Public Health
Long-term complications of critical illness include intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired weakness and neuropsychiatric disease - both of which could be related to the immobilisation caused by sedation. An Article published Online First and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet has found that interrupting sedation in the earliest days of treatment to give critically ill patients physical and occupational therapy leads to better outcomes than standard care.
Cardium Therapeutics (NYSE Amex: CXM) and its subsidiary Tissue Repair Company (TRC) announced a presentation entitled "Phase 2b Study of GAM501 (Ad5PDGF-B/Collagen) in the Treatment of Diabetic Ulcers" at the Late Stage Industry Clinical Trials Symposium at the American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT) Annual meeting in San Diego, California, on May 27, 2009. Dr. Barbara K. Sosnowski, Cardium"s Vice President of Biologics Development and the Chief Operating Officer of Cardium"s Tissue Repair Company Operating Unit, provided an update on TRC"s Phase 2b MATRIX clinical trial and the new formulation of the Excellarate(TM) product candidate, as well as an overview of the prior clinical study of Excellarate.
Though the growing shift toward oral chemotherapy agents offers cancer patients greater freedom and independence during their treatment, physicians say use of the new medications also poses more chances for patients to skip doses, miss prescription refills, and take their drugs in a dangerous way. An increasing number of cancer patients who receive chemotherapy now do so at home, with the click of a pill bottle each day rather than the drip of an IV medicine that must be delivered in a doctor"s office or hospital.
In research that could open new avenues of treatment for seasonal allergies, a team of Yale University scientists has discovered how a poorly understood component of the human immune system triggers - and sometimes worsens - allergic reactions. The research appears in the May 24 Advance Online Publication of Nature Immunology.
The average U.S. family and their employers paid an additional $1,017 in health care premiums in 2008 to pay for care of the uninsured, according to a study released on Thursday by Families USA, USA Today reports (Kim, USA Today, 5/28). According to the study, which examined federal data, the uninsured received $116 billion in health care from hospitals, physicians and other providers in 2008 and paid 37% of that amount. Government programs and charities covered an additional 26%, which left another 37%, or about $43 billion, unpaid. The study then estimated how those costs are when spread across the insured through higher premiums, the study found. According to the study, prepared by the actuarial firm Milliman, the average additional amount paid under private coverage for single individuals was about $370 per year (Werner, AP/Austin American-Statesman, 5/28). Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack said, "This is a hidden tax on all insurance premiums, whether it is paid by business for their work or by families when they purchase their own coverage" (USA Today, 5/28).The study is available online.
"Origins and Strategies for Addressing Ethnic and Racial Disparities in Pharmaceutical Therapy: The Health-Care System, the Provider, and the Patient," National Minority Quality Forum: The report -- by Richard Levy, a health care consultant and former vice president of the National Pharmaceutical Council; Robert Like, professor and director of the Center for Healthy Families and Cultural Diversity of the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; and Harry Shabsin, a private-practice psychologist -- looks at how appropriate medications for a variety of diseases often are under-prescribed, over-prescribed, or mis-prescribed among minorities. The report looks at disparities in treatment of minority patients with cardiovascular disease, asthma, psychiatric illness, pain and other conditions and finds disparities in access to medications through insurance programs, in the prescribing of medications and in adherence to medication regimens. The report offers ways to improve prescribing and use of medications among diverse communities (National Minority Quality Forum release, 5/12).
Digital media are changing the environment for communicating health information. In a new book, "Health Communication and the New Media Landscape," University of Missouri journalism researchers examine how the digital media revolution is affecting health and health care in the United States. Effective health communication can significantly enhance health care and public health as well as reduce inequities in people"s access to health information and services, according to the authors.
Contrary to what one might expect, it is not the sweaty armpit or fluffy bellybutton but the forearm that is home to the most diverse range of
OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: OGXI) announced today that the Company will hold a live webcast and conference call of presentations made at an OncoGenex hosted reception during the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting (ASCO) on Saturday, May 30, 2009. The webcast will begin at 7:10 p.m. EDT.
Two studies in the May 29th issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication, have taken advantage of new technological advances to search for and find previously unknown weaknesses in a hard to treat form of cancer. The discoveries lend new hope in the fight again tumors that are today considered "undruggable."
- 0 confirmed cases in Wales.
As the best drugs become increasingly resistant to superbugs, McMaster University researchers have discovered a completely different way of looking for a new antibiotic.
Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) have been found in sewage sludge, a by-product of waste-water treatment frequently used as a fertilizer. Researchers writing in the open access journal Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica point out the danger of antibiotic resistance genes passing into the human food chain.
Clinicians, researchers and scientists from around the world will gather for Digestive Disease Week® 2009 (DDW®), the largest and most prestigious gastroenterology meeting, from May 30 to June 4, 2009, at the McCormick Place Convention Center, Chicago, IL. DDW is the annual meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, the largest and oldest GI society in the world. AGA Institute researchers will present exciting, cutting-edge data during the meeting that will help change the way physicians diagnose and treat GI disorders.
Sensory ataxic neuropathy (SAN) is a recently identified neurological
A call to action for more research to be undertaken into catheter ablation in the field of ventricular arrhythmia (VA) has been issued in a joint consensus document from the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) a registered branch of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the US Heart Rhythm Society (HRS). The consensus document - launched at Heart Rhythm 2009, the Heart Rhythm Society"s 30th Annual Scientific Sessions, being held 13 to 16 May in Boston - provides an up to date review of indications, techniques and outcomes of catheter ablation for treatment of ventricular arrhythmias, a technique now being offered to increasing numbers of patients.
Informa Healthcare - one of the world"s leading medical and scientific publishers- has announced that its peer-reviewed medical titles will be joining the company"s pharmaceutical science titles to form one, united platform for drug discovery and clinical medicine on http://www.Informahealthcare.com.
Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited (MSD) welcomes the publication of the guideline for type 2 diabetes newer agents1 from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK, which recommends considering a range of newer therapy options, including "Januvia" (sitagliptin). The guideline recommends that the DPP-4 inhibitor class, which includes sitagliptin, should be considered as a second line therapy instead of a sulphonylurea (SU) when blood glucose control remains or becomes inadequate (HbA1c ð‰¥ 6.5% or other higher level agreed with the individual) with metformin in patients at significant risk of hypoglycaemia or its consequences, or if a patient does not tolerate an SU or an SU is contraindicated.1
The journal Human Reproduction reports the results of a survey which shows that ART (Assisted Reproduction Technology) is now responsible for 250,000 babies being born worldwide every year. The IFFS (International Federation of Fertility Societies), which represents most of the world"s fertility societies, has issued the following quote, which can be used as background material for any article on the Human Reproduction survey. This quote is embargoed to coincide with the Human Reproduction survey.
Boehringer Ingelheim announced that it will become the founding sponsor of the World Stroke Academy, a novel training initiative for stroke professionals being developed by the World Stroke Organization ( WSO). This latest educational initiative from the WSO will bring together an international group of stroke experts - led by Professor Michael Brainin of the Danube University Krems, Austria - to provide information about stroke and knowledge for health professionals and medical doctors in order to improve prevention, therapy and management of stroke.
Agios Pharmaceuticals today announced that Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), a charitable initiative for new cancer treatments, has selected the Cancer Metabolism "dream team" led by Agios founder Dr. Craig Thompson and including Agios advisors Drs. Chi Dang and Joshua Rabinowitz. Cancer Metabolism is one of only five research areas chosen to share in $73.6 million in translational research funding, based on a rigorous selection process by independent scientific advisors assembled by SU2C"s scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Cancer metabolism is a new and exciting field of biology that represents a breakthrough understanding of how cancer cells become addicted to using more nutrients than normal cells to ensure their survival and growth. This new understanding of a fundamental mechanism of cancer represents a powerful Achilles" heel to target this deadly disease.
The New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) welcomed today"s Budget which reaffirms the Government"s commitment to solving our long term health workforce problems.
Ballroom dancing has gained in popularity in recent years as an activity for health and fitness. According to research presented today at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) 56th Annual Meeting in Seattle, ballroom dances like the salsa and the tango contribute to health gains and may improve fitness for amateur adult dancers, as measured by heart rates and energy expenditure.
Frequent air travelers, as well as people who fly only occasionally, are often inconvenienced by the effects of jet lag, according to research presented today at the American College of Sports Medicine"s 56th Annual Meeting in Seattle. Christopher Berger, Ph.D., Chair of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Task Force on Healthy Air Travel, "Exercise is Medicine™ On the Fly," explains that jet lag, medically called desynchronosis, is the physiological response to alterations to circadian rhythms.
Amid concerns about a pandemic of swine flu, researchers from Nebraska report for the first time that poultry carcasses infected with another threat - the "bird flu" virus - can remain infectious in municipal landfills for almost 2 years. Their report is scheduled for the June 15 issue of ACS" semi-monthly journal Environmental Science & Technology.
A person with dyspraxia has problems with movement and coordination. It is also known as "motor learning disability". Somebody with dyspraxia finds it hard to carry out smooth and coordinated movements. Dyspraxia often comes with language problems, and sometimes a degree of difficulty with perception and thought. Dyspraxia does not affect a person"s intelligence, but it can cause learning difficulties, especially for children.
Sleep disturbances increase as we age. Some studies report more than half of seniors 65 years of age or older suffer from chronic sleep disturbances. Researchers have long believed that the sleep disturbances common among the elderly often result from a disruption of the body"s circadian rhythms - biological cycles that repeat approximately every 24 hours.
Half a million people in the UK have undiagnosed coeliac disease
In the May 15th issue of G&D, Dr. Ting-Fen Tsai (The National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan) and colleagues present a new animal model of human Wolfram Syndrome, and effectively link CISD2 gene function, mitochondrial integrity and aging in mammals.
Hearing and vocal problems go hand-in-hand among the elderly more frequently than previously thought, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center. Together, they pack a devastating double punch on communication skills and overall well-being.
A new, international study found that the combination of two drugs delays disease progression for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Results from the Phase III "ATLAS" trial were presented today by Dr. Vincent Miller of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.
Theta oscillations are a type of prominent brain rhythm that orchestrates neuronal activity in the hippocampus, a brain area critical for the formation of new memories. For several decades these oscillations were believed to be "in sync" across the hippocampus, timing the firing of neurons like a sort of central pacemaker. A new study conducted by researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) argues that this long-held assumption needs to be revised. In a paper published in this week"s issue of the journal Nature, the researchers showed that instead of being in sync, theta oscillations actually sweep along the length of the hippocampus as traveling waves.
People who feel pressure to look attractive are more fearful of being rejected because of their appearance than are their peers, according to a new study by researchers at the University at Buffalo and the University of Kent.
Driving Miranda, a protein in fruit flies crucial to switch a stem cell"s fate, is not as complex as biologists thought, according to University of Oregon biochemists. They"ve found that one enzyme (aPKC) stands alone and acts as a traffic cop that directs which roads daughter cells will take.
The opportunity to enact health care reform legislation could be missed unless Congress passes it this year, President Obama on Thursday said to thousands of supporters in a phone call made from Air Force One, the AP/USA Today reports. In a call to members of his political organization, Organizing for America, Obama said, "If we don"t get it done this year, we"re not going to get it done," adding, "I think the status quo is unacceptable and that we"ve got to get it done this year." Obama also said that any action on overhaul legislation could be delayed unless volunteers pressure lawmakers to support the administration"s goals for health care reform (AP/USA Today, 5/28). Obama said, "Some of you are in states and districts where politicians are resistant to bringing about change, so we need you to get involved" (Zeleny, "The Caucus," New York Times, 5/28). Obama told volunteers that it was time to "remobilize" after their successful campaign to get him elected, adding that "we have gotten a lot of things done during our first four months. But health care, that"s a big push" (AP/USA Today, 5/28).David Plouffe, Obama"s presidential campaign manager and head of Organizing for America, during the call said, "If the country stands with the president and if the country is demanding health care reform, [then] we"ll get it done," adding, "Washington will not have any option but to follow us." He added, "You need to take ownership of this" ("The Caucus," New York Times, 5/28). Organizing for America Campaign
Hispanics in Massachusetts are less likely than whites to have visited a physician in the last year, according to a survey that was funded by the Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Springfield Republican reports. The survey also found that Hispanics were about twice as likely as whites to visit an emergency department for a nonemergency condition. The survey, which was conducted last fall, included 4,041 adults ages 18 to 64 in Massachusetts. Overall, the survey found that people living in western Massachusetts had more difficulty accessing health services than people living in other areas of the state, in part because of a shortage of primary care physicians. While the survey found that nearly all state residents have health insurance, more than 25% of residents in four western counties reported that providers either would not accept their insurance or were not accepting new patients. The survey did not find significant differences across the state in the ability of residents to pay medical bills. In addition, the survey did not find any evidence that health care costs are more of a burden to Hispanics and blacks than to whites (McAuliffe, Springfield Republican, 5/28).
Private business in California saw health care premiums increase by 138
Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE: VAR) X-Ray Products, a world leader in X-ray tubes and supplier of the premier PaxScan® line of digital X-ray image detectors for filmless X-rays, has introduced their first digital imager specifically designed for interventional angiography procedures.
Doctor David Werring, from The Stroke Association"s Expert Advisory Panel said:
A report released by the consumer health organization Families USA spotlights a growing crisis among insured families, as rising health care costs devour a growing portion of their pre-tax income.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is advising patients with flu like symptoms to call their local general practice to seek advice before presenting at the practice to seek care.
G-20 leaders pledged to provide the International Monetary Fund with $500 billion to help struggling economies, sparking global controversy. Yet startling research shows that the combined costs of tobacco-related death and related productivity losses, healthcare expenditures, employee absenteeism, and widespread environmental harm are responsible for draining the same amount - $500 billion - from the global economy each year and it receives much less attention than it deserves.
Thieme Publishing Group is pleased to announce the launch of Pharmaceutical Substances Version 3.2. Available via Thieme-connect, Pharmaceutical Substances is a comprehensive reference guide to every significant pharmaceutical compound and includes all FDA approved active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).
Boehringer Ingelheim will present new data on the company"s two lead oncology compounds, BIBW 2992* and BIBF 1120** at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the company announced today. Two studies in the LUX-Lung clinical development programme for BIBW 2992 and a Phase II study of BIBF 1120 in ovarian cancer patients will be presented.
A survey of trauma patients reported in the Medical Journal of Australia has found that compensation-related factors are significant predictors of health care utilisation.
Poxel is a research integrated pharmaceutical Company (RIPCO),
Agendia, a world leader in molecular cancer diagnostics, announced
A new survey published in the British Journal of Cardiology suggests that inconsistencies in clinical guidance for the ongoing management of post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients may contribute to significant variation in clinical practice reported by GPs and practice nurses.1a These findings indicate that, in some areas of the UK, care for post-MI patients after leaving hospital may not be optimal,1b according to authors from the Follow Your Heart group. *
Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: HALO), announced publication of a Phase 1 study reporting an acceleration of insulin absorption and increased insulin effects within minutes after co-administration of its hyaluronidase (PH20) enzyme with two mealtime insulin products, Humulin® R (regular human insulin) and Humalog® (insulin lispro). A rapid and short-acting insulin profile would more closely mimic the mealtime insulin release that occurs in non-diabetics and could lead to improved treatment for diabetes patients. These results were published in the June 2009 issue of the journal Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics.
On May 13, health care professionals and health care activists gathered on Capitol Hill to demonstrate their support for Senator John Conyer"s HR 676.
Clive N. Svendsen, joint leader of the widely-respected Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center at the University of Wisconsin, has been named director of the new Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute, effective Dec. 1, 2009.
Neurobiological Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTII) (NTI(R)) announced that Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings L.P. (Celtic Pharma) has announced the results from its Phase 3 Clinical Program for XERECEPT(R) in patients with edema associated with brain tumors and from preclinical studies of XERECEPT in brain tumor models.
An article published Online First and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet reports that women aged between 24 and 45 can be protected by the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine, if they have not been already infected by the virus. The report is the work of Dr Nubia Mu÷±oz, from the National Institute of Cancer, Bogot÷¡, Colombia, and collaborators.
A dog born with a deadly disease that prevents the body from using stored sugar has survived 20 months and is still healthy after receiving gene therapy at the University of Florida - putting scientists a step closer to finding a cure for the disorder in children.
Physicians who treat patients with multiple health problems will fare well under pay-for-performance, which bases physician reimbursement on the quality of care provided, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston in a report in the current issue of the journal Circulation.
Health professionals caring for patients with acute post-operative pain can improve pain management with a new drug use evaluation toolkit developed by the National Prescribing Service Ltd (NPS).
Linking genetic material microRNAs with cells that regulate the immune system could one day lead to new therapies for treating cancer, infections and autoimmune diseases, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.
Unwed pregnant teens and twenty-somethings who attend or have graduated from private religious schools are more likely to obtain abortions than their peers from public schools, according to sociological research published in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
A study in the June 1 issue of the journal SLEEP demonstrates that online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for chronic insomnia significantly improves insomnia severity, daytime fatigue, and sleep quality. Online treatment also reduces erroneous beliefs about sleep and pre-sleep mental arousal.
The world"s largest ear, nose, and throat professional medical association, the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), has released a manual detailing best practices for the creation of new clinical practice guidelines. The manual is published as a supplement to the June issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.
Every $1 invested in mobile healthcare for the medically disenfranchised saves $36 in combined emergency department costs avoided and value of life years saved. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medicine suggest that "health vans" decrease both the incidence and economic burden of preventable diseases, for a net profit to the healthcare system.
In what is believed to be the first U.S. study designed to prevent anxiety disorders in the children of anxious parents, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children"s Center have found that a family-based program reduced symptoms and the risk of developing an anxiety disorder among these children.
The 62nd World Health Assembly, governing body of the World Health Organization (WHO), endorsed the WHO Action Plan for the Prevention of Avoidable Blindness and Visual Impairment.
Health outcomes explored at DDW 2009
South Australia has the dubious distinction of receiving the AMA"s annual Dirty Ashtray Award for the Australian State or Territory that made the least progress on combating smoking during 2008.
Tiny fluctuations in a fetus"s heartbeat can indicate distress, but currently there is no way to detect such subtle variations except during labor, when it could be too late to prevent serious or even fatal complications.
In-growth and new generation of blood vessels, which must take place if a wound is to heal or a tumor is to grow, have been thought to occur through a branching and further growth of a vessel against a chemical gradient of growth factors. Now a research team at Uppsala University and its University Hospital has shown that mechanical forces are considerably more important than was previously thought. The findings, published today in the journal Nature Medicine, open up a new field for developing treatments.
The prevalence of overweight in the US population is among the highest in Mexican-American children and adolescents. In a study of 1,030 Hispanic children between the ages of 4 and 19, published in the June 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine found less than optimal diets in both overweight and non-overweight participants.
The UK government would like to allow pharmaceutical companies to provide patients with more information about prescription drugs, according to an article published in Pulse. UK ministers view the European Commission"s proposals positively - these proposals would greatly extend the communication permitted between companies and patients. Currently, European Law limits such communication to patient safety leaflets.
A new method to induce protein folding by taking the pressure off of proteins is up to 100 times faster than previous methods, and could help guide more accurate computer simulations for how complex proteins fold, according to research by a team of University of Illinois scientists accepted for publication in the journal Nature Methods and posted on the journal"s Web site May 31.
Insurance companies, "the industry that gets credit for helping to kill the Clinton administration"s health care overhaul 15 years ago," are now "striking a conciliatory tone as it faces the most serious attempt to overhaul the system since that effort collapsed," CQ Politics reports. With low favorability ratings and Democrats in control of the federal government, "insurers know they aren"t in a good bargaining position" this time around. They have already offered concessions, including providing "insurance in the individual markets to everyone, without regard to who is sick," and not "charging people who are ill higher rates and cut health care costs." But they"ve also been ""careful to structure their offers in such a way that appears significant but does not overpromise." An individual mandate for all Americans and an end to health screening for applicants could offer "a win-win outcome, one that will benefit not just patients but potentially the profits of the industry as well." But "perhaps the biggest motivation for insurers to deal now is that they fear what might happen if they don"t" - the "creation of a government-run plan that would be more attractive to the public and siphon off customers" (Adams, 6/1).
A drug with potential to prevent epilepsy caused by a genetic condition may also help prevent more common forms of epilepsy caused by brain injury, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The New York Times reports on a series of deep budget cuts to help California, which is some $24 billion in the red, deal with its" ongoing financial woes.
After drug dealing, trafficking of humans is tied with arms dealing as the second largest criminal industry in the world, and it is the fastest growing, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Recently, HHS awarded more than $2 million in grants to state and local organizations, including the University of Missouri, to identify and help victims of human trafficking.
A team of University of Minnesota-Twin Cities students from a civil engineering class will head to India later this month to share their ideas and plans for helping bring clean water to thousands of residents living in the slums of Mumbai - the same impoverished area that provided the backdrop for the 2009 Oscar Award-winning movie, "Slumdog Millionaire."
In an effort to increase the public"s awareness of the health consequences of cigarettes, the WHO on Friday called on international governments to require that cigarette packages feature images of the harmful effects smoking can have on the body, the AP/Google.com reports (Klapper, AP/Google.com, 5/29).
GTx, Inc. (Nasdaq: GTXI) announced the presentation of data demonstrating that toremifene 80 mg treatment compared to placebo increased bone mineral density (BMD) in multiple clinically relevant subpopulations of men with prostate cancer on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). The data, an analysis of results of the recent Phase III clinical trial evaluating toremifene 80 mg for the prevention of bone fractures and treatment of other estrogen deficiency side effects of androgen deprivation therapy in men with prostate cancer, were presented yesterday at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
This month"s Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery features positive Phase Ib clinical trial results for PARI Pharma"s L-CsA, inhaled liposomal cyclosporine A. In May, PARI Pharma received Orphan Drug Designation from the Food and Drug Administration for L-CsA, delivered via an Investigational eFlow Nebulizer System, for the prevention and treatment of bronchiolitis obliterans, a devastating, incurable disease of the small airways affecting approximately 60,000 patients worldwide.
Prometheus Laboratories Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical and diagnostic company, announced new findings regarding a correlation between an important serologic marker used in the detection of Crohn"s disease and particular genetic markers in patients at risk for celiac disease. In an oral presentation yesterday at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) in Chicago, Prometheus reported a statistically significant correlation between antibodies to the flagellin CBir1 and HLA haplotypes DQ2.5 and DQ8 in a study of 5,406 patients at risk for celiac disease who are EMA positive. Blood and serum samples were analyzed using PROMETHEUS(R) Celiac PLUS and PROMETHEUS(R) IBD Serology 7 diagnostic tests.
Bayer Diabetes Care announced the launch of A1CNow(R) SELFCHECK, a new A1C monitor that enables people with diabetes to check their A1C level at home. Measurement of A1C provides an average assessment of blood sugar levels over the past three months -- and is an indicator of how well diabetes is being managed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently cleared Bayer"s A1CNow SELFCHECK which enables patients to more closely watch their A1C level in between healthcare provider visits so they may modify their diet and exercise, or have a more informed discussion with their healthcare provider based on the results.
Local news coverage details concerns about Medicare and Medicaid spending reductions that could affect senior and nursing care.
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has recently updated its award-winning patient booklet, Radiation Therapy for Cancer that provides information for people living with cancer and their loved ones who are exploring radiation therapy as a treatment option.
In the run up to National Tackling Drugs Week (8th-12th June), drug and alcohol services in Liverpool have gathered together to host "Know more" an event which will showcase a range of services that offer advice and support to young people and their families.
Data from the ToGA study presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida showed that adding trastuzumab to standard chemotherapy (capecitabine [Xeloda®] or intravenous 5-FU and cisplatin) prolongs the lives of patients with this aggressive cancer on average by nearly 2.7 months to 13.8 months, a 26% increase in survival. Advanced gastric (stomach) cancer is associated with a poor prognosis; the median survival time after diagnosis is approximately 10 months with currently available therapies.[i]
Targeting the issue of low birth rates, the Taiwanese government implemented the Mega Warmth Social Welfare Program (MWSWP) in 2006 after its fertility rates dipped lower than most industrial nations.
The following summarizes recent editorials responding to the shooting death of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, who was one of the few physicians in the country providing care for women in need of the procedure later in pregnancy.~ Los Angeles Times: Tiller"s murder "is a reminder that fringe adherents of the "pro-life" movement are willing to desecrate the very value they claim to champion," but "it distorts reality to insinuate that millions of Americans who oppose abortion condone such tactics," a Times editorial states. The editorial continues, "Tiller"s killing shouldn"t be exploited by activists on either side to score political points." According to the Times, "Sadly, Tiller"s assailant is not one of a kind, but neither is he typical of the antiabortion movement," as "[p]rominent pro-life organizations long have condemned violence against abortion providers while working to restrict the late-term abortions for which Tiller was known." The editorial also notes that the murder "was forthrightly condemned by the National Right to Life Committee, Americans United for Life and Kansas" four Catholic bishops." It continues that despite this, "some pro-choice activists are suggesting, overtly or subtly, that the responsibility for Tiller"s death is shared by the broader pro-life movement," and the "implication is that the mainstream pro-life movement has to be nudged into opposing violence." According to the Times, "Some "arguments" are thinly veiled incitements to violence against individuals and should be punished for the crimes they are," but "the basic premise of the antiabortion movement -- that a fetus is a person -- is by definition a "dehumanization" of abortion providers, even if it"s expressed in decorous language." The editorial states, "The militancy of some pro-life groups constitutes an alarming assault on a constitutionally protected right, but the answer is not to limit expression." It concludes, "It"s unfair to ask antiabortion activists to muffle their message because it might inspire an unbalanced individual to commit an atrocity" (Los Angeles Times, 6/2).~ New York Times: Tiller"s killing "was a reprehensible act of domestic terrorism directed toward the dwindling cadre of physicians who risk their safety to perform legal medical procedures," a Times editorial states. The editorial continues that for Tiller "and physicians like him, the threatening protests and incidents of violence and harassment never really stopped." According to the Times, "For his principled devotion to women"s health and constitutionally protected rights, [Tiller] was the target of protests at his clinic, his house and his church," all of which forced him "to fend off trumped up legal challenges aimed at shutting down his operations." Although U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has said that the U.S. Marshal Service will begin providing protection to certain abortion clinics and doctors, he should "consider taking the additional step of revitalizing the National Task Force on Violence against Health Care Providers that former Attorney General Janet Reno established during the Clinton years," the editorial continues. According to the Times, "There must be a sustained focus by federal and state officials to prevent further acts of violence and intimidation," and "[i]f it turns out that additional laws are needed, Congress should take action." The editorial concludes, "Over time, the combination of anti-choice restrictions and ongoing harassment by protest groups even short of violence have served to make abortions harder and harder to obtain. That trend must be stopped" (New York Times, 6/2).
Could the salamander"s natural ability to grow back severed appendages lead to a scientific breakthrough for humans who have lost limbs?
Roche and Plexxikon announced interim results from a phase I study with PLX4032 (R7204) a new, highly selective and potentially promising oral treatment for patients with advanced melanoma whose cancer harbours the BRAF mutation (known as mutation-positive). Patients treated with PLX4032 lived for a median of six months without their disease getting worse and more than half experienced significant shrinkage of their tumours; this included patients where the cancer had spread to the liver, lung and bone.1 Historically, less than 5% of metastatic melanoma patients are still alive five years after diagnosis.2
Collaboration research carried out by the teams of Jordi Surrallés, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB); Juan Carlos IzpisÃôa-Belmonte and Angel Raya, Centre for Regenerative Medicine of Barcelona (CMRB); and Juan Antonio Bueren, Centre for Energetic, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT), has resulted in the generation of blood cells from skin cells of patients with a genetic disease known as Fanconi anemia. The process is based on gene therapy and cell reprogramming techniques in which cells similar to embryonic stem cells known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be generated. The research article was published in this week"s digital version of Nature.
New research led by the University of Leicester and published this week in the British Journal of Psychiatry reveals that people with mental health problems are receiving inferior care for their medical needs.
As part of its community outreach, Breast Cancer Help, Inc. attended the annual National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) conference, which was held May 2-5 at Washington, D.C. Representatives of Breast Cancer Help, along with hundreds of other activists, met at the nation"s capital to meet with elected officials who are responsible for the majority of the funding for breast cancer research. The conference was held to challenge the newly elected leaders in Washington to create the changes necessary to ensure the much-needed funding for research and access to quality care.
The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) has announced that it is working with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Public Patent Foundation to bring a lawsuit charging that patents on two human genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer are unconstitutional and should be invalidated. Individuals with certain mutations along these two genes, known as BRCA1 and BRCA2, are at a significantly higher risk for developing hereditary breast and ovarian cancers.
Despite what some may think, people aren"t hiding their use of BOTOX® Cosmetic and hyaluronic acid dermal fillers. In fact, according to survey statistics released today by The Aesthetic Surgery Education & Research Foundation (ASERF), the research arm of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), nearly nine out of 10 respondents (87 percent) openly discuss their BOTOX® Cosmetic and hyaluronic acid dermal filler treatments with others, with seven out of ten (70 percent) receiving support from the people they told.
A new study published by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons reveals that one of the most common conditions caused by Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is best treated surgically, sooner rather than later. Patients with RA frequently experience a debilitating condition known as metacarpophalangeal joint disease, which is usually treated by replacing the knuckle joints with solid silicone joints. However, this treatment (and others like it) has spurred great disagreement between hand surgeons and rheumatologists regarding the indications, timing and perceived outcomes of the procedure; rheumatologists tend to refer late-stage patients for surgery whereas hand surgeons believe that earlier intervention can yield more positive outcomes.
The BMA is stepping up its activity to publicise its concerns about government reforms that have created a market in healthcare and allowed commercially run firms to provide NHS care.
A study of targeted educational initiatives between the clinical staff at Fox Chase Cancer Center and the hospitals within their Partners program suggest that educational interventions by academic cancer centers can improve quality of care for cancer patients at community hospitals. The study, to be presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, looked specifically at the number of lymph nodes that were surgically removed in colorectal cancer patients at Fox Chase"s partner hospitals and the impact that educational initiatives by clinical staff had on improving the number of nodes removed.
The Gamida Cell-Teva Joint Venture have today that five prestigious cord blood transplantation centers in Spain, three in Barcelona and two in Valencia, have joined the ExCell study.
After a review of 284 cases, specialists at the Brain Tumor Center at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Neuroscience Institute have concluded that performing a stereotactic needle biopsy in an area of the brain associated with language or other important functions carries no greater risk than a similar biopsy in a less critical area of the brain.
Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. announced that multiple studies presented at the 2009 Digestive Disease Week (DDW) demonstrate the company"s novel, investigational Toolbox enables natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) procedures without laparoscopic support in porcine models. One of the studies concluded that a new adaptable minimally-invasive surgical platform for NOTES and single-site laparoscopy (SSL) was successfully used to complete a variety of key surgical activities critical to pure natural orifice surgery and SSL.
Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd., (DSP) announced that positive results from a phase 2 clinical trial for lurasidone in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia have been published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. This six-week, randomized, double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled trial, involving 180 patients with acute schizophrenia, evaluated a single fixed dose of lurasidone 80 mg/day versus placebo. Lurasidone 80 mg/day produced statistically significant improvement versus placebo in both primary and secondary efficacy assessments at all study visits starting at day 3. In addition, lurasidone was generally well-tolerated and was associated with weight and metabolic changes that were similar to placebo.
In children with the rare disease Pfeiffer syndrome, craniofacial surgery to correct skull defects is followed by a distinct pattern of increases in body temperature, reports a study in the January Journal of Craniofacial Surgery. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry.
It"s common knowledge that smoking raises risks of lung cancer. And yet researchers haven"t known whether continued smoking by lung cancer patients would increase the risk of the cancer"s spread.
Researchers from the Brigham and Women"s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston have released a 22-year study that reports Hispanic patients have poorer outcomes following infrainguinal bypass grafting for the treatment of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Results showed that of all the study participants, Hispanics had a higher rate of bypass graft failure and amputation after revascularization compared to Caucasians. In an analysis that accounted for a myriad of important variables affecting limb salvage after bypass, Hispanic ethnicity was found to be independently predictive of eventual amputation. Details of the study appear in the Society for Vascular Surgery"s(R) June 2009 issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery(R).
High profile outbreaks associated with the viruses have kept EMSL Analytical scientists busy.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., will meet with supporters of a single-payer health system Wednesday to discuss their ideas on health reform.
The Senate began debate Tuesday on whether to grant the Food and Drug Administration power to regulate tobacco products, Reuters reports. Debate began after an 84-11 procedural vote and could continue into next week. The Democratic-backed bill "would let the FDA oversee the packaging, marketing and manufacturing of cigarettes and other tobacco products, which have been linked to cancer and other illnesses and kill 400,000 Americans each year."
UCLA scientists have linked for the first time intestinal inflammation with systemic chromosome damage in mice, a finding that may lead to the early identification and treatment of human inflammatory disorders, some of which increase risk for several types of cancer.
"With a health reform at the top of the Congressional and White House agenda, it"s prime time for industry lobbyists," Roll Call reports. But, because details of the anticipated reform package have not yet emerged, industry winners and losers remain largely unknown. Lobbyists are forced to accept clients despite their incomplete knowledge of client needs, and are struggling to anticipate conflicts of interest before they arise, according to the article. "There are so many different players at the table, and right now not knowing whose ox is likely to get gored and at whose expense... the best we can do is try and anticipate conflicts and be clear with our clients in advance," one health care lobbyist told the paper. "We certainly would not lobby on both sides of an issue. It"s also entirely possible conflict may emerge in the next two to six months, and we hope we don"t have to make hard choices" (Ackley, 6/3).
Vietnam recently published a report tracking its progress towards the U.N. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets, which outlines the health ministry"s work with other government and international agencies, Vietnam News reports.
GameStop (NYSE: GME) teamed with the National Women"s Health Re Center (NWHRC) to provide five key practical health tips for women in their 20s. The national video game retailer also asked 20-something celebrities Cote de Pablo (NCIS) and Michelle Trachtenberg (17 Again) to share their personal fitness tips as well. These tips and more health and fitness information can be found at http://www.gamestop.com/fitatanyage.
More than 17 percent of gay men in Chicago have HIV, and 39 percent went untested in the last 12 months because of fear of the results, according to a study of nearly 600 gay men in the city by the Chicago Department of Health, the Chi-Town Daily News reports. The study also found that gay black men had an infection rate that was more than twice the rates of gay white and Hispanic men. Jim Pickett, director of advocacy for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, said the findings indicate that, "We need to incorporate HIV into a broader or more holistic framework (covering) gay men"s health needs from top to toe." The city will formally release the study"s results next week (Parker, Chi-Town Daily News, 6/2).
Pfizer Inc announced today that Toviaz™ (fesoterodine fumarate) extended release tablets and the YourWay™ plan (http://www.ToviazYourWay.com), a comprehensive, customizable support plan for overactive bladder patients, are available in the United States. Toviaz is a once-daily prescription treatment for patients with symptoms of overactive bladder, which include frequent and sudden urges to urinate and wetting accidents. Toviaz works by helping to calm the bladder muscle that causes frequent, sudden urges to urinate.
A study by neuroscientist Heather Rupp and her team found that a woman"s partner status influenced her interest in the opposite sex. In the studyÂð, published in the March issue of Human Nature, women both with and without sexual partners showed little difference in their subjective ratings of photos of men when considering such measures as masculinity and attractiveness. However, the women who did not have sexual partners spent more time evaluating photos of men, demonstrating a greater interest in the photos. No such difference was found between men who had sexual partners and those who did not.
The contribution of the public and healthcare workers in the fight against fraud and corruption is commended by Managing Director of NHS Counter Fraud, Dermid McCausland in an online broadcast at http://www.nhscounterfraud.nhs.uk to launch Fraud Awareness Month (FAM), June 2009:
Results from a Phase III study presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida today show that patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received erlotinib (Tarceva®) as first-line maintenance treatment benefited from a significant (29%) improvement in the time they lived without the disease advancing, compared with those who received placebo1. Patients in the global multicentre SATURN trial, which included patients from the UK, received maintenance treatment with erlotinib if their cancer had not progressed on initial chemotherapy. The data showed a significant improvement in the length of time patients lived without their disease getting worse, and without the need for further chemotherapy. 1 The improvement was seen in both of the main types of NSCLC (squamous cell as well as non-squamous cell) and these results form the basis of a submission for regulatory approval of erlotinib to be used in the first-line maintenance setting. 1 Erlotinib is not currently licensed for first line maintenance treatment in NSCLC lung cancer in the UK.
Swine flu reminded us how important washing our hands can be. Studies show that simple handwashing can decrease communicable gastrointestinal diseases by 50% and communicable respiratory diseases by 20%.
A University of Toronto study provides the first direct evidence that our mood literally changes the way our visual system filters our perceptual experience suggesting that seeing the world through rose-coloured glasses is more biological reality than metaphor.
Your immune system plays an important function in your health - it protects you against viruses, bacteria, and other toxins that can cause disease. In autoinflammatory diseases, however, the immune system goes awry, causing unprovoked and dangerous inflammation. Now, researchers from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institutes of Health, and other institutions have discovered a new autoinflammatory syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects children around the time of birth. The findings appear in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
In the face of rising health care costs, a new study has found that older adults were less likely to identify the plan that minimized their total annual cost and were likely to mistakenly think they had chosen the lowest-cost plan. The study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation® Investigator Awards in Health Policy Research, is currently available online, and will be published in the August 2009 issue of Health Services Research.
PULMONARY HYPERTENSION: A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY?
ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (OTC Bulletin Board: ACCP), announced that new Thiarabine preclinical efficacy data will shortly be published demonstrating that thiarabine combined with clofarabine provides much greater antitumor activity than achieved by either agent alone. In one colorectal cancer model, 66% of mice were cured of their tumors. The publication which will appear in the journal "Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology," was based on work conducted by Access" collaborators at the Southern Research Institute. The paper is entitled "Enhancement of the in vivo antitumor activity of clofarabine by 1-beta-D-[4-thio-arabinofuranosyl]-cytosine" (thiarabine).
As the administration searches for ways to pay for health care reform and restrain medical costs, President Obama suggested Wednesday that he would consider transferring the power to set Medicare reimbursement rates from Congress to the independent advisory agency known as MedPAC, MedPage Today reports. The move reflects legislation introduced by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., last month that would move MedPAC into the executive branch as "a regulatory board similar to the Federal Reserve ... The move would transfer the power to set reimbursement rates from Congress -- and perhaps the interest groups that lobby it -- to an agency that critics say is better equipped to make nuanced medical payment decisions" (Walker 3/09).
Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX) and the Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID) of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH) have signed an agreement to cooperate in the evaluation of a virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine candidate against the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus. Novavax has produced influenza A (H1N1) VLP vaccine against the strain recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).