Mental Health
UBC researchers have created the world"s first animal laboratory experiment to successfully model human gambling. The advance will help scientists develop and test new treatments for gambling addictions, a devastating condition that affects millions worldwide.
The Texas Diesel Testing and Research Center at the University of Houston, in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation, has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to test a system designed to reduce emissions produced by construction vehicles.
A $4.15 million, four-year National Institutes of Health grant will enable researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine to conduct the first health study of teenage boys using cellular telephones.
Throughout the animal kingdom brilliant colors or elaborate behavioral displays serve as "advertisements" for the process of attracting mates. But, what do the ads promise and is there truth in advertizing? Researchers at Yale theorize that when males must provide care for the survival of their offspring, the males" "advertisements" will always be honest - and they may devote more of their energy to caring for their offspring than to attracting females.
Gastroenteritis means irritation and inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, which includes the stomach and small and large intestines. The condition is usually due to bacteria, food poisoning, parasites, or viruses, and it often results in diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Gastroenteritis is commonly called gastric flu or stomach flu although it has no relation to the influenza virus.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Ilaris(R) (canakinumab) for the treatment of children and adults with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS), which includes a number of rare, but life-long, auto-inflammatory disorders with debilitating symptoms and limited treatment options. The FDA granted priority review to Ilaris based on its potential to meet an important clinical need for patients with CAPS.
Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX) announced that Heritage Valley Health System, a progressive community-based health system in southwestern Pennsylvania, has selected the Allscripts Enterprise(TM) Electronic Health Record (EHR) to automate and enhance the care provided by 150 of its employed physicians.
Doctors in the Netherlands have developed new ways to perform radiosurgery on benign acoustic tumors using fast and precise RapidArc(TM) radiotherapy technology from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR). This is among the findings in several papers published by the team at VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam.
Forty-six percent of patients over age 60 currently on the waiting list for a kidney transplant will die before they receive an organ from a deceased donor, reports an upcoming study in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). "Our results emphasize the particular need to consider living donation as an alternative for some older patients or alternatively, the critical importance of navigating the steps to receive a deceased donor transplant as rapidly as possible," comments Jesse D. Schold, PhD (University of Florida, Gainesville).
A more effective way to build plastic scaffolds on which new tissues and even whole organs might be grown in the laboratory is being developed by an international collaboration between teams in Portugal and the UK.
Health officials said on Thursday that it looks like the novel H1N1 swine flu virus will continue to spread in the US through the summer months,
The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) applauds the recommendations regarding chronic disease in the report by the Bipartisan Policy Center"s (BPC) Leaders" Project, entitled "Crossing Our Lines: Working Together to Reform the U.S. Health System." The report outlines key health care reform policy recommendations from a bipartisan perspective to ensure that all Americans have quality, affordable health care.
Being a father is an important factor in a man"s decision to seek
Senator Byron Dorgan (ND) on Tuesday introduced legislation that would for the first time establish a national coordinated system to collect and analyze data on multiple sclerosis and Parkinson"s disease. Accurate incidence and prevalence information on these two diseases currently does not exist. Click here to ask your Senator to support this legislation.
The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday declared its first-ever "public health emergency," asbestos contamination near Libby and Troy, Mont., northwestern mining towns, the Associated Press reports. "Asbestos contamination from a now-closed vermiculite mine has been cited in the deaths of more than 200 people and illnesses of thousands more. Before the vermiculite mine was closed in 1990, miners carried asbestos home on their clothes. Vermiculite once covered school running tracks in Libby and some residents used vermiculite as mulch in their home gardens."
Eye disease and sight loss cost the UK nearly ÷£6.5bn in 2008, according to new research** which informs, "Cost Oversight", a report due later this summer from the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). In addition, research found that the impact on quality of life (including loss of healthy life and premature death) associated with partial sight and blindness also has a cost to society, estimated at a further ÷£15.5bn in 2008.
A move from analogue to DAB radio may leave people with sight problems left out of Britain"s digital revolution if steps are not taken to assist in the switchover, laid out today in the communications Minister Lord Carter"s Digital Britain report.
The House State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee "unanimously approved its FY10 funding measure without any amendments" on Wednesday, "deferring expected fights for the full committee markup in a week," CongressDaily reports.
A recent study from Columbia University"s Mailman School of Public Health shows that since 2003, there has been a 10% decrease in contraception use among teenagers, while their level of sexual activity has not changed, a New York Times editorial states. From 1991 to 2003, increased use of contraceptives among teens was a significant factor in declining rates of teenage pregnancy, the editorial says. According to the study"s authors, the decrease in contraception use since 2003 is consistent with recent increases in teen birth rates. According to the editorial, the study"s authors suggest a "link between the shift in use of contraception and one of former President George W. Bush"s great social-policy follies: highly restrictive abstinence-only sex education programs that deny young people information about sexually transmitted diseases, contraceptives and pregnancy." The editorial adds, "To the extent that these programs even mention condoms, typically it is to disparage their effectiveness." In response to "mounting evidence of the program"s danger as a public health strategy," many states have forgone federal abstinence-only funds, the editorial says. As part of his budget proposal, President Obama has called for redirecting some abstinence-only funds and additional money to a new teen pregnancy prevention initiative that stresses comprehensive sex education. The editorial concludes that this "science-based effort to protect the health of young people" and reduce the number of unintended pregnancies "should win support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle -- and both sides of the abortion divide" (New York Times, 6/18).
11-month old Dallas-born twins Justin and Jordan have different fathers, a phenomenon known as heteropaternal superfecundation that is so rare there
Studies performed in three animal models confirmed the safety and intensive immunogenicity of a new type of intranasal H5N1 influenza vaccine, according to the latest preclinical study data announced today by the Vienna based firm, Avir Green Hills Biotechnology. The study data was just published in PloS One, the Public Library of Science.
A small study has shown that people tend to believe that bottled water is somehow healthier than water from the tap. However, the research, published in the open access journal BMC Public Health, also shows that people are unsure exactly what these benefits might be and that they are rarely the main reason for choosing bottled.
Detailed, accurate evolutionary trees that reveal the relatedness of living things can now be determined much faster and for thousands of species with a computing method developed by computer scientists and a biologist at The University of Texas at Austin.
Surgeons from Arizona Heart Institute performed the first procedure in the U.S. Anaconda Phase II Study using the Vascutek Anaconda Stent Graft System, an investigational, minimally invasive treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).
Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY), a global leader in the field of radiosurgery, announced that the Turkish Ministry of Health has purchased two CyberKnife(R) Robotic Radiosurgery Systems for installation in Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey.
UroToday.com - To take the adrenal or not at the time of radical nephrectomy, that is the question. These researchers from New York University School of Medicine performed an extensive literature search to determine the role of adrenalectomy at radical nephrectomy and discovered that the incidence of solitary, synchronous, ipsilateral adrenal involvement, and therefore potentially curable tumor disease with ipsilateral adrenalectomy occurred extremely infrequently - in only 1% to 5% of cases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA, in its latest update, dated Friday evening, 19th June, 2009, reports a total of 21,449 confirmed human cases of swine flu A(H1N1) infection, including 87 deaths. Authorities say the novel A(H1N1) influenza virus has not mutated and is not more virulent (aggressive) than most normal seasonal human flu viruses. However, health services are bracing themselves for a busy flu season this winter as the swine flu virus will have been circulating for several months, but will still be a relatively novel one.
New plans to improve the support and care for individuals and their families living with dementia were announced by Health Minister Edwina Hart.
World hunger is projected to reach a historic high in 2009 with 1 020 million people going hungry every day, according to new estimates published by FAO today.
Reductions in the flow of the Apalachicola River have far-reaching effects that could prove detrimental to grouper and other reef fish populations in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, according to a new Florida State University study that may provide new ammunition for states engaged in a nearly two-decade water war.
New research published by the Royal College of Physicians shows that more consultants on Acute Medical Units (AMUs) can reduce hospital stays and prevent inappropriate admissions in the first place. AMUs are now found in hospitals all over the country, despite being a relatively new specialty. This is the first evidence to support arguments that they will bring benefits to patient care.
"Global health funding boosted by private donors has quadrupled since 1990, but the extra money has not always gone to the right countries and diseases, according to a pair of studies released Friday," in the journal Lancet, AFP/Google.com reports (Hood, AFP/Google.com, 6/18).
Lyme disease was coined Lyme because it was first reported in three Connecticut towns, including Lyme and Old Lyme, in 1975. It was originally thought to be juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in these three towns. A study carried out by scientists from the Yale School of Public Health, USA and the University of Bath, England, revealed that "Lyme Disease In The U.S. Originated In Europe".
The Economist examines schistosomiasis in China. The disease, which is also called snail-fever, is the "world"s second-most prevalent tropical disease after malaria, affecting 207 million people of whom 726,000 are Chinese, according to the most recent official figures, from 2004," the Economist reports.
Sports & Orthopaedic Specialists, a national leader in orthopedic care for women, in collaboration with Sister Kenny Sports and Physical Therapy, launched the renowned Prevent Injury and Enhance Performance (PEP) program to the local and regional market. PEP is an exercise and training program designed to significantly reduce the incidence of ACL injury and enhance performance as an added benefit.
Obesity is probably the most important factor in the development of insulin resistance, but science"s understanding of the chain of events is still spotty. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have filled in the gap and identified the missing link between the two. Their findings, to be published in the June 21, 2009 advance online edition of the journal Nature, explain how obesity sets the stage for diabetes and why thin people can become insulin-resistant.
Rapamycin, a drug given to transplant recipients to suppress their immune systems, has a paradoxical effect on cells responsible for immune memory, scientists at the Emory Vaccine Center have discovered.
The fulfilment which so many people increasingly derive from competitive sports and endurance training comes with a real - even if rare - twist. Because, while most people will enjoy the benefits and pleasures of exercise, there are a few for whom regular athletic training will increase the risk of cardiac arrhythmias and even sudden death, especially among those in middle-age or with pre-existing cardiac diseases.
When treating the diabetes patient, doctors discussed how a "one size fits all" approach to testing is not enough to reveal an individual"s risk for cardiovascular disease Saturday at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) 18th Annual Meeting & Clinical Congress.
The goal of creating adult blood stem cells from human embryos to prepare a patient for tissue and organ transplant has been brought a step closer by research carried out at the MRC Molecular Haematology Unit at Oxford University.
With the number of children suffering from type 2 diabetes growing at an alarming rate, physicians gathered Saturday to discuss strategies for prevention and treatment of the disease among children and adolescents at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) 18th Annual Meeting & Clinical Congress.
Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC (19th June 2009) - Prison should be abolished in its current form, according to Joe Sim, Professor of Criminology at Liverpool John Moores University.
A London surgeon is pioneering a new way to remove abdominal organs through the belly button using an approach called single incision
A PET scan uses radiation, or nuclear medicine imaging, to produce 3-dimensional, color images of the functional processes within the human body. PET stands for positron emission tomography. The machine detects pairs of gamma rays which are emitted indirectly by a tracer (positron-emitting radionuclide) which is placed in the body on a biologically active molecule. The images are reconstructed by computer analysis. Modern machines often use a CT X-ray scan which is performed on the patient at the same time in the same machine.
GenÃömica, a company of the Zeltia Group (ZEL.MC)
Patricia A. Furlong, Founding President and CEO of Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD), the largest non-profit organization in the United States focused on finding a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (Duchenne), announced that PPMD will be honoring United States Senator Johnny Isakson and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) with "Change It Champion" awards at the 2009 Connect Conference in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, June 27. Other award recipients include Darius Weems and Logan Smalley from the acclaimed documentary "Darius Goes West."
A groundbreaking study conducted by Children"s Hospital & Research Center Oakland is the first to reveal a new avenue for harvesting stem cells from a woman"s placenta, or more specifically the discarded placentas of healthy newborns. The study also finds there are far more stem cells in placentas than in umbilical cord blood, and they can be safely extracted for transplantation. Furthermore, it is highly likely that placental stem cells, like umbilical cord blood and bone marrow stem cells, can be used to cure chronic blood-related disorders such as sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and leukemia.
Novexel, a speciality pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibiotics designed to overcome the significant global problem of microbial resistance, announces that its two most advanced pipeline products NXL104 and NXL103 are the subject of four posters at the 19th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID). The ECCMID conference is taking place in Helsinki between 16th and 19th May 2009.
South Dakota State University research shows that a child with leaner body mass, or muscle, builds bigger bones than a child who weighs the same but has a greater percentage of fat.
In the area of secondary prevention as well - guarding against renewed events in patients who already suffered from a stroke or a TIA - Professor Ferro points to important new research: "In this patient population, the direct comparison between Clopidogrel and the combination of aspirin with extended release Dipyridamole did not reveal any difference between both strategies." Both approaches have proven to be slightly more effective than aspirin alone.
European Neurological Society
Janssen(R), Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Supplemental New Drug Applications (sNDAs) for the use of RISPERDAL(R) CONSTA(R) (risperidone) Long-Acting Treatment as both monotherapy and adjunctive therapy to lithium or valproate in the maintenance treatment of Bipolar I Disorder.
Ghana"s Ministry of Health recently launched the Nationwide Mosquito Control Programme (NAMCOP) in conjunction with the waste management company Zoomlion Ghana Limited, the Ghanaian Chronicle/allAfrica.com reports (Akweetey, Ghanaian Chronicle/allAfrica.com, 6/19). George Sipa Yankey, Ghana"s health minister, said the government is committed to eliminating malaria and that the initiative will be part of a sustained effort so that Ghana can be the first country in West African to eliminate the disease. He said the government also plans to help the region by transferring local malaria elimination skills to other countries in West Africa.
The National Organization for Women on Saturday during its annual conference elected Terry O"Neill as the group"s new president, the Indianapolis Star reports. O"Neill succeeds Kim Gandy, who has served two four-year terms as NOW president. The group has grown to include about 500,000 advocate members since its founding in 1966.During the conference, participants discussed a number of women"s rights issues, including same-sex marriage, equal pay and health insurance affordability. O"Neill raised the issue of "conscience" clauses, which allow health care workers to refuse to provide information or services on moral or religious grounds. O"Neill said, "Conscience clauses, where pharmacists refuse birth control sales because it"s against their conscience, must go. Guess what? Women have a constitutional right to birth control," adding, "There is no constitutional right to be a pharmacist" (Jacobs, Indianapolis Star, 6/21).O"Neill served as NOW"s vice president for membership from 2001 to 2005. She most recently served as chief of staff for a county council member in Montgomery County, Md. O"Neill in a prepared statement said that she is "honored and eager" to lead NOW (AP/Google.com, 6/21).
After the murder last month of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, "there is a very real danger" that the availability of abortion later in pregnancy "will end in this country -- not after public deliberation, legislative debate and majority vote, but because antiabortion absolutists on the fringe have intimidated and blacklisted doctors and successfully threatened violence against them," Jim Buie, author of the blog The Buie Knife, writes in a Newsweek.com opinion piece. Buie writes that his parents in the early 1950s chose to institutionalize his three-year-old-brother, who was born with severe Down syndrome, after their attempts to care for him left them with "severe emotional distress" and unable "to meet the needs of their healthy children."Buie continues that he "cannot say that the option of a late-term abortion would have been the right one for my parents." However, "some of the arguments advanced by pro-life forces disturb me," he says, especially a "tendency to romanticize, sentimentalize and idealize life with a cute, forever-young Down-syndrome "angel child."" Buie adds, "It"s an argument I find off-putting, especially when it"s espoused by people who have never been through the wringer trying to care for a child whose disability level is on the most severe end of the scale." He continues, "At the same time, it is very disturbing that until recently, the majority of Down-syndrome fetuses were aborted without expectant mothers receiving proper information or support."Because of Tiller"s murder, it is "possible there won"t be any doctors in the country willing to perform" abortion later in pregnancy, "even if prenatal tests indicate severe retardation," according to Buie, who adds that this would mean that "domestic terrorism could win." He concludes, "It would mean that parents like my own would no longer have a choice, and would instead be forced to endure the same harsh realities that were present in the 1950s" (Buie, Newsweek.com, 6/17).
Neovacs, a biotechnology company developing proprietary immunotherapeutics for autoimmune and chronic diseases, announced that subject to regulatory consent, it plans to initiate a Phase II study of its TNF-alpha Kinoid later this year in rheumatoid arthritis patients who have failed treatment with at least one TNF-alpha inhibitor. The decision to proceed with the trial was based on an initial review of encouraging data from the company"s Phase I/II study in Crohn"s disease.
A University of Pennsylvania-collaboration of bioengineers studying the physical forces generated by individual cells has created a tiny micron-sized device that allows researchers to measure and manipulate cellular forces as assemblies of living cells reorganize themselves into tissues.
When a dad changes diapers and makes pediatrician"s appointments, he"s more likely to stay interested and involved when his child makes the transition to school, said a new University of Illinois study that explores the role of parent involvement on student achievement.
A new drug-free treatment for asthma has been shown to be effective in an international study of patients with severe, uncontrolled asthma. The results showed statistically significant improvements in quality of life and reductions in asthma attacks and emergency room visits for patients who underwent the treatment.
With millions of people in the United States eagerly awaiting those July 4 fireworks displays - and our Canadian neighbors doing likewise for their July 1 Canada Day celebrations - here"s a prospect for those light shows of the future likely to ignite a smile on Mother Nature"s face: A new generation of "green" fireworks is quietly making its way toward the sky.
Appendicitis is the most common childhood surgical emergency, but the diagnosis can be challenging, especially in children, often leading to either unnecessary surgery in children without appendicitis, or a ruptured appendix and serious complications when the condition is missed. Now, emergency medicine physicians and scientists at the Proteomics Center at Children"s Hospital Boston demonstrate that a protein detectable in urine might serve as a "biomarker" for appendicitis. Their report was published online June 23 by the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
A global healthcare senior executive has called the latest infection threat to confront the NHS "a national epidemic". Whilst Government statements imply that hospital acquired infections are in decline Jim Taylor, a former Smith & Nephew President and now CEO of infection prevention specialist Saniguard International, says that Norovirus is now an increasing threat to our NHS wards. His company is launching PatientGuard this month - an anti-infection kit created specifically for the UK public, designed to help halt the spread of viruses (including Norovirus & H1N1) & bacteria (including MRSA).
A survey of 140 independent imaging centers across the United States reveals that diagnostic radiology specialty networks play a critical role in channeling patients to imaging centers for both workers" compensation and health insurance patients.
Micronics, Inc. announced that it has been issued a letters patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a system and method for performing rapid thermocycling on a microfluidic device. The new patent has broad utility across the life sciences sector with particular application in point of care molecular diagnostics.
The Magnetic Resonance Center of the University Children"s Hospital Zurich has achieved a world first break through in MR-guided, non-invasive neurosurgery. Ten patients have been successfully treated by means of transcranial high-intensity focused ultrasound. This fully non-invasive procedure opens new horizons for neurosurgery and the treatment of different neurological brain disorders.
ISPE, a global not-for-profit association of 25,000 pharmaceutical science and manufacturing professionals, announced that it is accepting proposals from pharmaceutical professionals for content that can be included in a variety of its educational res.
Video therapy, through which certain brain sectors are activated by visual stimuli, can help restore movement in patients suffering stroke-induced paralysis. That conclusion is part of a current study that researchers from Konstanz, Freiburg and Magdeburg, Germany, are presenting at the current meeting of the European Neurological Society (ENS) in Milan, Italy. This major meeting in European neurology gathers more than 2,900 experts from all over the world. The role played by brain mirror neurons is central in this context.
Soft Network Users Group (SNUG) is holding its 17th annual conference, for users of SCC Soft Computer"s (SCC) clinical laboratory software solutions, May 18-21 at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater, Florida. This year"s conference, SNUG 2009- Cultivating Knowledge- a Shared 30-Year Journey of Innovation and Excellence, will include a celebration of SCC Soft Computer"s 30th anniversary with clients and SCC staff members. The conference provides educational opportunities through technical sessions and product demonstrations. Established to promote the free exchange of ideas and suggestions, relating to the applications of SCC Soft Computer"s laboratory software package, SNUG is also a vehicle of communication between users and SCC.
A study published this week in the open access journal PLoS Medicine shows
The best ways of managing patients with H5N1 infection (avian influenza)
Among older adults, less frequent participation in social activity is associated with a more rapid rate of motor function decline, according to a report in the June 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Children who live in Afghanistan are particularly affected every day by a multitude of war time stressors which increase the likelihood of developing PTSD: trauma, child labor, and family and military violence. On a daily basis they are first-hand witnesses to the bombings, abuse, and the general upheaval of their home life and society as a result of war, including the effects of long-term poverty and familial turmoil.
In this trial, a sample of alcohol-dependent patients received naltrexone, acamprosate or placebo for 12 weeks. While there were no differences in outcomes between treatment groups, those who believed they had been taking active medication consumed fewer alcoholic drinks and reported less alcohol dependence and cravings. That is, irrespective of actual treatment, perceived medication allocation predicted health outcomes.
A landmark study has successfully demonstrated a 29 percent reduction in heart failure or death in patients with heart disease who received an implanted cardiac resynchronization therapy device with defibrillator (CRT-D) versus patients who received only an implanted cardiac defibrillator (ICD-only).
A previously healthy teenager shows up at the doctor"s office with a sore throat, fever, aches and general malaise. Routine blood tests are normal, an HIV test comes back negative, and the pediatrician sends the patient home with a diagnosis of acute viral infection.
U.S. Senator Herb Kohl released the following statement on the announcement from U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz that banning pay-for-delay settlements that keep generic drugs off the market would save consumers at least $3.5 billion per year and provide significant cost savings for federal government, which pays approximately one-third of all prescription drug costs. Senator Kohl"s bill, the Preserve Access to Affordable Generic Drugs Act (S. 369), would prohibit the anti-consumer practice of brand-name drug manufacturers using pay-off agreements to keep cheaper generic equivalents off the market. Introduced in February with Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the bill is scheduled to be marked up by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) reports 22 new cases of H1N1 swine flu for last week, bringing the state"s total number of cases to 105. The new cases last week were in Lamar (6), Rankin (4), Covington (2), Madison (2), Chickasaw (1), Forrest (1), Harrison (1), Jackson (1), Lafayette (1), Monroe (1), Warren (1) and Winston (1) counties.
The Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH) recognizes and applauds the significant public health achievement of The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act being signed into law. This new law gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate tobacco products.
The Washington Post reports many oral health professionals worry that dental issues have "a tenuous place at best in the national debate" regarding an overhaul of the health care system. Still, they emphasize that dental health is an integral part of health care and note the special burden untreated dental issues have on poor children. The paper also notes that "closing the gap between the worlds of dental care and medical care, with their separate histories and cultures, and their separate finance and delivery systems would be a formidable task."
The Washington Post reports that "More Washington- and Baltimore-area employers are shifting health-insurance costs to workers, offering high-deductible health plans and imposing restrictions on prescription-drug coverage to save money in the recession, according to a new survey by area human res managers to be released today. But to keep good workers from jumping ship, according to the survey, more employers are offsetting the restrictions by beefing up other perks -- giving staff more flexibility in taking time off and working from home, and extending benefits to domestic partners."
What can"t the iPhone do? Now, thanks to a University of Houston professor, it can even count how many calories you"ve burned in a given day.
The World Bank released a report Monday, projecting "a 2.9 percent contraction in global GDP this year, as rich countries contract by 4.5 percent," the Wall Street Journal reports. "The crisis of the past two years is having dramatic effects on capital flows to developing countries, and the world appears to be entering an era of lower growth," World Bank Chief Economist Justin Lin said (Burns, Wall Street Journal, 6/22).
The Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) issued a statement (pdf) asking developed countries to establish training programs that would allow African students to stay in Africa or other developing countries in effort to curb the "tide of African talent leaving the continent"s universities," CNN reports (Wong, CNN, 6/22).
The number of polio cases in Nigeria has gone down from 799 in 2008 to 353 this year, according to the country"s National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Africa Science News Service reports. The number of children who have never had a polio vaccine has been reduced from 16 percent in 2008 to 8 percent in 2009, NPHCDA Executive Director Mohammed Ali Pate said.
Male and female perpetrators of domestic violence exhibit similar levels of controlling behaviour. This is one of the findings of a study presented at the British Psychological Society Division of Forensic Psychology annual conference yesterday, 23 June 2009 at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston.
New research from Vanderbilt University indicates the way our brain handles how we move through space - including being able to imagine literally stepping into someone else"s shoes - may be related to how and why we experience empathy toward others.
The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, today announced the re-appointments of Dr. Jean Rouleau and Dr. Brett Finlay to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Governing Council for their second three-year terms.
The AOAC Research Institute, the approval body for all U.S. food safety tests, has certified Vacci-Test"s FoodChekTM-E.Coli as a Performance Tested(SM) method for detecting E.coli O157 in raw ground beef. This extremely rapid and accurate new test is seen as a technological breakthrough for meat-processors. This approval clears the way for FoodChekTM-E.Coli to be sold as a certified food safety test in the United States and internationally.
Acute hepatic radiation injury could lead to necrosis of hepatocytes, fatty degeneration and hepatic fibrosis. At the present, the gold standard test is liver biopsy. However, this procedure is invasive, uncomfortable for the patients and sometimes results in serious complications. 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has been used to study liver metabolism in vivo for several years. A research team led by Jian-Shan Mao from Zhejiang University investigated whether changes of 31P MRS in the liver with early acute radiation injury were related to the liver damage score (LDS) and pathologic changes. They also determined the value of 31P MRS in detecting early acute hepatic radiation injury, and identified the most valuable phosphorylated metabolite for detecting acute hepatic injury. Their study was published on June 14, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.
UQ neuroscientists have, for the first time, been able to demonstrate that moderate exercise significantly increases the number of neural stem cells in the ageing brain.
A common electrocardiogram (ECG) finding that has largely been considered insignificant may actually signal an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (a chronic heart rhythm disturbance), the future need for a permanent pacemaker and an increased risk for premature death. In their report in the June 24 Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Boston University School of Medicine describe results of the first large-scale study looking at the significance of a prolonged PR interval in a general population.
In the world of Disney, falling in heterosexual love can break a spell, save Christmas, change laws, stop wars and even, in the case of The Little Mermaid, cause an individual to give up her personal identity.
Multiple sclerosis, diabetic neuropathy, and other conditions caused by a loss of myelin insulation around nerves can be debilitating and even deadly, but adequate treatments do not yet exist. That"s in large part because of deficiencies in model research systems. In an upcoming issue of the journal Biomaterials, a UCF team addresses this problem with a report on the first lab-grown motor nerves that are insulated and organized the same way they are in the body. The group"s model system, along with further advances now within reach, could dramatically improve understanding of the causes of myelin-related conditions, and enable discovery and testing of new drug therapies.
A unique CO2 sensor and a novel approach to user communication via SMS will make the XiltriX® registration, monitoring and alarm system of interest to any laboratory needing to audit the performance of its equipment or the security of stored materials, especially if operating under GLP, GMP or similar norms.
The world has suddenly discovered that the so-called "Nordic diet" is comparable in terms of nutrition and healthiness with the well-known sun-ripened Mediterranean diet. Scientists are constantly on the lookout for answers to how food affects our health and how to give people guidelines on a balanced diet that will both keep us healthy and at a normal weight.
Approximately 5 million adults age 19 to 23 in the United States had no health insurance in 2006 for the entire year and 30 percent of them said they didn"t think it was worth the cost, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
A new report from The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, Department of Health Policy challenges the notion that fraud is a problem only in public health insurance markets and finds that fraud is a system-wide problem affecting private and public health insurance alike. The report finds that some of the most striking examples of fraud come from fraud committed directly by the private insurance industry itself. In 2007, when the U.S. spent nearly $2.3 trillion on health care and public and private insurers processed more than 4 billion health insurance claims, fraud was estimated to reach as much as 10 percent of annual health care spending. At this rate, the losses in 2007 alone over $220 billion would have been enough to cover the uninsured. The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA) has estimated conservatively that 3 percent of all health care spending or $68 billion is lost to health care fraud.
Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIR) announced six-month interim data from a Phase II clinical trial evaluating Prochymal, the Company"s proprietary formulation of adult mesenchymal stem cells, for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Sixty-two patients were enrolled and are being followed for two years in the placebo-controlled study. At the six-month time-point, the data revealed several important findings.
New research from two Philadelphia-area cardiologists finds that an over-the-counter dietary supplement sold at pharmacies and health food stores may be an alternative for patients who cannot take traditional statin medications to lower cholesterol because of statin-related muscle pain. The findings of their study, "Red Yeast Rice for Dyslipidemia in Statin-Intolerant Patients," appear in the June 16, 2009 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.
Adding to its line up of complete total digital imaging and workflow management solutions for eyecare professionals, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in medical imaging, today introduced the CR-1 Mark II Digital Non-Mydriatic Retinal Camera.
Experts have long suspected that part of the process of turning fleeting short-term memories into lasting long-term memories occurs during sleep. Now, researchers at the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics of MIT"s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have shown that mice prevented from "replaying" their waking experiences while asleep do not remember them as well as mice who are able to perform this function.
The California Senate last week approved a bill (S.B. 54) that would prohibit health insurance companies from charging different rates for individual insurance policies based on gender, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/15). The state Assembly last Monday voted 48-29 in favor of a similar measure (A.B. 119). Insurance companies maintain that the practice, known as gender rating, is justified because younger women typically seek health care services more frequently than men. According to a report by the National Women"s Law Center, women can pay up to 20% more than men for the same individual coverage. Federal law already prohibits employers that offer health plans from charging different rates based on gender, and ten states have similar laws that apply to individual plans. However, the remaining 40 states allow the practice.State Sen. Mark Leno (D) authored the Senate legislation after San Francisco filed a lawsuit against the state seeking to outlaw gender rating. The lawsuit is on hold pending the outcome of the two bills (Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/14).
Nearly 50 lawmakers in Congress have spouses who work in the health care industry and that may be influencing their thinking on health reform, CQ Politics reports.
IRIN Examines Hardships Facing Parents, Guardians Of Children Living With HIV/AIDS
Governments and health professionals across Australia need to give full and detailed
In his weekly radio and Internet address, President Obama discussed efforts by congressional leaders and health care industry groups on health care reform legislation, The Hill reports. He said that "while there remains a great deal of difficult work ahead, I am heartened by what we have seen these past few days: a willingness of those with different points of view and disparate interests to come together around common goals -- to embrace a shared sense of responsibility and make historic progress" (Youngman, The Hill, 5/16). He said, "I have always believed that it is better to talk than not to talk, that it is far more productive to reach over a divide than to shake your fist across it," which has "been an alien notion in Washington for far too long, but we are seeing that the ways of Washington are beginning to change."In the Republican radio and Internet address. Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.), a cardiovascular surgeon, said that a "government takeover of health care will put bureaucrats in charge of health care decisions that should be made by families and doctors." He added, "It will limit treatment options and lead to rationed care," and "to pay for government health care, your taxes will be raised." Boustany, a member of the House Republican Health Care Solutions Group, said, "That is something we cannot support, and frankly, it would clearly violate some of the principles the president himself has endorsed" (Superville, AP/Washington Post, 5/16). In related news, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag on Sunday said on CNN"s "State of the Union" that the administration might support taxing health care benefits to health pay for health care reform (Barr, Politico, 5/17). Timeline
The social class, the gender and the ethnic group are three essential dimensions, not only in the social differentiation, but also in the affective sexual education of the adolescents, where it is necessary to take part in order to promote sexual and gender equity and prevent gender violence. This is one of the main conclusions of the investigation Affective sexual policy: a sociological approach to affective sexual education", carried out by the researcher of the department of Sociology of the University of Granada Mar Venegas Medina and supervised by professor Francisco Fernández Palomares.
A group led by Dr. Alberto Bardelli at The University of Turin Medical School reports that myoglobin may protect against the stresses of tumor growth. This study can be found in the July 2009 issue of the American Journal of Pathology.
Current research suggests that levels of gastrin play a key role in the development of Helicobacter-induced stomach cancer. The related report by Takaishi et al, "Gastrin is an essential cofactor for Helicobacter-associated gastric corpus carcinogenesis in C57BL/6 mice," appears in the July 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.
Scientists have uncovered a novel mechanism linking soluble amyloid í² protein with the synaptic injury and memory loss associated with Alzheimer"s disease (AD). The research, published by Cell Press in the June 25 issue of the journal Neuron, provides critical new insight into disease pathogenesis and reveals signaling molecules that may serve as potential additional therapeutic targets for AD.
Insmed Inc. (Nasdaq: INSM), a biopharmaceutical company, announced results from its exploratory U.S. Phase II clinical trial evaluating IPLEX(TM) (mecasermin rinfabate) in patients with myotonic muscular dystrophy ("MMD"). The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II trial conducted in 13 centers across the U.S. enrolled 69 patients with MMD, for a six-month period. As this was an exploratory trial, a primary endpoint was not pre-defined. The trial explored measures of endurance, using the six-minute walk test, muscle function and strength, cognitive function, gastrointestinal function, pain, quality of life, insulin sensitivity, lipid metabolism, and safety and tolerability of IPLEX(TM).
More pieces in the complex autism inheritance puzzle are emerging in the latest study from a research team including geneticists from The Children"s Hospital of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and several collaborating institutions. This study identified 27 different genetic regions where rare copy number variations missing or extra copies of DNA segments were found in the genes of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but not in the healthy controls. The complex combination of multiple genetic duplications and deletions is thought to interfere with gene function, which can disrupt the production of proteins necessary for normal neurological development.
Some athletes are diagnosed with a pulled groin muscle when they actually might be suffering from a much more serious hip injury.
The American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society have released official standards for clinical trials and practice with respect to the assessment of asthma. The statement appears in the July 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Some patients with large tumors on their larynx can preserve their speech by opting for chemotherapy and radiation over surgery to remove the voice box.