Mental Health
The University of San Pablo CEU, a major academic and research institution in Madrid, Spain, yesterday presented Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the American Association for Cancer Research, with an honorary doctorate in medicine that recognizes her exceptional contributions to cancer research and leadership of the AACR, which have done so much to help those suffering from cancer.
There has been a recent questioning of the role of the limbal stem cell in corneal maintenance and the recent Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting in Fort Lauderdale May 3 -7, 2009 saw some fairly hot debate son this topic. Professor Colin Green, University of Auckland, New Zealand reviews an interesting series of sessions for The Society for Clinical Ophthalmology.
Around 2000 multiple myeloma sufferers in the UK could have their lives extended by around three months after a decision by The UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to approve lenalidomide in those patients who have received two or more previous therapies-provided that the cost of cycles beyond the 26th cycle of treatment are met by the drug manufacturer. A summary of the NICE decision is published in a Special Report Online First and in the July edition of The Lancet Oncology.
The University of Queensland"s Healthy Communities Research Centre , in collaboration with Australian Dirt Bike Adventures, is currently administering the first phase of a research project into the health benefits of trail bike riding based in Queensland.
A new landmark collaboration between the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance), a not-for-profit, product development partnership, and Tibotec Inc., (Tibotec), a global pharmaceutical company, has been announced at the Pacific Health Summit in response to the urgent need to accelerate the discovery and development of new drugs to fight tuberculosis (TB).
CentraState Medical Center (Freehold, New Jersey) has purchased two new state-of-the-art Elekta radiation therapy treatment systems, both with Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT). The first site in the world to have both Elekta Axesse and Elekta Infinity, CentraState will offer the most advanced cancer care available to its patients.
It"s common knowledge that a protective navy of bacteria normally floats in our intestinal tracts. Antibiotics at least temporarily disturb the normal balance. But it"s unclear which antibiotics are the most disruptive, and if the full array of "good bacteria" return promptly or remain altered for some time.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have successfully edited the genome of human- induced pluripotent stem cells, making possible the future development of patient-specific stem cell therapies. Reporting this week in Cell Stem Cell, the team altered a gene responsible for causing the rare blood disease paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, or PNH, establishing for the first time a useful system to learn more about the disease.
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,
Researchers found support for an association between the use of stimulants and sudden unexplained death among children and adolescents, according to a study released today by The American Journal of Psychiatry.
Being a father is an important factor in a man"s decision to seek
The new application syngo iFlow from Siemens Healthcare makes it possible for the first time to
Roche Applied Science announced the availability of a new detection kit for the Influenza A/H1N1 virus. The detection kit is offered for use in life science research. Roche currently is filing to get approval of the local health authorities worldwide for use of the kit in emergency situations.
Thousands of unregistered Rohingya refugees living in the Kutupalong makeshift camp, Bangladesh, are being forcibly displaced from their homes, in an act of intimidation and abuse by the local authorities. The international medical organization Doctors Without Border/Mç©decins Sans Frontiç¨res (MSF) has treated numerous people for injuries, of which the majority were women and children. Furthermore, MSF has witnessed countless destroyed homes and heard many reports of people being warned to remove their own shelters or face the consequences.
US consumer watchdog Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has informed Bayer Healthcare that it will sue them and file a complaint
A series of new polls this week show support for major health care reform, but trepidation about certain policy proposals, and anxiety about quickly growing health care costs, the possibility of losing coverage, and the federal budget deficit in general.
Scientists at Johns Hopkins have discovered a potential strategy for cancer therapy by focusing on what"s missing in tumors.
The Illinois Department of Health has launched a program, "Text 2 Survive," that uses cell phone text messaging to encourage residents to be tested for HIV, NBC Chicago reports. Through the program, individuals can send a text message to a designated number with their ZIP code and receive a reply that provides the nearest HIV testing center"s contact information. To promote the program, through July 1, individuals who send a text to the program or forward the reply message to others will be entered into a sweepstakes for a chance to win a $50 gift card. Those who confirm they have been tested have an opportunity to win an additional $200 gift card (NBC Chicago, 6/17).
A Delaware-based organization that has provided HIV prevention, outreach, education and other services for the past 28 years will be closing due to lack of funding, the Bethany Beach Wave reports. The Sussex County AIDS Committee (SCAC) also provided financial assistance, transportation services and assistance with medical appointments to people living with HIV/AIDS from as far as Philadelphia, according to the Wave. SCAC was funded by both private and government funding. "We just ran out of money," Curt Barrows, president of the SCAC board, said. CAMP Rehoboth, another local organization, said it will step in to assist SCAC clients (Shockley, Bethany Beach Wave, 6/18).
CNN examines the success of an HIV testing campaign in Swaziland that urges couples to get tested together. "The nationwide initiative - funded by the United States government and implemented by global charity "Population Services International" (PSI) - is aimed at couples because tests can be useless if partners are not aware of the others" HIV status," CNN writes.
"Decibels for Life", the new campaign from Siemens Hearing Instruments, has been launched to maintain awareness of hearing loss. It will also champion hearing innovations that help overcome impairments leading to an improved quality of life.
New evidence suggests that magnesium may help minimize nerve damage in newborns with low oxygen levels, a condition called perinatal asphyxia.
11-month old Dallas-born twins Justin and Jordan have different fathers, a phenomenon known as heteropaternal superfecundation that is so rare there
A new survey completed by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (BAAPS) suggests that patients may experience higher complication rates with permanent cosmetic fillers than with other types of cosmetic injections. The survey reveals 38.5% of surgeons saw 1-3 patients over the past year experiencing complications with permanent facial fillers, and 23% of surgeons saw 1-3 patients in the past year with complications so severe surgery was needed to treat those complications. "Permanent fillers present challenges, particularly for inexperienced injectors," says Coalition leader Julius Few, MD, a plastic surgeon practicing in Chicago, IL. "In addition to potential complications that may develop years after injection, the challenge of a permanent, synthetic filler is the anticipation of aging changes and the need for outcomes that will not look unnatural over time. To date, fat continues to be the option closest to a permanent filler with a proven safety record."
China Aoxing Pharmaceutical Company, Inc. (OTCBB: CAXG) ("China Aoxing"), a pharmaceutical company specializing in research, development, manufacturing and marketing of narcotic and pain-management products, announced that it has completed the registration trial with Codeine Phosphate, a compound oral solution for the treatment of acute moderate to severe cough. Top-line results from this trial are expected to be announced by the end of the third quarter of 2009.
Pomegranate juice may be beneficial in men who have undergone standard treatment for localized prostate cancer, according to a long-term study presented at the 104th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association.
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.
The British Climate Act is flawed and comprised of unrealistic and unobtainable targets, writes US academic Roger A Pielke Jr, in a journal paper published on the 18th June, 2009, in IOP Publishing"s Environmental Research Letters.
Light touch - the sense that lets musicians find the right notes on a keyboard, a seamstress revel in the feel of cool silk, the artisan feel a curve in material and the blind read Braille - truly depends on the activity of Merkel cells usually found in crescent-shaped clusters in the skin, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and colleagues in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Science.
Inspired by the behavior of the human eye, Boston College computer scientists have developed a technique that lets computers see objects as fleeting as a butterfly or tropical fish with nearly double the accuracy and 10 times the speed of earlier methods.
Fallopian tubes normally discarded after hysterectomies and other procedures could become rich potential s for mesenchymal stem cells
The Norwegian biopharmaceutical company Lytix Biopharma and Korean company KAEL-GemVax announced the signing of a collaborative agreement to test lead compounds LTX-315 and GV1001 as a combination therapy for the treatment of cancer.
Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGSI) announced that Novartis has completed enrollment and initial dosing in a Phase 2b clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Albuferon(R) (albinterferon alfa-2b) administered monthly in combination with ribavirin in treatment-naive patients with genotypes 2 and 3 chronic hepatitis C. Albuferon is being developed by HGS and Novartis under an exclusive worldwide co-development and commercialization agreement entered into in June 2006.
Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy has just released details of the latest developments for the Families of SMA funded therapeutic pipeline.
Teamsters General President Hoffa called on the American Red Cross to support its frontline blood drive workers whose efforts help safeguard America"s blood supply. The Red Cross is currently pursuing a campaign against its frontline workers that would worsen working conditions, push down living standards, undermine workers" rights to representation, threaten safety standards and create a disposable work force.
Like a mechanic popping the hood of a car to get at a faulty engine, a tumor-suppressing protein allows cellular repair mechanisms to pounce on damaged DNA by overcoming a barrier to DNA access.
Individuals interested in cancer research and disease management are invited to attend the 26th International Conference entitled, "Advances in the Applications of Monoclonal Antibodies in Clinical Oncology and Symposium on Cancer Stem Cells."
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.
Most people have experienced the odd sleepless night before a crucial exam, a job interview or before going on holiday, but few people get by with just a couple of hours of sleep a day, every day.
The Australian Medical Students" Association commends the announcement made by The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) to withdraw support from the 10-year moratorium imposed on overseas doctors by the government in an attempt to improve patient access to doctors in rural areas.
Several news organizations had explainers detailing the ongoing the health reform debate.
"A draft proposal in the Senate to overhaul the nation"s health-care system would require most people to buy health insurance, authorize an expansion of Medicaid coverage and create consumer-owned cooperative plans instead of the government coverage that President Obama is seeking," the Washington Post reports. The proposal, a preliminary version of legislation being shaped by the Senate Finance Committee, also contained "an array of coverage provisions that were drastically scaled back from earlier versions, as lawmakers seek to shrink the bill"s overall cost."
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Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, spoke to The New York Times about the state of health care reform on Capitol Hill during a 15-minute interview.
A Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center project called "open notes"" will make doctor"s notes available to as many as 35,000 patients online along with the rest of their medical records for a year, the Boston Globe reports.
The Slow, Slow Pulse Of The Deliberative Body The Washington Post
The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, announced today that the Government of Canada is proposing new regulations to prevent the use of six chemicals (phthalates) in soft vinyl toys and child-care articles. Regulations are also being proposed to further reduce lead limits in consumer products.
US researchers found that men with prostate cancer who consumed a mix of polyphenols found in green tea experienced a significant reduction in
The number of Filipino "women who die yearly due to childbirth and pregnancy complications has doubled in the last four years," and a reproductive health bill opposed by some lawmakers and stalled in Congress could address this rise in maternal mortality, health groups say, ABS-CBN News reports. The bill includes a "range of programs to promote reproductive health through education and access" to family planning methods, according to ABS-CBN News.
The emergence of global health initiatives (GHIs), eg, The Global Fund and PEPFAR, has resulted in a striking expansion of key health interventions in recent years, from which millions have benefited. There is also evidence, however, that such initiatives can constrain the health systems of poor countries and that many opportunities to improve efficiency, equity, value for money and outcomes in global public health are still being missed. The health systems strengthening agenda needs more investment, and to be infused with the same sense of ambition and speed that has characterised GHIs. This is one of five key recommendations in a new multi-partner report published in a Health Policy paper in this week"s edition of The Lancet.
Amarillo Biosciences, Inc. (ABI) (OTCBB: AMAR) announced that the screening of volunteers for inclusion in a Phase 2 clinical study of the company"s oral interferon product at the University of Western Australia is now complete. The investigators met their target of screening at least 200 healthy adults for participation in the trial. A total of 215 volunteers were evaluated and 134 of them have been enrolled into the study to date. About 90% of the screened subjects have been found to qualify for the study, so additional enrollments are expected over the next 2 weeks to bring the total number of study participants up to or above the targeted 160 subjects.
With rising taxes and increasing restrictions on smoking and tobacco, smokers looking for temporary relief from cravings and withdrawal symptoms during periods when they couldn"t smoke, or chose not to, were out of luck. But a new breed of short-term cessation treatment -- based on age-old homeopathic practices -- promises to help smokers manage cravings on-the-spot, when lighting up isn"t an option.
As President Obama prepares to sign a bill giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight of the tobacco industry, a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers shows that tobacco manufacturers have continually changed the ingredients and the design of their cigarettes over time, even if those changes have exceeded acceptable product variance guidelines. The result, say the researchers, is that consumers who buy the same brand of product are not made aware of how that product has been altered and what effect those alterations might have on their levels of addiction or harm.
As part of its efforts to improve the quality of medicines and food ingredients worldwide, the U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention this week reached three new cooperative agreements with Chinese drug control authorities. Because Chinese manufacturers supply so much of the world"s drug and food ingredients, these agreements-coupled with three previous agreements between USP and other government organizations in China-mark a significant commitment to ensure that concerns about quality are addressed. USP is a scientific, nonprofit organization that sets standards for the quality of prescription and over-the-counter drugs that are enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States. USP also sets standards for the quality of food ingredients and dietary supplements; these and USP"s drug standards are used in more than 130 countries.
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.
Around 100 of the region"s psychologists are meeting in Sheffield on 26th June 2009 to hear the latest theories and research, at the British Psychological Society"s North East of England branch Annual Conference.
Hemophilia (from the Greek haima meaning blood and philia meaning friend) is an inherited medical condition where the blood does not clot properly. Essentially, hemophiliacs - people with hemophilia - lack a protein called a clotting factor that works with platelets to stop bleeding at the site of an injury. People with hemophilia tend to bleed for longer periods of time after an injury and they are more susceptible to internal bleeding.
PharmaMar SA (Grupo Zeltia, ZEL.MC) announces the initiation of Phase I clinical trials with PM1183, a new antitumor compound developed by
Biomodels LLC, a preclinical research organization specializing in cancer support care, announced that its customized research program allowed ActoGeniX NV, a development stage biopharmaceutical company, to rapidly attain Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for Phase 1b clinical trials of AGO13 in cancer patients with oral mucositis.
Last week the FDA knocked the wind out of asthmatics by requesting the manufacturers of Singulair, a popular leukotriene blocking asthma and allergy drug, to upgrade their warning against psychotic side effects. Further respiratory distress was imposed on Zicam users when the FDA also last week announced warnings that the drug may cause a loss of smell.
Scientists are focusing on a new concept in fighting airborne pathogens by manipulating what is called the "switching time," the point at which a highly regulated immune response gives way to powerful cells that specialize in fighting a specific invading bug.
It is no coincidence that the stroke theme is being given wide exposure at the ENS Congress. Stroke has become a major challenge for health policy and for medicine in general. It is now the second most common cause of death globally and the major cause of adult disability in the industrialized countries.
There is also increasing knowledge about higher frequency of compulsive behavior in patients with PD compared to the general population. "These impulse control disorders such as pathological gambling, hyper-sexuality, compulsive shopping, compulsive eating or compulsive overuse of dopaminergic drugs can lead to monetary losses or worsen social handicap of PD patients," Professor Bassetti explains.
Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, announced the initiation of its global Phase III clinical study of the therapeutic cancer vaccine Stimuvax® (BLP25 liposome vaccine, L-BLP25) in patients with advanced, inoperable breast cancer. The STRIDEa study will determine if Stimuvax can extend progression-free survival in patients treated with hormonal therapy who have hormone receptor-positive, locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic breast cancer. Overall survival, quality of life, tumor response and safety will also be assessed in this study. The STRIDE study will be supervised by an expert Steering Committee and is sponsored by Merck Serono, which is leading the development of Stimuvax.
"As the legislative debate over health care intensifies on Capitol Hill, there is growing clamor for President Obama to step in," the Washington Post reports. The administration has so far left the crafting of legislation in the hands of Congress, but a series of tough choices await the President, who at some point must define "what he"ll accept and what he won"t" in a final bill. His job is made more difficult by recent cost estimates. "A preliminary estimate of the Senate Finance Committee"s draft bill put the price tag of universal coverage at $1.6 trillion over 10 years. That was considerably more than anyone anticipated and forced the committee to delay work on the bill. The cost of the incomplete plan drafted by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was pegged at about $1 trillion over 10 years, but the CBO said that would still leave 30 million (rather than the current 46 million) people without coverage."
House Democrats" health care bill draft released Friday is likely to survive relatively intact, "including a robust new Medicare-like public health plan that would compete with private companies in a national health insurance exchange," Roll Call reports.
Ellman International, Inc. announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted clearance to Pelleve(TM), a skin tightening system for the non-ablative treatment of mild to moderate facial wrinkles and rhytids for skin phototypes I-IV. The clearance was granted based on clinical data demonstrating that a single treatment with the high frequency radiowave device can safely and effectively tighten and improve the appearance of skin on the face through six months.
A severe lack of evidence is holding doctors back from providing the right treatment for workers suffering from Upper Limb Disorders, according to new research by the NHS Plus funded Occupational Health Clinical Effectiveness Unit (OHCEU) at the Royal College of Physicians. Upper Limb Disorders is an umbrella term for a number of common conditions of the shoulder, arm, wrist and hand, including carpal tunnel syndrome which is estimated to affect around 5% of UK adults
The one-year-old Florida-based organization Sistas Organizing to Survive on Saturday held a rally in Orlando that sought to raise awareness of HIV among black women and encourage them to be tested, the Orlando Sentinel reports. According to Debbie Tucci, coordinator for the Orange County Health Department"s HIV/AIDS program, one in 68 black women in the state is living with HIV/AIDS and many are unaware they are infected. AIDS has been a leading cause of death for black women ages 25 to 44 in the state for the past 15 years, the Sentinel reports (Ruano Gonzç¡lez, Orlando Sentinel, 6/21).
Venezuela To Void Some Pharmaceutical Patents
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).
Joel Drevet and colleagues, at Clermont Universitç©, France, have identified a protein that helps protect immature mouse sperm after they have been released into a region of the testis known as the epididymis, which is where they undergo maturation. Although male mice lacking this protein, Gpx5, had normal looking sperm and were equally as efficient as normal male mice at fertilizing female mice, an increased incidence of miscarriages and fetal developmental defects were observed when normal female mice were mated with Gpx5-deficient males over 1 year old compared with normal male mice of the same age. Further analysis indicated that Gpx5 acts as an antioxidant in the epididymis, protecting the sperm from oxidative stress. As discussed by the authors, and, in an accompanying commentary, John Aitken, at the University of Newcastle, Australia, these data have immense clinical relevance as age-related DNA damage to human sperm has been associated with a range of adverse outcomes including decreased fertility, and increased rates of miscarriage and childhood disease.
Rates of death and hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease declined 30% over a 10-year period in Canada, according to a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), pointing to successful efforts to prevent heart disease, the leading cause of death globally. However, for the first time, more women than men are dying of cardiovascular causes.
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.
BloodCenter of Wisconsin"s Diagnostic Laboratories announced that it is the first laboratory in the United States to develop and offer a genetic test, known as "CEBPA Mutation Analysis," for inherited acute myeloid leukemia (AML). AML is the second most common form of leukemia.
Research led by scientists in India suggests there is a direct link between smoking and brain damage whereby a compound in tobacco that turns
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.
Researchers at Children"s Hospital Boston have isolated a potent inhibitor of tumor metastasis made by tumor cells, one that could potentially be harnessed as a cancer treatment. Their findings were published in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of June 22.
To bring together serious female athletes and teach them the latest injury-prevention techniques and enhance their mental training, nutrition, leadership and team-building skills, UPMC Sports Medicine is hosting Empowering the Female Athlete: ACL Injury Prevention and Beyond, June 14 to 19 at the Petersen Events Center, 3719 Terrace St., Oakland. Female athletes between ages 12 and 18 are invited to attend the conference, led by a range of UPMC experts who care for all types of patients, including scholastic and professional athletes.
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.
Companies are being reminded of their duty to protect their workforce, especially workers from other countries, after a migrant worker employed at a pet bedding company suffered serious injuries in a shredder.
What are the costs of caring? A new project in the School of Psychology explores nurses" experience of distress and aims to determine if empathy with patients is associated with traumatic experience in nurses.
Light strongly influences human physiology and notably sleep regulation. An international team of scientists, including Patrice Bourgin from CNRS "Institut des neurosciences cellulaires et intç©gratives" in Strasbourg, has just published a detailed study in PlosBiology on the role of melanopsin, a molecule involved in mediating the effects of light on sleep. These scientists also revealed evidence of new interactions between the different mechanisms acting on the duration and quality of sleep and alertness.
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) and the University of Rochester Medical Center announced that the landmark MADIT-CRT trial has met its primary endpoint. Preliminary results show Boston Scientific cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds) to be associated with a significant 29 percent reduction (p=0.003) in death or heart failure interventions when compared to traditional implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). High risk(1), asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class I and II(2) patients were enrolled in MADIT-CRT. The MADIT-CRT Executive Committee expects to present and publish the trial"s full results later this year.
Who suffers from low back pain; my brother, my boss"s brother, my neighbor, a friend on the golf course and recently the media reports Regis Philbin and Jeff Gordon suffer from low back pain.
"Addiction is on the upswing, fueled by pressures from our economic downturn," says Howard Meitiner, President and CEO of Phoenix House, the nation"s largest non-profit alcohol and drug abuse treatment and prevention facility. "Eighty-eight percent of the population feels that drug abuse is at either serious or crisis levels today, reflecting the devastating impact that addiction is having on individuals, families, and communities."
Abbott announced that it has received CE Mark (Conformite Europeenne) for its next-generation XIENCE PRIME(TM) Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System for the treatment of coronary artery disease. The company plans to launch XIENCE PRIME in a broad size matrix with lengths up to 38 mm in Europe in the third quarter.
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.
A Leicester consultant surgeon who has developed a pioneering technique using microwaves to destroy liver tumours has treated more than 100 patients in the UK and other patients are now being treated internationally.
Researchers at The University of Texas School of Public Health have developed a game for HIV-positive youth, +CLICK, designed to reduce secondary transmission of the virus.
A study that attempted to replicate the "seminal" study that laid the
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has won the Gates Award for Global Health, and will receive $1 million in prize money.
The Australian Medical Association will work with the Federal Government to ensure patients benefit from the introduction of new prescribing rights for nurse practitioners and midwives.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) is reminding Kansans to protect themselves in hot summer temperatures.
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).
Missouri Judge Patricia Joyce last week dismissed conspiracy allegations against three state officials and approved the summary and cost estimate for a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban public funding for abortions and certain types of embryonic stem cell research, the AP/St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.The Missouri Roundtable for Life proposed the ballot measure earlier this year. Supporters of the measure subsequently argued that a summary written by Missouri"s secretary of state was biased. At the same time, opponents of the measure argued that the original petition was improperly drafted and should not have been allowed to proceed.Joyce dismissed the challenges to the summary and cost estimate, which was prepared by the state auditor. She also rejected the Roundtable"s claims that three state officials -- Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, Attorney General Chris Koster and State Auditor Susan Montee -- conspired to violate sponsors" constitutional rights. Joyce ruled that the allegations "are without merit and rise to the level of being frivolous."Steve Clark, an attorney representing the Roundtable, said his clients have not yet decided whether they will appeal. If they appeal and the summary is changed, new signatures will be required to support the new language. Supporters hope to place the measure on the 2010 ballot (Blank, AP/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/20).
Treating someone with an intellectual disability can be challenging for general
"Smart Pod", ideas for the ambulance of the future - was unveiled to the NHS and the healthcare industry at the NHS Innovation Expo in London.
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.
Two young people, former child soldiers, who have transformed their brutal life experiences toward helping the more than one billion children whose lives are currently touched by war today told the international community, including Franco Frattini, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Giovanni Alemanno, Mayor of Rome, what must be done to ensure that children are fully protected even in the heat of war.
New research indicates that a finding on a routine electrocardiogram that signals a disorder of the electrical conducting system in one part of the heart and previously believed to be benign is associated with an increased risk for atrial fibrillation, the implantation of a pacemaker or death, according to a study in the June 24 issue of JAMA.
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.
Exercise has many benefits from improving cardiovascular capacity to reducing weight, and now a new
Narcolepsy - from the French narcolepsie, which was derived from the Greek narke meaning numbness and lepsis meaning attack or seizure - is a chronic sleep disorder where the brain is unable to regulate the body"s sleep-wake cycles. People with narcolepsy may feel an overwhelming urge to sleep at various points in the day, and they will often fall asleep spontaneously for a few seconds to a few minutes. In extreme cases, narcoleptics (people with narcolepsy) will remain asleep for over an hour.
Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced the initiation of a second Phase 2 clinical trial with a novel drug candidate for the treatment of liver disease associated with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection. The trial will enroll patients for whom treatment with approved standard of care treatments is not currently advised. Results from an earlier clinical trial in HCV patients who failed standard of care treatment are expected to be reported later this year.
Dr. Marc Sarti from the University of Virginia recently used the Veran IG4 Plug-N-Play Navigation System on multiple patients to target small cancerous lung lesions that were located in extremely challenging locations. Dr. Sarti"s unique use of the 4D capability for the diagnosis and treatment for these patients was the first of its kind.
Acucela, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing new treatments for blinding eye diseases, announced today that data on the company"s novel visual cycle modulator, ACU-4429, a potential oral treatment for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), will be featured at the Aegean Retina XI Meeting being held in Crete, Greece from July 3 to 5, 2009. Dry AMD is a leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 50, yet there are no therapies currently approved to treat this condition.
Eight defendants were indicted in a massive Florida Medicare fraud case. The Associated Press reports: "It may be the center for Medicare fraud, but even Miami officials said Tuesday they were surprised by the breadth of a ring they say spanned five states, used 29 fake storefronts and attempted to steal $100 million from Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Eight defendants were charged in the elaborate scam authorities say billed Medicare for bogus HIV and cancer infusion drugs using dozens of storefronts in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana, authorities said. Two of the defendants and about $30 million are still missing." The AP notes: "It shows Miami"s stepped up health care fraud task force is working. They"ve prosecuted $1.5 billion in health care fraud cases in the past three years. Miami alone has had 146 convictions since 2007 in these cases. The fact that the suspects had to move to other states and other avenues of Medicare - in this case, Medicare Advantage - signals an understanding on the streets that officials are on to their old tricks."
In response to recent news reports from Reuters, the Associated Press and other media outlets tying the recession to an increase in demand for abortion, the antiabortion-rights community is arguing that women are "choosing their own material comfort over the life of their unborn children" -- an interpretation that is "wrong on several accounts" -- Double X contributor Anna Murphy Paul writes in an opinion piece."No one wants her most intimate decisions to be driven by money," but, at the same time, "opting not to have a child you can"t afford to raise can be a realistic and responsible -- if painful -- choice, one often based on taking good care of the kids you already have" Murphy Paul says. She continues, "Nor is the intrusion of economic concerns on childbearing a phenomenon of this recession, or even the loosening of sexual mores over the past half-century; historically, financial hardship has been an ever-present motivation for ending a pregnancy."Murphy Paul cites the results of a 2005 Guttmacher Institute survey that found that nearly three-fourths of respondents said that the reason they decided to have an abortion was that they "could not afford a baby right now," which was the second-most common reason. The report found that the top reason for having an abortion was that children would interfere with women"s education, work or ability to care for dependents, all "concerns that are also largely economic in nature," Murphy Paul writes. She notes that at the time the study was published, "the Dow was still riding high, and the housing bubble seemed it would never pop." Murphy Paul adds that a 1987 Guttmacher survey on the same subject produced results "almost identical" to the 2005 survey.However, "to hear the pro-life activists tell it, women aren"t really struggling with difficult choices -- they just don"t want to give up the luxuries to which they"ve become accustomed," Murphy Paul writes. Abortion-rights opponents promote offers of counseling and no-cost infant supplies provided through "pregnancy re centers" to support women who choose not to have an abortion, but such centers often provide misleading information or offer little assistance beyond the first few months after birth, she says."Pro-life activists are surely right about one thing: It"s tremendously sad when a woman decides that she can"t bring into the world a child whom under better circumstances she would have welcomed," Murphy Paul continues. However, the "harsh rhetoric about selfishness and irresponsibility help far less than an acknowledgement of -- and lasting aid with -- the true costs of raising a child," she writes. According to Murphy Paul, in "the absence of such help, the most responsible act is to face economic reality head-on. For some women, that may mean abortion" (Murphy Paul, Double X, 5/15).
Senate Republicans on Tuesday in the first in a series of floor addresses launched more strongly worded criticism of Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor"s judicial record and previous speeches, Politico reports. Although the floor speeches are not likely to undermine the Democratic majority"s support for Sotomayor or block her confirmation, they indicate a shift in strategy for the GOP as it tries to generate more opposition to the nomination, according to Politico. As senators approach the weeklong July 4 recess, Republicans are attempting to show that they have "no intention of lying down in the face of what appears to be an increasingly inevitable confirmation," Politico reports. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Judiciary Committee ranking Republican Jeff Sessions (Ala.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) used their time on the Senate floor to attempt to portray Sotomayor as a "judicial activist" and to attack President Obama"s previous statements that he would like to appoint a judge who displays "empathy" (Isenstadt, Politico, 6/24). Republicans also reiterated they will attempt to delay Sotomayor"s confirmation hearing, scheduled to begin July 13, if they do not feel they have enough time to review her judicial record, Roll Call reports. They also questioned Sotomayor"s involvement with the civil rights group LatinoJustice PRLDEF, which they labeled "far left," taking up a line of criticism that other conservatives have pushed. Sotomayor served as a board member for the group from 1980 to 1992. Democrats and White House officials are aggressively defending Sotomayor"s record, arguing that her lengthy judicial career supersedes any public statements or speeches she made in the past, according to Roll Call. Both said that their strategy is to avoid a point-counterpoint argument with Republicans. A White House official said there is "no reason to speculate on her record," which includes more than 3,000 panel decisions. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said that he has been "struck by her extraordinary career and how she"s excelled at everything she"s done." Leahy said that he is not convinced that Republicans need more time, noting that the Senate is using the same confirmation timetable as it used for Chief Justice John Roberts. Although Leahy said that he might be willing to discuss a schedule change if Republicans agreed not to filibuster or delay the nomination, he added that Republicans have not suggested such a deal at this point (Stanton, Roll Call, 6/24).
Although it is "important for other young people to hear" Bristol Palin"s message "about how hard it is to be a teenage mother," her "lesson falls short by suggesting that any teen can successfully avoid premarital sex," a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial says. Palin, who gave birth in December 2008 after an unintended pregnancy and is the daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), has "changed her tune" since she said in a February interview that teen abstinence is ""not realistic at all,"" the editorial states. It adds that Bristol Palin -- now an "abstinence ambassador" for the Candie"s Foundation -- recently said that abstinence is "realistic" and that it is the "harder choice, but it"s the safer choice."The editorial continues that Palin is correct that "[a]bstinence is the only foolproof way to avoid pregnancy" and sexually transmitted infections. However, "any viable lesson about avoiding teen pregnancy should include methods besides avoiding sex, including the use of condoms," the editorial says. Recent studies have shown that abstinence-only sex education programs have had "no measurable impact on delaying teens from having sex for the first time," according to the editorial, which adds that teen pregnancy rates rose 5% between 2005 and 2007 after years of declines. Additionally, three out of 10 U.S. girls will get pregnant by age 20, a figure that increases to more than 50% for Hispanics and blacks. The editorial concludes that teens "need frank talk about premarital sex that includes all of the viable options to avoid pregnancy" (Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/15).
County public health officials in California say proposed budget cuts could hurt or end the state"s Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Program, which provides care for high-risk women and teenagers during pregnancy and up to one year after giving birth, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports. County health departments operate the program with oversight from the state Department of Public Health. Sarah Mack, a spokesperson for the Riverside County Department of Public Health, said the program provides a safety net for women who are uncertain about how to obtain prenatal care. The program"s nurses and social workers work to identify vulnerable groups with the goal of initiating care within the first trimester of pregnancy. The program aims to reduce incidences of low birthweight, premature delivery, maternal and infant mortality, preventable childhood diseases and disabling conditions.Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has proposed eliminating more than $20 million in funding from the program to help reduce California"s estimated $24 billion budget deficit. Last week, the state Legislature"s joint budget conference introduced a counterproposal that would lower cuts to the program to $8 million.The most recent statistics from the state public health department show that nearly 16,000 California women who gave birth in 2006 had late or no prenatal care. More than 38,500 low-birthweight infants were born that year. Jim Lindley, director of the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, said that Schwarzenegger"s proposal would amount to the elimination of "the bulk of funding" for the program. Mack said that Riverside County officials have identified scenarios to continue providing services if the state funding is eliminated. However, without the funding, "[m]ore people could fall through the safety net," Mack said, adding, "Those who need the program the most would be the most likely to fall through."Schwarzenegger spokesperson Lisa Page has said that the governor believes the state"s budget situation leaves him with little choice about making cuts (Hines, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 6/22).
Despite recent declines in cigarette use in the U.S., nicotine dependence has remained steady among adults and has actually increased among some groups. The finding by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health suggests that public health initiatives have been far more successful in preventing Americans from taking up smoking than in persuading hard-core smokers to stop. The study is available online in the American Journal of Public Health and will be published in the August 2009 issue.
The NPA has launched an exciting new service enabling members to offer seasonal flu vaccinations to customers under a private Patient Group Direction (PGD) that the NPA is facilitating for its members, in line with our objective to provide additional business opportunities. Currently regulators require registration with the Health Care Commission and the involvement of a medical agency before a private PGD service can be set up. Members can now set up new services under private PGD without having to undertake this bureaucratic burden themselves.
Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School, the University of Cambridge and the University of Michigan have carried out the first international comparison of cognitive function in nationally representative samples of older adults in the US and England and discovered that US seniors performed significantly better that their English counterparts.
Researchers led by Drs. James F. George and Anupam Agarwal at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have found that carbon monoxide (CO) can protect against arterial clotting. They report their data in the July 2009 issue of the American Journal of Pathology.
An important re consolidating understanding of the roles played by Ion channels in drug action is now available for scientists and students.
UA scientists looking at the link between BMI over a lifetime and the risk of developing pancreatic cancer found that overweight and obese young
Scientists have discovered that abnormalities in a gene important for learning and memory are a cause of autism. The University of Aberdeen finding could hold the key to the future development of new treatments for autism - a brain development disorder which affects how a person communicates and relates to others. In a study published today in the Journal of Medical Genetics the researchers explain how their investigations into the gene EIF4E began with the study of one child with severe autism.
ThromboGenics NV (Euronext Brussels: THR), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of innovative treatments for eye disease, vascular disease and cancer, announces that its lead product microplasmin, which is in Phase III trials for the treatment of vitreomacular adhesion, is progressing according to schedule. All protocol-specified, interim masked analyses by the independent Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) have been completed. Recruitment is on track and the DMC, having found no safety concerns, has unanimously recommended proceeding without protocol modification.
Headaches are a widespread problem in the United States, affecting roughly 45 million people. Migraine headaches affect millions of Americans each year they are the most common type of headache that sends patients running to their doctor"s office. Migraines occur when constricting blood vessels in the brain cause intense, recurring vascular headaches. Like other forms of headaches, women suffer from migraines more frequently than men.
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.