Endocrinology
EndoGastric Solutions (EGS), the recognized leader in the emerging field of Natural Orifice Surgery (NOS), announced that the American Society of General Surgeons (ASGS) has published a position statement endorsing its Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication (TIF) procedure for the treatment of GERD. ASGS is the preeminent society of general surgeons with membership exceeding 2,000.
Those who think extreme sports are all about risk-taking are missing the point, according to a QUT researcher. Eric Brymer, a lecturer from the School of Human Movement Studies in the Faculty of Health, has been researching whether the element of risk was an important factor among participants in "extreme" sports such as waterfall kayakers, mountain climbers, big wave surfers and B.A.S.E. jumpers.
NovImmune, an immunology-focused biotech company
Studies have reported an increasing incidence of thyroid cancer since 1980. One possible explanation for this trend is increased detection through more widespread and aggressive use of screening tests. Researchers at the American Cancer Society analyzed thyroid cancer incidence between 1988 and 2005 using the National Cancer Institute"s (NCI"s) Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) dataset.
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announced CE Mark for its LATITUDE® Patient Management system. The LATITUDE system remotely monitors patients with implantable cardiac devices, gathering information on both the device and a patient"s heart health status. The system can also detect clinical events between scheduled physician visits and send relevant data directly to a patient"s physician. It will be launched in Europe in a phased approach beginning this week.
Summer is the peak time for people to be bitten by ticks and mosquitoes, which may carry diseases that can infect humans. The Department of Health tracks cases of these diseases and has noted a recent increase in human cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and ehrlichiosis, both of which are transmitted through tick bites. TDOH urges Tennesseans to follow commonsense precautions to protect themselves and help reduce the risk of illness.
Menstrual cramps, also known as dysmenorrhea or period pains, are painful sensations felt in the lower abdomen that can occur both before and during a woman"s menstrual period. The pain ranges from dull and annoying to severe and extreme. Menstrual cramps tend to begin after an egg is released from the ovaries and travels down the fallopian tube (ovulation).
Nonin Medical, Inc., a leading innovator of noninvasive physiological monitoring solutions, announced FDA clearance for its Model 7600 Regional Oximetry System. Introduced in June 2009 at the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA) conference in Milan, Italy, the innovative Model 7600 offers real-time monitoring of cerebral oxygenation for patients at risk of ischemia.
US scientists have found that moderate drinkers - those who consume between 8 and 14 drinks per week - are at a 37% lower risk of dementia.
Memories aren"t made of actin filaments. But their assembly is crucial for long-term potentiation (LTP), an increase in synapse sensitivity that researchers think helps to lay down memories. In the July 13, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, Rex et al. reveal that LTP"s actin reorganization occurs in two stages that are controlled by different pathways, a discovery that helps explain why it is easy to encode new memories but hard to hold onto them.
Trail results have highlighted the benefit of abdominal massage in the management of constipation - a common symptom in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Many studies on flies, mice, and more recently monkeys, have suggested that the key to a longer life is to restrict calorie intake, but a new study
Even as our global population rises, our world is getting smaller. International travel by both people and animals from all corners of the world occurs every hour of every day, bringing both into contact with each other.
The Muscular Dystrophy Association has awarded its highest philanthropic achievement honor, the MDA Directors" Award, to two entertainment industry celebrities.
The American Society of Hematology (ASH), the world"s largest professional society of blood specialists, will honor six scientists who have made significant contributions to the understanding of hematologic diseases. These awards, including the newly created Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize, will be presented at the 51st ASH Annual Meeting taking place December 5-8 in New Orleans.
The Pennsylvania House last week voted to approve a bill that allows state residents up to age 29 to be added to or remain on their parents" health insurance plans as long as they live in the state or are full-time students, the Harrisburg Patriot-News reports. They also must be single and not have dependents.According to national data, young adults between ages 19 and 29 make up the largest segment of the U.S. population without health insurance. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department estimates that nearly 400,000 state residents in that age group are uninsured. The bill allows employers to decide if they want to offer the coverage option to their employees. Families choosing to add adult dependents to their health plans will have higher premiums. Gov. Ed Rendell (D) is expected to sign the bill, which the state Senate approved in March (Thompson, Harrisburg Patriot-News, 5/14). Prescription for Pennsylvania Plan
"Blog Watch" offers readers a roundup of health policy-related blog posts.The Congressional Budget Office is making waves: several bloggers are prognosticating about the agency"s forthcoming estimate of the cost of health reform proposals. The New Republic"s Jonathan Cohn reports that he"s hearing the cost estimate could be closer to $1 trillion than the previously discussed $1.5 trillion. However, Cohn notes that the figure does not include employer contributions and could still leave one-quarter to one-third of the uninsured without coverage. Cato"s Michael Cannon interprets last week"s announcement that several industry groups pledged to slow the growth of health care spending as evidence that the real motivation was "to pressure the Congressional Budget Office to assume that Democrats" health care reforms would reduce spending, despite the lack of evidence." (his emphasis) Bob Laszewski also hinted at this with a post titled "An Open Letter to the Men and Women Over at the CBO" that ended: "The only thing standing between BS reform and real reform are the men and women -- real men and real women -- over at the CBO ... Hang in there!!!!" Cannon echoes the sentiment with fewer exclamation points: "The CBO (and everybody else) should resist the Democrats" effort to make truth yield to power." Marginal Revolution"s Tyler Cowen says he"s reviewing "health care cost fallacies" and asks readers to "sign on to" this statement: "The fiscal outlook is grimmer than before, therefore we should spend less on health care reform than I used to think." Ezra Klein, from his new perch at the Washington Post, counters with his own: "The fiscal outlook is grimmer than before, therefore we should agree on more radical health reforms than were previously considered." Klein then links to a Center for Economic and Policy Research graph, which shows the projected deficit as a proportion of the gross domestic product for various industrialized nations. Unsurprisingly, the line for the United States is headed skyward, while those for Canada, France, Germany and England drop. Meanwhile, disputes continue on a public plan option. Families USA President Ron Pollack reminds readers of his support: "As I said last week at the Senate Finance Committtee"s roundtable. ... First, a public plan option would increase choice. Second, it creates a benchmark on cost that is likely to have a positive impact on lowering costs on private plans. Third, the public plan would be a of obtaining important data about health care that is unlikely available through the private plans, and will enable certain improvements in America"s health care system." Yet Jeff Goldsmith on the Health Affairs Blog says that such a plan is "not worth the risks" and advises, "Health reformers would be smart to trade the radioactive "public plan" bargaining chip for concessions from the industry and to focus their attention on finding an employment-friendly financing plan, and on Medicare payment reform." The National Journal"s Marilyn Werber Serafini solicits her experts" opinions: Are we any closer to consensus on a public health plan after Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) presented three options for the committee to consider as part of broader health care reform legislation this year? The responders -- Stuart Butler, Karen Davis, Marian Wright Edelman, Uwe Reinhardt and John Sheils -- don"t come to a conclusion. Interesting elsewhere:
"A large percentage" of U.S. and Mexican men who regularly engage in sexual activity with sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico, do not use condoms and have a history of substance and alcohol use, according to a study published in the online journal AIDS, the Los Angeles Times" blog "L.A. Now" reports. The study, by researchers from Mexico and the University of California-San Diego, surveyed 400 men - both Mexico and U.S. residents - and found that half of the men had unprotected sex with a female sex worker within the last four months. Researchers noted that although Tijuana authorities require that sex workers be registered and tested regularly for HIV, "only about half of [sex workers] have registered or been tested," according to the blog. Thomas Patterson of the UC-San Diego"s department of psychiatry and the Veterans Affairs health center, said the findings indicate a need for an educational campaign targeting men who frequent sex workers (Perry, 7/11).
The NPHS influenza surveillance scheme, which records reports of diagnoses of flufrom more than 300 GP practices across Wales, shows low levels of influenza activity in all parts of Wales. Further detail can be found on the NPHS website: http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/page.cfm?orgid=457&pid=38241
Plans to improve access to occupational health services in Wales to help tackle absenteeism and ill-health in the workplace will be announced today [Tuesday, 14 July] by Health Minister Edwina Hart.
Men aged 35-54 are almost twice as likely to have diabetes compared to their female counterparts, reveals our new report "Diabetes in the UK 2009" out today.
Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSI) (Nasdaq: CSII), a medical device company developing and commercializing innovative interventional treatment systems for vascular disease, announced today that the first patient has been enrolled in the COMPLIANCE 360 degree clinical trial. This prospective, randomized study will generate additional data on patient outcomes achieved in treating lesions above the knee with CSI"s Diamondback 360°® Peripheral Arterial System, a minimally invasive catheter for treating peripheral arterial disease (PAD).
It comes as no surprise that some babies are more difficult to soothe than others but frustrated parents may be relieved to know that this is not necessarily an indication of their parenting skills. According to a new report in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, children"s temperament may be due in part to a combination of a certain gene and a specific pattern of brain activity.
A new study identifies a group of individuals at increased risk for developing colon cancer and holds the promise for developing new tailored cancer treatments. The study in this week"s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) is by Sanford Markowitz, M.D., Ph.D., the Markowitz-Ingalls Professor of Cancer Genetics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and oncologist at the Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals Case Medical Center, and colleagues.
A well known UK orchestra conductor Sir Edward Thomas Downes, CBE, and his wife Lady Joan Downes have died after choosing to end their
Commenting on the news that a GP has died after contracting swine flu, Dr Laurence Buckman, Chairman of the BMA"s GPs Committee, said:
In response to the growing threat of swine flu, a UQ team is applying nanopatch technology to potentially solve the problems associated with vaccinating millions of Australians, thanks to a recently announced government grant.
Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust is to host a national conference on combating infections.
Cataracts are cloudy areas in the lens inside the eye - which is normally clear. Cataracts can develop in one or both eyes. If they develop in both eyes, one will be more severely affected than the other. A normally clear lens allows light to pass through to the back of the eye, so that the patient can see well-defined images. If a part of the lens becomes opaque light does not pass through easily and the patient"s vision becomes blurry - like looking through cloudy water or a fogged-up window. The more opaque (cloudier) the lens becomes, the worse the person"s vision will be.
The following statistics were released today by the Department of Health:
Researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have identified a protein relationship that may be an ideal treatment target for ER+ breast cancer. The study was reported in the July 15 issue of Cancer Research.
A new review of existing research says there is little evidence to support mandatory hearing-loss prevention programs at the workplace.
The New York City-based advocacy group Community Service Society recently released a report that found racial health disparities among state health plan beneficiaries, New York Times" "City Room" reports. The report urged state officials to close the gaps. The roughly 20 health plans that contract with the state public health programs to provide health insurance to low-income residents are required to break down health indicators by race. Using data from the New York State Department of Health, researchers found that out of 12 measures the state uses in quality assurance, including dental visits, asthma management, mammography and almost all diabetes indicators:
Blacks and others with darker skin might be at greater risk for tobacco addiction than whites and those with lighter skin because the greater the amount of melanin, the coloring pigment in skin, the more nicotine appears to be stored, according to preliminary findings published in the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, the New York Times reports. For the study, lead researcher Gary King, a professor of biobehavioral health at Pennsylvania State University, looked at 150 black smokers and measured their levels of melanin and cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine. They also surveyed the participants to determine the level of their smoking habit. Those with the most melanin were found to smoke the most and have the most cotinine in their system. They also had the highest level of dependence on tobacco. The findings might indicate why some people are more affected by nicotine than others, according to the study (Nagourney, New York Times, 5/19).
At the 146th Annual Convention of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), association leaders welcomed a new president and took action on animal welfare and antimicrobial policies as well as cost cutting measures.
Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Committee Chairmen Henry Waxman, Charlie Rangel, and George Miller introduced their unified health care reform bill. The following is the statement of Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA, about this development:
Congressional Republicans are pushing an idea unlikely to garner much traction that would force members of Congress who vote for a government-run public plan for health insurance coverage to enroll in it, Politico reports. "Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), a family physician, kicked off the quixotic bid last week, urging House members to give up their right to participate in the much-revered Federal Employees Health Benefits Program if they support a government-run program as part of the health care reform package. Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma are pushing the same concept in the Senate, preparing separate amendments that would require members - and maybe even their staffs - to sign up for the public option."
Nineteen Democrats have written House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promising not to vote for a health bill that includes funding for abortion, igniting a debate that has the potential to derail a health care overhaul, NPR reports.
Dr. Regina Benjamin is President Obama"s pick for surgeon general. The Alabama family physician has been an advocate for universal care, and is expected to have a role "at the table" in health reform, which would be an unusual degree of influence over policy for a surgeon general. Obama said Benjamin "represents what"s best about health care in America."
Health officials in Humboldt County, Calif., "will be watching closely" the debate expected to ensue over legislation introduced last week containing "a provision that would scrap the federal funding ban on needle exchange programs that has been in place for years," the Eureka Times-Standard reports. According to the Times-Standard, "This month, Open Door Community Health Centers" clinics in Arcata and Eureka quietly stopped administering the needle exchange program they have operated for almost a decade." Open Door Community Health Centers Chief Operating Officer Cheyenne Spetzler, said, "The footprint of the program just kept getting bigger." In addition, grant funding was often limited to covering the costs of the needles and not the costs of administering the programs, Spetzler said. County Department of Health and Human Services Programs Director Barbara LaHaie said the county is currently seeking alternatives to continue the program. However, "Without a reliable funding stream, that may prove difficult," the article states (Greenson, 7/13).
There were 839 reported cases of HIV/AIDS in Alabama in 2008, and of those 122 were reported in Montgomery County, which had the highest number in the state per capita, the Montgomery Advertiser reports. Black residents comprised 70 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases in Alabama reported that year. Poverty, lack of transportation to health services, not knowing a partner"s status and not getting tested are cited as factors contributing to the greater risk for HIV among blacks in the state, according to the Advertiser. Jane Cheeks, director of HIV/AIDS programs for the Alabama Department of Public Health, said, "The more we test, the more we find," adding, "But we"re hoping we can lower the infection rate." She also said, "In 2007, we got a pretty significant increase in funding and we were able to provide more services and give more testing." In addition to administering HIV tests, the "state educates the public through public service announcements and rolling billboards on the sides of 18-wheelers, which give people toll-free numbers to call" for information, the article states (Klass, 7/11).
"The heavy lifting" for garnering Congressional support for eliminating the federal ban on funding for needle exchange programs "was left to David Obey, the Democrat from Wisconsin who chairs both the House Appropriations Committee and the Subcommittee on Labor, Education, Health and Human Services," Boston Globe columnist Derrick Jackson writes in response to the introduction of legislation by the House Appropriations Committee last week that would lift the ban. Jackson also notes that while President Obama addressed needle exchange during the campaign, his FY 2010 budget continued the ban and that a "White House spokesmen said [President] Obama need[ed] time to "build support" with Congress and the public to get rid of the ban." In discussing the history behind the ban and the science supporting the use of needle exchange programs, Jackson says, "It is time, with the House having taken the lead, for [President] Obama to get out front and say once and for all that science takes the front seat to ideology," concluding, "Some issues are too critical to the very lives of Americans to wait to "build support"" (7/14).
Passport Health of Massachusetts, specialists in vaccinations against dread diseases faced by international travelers, is concerned that eastern New England"s wettest spring and early summer in decades can be more deadly than usual.
AVI BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVII), a developer of RNA-based drugs, today announced that Dr. Fred Schnell of AVI presented at the American Society of Virology Annual Meeting which took place July 11-15 in Vancouver, B.C. The title of the presentation was "Pan-Arenavirus Antisense Therapeutic Based On PMOplus™ Chemistry." In addition to Dr. Schnell, Drs. Bestwick, Iversen and Mourich, all of AVI, coauthored the presentation.
"Swiss drug company Novartis AG and the Institute for OneWorld Health, a nonprofit group, will announce this week a partnership to discover drugs for a type of diarrhea that kills about 1.6 million children each year in the developing world," the Wall Street Journal reports.
Scientists at NOAA"s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have successfully conducted the first remote detection of a harmful algal species and its toxin below the ocean"s surface. The achievement was recently reported in the June issue of Oceanography.
People with mental health problems could find themselves without adequate help and support under proposals set out in today"s green paper on adult social care, warns leading mental health charity Rethink.
International agency Oxfam fears that companies producing affordable generic medicines could be subject to criminal prosecutions and have their medicines seized on orders from big drug companies under plans being drawn up by a closed group of mainly rich countries.
Researchers have identified a potential biological mechanism that could explain why oral contraceptives may be less effective at preventing pregnancy in obese women, as some epidemiological studies have indicated.
In response to the inquiry report into "Was the NHS Plan really a blueprint for the NHS - 10 years on?" released by the All Party Parliamentary Group Primary Care & Public Health today. Mubeen Bhutta Policy Manager at the British Heart Foundation said:
Earlier this year, a scientific team from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the Broad Institute identified a class of RNA genes known as large intervening non-coding RNAs or "lincRNAs," a discovery that has pushed the field forward in understanding the roles of these molecules in many biological processes, including stem cell pluripotency, cell cycle regulation, and the innate immune response.
The biopharmaceutical company PAION AG (ISIN DE000A0B65S3; Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Prime Standard: PA8) today announces that the respective Data Monitoring Committees (DMCs), after predefined interim analyses, recommended that the Company should proceed as planned with their Phase IIa study as well as Phase Ib of CNS 7065, a new short-acting intravenous anesthetic/sedative.
A reminder program aimed at screening for breast cancer when it is most treatable boosted mammography rates by more than 17 percentage points, according to a new study by Kaiser Permanente"s Center for Health Research in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The program used electronic health records to identify women who would soon be due for a mammogram and reached out to them via postcards, automated voice messages and personal phone calls.
Eating a "heart healthy" diet and maintaining or increasing participation in moderate physical activity may help preserve our memory and thinking abilities as we age, according to new research reported today at the Alzheimer"s Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer"s Disease (ICAD 2009) in Vienna.
The National Institutes of Health has awarded a five year $20 million grant to the University of Illinois at Chicago"s Center for Clinical and Translational Science.
A specialty as diverse as urologic nursing requires comprehensive educational offerings that keep nurses up to date in the varied practice areas. The Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates (SUNA) will continue to show its commitment to excellence in clinical practice by hosting its 40th Annual Conference, October 2-5, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, in Chicago, IL.
Dimebolin, originally administered as an antihistamine, has previously been found to help slow the decline of cognitive ability in participants.
Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) announced that it has extended to stage two an ongoing Phase II clinical study with vicriviroc, its investigational CCR5 antagonist, for use in first-line therapy of adult treatment-naive HIV-infected patients with R5-type virus only. In this study, vicriviroc is being evaluated in a novel nucleoside-sparing regimen that is designed to provide additional options for treatment-naive patients in a once daily regimen, while preserving other drug classes for subsequent lines of treatment.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released new data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample -- the largest, all-payer emergency department database in the United States. The Nationwide Emergency Department Sample is designed to help public health experts, policymakers, health care administrators, researchers, journalists and others find the data they need to answer questions about care that occurs in U.S. hospital emergency departments.
The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.), whose mission is to improve patient care by advancing the science and practice of nutrition support therapy, is saddened by the recent death of an infant in Madrid, Spain, who died when formula was given to him through an IV catheter and not through a feeding tube in his stomach.
Sanofi-aventis (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) announced the release of an Expert Statement by a multidisciplinary board of renowned international experts following an in-depth assessment of the recent publications of registry analyses with Lantus(R) (insulin glargine [rDNA] injection) in Diabetologia. This board of international specialists in the field of endocrinology, oncology and epidemiology came to the conclusion, that all four manuscripts have significant methodological limitations and shortcomings, and that they provide inconsistent and inconclusive results regarding a potential link between insulin glargine use and an increased risk of cancer.
One day after President Obama told lawmakers to speed up their pace, three key Finance Committee senators expressed doubts about meeting the President"s August deadline for passing a reform proposal, Politico reports. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said he doesn"t "see how" his colleagues can confirm the new Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, and pass a health bill in the time left before the August recess.
"Brazil has been successful in its nearly 20-year effort to treat people living with" HIV/AIDS, and generic medicines have been "a large part of the solution," according to a recent Health Affairs review, UPI reports (UPI, 7/14). The review examines Brazil"s passing of "a law in the 1990s that guaranteed citizens free and universal access to drugs for HIV and AIDS treatment" as well as the country"s production of generic HIV/AIDS medicines in public factories, AHN reports. "The [Brazilian] government also prompted drug companies to lower their prices by threatening to make generic versions of [patented] HIV and AIDS drugs in the public factories," writes AHN (Goodhue, 7/14).
Pfizer Inc announced today results from two Phase 1 safety studies, one of PF-04360365, a humanized anti-amyloid monoclonal antibody (mAb), and another of dimebon (latrepirdine*) in combination with donepezil HCl tablets, in patients with Alzheimer"s disease.1,2 Based on the Phase 1 study results, PF-04360365 has advanced into Phase 2.3 Dimebon (latrepirdine), being co-developed by Pfizer and Medivation Inc., is in Phase 3 development.4 These data were presented this week at the Alzheimer"s Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer"s Disease (ICAD) in Vienna, Austria.
Eduardo Davila, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology, and Immunology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine and Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, has been awarded a $1.3 million grant over five years by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health to develop new immunotherapies, including a vaccine, for cancer. Two years of the research will be supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Current radiation therapy treatment damages a patient"s healthy tissue as well as eradicating the tumour it is intended to destroy, making the treatment especially invasive and often causing nasty side effects.
Canada and the European Communities announced the end of a six-year World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute regarding the approval and marketing of biotechnology products.
AGA Medical Corporation has received European CE Mark approval for its AMPLATZER® vascular plug, AVP 4. The device, which is indicated for arterial and venous embolizations in the peripheral vasculature, uses AMPLATZER"s proven mesh-braided Nitinol technology and may eliminate the need for catheter exchange, giving physicians a more efficient procedure. AGA Medical will begin marketing the AVP 4 in Europe immediately.
More than three-quarters of parents would be willing to permit the use of their children"s newborn screening samples for research purposes if their permission were obtained beforehand, a University of Michigan survey shows.
AcroMetrix, a leading manufacturer of quality control standards and controls for clinical diagnostic and blood testing laboratories, announced the release of the first standardized quality control for molecular Group B Streptococcus (GBS) testing. The OptiQual GBS Positive Control is designed to help clinical laboratories comply with CLIA guidelines for qualitative molecular assays that detect Group B Streptococcus DNA, ensuring accuracy and precision throughout the testing procedure.
Scientists from the University of Cambridge have identified 27 genes that are associated with either Asperger Syndrome (AS) and/or autistic traits and/or empathy. The research is published in the journal Autism Research. This is the first candidate gene study of its kind.
Obesity -- that never-ending "battle of the bulge"-- dates back to the Stone Age and yet is emerging today as a modern health epidemic. While its root cause is as simple as calories consumed versus calories burned, it"s cure is knotted somewhere in a complex web of biology, psychology and culture.
The California Institute of Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) has joined with the City of San Francisco and FibroGen Inc to launch the QB3 Mission Bay Incubator Network, to spur growth in the bioscience industry.
The American Public Health Association (APHA) applauds the recent progress made by Congress on comprehensive health reform legislation that includes important provisions to protect and improve health in our nation.
Targacept, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRGT) today announced positive top-line results from a double blind, placebo controlled, flexible dose Phase 2b clinical trial of TC-5214 as an augmentation (add-on) treatment for major depressive disorder, or MDD, in subjects who did not respond adequately to first-line treatment with citalopram alone. The result on the primary outcome measure for the trial, mean change between treatment (TC-5214 + citalopram) and placebo (placebo + citalopram) from baseline on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression-17, or HAM-D, was highly statistically significant in favor of TC-5214 (p Next Steps
Neurofeedback - also called EEG Biofeedback - is a method used to train brain activity in order to normalize Brain function and treat psychiatric disorders. This treatment method has gained interest over the last 10 years, however the question whether this treatment should be regarded as an Evidence-Based treatment was unanswered until now. Tomorrow a study will be published in the scientific journal "EEG and Clinical Neuroscience" demonstrating that Neurofeedback can indeed be regarded as an evidence-based treatment for Attention Deficit- / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Mylan Inc. (Nasdaq: MYL) announced that its subsidiary Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Liothyronine Sodium Tablets USP, 5 mcg (base), 25 mcg (base) and 50 mcg (base).
Peter Campbell, 65, was struggling to find the words to communicate. When his wife asked what his name was and where he lived, he couldn"t think of the answers. Following a CT scan of his brain, he learned that an aggressive type of brain tumor was hindering his speech and language functions. The tumor was removed surgically, and as is standard for treating this type of brain tumor, Campbell began a seven-week course of radiotherapy that is targeting the area where the lesion was removed, in order to kill any cancer cells that might have been left behind.
The College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD) launched their annual campaign to educate the public on the steps they can take to ensure their children aren"t struggling with reading and learning because of undiagnosed vision problems.
Dr. Zsuzsanna Nagy of the University of Birmingham presented data from a clinical study, funded by Cytox Limited, demonstrating that a simple blood-based biomarker discriminated between patients with Alzheimer"s disease (AD) and control subjects. The findings were statistically highly significant, and the test discriminated between the two groups with 80% sensitivity and 80% specificity. The results also showed that 40% of the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients tested had the same test results as AD patients. Follow up study of MCI patients enrolled in an earlier study found that the test allowed early identification of those MCI patients who later developed dementia. The results were presented at the 2009 Alzheimer"s Association International Conference on Alzheimer"s Disease (ICAD 2009), held in Vienna, Austria.
Advances in neonatal care enable two-thirds of premature babies born with respiratory problems to be ready for school at an appropriate age, but those living in poverty are far less likely to be ready on time than their better-off peers, researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center report in the July issue of the journal Pediatrics.
In a week that has seen the British swine flu death toll reach 29 and it is estimated that 55,000 people have caught the virus, hospitalizing 652 of them, the
The Royal College of Nursing and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health commented on a new report from the Care Quality Commission, Safeguarding children: a review of arrangements in the NHS for safeguarding children. The report found that some providers had excellent systems and staff were delivering good practice, however in others training and evaluating procedures were patchy and many health organisations need to improve as a matter of urgency.
The American Nurses Association (ANA), which represents the interests of the nation"s 2.9 million registered nurses, is joining forces with the Texas Nurses Association (TNA) to strongly criticize the recent indictment and prosecution of two registered nurses in Winkler County, Texas, for reporting to the Texas Medical Board their concerns about a physician"s standard of practice at the Winkler County Memorial Hospital in Kermit, Texas. ANA and TNA are gravely concerned about the chilling effect the county"s actions could have on future nurse "whistle blowers" who advocate for their patients in the nation"s hospitals. An initial hearing on the nurses" motions to dismiss the case was held July 15 in the Winkler County Courthouse but no rulings were made on any of the motions.
Georgetown Policy Report: Long-Term Care in Health Care Reform: Policy Options to Improve Both - Policy - Long-term care reform belongs in health care reform -- "The well-being and financial security of families depend not only on access to affordable medical services, but also on access to affordable, reliable long-term care - the daily assistance and supports that many individuals need because of serious medical conditions or disabilities." This policy brief presents four policy options that merit serious consideration in the current health care reform discussion. ... The first two options would improve long-term care for people with low incomes and limited financial res. These options would modernize Medicaid in important ways, tailoring services better to individual needs and using res more effectively. The third and fourth options aim to strengthen long-term care protections for the broader population; one with better coordination of medical and long-term care for Medicare enrollees; the other by establishing insurance protection for people of all ages and incomes" (Komisar, Tumlinson, Feder, Burke, 7/16). (Note: KHN"s coverage of aging and long term care issues is supported by a grant from The SCAN Foundation.)
Boston-based Fenway Health and the Multicultural AIDS Coalition "have launched the recruitment phase of a new study aimed at learning more about the sexual health of black gay and bi[sexual] men and finding effective strategies for HIV prevention within the black gay community," Bay Windows reports. The study, called Project Saving Ourselves (SOS), is seeking to recruit up to 400 participants in Boston, and also is collecting data on black gay and bisexual men in New York, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Ben Perkins, Project SOS director at the Fenway Institute of Fenway Health"s research division, said, "This is pretty new. In terms of the scale, there hasn"t been anything quite like it." Perkins said there are several questions researchers hope to answer about black gay and bisexual male health and HIV prevention, but the goal is to determine what factors put them at risk for HIV and help promote better health and safe behavior (Jacobs, 7/15).
Adolescent alcohol use and behavior problems are influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. A new study has found that socio-regional factors moderate the importance of genetic influences on early adolescent behavior problems in a way that parallels moderating effects observed for alcohol use later in adolescence.
Fewer births in states such as California may be delaying the annual onset of a common intestinal virus in the southwest, according to epidemiologists. The timing of infectious outbreaks in other locations such as the northeast remains more or less unchanged.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press has launched a new monthly publication, Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology, that provides comprehensive, systematically structured surveys of research in exciting areas of molecular and cellular biology, genetics, developmental biology, neuroscience, cancer biology, and molecular pathology.
Springer, one of the leading publishers in the fields of science, technology and medicine, has signed a co-publishing agreement with the Association of Food Scientists and Technologists, India (AFST(I)), for one of their publications, the Journal of Food Science and Technology (JFST). Dr. Satish Kulkarni, Head of the Southern Campus at the National Dairy Research Institute in Bangalore and President of AFST(I); Dr. S.G. Prapulla, Deputy Director of the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysore and Honorable Secretary of AFST(I); Dr. William F. Curtis, President of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC; and Sanjiv Goswami, Managing Director of Springer India, signed the agreement at the Southern Campus at the National Dairy Research Institute in Bangalore.
Newly announced National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding will expand the reach of ongoing University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) research into a unique nanostructured coating to improve the performance and longevity of total joint replacement components. The broadened UAB research opportunity is funded by a four-year, $790,931 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant through the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS).
Barrow Neurological Institute researchers have identified a novel receptor in the brain that is extremely sensitive to beta-amyloid peptide (AB) and may play a key role in early stages of Alzheimer"s disease.
Expectant mothers who are obese are much more likely to suffer from minor complications such as heart burn and chest infections during pregnancy, a study suggests.
Given equivalent results with regards to survival, the impact of anastomotic methods on QOL becomes even more important. There is still no consensus on how to choose a reconstruction method for proximal gastrectomy in patients with upper third gastric cancer.
Clarithromycin is currently one of the antibiotics used for eradication of Helicobacter pylori. However, reports of H. pylori resistance to this antibiotic are increasing worldwide. Clarithromycin resistance has been attributed to the presence of mutations in the 23S rRNA gene, a component of the ribosome that is the protein manufacturing machinery of all living cells. There is little information on the prevalence and characteristics of clarithromycin resistance in H. pylori strains isolated from Malaysian patients.
Congress is expected to take up legislation this summer aimed at improving the nation"s healthcare system. Whatever the shape of the final bill, it will have at least some impact on one of the three leading causes of death in the U.S.: stroke.
A UQ institute has joined forces with a leading American university to work on research to change the way we live.
Experiences with relationship violence beyond the formative and developmental years of childhood and adolescence can have far-reaching effects on the health status of disadvantaged urban women, a new study shows.
The Royal College of Nursing welcomed the signing of a joint agreement by European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) and the European Hospital and Healthcare Employers Association (HOSPEEM). This is an EU-wide agreement which the RCN has played a key role in bringing about to prevent one million medical sharps injuries per year. Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said:
The best way to keep bacteria from doing any damage is to stop them in their tracks before they can start down their pathological road to destruction.
Adults between the ages of 34 and 56 are at a greater risk of dying from poisonings than from motor vehicle accidents, according to a new report from the CDC.
Bone fractures might heal faster if the patient is injected with medications. This is the outcome of a unique study of 102 women with wrist fractures.
Teens who drink heavily are more likely than their peers to have behavioural and attention problems and suffer from anxiety and depression, a team led by researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has reported.
The American Medical Association has backed the House bill that carries mandates on employers and individuals, a government-run health plan and reforms to Medicare and Medicaid, Politico reports.
Hospitals across Canada are seeking ways to free up beds. University of Alberta researcher Donna Wilson has a suggestion: people should be encouraged to die at home rather than in hospital.
The Boston Globe: "A state commission recommended yesterday that Massachusetts dramatically change how doctors and hospitals are paid, essentially putting providers on a budget as a way to control exploding healthcare costs and improve the quality of care. The 10-member commission, which includes key legislators and members of Governor Deval Patrick"s administration, voted unanimously to largely scrap the current system, in which insurers typically pay doctors and hospitals a negotiated fee for each individual procedure or visit. That arrangement is widely seen as leading to unneeded tests and procedures. Instead, the group wants private insurers and the state and federal Medicaid program to pay providers a set payment for each patient that covers all that person"s care for an entire year and to make the radical shift within five years" (Kowalczyk, 7/17).
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Thursday said food prices remain high in many developing countries because of reduced harvests, civil conflict and other factors, AP/Google.com reports (7/16).
A proposed amendment to Washington, D.C."s federal appropriation for 2010 "would prohibit the city from using federal funds to distribute needles for the "injection of illegal drugs ò€¦ within 1,000 feet of a public or private day care center, elementary school, vocational school, secondary school, college, junior college, university, public swimming pool, park, playground, video arcade or youth center,"" the Washington Post reports. Local HIV/AIDS advocates "are concerned that [the] proposed amendment ò€¦ would drastically reduce public funding for needle exchange programs and take away a weapon in the fight against HIV and AIDS," according to the Post. A companion bill in the Senate does not contain language prohibiting the use of federal dollars for needle exchange programs. "Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) urged her colleagues to fight the amendment which is before the full House this afternoon," the article states. The district has provided $700,000 in the past year to four non-profit organizations for needle exchange programs (Fears, 7/16).
The June cover of the Journal of Virology features a photograph of the unusual effects on a cell infected by a virus. Montana State University researchers were the first to view the virus, which they collected from a boiling, acidic spring in Yellowstone.
Experts estimate that over 24 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, and many of these people live in low- and middle-income countries. Recently, there has been growing interest in whether dietary factors, particularly oily fish and meat, might influence the onset and/or severity of dementia. Oily fish are rich in omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, which some studies suggest are positively related to cognitive function in later life. Conversely, there is a suggestion from some studies that increased meat consumption may be related to cognitive decline. To examine this, a group of international researchers studied older people in 7 middle- to low-income countries. You can read the results of their study in the August 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
An Alice Springs doctor has urged the Federal Government to overhaul Medicare to remove disincentives for General Practitioners to conduct longer consultations with patients.
New strategies are needed to encourage general practitioners to teach medical students in their practices, according to a letter published in this year"s General Practice edition of the Medical Journal of Australia.
Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) announced that the European Commission (EC) has approved under the European Union (EU) Merger Regulation the company"s pending acquisition of Wyeth. The Commission"s decision includes Pfizer"s commitment to divest certain animal health assets in the EU.
Bovie Medical Corporation (the "Company") (NYSE-AMEX Symbol: BVX), a manufacturer and marketer of electrosurgical products, announced a 510K submission to the FDA seeking pre-market clearance for Bovie"s BOSS for surgical applications where soft tissue bipolar coagulation is desired. The BOSS is the latest generation device based on Bovie"s saline enhanced sintered steel technology.
Genentech, Inc. announced that an international Phase III study demonstrated that oral Xeloda® plus oxaliplatin (XELOX) is superior to a commonly used intravenous chemotherapy, 5-FU/LV (infused 5-fluorouracil plus leucovorin), in increasing the time people with adjuvant colon cancer lived without their cancer returning when given immediately after surgery. The data show those who participated in the study and took XELOX immediately after surgery lived longer without their cancer being detectable than those who took intravenous 5U/LV. No new adverse events related to Xeloda were observed in the study.
This afternoon, AARP CEO A. Barry Rand delivered the following remarks at the White House Middle Class Task Force Town Hall in Alexandria, Va., during a discussion with Vice President Biden, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and White House Office of Health Reform Director Nancy-Ann DeParle, on how health care reform will lower costs, cut waste, and improve quality for seniors from across the country.
Experts from the Institute of Psychiatry will tell attendees of a unique conference on the 25th July in Reading that health professionals often fail to correctly identify when someone suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). As a consequence, the burden of this very disabling and distressing condition tends to fall on family members.
From the start of the HIV epidemic, it appeared that some of the people who were infected with the virus were able to ward off the fatal effects of the disease longer than others. Recent studies have begun to unravel the cause of this phenomenon, and new research suggests that African Americans with the disease have a unique survival advantage if they have both a low white blood cell count (known as leukopenia) and a genetic variation that is found mainly in persons of African ancestry. This study was prepublished online on July 20, 2009, in Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology.
Transoral (through-the-mouth) laser surgery to remove cancer at the base of the tongue is as effective as more invasive open surgery and may improve quality of life according to a new study by Rush University Medical Center. The study is published in the July issue of the scientific journal Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.
Many countries worldwide are digitizing patients" medical records. In the
Congratulations to the winners of the 2009 Avant/AMSA Student Research Fellowship:
Latest research on proton therapy highlights medical physics meeting next week in Anaheim
In an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag said that he is "not prepared to say explicitly" whether health care reform legislation would prohibit the use of federal tax revenue to fund abortion coverage, the New York Times reports. Orszag"s statement came in reply to a question asking whether he was prepared to say that "no taxpayer money will go to pay for abortions." Orszag said, "It"s obviously a controversial issue, and it"s one of the questions that is playing out in the debate" (Pear/Liptak, New York Times, 7/20).Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), who also appeared on "Fox News Sunday," said, "No matter what your views are on abortion, you shouldn"t ask people to use their tax dollars if they think that abortion is taking a life." Gregg added, "I would hate to see the health care debate go down over that issue. We do really need health care reform, and it has to be substantive. ... So hopefully we won"t get ourselves wrapped around the wheel of abortion in this debate" (FoxNews.com, 7/19). According to the Times, there is an ongoing behind-the-scenes debate over handling abortion coverage in health overhaul legislation. The debate affects both the public insurance plan the legislation would create and private insurers, who would receive tens of billions of dollars in federal subsidies to expand coverage for low- and moderate-income U.S. residents. A provision in the House health reform bill (HR 3200) calls for a federal advisory committee to advise the HHS secretary on an "essential benefits package" that most insurers would be required to provide. Abortion-rights opponents want abortion coverage excluded from the package, while abortion-rights advocates say the decision should be left to medical professionals. House committees working on health reform legislation have rejected Republican amendments that would have restricted abortion coverage. The Hyde Amendment, first enacted in 1976, prohibits the use of federal Medicaid money for abortion services. However, abortion-rights opponents argue that federally subsidized coverage of the uninsured would not be subject to the existing restrictions. The National Right to Life Committee issued an analysis of the House bill, stating, "There is no doubt that coverage of abortion will be mandated, unless Congress explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of federal authority to define "essential benefits."" According to the group, even if the HHS secretary did not require abortion coverage, "federal courts would interpret the broadly worded mandatory categories of coverage to include abortion" (New York Times, 7/20).