Mental Health
New research from North Carolina State University and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) shows significant reproductive health effects in rats that have been exposed to bisphenol-A (BPA) at levels equivalent to or below the dose that has been thought not to produce any adverse effects.
An enzyme known to play a key role in the development of emphysema serves as the first line of defense against bacterial infection of the lung, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. They also found that the antimicrobial activity comes from a small portion of the enzyme that is structurally and sequentially unique in nature.
Brian Andrew Tully, Esq., an attorney specializing in elder law, argues against POLST (Physicians" Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment). In his article "A Counterview: Objections to the POLST Paradigm," which was published in the February 2009 issue ofThe Elder Law Report, Mr. Tully states that POLST gives physicians autonomy in the decision-making process, without having to consult with the patient or the health care proxy.
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.
AARP announced its endorsement of the
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.
An article published Online First and in the July edition of The Lancet Oncology reports that the combination of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing with regular liquid-based cytology (LBC) screening does not improve the detection of cervical cancer compared with LBC screening alone.
At a meeting sponsored by the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and the Medicare Diabetes Screening Project (MDSP), former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, experts in diabetes research and education, and representatives of senior-serving organizations from a four-state area gathered in Washington, DC to draw attention to the need for increased screening for diabetes among older adults ages 65 and older insured by Medicare.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF today called on governments to strengthen risk reduction measures in four key areas so that health and education systems are able to cope with disasters, including the risks from climate change. These are:
The new application syngo iFlow from Siemens Healthcare makes it possible for the first time to
NHS Barking and Dagenham and HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) have achieved a national target by encouraging over 17% of under-25s in the region to test for the sexually transmitted infection (STI) chlamydia. To tackle chlamydia in the area, more young people need to come forward for testing and continue testing on a regular basis - the target for 2009/2010 is 25%.
Poor egg handling practices in restaurants and takeaways could be putting UK consumers at risk, reveals a new report from the Health Protection Agency and LACORS (Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services).
"It was particularly devastating on Wednesday when [Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah]" - a longtime friend of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., - "warned Democrats on the panel that they have already made some grave errors in their effort to write legislation overhauling the health care system," reports the New York Times in The Caucus Blog. "Now unfortunately we are beginning a partisan exercise on perhaps the most important legislation of our lives," Hatch said during a meeting of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee yesterday (Herszenhorn, 6/17).
"Employers who offer health insurance coverage could see a 9 percent cost increase next year, and their workers may face an even bigger hit, according to a report Thursday from consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers," the Associated Press reports. Workers concerned about losing their jobs" and their insurance, while it lasts - are using more health care than usual, contributing to rising costs, the report says. As the costs increase, employers are also likely to shift more of the burden to employees. "A total of 42% of employers surveyed said they would increase employees" share of costs," the AP reports.
Rural Solutions, an organization in northeast Colorado, held the "Community HIV/AIDS Education and Action Conference" as part of its ongoing effort to address issues related to HIV, the Sterling Journal-Advocate reports. At the conference, the organization presented the results of a recent needs assessment of HIV/AIDS services in the northeastern part of the state - conducted in partnership with the Center for Research Strategies and funded through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment - which found that HIV prevention services in the area are limited; barriers exist for HIV testing including confidentiality and costs; and mental health and substance use services for at-risk people also are limited, according to the Journal-Advocate (Jones, Sterling Journal-Advocate, 6/17).
"California will not be saving money," in its proposal to cut funding from HIV/AIDS programs, including the state AIDS Drug Assistance Program, Ken Owens, member of the Inland Empire HIV Planning Council and former member of the Desert AIDS Client Committee, writes in a Desert Sun opinion piece. He adds, "Instead, it will have more people looking for places to live and needing more state services because they are sick, need welfare funds and state healthcare." Owens continues, "Their plan of balancing the budget will surely cost lives if HIV/AIDS funding is cut" (Owens, Desert Sun, 6/18).
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.
The Ugandan ministry of health said that everyone in the country will receive free insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) to prevent malaria beginning in September, James Kakooza, the state minister for primary health care, said, New Vision/allAfrica.com reports. Kakooza said children and mothers will be the priority, but that the goal is to make the 17.4 million imported ITNs available to everyone. The ITNs will supplement 6 million ITNs that were distributed over the last three years, Richard Ndyomugyenyi, the malaria control program officer, said.
Ambulance Trusts across the country have significantly reduced the time taken to reach patients, according to data published today by the NHS Information Centre. 74.3% of the most urgent calls (Category A) were responded to in less than 8 minutes from a call being received.
Well-heeled donors, private corporations and average citizens sending money to their favorite charities are changing the landscape of global health funding, according to a new study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.
The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted pediatric exclusivity for Angiomax® (bivalirudin), based on studies submitted in response to a Written Request by the FDA to investigate the use of Angiomax in pediatric patients aged birth to 16-years old. With this additional six months of exclusivity, the FDA will not authorize commercialization of generic versions of bivalirudin prior to September 2010.
Power of the Dream Ventures, Inc. (OTCBB: PWRV), Hungary"s premier technology acquisition and development company, is pleased to present this Genetic Immunity release, based on a previously announced agreement whereby Power of the Dream Ventures will issue communications for Genetic Immunity on an ongoing basis.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation said recently that for the fourth time in 18 months, one of its biotech partners has signed a collaboration agreement with a large pharmaceutical company to move research on type 1 diabetes into the final phases of trials.
Allergy testing and treatment may offer a new therapeutic option for many patients with interstitial cystitis (IC). IC is a severely painful bladder condition affecting as many as 8 million women and 1.5 million men in the United States. Patients and the providers who treat them have long noticed a correlation between allergies and IC. Recently, a urologist and allergist in Louisville, Kentucky, began to explore the link between these two chronic ailments to provide patients with more effective treatment. The story of their discoveries is featured in the ICA Update, the quarterly magazine of the Interstitial Cystitis Association (ICA).
Cephalon, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEPH) announced results from a pivotal clinical trial of lestaurtinib (CEP-701) in patients with relapsed acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) expressing FLT3 activating mutations. The study was designed to show the benefit of lestaurtinib in this patient population when given in sequence with standard induction chemotherapy compared to those treated with standard induction chemotherapy alone. An analysis of the study showed that patients who were treated with lestaurtinib showed similar rates of complete response but no increased benefit in overall survival, compared to those who received induction chemotherapy alone.
A study carried out by researchers in the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, LSU Health Sciences Center-Shreveport, USA, found that men with prostate cancer who consumed the active compounds found in green tea had considerable reduction in serum markers predictive of prostate cancer progression. The study has been published in Cancer Prevention Research, an American Association for Cancer Research journal.
Researchers have identified a genetic glitch that could lead to development of neuroblastoma, a deadly form of cancer that typically strikes children under 2.
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.
In light of Air Canada"s decision to follow WestJet"s lead and allow pets to travel in the passenger cabin of airplanes, The Canadian Lung Association today released the following statement:
GM crops can and already do play an important role in reducing the negative environmental impacts of agriculture and feeding a growing population in a worsening climate, reveals a report published today by EuropaBio[i]. Furthermore, this contribution will only increase as their cultivation becomes even more widely adopted around the world. Nevertheless, this fact continues to be ignored by many EU regulators, as is evidenced by its repeated non-appearance on DG Environment"s Green Week agenda.
"This spring, 385 students graduated from Georgia"s medical schools, but only two of them chose to remain in the state to pursue a family medicine residency," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. "Overall, 20 students, or 5 percent, chose to go into family medicine - half the number that it was just five years ago." More than one-third of counties in Georgia, "many of them rural, are officially designated as primary-care health professional shortage areas," meaning there is "less than 1 doctor for 3,500 people." According to a recent study from the University of Missouri School of Medicine, "there could be a nationwide shortage of around 44,000 primary-care doctors by the year 2025, due to an aging population and fewer doctors training in primary care."
BBC examines a campaign in sub-Saharan Africa that is helping to distribute drugs to prevent onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness - a disease "caused by a parasite that is spread from human to human by the black fly, which once flourished along river beds where there is fast-flowing water." According to the BBC, "Some 35 million people are currently infected with river blindness, and about 140 million people in Africa are at risk of infection."
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries.~ "A Radical Notion: Women"s Health Care as Mainstream," Cecile Richards, Huffington Post blogs: "To hammer ... home" the message that "Planned Parenthood and other essential community providers are the affordable, local access to basic preventive care that saves lives," the Planned Parenthood Action Center has introduced advertisements "educating the policy folks involved in fixing our health care system" about "why women"s health care needs to be taken care of in this mega-reform effort," Richards writes. She writes, "From cancer screenings to contraception to immunizations, the majority of women who go to women"s health care centers consider them their primary health care provider," adding, "In fact, more than 90% of what Planned Parenthood health centers do is preventive and primary care." According to Richards, "Essential community providers, including those who provide women"s health care, need to be part of any newly established health care system." She adds that "the three million patients who came to Planned Parenthood health centers last year can testify to it." Richards writes that "[f]amily planning and reproductive health care are unfortunately still not fully part of mainstream health care, even though 98% of women use contraception at some point in their lives -- there"s nothing more universal!" The "fact that women reproduce and, therefore, have different types of health care needs makes some folks on Capitol Hill go pale and start to sweat," Richards writes. She concludes, "Maybe one day we won"t need a special campaign to support women"s health," but "until then, Planned Parenthood is here to make sure women aren"t worse off after health care reform than before" (Richards, Huffington Post blogs, 6/18).~ "The Role of Medical Education in Preserving Abortion Access," Our Bodies, Our Blog: In response to a recent Salon opinion piece that examined whether there will be a next generation of abortion providers, the blog post discusses a few organizations that are "working to increase access to (accurate) abortion-related training." The blog includes links to Medical Students for Choice -- a group that "does student organizing and advocacy to influence medical school curricula, workshops ... and lectures on abortion techniques" -- and The Ryan Program -- which offers "funding, technical expertise, curriculum, workshops and other res to support training opportunities in abortion and contraception for ob-gyn residents." The blog entry also highlights the work of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, which partners with members of the American Medical Student Association "to provide "project in a box" materials for medical students wanting to access and influence their schools" curricula on sexual and reproductive health" (Our Bodies, Our Blog, 6/18). ~ "Regulating Abortion May Be OK But Not To Avoid Sex-Selection," Marianne Mollmann, Huffington Post blogs: "Sex-selective abortion raises a multitude of overlapping ethical concerns regarding eugenics, population control and provider privilege or knowledge," according to Mollmann, advocacy director for the Human Rights Watch"s Women"s Rights Division. Mollmann writes that recent media reports indicating that sex-selective abortion occurs among some ethnic communities in the U.S. "has generated new discussion about what to do -- indeed what to think -- about the practice here." She continues that the "effect of abortion regulations depends on the context and motivation," adding that "[f]rom a human rights perspective, the regulation of medical procedures and interventions is legitimate and indeed often necessary so long as they are based on full respect for the full range of human rights." It is "perhaps tempting to hope that banning sex-selective abortions would safeguard the gender balance of future generations," but the "criminalization of abortion for whatever reason has in the past led only to underground and unsafe prac
On the observation of President Obama"s first 150 days in office, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the nation"s largest AIDS organization, is continuing its "Change AIDS Obama" campaign with the release of a new online advocacy video chastising the president for his ongoing-and baffling-silence on AIDS.
Eli Lilly and Company presented data on the short- and long-term efficacy and safety of olanzapine long-acting injection (LAI) in the treatment of adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Olanzapine LAI is an investigational formulation that combines the atypical antipsychotic Zyprexa(R) (olanzapine) with pamoic acid, allowing for the sustained delivery of olanzapine for up to four weeks.
A new study shows that high levels of job strain during early pregnancy are associated with reduced birthweight and an increased risk of delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.
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.
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.
AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond issued this statement following today"s release of a draft health care reform bill in the House of Representatives:
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.
One in five people fall below the official poverty line following the death of their partner. "Hence the recent fall in the value of annuities, savings and investments means an even wider group of older people could face financial difficulties when their partner dies, whether these difficulties are short-lived or longer lasting," says researcher Anne Corden of the Social Policy Research Unit, University of York
"There are data in the literature suggesting an increased mortality in patients with chronic heart failure who are additionally suffering from cognitive decline", said Dr. Clotilde Balucani (Perugia, Italy) at the current meeting of the European Neurological Society (ENS). This major meeting in European neurology is gathering more than 2,900 experts from all over the world in Milan. Dr. Balucani and her colleagues are presenting a study funded by a research grant of the ENS.
A paper that appears in the June 2009 issue of Anesthesiology details how AMPAKINE CX717, a Phase II compound created by Irvine, California-based neuroscience company Cortex Pharmaceuticals, demonstrated the rescue of fentanyl-induced respiratory depression and sleep apnea in rats. In this same study, CX717 demonstrated equal efficacy with the opioid antagonist Naloxone, a drug used to counter the effects of opioids on suppression of breathing. CX717 did not, however, interfere with the action of pain-killing opiates. This offers a distinct advantage compared with Naloxone and could provide a novel therapeutic means of treating those patients who are particularly prone to breathing depression with opiates while achieving maximum pain relief.
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.
The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting exceptional early career researchers and innovative cancer research, named 17 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its May 2009 Fellowship Award Committee review. The recipients of this prestigious, three-year award are outstanding postdoctoral scientists conducting basic and translational cancer research in the laboratories of leading senior investigators across the country. The Fellowship is specifically intended to encourage the nation"s most promising young scientists to pursue careers in cancer research by providing them with independent funding ($140,000 each) to work on innovative projects.
Psychology is the science of the mind and behavior. The word "psychology" comes from the Greek word psyche meaning "breath, spirit, soul", and the Greek word logia meaning the study of something. According to Medilexicon"s medical dictionary, psychology is "The profession (clinical psychology), scholarly discipline (academic psychology), and science (research psychology) concerned with the behavior of humans and animals, and related mental and physiologic processes." Although psychology may also include the study of the mind and behavior of animals, in this article psychology refers mainly to humans.
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.
A research project, which has the potential to bring relief to the estimated 3.5 million UK sufferers of oral thrush, has won the ÷£25,000 Armourers & Brasiers Venture Prize. This will allow the project to proceed to clinical evaluation.
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.
Loss of muscle strength, speed and dexterity is a common consequence of aging and a well-established risk factor for death, disability and dementia. Yet little is known about how and why motor decline occurs when it is not a symptom of disease.
Cancer the word resonates in people"s nightmares and strikes fear in the hearts of millions. Can there be a positive side amidst the panic, anxiety and hopeless feelings that often accompany the word? The answer is yes according to Dr. Patricia Mumby, associate professor Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences Department and director of Loyola Cardinal Bernadine Cancer Center Psychosocial Oncology Service.
ArcelorMittal and the American Red Cross are launching a new national partnership, Creating Safer Communities, designed to bring important safety training and res to people who live and work in communities where ArcelorMittal operates. ArcelorMittal, the world"s leading steel company, provided a grant of $152,500 to be distributed in multiple communities across the US. The program will provide health and safety education to more than 1,800 community members in addition to thousands of ArcelorMittal employees and their families.
A coalition of union and liberal groups began running television ads designed to get "the attention of one particular television viewer: Sen. Kay Hagan," The Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record reports.
The total cost for treating a child with autism can reach $5 million, but insurance companies rarely cover autism therapy and few states mandate it. CBS News reports that "an estimated one in every 150 children in America has autism and the number of reported cases is growing" while "parents are increasingly demanding that insurance companies cover the newest treatment."
A pending House bill would aim to address the nursing shortage by allowing "20,000 additional nurses to enter the U.S. each year for the next three years as a temporary measure to fill the gap," Business Week reports. The bill was introduced by Representative Robert Wexler, D-Fla., in May. If it doesn"t "pass on its own, lawmakers may include it in a comprehensive immigration reform package." Hospital administrators in some areas that face nursing shortages support the bill as "temporary relief," but "Wexler"s bill is opposed by labor unions, whose leaders say it would undermine efforts to produce a steady domestic workforce while sapping other nations" nurses. [President Barack] Obama has also expressed skepticism about the idea that the U.S. needs to import nurses, in particular because the U.S. unemployment rate continues to rise." Instead, Obama has said, the focus should be on improving the res to fund education for new American-born nurses. "The $787 billion economic stimulus bill included $500 million to address shortages of health workers in the U.S., with about $100 million to promote nursing and increase capacity at U.S. nurse-training schools."
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) launched new guidance to help sexual and reproductive health nurses to provide the safest, most effective practice.
CNN examines China"s efforts to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS by educating sex workers about the disease and prevention strategies. "It is estimated that some 700,000 people are living with HIV in China and there are about 50,000 new infections every year, according to the Chinese government and UNAIDS. The U.N. agency believes a significant number of those new infections include sex workers," CNN writes.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to eat California Prime Produce and Orange County Orchards brands of pistachios repacked by Orca Distribution West Inc., Anaheim, Calif. Orca received and repacked pistachios recalled by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., Terra Bella, Calif.
Two studies recently published in the journal Nature Genetics report identifying new genes and gene regions that contribute to making people susceptible to developing MS. The findings, by the International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium and the Australia/New Zealand MS Genetics Consortium, add to a growing list of gene variations linked to MS susceptibility. Identifying all MS genes will likely lead to the development of more effective ways to treat the disease, and open the door to uncovering the cause of MS, which may lead to its prevention.
Teenage girls with a history of delinquency who were placed in individualized foster care programs were less likely than their peers to become pregnant, according to a study in the June issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, HealthDay/Forbes reports. Teen girls in foster care have an elevated risk for pregnancy, according to HealthDay/Forbes. For example, an earlier survey of teens in three states found that nearly half of girls in the foster care system reported a pregnancy by age 19, according to David Kerr, an assistant professor of psychology at Oregon State University and lead author of the new study.For the study, researchers followed 166 girls ages 13 to 17 with court orders to receive treatment for criminal behavior in either specialized foster care or a group-care facility. The specialized programs, known as Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care, were created in the 1980s. Under the programs, foster parents who are trained in behavioral management provide one-on-one care to severely delinquent youths, and the parents receive consultation, support and crisis intervention services from program supervisors. One of the most important aspects of the program is that, unlike group care, the teens are isolated from other troubled youths. There are 51 such programs in the U.S.After two years, 26% of the girls in MTFC became pregnant, compared with almost 47% of those in group care, according to the study. The MTFC group also showed lower levels of criminal activity and arrests, and increased school engagement. Kerr said, "One of the most interesting aspects of this research is that the MTFC program was created to reduce crime, not pregnancy." He added, "It specifically targeted changing the girl"s environment: her home, her peers and her school experience. The focus was on giving her lots of supervision, support for responsible behavior, and consistent, non-harsh consequences for negative behavior" (HealthDay/Forbes, 6/17).
The muscle relaxer Botox has now been shown to positively affect the skin as well.
45th DIA Annual Meeting -- Booth # 1501 -- WorldCare Clinical, LLC (WCC), a leading imaging CRO for clinical trials in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, announced that it is offering version 1.0 of the Metrics Champion Consortium (MCC) Imaging Performance Metrics to all sponsors" imaging trials beginning July 1, 2009, through its WorldPro™ technology solution.
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.
Patients admitted to hospital with coronary artery disease are twice as likely to quit smoking after receiving intensive smoking cessation support compared to minimal support, found a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
A quarter of us will experience at least one mental health problem in any one year, and yet stigma and prejudice are still widespread.
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.
The UK"s leading oral health charity has welcomed a newly-announced independent review into NHS dentistry and backed proposals to deliver better patient access to dentistry and improved oral health.
A new study shows that older people who are thinner or are losing weight quickly are at a higher risk of developing dementia, especially if they started out overweight or obese. The research is published in the May 19, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Only 37, Janie Lee had endured excruciating back pain for 20 years. She couldn"t stay in one position for more than five minutes, and walking hunched over was the only way she could get around. Her search for help took her to several doctors and an emergency room, but it wasn"t until she found Hyun Bae, M.D., a renowned spine specialist at Saint John"s Health Center in Santa Monica that she received the diagnosis and care that would return her life to her.
Zannos Grekos, MD, Associate Clinical Professor at Nova Southeastern University, has announced six month follow-up results for a patient treated with adult stem cells in a clinical study of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. The clinical study is a collaborative effort among physicians at Regenocyte Therapeutic, an American stem cell therapy clinic; researchers and scientists from Theravitae, a biotechnology company from Israel; and physicians from the American Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Dominican Republic.
Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC BB: PVCT), a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, has begun a compassionate use program for PV-10 and has made the agent, which is in development as a therapeutic agent for a broad spectrum of cancers, available for select cancer patients.
Researchers at the University of Illinois report that a toxic molecule known to damage cells and cause disease may also play a pivotal role in bird migration. The molecule, superoxide, is proposed as a key player in the mysterious process that allows birds to "see" Earth"s magnetic field.
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.
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law welcomes President Obama"s announcement today of his commitment to the promise of the landmark Supreme Court case, Olmstead v. L.C., on its 10th anniversary. In a statement released by the White House today the President launched a "Year of Community Living" and tasked the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to identify initiatives that will develop and improve services and supports to assist people with disabilities who wish to live in the most integrated settings possible.
Primary care clinicians and their staff appear to fail to inform some patients, or to fail to document informing patients, about abnormal results on outpatient medical tests, according to a report in the June 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
A group of German investigators demonstrated that the early increase in phosphorylated CREB (pCREB) is related to treatment response and does not depend on pharmacological interventions or brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plasma levels. For the first time, cellular biological markers could be associated with response to psychotherapy.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), age-related macular degeneration (AMD) ranks third as a cause of visual impairment. It is the primary cause of visual impairment in industrial countries with a blindness prevalence of 8.7 percent. A new medical study indicates, however, that with the use of the Macular Health vitamin supplement there is a way to preserve the vision of millions of aging adults suffering from AMD.
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.
Depression in older adults too often goes unrecognized and untreated, resulting in untold misery, worsening of medical illness, and early death. A new study has identified one important remedy: Adding a trained depression care manager to primary care practices can increase the number of patients receiving treatment, lead to a higher remission rate of depression, and reduce suicidal thoughts.
HealthCare Insight® (HCI), a Verisk Health company and a provider of clinically validated fraud, abuse, and overpayment prevention solutions for private and public-sector payors, announced today that the company launched StopHealthCareFraud.com to help consumers identify and report health care fraud.
A study that attempted to replicate the "seminal" study that laid the
New research from scientists in the US and Greece suggests that the health and longevity effects of the Mediterranean Diet are more strongly
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 Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, is issuing an advisory about the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning when people open camps for the summer.
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 H1N1 (swine flu) virus has now infected more than 52,000 people, leaving 231 dead, the WHO said Monday, AFP/Washington Post reports. "Swine flu has now been reported in 100 countries and territories, and figures yet to be incorporated into the U.N. health agency"s official figures indicate an even higher toll," AFP/Washington Post writes, adding, "The WHO said, however, that its figures could not be considered reliable because some countries were no longer keeping total figures while other poor countries did not have the means to reliably detect cases." Since Friday, the number of cases has grown by more than 7,873 cases and 51 deaths, "highlighting the steady spread of the virus," the newspaper writes (AFP/Washington Post, 6/23).
President Obama is causing the "core culture-war battle" over sex education to "come full circle" by proposing to redirect funding for abstinence-only sex education to a new Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative that "rejects an abstinence-only approach," Washington Times columnist Cheryl Wetzstein writes. According to Wetzstein, Obama"s fiscal year 2010 budget plan "zeroed out" the Title V abstinence-only sex education grant program, set to expire on June 30, and the Community-Based Abstinence Education program. Wetzstein continues that groups supporting comprehensive sex education have "loathed Title V from its inception" because of its "prohibition on teaching teens how to use birth-control products (i.e., no condom demonstrations) and its eight-point definition that seemed utterly unrealistic to sex educators." For example, Title V"s definition said that the ""expected standard of human sexual activity"" was a ""mutually faithful, monogamous relationship in the context of marriage,"" which Wetzstein says she has "heard many times, was insulting to gay youth who couldn"t marry" and "insensitive to minority youth who grew up in neighborhoods where marriage was rare." Wetzstein asks, "What will happen to Title V?" She writes that opponents "are staying vigilant" and working to avoid "any last-minute, back-door revivals of this program." Groups that support abstinence-only sex education are "working the phones, too," Wetzstein reports. According to Wetzstein, Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, noted that "[s]aving Title V will require some heavy lifting, but "it"s expired before and been retroactively renewed."" Wetzstein concludes that "we"ll soon see what happens with the new players in town" (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 6/23).
The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) is pleased to announce that Johnson & Johnson has become its newest member company.
Wiley-Blackwell, the scientific, technical, medical and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., has launched an online reference website offering free access to top quality research articles and publications relating to Influenza A H1N1. The complimentary content includes articles from the Cochrane Library, The Hospitalist, and From Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, among other books and journals.
This is one of the findings of Sophia Shaw and colleagues from the University of Leicester who will present their research at the British Psychological Society Division of Forensic Psychology Annual Conference today, Tuesday 23rd June, at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston.
Meckel"s diverticulum (MD) is the most frequent congenital abnormality of the small bowel and it is often difficult to diagnose. It is usually asymptomatic but approximately 4% are symptomatic with complications such as bleeding, intestinal obstruction, and inflammation. Daniela Codrich et al presents a case of Meckel"s diverticulum masked by a long period of intermittent recurrent subocclusive episodes. Their findings were published on June 14, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.
Middle-aged women who had migraine headaches with aura (sensory disturbances, such as with vision, balance or speech) had a higher prevalence of brain lesions when they were older, compared to individuals without similar types of headaches, according to a study in the June 24 issue of JAMA.
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.
Emory University officials this week announced the third phase of a groundbreaking study to evaluate the effectiveness of the hormone progesterone on acute traumatic-brain-injured patients.
A US doctor who diagnosed and treated herself for breast cancer while stationed in the South Pole during the winter of 1999, was then rescued
With skin cancer rates on the increase, most individuals know the importance of applying
Spherix Incorporated (Nasdaq CM: SPEX), an innovator in biotechnology for diabetes therapy, and a provider of technical and regulatory consulting services to food, supplement, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, announced positive preliminary results from a Phase 2 clinical trial of its novel compound, Naturlose(R) (D-tagatose), in the treatment and management of Type 2 diabetes. The Phase 2 trial is expected to be completed in early 2010.
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.
According to the American Diabetes Association, nearly 24 million people have diabetes. Of that number, unfortunately, 5.7 million people are unaware that they have the disease. Diabetes can affect multiple parts of the body, including the kidneys, nerves, heart and even the mouth.
A group led by Columbia University Medical Center"s Timothy Wang, M.D., has studied the role of Helicobacter infection in the development of stomach cancer and found that the hormone gastrin, which stimulates secretion of gastric acid, plays a key role in the development of Helicobacter-induced stomach cancer, and may have distinct effects on carcinogenesis in different parts of the stomach.
Advaxis, Incorporated (OTCBB: ADXS), has engaged the Numoda Corporation, a leading clinical trial and logistics management company, to oversee Phase II clinical activity with ADXS11-001 for the treatment of invasive cervix cancer and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN; cervical dysplasia).
Iraqi health authorities confirmed yesterday that six people recently returned from the US have tested positive for H1N1 epidemic or swine flu,
Caldera Medical, Inc. announced that it has received FDA clearance and CE Mark certification for the Ascend Pelvic Floor Repair System with Apical Support, a novel treatment for female pelvic organ prolapse. Ascend® is the latest addition to the Caldera Medical family of products designed to treat female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Caldera"s product line includes the Desara® Sling System, a universal sling that allows surgeons their choice of multiple surgical approaches by utilizing reusable instrumentation. Caldera is the only U.S. company offering this unique solution, which benefits surgeons, hospitals, and the environment.
The Northern California Melanoma Center (NCMC)"s research showed patients who received GM-CSF (Sargramostim, trade name Leukine) may experience prolonged survival. The study appears in next month"s Journal of Immunotherapy (July/August issue) and will appear online today.
Scientists in the US have discovered that cancer tumors that don"t spread to other parts of the body secrete a protein called prosaposin and that
Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ:CGEN) announced that CGEN-25007, a novel peptide antagonist of gp96 with potent anti-inflammatory activity, has shown positive therapeutic effects in an animal model of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a commonly used term covering ulcerative colitis and Crohn"s disease.
The emerging field of synthetic biology draws on a variety of technologies, including genetic engineering and nanotechnology, to engineer biological systems to perform novel tasks. As the science and its applications develop, instead of creating a "new kind" of ethics for each new techno-scientific arena, a comprehensive approach is needed to address ethical and social issues of emerging technologies as a whole, according to a report by Erik Parens, Josephine Johnston, and Jacob Moses of The Hastings Center. Synthetic biology promises significant advances in areas such as biofuels, specialty chemicals, agriculture, and medicine but also poses potential risks.
"President Obama made a detailed case on Tuesday for a new government-administered health insurance plan, but he did not rule out signing a bill that lacks such an option if he cannot win enough support from Democrats in Congress," The New York Times reports. "In a White House news conference, Mr. Obama dismissed as "not logical" the suggestion that a public plan, which is intended to create more competition and therefore act as a brake on the rise of health insurance costs, would undermine the private insurance market. He argued that a government-run plan competing with private insurers would be an "important tool to discipline insurance companies" and scoffed at complaints that it could drive some out of business."
Estimates of the total number of uninsured Americans may be based on "faulty assumptions" that are "inflating the projections," The Wall Street Journal says in its "Numbers Guy" blog. The Census Bureau estimates that the number of uninsured amounts to 45.7 million people," but may be "overcounting by millions." One problem is that "the 45.7 million figure includes undocumented immigrants, even though they aren"t likely to be covered under new laws." Nonetheless, Democrat and Republican lawmakers alike use the "flawed numbers liberally," which is a "reprise of what happened 15 years ago, when the Clinton health plan foundered under differing cost estimates wielded by opponents."
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (a.k.a. The Stimulus) set aside billions of dollars for hospitals to acquire electronic medical record systems, but one requirement for hospitals hoping to receive the money will be to share patient records with other facilities, the Dallas Morning News reports. "North Texas hospitals have talked for years about ways to share these records but have been unable to agree. Some participants in the discussions have said that"s because of concerns they might lose patients to competing hospitals" (Landers, 6/24).
Medicaid providers in California won a legal challenge over program cuts in the case "Maxwell-Jolly v. Independent Living Center of Southern California." McKnight"s Long Term Care News reports that "The U.S. Supreme Court has let stand a federal appeals court ruling that says California"s Medicaid providers have a right to challenge state cuts to Medi-Cal provider fees. Victor Norma Jean Vescovo, the executive director of the Independent Living Center of Southern California, says the ruling will make it easier to ensure state Medicaid (known in the state as Medi-Cal) cuts will be made for needs-based reasons, not just economic reasons, the Bureau of National Affairs reported.
The journal Lancet Infectious Diseases examines the worldwide spread of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). Currently, about 500,000 of the 9 million new cases of TB that are identified each year are strains of XDR-TB. "Drug resistance is largely man-made - it is vitally important to review antibiotic treatment strategies and to ensure the Stop TB Strategy is fully applied to prevent further selection of drug-resistant mutants," Leonard Amaral of Universidade Nova de Lisboa said.
Effective drugs for treating a chemotherapy-resistant form of lymphoma might already be on the market according to a study that has pieced together a chemical pathway involved in the disease.
Oprah Winfrey "has scored good ratings with her health episodes" of her television show, but "in doing so, she seems to have thrown therapeutic caution to the wind," such as on her shows featuring actress Suzanne Somers" opinions on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, Salon contributor and physician Rahul Parikh writes in an opinion piece. Somers, while advocating for the use of bioidentical HRT as a safe alternative to traditional HRT for postmenopausal women, said she used "mega-doses of bioidenticals continuously and aggressively," according to Parikh. Parikh writes that Somers, on television and in her 2007 book, "argues that these hormones are more natural, more effective and safer than what doctors prescribe." According to Parikh, "In reality, ...÷ there are no good medical studies to back up those claims."Parikh says that although "what Somers was advocating was radically different from standards of medical care," Winfrey "was not concerned" and even said that Somers ""might be a pioneer,"" Parikh continues. Winfrey billed the episode as part of a ""great debate"" on hormone therapy, but she "didn"t ask about whether [Somers"] super-hormone regimen could have contributed to Somers" history of breast cancer"; "her hysterectomy, the result of pre-cancerous changes in her uterus from her use of HRT"; or the "validity of Somers" book"s s, many of whom are neither experts in women"s health or endocrinology, nor board-certified physicians, nor experienced researchers," Parikh states. He adds, "It"s not that Winfrey doesn"t try to maintain medical credibility in her shows," but "her efforts seem subpar," noting that her show "reaches millions of people, while each doctor can reach only one patient at a time." Parikh concludes, "That could easily be corrected by Winfrey providing more thought and balance in her medical advice" (Parikh, Salon, 5/15).
Tobacco acts as a precipitating factor for headaches, specifically migraines. This is indicated in a study which shows that smokers have more migraine attacks and that smoking more than five cigarettes a day triggers this headache. The work has appeared in the Journal of Headache and Pain.
A free card from the Michigan Retailers Association can lift some of the weight of concern and worry for seniors buying expensive prescription drugs.
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.
Researchers from the University of California, Davis have developed a specific and quantitative means of measuring levels of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) protein (FMRP), which is mutated in fragile X syndrome. The related report by Iwahashi et al, "A quantitative ELISA assay for the fragile X mental retardation 1 protein," appears in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.
A group led by Dr. Paul T. Martin of The Ohio State University College of Medicine has demonstrated that the glycosyltransferase Galgt2 can lessen symptoms in multiple models of muscular dystrophy. Their report can be found in the July 2009 issue of the American Journal of Pathology.
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.
Research co-led by an academic at the University of Hertfordshire, concludes that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is of no value in schizophrenia and has limited effect on depression. Professor Keith Laws, at the University"s School of Psychology, is one of the lead authors on a paper entitled: Cognitive behavioural therapy for major psychiatric disorder: does it really work? A meta-analytical review of well-controlled trials, which has just been published online in the journal Psychological Medicine. The paper reviews the use of CBT in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression.
Frankenman International Ltd, the manufacturer and supplier of surgical instruments, announced that its entire CHEX™ range of surgical staplers had been granted FDA approval. This development complements the CE and ISO accreditation it has already acquired. FDA approval endorses Frankenman"s commitment to total quality in surgical stapling and wound closure devices, and further validates its position as a trusted alternative supplier in these markets.
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.
At the 8th International Conference on Bipolar Disorder this week in Pittsburgh, four distinguished individuals will be honored for their contributions to bipolar disorder research, education and service. The conference is the only venue in the world devoted exclusively to highlighting new research into bipolar disorder
Finalising a review of the safety and efficacy of
Retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A, could lead researchers to a new set of drug targets for treating breast cancer, researchers from the University of Chicago report in the June 25, 2009, issue of the journal Cell.
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.