Cardiovascular
A new study from Thomson Reuters found that patients with bipolar disorder were at greater risk for a wide range of medical conditions than a control group of patients with no mental health diagnoses.
Cancer researchers are turning to mathematical models to help answer important clinical questions, and a new paper in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, illustrates how the technique may answer questions about Herceptin resistance.
Healthcare Advocates Will Present Congressmembers with "Happy Birthday Medicare" Cakes-And a Plea to Improve and Expand the Beloved Program
Abortion coverage could become the next "sticking point" in debates over health reform between the House leadership and conservative Democrats, the Los Angeles Times reports. During most of the battle over a health care overhaul, abortion-related issues have taken a "back seat" to clashes between House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats over the cost of the House bill (HR 3200). However, reproductive health issues are increasingly coming into play, with some other conservative Democrats threatening to withdraw support for the bill if coverage of abortion services is not explicitly excluded from receiving federal funding. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and 18 fellow Democrats in June wrote a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stating that they "cannot support any health care proposal unless it excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan." According to the Times, Stupak has "vowed" to press Waxman to include restrictions on abortion coverage in the Energy and Commerce Committee"s version of the House bill. Abortion-rights supporter Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Rules Committee, opposes Stupak"s proposal. Slaughter spokesperson Vincent Morris said, "The starting point for Rep. Slaughter of the health care debate was protecting abortion rights."The Hyde Amendment currently prevents the use of federal Medicaid funds for abortion services. The reach of current law restrictions "grows murkier" if the government forms its own health insurance plan to compete with private insurers or creates a new market that allows the public to choose between various private plans, the Times reports. Both options are under consideration in Congress, and abortion-rights opponents fear that abortion services would be covered unless the language of the bill explicitly forbids it.Abortion-rights supporters argue that the bill would maintain the status quo, as insurance companies already are able to choose whether to cover abortion services. New government restrictions could mean that women seeking abortion coverage would have to choose a more expensive private plan rather than a lower-cost, government-subsidized option, according to abortion-rights advocates. Another concern, they say, is that insurers who currently cover abortion would discontinue that coverage to take advantage of government incentives. In a recent statement, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America said, "Opponents of women"s health and health care reform are exploiting health care reform as a way to push for unprecedented prohibitions on abortion coverage in the private marketplace."The Obama administration is attempting to remain neutral on the issue, the Times reports. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs recently said that "a benefit package is better left to experts in the medical field to determine how best and what procedures to cover." The House bill currently establishes a Health Benefits Advisory Committee to recommend which "essential benefits" should be covered under any government-supported insurance plan. In an interview with CBS News last week, President Obama said that he believes it is "appropriate for us to figure out how to just deliver on the cost savings and not get distracted by the abortion debate."According to the Times, the Obama administration"s silence on the issue is "precisely what worries" antiabortion-rights advocates. Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) said that Obama is "actually making an affirmative statement in favor of" federal funding for abortion services by not taking a stand on the issue (Oliphant, Los Angeles Times, 7/28).
A small trial testing the benefits in multiple sclerosis (MS) of a drug used to treat type II diabetes, in combination with beta-interferon-1a, has been shown to potentially prevent brain cell loss.
"No matter what form of health care reform emerges from the current debates and discussion," Congress should include a "provision to the legislation to permanently exclude abortion from taxpayer-funded health care or health insurance," Family Research Council President Tony Perkins writes in a Politico opinion piece. Although some argue that the government "cannot or should not restrict benefits when it purchases insurance, the same way it does when reimbursing directly for medical procedures," that argument "already failed when it came up in the 1990s in the context of Medicaid managed care plans," Perkins writes, adding that the Hyde Amendment was "revised to cover them, as well." There also are arguments in Congress that "if people can opt for private health insurance that funds abortion and receive a tax break for their purchase of such insurance, then poor people dependent on direct government payments for their health insurance cannot be denied similar coverage," according to Perkins. However, "this presumes that there is no difference between what people may do with their own money and what they may do with the taxpayers" money," Perkins writes, adding that such an argument "makes sense only if we assume it"s all the government"s money in the end" (Perkins, Politico, 7/28).
Breakthrough Breast Cancer scientists have taken a significant step towards personalising cancer treatment by developing a new method to predict a patient"s response to the drug Herceptin.
Researchers have identified MEK4 as a pro-invasion protein and the target for genistein, a dietary compound, in prostate cancer cells, according to a new study published online July 28 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian announced promising data from a clinical study showing patient-specific cancer vaccines derived from patients" own cancer cells and immune cells were well tolerated and resulted in impressive long-term survival rates in patients with metastatic melanoma whose disease had been minimized by other therapies.
Scientists in the UK who systematically reviewed research from the last 50 years concluded that from a nutritional point of view, organically
For many women, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can alleviate the physical symptoms associated with the change of life. But despite the initial hype generated by post-menopausal women who noticed a marked improvement in their skin"s appearance while on HRT, dermatologists argue that scientific studies of estrogen do not show definitive improvements for skin rejuvenation of photodamaged skin and the potential risks when used long-term outweigh any potential skin benefits.
Scientists in New York and North Carolina are reporting assembly of the first functioning prototype of an artificial Golgi organelle. That key structure inside cells helps process and package hormones, enzymes, and other substances that allow the body to function normally. The lab-on-a-chip device could lead to a faster and safer method for producing heparin, the widely used anticoagulant or blood thinner, the researchers note. Their study is scheduled for the Aug. 12 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a weekly publication.
Doctors are objecting to one possible provision of a reform bill - favored by the White House and Blue Dogs - that would give an independent commission more power over Medicare payments.
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) announced new data
First, Make No Mistakes The New York Times
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and ranking member, Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), on Tuesday "introduced a bill to overhaul the U.S. system for providing global development aid," the Boston Globe reports (Smith, 7/29). The legislation was also introduced by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), according to a release from Menendez"s office (7/28).
China"s Deputy Health Minister Yin Li on Tuesday said that public health cooperation between China and the U.S. can improve the health of both countries and be strategically significant to world peace and development, Xinhua/China View reports (7/29).
At the 3rd Inter-Country Certification Committee Meeting -- where policymakers and experts from South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, the WHO and UNICEF gathered to address issues surrounding polio -- the WHO"s Nicholas Eseko lauded all three countries for becoming and staying polio free, according to BuaNews. He also encouraged them to remain committed to keeping the disease at bay: "Although the number of endemic countries has significantly dropped from 125 to four, some of the previously free countries in our neighbourhood have been re-infected in recent years, therefore posing a very real risk to our children" (Khumalo, 7/27).
The Senate Appropriations Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Tuesday approved by voice vote its fiscal year 2010 spending bill draft, which excludes funding for abstinence-only sex education programs and, unlike the House bill, does not include language lifting the ban on the use of federal funding for needle exchange programs, CQ Today reports. According to the article, Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) "confirmed that the bill will not contain funding for abstinence-only education programs when the full committee marks it up on Thursday. Instead, the draft will contain funding for more comprehensive sex education, which can include teaching abstinence." Harkin also said that the Senate bill does not contain language lifting the ban on the needle exchange funding because that is "a matter for conference" (Wolfe, 7/28).
On the 16th May Member of European Parliament Magor Imre Csibi (Romanian MEP of the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats), the UK National Obesity Forum (NOF) and the Belgian Obese Patients organisation (BOLD) launched the "European Obesity Day" online survey. With excess weight and obesity increasing across Europe at an alarming rate, the online survey seeks to understand to what degree this is of concern to European citizens and what steps we think should be taken to address this pressing issue.
Men who have a regular, ongoing relationship with a health care provider are more likely to receive prostate cancer screening and less likely to be diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, regardless of their race, according to a University of North Carolina study published in the current issue of the journal Cancer.
When
Diabetes affects nearly 24 million people in the United States. The most widespread form is type 2 diabetes, accounting for about 90 to 95 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
Older people with a history of cancer are more likely to have disabilities and be frail and vulnerable than older adults who have not had cancer, according to a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, published online July 29.
Although Hispanic women tend to develop breast cancer less than Caucasian women, it is usually more aggressive and advanced when it does develop.
A unique event to discuss Autism and employment was held at Goldsmiths, University of London this week. For the first time charities, researchers, business and government were brought together to look at how people with Autism, and related disorders, can be supported effectively into employment.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has called for clarification of the responsible pharmacist requirements but will not be asking the Department of Health to amend the commencement date of the regulations.
Recycling is a critical component in the process of transmitting information from one neuron to the next, and a large protein called Tweek plays a critical role, said an international consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine in a report in the current issue of the journal Neuron.
New research has uncovered an early disruption in the process of memory formation in older humans who exhibit some early brain changes associated with Alzheimer"s disease (AD) but show little or no memory impairment. The work, published by Cell Press in the July 30th issue of the journal Neuron, sheds light on the role of amyloid protein in memory impairment and may lead to development of strategies for predicting and treating cognitive decline in individuals who are at-risk for AD.
Gestational diabetes happens in more than three per cent of pregnancies in Ontario. Usually the condition resolves itself after delivery, but many studies have shown that these women are at a very high risk for developing "regular" type 2 diabetes later in life. New research out of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) has found that even women with mild abnormalities in their blood sugar during pregnancy, previously thought not to have any clinical significance, are 2.5 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared to those who had completely normal glucose testing.
Italian and U.S. biologists this week report that a little-understood protein previously implicated in a rare genetic disorder plays an unexpected and critical role in building and maintaining healthy cells. Even more surprising, their report in the journal Nature shows that the protein, called "atlastin," does its work by fusing intracellular membranes in a previously undocumented way.
[Why Great Britain"s success in Beijing could have been anticipated and why it should continue beyond 2012
John Spence, a physicist at Arizona State University, is a longtime user of the Advanced Light at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he has contributed to major advances in lensless imaging. It"s a particularly apt propensity for someone who works with x-rays, since they can"t be focused with ordinary lenses.
A new study published in a leading medical journal today shows that in Western Cambodia, the parasites that cause malaria have developed
Patients with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased risk of infection, due to both disturbances in their immune responses and treatment with immunosuppressive drugs. Because morbidity and mortality related to influenza are increased in immunocompromised patients, it is recommended that patients with SLE get annual flu shots, which are safe and do not increase disease activity. Both antibody and cell-mediated responses are involved in the immune response to influenza; in SLE, antibody responses to the vaccine are diminished, but it is not known if the same effect is seen in cell-mediated responses. A new study was the first to examine cell-mediated responses in SLE patients prior to and following influenza vaccination. The study was published in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism .
UCLA researchers have uncovered a new way to scan brain tumors and predict which ones will be shrunk by the drug Avastin - before the patient ever starts treatment. By linking high water movement in tumors to positive drug response, the UCLA team predicted with 70 percent accuracy which patients" tumors were the least likely to grow six months after therapy.
This study consisted of 10 patients (three male and seven female) with hepatic angiomyolipoma, with a mean age of 55.1 years (age range, 19-78 years). Of these patients, dynamic contrast CT showed hepatic angiomyolipoma as a hypervascular mass with intratumoral fatty density, absence of a capsule, and prominent central vessels in six sporadic cases, and multiple, small hepatic angiomyolipomas, with or without a fat component in four cases with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and multiple hepatic angiomyolipomas were found in one patient with TSC.
UCSF researchers have identified a new potential drug target for the herpes virus that causes Kaposi"s sarcoma, re-opening the possibility of using the class of drugs called protease inhibitors against the full herpes family of viruses, which for 20 years has been deemed too difficult to attain.
With an estimated 57 million Americans with pre-diabetes, the American Diabetes Association today launches My Health Advisor, an online tool that helps people understand their personal risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. My Health Advisor is available at http://www.CheckUpAmerica.org/MHA.
Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted unanimously in favor of SAPHRIS(R) (asenapine) sublingual tablets as effective and safe for the acute treatment of manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adults and in favor of use in acute treatment of schizophrenia in adults. If approved by FDA, SAPHRIS would be the first psychotropic drug to be approved initially for both of these indications.
Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANDS) announced finalization of the protocol for the Company"s Phase II trial of ANA598 in combination with pegylated interferon-alpha and ribavirin in hepatitis C patients. Allowance of the protocol has been received from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and patient dosing is expected to commence within the next several weeks.
An estimated 428,000 residents in New Mexico could lose their private, employer-based coverage if Congress passes a House health reform bill, according to state-specific analysis of The American Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 released this week by The Heritage Foundation.
In the days leading up to Glen Deaton"s emergency trip from Trumann to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), large veins that drain blood from his brain were clotting.
Doctors" leaders are warning that unless urgent action is taken to plug the gap in the shortage of middle grade doctors, the NHS in Wales could become unsafe both for staff and patients.
According to a new report based on a government survey in 2007, in the previous 12 months Americans had spent a total of $33.9 billion out of their own pockets on
Americans spent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) over the previous 12 months, according to a 2007 government survey1. CAM is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products such as herbal supplements, meditation, chiropractic, and acupuncture that are not generally considered to be part of conventional medicine. CAM accounts for approximately 1.5 percent of total health care expenditures ($2.2 trillion2) and 11.2 percent of total out-of-pocket expenditures (conventional out-of-pocket: $286.6 billion2 and CAM out-of-pocket: $33.9 billion1) on health care in the United States.
A new education programme has been developed to provide enhanced training in genetic technologies and clinical applications for healthcare scientists working in laboratory genetics, Health Minister Ann Keen announced.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood-borne disease that causes inflammation of the liver and to which there is currently no vaccine available. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 3% of the world"s population, approximately 170 million people, are infected with HCV and it is a leading cause of liver cirrhosis, end stage liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver transplantation.
The following summarizes recent research related to ovarian cancer.~ Early periods linked to lower survival: Women who start menstruating at an early age or experience more menstrual cycles over their lifetimes appear to have a lower chance of surviving ovarian cancer, according to a study published this month in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention, Reuters reports. For the study, researcher Cheryl Robbins and colleagues analyzed the medical data of 410 ovarian cancer patients who participated in the Cancer and Steroid Hormone study between 1980 and 1982. The analysis found that the women who had their first period before age 12 had a 51% greater risk of dying than the women who began menstruating at age 14 or older. The women who had the highest number of lifetime menstrual cycles had a 67% greater risk of dying during follow-up than the women with the lowest number of cycles (Reuters, 7/24).~ Lung cancer risk higher for women after hysterectomy with ovary removal: Women who have had hysterectomies in which their uterus and both ovaries are removed to prevent ovarian cancer appear to have a higher risk for developing lung cancer, according to researchers at the University of Montreal, the New York Times reports. The researchers discovered the connection while looking for links between lung cancer and hormones for a study published in May in the International Journal of Cancer. Although they did not find a relationship between lung cancer risk and hormonal factors such as menstruation patterns, child-bearing or breastfeeding, the researchers found that women who had medically induced menopause had 1.92 times greater risk of developing lung cancer than women who had natural menopause (Caryn Rabin, New York Times, 7/24).~ Small tumors present for years before detection: Minute-sized ovarian tumors form and remain in the Fallopian tubes for an average of four years before they grow large enough to be detected, which might suggest why ovarian cancer frequently is diagnosed in its later stages, according to a study published in the journal PLoS Medicine, Reuters reports. For the study, lead researcher Patrick Brown of Stanford University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and colleagues analyzed the tumors of women whose Fallopian tubes and ovaries were removed because they had family histories of and genetic risk for ovarian cancer. They found small tumors -- most less than three millimeters in diameter -- that previously had not been detected in the women. In a statement, Brown said, "There is a long window of opportunity for potentially lifesaving early detection of this disease, but the tumor spreads while it is still much too small to be detected by any of the tests that have been developed or proposed to date." According to Reuters, blood tests for the compound called CA-125 may help guide therapy but do not indicate whether a woman has a tumor (Reuters, 7/28).
One of the "most lethal forms of sex discrimination" is the "systematic inattention to reproductive health care, from family planning to childbirth" in developing countries, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof writes. According to Kristof, a woman dies every minute somewhere in the world from pregnancy or childbirth complications, and 20 times that number suffer childbirth injuries. Providers of foreign aid, including the U.S., "have never shown much interest in maternal mortality, and impoverished women are typically the most voiceless, neglected people in their own countries -- so they die at astonishing rates," Kristof writes.Kristof highlights the childbirth experience of a 19-year-old Pakistani woman named Shazia Allahdita whose infant died in childbirth after her relatives refused to take her to the hospital because they did not want to pay for the taxi fare. Kristof writes that "[i]f men had uteruses, "paternity wards" would get res, ambulances would transport pregnant men to hospitals free of charge, deliveries would be free, and the Group of Eight industrialized nations would make paternal mortality a top priority." Kristof notes that there is "the dawn of a global movement against maternal mortality," with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon working with the U.S. and other countries to plan a "landmark global health session" on Sept. 23. The session will focus, in part, on maternal health, which Kristof terms a "milestone." He concludes, "My dream is that Barack and Michelle Obama will leap forward and adopt this cause -- and transform the prospects for so many young women like Shazia" (Kristof, New York Times, 7/29).
House Republicans Wednesday unveiled their version of health reform legislation. It offers tax credits to help people buy insurance and doesn"t require individuals or businesses to carry coverage, The Associated Press reports. The plan costs $700 billion, less than current Democratic proposals in Congress.
Congress Needs To Think Big About Medicare Fix Politico
South Africa"s Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor on Tuesday announced a government-sponsored research initiative that "aims to combat HIV and AIDS through scientific and technological research, the development of new drugs, diagnostic tests and vaccines," SAPA/IOL reports (7/28). "[K]ey focus areas" of the South Africa HIV/AIDS Research and Innovation Platform (SHARP) will be prevention and therapeutics, according to BuaNews (7/28).
It takes a spleen to mend a broken heart - that"s the conclusion of a surprising new report from researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Systems Biology, directed by Ralph Weissleder, MD, PhD. In the July 31 issue of Science the team reports how, in following up an intriguing observation, they discovered an unexpected reservoir of the immune cells called monocytes in the spleen and went on to show that these cells are essential to recovery of cardiac tissue in an animal heart attack model.
The effects of amphetamines on gene expression in zebrafish have been uncovered. This new study, published in BioMed Central"s open access journal Genome Biology, provides clues to the genetics that underlie susceptibility to addiction by describing the nad zebrafish mutant, which does not feel the rewarding effects of the drugs.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned companies in Lancashire to ensure they carry out regular, simple checks to protect employees from Legionnaires" disease.
Views are being sought on European proposals for a revised regime for regulating the placing on the market and use of biocides.
Johns Hopkins experts in applied physics, computer engineering, infectious diseases, emergency medicine, microbiology, pathology and surgery have unveiled a 7-foot-tall, $10,000 shower-cubicle-shaped device that automatically sanitizes in 30 minutes all sorts of hard-to-clean equipment in the highly trafficked hospital emergency department. The novel device can sanitize and disinfect equipment of all shapes and sizes, from intravenous line poles and blood pressure cuffs, to pulse oximeter wires and electrocardiogram (EKG) wires, to computer keyboards and cellphones.
Recent questions about the death of Michael Jackson have focused media attention on the commonly used intravenous anesthetic propofol. In the April 2009 issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, the leading clinical journal for anesthesiologists, Robert R. Kirby, James M. Colaw and Michael M. Douglas reported on a 24-year-old woman whose 2005 death was attributed to propofol toxicity.
King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: KG) announced additional information regarding the resubmission plan for the REMOXY® New Drug Application (NDA). The Company is not required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct clinical trials in order to provide additional safety or efficacy data in patients with moderate to severe chronic pain. However, as part of the resubmission plan, and in order to strengthen the NDA, King plans to conduct a likeability study and a pharmacokinetic trial in volunteers. The Company continues to anticipate the resubmission could occur mid-year 2010.
Allergan, Inc. (NYSE: AGN) announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ACUVAIL(TM) (ketorolac tromethamine ophthalmic solution) 0.45%, an advanced, preservative-free formulation of ketorolac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) indicated for the treatment of pain and inflammation following cataract surgery. Cataracts are a leading cause of blindness among older adults and cataract surgery is the most frequently performed surgical procedure in the United States, with more than 3 million procedures performed each year.1
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Genmab A/S (OMX: GEN) announced preliminary top-line results from a Phase III study of ofatumumab administered intravenously for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients who had an inadequate response to methotrexate. The study met the primary endpoint, ACR20 at 24 weeks, which indicates a 20 percent or greater improvement in the number of swollen and tender joints, as well as improvements in other disease-activity measures.
GSK announced that it has notified the European Medicines Agency of its decision to withdraw the Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) in the EU for mepolizumab for the treatment of hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES).
The Food Standards Agency (FSA), UK, issued a report last week claiming that there is no evidence of any significant benefits to human health from consuming organic foods. It is surprising that such a claim could be made from a public health agency after what could best be described as rather limited research - according to much of the British press.
As the world prepares for a probable resurgence of H1N1 in the coming months, University of Pittsburgh researchers are controlling the spread of infectious diseases virtually with a $13.4 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to establish a Center of Excellence in Modeling of Infectious Diseases. The five-year grant, part of the NIH"s Modeling of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS) program, funds the development and testing of computer simulations that will ultimately enable public health officials and policymakers to evaluate intervention strategies to contain infectious disease outbreaks.
Small synthetic fragments of genetic material called small interfering RNA (siRNA) can block production of abnormal proteins; however, these exciting new drug candidates can also induce a strong immune response, causing toxic side effects. Understanding how siRNA stimulates this undesirable immune activity, how to test for it, and how to design siRNA drugs to avoid it are critical topics explored in a timely review article published online ahead of print in Oligonucleotides, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
"The U.N. unveiled a multimillion dollar strategy a dozen years ago to save children worldwide, but a new [Lancet] study has found the program had surprisingly little effect in Bangladesh, one of the world"s poorest countries," the Associated Press reports. Since 1997, when the WHO and UNICEF launched the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) Program to help reduce the numbers of deaths in children under age 5 from diarrhea, pneumonia, measles and malnutrition, more than 100 countries have adopted the program, drawing upon "millions" in aid, according to the news service.
A study, "Prenatal Origins of Poor Sleep in Children," in the Aug.1 issue of the journal SLEEP found that alcohol consumption during pregnancy and small body size at birth predict poorer sleep and higher risk of sleep disturbances in 8-year-old children born at term. Findings are clinically significant, as poor sleep and sleep disturbances in children are associated with obesity, depressive symptoms, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and poor neurobehavioral functioning.
Adults who struggle with CPAP treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) should be considered candidates for reconstructive surgery on the upper airway, because it holds the same quality-of-life (QOL) benefits but with more permanence. This thesis is in new research published in the August 2009 edition of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
Patient satisfaction with their medications and the quality of interactions with their doctor reflect the success of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) therapy, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.
Transposons are mobile genetic elements found in the hereditary material of humans and other organisms. They can replicate and the new copies can insert at novel sites in the genome. Because this threatens the whole organism, molecular mechanisms have evolved which can repress transposon activity. Professor Klaus Förstemann of the Gene Center of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich and a team of researchers working with the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster have now uncovered a new type of cellular defence that acts against DNA sequences present in high copy numbers inside the cell, even if they have not integrated into the genome. Small molecules of RNA (a class of nucleic acid closely related to the genetic material DNA) play the central role. "Transposons are genomic parasites, so to speak", says Förstemann. "If they are allowed to proliferate, the genome can become unstable or cancers can develop. We now want to find out whether mammalian cells possess this newly discovered defence mechanism and to elucidate precisely how it works." (EMBO Journal online, 30 July 2009.)
The ghrelin hormone not only stimulates the brain giving rise to an increase in appetite, but also favours the accumulation of lipids in visceral fatty tissue, located in the abdominal zone and considered to be the most harmful. This is the conclusion of research undertaken at Metabolic Research Laboratory of the University Hospital of Navarra, published recently in the International Journal of Obesity.
UroToday.com - In this paper, we investigated 809 prostate cancer patients subjected to >10 cores at initial or repeat prostate biopsy from two prospective, multi-center studies from Europe and North America It has been demonstrated that the urinary marker Prostate CAncer gene 3 (PCA3) represents a novel prostate cancer (PCa) detection marker capable of increasing accuracy of multivariable biopsy nomograms.[1] The paper reports the first PCA3-based nomograms which accurately identify individuals at risk of harboring PCa (AUC=0.73). If a PCA3 score in combination with established risk factors is available, this novel tool assists clinicians in deciding whether further prostatic evaluation is necessary.
UroToday.com - We performed a retrospective review of retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) patients with high risk features (>30% embryonal carcinoma, with or without lymphovascular invasion) and compared primary (P-RPLND) versus post-chemotherapy (PC-RPLND) patients. The average percent embryonal carcinoma between P-RPLND vs. PC-RPLND was 75.3 vs. 71.2%, respectively. The average LVI between P-RPLND vs. PC-RPLND was 53.4 vs. 61.4%, respectively.
"American seniors have a lot at stake in this health care reform debate and
Data presented today at the 8th European Congress on Menopause
The Turner Syndrome Society of the United States (TSSUS) recently concluded its 22nd Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon. The conference drew more than 350 individuals, families, researchers and health care professionals to network and learn about the latest research breakthroughs benefiting women and girls with TS.
AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company leveraging breakthrough discoveries in cancer biology to discover, develop and commercialize targeted oncology therapies, today announced data which demonstrates that tivozanib (AV-951) - the company"s oral, triple VEGF receptor inhibitor - exhibits potent anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor activity in AVEO"s proprietary in vivo lung cancer models. Specifically, treatment with tivozanib resulted in complete tumor growth inhibition or tumor regression (shrinkage) in lung tumors driven by EGFR or KRAS mutations, which are especially difficult to treat. These data are being presented today at the 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) in San Francisco, abstract number PD10.1.5.
Thomson Reuters with Discovery Logic, Inc. announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has chosen Web of Science((R)) data to power the NIH electronic Scientific Portfolio Assistant (eSPA). eSPA is an information technology system designed to assist NIH grants management officials in creating grant portfolios and tracking research outputs and outcomes, including publications and citations.
As a bright, young cheerleader trying out for the high school varsity squad, 14-year-old Laura Jackson had everything going for her.
Authorities in China confirmed that a third man has died of pneumonic plague in Ziketan, Qinghai Province, China. The town has been sealed off. The 64-year-old man lived near the other two men who died, officials said.
"A week-old agreement among House Democrats to smooth out disparities in the way Medicare reimburses rural and urban health providers is in danger of crumbling, as disputes erupted Friday over what actually was agreed to," The Wall Street Journal reports. "Some lawmakers from states with high health-care costs are also pressing House Democratic leaders for changes to the deal to ensure that their doctors and hospitals don"t see too big of a bite. ò€¦ Lawmakers from populous areas are questioning whether the deal on geographic disparities should be altered to allow more time for Medicare changes to take effect, since there is no longer the urgency of putting those changes into effect before the public option is rolled out. Another issue is for how long a period of time after changes go into effect urban hospitals should be "held harmless," meaning they won"t see their Medicare reimbursements cut" (Vaughan, 8/2).
California"s experience with insurance exchanges could prove a valuable lesson for the nation"s flirtation with such pools for covering large numbers of people, The Wall Street Journal reports.
A new deal to balance California"s budget may have serious repercussions for the health of the state"s children, while South Carolina grapples with health cuts of its own. Meanwhile, New Jersey may become one of the first states to publically disclose hospital errors.
Scientists have discovered a new strain of HIV in a 62-year-old woman from Cameroon that "differs from the three known strains ò€¦ and appears to be closely related to a form of simian virus recently discovered in wild gorillas" according to a study in today"s edition of the journal Nature Medicine, AP/Washington Times reports. The study was funded by the NIH and the Tietze Foundation (8/3). "The discovery of this novel HIV-1 lineage highlights the continuing need to watch closely for the emergence of new HIV variants, particularly in western central Africa, the origin of all existing HIV-1 groups," researchers note in the study (Reuters, 8/3). According to the AP/San Francisco Chronicle, the woman had no contact with gorillas or meat from wild animals and "currently shows no signs of AIDS and remains untreated, though she still carries the virus, the researchers said." The article adds, "How widespread this strain is remains to be determined. Researchers said it could be circulating unnoticed in Cameroon or elsewhere."
The Washington Post examines the devastating toll the conflict in the Congo has had on the health of the country"s displaced civilians, as told through the death of a 36-year-old farmer, who succumbed to typhoid fever far away from the home he abandoned. The newspaper writes, "By some estimates, at least 5 million Congolese have died in more than a decade of conflict touched off by the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda, which sent a flood of militiamen across the border into mineral-rich eastern Congo."
North Dakota Judge Douglas Herman failed to issue a temporary injunction on Thursday to prevent a state law from going into effect that requires abortion clinics to offer women the chance to view ultrasound images 24 hours prior to obtaining an abortion, the AP/Bismarck Tribune reports. Judge Herman promised to issue an opinion "as soon as possible" on the constitutional challenge to the state law, which is set to take effect on Aug. 1. The Center for Reproductive Rights filed the challenge, arguing that it creates an unnecessary burden on a woman"s right to an abortion.The group also said that a provision in the law is confusing and that the state"s only abortion provider is unsure how to comply. According to the AP/Tribune, the provision in question reads: "The auscultation of the fetal heart tone must be of a quality consistent with standard medical practice in the community." Suzanne Stolz, an attorney for CRR, said the bill"s language could require the Red River Women"s Clinic -- the only abortion clinic in the state -- to offer women the chance to hear audio of the fetal heartbeat in addition to the ultrasound image. She added that the clinic "cannot afford to guess what the law means and hope that it is right."Assistant Attorney General Douglas Bahr said that the law requires the clinic only to offer the option of an ultrasound, not provide one. He added that most people understand that an ultrasound includes both images and audio and that he does not "know why the clinic doesn"t feel it can offer this to the patient." Cass County state"s attorney Birch Burdick, a co-counsel with Bahr, said that although some of the language in the law is "a little confusing," he would not prosecute clinic officials if they make an attempt to apply the law until the judge rules.Tammi Kromenaker, the director of the clinic, said, "We"re disappointed that we did not get an injunction today but we felt that some of our questions were answered," adding that the clinics had offered women the option of viewing an ultrasound for the last 18 months (Kolpack, AP/Bismarck Tribune, 7/31).
Entire populations of North American fish already are being affected by several emerging diseases, a problem that threatens to increase in the future with climate change and other stresses on aquatic ecosystems, according to a noted U.S. Geological Survey researcher gave an invited talk on this subject yesterday at the Wildlife Disease Association conference in Blaine, Wash.
Survivors of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma are eight times more likely to have chronic health conditions, less likely to be married, and more likely to have lower incomes than their siblings, according to a study published online July 31 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Brain scientists and cardiac surgeons at Johns Hopkins have evidence from 227 heart bypass surgery patients that long-term memory losses and cognitive problems they experience are due to the underlying coronary artery disease itself and not ill after-effects from having used a heart-lung machine.
Middle aged people who smoke, have high blood pressure or diabetes are far more likely to develop dementia in later life, suggests research published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
Boehringer Ingelheim announced today at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer"s 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC), San Francisco, CA, the initiation of a Phase III clinical study of BIBW 2992 as first-line treatment in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. BIBW 2992 (planned brand name Tovok™) is the first orally-administered, irreversible dual inhibitor of EGFR and HER2,1 to reach Phase III development in NSCLC.2
Colorectal cancer, the second most common cause of death from cancer in the United States, is associated with an abnormally high rate of increase in the number of cells lining the colon (colonic hyperproliferation). In mice, overexpression of the human protein progastrin has been shown to cause colonic hyperproliferation and promote colorectal cancer, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this have remained undetermined.
Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas) sent a letter to President Obama yesterday accepting his invitation to "come over to the White House and go over line-by-line" the health care reform plan the President is pushing.
UCLA scientists have discovered a way to measure the amount of amyloid beta that is being absorbed by immune cells in the blood. Amyloid beta forms the plaques considered the hallmark of Alzheimer"s disease, and if the immune system isn"t adequately clearing amyloid beta, it may indicate Alzheimer"s risk, according to the researchers.
Of the 600,000-800,000 people trafficked across international borders each year, 50 percent are under 17. It is estimated that by 2010, human trafficking will be the No. 1 crime worldwide.
DOR BioPharma, Inc., (OTC Bulletin Board: DORB) (DOR or the Company), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today that the Office of Orphan Products Development of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to Oral BDP (beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate, or orBec((R))) for the treatment of gastrointestinal symptoms associated with chronic Graft-versus-Host disease (cGVHD) in patients who have undergone allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.
PEAK Surgical, Inc. announced the launch of the PEAK((R)) PlasmaBlade TnA (Tonsil and Adenoid) tissue dissection device following 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This new product is indicated for cutting and coagulation of soft tissue during otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat [ENT]) surgery, including removal of the tonsils and adenoids.
Eczema is a chronic skin disorder characterized by dry, itchy, scaly skin and rashes. It is commonly known as "the itch that rashes." (1) While the exact cause of eczema is not known, it appears to result from a complex interaction of factors including personal and family genetics, immune response and environmental factors. (2)
Over the weekend, a series of protests at Democratic events meant to promote health reform "organized by loose-knit coalition of conservative voters and advocacy groups, were a raucous start to what is expected to be weeks of political and ideological clashes over the health care overhaul," the New York Times reports. "Republicans said that the protests were just the beginning of spontaneous opposition to the health care proposals and that they would only gain momentum as Americans learn more about the legislation." But Democrats said they were only an effort to block discourse, and were anything but a grass-roots campaign. "This is a very coordinated effort," said one Democratic Congressman who was confronted by protestors at a grocery store (Herszenhorn and Stolberg, 8/3).
DNA-Prokids (http://www.dna-prokids.org), an international project on human trafficking prevention and fight using genetic identification of victims and their relatives, was officially presented, at the University of Granada (UGR) headquarters, in Spain.
Kaiser A small, rural hospital in Missouri is "rolling the dice" on electronic medical records, its CEO tells the Associated Press. The 47-bed hospitals borrowed nearly $1 million to implement an electronic records system, and that"s on top of a $370,000 operating deficit and staff layoffs. The executives are banking on a government bailout in the form of a "$3 million windfall" of stimulus-funded incentives for hospitals to switch to electronic record-keeping.
Congressional Quarterly examines a "three-page concept paper" issued by the House Foreign Affairs Committee that lays out a plan to overhaul U.S. foreign aid. The committee suggests "giving the administration greater flexibility to control aid in exchange for greater public oversight and a performance- and need-driven allocation system," the news service writes. "The plan would reorganize aid programs around seven purposes, including "reducing poverty and alleviating human suffering," "supporting human rights and democracy," and "expanding prosperity through trade and investment,"" according to CQ. The House committee wants to enhance USAID"s role, "giving the agency a seat on the National Security Council and putting it in charge of the U.S. global AIDS plan and the Millennium Challenge Corporation," the news service writes.
The Guardian examines British Prime Minister Gordon Brown"s offer "to help some of the world"s poorest countries to make healthcare free - starting with pregnant women and children - in a push to widen access to doctors across Africa and Asia." According to the newspaper, the "Department for International Development (DfID) is among the largest donors to many developing countries, and has pledged to spend 6 billion pounds [about $10.2 billion] on health by 2015. Brown hopes to use an expanding aid budget to influence the way public services are delivered on the ground."
Minnesota"s only storefront needle exchange drop-in center, called Access Works!, "fell victim to economic hard times and federal anti-drug policies" and ended its program last week after 13 years, the Minnesota Independent reports. The program "traded used needles for clean ones, conducted HIV and Hepatitis C testing, taught overdose prevention, held support groups and connected users with chemical dependency treatment experts," according to the Independent. Federal funding cannot be used to administer needles for such programs, Lauri Wollner, executive director of the program said. She added, "The federal ban has had a long-term impact. We spend almost $40,000 a year on needles and about $5,000 a year on disposal (of used needles)." Private donations also have been down, she said. While the ban on the use of federal funding for needle exchange is being revisited by Congress, "local needle-exchange activists say it is doubtful that congressional action will be able to save the struggling organization," the article states (Birkey, 8/3).
The Boston Public Health Commission has allocated $100,000 to a new campaign that uses social networking sites and other media outlets to raise sexual health awareness among teenagers, the Boston Globe reports. The city is facing increasing rates of sexually transmitted diseases among those age 15 to 19, according to the Globe. The new campaign will include educational videos featuring teenagers that will air on the MTV, FX and BET television networks; radio and mass transit advertisements; and theater performances. Facebook, YouTube and other social networking sites also will be used to reach teenagers with safer sex messages. Officials hope to address teenagers" "casual attitudes" toward sexually transmitted diseases, the Globe reports. Lydia Shrier, an adolescent medicine specialist at Children"s Hospital Boston, said teenagers might say ""Hey, I may get HIV, but it"s treatable and I"m going to live." It"s not a death sentence to them" (Smith, 8/4).
The Shreveport Times profiled the 20-year-old Shreveport, La.-based Philadelphia Center, an agency that provides HIV/AIDS services to "an average of nearly 600 people each year in northwest Louisiana" and provides "about 1,400 free HIV tests each year." The organization also has a residential program called the Mercy Center, "a haven for homeless people with HIV or those fighting addiction and other challenges," according to the Times. The center in large part is supported by an annual auction from which proceeds "help the agency operate support groups, coordinate medical, dental and housing services for clients, provide food and medicine to people and offer free, on-the-spot HIV testing," the article states. The center recently opened a satellite office in a nearby town in response to an increase in HIV infections in the area (Brumble 8/2).
Elderly individuals who have a report of self-neglect or abuse submitted to a social service agency have an associated increased risk of death, according to a study in the August 5 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.
Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin will participate in a $3 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fight influenza and other diseases by creating models that simulate the complex interplay between human behavior and the spread of disease.
A widely publicized analysis of social network size, which reported dramatically increasing social isolation when it was published in 2006, has sparked an academic debate in the August issue of the American Sociological Review (ASR), the flagship journal of the American Sociological Association.
Three cases of patients suffering from the adverse affects of steroid-enriched dietary supplements have been reported by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital.
Although lead content in paint has been restricted in the United States since 1978, University of Cincinnati (UC) environmental health researchers say in major countries from three continents there is still widespread failure to acknowledge its danger and companies continue to sell consumer paints that contain dangerous levels of lead.
The fight against obesity has stepped up a gear with the
As of Wednesday, July 29, the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) reported 150 lab-confirmed cases of novel H1N1 influenza A (Swine Flu) in Arkansas in residents from 38 of the state"s 75 counties. There have been no deaths due to H1N1 influenza A in Arkansas.
Consumers should be warned about the dangers of eating untreated bitter lupin beans after two people who consumed products containing the beans became ill with anticholinergic syndrome, according to an article in the Medical Journal of Australia.
People who inject drugs may be less likely to inject buprenorphine-naloxone than other opioid substitutes, according to the results of a recent study published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
The GP leading on swine flu for the BMA has told Pulse the planned vaccination campaign will be delayed by "at least six weeks". Such a delay would ruin the Government"s plans of having the first doses of swine flu vaccine available by the end of August. Instead, the vaccine would not become available until October at the earliest - when a major surge of swine flu cases is expected.
Cancer Centers of North Carolina, an affiliate of US Oncology, Inc., continues to offer cutting-edge treatment options to its patients through the addition of High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy. This latest advance in brachytherapy allows physicians to deliver precise radiation treatment to a patient"s cancerous tumor and is rapidly becoming the treatment of choice for certain types of cancer.
Sixteen communities in Connecticut, Kentucky and Tennessee have been selected to build statewide networks to help reduce childhood obesity rates, the YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) announced today. These communities will be part of Y-USA"s Activate America(R): Pioneering Healthier Communities (PHC) initiative. Y-USA, the national re office for the nation"s 2,686 YMCAs, will draw on its successful, community-level PHC model, applying its experiences and existing networks of YMCA State Alliances to support policy, environmental and systems changes in the three states.
In today"s troubled economy, saving money is a hot topic. No matter what gets cut from your budget, however, experts at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center believe that healthy choices to prevent cancer shouldn"t be on the list.
A gut hormone first described in 1928 plays an unanticipated and important role in the remote control of blood sugar production in the liver, according to a report in the August 6th Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. What"s more, the researchers show that rats fed a high-fat diet for a few days become resistant to the glucose-lowering hormone known as cholecystokinin (CCK).
Nationally, about ten percent of women in the US are recalled for a second mammogram after an abnormality is detected on the first one - for most women this can be very stressful. However the use of digital breast tomosynthesis and full-field digital mammography combined may be associated with a substantial decrease in recall rate, according to a study performed at UPMC in Pittsburgh, PA. Some researchers believe that digital breast tomosynthesis depicts the breast tissue in a way which may allow radiologists to identify some tumors which could be missed with standard two-dimensional mammography.
President Obama and his Administration launched "a coordinated effort Tuesday to combat what it calls a "viral whisper campaign" against health reform, Politico reports. The effort "continued through the day with press secretary Robert Gibbs and Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse both saying a series of confrontational town hall meetings were manufactured by Republicans, conservative groups and lobbyists who are paid to drum up opposition."
"As if hedging their bets on health reform, Democrats are emphasizing smaller but still significant health-related investments this year, from food safety and community health centers to a greater emphasis on rooting out abuses in Medicare and Medicaid," Politico reports. "It"s a far cry from the more ambitious government-backed insurance option proposed by President Barack Obama and House Democrats. But it does add up to a major expansion of the government"s role in public health - and one that shows a greater willingness to add personnel to regulate and administer programs."
Americans appear split over the president"s push for health care reform, a new CNN poll has found. "Fifty percent of those questioned in CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday morning say they support the president"s plans, with 45 percent opposed. The results indicate a generational divide. ""Obama"s plan is most popular among younger Americans and least popular among senior citizens," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "A majority of Americans over the age of 50 oppose Obama"s plan; a majority of those under 50 support it.""
The Associated Press reports: "Health care legislation before Congress would allow a new government-sponsored insurance plan to cover abortions, a decision that would affect millions of women and recast federal policy on the divisive issue. Federal funds for abortions are now restricted to cases involving rape, incest or danger to the health of the mother. Abortion opponents say those restrictions should carry over to any health insurance sold through a new marketplace envisioned under the legislation, an exchange where people would choose private coverage or the public plan. Abortion rights supporters say that would have the effect of denying coverage for abortion to millions of women who now have it through workplace insurance and are expected to join the exchange. Advocates on both sides are preparing for a renewed battle over abortion, which could jeopardize political support for President Barack Obama"s health care initiative aimed at covering nearly 50 million uninsured and restraining medical costs" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 8/5).
"Attempts to set billions aside for infrastructure projects like bike paths face an uphill battle on Capitol Hill," The Chicago Tribune reports, adding "GOP legislators see no health savings in parks and similar projects," while advocates say preventive efforts will bring down costs. "A draft Senate bill would provide up to $10 billion annually for a "prevention and public health investment fund" -- a portion of which could be used for projects such as bike paths, sidewalks, farmers markets and other community interventions meant to curb chronic and costly conditions like obesity."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday in Kenya "re-affirmed the new U.S. administration"s commitment towards expanding its partnership with African countries, expressing optimism in the continent"s long-term potential for growth and development," VOA News reports. Speaking at the African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum in Nairobi, which marked the start of her 11-day trip to Africa, Clinton "also stressed to the delegates that economic progress is tied directly to good governance (Boswell, 8/5). Clinton"s message was that the "new American policy for Africa would be trade not aid," according to the New York Times. She told the forum, "We want to be your partner, not your patron" (Gettleman, 8/5).
"India has asked UNICEF to stop distributing millions of dollars worth of nutrition aid to children, saying it had been done without permission and at the expense of local food to fight hunger," Reuters reports. Since August 2008, UNICEF has invested about $2.4 million importing "a high energy relief treatment known as "Ready to Use Therapeutic Food" (RUTF)" for children with severe acute malnutrition in the states of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, according to the news service (Williams, 8/4).
"You"ll feel better after a good night"s sleep." We"ve all heard those words, but have we ever stopped to wonder about the mental health of people who just aren"t able to sleep well? Rachel Manber has, and the Stanford University School of Medicine researcher is trying to identify the best way to treat patients suffering from both depression and insomnia.
Direct Flow Medical, Inc. a privately held, emerging medical device Company developing a next generation, minimally invasive implant to treat patients with heart valve disease announced the issuance of its 5th patent on their Percutaneous Aortic Valve (PAV) Technology. The patent (USP# 7,534,259) entitled: "Nonstented Heart Valves with Formed in situ Support" provides further protection for this second generation PAV device.
Investigators from the Phase III TRITON-TIMI 38 study applied the new classification system for the Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction to the results of the study and showed that patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and taking prasugrel, as compared with patients taking clopidogrel (Plavix(R)/Iscover(R)), experienced reduced risk of heart attack regardless of heart-attack type (procedural related or spontaneous), size or timing over a 15-month period. The new Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction (1) was developed in 2007 by the Joint European Society of Cardiology, American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and the World Heart Federation Task Force. This post hoc analysis was published in Circulation online on May 18, 2009.(2)