Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

Experts Urge Increased Education About Diabetes During Pregnancy
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Diabetes Association next month plan to launch a joint campaign designed to raise awareness about pregnancy-related risks from diabetes, USA Today reports. An increasing number of women are either beginning pregnancies with existing Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes -- known as pre-gestational diabetes -- or developing gestational diabetes, according to Sue Kirkman, vice president of clinical affairs for ADA. Kirkman said that diabetes increases the risk for miscarriage, delivery complications, maternal health problems and birth defects. However, these risks can be reduced through preconception counseling, controlling blood sugar and maintaining a healthy weight, she said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost five of every 1,000 women ages 18 to 44 have diabetes. The majority of these women have Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity, USA Today reports. Denise Charron-Prochownik, an associate professor of health promotion at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center School of Nursing and Graduate School of Public Health, said that pre-conception education for women with existing diabetes should begin as early as age 13 but that "it"s not happening."Helain Landy, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Georgetown University Hospital, said that gestational diabetes occurs in about 4% of pregnant women. Landy said, "From an epidemiological standpoint, that is a lot." Florence Brown, co-director of the Joslin Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center"s Diabetes and Pregnancy Program, said that many women with gestational diabetes are unaware that they are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease later in life and have children who develop diabetes (Brophy Marcus, USA Today, 7/6).

Halting A Pandemic: NIH Mounts Search For A Vaccine
Bracing for an outbreak of 2009 H1N1 (swine-origin) flu that a Saint Louis University infectious diseases expert estimates could sicken one in five people this fall, scientists at eight Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are launching a series of clinical trials this summer to test vaccines to protect against the illness.
News of the day
GenWay Biotech Obtains CLIA Certification
GenWay Biotech, Inc., a US-based diagnostic company has become CLIA certified and received a California lab license. Their license currently permits the testing of immunological biomarkers. This is a very important step in the direction of commercialization of the novel innovative diagnostic tests currently being developed at GenWay. In upcoming weeks, GenWay will add new cancer biomarker tests to their portfolio as well as several infectious diseases such as sexual transmitted diseases. GenWay is seeking to obtain CAP accreditation by the end of the year.
Public Health

For HCV-Positive Liver Transplant Recipients, Some Donor Factors Affect Outcomes

Two new studies address donor factors that could affect outcomes for liver transplant recipients, particularly those with chronic hepatitis C (HCV). One found that donor steatosis, or fat in the liver, does not affect liver disease progression or three-year survival in recipients with or without HCV. However, transplants from people higher on the Donor Risk Index did adversely affect the outcomes of HCV-positive recipients more than recipients without HCV. These studies are in the June issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons. The article is also available online at Wiley Interscience (http://www.interscience.wiley.com). HCV is a common cause of end-stage liver disease. It accounts for almost half of the patients awaiting a liver transplant, 15 percent of whom will die before an organ becomes available. To address this critical shortage, researchers have searched for ways to expand the pool of potential donors. They have tried living donor liver transplantation, partial liver transplants, and the use of grafts from donors who may be less than ideal. Sub-optimal donors might include those of advanced age or with other medical conditions such as hepatic steatosis, also known as fatty liver disease, which is common in overweight individuals. Researchers led by Patrizia Burra of Padova, Italy examined the impact of donor livers with steatosis on recipients with and without HCV. They included 116 consecutive liver transplants on 56 HCV-positive and 60 HCV-negative recipients and followed-up with liver biopsies at 6, 12, 24 and 36 months. "There was no correlation between donor graft steatosis and fibrosis after liver transplantation, irrespective of the etiology of liver disease," the authors report. They also found no evidence that steatosis affected patient survival up to three years post-transplant. In another study, researchers led by Daniel Maluf of Virginia Commonwealth University performed a retrospective analysis of 16,678 patients who received a liver transplant between January 2000 and June 2006. They examined the impact of the donor risk index (DRI) on patient outcomes. "Increasing DRI was associated with a statistically significant increase in the relative risk of graft failure and patient death for both HCV-positive and HCV-negative individuals," they report. "However, HCV-positive recipients demonstrated a significantly higher increase in relative risk of patient and graft loss as a function of the DRI than HCV-negative subjects, even after adjustment for several recipient factors including MELD." Donor age was the most significant, but not the only, factor that correlated to worse outcomes. The authors concluded that high DRI grafts should be used carefully in HCV-positive patients. In an accompanying editorial, Sandy Feng of the UCSF Medical Center, supports the findings of these new studies, and highlights the need to focus on survival benefit for liver transplant recipients in a time of donor organ shortage. "It is now possible to create an allocation algorithm that can systematically and objectively account for the variable impact of donor characteristics on liver transplant outcomes within the context of recipient diagnosis and disease severity," she concludes. "I believe that this would be the most equitable and transparent way to distribute the differential risk posed by the donor pool to individual transplant candidates." Article: "Impact of the Donor Risk Index in the Outcome of HCV+ Liver Transplant Recipients." Maluf, Daniel; Edwards, Erick; Stravitz, R.; Kauffman, H. Liver Transplantation; June 2009. Article: "Donor Livers with Steatosis are Safe to Use in HCV-Positive Recipients." Burra, Patrizia; Loreno, Massimiliano; Russo, Francesco; Germani, Giacomo; Galligioni, Alessandra; Senzolo, Marco; Cillo, Umberto; Zanus, Giacomo; Fagiuoli, Stefano; Rugge, Massimo. Liver Transplantation; June 2009. Editorial: "Increased Donor Risk - Who Should Bear the Burden." Feng, Sandy. Liver Transplantation; June 2009. Sean Wagner Wiley-Blackwell


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009