Oncology
Tamiflu
With the U.N. Human Rights Council"s June session coming up, governments have a "chance to prove that they value women"s lives by taking concrete action" to recognize "preventable maternal death as a violation of women"s rights," Mary Robinson and Alicia Yamin, advisory council members of the International Initiative on Maternal Mortality and Human Rights, write in a Boston Globe opinion piece.
Cerebral palsy is a term which encompasses a set of neurological conditions that cause physical disability in human development - they affect the brain and nervous system. The word cerebral refers to the area in the brain that is affected, while palsy means complete or partial muscle paralysis, frequently accompanied by loss of sensation and uncontrollable body movements or tremors. Cerebral means related to the brain or cerebrum. Cerebrum is a Latin word meaning "brain; top of the head, skull". In the English language the cerebrum is the anterior (front) portion of the brain consisting of two hemispheres; it is the dominant part of the brain in humans.
A research team at the Faculty of Odontology at Malmo University in Sweden has discovered two new proteins that are of importance to the survival of bacteria and their colonization of the human body. Besides enhancing our knowledge of the ability of bacteria to spread, the findings may also lead to more effective treatment of endocarditis and infections associated with implants.
The Institute for OneWorld Health, the US-based non-profit pharmaceutical company that develops drugs for people with neglected infectious diseases in the developing world, today announced that it has successfully completed its first screening campaign of the Roche proprietary compound library and will select up to 40 new drug leads for further study intended to identify a new treatment for childhood diarrhea.
American Innovative Research (A.I.R.) cofounders, David Palmer and Judy Piscione, explain how the impact of the avian flu pandemic originally motivated their company"s researching a home option of an isolation and containment unit.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are warning health care professionals about the risk of serious liver injury linked to the anti-thyroid drug propylthiouracil that is used to treat Graves" disease, an autoimmune disorder that results in overactivity of the thyroid gland.
Pfizer Animal Health today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first canine cancer therapy in the U.S. - PALLADIATM (toceranib phosphate) - which was developed by Pfizer to treat mast cell tumors in dogs. Pfizer made the announcement to veterinarians attending the 2009 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) Forum and Canadian Veterinary Medical Association Convention.
SRI International, an independent, nonprofit research and development organization, has announced that that it will screen a library of well-characterized drugs against the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus, previously known as "swine flu." The work will be performed under a re contract from the Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID) in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Eating a curry once or twice a week could help prevent the onset of Alzheimer"s disease and dementia. The magic ingredient in curry is curcumin, a component of the spice, turmeric.
"Flying into a developing country, operating on people for a few days or weeks and flying out again helps individual persons but has nothing to do with sustainable development work." Professor Martin Salzer, Vice-president of "Austrian Doctors for Disabled" -- the Austrian society for medical development assistance -- is convinced that "it makes even less sense to fly in people from such countries for difficult operations, as humanitarian the motive may be. That money can be invested more effectively." For the group of physicians and medically interested persons around Prof. Salzer it is a question of sustainability in the field of development cooperation, something to which they can contribute their medical experience. "After care for the disability or sickness, our concern is networked interdisciplinary and sustainable rehabilitation. We also hope to thereby make a contribution toward combating poverty" Prof. Salzer says in summing up the main concern of the organization.
"With a continuously ageing population the incidence of osteoporosis is steadily rising. This does not only pose problems to the individuals concerned but is also an enormous challenge for our societies" according to Professor Wolfhart Puhl, past president of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (EFORT). Prof. Puhl, of the Orthopç¤dikum Allgç¤u, Germany, who is in Vienna for the EFORT Congress, emphasized that the problem"s "dimension is frequently underestimated. Policy makers and funding agencies do not always consider this development sufficiently in their planning."
Are you someone who squirms when confronted with slime, shudders at stickiness or gets grossed out by gore? Do crawly insects make you cringe or dead bodies make you blanch?
A new study of Chinese-American youth has found that family obligation, for example caring for siblings or helping elders, plays a positive role in the mental health of Chinese-American adolescents and may prevent symptoms of depression in later teenage years.
"Thanks to patients" champions in the House and Senate, the 2009 Texas Legislature passed bills to reform health insurance, increase access to health care, preserve the patient-physician relationship, and improve the health of all Texans.
Doctors and other health workers should be more aware of the high risk of eating disorders among people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and other anxiety disorders.
Representatives of the NPA have met with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Edwina Hart, to discuss a number of matters on behalf of members in Wales.
A well-crafted case study is a powerful educational and marketing tool. The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute"s (PBMI) 15th Anniversary Drug Benefit Conference offers industry experts an opportunity to present case studies that showcase solutions to critical drug benefit challenges. Speaker proposals will be accepted until August 14, 2009 for the conference to be held February 17-19, 2010 in Phoenix.
For patients with the most common form of hepatitis C, the addition of a hepatitis C specific protease inhibitor called telaprevir to the current standard therapy can significantly improve the chances of being cured, and it does it in half the time of standard therapy alone.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and some local more up-to-date reports, the total number of confirmed human cases of swine flu A(H1N1) infection has exceeded 21,000, including 125 deaths in Mexico, USA, Canada, Chile and Costa Rica. If these figures are accurate, that would be 1 death per 168 cases.
The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, is pleased to announce another measure to address the H1N1 flu virus. The Government of Canada will fund a national influenza research network focused on pandemic vaccine evaluation. The network will strengthen Canada"s capacity to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a pandemic influenza vaccine and vaccination programs.
The recent murder of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller has prompted other providers nationwide to reassess their need for protective measures against violent actions from opponents of abortion rights, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports. In the days following Tiller"s murder, many clinic officials nationwide said that they had contacted law enforcement and examined their existing security measures. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder also ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to provide security to several clinicians and facilities. According to the AP/Chronicle, violence against abortion providers in the 1980s and 1990s forced many to take various precautionary measures in and around their clinics, while some underwent training to protect themselves.Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said the election of former President George W. Bush, an abortion-rights opponent, helped alleviate some violence against abortion providers. However, she said that she believes Tiller"s murder might indicate the situation is changing during the first months of President Obama"s administration. Obama has rejected abortion-rights opponents" calls for restrictions on the procedure and also reversed the "global gag rule," or "Mexico City" policy.Michelman said, "Historically, when those who oppose a woman"s right to decide are frustrated politically, they get more violent," adding, "I have been thinking about this ever since the [Obama] election." She said that some providers will remain fearful even though she believes clinics are now safe. "In the end ... if someone is out to get you and they are determined and have a chorus encouraging them, ... there"s not much you can do to stop them," Michelman said. Provider LeRoy Carhart, who provided abortion services at Tiller"s clinic, said that people who commit violence against abortion providers should be charged with hate crimes (Hanna, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 6/3).
Keeping Them Honest - The New York Times
To reduce an estimated half million deaths and two million hospitalizations from diarrhea caused by rotavirus each year, the WHO on Friday recommended that oral rotavirus vaccines be added to national childhood immunization programs, broadening access to the vaccine in the developing world,
U.N. officials on Thursday expressed growing concern about potential disease outbreaks among the two million displaced Pakistanis and warned that aid money is running out, AFP/Yahoo! News reports (AFP/Yahoo! News, 6/4). According to the U.N., more than two million Pakistanis have been driven from their homes in the past month because of a government-led offensive against the Taliban, "in addition to the 400,000 already displaced in fighting last year," Environment News Service reports (ENS, 6/4).
The Economist examines how mobile phones could be used to detect the spread of diseases worldwide. According to the Economist, "[t]he world"s 4 billion mobile phones could be turned into sensors on a global data-collection network" and aid workers, engineers and several other professionals "are now building systems that use handsets to sense, monitor and even predict population movements, environmental hazards and public-health threats."
The CDC has released a fact sheet informing people that there is some risk of transmitting HIV to others through oral sex, even though it is much lower than the risk of transmission from vaginal or anal intercourse, the Lakeland Ledger"s "Robin"s Rx: Medical Blogging in Polk County" reports. According to the CDC, many people believe that oral sex is safe or has no risk of transmitting disease. The CDC fact sheet said that abstaining from any sexual activity or engaging in mutual monogamy where both partners are uninfected are the only ways to completely prevent HIV transmission, but that condoms and other barriers between the mouth and genitals can reduce the risk of transmission through oral sex (Adams, "Robin"s Rx: Medical Blogging in Polk County," Lakeland Ledger, 6/4).
A pill used for nerve pain offers women relief from hot flashes, Mayo Clinic researchers report at the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
New research led by the University of Cincinnati (UC) suggests that the hunger hormone ghrelin is activated by fats from the foods we eat - not those made in the body - in order to optimize nutrient metabolism and promote the storage of body fat.
Dialysis is the artificial process of getting rid of waste (diffusion) and unwanted water (ultrafiltration) from the blood. This process is naturally done by our kidneys. Some people, however, may have failed or damaged kidneys which cannot carry out the function properly - they may need dialysis. In other words, dialysis is the artificial replacement for lost kidney function (renal replacement therapy). Dialysis may be used for people who have become ill and have acute kidney failure (temporary loss of kidney function), or for fairly stable patients who have permanently lost kidney function (stage 5 chronic kidney disease).
UroToday.com - The dynamic contrast-enhanced dynamic susceptibility contrast magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-DSC-MRI) technique presented in the article(1) is based on a novel dual-contrast sequence. The sequence is a gradient echo sequence that uses a single inversion pulse and subsequent acquisition of two contrasts/echoes with different inversion and echo times. Inversion preparation increases the signal-to-noise ratio in comparison to other gradient echo sequences. The blood volume in the prostate is relatively small, i.e., approximately one percent, while the interstitial contrast-agent-enhancing volume is approximately 20 percent. Therefore, conventional imaging sequences fail to separate the low contrast agent signal originating from the blood from that originating from interstitial tissue. The first contrast/echo is acquired with a short echo time and is T1-weighted, allowing quantification of the total signal contribution while failing to separate the blood signal from the interstitial contrast agent signal.
UroToday.com - The prevailing view is that MRI has a limited role in the management of prostate cancer. Currently, the threshold for requesting a pre-treatment staging MRI is variable with most advocating this for only those classified as high risk localized prostate cancer, although some also advocate men with intermediate risk disease.
The results of the LEAD-6 study are published in an article Online First and in a future edition of The Lancet. The findings are presented at the same time at the American Diabetes Association meeting in New Orleans, USA. They indicate that taking liraglutide once a day is more efficient in controlling blood glucose in type 2 diabetes than the presently marketed treatment - two doses a day of exenatide.
Paramedic, Mr Jonathan Knight has been struck off the HPC Register after he
Democratic Senators Dick Durbin, Chris Dodd, Jack Reed and Frank Lautenberg joined Matt Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, at a press conference this morning to discuss the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The legislation will give the Food and Drug Administration legal authority to regulate the sale, distribution and advertising of cigarettes in order to stop tobacco companies from targeting children and misleading the public.
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers have uncovered a gene signature that may help predict clinical outcomes in certain types of breast cancer.
Recent calls by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and others to study the legalization of marijuana as a way of boosting tax revenues are "irresponsible" and send a dangerous message, the chairman of the board of the drug abuse education program D.A.R.E., prominent Los Angeles attorney Louis "Skip" Miller, said today. "Marijuana is a dangerous drug with numerous demonstrable ill effects on health," Mr. Miller added.
Leading mental health advocates and political, medical and policy experts, including Mrs. Tipper Gore, George Stephanopoulos, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Richard Gephardt, will address the changes and challenges ahead for the mental health field at Mental Health America"s Centennial Conference, June 10-13, in Washington, D.C.
A new taskforce of health professionals working together to spot early signs of violence and abuse against women and girls, investigate the scale of the problem and ensure victims across the NHS get the support they need was announced by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Health Secretary Alan Johnson.
Results of the long-awaited Rosiglitazone Evaluated for Cardiac Outcomes and Regulation of Glycaemia in Diabetes (RECORD) study were presented here in a symposium at the American Diabetes Association"s 69th Scientific Sessions. The results are being simultaneously published online in The Lancet.
Cystitis refers to inflammation of the lining of the bladder. It usually occurs when the normally sterile urethra and bladder (lower urinary tract) are infected by bacteria and become irritated and inflamed. Cystitis is fairly common and can affect both men and women and people of all ages. However, it is more common in women.
New data show that Afinitor(R) (everolimus) tablets significantly shrunk tumors in 33% of patients with relapsed non-Hodgkin"s lymphoma (NHL) and Hodgkin"s disease(1). Based on results from this study and other early-stage research, Novartis has initiated a Phase III trial in the most common NHL, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
Swedish global industrial group, Sandvik, is announcing the development of the new Sandvik European Center of Excellence (SECoE) for finish processing and supply management activities for orthopedic implants and instruments.
Sexual abuse in childhood damages women far more than men and could account for just over a quarter of suicide attempts in women, according to new research.
The Washington Independent examines a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, which found that a federal law requiring most international food aid to come from U.S. farmers could be "hobbling efforts to feed the world"s hungry." Currently, Food for Peace - the nation"s largest food aid program - "requires that the crops be purchased from U.S. growers, processed through U.S. companies, and shipped using U.S.-flagged vessels," according to the article.
In the wake of the shooting death of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, columnist Ellen Goodman writes in the Boston Globe that she "can"t help wondering whether rhetoric can justify a crime in the mind of a fanatic." She continues, "Can"t words provide the sort of perverse moral platform that jihadists stand on and the alternate universe in which a "lone nut" can find a home?" Goodman writes that she does not blame Tiller"s death on "everyone who checks a pro-life box on the pollster"s chart," but it is "well past time for the antiabortion movement to denounce those who are in the profession of inflaming passions."Tiller "was a doctor of last resort for many women, especially those women for whom the sonogram did not bring joy but tragic tidings," Goodman writes, adding, "He refused to be cowed. At the very least, he should be buried with truth." In his recent commencement address at the University of Notre Dame, President Obama asked, "As citizens of a vibrant and varied democracy, how do we engage in vigorous debate? How does each of us remain firm in our principles, and fight for what we consider right, without demonizing those with just as strongly held convictions on the other side?" Goodman writes, "One way is for those who truly "denounce the murder" to take on the chorus, the back-up singers, who still provide the doo-wop for the next deranged soloist." She concludes, "You see, this suspect was not such a lone gunman. And no, I am afraid, this was not an isolated incident" (Goodman, Boston Globe, 6/5).
The King"s Fund has announced a series of new initiatives and projects to take forward its work to improve health care.
Women are under-represented in clinical cancer research published in high-impact journals, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
PLC Systems Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: PLCSF), a company focused on innovative cardiac and vascular medical device-based technologies, announced that it will demonstrate its RenalGuard System(TM) at EuroPCR, the annual meeting of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI), May 19-22, 2009, in Barcelona, Spain. More than 11,000 clinicians and professionals are expected to attend this event.
Lyme disease is emerging in Canada, and is expected to increase with climate change, but effective, enhanced surveillance and clinician awareness will be key to minimizing the impact of the disease, write researchers in a review in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Prenatal multivitamin supplements are associated with a significantly reduced risk of babies with a low birth weight compared with prenatal iron-folic acid supplementation, found a new study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).
Radiologists, like professional pilots for example, depend on good vision as part of their occupation. However, radiologists unlike pilots are not required to undergo regular vision testing. A new study found that approximately 50% of radiologists surveyed indicated they don"t recall ever having their vision tested or it had been 24 months or longer since their last vision exam.
Not everyone declines in cognitive function with age. Elderly people who exercise at least once a week, have at least a high school education and a ninth grade literacy level, are not smokers and are more socially active are more likely to maintain their cognitive skills through their 70s and 80s, according to research published in the June 9, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
According to a research abstract presented on June 8 at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, in the presence of free access to food, sleep restricted subjects reported decrease in appetite, food cravings and food consumption; however, they gained weight over the course of the study. Thus, the finding suggests that energy intake exceeded energy expenditure during the sleep restriction
Today in Parliament, an all-party resolution was unanimously passed renewing Canada"s commitment to reducing maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality both at home and abroad. Support was expressed for Canadian leadership within government and civil society to work within the G-8 and as partners with UN agencies and appropriate global initiatives to achieve this goal.
Men who work with their female partners while receiving continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are more likely to adhere to their treatment, according to a research abstract presented on Monday at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.
An obese 70-year-old will spend approximately 20 percent more on health care over their lifetime - nearly $40,000 - than a peer of normal weight, according to the second annual Almanac of Chronic Disease, released today by the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD).
Alzheimer"s disease and its precursor, mild cognitive impairment, appear to be associated with an increased risk of death among both white and African American older adults according to a new, long-term research study by neurological experts at the Alzheimer"s Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center. The study findings are published in the June issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), the Naval Medical Research Center and the National Institutes of Health, have solved the structure of thin hair-like fibers called "pili" or "fimbriae" on the surface of bacteria that cause traveler"s diarrhea. The findings, appear in the June issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and have important implications for creating better therapeutics against diarrheal diseases.
Lyme disease is emerging in Canada, and is expected to increase with climate change, but effective, enhanced surveillance and clinician awareness will be key to minimizing the impact of the disease, write researchers in a review in CMAJ .
A new lung cancer therapy employing a vaporized viral vector to deliver a cancer-inhibiting molecule directly to lung tissue shows early promise in mouse trials, according to researchers at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Korea.
Alzheimer"s disease and its precursor, mild cognitive impairment, appear to be associated with an increased risk of death among both white and African American older adults, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
A consortium of research centers in the Tri-state Region, including Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, has received a $46 million grant to conduct research on emerging infectious diseases.
CSIRO Food Futures National Research Flagship and Australian company Stadvis Pty Ltd have signed a worldwide license agreement to commercialise an automated instrument that accurately predicts glycemic index (GI) and resistant starch (RS) in food products.
A clinical trial has demonstrated that HIV-infected adults in a re-limited setting are more likely to survive if they start antiretroviral therapy (ART) before their immune systems are severely compromised.
A synthetic DNA binding compound has proved surprisingly effective at binding to the DNA of bacteria and killing all the bacteria it touched within two minutes. The DNA binding properties of the compound were first discovered in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick by Professor Mike Hannon and Professor Alison Rodger (Professor Mike Hannon is now at the University of Birmingham). However the strength of its antibiotic powers have now made it a compound of high interest for University of Warwick researchers working on the development of novel antibiotics.
Researchers have been seeking a safe and effective way to treat cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia by enhancing N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors. Functional deficits in NMDA receptors may contribute to the underlying neurobiology of this disorder. The first generation of studies trying to stimulate NMDA receptors administered large amounts of substances, like glycine or D-serine, which indirectly enhance NMDA receptor function. While there were some positive reports of efficacy, findings across studies were more inconsistent than was hoped.
An over-the-counter prostate cancer test kit
Promoting the health of young children, before five years of age, could save society up to $65 billion in future health care costs, according to an examination of childhood health conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The results are published in the May 15, 2009, issue of Academic Pediatrics.
A new analysis demonstrated that a greater proportion of patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who had prior treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha agents and received subcutaneous injections of SIMPONI(TM) (golimumab) once every four weeks experienced significant improvements in signs and symptoms through week 24, compared with patients receiving placebo. Patients continued to receive stable doses of methotrexate, sulfasalazine and/or hydroxychloroquine if receiving them at baseline. These data were presented at the 2009 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Annual Congress.
Gregg Duester, Ph.D., professor of developmental biology at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham), along with Xianling Zhao, Ph.D., and colleagues, have clarified the role that retinoic acid plays in limb development. The study showed that retinoic acid controls the development (or budding) of forelimbs, but not hindlimbs, and that retinoic acid is not responsible for patterning (or differentiation of the parts) of limbs. This research corrects longstanding misconceptions about limb development and provides new insights into congenital limb defects. The study was published online in the journal Current Biology on May 21.
Statement of Charles D. Connor, American Lung Association President and CEO:
Bloomberg reports that "While the House Democrats" plan would boost Medicare payments to primary-care physicians, it will also cut payments to Medicare Advantage health plans. Details of those cuts weren"t provided." Bloomberg details other features of the legislation: "An outline of the plan also says Democrats drafting the House bill will propose new restrictions on insurers, including caps on out-of-pocket health-care expenses in policies to protect consumers from bankruptcy. The legislation also would bar insurers from excluding people based on pre-existing conditions, according to the outline, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News" (Litvan and Rowley, 6/9).
"Black, Latino and Asian lawmakers want President Barack Obama to focus more on racial disparities reported in medical treatment as the White House works toward overhauling the nation"s health care system," the Associated Press reports. "Members of the Congressional Black Caucus sent Obama a letter last week calling for more attention to minority health problems" and are "expected to join lawmakers from Hispanic and Asian caucuses Tuesday at a news conference on Capitol Hill." They plan to "introduce an alternative health care proposal soon that would improve services in low-income areas, eliminate language barriers and improve data collection to help detect gaps in care for various racial and ethnic groups" (Evans, 6/9).
A New York City law that will go into effect in July could make it easier for antiabortion-rights protesters to be arrested for restricting access to abortion clinics or harassing people trying to enter the facilities, the New York Times reports. Current law allows authorities to make arrests only if the person directly affected, such as a woman entering a clinic, is willing to press charges. However, the new law would allow third parties, such as clinic workers, to press charges if they witnessed the activity, the Times reports. New York City"s Dr. Emily"s Women"s Health Center and NARAL Pro-Choice New York spearheaded efforts to pass the legislation in response to antiabortion-rights demonstrators who target women on their way to clinics and attempt to persuade them to carry their pregnancies to term. Clinic workers report that the protesters also have harassed women as they left the subway or surrounded them as they walked to the clinic. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed the law in April. Joan Malin, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of New York City, said the group is "not against people demonstrating. But there is a line between freedom of speech and harassment and bullying" (Bosman, New York Times, 6/6).
The NAO today published a major report, "Supporting people with autism through adulthood". HOPE, the charity for adults with autism and learning disabilities, sees this important report as a blueprint for improving the lives of people with autism.
Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) introduced the Trilogy100 portable at-home life-support ventilator. The highly versatile, lightweight (11 lb / 5 kg) device marks a milestone in home ventilation from a recognized leader in respiratory care. Respironics first introduced bi-level positive airway pressure for noninvasive ventilation nearly 20 years ago.
Abbott announced the EAS® Myoplex® Strength Formula nutrition shake designed to help active people on the go refuel after physical activity. The ready-to-drink sports nutrition shakes come in a new, reclosable 14 fluid ounce plastic bottle.
AFRESA® (insulin human [rDNA origin]) Inhalation Powder is a well-tolerated, ultra rapid acting insulin with changes in pulmonary function tests comparable to usual antidiabetic treatment, according to data presented today at the American Diabetes Association"s 69th Scientific Sessions. Results from the prospective, multicenter, phase 3 study conducted over a two-year period showed no difference in mean change in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) between those treated with AFRESA and those treated with standard insulin therapy.
Employees who often go to work despite feeling sick have higher rates of future work absences due to illness, according to a study in the June Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
Three researchers from the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech have developed and evaluated a new one-step bioanalytical approach that allows them to profile in detail complex cellular extracts of proteins. The method has allowed the scientists to look at how the levels of proteins change in breast cancer cells when they are treated with hormones or cancer drugs like tamoxifen.
Aurora Information Technology (Aurora IT), a developer of highly customized medical website designs, introduces the launch of the new Ovu-Trac® site (http://www.ovu-trac.com). Created with Bitrix Site Manager, the Ovu-Trac® website is an informational and educational portal that markets its signature product, the Ovu-Trac® Ovulation Predictor Kit. Manufactured by OvumOptics, Inc., the kit uses saliva to accurately identify fertility and ovulation. Customers can purchase the kit through the site"s Fertilit-eStore and read testimonials from customers who have used the product. The site also features market comparisons, product background and scientific research behind the concept of saliva testing for predicting ovulation.
House Republicans on Wednesday sent President Obama a letter urging "open and constructive dialogue across party lines" on health care reform and calling on him to maintain current restrictions on federal funding of abortion services, Politico reports. The letter, signed by House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio), House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.), House Republican Conference Chair Mike Pence (Ind.) and six other Republican House members, outlines the Republicans" positions on health care reform. It says achieving those objectives "can be accomplished through health reform that maintains current law provisions regarding restrictions on federal funding of abortion services, restricts federal funds from flowing to abortion providers and does not impose mandates either on insurance carriers or medical providers to participate in activities that violate their religious and moral beliefs."The letter says that Republicans have several "areas for potential common ground on health care reform." In all, it mentions the phrase "common ground" four times in eight paragraphs, Politico reports (Allen, Politico, 5/13).
UK charity the Blood Pressure Association has responded to the American Medical Association CARDIA Sleep Study - "Association Between Sleep and Blood Pressure in Midlife", published in Archives of Internal Medicines (volume 169, no. 11)
Addiction scientists are calling for tighter regulation of alcohol advertising, as new research shows that self-regulation by the alcohol industry does not protect impressionable children and youth from exposure.
A team of U.S. investigators led by neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) are steadily uncovering the role that amyloid precursor protein (APP) - the protein implicated in development of Alzheimer"s disease - plays in normal brain function. In the June 10 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, they discovered that APP interacts with another protein known as Reelin to promote development of abundant connections between brain neurons.
Patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have an increased prevalence of parasomnia symptoms compared with the prevalence rates of individual parasomnias, according to a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.
The naturalistic respiratory muscle training with high resistance wind instruments may potentially reduce musicians" risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.
Researchers at Imperial College London have identified a new appetite suppressant for promoting weight loss that they say works in rodents and may one day be used to develop an effective anti-obesity treatment. Results of the new study were presented at The Endocrine Society"s 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Hormone therapy is often given to patients with advanced prostate cancer. While it is true that the treatment prevents growth of the tumour, it also changes its properties. Some of these changes may result in the tumour becoming more aggressive and more liable to form metastases. This is one of the conclusion of a thesis presented at the Sahlgrenska Academy.
People "will not be surprised" by the recent Republican "purge" and "un-eulogies" of several conservative abortion-rights supporters -- including retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter, former Republican Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn.) and former Secretary of State Colin Powell -- given that "abortion is the purity test for remaining in the GOP inner circle," syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman writes in a Memphis Commercial Appeal opinion piece. The U.S. is "in for another battle centered, again, on Roe v. Wade" as President Obama nominates a replacement for Souter, she writes, adding that the "purge has led me to wonder what would have happened if the first abortion case to arrive at the Supreme Court" were Struck v. Secretary of Defense, rather than Roe. "What if it had been brought by the woman who did not want an abortion?" Goodman writes, noting that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg has recently "mused out loud about the case that got away -- the one she would have liked to argue before the court back when she was a women"s rights litigator."According to Goodman, Susan Struck was a captain in the Air Force who became pregnant in 1970 and was told by her commanding officer that she could either resign or have an abortion. "Struck picked a third choice: a lawsuit," and Ginsberg -- a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union -- "argued that the regulation prohibiting pregnant women from military service was sex discrimination," Goodman writes. Ginsberg also argued that Struck"s choice to carry her pregnancy to term was a personal one and that government intervention was a violation of her liberty. However, as the case was heading to the Supreme Court, the defending lawyer "figured that he was going to lose. So the savvy solicitor advised the armed services to change the rules and the case became moot," Goodman writes."It is mind-bending to think about how different the whole debate might have been if the first Supreme Court case arguing for the right to decide had been brought by a woman wanting to have a baby," Goodman continues. She asks if the U.S. would "have better understood this reality: a government that can force a woman to have an abortion is the same government that can force a woman to continue the pregnancy? Would it have changed a Republican Party that was traditionally so wary of government power-grabs?" (Goodman, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 5/14).
Three pseudo kinases of the Tribbles family have been recently recognized, which include TRB1, TRB2 and TRB3. Recent research has found that the expression of hepatic TRB3 increased in a rat model of diabetes. TRB3 could block the insulin signaling pathway through inhibiting Akt activation, which contributes to insulin resistance.
No progress without research - this is particularly true for cancer medicine. The chances of cure for those affected can only be further increased if research results are swiftly transferred from the laboratory into clinical practice. Framework conditions for this research transfer, also called translational research, will now be optimized in Germany. Last Tuesday, German Research Minister Annette Schavan, Friedrich Carl Janssen, Chairman of German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe), and Professor Dr. Otmar D. Wiestler, Scientific Director of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) presented the "National Consortium for Translational Cancer Research" in Berlin.
New research from Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience (JHN) may redefine how Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) is diagnosed. Eduardo De Sousa, M.D., assistant professor of Neurology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, and director of the Electrodiagnostic Neuromuscular Lab at JHN, led the study which looked at the number of demyelinating features that are needed to differentiate between CIDP, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig"s disease) and diabetic neuropathy. His research suggests a minimum number of three demyelinating features can be used to positively identify CIDP in a patient. CIDP is a neurological disorder characterized by progressive weakness and impaired sensory function in the legs and arms. It affects about 50,000 people in the United States. The study, available in the current edition of the Journal of Clinical Neuromuscular Disease, may help doctors more effectively diagnose and treat CIDP.
NeurogesX, Inc. (Nasdaq: NGSX) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agreed to its proposed study to evaluate Qutenza(TM) in patients with post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) following pretreatment with an FDA-approved topical anesthetic. As part of its ongoing new drug application (NDA) review, the FDA wants to determine whether pretreatment with an FDA-approved topical anesthetic would provide similar tolerability to the topical agent used as a pretreatment in the clinical development program.
The Los Angeles Times examined the effects of the proposed $80.1 million in budget cuts to HIV/AIDS programs in the state, as advocates are expected today to convene at the California State Capitol in Sacramento to protest the cuts. According to the Times, the proposed cuts would mean that the costs of running many HIV/AIDS-related programs would be shifted to local jurisdictions study, which "would become increasingly difficult for cash-strapped counties." HIV/AIDS programs would also need to rely more heavily on available federal financing. HIV education, prevention, counseling and testing services and early intervention programs would be affected, the Times reports. The state"s AIDS Drug Assistance Program would stand to lose $12 million (Yoshino, Los Angeles Times, 6/9). In related news, the Santa Cruz News examined how the proposed state budget cuts could put the Santa Cruz AIDS Project"s centers and programs, including sex education in schools and a needle exchange program "in serious jeopardy" (Lussenhop, Santa Cruz News, 6/9).
The Desert Sun published a series of articles related to HIV/AIDS. The articles include a feature profiling people living with the virus and others looking at efforts by advocates to offer culturally appropriate information on HIV to Hispanics, blacks and other minorities; the efficacy of antiretrovirals, and how the drugs are enabling people to live longer; and the potential effects of proposed state budget cuts on HIV/AIDS programs in Riverside County (Brambila, Desert Sun, 6/10).
UNAIDS Executive Director Highlights Latin America, Caribbean Successes In Battle Against HIV/AIDS
House Democrats on Tuesday released an outline of their proposal to reform the health care system that would require that all Americans have insurance and that employers provide coverage or pay a penalty, The Associated Press reports. The bill also emphasized preventive care but omitted details about how to cover the costs.
Trust for America"s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) released a new public opinion survey today which finds that Americans rank prevention as the most important health care reform priority, and overwhelmingly support increasing funding for prevention programs to reduce disease and keep people healthy.
Depression is a major public health problem, and one of the most important challenges for psychiatrists is to determine whether an individual with depression should receive cognitive-behavioral therapy or treatment with antidepressant medication. A study by researchers from Emory University, presented at the Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping in San Francisco, used brain imaging along with sophisticated statistical techniques to examine the differences in brain function that result from these two different kinds of treatment. Forty individuals with depression were scanned with magnetic resonance imaging after undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy or antidepressant therapy. The researchers found that they could distinguish the brain activity of individuals undergoing the two different treatments, and in particular that the two treatments differently affected the communication of the brain areas that are thought to play a role in depression, including the communication between the prefrontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens, and between the subgenual cingulate and the thalamus. The results provide a basis for future research that will try to predict which individuals will benefit from different treatments for depression.
An intervention that includes techniques to reduce the amount of radiation from cardiac computed tomography angiography (scanning used to diagnose coronary artery disease) was associated with decreasing patient exposure to radiation without significantly changing the quality of the images, according to a study in the June 10 issue of JAMA.
"There is something profound, but also something superficial, about the debate that occurs every time a Supreme Court justice is nominated," Kevin Baine, a First Amendment lawyer and former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, writes in a Washington Post opinion piece in reaction to President Obama"s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. According to Baine, the "debate is profound because it probes the delicate role of an independent judiciary in a democracy," but it is "superficial when it turns into an argument over whether judges should be making law or simply interpreting it." He continues, "For a nominee, the safe answer is that the Supreme Court should interpret law." However, it would be "refreshing" if a nominee "acknowledged that courts, including the Supreme Court, make law all the time," he adds. As evidence of this, Baine writes that "basic rules and policies that govern our relations with each other were developed entirely by judges," including principles "that are not remotely controversial," such as obligations to honor contracts and being held liable for damages resulting from negligence. According to Baine, the "controversy arises principally when the court strikes down a law enacted by Congress or a state legislature," such as when the Supreme Court overturned state laws prohibiting abortion in Roe v. Wade. What makes Roe and other decisions striking down state laws controversial is "not that the court was making law but that it was remaking law enacted by elected representatives," he writes.Baine asks, "So how should a Supreme Court justice go about resolving the constitutional issues that divide the court?" He writes that senators in Sotomayor"s confirmation hearing likely will focus on specific issues, such as whether she agrees with a constitutional right to abortion. "The real debate, however, will be over who gets to decide the most controversial issues of the day -- elected representatives who are responsive to majority will or an independent judiciary that is (relatively) immune from public pressure," according to Baine. Although legislation "can be revoked at any time for any reason," a "constitutional decision by the Supreme Court ... is for all time," he adds (Baine, Washington Post, 6/9).
Weatherwood Manor, a UPMC Senior Living Community, will host a health fair from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and a blood drive from 12 to 5 p.m., Thursday, June 11. Weatherwood Manor is located at 896 Weatherwood Lane in Greensburg.
Jason Karlawish, M.D., associate professor of medicine, University of Pennsylvania, will share the latest information on Alzheimer"s disease at a community lecture at 1 p.m., Wednesday, June 10 at Rodef Shalom Congregation, 4905 Fifth Ave., Shadyside. The event is free and open to the public.
"Blog Watch" offers readers a roundup of health policy-related blog posts.Appropriately, the last of the Senate Finance Committee"s three major public roundtables on health reform issues was on finance. Keith Hennessy lauds economist Kate Baicker"s testimony (.pdf) and says it helps connect reform ideas to a system of third-party payment. Hennessy says the current system leads people to "spend more of other people"s money than they do of their own, and less wisely." Hennessy explores the example of employer-sponsored insurance, which he says makes health insurance appear less expensive to employees than it is.Meanwhile, the New Republic"s Jonathan Cohn, who has been calling attention to potential ways of financing the significant cost of reform, recommends the testimony of Center on Budget and Policy Priorities President Robert Greenstein. Greenstein testified that there are no "painless" ways of raising money for reform, and said, "This leads to my first recommendation, in the form of a plea to the Committee. Please do not take any offset options off the table at this time. I believe you ultimately will need to put together a package that contains an array of spending and revenue offsets." Offsets could include removing or limiting the tax exclusion for employer-sponsored insurance. Bob Lazsewski strenuously disagrees. He illustrates a post titled "Paying for a Big Part of Health Care Reform With New Taxes Would Be a Terrible Mistake!" with a graph of the trends in health insurance premiums over the last 20 years and says, "paying for most of health care reform by raising taxes would be nothing less than cowardly and fiscally irresponsible." He continues, "the Congress is so desperate to find money and so unwilling to anger any powerful health care special interests we better get ready for some interesting rationalizations to promote tax increases in the place of fundamental reforms."After the hearing, ranking member Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) gave a presentation at the Heritage Foundation on his preferences for bipartisan reform legislation and the Foundry"s Marguerite Higgins blogged Enzi"s key points. She says the senator wants to increase affordability, use private plans for coverage and ensure a bill is fully paid for.The White House appears to be initiating additional outreach efforts to mobilize support. Jose Antonio Vargas of the Washington Post"s Daily Dose reports that President Obama"s administration chose to send its first WhiteHouse.gov e-mail on health reform Wednesday. Vargas says, "It"s only fitting that Obama"s first official e-mail from the White House is about health care reform. As early as December, the incoming Obama administration began using new media tools to build grassroots support around the issue."Interesting elsewhere:
EUROPACE, the official congress of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), is the foremost European meeting on cardiac arrhythmias and pacing. More than 4,000 participants are expected to attend this year"s event, whose main themes are atrial fibrillation and sudden cardiac death.
Researchers at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School are a step closer to treating, and perhaps preventing, muscle damage caused by disease and aging. In their study, published in the June issue of Journal of Biological Chemistry, the scientists have linked the newly discovered protein MG53 to a pathway that repairs human muscle tissue along with the proteins caveolin-3 (Cav3) and dysferlin. Prior to this study, the underlying interactions that inhibited membrane repair in muscle tissue were unknown. Linking these proteins creates a mechanism that allows damaged membranes to be repaired, which may transform treatment for patients who suffer from severe complications of diseases such as muscular dystrophy, as well as cardiovascular disorders and conditions related to advancing age.
David Brooks, New York Times: Health care costs have become "the crucial issue of [President Obama"s] whole presidency," Times columnist Brooks writes. According to Brooks, Obama"s original plan was to fund his priorities, including education and energy, with debt that would be paid off with future savings resulting from health care reform. Brooks writes that Obama"s aides have been discussing "game-changers" -- such as health information technology, wellness programs, preventive medicine, comparative effective measures and altering reimbursement policies -- that would result in cost reductions. However, Brooks writes that most experts do not think such efforts would "produce much in the way of cost savings over the next 10 years" and that "nobody is sure" the efforts would "ever produce significant savings." Brooks writes that because "there are deep structural forces, both in Medicare and the private insurance market" that make it "nearly impossible to put together a majority coalition for a bill" challenging those structures, reform efforts this year likely will produce a "medium-size bill that expands coverage to some groups but does relatively little to control costs." Brooks concludes, "Without serious health cost cuts," Obama"s agenda "will hasten fiscal suicide" (Brooks, New York Times, 5/15).
Eisai Limited, the licence holder of Aricept® (donepezil hydrochloride) and Pfizer Limited, its co-promotion partner, have been notified by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) of their decision to continue to deny vulnerable patients the use of anti-cholinergic medicines in the treatment of mild Alzheimer"s disease.
Ninety percent of the 5.5 billion kilograms of toxic pollutant releases and transfers reported in North America in 2005 can be traced to just 30 substances from 15 industrial sectors across the United States, Canada and Mexico, according to the latest tri-national pollution report from the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC).
Paul Farmer -- founder of Partners in Health and vice chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School -- said he is in discussions with the State Department about a possible Obama administration appointment to coordinate U.S. global health initiatives, the Boston Globe reports. Farmer made the announcement Monday during a meeting with HMS faculty. Farmer said that he has not decided whether he will accept the appointment if he receives a formal offer but that he is considering it, according to the Globe. The Globe reports that it was unable to confirm whether Farmer is being considered for a full-time policy position or for an advisory role or if the appointment would be a new or existing position. Several top positions at USAID -- including administrator, deputy administrator and the assistant administrator in charge of global health are vacant, the Globe reports. These positions are presidential appointments and would require Senate confirmation. In addition, Farmer could be discussing health policy positions with the State Department. Farmer did not respond for requests seeking comment. PIH and HMS also declined comment. A spokesperson at the State Department would not discuss personnel discussions that are in progress or possible new positions. Laurie Garrett, a global health policy specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the administration"s announcement last week of a $63 billion, six-year initiative that aims to address HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other illnesses could allow new appointees the opportunity to make a significant impact in U.S. global health policy. Garrett, who has known Farmer for several years, added that she would be surprised if he is considering a government position in part because of his extensive involvement with PIH (Smith, Boston Globe, 5/15).
Commenting on the publication of the NHS Confederation report Dealing with the downturn: the greatest ever leadership challenge for the NHS, Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said:
Cancer Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB: CTHP), an emerging biotechnology business incubator with a specific emphasis on disruptive cancer treatments and nanotechnology, announced its new partner, NanoTherapies, Inc., is utilizing calcium phosphate nanoparticles to detect and treat cancer. These particles are about 350 times smaller than a human cell while providing both a safe and effective way to transport drugs and imaging materials into diseased cells.
A suite of genes that affect aggression in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been identified. By investigating male flies from a large panel of lines which each carry a mutation in a single gene but are otherwise genetically identical, researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology identified particularly angry and particularly placid insects, uncovering 59 mutations in 57 genes that affect aggressive behavior.
Mayo Clinic researchers are reporting that persons who undergo bariatric surgery may have a greater chance of experiencing broken bones, especially in their hands and feet. The study is based on a review of nearly 100 surgical cases at Mayo spanning 21 years and presented at the Endocrinology Society Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
A new report commissioned by UNICEF and CDC and recently published in the journal Lancet found that one in three girls in Swaziland has experienced sexual violence by age 18, which can lead to serious health issues such as HIV, IRIN/PlusNews reports. In addition, the researchers found that 22% of Swazi women between ages 15 and 24 are HIV-positive, noting that sexual violence could be a common HIV transmission mode among women in high-burden countries such as Swaziland. Sexual violence was defined as forced sex, coerced sex and forced touching. Five percent of girls had experienced forced sex before age 18, and coerced intercourse was reported by 9% of girls, according to the report. In addition, almost 90% of girls who had experienced sexual violence said that it first occurred between ages 13 and 17. The authors recommended that efforts to address issues surrounding sexual violence should "focus on prevention of perpetration by men of sexual violence, and since sexual- and intimate-partner violence might have common roots, local and national initiatives could be reviewed, adapted and scaled up for this purpose." According to the researchers, three-quarters of the boys and men who perpetrated the sexual violence were related or known to the girls (IRIN/PlusNews, 5/13).
Eureka! Vancouver scientists from the Ovarian Cancer Research (OvCaRe) Program at BC Cancer Agency and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute have discovered that there appears to be a single spelling mistake in the genetic code of granulosa cell tumours, a rare and often untreatable form of ovarian cancer. This means that out of the three billion nucleotide pairs that make up the genetic code of the tumour, one - the same one in every tumour sample - is incorrect. The discovery, published online June 10th in the New England Journal of Medicine, marks the beginning of a new era of cancer genomics, where the complete genetic sequence of cancers can be unravelled and the mutations that cause them exposed. For women with granulosa cell tumours it represents the first specific diagnostic tool and clear path to develop much needed treatments for this cancer.
New research by a team of scientists at the University of Cincinnati (UC) shows that bisphenol A (BPA) may be harmful for the heart, particularly in women.
Biothera has initiated a Phase II clinical trial in stage IV KRAS-mutated colorectal cancer patients with its investigational drug Imprime PGG® in combination with Erbitux® (cetuximab), the company announced today.
Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics that modulate the growth of cells and tissues including red blood cells, bone, and muscle, today announced it will provide three oral presentations on data from its ACE-031 program at the Endocrine Society"s 91st Annual Meeting to be held in Washington, DC from June 10-13, 2009. The presentations will provide results from preclinical studies highlighting the effects of its lead investigational product for treating diseases involving the loss of muscle mass and function.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common malignancy worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Type 2 diabetes mellitus has been associated with HCC. However, the relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus and the underlying liver cirrhosis, and the effects of antidiabetic therapy on HCC risk have not yet been fully evaluated.
Hundreds of people gathered at a planned rally on Wednesday at the California State Capitol in Sacramento to protest the proposed $80.1 million in budget cuts to HIV/AIDS programs in the state, which would result in an 80 percent reduction in prevention, testing and counseling programs, as well as significant cuts in programs for people living with HIV, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. According to the Chronicle, the budget plan "faces pushback from the Legislature, where the leaders of both houses have announced their strong opposition," including Sen. Mark Leno (D). At the rally, Leno urged other lawmakers to examine the possible effects of the cuts. Lisa Page, a spokesperson for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), said the governor understands the consequences of the cuts but the state is facing a $24.3 billion budget deficit and has limited options. She said, "Many of these cuts the governor would never consider except in a worst-case scenario, and this is the worst-case scenario" (Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle, 6/11).
Bionic ears, bubbles, blast waves and biofilms