Diagnostics
A virus (from the Latin virus meaning toxin or poison) is a microscopic organism consisting of genetic material (RNA or DNA) surrounded by a protein, lipid (fat), or glycoprotein coat. Viruses are unique organisms because they cannot reproduce without a host cell. After contacting a host cell, a virus will insert genetic material into the host and take over the host"s functions. The cell, now infected, continues to reproduce, but it reproduces more viral protein and genetic material instead of its usual products. It is this process that earns viruses the classification of "parasite".
"The Senate Finance Committee, which is seeking a bipartisan compromise, has failed to reach an agreement" on health care reform, Bloomberg reports, "even as two House committees and a Senate panel cleared their versions of the legislation with only Democratic approval." The open-ended question of when, and what, the Finance panel will propose, has become the focus of Senators and the administration as the August recess nears with no deal in sight. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the Finance chairman, said a deal could come this week "at the earliest," a month after he originally planed to finalize a version of the bill, Bloomberg reports (Litvan and Jensen, 7/20).
As advocacy groups with a stake in health reform take positions in the health reform debate, their battle lines don"t necessarily observe the boundaries of a given sector, industry or professional affiliation. "Business is far from unified in its lobbying efforts for health-care reform," McClatchy/Chicago Tribune reports. "The disparity dilutes its power and may contribute to a plan no faction wants -- or no plan at all."
The insurance industry so far has "stayed at the bargaining table and held its fire in the ad wars," but "now, the industry is speaking up, not with an attack but with a seven-figure, national cable TV ad buy starting Monday in favor of affordable bipartisan health reform that can cover everyone," Politico reports. "But make no mistake: The ads are sending a strong don"t-tread-on-us message, not so much a shot across the bow of reform as a reminder of the industry"s ability to weigh in at any time, with messages pro or con." The 30-second ads from America"s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) "pushes for bipartisan reform that includes affordable, universal coverage that doesn"t deny insurance to those with pre-existing health conditions," but doesn"t attack the idea of a government-run insurance plan - a proposal the industry vehemently opposes." The ad "will be supported by a complementary print campaign that is also set to launch this week."
This country is at war with obesity and now men join their women in the fight, says Exante Diet.
A team of researchers, at the Genome Institute of Singapore, has identified a new gene that seems to contribute to aggressive breast cancer behavior. As discussed in an accompanying commentary, by Gordon Mills and colleagues, the data generated in this study provide new insight into cellular processes underlying tumor cell proliferation and metastasis and identify potential new therapeutic targets.
The NPHS influenza surveillance scheme, which records reports of diagnoses of flu from more than 300 GP practices across Wales, shows low but increasing levels of influenza activity across Wales. Further detail can be found on the NPHS website: click here.
In a first of its kind study, Scientific American cut through the marketing messages to take a hard look at what countries across the globe are doing to bolster biotech programs within their borders. Many rankings compare Europe, Asia, and the US -- the Scientific American Worldview: A Global Biotechnology Perspective digs deeper, examining all the elements that impact overall biotech innovation. You might be surprised by some of the results.
David Moher, from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute; University of
In a major advance in obesity and diabetes research, Yale School of Medicine scientists have found that reducing levels of a key enzyme in the brain decreased appetites and increased energy levels.
A community-based Cancer Council advocacy campaign has motivated 10,000 Australians to call for expansion of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, amid new research showing 93 per cent of bowel cancer patients can survive if diagnosed early.
Merck & Co., Inc. issued the following statement in response to study results published today by the World Health Organization offering the first evidence that elimination of the tropical disease river blindness (onchocerciasis) in Africa is feasible with treatment with ivermectin (registered trademark Mectizan®). As the discoverer and manufacturer of Mectizan, Merck decided in 1987 to donate the drug to all who need it for as long as necessary until river blindness is eliminated as a public health problem. The Merck Mectizan Donation Program is one of the longest-running disease-specific drug donation and public/private partnership programs in history.
Charles Nichols, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has been awarded a grant in the amount of $1.4 million over four years by the National Institutes of Health"s National Institute of Mental Health to find and characterize novel genes involved in psychosis and schizophrenia, using novel research methods.
The Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation (Aeras) has announced a new collaboration with The Aurum Institute on the first study to test the AERAS-402/Crucell Ad35 tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidate for safety in people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Aurum will conduct this trial in people living with HIV at its clinical trial site near Johannesburg, South Africa. The Medicines Control Council of South Africa and two Independent Ethics Committees in South Africa have given approval to test the vaccine in South Africa. AERAS-402/Crucell Ad35 has been previously tested for safety in healthy adults in the United States and HIV-negative adults and infants in South Africa.
The former Ghanaian president, John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor, has
General Practitioners and specialists will be able to prescribe VFEND® (voriconazole) oral suspension for immuno-suppressed adolescents and children following its listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from 1 August 2009.
The national intern allocation period commenced yesterday, amidst concerns that some states may not be able to accommodate the increased number of medical graduates, despite a national workforce shortage.
ImClone Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved revisions to the U.S. prescribing information for ERBITUX® (cetuximab) concerning the treatment of patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-expressing metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). The labeling revisions include a modification to the indication, which now includes a statement that retrospective subset analyses of metastatic or advanced colorectal cancer trials have not shown a treatment benefit for ERBITUX in patients whose tumors had K-ras mutations in codon 12 or 13 and that the use of ERBITUX is not recommended for the treatment of colorectal cancer with these mutations. Revisions concerning the use of ERBITUX in colorectal cancer tumors with K-ras mutations were also made to the clinical studies and clinical pharmacology sections of the product"s prescribing information.
The risk of developing breast cancer due to taking hormone replacement therapy appears to be the same for women with a family history of the disease and without a family history, a University of Rochester Medical Center study concluded.
The NPA is asking for the RPSGB retention fee to be held at the present level, given the financial pressures on pharmacy businesses, many of which pay retention fees for their staff.
Across the state of Maryland, there are now doctors and nurses, freshly trained in pediatric dental health care, who can help stem an alarming number of 3-year-old children who arrive for their first dentist visit with teeth "just melting away."
An international team of researchers led by scientists at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida have found what they believe is the first mutated gene linked to restless legs syndrome, a common neurologic disorder.
University of Utah School of Medicine researchers and their colleagues at University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center have found strong evidence that abnormal calcium signaling in neurons may play an important role in the development of spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2), a disorder causing progressive loss of coordination, speech difficulty, and abnormal eye movements. Their findings are published in the July 27, 2009 issue of Journal of Neuroscience.
A damning report from the Care Quality Commission has found multiple failings in inpatient care for patients at West London Mental Health Trust, ranging from sub-standard buildings, overcrowding, lack of staff and insufficient staff training, to failure to implement changes that could help prevent suicides on wards. In some areas, there were long delays in considering changes to help reduce suicide risk, and on one inpatient unit, bed occupancy was regularly running at over 110 per cent, resulting in patients sleeping on sofas due to lack of beds.
Revised guidelines on when and how to induce labor in pregnant women were issued by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). The guidelines provide physicians with guidance regarding which induction methods may be most appropriate under particular circumstances, as well as the safety requirements, and risks and benefits of the different methods. ACOG"s Practice Bulletin "Induction of Labor" is published in the August 2009 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
The tradition of American physicians handing out free drug samples to
The Escambia County Health Department announced that a sentinel chicken from the Riverview
With the possibility of a major health care overhaul looming on the horizon, commentators, analysts and advocates have been seeking out points of comparison.
Over 30 of the UK"s leading scientists have signed an open letter to the government calling for more public money to back research into dementia,
Nigeria on Monday signed on to receive a $100 million loan from the World Bank for malaria control activities, Leadership Nigeria reports. The states of Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano and Rivers will receive part of the funding for malaria control activities (Nduwugwe, 7/21).World Bank Country Director for Nigeria Onno Ruhl signed the agreement on behalf of the bank and Nigerian Finance Minister Sarki Muhtar signed on behalf of the federal government. Ruhl said the World Bank is "confident" in Nigeria"s ability to fight malaria, This Day writes. Ruhl pointed out that during President Barack Obama"s recent trip to Ghana, he "commended" Nigeria"s interfaith efforts for fighting malaria.
A pilot needle exchange program in Camden, N.J., - one of four in the state - "was off to a slow start" when it began 18 months ago, but "now, 976 drug users have registered with the program - more people than those at the other pilot sites in Atlantic City, Newark or Paterson," the Cherry Hill Courier-Post reports. "In Camden, 854 people are living with HIV/AIDS, the eighth-highest number among New Jersey municipalities, according to the latest data from the state Department of Health and Senior Services. About a third of them were infected by dirty needles," the Courier-Post reports. Bob Baxter, who oversees Newark"s program, said needle exchanges provide "the most immediate benefit at the cheapest cost," in reducing the spread of blood-borne diseases. "While there"s no way to count the number of people who are no longer sharing needles because of the program, organizers say they hope to see their success correlate to lowered communicable disease rates," the article states (Hirsch, 7/20).
Yesterday"s 19th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) conference in Helsinki reported a significant addition to the dwindling number of drugs in the fight against the hospital "Superbug", Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
NICE has issued guidance to help healthcare professionals to identify children who may have been maltreated. The guidance provides a summary of alerting features that should prompt a healthcare professional to consider, suspect or exclude child maltreatment. Child maltreatment includes neglect, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and fabricated or induced illness.
The Department of Health announced there would be an independent investigation into Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust and has proposed changes to legislation governing Foundation Trusts.
New research indicates that screening children for symptoms of depression, the most common mental health disorder in the United States, can begin a lot earlier than previously thought, as early as the second grade.
W. L. Gore & Associates (Gore) today announced that it has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the most up-to-date design for the GORE VIABAHN® Endoprosthesis for device diameters 9 - 13 mm. The next generation of the large diameter product enables streamlined deployment on the same 0.035" guidewire and TIP to HUB direction as the 5 - 8 mm sizes. Additional modifications to the large diameter GORE VIABAHN Endoprosthesis include radial device expansion, a contoured proximal edge and a lower profile that is now available for most sizes.
Women who have premature menopause because of medical interventions are at an increased risk of developing lung cancer, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Cancer. The startling link was made by epidemiologists from the Universitçİ de Montrçİal, the Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de l"Universitçİ de Montrçİal and the INRS - Institut Armand-Frappier.
SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, has announced that SRI"s Center for Cancer Research was selected by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for a leading role in the newly-formed "Chemical Biology Consortium" (CBC), a collaborative drug discovery partnership focused on advancing new cancer therapeutics active against novel molecular and genetic cancer targets. Based on its track record of cancer drug discovery and development, SRI was chosen to lead three of the CBC"s research and development centers: Comprehensive Chemical Biology Screening, Chemical Diversity, and Specialized Applications.
Columbia University Medical Center"s Jeffrey A. Lieberman, M.D., a renowned expert in the field of schizophrenia, has been selected by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) of the National Institutes of Health as principal investigator of a nationwide effort to develop an optimal early intervention strategy for treating people experiencing a first episode of the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia.
European travellers are still putting their health at risk says the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), with one third experiencing travel-related illness when visiting abroad. On a typical two-week trip, travellers lose an average of three days due to illness - almost 20 percent of them remain ill after their return home, and another 10 percent need medical care.
The nation"s major safety net health plans today announced their endorsement of the health care reform legislation now moving through the U.S. House of Representatives. In a letter to congressional leaders, the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP) said the bill "will expand coverage to more Americans, protect the interests of low-income and medically needy people, and preserve vital safety net programs."
Merz Pharma Canada Ltd. announces new XEOMIN® (Botulinum neurotoxin type A) is now available for prescribing to patients with the following serious, debilitating neuromuscular conditions:
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced positive results from its first Phase 2 clinical study evaluating the functionality of the handheld device component of its ARX-01 Sufentanil NanoTab(TM) PCA System for management of acute post-operative pain in patients requiring opioid analgesia during hospitalization. Patients reliably self-administered sufentanil NanoTabs repeatedly over the 12-hour study without any ARX-01 System failures or dosing errors of any kind.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Tekturna HCT((R)) (aliskiren and hydrochlorothiazide) tablets as initial therapy for patients who are likely to need multiple drugs to achieve their blood pressure goals. Tekturna HCT is a single-pill combination of Tekturna((R)) (aliskiren), the first and only approved direct renin inhibitor, and the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), one of the most commonly-used high blood pressure medications.
Research presented at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry annual meeting shows that an assay developed by Abbott for simultaneous detection of both HIV antigens and antibodies reduced the detection window by zero to nine days in this study compared to HIV antibody-only assays. Earlier detection was shown on four of the five panels tested.
AnaSpec has introduced a wide selection of membrane potential fluorescent probes.
"HIV infection rates among babies are significantly cut when mothers are given prolonged ARV treatment during breastfeeding," according to findings released at the International AIDS Society conference in Cape Town, South Africa on Wednesday, Reuters reports. According to Reuters, "Key findings from the study showed that a stronger drug cocktail administered over a longer period reduced the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission compared with the current WHO-recommended short-course ARV regimen." Tim Farley, project leader for the "Kesho Bora" study - which was conducted at five sites in Burkina Faso, Kenya and South Africa by the WHO in partnership with several other international agencies - said, "The results of this study show an almost two-fold reduction in the risk of HIV transmission during the breastfeeding period and also [show] there is no short-term toxicity (to mothers or infants)." The WHO "is reviewing its 2006 recommendations on the use of ARVs in pregnant women, including during the breastfeeding period. New guidelines are expected to be published by the end of 2009 and will take into account emerging data," Reuters reports (Roelf, 7/21).
Eleven Baltimore churches on Tuesday provided HIV testing to local residents as part of a larger effort by the JACQUES Initiative, a program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine"s Institute of Human Virology, the Baltimore Sun reports. The JACQUES Initiative launched Project SHALEM in partnership with the Maryland AIDS Administration and several local faith-based and community organizations, according to the Sun. Derek Spencer, the executive director of the JACQUES Initiative, said, "The ultimate goal is to make churches, mosques and synagogues a safe place where people can receive HIV support. We are no longer going to wait for people to come into our academic centers for help." He said organizers hoped to test 1,000 people, noting that at one of the testing sites, within the first hour, four people tested positive with the rapid oral swab tests. Angela Wakhweya, deputy director of the Maryland AIDS Administration, said the goal of the project is to eliminate new HIV cases in the state (Bass, 7/22).
Fecal incontinence (FI) is a normal part of aging, or the perception that no treatment is available. Doctors may fail to comprehend patient hints about diarrhea and FI or may be reluctant to ask about fecal leakage, perhaps because of their own embarrassment or the perception that FI is a trivial concern.
A particular class of medication used to treat high blood pressure could protect older adults against memory decline and other impairments in cognitive function, according to a newly published study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Bracing for an outbreak of 2009 H1N1 (swine-origin) flu that a Saint Louis University infectious diseases expert estimates could sicken one in five people this fall, scientists at eight Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are launching a series of clinical trials this summer to test vaccines to protect against the illness.
Chicago high school students interested in science and health care will get a chance to learn about diagnostic tests and the laboratory professionals who perform them during the American Association for Clinical Chemistry"s 2009 Clinical Lab Expo on July 21 and 22.
Fluxion Biosciences, a leading developer of microfluidic systems for cellular analysis in life science research, announced that it has received a $200K grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for the development of a rare cell isolation platform for diagnostic and research applications. The Phase One Small Business Innovation Research Grant will enable Fluxion to further develop its innovative microfluidic platform. The endpoints of this research include enhanced methods for detecting circulating tumor cells that appear in very low concentrations in the early stages of cancer.
Applying biological molecules from cell membranes to the surfaces of artificial materials is opening peepholes on the very basics of cell-to-cell interaction.
Topical Treatment Improves Wound Healing
The National Changing Diabetes((R)) Program (NCDP), a program of Novo Nordisk, and several member associations today urged President Obama and members of Congress to make the prevention, detection and treatment of diabetes, one of the nation"s most pervasive and costly diseases, a priority in reforming the U.S. healthcare system.
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication in patients in intensive care. A new laboratory test called urine neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) helps predict if patients will develop acute kidney injury, reports an upcoming study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). "As a stand-alone marker, urine NGAL performed moderately well in predicting ongoing and subsequent AKI," comments T. Alp Ikizler, MD (Vanderbilt University).
As part of a multi-center clinical trial, UC San Diego Medical Center is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of a potential new way to treat angina by injecting a protein that stimulates the growth of new oxygen-rich blood vessels directly into the heart. Angina is a debilitating form of chest pain caused by coronary artery disease that affects more than nine million Americans.
Patients with moderate COPD were randomized to receive "usual care" or to undergo an interdisciplinary, community-based program (INTERCOM) that offered an intensive lifestyle moderation phase of four months, during which patients were instructed in detail to perform two 15-minute intervals of pleasurable walking or cycling, and offered instruction in other lifestyle changes such as nutrition and smoking cessation. After the four-month introductory period, there was a less intensive 20-month maintenance during which patients were offered guidance but not intensive intervention.
"Abortion is not explicitly mentioned in any of the major health-care bills under consideration in Congress," The Washington Post reports, but "abortion opponents charge that the legislation would make abortion more widely available and more common by requiring insurance plans to pay for the procedures and providing government funding to subsidize plans that pay for them."
Ovulation is one part of the female menstrual cycle whereby a mature ovarian follicle (part of the ovary) discharges an egg (also known as an ovum, oocyte, or female gamete). It is during this process that the egg travels down the fallopian tube where it may be met by a sperm and become fertilized.
The Arthritis Foundation supports health care reform, which provides universal and affordable health care for the 46 million Americans living with arthritis.
Florida Atlantic University researcher Dr. Jianning Wei, assistant professor of biomedical sciences in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science at FAU, has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to further her research into the molecular mechanisms of Huntington"s disease (HD). Named after American physician George Huntington, HD is a highly complex genetic, neurological disorder that causes certain nerve cells in the brain to waste away. The disease, characterized by a selective loss of neurons in the brain, affects the basal ganglia, which controls motor control, cognition, learning and emotions. It also affects the outer surface of the brain, or the cortex which controls thought, perception, and memory. Wei and her colleagues are working to identify the pathways in the brain that are altered in response to mutant proteins, as well as to understand the cellular processes impacted by the disease in order to facilitate the development of effective pharmacological interventions.
Using high-speed cinematography, scientists at Cambridge University have discovered that individual algal cells can regulate the beating of their flagella in and out of synchrony in a manner that controls their swimming trajectories. Their research was published on the 24th July in the journal Science.
Designed to boost the immune system and promote health, probiotics are gaining popularity at the grocery, and Nevella® with Probiotics, made by Heartland Sweeteners, is the first and only such sweetener currently on the market. Diabetes educators will get an early preview of Nevella® with Probiotics at their annual conference in Atlanta in early August, immediately prior to widespread availability across the country.
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication in patients in intensive care. A new laboratory test called urine neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) helps predict if patients will develop acute kidney injury, reports an upcoming study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). "As a stand-alone marker, urine NGAL performed moderately well in predicting ongoing and subsequent AKI," comments T. Alp Ikizler, MD (Vanderbilt University).
Australia"s largest study of young drivers has shown that risky driving habits are putting young drivers at a significantly increased risk of crashing, irrespective of their perceptions about road safety. The study surveyed 20,000 young drivers and examined their crashes reported to police. Young drivers involved in the study who said they undertook risky driving were 50% more likely to crash.
Human leukemia stem cells escape detection by co-opting a protective molecular badge used by normal blood stem cells to migrate safely within the body, according to a pair of studies by researchers at Stanford University Medical School.
Roche announced results from the international phase III study NO16968 (XELOXA), investigating oral Xeloda in combination with intravenous oxaliplatin (XELOX) immediately after surgery, which show that patients with colon cancer taking XELOX live disease free for longer compared to those taking the commonly used intravenous chemotherapy combination 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin (5-FU/LV). The data prove that XELOX is superior to 5-FU/LV in terms of the time patients live without their cancer being detectable.
Type 1 diabetes is the most common chronic childhood disease. The management of this serious medical condition includes regular fingerstick glucose measurements, multiple daily injections of insulin, and frequent insulin dose adjustments. Because children spend a great deal of their time in school, school nurses often supervise medical decisions and diabetes care. Some researchers believe that the use of telecommunication technology may make diabetes care easier for some children. A new study soon to be published in the Journal of Pediatrics explores the effectiveness of telemedicine in helping school nurses and children manage diabetes care.
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries.~ "Democratic Bill Could Be a Preview of Obama"s Abortion Plan," Dan Gilgoff, U.S. News & World Report"s "God and Country": A recently introduced bill aimed at reducing the need for abortion is "big news because moderate to liberal faith-based advocates are urging the White House to adopt the bill ... as the core of its forthcoming "common ground" plan on abortion and reproductive health," Gilgoff writes. Some conservative religious groups, including the Southern Baptist Convention and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, "have warned the White House" that the bill is a "deal breaker" for them because of its support for comprehensive sex education and contraception, he writes. The White House "has refused to say which way it"s leaning," Gilgoff writes, adding the Obama administration could "buck" the groups that support the bill and "get behind" the Pregnant Women Support Act, "which is generally considered more robust on reducing demand for abortions and which leaves out contraceptive funding." However, he concludes, "that would be a pretty big surprise" (Gilgoff, "God and Country," U.S. News & World Report, 7/23).~ "New Report: Abortion Providers = American Human Rights Defenders, Now Under Increasing Attack," Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check: A new Center for Reproductive Rights report "calls on both the federal and state governments to address the growing threats against and stigmatization and abuse of abortion providers throughout the United States," Jacobson writes. The report "focuses on a key obstacle to the realization of women"s reproductive rights ... and recognizes their work as human rights defenders," she writes, adding that the U.S. has "historically been a leader both in creating and in encouraging accountability to human rights principles throughout the world." However, "[a]ccess to reproductive health care generally and abortion care specifically are basic human rights largely ignored within the context of U.S. domestic politics," Jacobson writes, noting that abortion access in the U.S. "has been increasingly limited due to the range of obstacles created through anti-choice advocacy." The report highlights several "types of rights violations [that] are most pervasive in limiting women"s choices and the rights of abortion providers," including "intimidation and harassment," "stigma" and "legal restrictions." The report makes a "series of recommendations for change at the state and local level for changes in policy and in law enforcement practices, as well as for the federal government, medical community and non-governmental organizations," Jacobson concludes, adding that the report "makes a special plea for the United Nations Special Rapporteur to document violations of women"s human rights in the United States" (Jacobson, RH Reality Check, 7/22).~ "Sixteen Governors Call on Congress To Include Medicaid Family Planning State Option in Health Reform," Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check: "Sixteen governors have written a letter to both Senate and House Leadership "expressing strong support for the Medicaid Family Planning State Option,"" which is included in President Obama"s fiscal year 2010 budget proposal, Jacobson writes. The governors wrote, "Many of our states have created family planning expansion programs, though we have done so with great difficulty," adding, "Since the early 1990s, 27 states have been granted federal waivers to expand their Medicaid family planning coverage. These demonstration projects have been unqualified successes, providing care to millions of women while saving states [millions] of dollars." Jacobson continues, "The current Medicaid waiver process, however, "puts unnecessary roadblocks in the way of our efforts to maintain and expand coverage for family planning services,"" according to the governors. She adds, "Passing this law as part of health care reform "would give us the needed flexibility to quickly and efficiently expand cove
CNN reports that African Americans and whites are treated differently by doctors. "While it"s extremely difficult to tell in any given situation how much race -- consciously or unconsciously -- plays a role in a doctor"s decision making, multiple studies over several decades have found doctors make different decisions for black patients and white patients even when they have the same medical problems and the same insurance."
Up to 14 people who got substandard care at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center now face a poor prognosis, a federal official said Thursday, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
New regulations seek to crack down on a little known form of identity theft -- medical identity theft, according to Kaiser Health News. "Armed with as little as a stolen name, Social Security number and date of birth, an imposter can walk into a doctor"s office or hospital and receive services billed to the victim or the insurance provider. Although few statistics are available, the Federal Trade Commission reports that medical identity theft accounts for 1.3 percent to 3 percent of all identity theft crime -- about 250,000 cases each year."
China"s $124 billion three-year "overhaul of its healthcare system needs to address the prescription of unnecessary drugs and treatments - a widespread practice relied upon to finance the medical sector, the World Bank said Thursday," China Daily/People"s Daily Online reports. The country"s "ambitious" reform efforts aim to "provide basic medical coverage and insurance to the country"s 1.3 billion people," according to the publication (7/24).
Joel Weisman, "one of the first physicians to detect the AIDS epidemic and who became a national advocate for AIDS research, treatment and prevention," died on Saturday at his home in Westwood, Calif., the Los Angeles Times reports. Weisman was 66. Weisman was a general practitioner in southern California when in 1980 he first saw three ill gay men with a set of mysterious symptoms. He later contributed to the June 5, 1981 CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which "signaled the official start of the epidemic that the federal agency later named acquired immunodeficiency syndrome," according to the Times. Weisman was the founding chair of AIDS Project Los Angeles in 1983, helped organize the first dedicated hospital AIDS unit in Southern California and was an original board member of amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research (Woo, 7/23).
Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have identified women who are likely to gain weight while using depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, more commonly known as Depo-Provera or the birth control shot. These findings dispel the myth that all women who use DMPA will gain weight and will help physicians to counsel patients appropriately.
In a study released online on July 22 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, researchers at Arizona State University and Princeton University show that ants can accomplish a task more rationally than our - multimodal, egg-headed, tool-using, bipedal, opposing-thumbed - selves.
In 1881, the optimistic Irish economist Francis Edgeworth imagined a strange device called a "hedonimeter" that would be capable of "continually registering the height of pleasure experienced by an individual." In other words, a happiness sensor.
Researchers in Israel and Kenya have shown that the contribution of variable degrees of immune suppression, either due to existing chronic infections such as parasitemias and/or nutrition, in different populations may influence and prolong the serological-diagnostic window period of HIV. However, the immunosuppression can be overcome, by in-vitro enhancement of antibody production (termed- Stimmunology). The results, which appear in the August 2009 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, show that pre-treating the whole blood sample in the SMARTube™ containing immune potentiating agents promoted the synthesis and release of antibodies against HIV-1 prior to their detection in corresponding plasma samples in a group of donors who would otherwise be classified as HIV-1 seronegative blood donors. The identification of techniques that can lead to detection of HIV infection during this window period is of obvious public health importance especially in re poor settings highlighting the importance of these findings. Overcoming the suppression, in-vitro, led to the production of detectable levels of anti-HIV antibodies in the whole blood sample and to the detection of potentially infectious blood units which were missed by regular HIV serology. Interestingly, the ratio of missed infections among the total HIV infected blood donors was higher among the younger (high-school) donors versus adult donors.
Kristen Parker, a former Rose Medical Center surgery "scrub" technician, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver, announced David Gaouette, Acting U.S. Attorney, Stephen Holt, Special Agent in Charge of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Kansas City Field Office, and Jeffrey Sweetin, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Denver Division. Parker, age 26, of Elizabeth, Colorado, was named in a 42 count indictment charging product tampering and obtaining controlled substances by deceit. She remains in federal custody, being held without bond pending a resolution of her case.
The European Medicines Agency"s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has concluded that there is no cause for concern of the risk of cancer for people with diabetes on insulin glargine (Lantus).
Writers of a new report found "limited or suggestive evidence" that exposure to Agent Orange and other chemicals used in the Vietnam War is
Seattle Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGEN) announced that it has initiated a phase II clinical trial of brentuximab vedotin (SGN-35), an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), for the retreatment of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma and systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). This trial is designed to evaluate tolerability and activity when retreating patients who relapse after previously achieving an objective response to brentuximab vedotin.
CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and development company engaged in the development of high-value human therapeutics, announced that its lead drug candidate tamibarotene has received official notification from the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) that a positive opinion was made regarding the application for orphan medicinal product for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). The positive opinion of the COMP has now been forwarded to the EU commission for final approval and publication in the community register. This favorable opinion for tamibarotene in the European Union (EU) is in addition to the Orphan Drug Designation for APL and Fast Track Designation for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory APL following treatment with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October 2007.
Staff working in UK veterinary practices lack access to good occupational health advice warns a new study published in the scientific journal, Occupational Medicine. The research, the first published benchmark of occupational health risk management by vet practices in the UK, showed that despite veterinary surgeons and nurses being exposed to many occupational hazards less than a third of practices had trained staff in health and safety and only 14% sought advice from occupational health professionals.
Continuing efforts to help its members form lasting and profitable partnerships and pre-empt disputes in veterinary practice, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) has revised its "Guide to partnerships in veterinary practice". It will be of particular interest to vets buying into a partnership for the first time and will also be helpful to partners revising their existing agreement.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain has published its fourth Pharmacy
The most comprehensive analysis yet of the genome of childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML) found only a few mistakes in the genetic blueprint, suggesting the cancer arises from just a handful of missteps, according to new findings from St. Jude Children"s Research Hospital. The research appears in the July 27 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Mayo Clinic researchers have found that children exposed to anesthesia during Cesarean section are not at any higher risk for learning disabilities later in life than children not delivered by C-section. These findings are reported in the current issue of the journal Anesthesiology.
Various news outlets examined the state of the administration"s health reform push.
A study published in today"s issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine provides further reinforcement that tight control of blood glucose as soon as possible after a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes yields long-term benefits with regard to lowering the rates of eye, kidney and heart complications associated with diabetes. These findings stem from the landmark Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) and its follow-up study, the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC), both funded by the National Institutes of Health.
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) - long at the forefront of quality initiatives - is taking a leading role in health care reform. In partnership with patients, lawmakers and payers, the ACC is setting a new standard for health care delivery, one that centers on increasing the quality of care and ensuring greater patient access and value.
Six University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) students and two students from other universities are using satellite imagery to identify possible habitats in Alabama for the black-legged tick that carries and transmits Lyme disease.
Program is top priority under new health care imperatives to reduce the rate of 30-day readmissions
Men with early stages of prostate cancer who delay radical treatment in favor of an approach of "expectant management" do not have high levels of anxiety and distress. That is the conclusion of a new study published in the September 1, 2009 issue of Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study"s results suggest that living with untreated cancer is not upsetting for many patients with early prostate cancer.
Traditional hospital factors-such as case volume and academic status-do not appear to predict whether patients with cardiac arrest at that facility are likely to experience delays in receiving defibrillation, according to a report in the July 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Older patients with diabetes who take antipsychotic medications appear to have an increased risk of hospitalization for hyperglycemia (elevated blood glucose level), especially soon after beginning treatment, according to a report in the July 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Switching off a key DNA repair system in the developing nervous system is linked to smaller brain size as well as problems in brain structures vital to movement, memory and emotion, according to new research led by St. Jude Children"s Research Hospital scientists.
Schistosomiasis, one of the most important of the neglected tropical diseases, is caused by infection with parasitic helminths of the genus Schistosoma. These parasites are long lived (>10 years) and dwell within blood vessels, where they produce eggs that become the focus of intense, chronic inflammatory responses. In severe cases, this inflammation is associated with life-threatening liver disease.
The Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) is pleased to announce that the 2009 Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc./Lymphoma Research Foundation Clinical Investigator Career Development Award has been awarded to Kai Fu, MD, PhD, Associate Professor at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
A team of scientists at Queen"s University has been chosen to lead a top research and training programme to prevent groundwater poisoning in India.
The Vermont Legislature has passed legislation (S 48) that bans nearly all gifts from pharmaceutical and medical device companies to health care providers, administrators and facilities in the state, the New York Times reports. The legislation specifically would prohibit drug and device makers from giving providers no-cost meals. Vermont"s legislation would go further than similar laws in other states like Massachusetts and Minnesota by requiring drug and medical device manufacturers who give gifts to health providers to publicly disclose recipients" names and dollar amounts of payments and gifts. The measure would not require manufacturers to disclose payments for clinical research of products undergoing FDA review, the Times reports. The legislation also would eliminate a loophole that allows manufacturers to conceal certain expenses by claiming them as trade secrets. In a recent report, the Vermont Office of the Attorney General said that medical product makers spent about $2.9 million on promotional efforts to the state"s health care providers in fiscal year 2008 and that nearly half of the state"s 4,573 licensed providers had received some type of incentive from drugmakers in the same year. The report, which was developed prior to passage of the new legislation, offers only aggregate data, as 83% of the manufacturer-declared payments were deemed to be trade secrets, the Times reports.Gov. Jim Douglas (R) is expected to sign the law, which would take effect July 1. Several state medical groups -- including the Vermont Association for Mental Health and the Vermont Medical Society -- have indicated support for the legislation.Marjorie Powell, a senior lawyer for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said the requirements under the new law appear redundant with new voluntary guidelines the group has issued on physician gifting practices. She said, "We think this is unnecessary, and it is not going to improve patient care," adding, "It makes it onerous not only for the company but also for the physician in Vermont, because this is going to be on a Web site" (Singer, New York Times, 5/20).
Patients and physicians "need to know not just whether a new drug outperforms a placebo, but whether it"s a real advance on what"s already on the market," Richard Friedman, a professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, writes in a New York Times opinion piece. According to Friedman, "Doctors and patients alike are inundated by drug company marketing." Friedman states he has seen "scores of patients" who are "eager to get the latest antidepressant or mood stabilizer that promised them tranquility on their TV screens." He continues that these new treatments are not necessarily better than older, proven treatments. Comparative effectiveness research would allow "head-to-head trials comparing new and standard treatments," which is why the practice has "provoked strong resistance from the makers of drugs and devices who fear that their fancy new products may not be any better than current ones," according to Friedman. He concludes, "I"d opt for an old drug with a known track record of efficacy and safety over an expensive newcomer with no added benefit -- any day of the week" (Friedman, New York Times, 5/19).