Cardiovascular
AMSA President Tiffany Fulde said, "It is unfortunate that the Commission has been unable to highlight specific strategies to recruit and retain more doctors into the bush. We currently have a health workforce in Australia that is grossly maldistributed, with large shortages of doctors and other health professionals in rural and remote Australia."
The cast of characters spearheading the health care debate in Congress doesn"t contain all of the usual suspects.
The Washington Post tells the story of Danny Watt, who drowned in April 2008 after a lifelong struggle with mental health. Watt had a dual diagnosis: a serious mental illness along with abuse of drugs or alcohol.
A new report finds nearly 10 percent of health care costs are due to obesity and per capita medical spending is significantly higher for obese people.
Small business and medical groups are debating the health care overhaul proposals that could change their business models.
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.
Researchers may be able to predict future severe cardiac events in patients with known, stable coronary artery disease (CAD) using coronary calcium scoring, according to a study published in the online edition of Radiology.
Farmers are once again being urged to vaccinate their livestock against the threat of bluetongue. The warning from the Joint Action against Bluetongue campaign (JAB) comes as the country enters the height of summer meaning midge activity is reaching a peak period and the risk of a bluetongue incursion increases on a daily basis.
Ventana Biotech Inc ("Ventana")(PINK SHEETS:VNTA), a biotechnology company that is developing a appetite-suppressing chewing gum, released detailed information about its innovative Anti-Obesity Chewing Gum.
The Illinois attorney general on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the Center for AIDS Prevention for unlawful fundraising and falsifying official documents, ProPublica reports (Weaver, 7/27). Attorney General Lisa Madigan said the state revoked the organization"s registration 20 years ago, but its director, Steve Neely, also known as Morrell Neely, has continued to solicit donations in the state. "The state says the group tried to reregister as a nonprofit using a phony Chicago address, though its boss, ņ¦ lives in Riverside, Calif.," Courthouse News Service reports (Freeland, 7/27). "If the suit is successful, Illinois could seize money illegally raised there, bar Neely and others involved with the center from future charitable work in the state, freeze their assets, force them to pay back donations they may have "misused and/or wasted" with interest, and attempt to shut the group down for good by revoking its corporate status," ProPublica reports (7/27).
A higher density of blood vessels and other unique physiological features in the flight muscles of bar-headed geese allow them to do what even the most elite of human athletes struggle to accomplish - assert energy at high altitudes, according to a new UBC study.
Being active at age 5 helps kids stay lean as they age even if they don"t remain as active later in childhood, a new University of Iowa study shows.
Scientists from the Universitē© de Montrē©al and McGill University have re-engineered a human enzyme, a protein that accelerates chemical reactions within the human body, to become highly resistant to harmful agents such as chemotherapy, according to a new study published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry.
The Cambodian Ministry of Health has begun training primary education teachers in 12 provinces on HIV/AIDS prevention education, the Phnom Penh Post reports. Health officials said that although children in primary school are not seen as a high-risk population, they need to be educated on the disease. Mean Chhi Vun -- director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STDs -- said the students "are a group of people we have to pay attention to because they ... will be the backbone of the nation." Secondary-school aged students currently are receiving HIV/AIDS education, and the programs are being used as a model for the new primary school initiative, according to Pen Saroeun, director of the Ministry of Education"s School Health Department. Some health officials have said that young people are becoming increasingly at risk for HIV, and most outreach efforts target commercial sex workers and their clients and not young people, the Post reports. Saroeun noted that the HIV/AIDS prevention education program has been successful in secondary schools and is the reason the ministry decided to launch the program in primary schools, adding that many students drop out before reaching secondary school. He said, "We will teach them basic knowledge about HIV/AIDS and life skills, such as negotiation skills, how to say "no," goal setting, and how to provide care and support to people living with HIV/AIDS." The ministry plans to double the $100,000 it allocated to HIV/AIDS education spending last year with additional funding from the United Nations Population Fund, according to Saroeun. He added, "If we are successful in those 12 provinces, then we will do it in the other provinces" (Kunthear, Phnom Penh Post, 5/19).
A study conducted by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health indicates that approximately 16 percent of public health care workers will not report for work in a pandemic flu emergency, regardless of the severity.
New research released by the Royal Pharmaceutical
IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced that St. Elizabeth Healthcare is connecting hospitals, clinics and physicians offices in Northern Kentucky in the state"s largest roll-out of electronic medical records to improve patient care and lower costs.
As we age, brown spots and splotchy skin are all too often a fact of life. But for people with darker skin, changes in pigmentation can occur without warning at any age and can be very difficult to treat. Fortunately, dermatologists can help people with skin of color diagnose and treat bothersome pigmentation problems.
Trusted health care s and continuity of care may help reduce the risk of prostate cancer deaths in African-American men, according to a study published in the current issue of the journal Cancer. James Mohler, MD, Chair of the Department of Urology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), and William R. Carpenter, PhD, Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of North Carolina, are lead investigators.
Female recipients of kidneys from deceased male donors demonstrate an increased risk of allograft failure in the first year after transplant, but show no increased risk after ten years, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The study authors note that proteins on male donor cells may affect the short term success of kidney transplants in women.
The Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) published its report on the review of Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) service in Wales.
The insurance industry opposes a long-term care proposal called the CLASS Act, currently included in two major health care reform measures.
"Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced Tuesday that $200 million will be available for grants, loans, loan repayments and scholarships for the training of some 8,000 health professionals by the end of fiscal 2010," Congressional Quarterly reports. The money will "provide targeted investments in primary care, nursing, faculty development, and equipment purchases that will shore up the workforce as we prepare for reform," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said" (7/28).
First, Make No Mistakes The New York Times
The Government of Japan will sign a new agreement with UNICEF tomorrow, making available $5.6 million (÷„ 533 million or SDG 13.5 million) in support of health programmes that will benefit up to 5 million people in the coming year.
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.
If you"ve ever felt doomed to repeat your mistakes, researchers at MIT"s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory may have explained why: Brain cells may only learn from experience when we do something right and not when we fail.
Malaria parasites in western Cambodia have become resistant to artemisinin-based therapies, the first-line treatment for malaria, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Resistance to the drugs makes them less effective and could eventually render them obsolete, putting millions of lives at risk.
Recycling is a critical component in the process of transmitting information from one neuron to the next, and a large protein called Tweek plays a critical role, said an international consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine in a report in the current issue of the journal Neuron.
By systematically analysing MRI changes occuring in the brains of children with the metabolic disease glutaric aciduria type I researchers at Heidelberg University Hospital have succeeded for the first time in demonstrating reversible and permanent brain damage as well as elucidating its temporal evolution.
A systematic literature review of mothers" experiences with bottle-feeding found that while mothers recognize the benefits of breastfeeding, those who bottle-feed with infant formula do not receive adequate information and support from their healthcare providers and thus, ultimately put their baby"s health at risk. "While it is important to promote breastfeeding," the authors conclude, "it is also necessary to ensure that the needs of bottle-feeding mothers are not overlooked."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week held an inaugural conference on obesity prevention and control. The CDC"s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity convened in Washington, D.C. to chart ways to improve access to healthy places, discuss opportunities for obesity prevention, and plan physical education standards in schools through federal policy.
UCLA researchers have uncovered a new way to scan brain tumors and predict which ones will be shrunk by the drug Avastin - before the patient ever starts treatment. By linking high water movement in tumors to positive drug response, the UCLA team predicted with 70 percent accuracy which patients" tumors were the least likely to grow six months after therapy.
Psychotherapists who treat mothers suffering from postpartum depression and other mood disorders with their infants have developed a proven process that contributes to a greater positive experience with immediate insights for the mothers to develop healthy connections between their maternal experiences and their infants" behaviors.
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.
Commenting on the publication of the results of a national patient access survey BMA Scotland said it was pleased that most patients are happy with access to their GP practice but warned that many practices face significant cuts in funding because of the survey methodology.
Oxoid, a world leading microbiology brand, is pleased to announce that the next Oxoid Infection Control Seminar will take place on 02 June 2009 at The Belfry, West Midlands, UK. This all-day event is completely free of charge and is provided as an educational service to consultant microbiologists, laboratory managers/personnel and infection control professionals.
Numerous pathogens contain an "internal time bomb", a deadly mechanism that can be used against them. After years of work, VIB researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) were able to determine the structure and operating mechanism of the proteins involved. This clears the road for finding ways to set the clock on this internal time bomb and, hopefully, in the process developing a new class of antibiotics. The research was accepted for publication by top journal Molecular Cell, with congratulations from the editorial board.
With just days to go before the implementation of the 48-hour working week for junior doctors, the BMA"s junior doctors" leader warns that not all of the NHS is prepared for the European Working Time Directive.
The Department of Health announced that the terms offered to independent providers of treatment centres in the NHS in England will in future be more similar to those offered to NHS providers.
Alzheimer"s disease is a progressive neurologic disease of the brain leading to the irreversible loss of neurons and the loss of intellectual abilities, including memory and reasoning, which become severe enough to impede social or occupational functioning. Alzheimer"s disease is also known as simply Alzheimer"s, and Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type (SDAT) .
Today, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Al Franken (D-MN) introduced legislation to reform the Medicare payment system to reward hospitals for quality, efficient care. The Medicare Payment Fairness Act of 2009 would reform Medicare by paying hospitals for the quality, not quantity, of care. These changes would reduce the regional differences in Medicare spending by shifting the nation to a coordinated, integrated delivery system - like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and other states. Studies have shown that more integrated care could save taxpayers an additional $100 billion a year.
The New York Times examines a Doctors Without Borders pilot program to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis in South Africa that allows patients to stay in their homes rather than be isolated in hospital during treatment. The program, which is supported by the city of Cape Town and the Western Cape Province, aims to "show that such patients can be successfully treated in an impoverished community ņ¦ even while they are still infectious," the New York Times writes.
Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. ("SCT" or "the Company") (TSX VENTURE:SSS) is pleased to announce the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has provided a verbal confirmation to remove its clinical hold placed on NTx®-265 on September 18, 2008. This will allow SCT to commence the recruitment of patients under an amended protocol using NTx®-265 for the Company"s Phase IIb clinical trial treating acute ischemic stroke.
It takes a spleen to mend a broken heart - that"s the conclusion of a surprising new report from researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Systems Biology, directed by Ralph Weissleder, MD, PhD. In the July 31 issue of Science the team reports how, in following up an intriguing observation, they discovered an unexpected reservoir of the immune cells called monocytes in the spleen and went on to show that these cells are essential to recovery of cardiac tissue in an animal heart attack model.
Physicians can and should play a leading role in achieving health care reform by working towards comprehensive reform of the way health care is paid for and delivered, helping achieve a guaranteed 1.5 percent annual savings in health care costs that would pay for covering all Americans, according to a New England Journal of Medicine Perspective piece published online.
In light of yesterday"s Public Health Advisory from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning consumers to immediately stop using all body-building products that claim to contain steroids or steroid-like substances, The Endocrine Society is re-issuing its Position Statement on Steroid Abuse initially launched in 2008.
Measles vaccination rates are still far lower than levels needed to protect the population. This is despite the finding of a new Department of Health survey that over 90 per cent of parents are aware it is the best way to protect their child.
A study by Kansas State University researchers is looking at how children perceive and interact with peers who have various undesirable characteristics, such as being overweight or aggressive.
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced new findings on INTUNIV (guanfacine) extended release, a selective alpha-2A-agonist, at a major psychiatric meeting. This randomized placebo controlled trial met its primary objective, which was to evaluate the effects of INTUNIV on oppositional symptoms in children aged 6 to 12 years with a diagnosis of ADHD and the presence of oppositional symptoms. The data presented today on this investigational compound reviewed secondary efficacy measures from three different rating scales.
Diphtheria is a bacterial infection in the upper respiratory tract. Typically it is characterized by sore throat, swollen neck glands, high temperature and breathing difficulties. Through means of successful immunization diphtheria is now very rare in the United States and Europe. However it"s still common in countries where immunization programs are not an integral part of standard public health care. It is a potentially fatal disease with an estimated 5-10% fatality rate. In children under 5 and adults over 40 the fatality rate may sometimes reach 20%.
The biotechnology medicine Ilaris® (canakinumab) has passed another major milestone with a recommendation for approval in the European Union to treat patients with a life-long and potentially fatal auto-inflammatory disease called cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS). When approved, Ilaris will be the only treatment in the EU indicated for CAPS patients aged four years and older[1].
The Food Standards Agency (FSA), UK, issued a report last week claiming that there is no evidence of any significant benefits to human health from consuming organic foods. It is surprising that such a claim could be made from a public health agency after what could best be described as rather limited research - according to much of the British press.
San Antonio ņ¦ 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.
"Healthcare companies are spending millions of dollars and marshaling armies of lobbyists to influence a landmark debate in the U.S. Congress that could dramatically change the way they do business," Reuters reports. "Drugmakers, doctors, insurers and hospitals have opened their wallets, spending more than $1 million a day to buy a voice in the escalating political battle over what could be the broadest revamp of healthcare laws in decades." And "as the debate has unfolded, key lawmakers have seen a surge in campaign donations, and hundreds of lobbyists have jammed Capitol hallways and lined the reception room outside the Senate chamber to talk to lawmakers." Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, says "there is a frenzy going on to get in your two cents worth before the legislation reaches the next stage."
By searching millions of DNA variations in the genomes of thousands of women with and without ovarian cancer, scientists have discovered a
Data presented today at the 8th European Congress on Menopause
Reports published today in the Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism suggest that many people are confused about the health consequences of fats consumed. Often fat is not considered to be part of a healthy, balanced diet. Also many do not know that there are good, and even essential, fats. As a result, the quality of fats they consume is not in line with recommendations. To help overcome this problem, experts suggest that simple dietary changes be made, such as replacing full fat dairy (e.g. fatty cheeses) and meat products with lean choices, and use of fats and oils of vegetable origin rich in essential fats (sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, soybean oil and products made of these oils such as margarines) rather than of consuming fat of animal origin (lard, butter, etc).
Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) (Nasdaq and MTA: CTIC) announced results from a study released by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer. The study demonstrated that in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the combination of OPAXIO (paclitaxel poliglumex) and Alimta(R) (pemetrexed) was well tolerated and resulted in median progression-free survival of 3.3 months.
Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (NYSE AMEX: SVA), a leading provider of vaccines in China, announced today that the clinical trial of its A/H1N1 influenza vaccine is proceeding well. All of the volunteers have received their first shot of the vaccine and, during the three-day observation of safety, the preliminary tests on the A/H1N1 influenza vaccine have indicated that the vaccine is safe and reliable in humans.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed an amendment to their broad health reform bill giving drug makers 12 years of exclusive rights to market new biologic drugs, "a setback" to the administration and consumer advocates who hoped to make generic drugs more widely available, the Wall Street Journal reports. The panel voted 47-11 on the measure, which "would also allow "evergreening," the practice by pharmaceutical companies of making minimal adjustments to their drugs, such as creating extended-release versions, as a way to lengthen their monopoly."
Global Fund Audit Reveals Expired, Missing Drugs In Tanzania
To combat the many fetal deaths that occur annually because the placenta is too small, researchers at Yale School of Medicine have developed a method to measure the volume of the placenta, which provides nourishment to the fetus.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee on July 31 approved its health care reform bill (HR 3200) by a 31-28 vote that was mostly along party lines, the AP/Seattle Times reports. Among the many amendments considered during the markup, the committee rejected an amendment offered by Reps. Joe Pitts (R-Pa) and Bart Stupak (D-MI) to prohibit government subsidies to any insurance plans that offers abortion coverage, effectively prohibiting abortion coverage for customers eligible for public premium assistance. The amendment was rejected by a 27-31 vote. Another provision approved on July 30 would neither require nor prohibit insurance companies from providing coverage for abortion services.The approved bill includes provisions limiting how much insurers can increase premiums and gives the federal government the power to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices under Medicaid. The provisions were part of an effort by Democrats on the committee to reconcile the demands of liberals and conservatives, the AP/Times reports. The bill also would require insurance companies to sell coverage to anyone seeking it, regardless of pre-existing conditions. The government would provide subsidies to lower-income families to help them afford policies. In addition, the legislation would establish health insurance exchanges offering a variety of insurance plans, where consumers with or without subsidies could purchase health insurance (Espo/Werner, AP/Seattle Times, 8/1).Five of the committee"s Democrats joined all 23 Republicans in opposing the measure, the Washington Post"s "Capitol Briefing" reports. The five Democrats who voted against the bill were Reps. John Barrow (Ga.), Rick Boucher (Va.), Jim Matheson (Utah), Charlie Melancon (La.) and Bart Stupak (Mich.) (Kane, "Capitol Briefing," Washington Post, 7/31).The committee was the last of three House panels to take action on the legislation, although the vote comes several weeks after the White House and Democratic leaders originally wanted, the AP/Times reports. The full House is expected to vote on the bill after policymakers return from their August recess.Although the House"s agenda has moved slower than party leaders had hoped, it still was faster than the action in the Senate, according to the AP/Times (AP/Seattle Times, 8/1). Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on July 30 announced that the panel will not mark up a health care reform bill this week after Republican negotiators urged that the speed of discussion in the Senate be slowed, the Post"s "44" reports. The announcement means that health care reform legislation will not be out of committee in both chambers before the summer recess (Pershing, "44," Washington Post, 7/31).Catholic Bishops Say That House Bill Could Expand Abortion Coverage In related news, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in a letter to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee voiced its opposition to the reform bill, arguing that it could be used to require private health insurance plans to cover abortion services, the Post reports. The bill has been opposed by conservative Christian groups for weeks, with the groups arguing that it could be used to expand abortion rights, the Post reports.In the letter, Cardinal Justin Rigali -- chair of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities -- said the bill could increase federal funding for abortion services because some government funding would not be covered by the Hyde Amendment, which currently bans the use of federal Medicaid funds for abortion services. Rigali also said the bill could overturn state laws that restrict access to abortion services, such as parental notification laws. In addition, Rigali said the bill should continue to ensure provider conscience rights to protect Catholic health care workers who refuse to provide abortion services based on their religious or moral beliefs (Washington Post, 8/1).
Survivors of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma are eight times more likely to have chronic health conditions, less likely to be married, and more likely to have lower incomes than their siblings, according to a study published online July 31 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Nearly two-thirds of parents reported they felt the need to watch over their child"s care to ensure that medical errors are not made during their hospital stay, according to a study led by Beth A. Tarini, M.D., M.S., assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School.
Scientists at Leeds have prevented epilepsy caused by a gene defect from being passed on to mice offspring - an achievement which may herald new therapies for people suffering from the condition.
Regular yoga practice is associated with mindful eating, and people who eat mindfully are less likely to be obese, according to a study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Use of the HIV antiretroviral treatment raltegravir, in combination with optimum background therapy, is a safe and effective alternative to conventional combination treatment using efavirenz in patients yet to start antiretroviral treatment. Furthermore, the raltegravir regimen is faster acting and causes fewer adverse events than the efavirenz regimen. These are the conclusions of an Article published Online First and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet, written by Dr Jeffrey L Lennox, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA, and colleagues.
Physical education (PE) in schools is one of the main tools used to increase physical activity and to prevent childhood obesity, and PE-related injuries are on the rise. Although increasing physical activity may reduce obesity, it may also increase the risk of injury. While recognizing that PE classes and physical activity are important components in combating obesity, parents and school administrators should remain vigilant for injuries. A recent study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children"s Hospital, found that the number of PE-related injuries to elementary, middle and high school students in the United States increased 150 percent between 1997 and 2007.
A phase I clinical trial enrolled its first patient only two days after U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance of the experimental drug for a first-in-human cancer trial, a milestone that normally takes three to six months. Investigators from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca have reported their work in the Journal of Clinical Oncology published online on August 3rd.
Boehringer Ingelheim announced today at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer"s 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC), San Francisco, CA, the initiation of a Phase III clinical study of BIBW 2992 as first-line treatment in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. BIBW 2992 (planned brand name Tovok™) is the first orally-administered, irreversible dual inhibitor of EGFR and HER2,1 to reach Phase III development in NSCLC.2
A new Equality and Diversity Council that will strengthen the national focus on improving quality in the National Health Service, was announced by the Department of Health today.
The recent H1N1 pandemic has highlighted the importance of identifying public health measures which can help to mitigate flu virus transmission. Researchers conducted a prospective cluster-randomized trial to test whether improved hand hygiene or surgical face masks could reduce the spread of flu within households.
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have found that a population of breast cells called luminal progenitor cells are likely to be responsible for breast cancers that develop in women carrying mutations in the gene BRCA1.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the number of swine flu A(H1N1) cases has risen to 11,034, while the total number of deaths has reached 85. All deaths have occurred in four countries: Mexico, USA, Canada and Costa Rica. Authorities in Mexico say that the spread of swine flu has dropped significantly. Health experts say it is still too early to predict which way this outbreak will go.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have learned that some healthy people naturally developed an immune response against a protein that is made in excess levels in many cancers, including breast, lung, and head and neck cancers. The finding suggests that a vaccine against the protein might prevent malignancies in high-risk individuals.
Kowa Research Institute (KRI) based in Morrisville, NC and Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. (KPA), a privately-held specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Montgomery, AL, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved LIVALO(R) (pitavastatin), a potent HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (statin), for the primary treatment of hypercholesterolemia and combined dyslipidemia.
Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company developing antiviral therapies, announced today that it has licensed the exclusive worldwide rights to novel Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) technology from Stanford University. This technology, discovered in the lab of Stanford scientist and Eiger founder Dr. Jeffrey Glenn, M.D., Ph.D., is focused on a variety of novel targets, including key features of NS4B, a non-structural protein in the HCV genome, which binds to HCV-RNA and is required for viral replication.
Eczema is a chronic skin disorder characterized by dry, itchy, scaly skin and rashes. It is commonly known as "the itch that rashes." (1) While the exact cause of eczema is not known, it appears to result from a complex interaction of factors including personal and family genetics, immune response and environmental factors. (2)
WHAT: The Nutrient-Rich Foods (NRF) Index is a new, objective, science-based way to measure the total nutritional quality of foods and beverages.
Today, the Maricopa County Department of Public Health in cooperation with Phoenix Elementary School District has closed Lowell Elementary School until May 26, 2009 due to a high rate of influenza like illness.
While most people who commit violent acts against abortion providers are "characterized as lone nuts," they actually are often associated with "extremist" antiabortion-rights groups, Ms. editor Michele Kort writes in the magazine"s Summer 2009 issue. These groups "track the whereabouts" of providers and "deliver white-hot rhetoric that paints someone like" murdered abortion provider George Tiller "as a murderer rather than a healer," Kort says. Extremists within the antiabortion-rights movement have "even promoted the assassinations of abortion providers as "justifiable homicides,"" leaving the ""lone nuts" ... as good as licensed to kill," she adds. According to Kort, one in five abortion clinics is the target of repeat violence annually. Since the early 1990s, nine doctors and clinic workers have died as a result of violent attacks, Kort states.Tiller, who was shot to death on May 31 in the foyer of his Wichita, Kan., church, "also faced a concerted attack" in Kansas courts, Kort continues. The legal efforts against Tiller included two grand jury investigations resulting from citizen petition drives led by Operation Rescue and other antiabortion-rights groups. Kort notes that neither jury found any basis for indictment against Tiller. In addition, former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline in 2004 subpoenaed Tiller"s patient records, which Kort writes was "supposedly to determine if he hadn"t reported statutory rapes of pregnant girls under 16." The court dismissed the criminal charges Kline filed in the case. Paul Morrison, the current Kansas attorney general, in 2006 "surprisingly" charged Tiller with 19 misdemeanors for failing to get a second opinion on some abortion procedures, Kort states. She also comments, "After nearly two years of legal proceedings, the jurors in the case delivered a resounding "not guilty" in just 25 minutes."The legal issues were "exhaustive and expensive" for Tiller, according to Kort. She adds that Dan Monnat, Tiller"s attorney in Wichita, said that Tiller ""held up like a soldier"" during the legal battles. Kort reports that Tiller"s friends "worried about him" nonetheless. Susan Hill -- who operates several abortion clinics and referred patients needing the procedure later in pregnancy to Tiller -- said he once told her that he would not retire because "I can"t leave these women. There"s no one else for them."Kort also profiled Miriam Kleiman, a woman who had an abortion at Tiller"s clinic after her fetus was diagnosed with a severe brain malformation at 28 weeks" gestation (Kort, Ms., Summer 2009).
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).
The Associated Press reports on lobbying around biotechnology legislation. A letter urging the protection of biotech drug makers from generics from "the private National Health Council, sent to House leaders drafting health overhaul legislation, said the plea was on behalf of "the more than 133 million Americans living with chronic diseases and disabilities and their family caregivers." It urged lawmakers to protect the makers of high-technology biological medicines against early competition from lower-cost generic copycats. The letter did not mention that nearly $1.2 million of the council"s $2.3 million budget in 2007 came from the pharmaceutical industry"s chief trade group and 16 companies that sell or are developing the brand-name biotech drugs."
A report from President Obama"s Council of Economic Advisers finds that "health care reform would be good for small businesses because it would enable them to obtain better insurance coverage for less money," The Denver Business Journal writes. "Small businesses pay up to 18 percent more than large businesses do for the same coverage because of high broker fees, administrative costs and adverse selection, according to the CEA"s report." Christina Romer, chair of the CEA, "said the health care reform bills moving through Congress are specifically designed to address the burden the current health care system places on small businesses. The legislation would create insurance exchanges, where individuals and small businesses could "choose among a multitude of plans that would provide better coverage at lower costs than they could find in the current small group market," the report said." But, The Journal notes: "Many small business groups also doubt that health insurance would be cheaper under the House bills or the Senate HELP Committee bill. Including a government-run plan in the insurance exchange would undermine private insurers, ultimately driving premiums higher, they contend. Not all small businesses would be able to access the exchange. Plus, the bills call for the federal government to establish minimum coverage levels for insurance plans, which could be pricier than what small businesses now provide. (Hoover, 8/3).
A new US study on monkeys found that social stress is linked to increase in deposits of harmful fat in the abdomen which can speed up the build
The University of Illinois at Chicago has been awarded a $7.2 million federal grant to establish the UIC Center of Excellence in Eliminating Health Disparities.
Rates of infant death remain high in parts of England, largely among deprived communities and ethnic minorities, finds a study published on bmj.com today.
Specific changes in brain pathways may counteract genetic mutations for the movement disorder dystonia, according to new research in the August 5 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Few people who inherit dystonia genes display symptoms - namely sustained muscle contractions and involuntary gestures - and the study provides a possible explanation. This result could lead to new treatments for the estimated 500,000 North Americans diagnosed with dystonia.
Elevated cholesterol levels in midlife - even levels considered only borderline elevated - significantly increase the risk of Alzheimer"s disease and vascular dementia later in life, according to a new study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente"s Division of Research and the University of Kuopio in Finland. The study appears in the journal Dementia & Geriatric Cognitive Disorders.
If you intend to make the most of the great outdoors at home or abroad during late spring and summer make sure you go prepared and are aware of the risk of tick bites.
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.
Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Rib-X" or the "Company"), a development-stage company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel antibiotics for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections, today announced positive results from a Phase 2 clinical trial of radezolid in the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).
NeurogesX, Inc. (Nasdaq: NGSX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel pain management therapies, announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date from August 16, 2009 to November 16, 2009 to review the new drug application (NDA) for Qutenza(TM) to manage pain associated with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).
A new study led by Mayo Clinic researchers has found that relief of pain from vertebral compression fractures, as well as improvement in pain-related dysfunction, were similar in patients treated with vertebroplasty and those treated with simulated vertebroplasty without cement injections. The article, "A Randomized Controlled Trial of Vertebroplasty for Osteoporotic Spine Fractures," was released today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Do you intend on getting a healthy tan this summer? You may want to rethink your plans. Tan skin is the body"s reaction to sun damage, along with freckles, wrinkles and brown spots. So unless your tan comes from a bottle, it"s probably not healthy.
UroToday.com - Vitamin D needs, especially in the northern latitudes where direct sunlight is unavailable for much of the year, are currently under scrutiny by members of both the scientific and medical communities. Vitamin D primarily plays a role in regulating calcium absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. However, epidemiologic and laboratory studies support the notion that vitamin D might play a role in chemoprevention - particularly of cancers of the colon, breast, ovarian, and prostate (Garland et al., Am J Public Health 2006;96:252-61) - immune modulation and prevention of certain autoimmune disorders (Cantorna et al., Exp Biol Med 2004;229:1136-1142), promoting bone integrity and preserving muscle mass (Montero-Odasso et al., Mol Aspects Med 2005;26:203-19), cardiovascular disease prevention (Wang et al., Circulation 2008;117:503-11), and prevention of all-cause mortality (Melamed et al., Arch Intern Med 2008;168:1629-37).
During a presentation about the Health Agenda for the Americas at the "Seventh
Malaria Cases, Deaths In Cambodia Increase
The addition of the anaesthetic lidocaine to radiocolloid injection for sentinel- lymph-node (SLN) mapping in patients with early breast cancer reduces injection pain and improves patient comfort without compromising SLN identification, and should be introduced as standard practice, concludes an Article published Online First and in the September edition of The Lancet Oncology.
A team of researchers from CIC bioGUNE from the Cellular Biology and Stem Cell Unit, alongside a team from Paris" Cardiovascular Research Centre (INSERM U970) have developed a new area of research which looks extremely promising as regards the development of new therapeutic responses to ischemic pathologies and cardiovascular diseases in general. The results of this research project, which was initiated in 2005 and is supported by Bizkaia:Xede and the Basque Government"s Etortek programme, were published in the prestigious scientific journal Circulation.
BSD Medical Corporation (NASDAQ:BSDM) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) designation for the company"s BSD-2000 Hyperthermia System for use in conjunction with radiation therapy for the treatment of cervical carcinoma patients who are ineligible for chemotherapy. This is the first of the two steps required to obtain Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) marketing approval, which requires BSD Medical to demonstrate the device"s safety and probable benefit in treating a disease or condition that affects fewer than 4,000 individuals in the United States per year. Now that FDA has granted the Humanitarian Use Designation for the BSD-2000, which confirms that the intended use population is fewer than 4,000 patients per year, BSD can file an HDE submission with the FDA. FDA has 75 days from the date of receipt of the HDE submission to grant or deny an HDE application. This period includes a 30-day filing period during which FDA determines whether the HDE application is sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. During this review, FDA may refine the indications for use which received HUD designation to finalize the indications for use for which HDE approval will be granted. This decision will be based on the data that are available to support the device"s HDE application. The company believes that the data previously submitted to FDA and reviewed by the agency in the company"s pending PMA application can be used to support the HDE approval, and that this previous review may expedite marketing approval for the BSD-2000.
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCMP), an international biopharmaceutical company, announced that its subsidiary, Sucampo Pharma, Ltd., has initiated enrollment and completed the randomization of the first patient into the pivotal phase 3 efficacy trial of lubiprostone for chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) in Japan.