paper was authored by Drs. Alan Moore, President & CEO, Allen Davidoff, VP Product Development and Yan Yang, Clinical Research Associate, all of SCT; Dr. Michael D. Hill of Foothills Hospital at the University of Calgary, and Dr. Steven C. Cramer, from the University of California, Irvine.
VisEn Medical Inc., a leader in fluorescence in vivo imaging from research through medicine, announced that scientists reporting in the July 31 issue of SCIENCE have discovered a key disease-related biologic pathway using an integrated and innovative array of in vitro readouts and advanced in vivo imaging technologies. The newly reported biologic pathway relates to monocyte deployment from the spleen to inflammatory sites, including myocardial infarction. The findings are expected to open up new areas of research and potentially advance therapeutic approaches to key disease areas including inflammation and myocardial injury.
OmniComm Systems, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: OMCM), a leader in integrated electronic data capture (EDC) solutions for clinical trials announced that a growing US Clinical Research Organization (CRO) has selected OmniComm to provide eClinical solutions in connection with two of the CRO"s Phase IV studies covering approximately 27 sites and more than 700 subjects. Additional details were not disclosed. Phase IV studies take place after a drug has been approved for marketing and are designed to provide broader experience in evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the new medicine in larger numbers of patients, subpopulations of patients, and to compare and/or combine it with other available treatments.
United Therapeutics Corporation (Nasdaq: UTHR) announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved TYVASO (treprostinil) Inhalation Solution for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) using the TYVASO Inhalation System (which includes the Optineb-ir device and accessories). TYVASO is indicated to increase walk distance in patients with NYHA Class III symptoms associated with WHO Group I PAH, which includes multiple etiologies such as idiopathic and familial PAH as well as PAH associated with scleroderma and congenital heart disease.
When minimally invasive endovascular (through the vessel) therapy made its debut two decades ago, stroke care underwent a major shift as the "window of treatment" for patients suffering a stroke was expanded to eight hours within symptom onset, rather than the standard three-hour window required by the FDA-approved intravenous tPA therapy. Now, a new retrospective, multi-center study shows that endovascular therapy beyond the eight-hour window restored blood flow in the brain in approximately 74 percent of patients suffering ischemic (caused by a clot) stroke. Presented today at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS) 6th Annual Meeting in Boca Raton, FL, the data suggests that this treatment is safe and potentially leads to improved outcomes for a select number of late-presenting patients, including those who awake with stroke symptoms.
More than 40 percent of the 120 million visits that Americans made to hospital emergency departments in 2006 were billed to public insurance, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Doing something unusual, like knocking on wood or patting yourself on the head, while taking a daily dose of medicine may be an effective strategy to help seniors remember whether they"ve already taken their daily medications, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.
Doctors" leaders are warning that unless urgent action is taken to plug the gap in the shortage of middle grade doctors, the NHS in Wales could become unsafe both for staff and patients.
As part of its study of how much vitamin D and calcium people need, a committee convened by the Institute of Medicine will hold a public workshop to gather insights and data from experts on Tuesday, Aug. 4. Among the workshop"s presentations will be a discussion of a recent vitamin D and calcium report released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which can be found at http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/tp/vitadcaltp.htm. A workshop agenda with a list of presentations is available at http://www.iom.edu/?id=68400.
Oregon Health & Science University has been named a Circle of Life Award winner for its innovative program that improves the care of patients near the end of life or with life-threatening conditions.
A new education programme has been developed to provide enhanced training in genetic technologies and clinical applications for healthcare scientists working in laboratory genetics, Health Minister Ann Keen announced.
Chinese state media on Thursday reported that women in the country have about 13 million abortions annually, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. According to the China Daily newspaper, the actual number likely is much higher because the 13 million includes abortions performed in hospitals but not unreported procedures performed in rural clinics. Most of the abortions were among single young women who experts say know little about contraception. The paper also said that about 10 million pills for medical abortion are sold annually in the country. China imposed strict population controls in the 1970s that prohibit most couples from having more than one child. For married women, sterilization and the use of intrauterine devices are widely promoted and subsidized. However, Chinese policies typically do not address the needs of unmarried women, even as national attitudes have become more accepting of sex outside of marriage, the AP/Chronicle reports. According to the newspaper, about 62% of the abortions were among unmarried women ages 20 to 29. The Chinese report called the number of abortions "an unfortunate situation" but did not indicate whether the procedures are increasing or decreasing from year to year. National Population and Family Planning Commission official Wu Shangchun is quoted in the report as saying that almost half of the women seeking abortion had used no form of contraception. Wu also said that reducing abortions is a national challenge that requires significant effort. Peking University professor Li Ying said that sex education in China must be improved at the university level and that Chinese parents must do more to teach children about sex (AP/Houston Chronicle, 7/30).
The following summarizes recent research related to ovarian cancer.~ Early periods linked to lower survival: Women who start menstruating at an early age or experience more menstrual cycles over their lifetimes appear to have a lower chance of surviving ovarian cancer, according to a study published this month in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention, Reuters reports. For the study, researcher Cheryl Robbins and colleagues analyzed the medical data of 410 ovarian cancer patients who participated in the Cancer and Steroid Hormone study between 1980 and 1982. The analysis found that the women who had their first period before age 12 had a 51% greater risk of dying than the women who began menstruating at age 14 or older. The women who had the highest number of lifetime menstrual cycles had a 67% greater risk of dying during follow-up than the women with the lowest number of cycles (Reuters, 7/24).~ Lung cancer risk higher for women after hysterectomy with ovary removal: Women who have had hysterectomies in which their uterus and both ovaries are removed to prevent ovarian cancer appear to have a higher risk for developing lung cancer, according to researchers at the University of Montreal, the New York Times reports. The researchers discovered the connection while looking for links between lung cancer and hormones for a study published in May in the International Journal of Cancer. Although they did not find a relationship between lung cancer risk and hormonal factors such as menstruation patterns, child-bearing or breastfeeding, the researchers found that women who had medically induced menopause had 1.92 times greater risk of developing lung cancer than women who had natural menopause (Caryn Rabin, New York Times, 7/24).~ Small tumors present for years before detection: Minute-sized ovarian tumors form and remain in the Fallopian tubes for an average of four years before they grow large enough to be detected, which might suggest why ovarian cancer frequently is diagnosed in its later stages, according to a study published in the journal PLoS Medicine, Reuters reports. For the study, lead researcher Patrick Brown of Stanford University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and colleagues analyzed the tumors of women whose Fallopian tubes and ovaries were removed because they had family histories of and genetic risk for ovarian cancer. They found small tumors -- most less than three millimeters in diameter -- that previously had not been detected in the women. In a statement, Brown said, "There is a long window of opportunity for potentially lifesaving early detection of this disease, but the tumor spreads while it is still much too small to be detected by any of the tests that have been developed or proposed to date." According to Reuters, blood tests for the compound called CA-125 may help guide therapy but do not indicate whether a woman has a tumor (Reuters, 7/28).
Levels of flu in Wales increased sharply in the week ending 26 July. Current levels of flu in Wales would be considered normal in the winter. Swine flu usually leads to a mild illness although in a minority of cases it can be severe
The Associated Press reports: "Federal authorities arrested more than 30 suspects, including doctors, and were seeking others in a major Medicare fraud bust Wednesday in New York, Louisiana, Boston and Houston, targeting scams such as "arthritis kits" - expensive braces that many patients never used. More than 200 agents worked on the $16 million bust that included 12 search warrants at health care businesses and homes across the Houston area, where the bulk of the arrests were made. Federal authorities say those businesses were giving patients "arthritis kits," which were nothing more than expensive orthotics that included knee and shoulder braces and heating pads. Patients told authorities they were unnecessary and many never even received them. But health care clinic owners billed between $3,000 to $4,000 for each kit. ... In some cases, clinic owners billed patients who were dead when they allegedly received the items" (Kennedy, 7/29).
"Expanded testing across India in the past three years shows a 2,000 percent jump in the number of HIV cases among children, [Ghulam Nabi Azad] the country"s health minister announced Wednesday," CNN reports. As of May 2009, reports found that nearly 53,000 children are living with HIV in India - up from 2,253 recorded cases in November 2006, Azad said during an address to the parliament (Singh, 7/29).
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).
Scientists have called it "junk DNA." They have long been perplexed by these extensive strands of genetic material that dominate the genome but seem to lack specific functions. Why would nature force the genome to carry so much excess baggage?
Video Game Teaches Kenyan Teens HIV Prevention
Columnist George Curry on Tuesday in the Hudson Valley Press discussed how HIV/AIDS is impacting the black community, particularly in Washington, D.C. The piece includes comments from Phill Wilson, CEO of the Black AIDS Institute and C. Virginia Fields, president and CEO of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, who discuss statistics and recommendations to address HIV/AIDS among the black community, including routine HIV testing. Curry writes, "If C. Virginia Fields and other activists get their wish and have [HIV] testing incorporated into routine health testing, that will place a heavier burden on crowded counseling and treatment facilities. But it"s not an insurmountable burden. The question is: Do we have the national will to take on this epidemic?" (7/29).
Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, today announced that it has requested re-examination of the negative opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), for the use of Erbitux® (cetuximab) in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy for the 1st-line treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Taking the opinion seriously Merck Serono will work closely with the CHMP to unravel the value of Erbitux for patients benefit most.
As mathematics continues to become an increasingly important component in undergraduate biology programs, a more comprehensive understanding of the use of algebraic models is needed by the next generation of biologists to facilitate new advances in the life sciences, according to researchers at Sweet Briar College and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech.
Migraine headaches are a drain - not only on the estimated 30 million Americans who suffer from them, but on the economy, too. Because pain and other symptoms caused by migraine headaches can be quite severe, it is projected that nearly $13 billion is spent every year in headache treatment and loss of time from work, which no one can afford these days. But according to a new study in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), there is hope for severe and frequent migraine sufferers who can"t find relief in conventional remedies.
Views are being sought on European proposals for a revised regime for regulating the placing on the market and use of biocides.
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.
Older breast cancer patients are not receiving a full range of treatment options, according to a report published in the British Journal of Cancer.
Without knowing how much of an industrial chemical is being produced, it is almost impossible for scientists to determine if it poses any threat to the environment or human health.
The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), the nation"s oldest and largest, independent association for physicians-in-training, is pleased to present the graduates of the AMSA Foundation-VITAS End of Life Education Fellowship Program. Five medical students have spent the past six weeks immersing themselves in end of life (EOL) care issues.
Recent questions about the death of Michael Jackson have focused media attention on the commonly used intravenous anesthetic propofol. In the April 2009 issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, the leading clinical journal for anesthesiologists, Robert R. Kirby, James M. Colaw and Michael M. Douglas reported on a 24-year-old woman whose 2005 death was attributed to propofol toxicity.
San Antonio ò€¦ Robert Renthal, professor of biochemistry in the College of Sciences" Department of Biology at The University of Texas at San Antonio and JosÓ© Lopez-Ribot, professor of microbiology in UTSA"s Department of Biology and a member of the university"s South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, have received a combined $940,000 in stimulus funding from the National Institutes of Health to further their research over the next two years.
The world"s top lung cancer specialists, medical professionals and researchers are convening this week in San Francisco, CA for the 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC), organized by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). According to a series of studies presented today at the WCLC, targeted therapies, as first-line treatment, have the potential to slow cancer growth and improve patient outcomes. Unlike traditional chemotherapy-based treatments, which destroy cancerous and non-cancerous cells alike, targeted therapies are designed to inhibit only cancer cell replication and tumor growth and are generally well tolerated by patients.
President Obama on Thursday issued a directive to federal agencies to begin following new NIH guidelines on federally funded embryonic stem cell research, Reuters/New York Times reports (Reuters/New York Times, 7/30). NIH announced the final guidelines earlier this month. The guidelines assess whether newly created embryonic stem cell lines can be used for federally funded research, as well as clarify how old lines will be evaluated (Daily Women"s Health Policy Report, 7/7).In March, Obama overturned President George W. Bush"s policy limiting federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. In a statement Thursday, Obama said, "I hereby direct the heads of executive departments and agencies that support and conduct stem cell research to adopt these guidelines, to the fullest extent practicable in light of legal authorities and obligations" (Reuters/New York Times, 7/30).
Intrauterine devices "seem like the perfect form of contraception: simple to use, long-lasting, reversible, hormone-free, economical," Slate columnist Kate Klonick writes. She asks, "So why are American women so late to this party? Perhaps the better question is: Why did they leave the party to begin with?"Klonick explains the benefits of IUDs, calling them a "foolproof method of birth control" and noting that they are 99% effective and "can last up to 10 years." Although IUDs can cost between $300 and $500, it is a one-time expense that is often covered by insurance, according to Klonick. She notes that although efficacy studies show that birth control pills, patches and vaginal rings can be "99% effective in a clinical setting, real-life compliancy -- like forgetting to take the pill at the same time every day -- reduces its success rate." Klonick adds that the availability of hormone-free IUDs makes them an "ideal" option for "women prone to some of the negative effects of hormonal birth control, like weight gain, mood swings, acne or high blood pressure."According to Klonick, IUDs were used by almost 10% of U.S. women taking birth control in the late 1970s but are now used by less than 2% of such women. She writes that Katharine O"Connell, a gynecologist at Columbia University who specializes in contraception, believes IUDs still carry a stigma "due to the erroneous belief that they"re highly dangerous" partly due to a number of deaths that occurred in the early 1970s tied to a specific brand of IUD known as the Dalkon Shield. Because of bad publicity surrounding the devices, "the U.S. pharmaceutical industry abandoned the research and manufacturing of IUDs in the mid-1980s, claiming the devices were no longer profitable," Klonick states. According to O"Connell, most experts now agree that the Dalkon Shield"s problems were related to its design, which made users more susceptible to infection, and a lack of testing for sexually transmitted infections before insertion.There are now two major brands of IUDs -- Mirena and ParaGard -- on the U.S. market, but physican training remains a problem, according to Klonick. She writes that studies show that premedical students are not educated regarding IUDs to the extent they are about oral contraceptive pills. O"Connell also noted that many medical schools limit classes on contraception to one lecture, which often omits IUDs. Klonick writes, "This lack of training can leave many doctors feeling uncomfortable recommending the once-controversial devices to their patients." She adds that many physicians who know how to insert and remove IUDs "still refuse to recommend it to childless patients because of the device"s checkered history." She concludes, "With Mirena advertising on television, the downturn in the economy forcing people to economize, and more women concerned about the long-term effects hormones have on their bodies, perhaps the IUD"s stigma will finally become a thing of the past" (Klonick, Slate, 7/29).
"Health care costs are killing small businesses. Their insurance premiums are rising dramatically and unpredictably," NPR reports. "Jody Hall, who owns Seattle"s Cupcake Royale, now pays as much in health insurance for her employees as she does in rent for four choice Seattle storefronts. A majority of working Americans are employed by small businesses, but according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, only 6 in 10 small businesses provide health care. What"s more, the National Federation of Independent Business reports that small companies pay substantially more in premiums than large firms do. Hall, for example, has just three or four insurers to choose from, and she says they won"t negotiate on price."
CNN examines Malawi"s efforts to address its shortage of nurses. Though in the past, health workers "have been lured abroad by the promise of higher wages and better working conditions," the country has succeeded in putting a stop to "its crippling brain drain of nurses" by expanding "educational opportunities for nurses at all levels" and by "paying modestly more money," CNN writes.
Previously untreated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients over the age of 70 respond well to a combination of bevacizumab and erlotinib, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers reported at the annual meeting of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.
UroToday.com - Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma Hominis are members of a unique group of microorganisms commonly identified in the genital tract of women. With the onset of sexual intercourse the prevalence of Mycoplasma increases dramatically an isolation is strongly dependent on the number of sexual partners. Convincing evidence of an infection caused by genital Mycoplasma is not easy, because they usually are not isolated in pure culture, making the evaluation even more difficult.
UroToday.com - We undertook a systematic review of the literature in reference to the use of ipsilateral adrenalectomy at the time of radical nephrectomy for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. Important in the understanding of this is accurately defining..
A school-based program that integrates information about healthy relationships into the existing ninth-grade curriculum appears to reduce adolescent dating violence and increase condom use two and a half years later, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The effects of the low-cost intervention appear stronger in boys.
Parents of newborns who tip the scales at less than 5 ÷½ pounds should put some heavy thought to a possible future consequence: kidney disease. Low birth weight babies have a 70% greater risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD) in later life, according to research published in the August issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases, the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation.
New sequencing and analysis of six strains of Chlamydia will result in improved diagnosis of the sexually transmitted infection. This study provides remarkable insights into a new strain of Chlamydia that was identified in Sweden in 2006 after spreading rapidly across the country by evading most established diagnostic tests.
"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 Agence-France Press examines the debate over how much developed countries are spending to fight the H1N1 virus. There is concern that as developed countries store away antivirals, face masks and vaccines to protect against the H1N1 (swine) flu virus, poor countries are being left empty handed. "Some critics say the spending is so imbalanced that it amounts to health apartheid, protecting rich countries against H1N1 but leaving poor nations to fend for themselves," the news service writes, adding, "Others argue gargantuan sums are being spent on a disease that is no more lethal than seasonal flu, which is grotesquely disproportionate when thousands die each day of less media-friendly diseases."
Francis Collins, President Obama"s pick to head NIH, and Regina Benjamin, Obama"s surgeon general nominee, have spoken publicly about their religious beliefs but also have expressed views on issues such as embryonic stem cell research that conflict with church teachings, USA Today reports. Collins, who headed the Human Genome Project, is an evangelical Christian who supports the use of human embryonic stem cells in some medical research. Focus on the Family in a newsletter lauded Obama"s choice of an evangelical to lead NIH but said that abortion-rights opponents cannot support Collins" views, "particularly since he supports destructive human embryonic stem cell research."Benjamin is a Roman Catholic and sits on the board of the Catholic Health Association. She also is active in her local church and received a papal medal in 2006. According to USA Today, Catholic leaders from her native state of Alabama say they have not heard Benjamin voice support for abortion rights. The Bayou La Batre, La., medical clinic that she oversees does not perform abortions. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, initially expressed support for Benjamin"s nomination, saying, "Her tireless and selfless efforts are a model for all physicians." He later said that he opposes any possible support she might give "mandated abortion coverage" in health reform.The White House has said that Benjamin agrees with Obama "on reproductive issues." Retired archbishop Oscar Lipscomb, who nominated Benjamin for the papal medal, said, "She is a practicing Catholic and faithful and, to the best of my knowledge, in all those questions that have arisen so far, there has never been a conflict in her practice and in her conversation with regard to what the church expects of medical practitioners." Former Surgeon General David Satcher, who taught Benjamin at Morehouse School of Medicine, said, "While the religion of the surgeon general may very well influence his or her ... approach, the message has to be the public health science," adding, "It"s not a religious message. It"s a public health science message."Emilie Townes, associate dean of academic affairs for Yale Divinity School, said that Obama"s choices represent his aim to "break the mold" of traditional politics, adding that Collins and Benjamin are examples of "big tent" evangelicalism and Catholicism (Banks, USA Today, 8/3).
Our cells are controlled by billions of molecular "switches" and chemists at UC Santa Barbara have developed a theory that explains how these molecules work. Their findings may significantly help efforts to build biologically based sensors for the detection of chemicals ranging from drugs to explosives to disease markers.
With the "last resort" antibiotic Vancomycin now plagued by the first signs of bacterial resistance, a scientific collaboration centered at Duke University has identified how a candidate successor antibiotic known as Ramoplanin A2 can kill pathogenic bacteria by interrupting how they form their cell membranes.
Assisted dying laws do not mean that fewer people use palliative care, according to a study published on bmj.com today.
"Money can"t buy me love" the Beattles famously sang. And now a new paper by University of Notre Dame economist Kasey Buckles and colleagues suggests "money" or more precisely the price of marriage, can significantly affect the decision to marry.
A new study of childhood obesity in the United States has found that some social factors, such as the presence of friends, may put overweight youths at greater risk of overeating.
Researchers have pinpointed a specific gene variation that causes increased risk of urinary bladder cancer, according to a scientific team led by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Over two-thirds of American families are "blended," which means they are made up of remarried adults and often stepchildren. Although it"s good news that many divorced people remarry, the bad news is that too many of them carry the animosities and negative behavior patterns of their former heartbreaks into their new situation.
Bionovo, Inc. (Nasdaq: BNVI) announced positive results from the Phase 1B clinical trial of Bezielle (formerly BZL101), their lead drug candidate for advanced breast cancer. In the trial, Bezielle showed an excellent safety and tolerability profile, and also showed promising indications of efficacy in a difficult-to-treat population.
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: LXRX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing breakthrough treatments for human disease, announced that it has initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial of LX2931 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. LX2931 is an orally-delivered, small molecule drug candidate that has recently completed Phase 1 testing in normal volunteers. Lexicon also successfully completed a drug-drug interaction (DDI) study of LX2931 with methotrexate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, with no clinically significant drug-drug interactions observed.
Covidien (NYSE: COV), a leading global provider of healthcare products, has announced a key milestone in the continued growth and use of the OxiNet™ III remote respiratory monitoring system in U.S. hospitals. With the recent system installation at the Mayo Clinic campus in Jacksonville, FL, the Nellcor™ OxiNet III system currently monitors 10,000 beds and is integrated into more than 450 U.S. hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic campus in Rochester, MN, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, TX), St. Anthony Central Hospital (Denver, CO) and Sumner Regional Medical Center (Gallatin, TN). The OxiNet III remote monitoring system enhances the safety of patients throughout the hospital, enabling continuous monitoring of patients" oxygen saturation levels via the trusted Nellcor OxiMax™ product platform, even when the clinician is not at the bedside.
Kaiser Health News reports that "If there is one thing that both parties can agree on in the health overhaul debate, it"s the need to build a health system that promotes prevention rather than just manages disease." Proposals currently being debated in Congress would require "Medicare and private health insurers to fully cover preventive services such as checkups and screening tests for cancer without any patient co-payments or deductibles." President Obama maintains that "prevention measures can save lives and limit health spending," and such a provision is "one of the eight consumer protections he wants in any health overhaul legislation." But the health insurance industry is balking, saying "such a provision would lead to higher premiums and hamper insurers" flexibility to design plans" (Galewitz, 8/4).
Over the weekend, a series of protests at Democratic events meant to promote health reform "organized by loose-knit coalition of conservative voters and advocacy groups, were a raucous start to what is expected to be weeks of political and ideological clashes over the health care overhaul," the New York Times reports. "Republicans said that the protests were just the beginning of spontaneous opposition to the health care proposals and that they would only gain momentum as Americans learn more about the legislation." But Democrats said they were only an effort to block discourse, and were anything but a grass-roots campaign. "This is a very coordinated effort," said one Democratic Congressman who was confronted by protestors at a grocery store (Herszenhorn and Stolberg, 8/3).
The Department of Health and Human Services has created a web site called "Ask Medicare" to help caregivers navigate the often confusing Medicare system. CNN reports on the experience of Kim Mickens, a caregiver who used the site to help her mother, who has Alzheimer"s disease. "Medicare personnel helped her get some of the medical supplies she needed and also recommend a new Web site called Ask Medicare. Designed to give easy access to people taking care of elderly relatives, Ask Medicare provides information and links to services that are important to caregivers."
Nearly 75 percent of Americans suffer from some form of periodontal disease, the major cause of adult tooth loss. In addition, cardiovascular disease, the leading killer of men and women in the United States, is a major public health issue contributing to 2,400 deaths each day. And while these two conditions are seemingly unrelated, research suggests that managing one disease may reduce the risk for the other.
Researchers from the University of Bath are embarking on a project to use stem cell technology that could reduce the number of animal experiments used to study conditions such as motor neurone disease.
Antisoma plc (LSE: ASM; USOTC: ATSMY) announces that the journal Lung Cancer has published the results of a single-arm phase II trial of ASA404 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The trial included patients with both major histological forms of NSCLC: squamous and non-squamous. Positive data from this trial supported the progress of ASA404 into phase III trials in patients with NSCLC of all histologies.
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The active ingredient in many insect repellents, deet, has been found to be toxic to the central nervous system. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology say that more investigations are urgently needed to confirm or dismiss any potential neurotoxicity to humans, especially when deet-based repellents are used in combination with other neurotoxic insecticides.
Change the lighting; improve your health. It"s a strategy researchers from Case Western Reserve University"s Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and the School of Medicine, the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (GRECC), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute"s Lighting Research Center and GE Consumer & Industrial have begun to test in a long-term care facility where daylight, which has proven health benefits, is not readily available.
Inovio Biomedical Corporation (NYSE Amex: INO), a leader in DNA vaccine design, development and delivery, announced today new data representing what Inovio believes to be the first demonstration of a significantly increased and persistent level of antibody response generated by a DNA vaccine delivered using electroporation.
In a finding that challenges the increasingly popular belief that smoking marijuana is less harmful to health than smoking tobacco, researchers in Canada are reporting that smoking marijuana, like smoking tobacco, has toxic effects on cells. Their study is scheduled for the Aug. 17 issue of ACS" Chemical Research in Toxicology, a monthly journal.
Growing scientific evidence indicates that people who adhere to a special calorie-restricted diet can improve their health and could potentially add years to their lifespan, according to an article in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS" weekly newsmagazine.
A gut hormone first described in 1928 plays an unanticipated and important role in the remote control of blood sugar production in the liver, according to a report in the August 6th Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. What"s more, the researchers show that rats fed a high-fat diet for a few days become resistant to the glucose-lowering hormone known as cholecystokinin (CCK).
Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have isolated a unique protein that appears to have a dual function and could lead to a "boon in medicine." The findings are published in the August issue of the Journal of Cell Biology.
"As if hedging their bets on health reform, Democrats are emphasizing smaller but still significant health-related investments this year, from food safety and community health centers to a greater emphasis on rooting out abuses in Medicare and Medicaid," Politico reports. "It"s a far cry from the more ambitious government-backed insurance option proposed by President Barack Obama and House Democrats. But it does add up to a major expansion of the government"s role in public health - and one that shows a greater willingness to add personnel to regulate and administer programs."
Malaria Cases, Deaths In Cambodia Increase
According to the latest data in a clinical study supported by St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy for depression may provide sustainable improvement in depression symptoms among patients with major depressive disorder. Study results will be presented at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) meeting in San Francisco.
Victoria, Australia researchers have developed a wristwatch that continuously monitors the health status of people with Parkinson"s disease to help doctors manage their treatment, Victorian Minister for Innovation Gavin Jennings said today.