Medical Devices
Vetericyn Inc., a California-based animal healthcare company, has announced the launch of its new Vetericyn™ equine product, available in a 16-ounce trigger spray for horses. Vetericyn™ utilizes an FDA-cleared technology that has been used to successfully treat over one million human patients without a single serious adverse effect. Now, the innovative topical wound-care product is available to the animal healthcare market.
A possible government rethink into the "flawed and expensive" private financing of NHS hospitals has been welcomed by Unite, the largest union in the country.
In response to a study published in The Journal of Nutrition (1) which showed how eating peanuts reduced the risk of heart attack in women with type two diabetes, British Heart Foundation (BHF) cardiac nurse Ellen Mason said:
Evidence suggests that outcomes in many clinical settings leave a lot to be desired, which means that research into quality improvement (QI) in clinical care has the potential to greatly improve the lot of patients. Now a study in the journal Medical Care Research and Review published by SAGE suggests that both theoretical and practical improvements in QI effectiveness studies could make these into much more powerful tools for positive change.
Quantitative assessments of patient quality of life are becoming increasingly important in the context of clinical trials. In addition to establishing benchmark score differences that are useful when interpreting study results, Minimal Important Differences (MIDs) inform discussions of clinically meaningful change in patient status.
Bosentan appears to be a more cost-effective initial treatment option for patients with moderate pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), classified as WHO functional class III, than no active intervention.
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) commended
Michigan lawmakers introduced health reform packages this week, the Detroit News reports. On Thursday, state senators introduced a bipartisan package of health care bills aimed at expanding health insurance coverage to the state"s 1.2 million uninsured residents. The package, named MI Health, would establish two state health plans that provide the residents with more affordable and accessible coverage options.MI Access would expand the state Medicaid program to include residents with annual incomes under 200% of the federal poverty level, and beneficiaries would contribute copayments for services and medications. MI Coverage would provide subsidized coverage options for residents with annual incomes at 200% to 300% of the poverty level. Fees for residents under MI Coverage would be set according to their health levels and habits (Bouffard, Detroit News, 5/14). The proposed legislation package also would create a state fund that pays for insurance claims exceeding $25,000, or up to $250,000 per year, with health plans making contributions to the fund. In addition, the package proposes to bar commercial insurers from rejecting coverage for applicants with chronic conditions or increasing their premiums if they have been previously diagnosed with a chronic condition (Anstett, Detroit Free Press, 5/15).
UCLA Health Policy Research Brief: Health Coverage in the Safety Net: How California"s Coverage Initiative Is Providing A Medical Home to Low-Income Uninsured Adults in Ten Counties, Interim Findings -- As medical homes continue to gain attention for being used as "a potential remedy to access system-wide problems of high health care costs and limited access," a team of UCLA researchers "present interim findings on the efforts of ten California counties to explore the medical home model as part of the state"s Health Care Coverage Initiative (HCCI), a three-year program to expand health care coverage for eligible low-income, uninsured individuals not otherwise covered by Medi-Cal" in a policy brief. "Among the innovations described are efforts to create electronic health and medical records, modify e-referrals to two-way communication between primary care physicians and other providers and standardize chronic disease registries" (6/09).
Several Democratic female senators on Wednesday took to the floor in a series of speeches praising Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor and highlighting her judicial qualifications, the Boston Globe"s "Political Intelligence" reports. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) -- a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee -- was joined by Sens. Mary Landrieu (La.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.) and Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.).In her address, Klobuchar said that Sotomayor"s experience "particularly resonated with me," adding that Sotomayor "understands the law is not just some dusty book in your basement" and that its interpretation has consequences. McCaskill said that Sotomayor is a nominee with "integrity, grit, intellect and the ability to pass judgment in the most difficult intellectual challenges that face a Supreme Court justice."According to "Political Intelligence," the floor speeches came after Klobuchar and others praised Sotomayor"s nomination at Monday"s annual convention of the left-leaning legal organization the American Constitution Society. In her speech, Klobuchar defended Sotomayor against conservative critics who have questioned the nominee"s temperament, citing complaints that Sotomayor was impatient with unprepared lawyers. Klobuchar said that she is "hoping that we would get to a point in this country where we could be appointing and confirming as many as rough and to-the-point female judges as we have appointed male judges" ("Political Intelligence," Boston Globe, 6/24).
Hundreds of health care leaders from throughout the state gathered Wednesday evening in Lake George as the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) presented its 30th annual Distinguished Service Award, its highest honor, to New York State"s health care auxiliaries. Since 1979, HANYS has awarded the Distinguished Service Award to individuals who demonstrate their extraordinary commitment to improving health care through service to their community.
The Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) presented its 2009
Research published recently in Science Express from the journal Science demonstrates the first definitive link between mutations in the gene DICER1 and cancer. By studying the patterns of DNA from 11 families with an unusual predisposition to the rare childhood lung cancer pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB) investigators found that children with the cancer carried a mutation in one of their two DICER1 gene copies.
For years, proponents have touted the benefits of embryonic stem cell research, but the potential therapies still face hurdles. Side effects such as tumor development, a lack of an effective and long-term animal model to test new therapies, and genetic incompatibility between the host and donor cells are some of the problems faced by researchers. Now, scientists at the University of Missouri have developed the ability to take regular cells from a pig"s connective tissues, known as fibroblasts, and transform them into stem cells, eliminating several of these hurdles. The new study appeared in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) President and CEO Jim Greenwood issued the following statement regarding the letter sent yesterday from the Obama Administration to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman regarding biosimilars:
A revolutionary new protein stabilisation technique has been developed by scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) which could lead to 30 per cent more proteins being available as potential targets for drug development - opening up exciting possibilities in drug discovery.
Veritide Ltd., a developer of innovative biological identification and detection solutions, today reported that new independent data to be presented at the Biodetection Technologies 2009 conference confirm the exceptional accuracy of its Ceeker™ (pronounced "seeker") portable bacterial detection device in discriminating between anthrax spores and similar-looking hoax substances. The data show that in over two weeks of testing at the Midwest Research Institute in Florida, the company"s Ceeker scanner accurately identified 100% of the anthrax samples used and was correct in 95% of tests involving hoax substances. These test results are consistent with similar results produced last year by a New Zealand forensic testing agency, Environmental Science and Research (ESR).
Contrary to predictions, males of high genetic quality are not very successful when it comes to fertilizing eggs. A new study on seed beetles by Swedish and Danish scientists Goran Arnqvist and Trine Bilde shows that when a female mates with several males, the males of low genetic quality are the most successful in fertilizing eggs. The study is published in this week"s issue of Science.
The widely used antidepressant and pain medication amitriptyline--but not other closely related drugs -- can impersonate the brain"s own growth factors, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have shown.
Every 16 hours, give or take, the brain"s hippocampus makes six to nine thousand new neurons in the dentate gyrus, the portion of the brain which is believed to play a significant role in the preservation of episodic, or autobiographical, memory.
The American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) is very disappointed with Wanda Sykes" comedic comments regarding kidney failure and Rush Limbaugh at the White House Correspondent Dinner over the weekend. While Ms. Sykes" comments were most likely made in a light-hearted manner, hundreds of thousands of kidney disease patients and their loved ones do not see kidney failure as a laughing matter. Nearly 400,000 Americans are receiving dialysis as a life saving treatment for kidney failure and 26 million Americans have been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which means they are at risk for losing their kidney function. In addition, 20 million Americans are at risk for CKD and do not even know it.
"Eradicating global poverty starts with the health of the world"s poor," Bill Frist, former U.S. Senate Majority leader and currently a member of the Millennium Challenge Corporation"s (MCC) Board of Directors, writes in a Charlotte Observer opinion piece. "It starts with empowering them physically to contribute to the vitality of their countries," Frist says, which "makes as much good sense for the world"s poor as for our collective international economic growth."Frist says that Obama"s recent proposal of a six-year $63 billion global health initiative is "bold," and the "smart use of res improves the health of the world"s poorest and strengthens the global economic climate for us all." He writes that it"s important not to overlook "other factors that directly affect global health," such as roads and water and sanitation systems. He points to the U.S. government"s Millennium Challenge Corporation, which "takes a holistic approach to global health, laying the groundwork for poverty reduction and economic development.""By building healthier, hopeful, and productive communities, we build safer and more secure societies that can alleviate global poverty and contribute to global prosperity," Frist writes. "When communities are productive and thriving they don"t become breeding grounds for dangerous extremism" (Frist, Charlotte Observer, 5/14).
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a highly contagious viral infection that can lead to paralysis, breathing problems, or even death. The term poliomyelitis is from the Greek poliÃös meaning "grey", myelÃös referencing the spinal cord, and -itis meaning inflammation.
Laboratoires Pierre Fabre announce that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the scientific advisory committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), has issued a positive opinion supporting approval and is recommending to grant marketing authorisation for JAVLOR(R) as monotherapy in metastatic treatment of bladder cancer (advanced or metastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelial tract after failure of a prior platinum-containing regimen).
An additional 535 confirmed human cases of Swine Flu A(H1N1) cases have been confirmed in the England, plus 111 in Scotland, 5 in Northern Ireland, and 3 in Wales, bringing the UK total so far since April 2009 to 4,250, says the Health Protection Agency (HPA). The HPA informs that the infection can be effectively treated with antiviral medication. The majority of UK cases have been mild, the agency says, and people have recovered fully after treatment.
Women who have depression symptoms prior to becoming pregnant are at an increased risk for having preterm births, with the risk twice as high for black women as for white women, according to a study in the Journal of Women"s Health, Reuters reports. For the study, Amelia Gavin of the University of Washington and colleagues examined the links between race, preterm birth and pre-pregnancy depressive mood among 555 women. The study used data collected from 1990-1996 as part of a larger, long-term investigation of heart disease risk.Researchers determined that 18.1% of the 249 black women in the study gave birth prior to 37 weeks" gestation, compared with 8.5% of the 306 white women in the study. The study also found that 9.4% of black women had pre-pregnancy symptoms of depressive mood, compared with 7.2% of white women. After researchers accounted for other factors associated with preterm birth, such as body weight and sociodemographic characteristics, black women"s risk remained more than twice that of white women.Gavin said, "The black-white disparity in preterm birth may be in part a consequence of different exposures to depressive mood prior to pregnancy." She said, "Reproductive outcomes must be viewed in light of women"s health over the entire life-course, as well as during pregnancy," adding that the study"s results suggest that "the experience of cumulative health disadvantages or "weathering"" might play a role in increased risk for preterm birth (Hendry, Reuters, 6/25).
NPR began a series of reports on the health care lobbyists who attend Congressional sessions as part of their campaign. Richard Miller, a "longtime lobbyist for the American Chiropractic Association, says it"s important that the chiropractors keep on top of the health care overhaul legislation - and also take pains to make sure that senators and staff see them doing that, because the chiropractors are small dogs in a big fight." President Barack Obama "certainly sees Washington"s lobbyists as an obstacle to change. He"s tried limiting their access to the executive branch, but that runs into the constitutional question." Lobbying is on the rise: "Between 1998 and 2008, the number of registered lobbyists on health care more than doubled, to 3,627, according to the Center for Responsive Politics." Spending also increased: "Organizations lobbying on health care spent $484.4 million in 2008, more than two and a half times the spending in 1998." The project includes an interactive panoramic photo of lobbyists in the Senate HELP Committee hearing room and asks readers to help identify the players (Overby and Seabrook, 6/25).
USAID announced on Thursday a $1 million commitment to a Red Cross project aimed at helping those "living along southern Africa"s Zambezi River cope with worsening natural disasters because of climate change," the AP/Washington Post reports.
There have been 19 new cases of HIV diagnosed in Montana since the beginning of the year, whereas the state usually has an average of about 20 newly diagnosed cases annually, according to a recent report by the state Department of Public Health and Human Services, the AP/KXNet.com reports (AP/KXNet.com, 6/25). Anna Whiting Sorrell, director of the agency, said that reaching 19 cases before the end of June suggests that people might be increasingly putting themselves at risk. Montana STD/HIV Section Supervisor Laurie Kops, said, "It"s just a little bit alarming to us that we"ve got those numbers, but it"s not that we don"t expect those numbers because we think that there are folks out there who don"t know what their status is." Officials are recommending residents be tested on Saturday as part of National HIV Testing Day (Montana"s News Station.com, 6/25).
Much is often said about the glaring statistics showing that some racial and ethnic minorities face greater risks than whites when it comes to health.
Researchers have found that the anti-malarial drug quinine can block a cell"s ability to take up the essential amino acid tryptophan, a discovery that may explain many of the adverse side-effects associated with quinine. Once confirmed, these findings would suggest that dietary tryptophan supplements could be a simple and inexpensive way to improve the performance of this important drug.
Research lead by Dr. Nicolas Bazan, Boyd Professor and Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, identifying an enzyme that makes neuroprotectin D1 which specifically and selectively protects retinal cells key for vision, was published in the June 26, 2009 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
The bones of people with osteoporosis become thin and weak. The word "osteo" comes from the Greek osteon meaning "bone", while "porosis" comes from the Greek poros meaning "hole, passage". According to Medilexicon"s medical dictionary, osteoporosis is a "reduction in the quantity of bone or atrophy of skeletal tissue; an age-related disorder characterized by decreased bone mass and loss of normal skeletal microarchitecture, leading to increased susceptibility to fractures."
Researchers at UC Davis have developed a new test that will measure the protein deficit responsible for fragile X syndrome - the single-most common cause of intellectual impairment and the most-commonly inherited cause of autism. The test, described in a study appearing online in the July 2009 issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, is the first to measure an individual"s level of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) protein.
The national aortic screening programme in the UK should, in due course, prevent about half of all aneurysm deaths in men over 65 and will be extremely cost effective for the NHS, conclude researchers in a study published on bmj.com. However a second study, also published today, concludes that screening is not cost effective and calls for additional research into the long term outcomes and costs of screening.
There is widespread confusion among women and doctors about the signs of ovarian cancer, said a UK charity behind a study being published
A nationwide public opinion poll conducted by Hamilton Lock for the British Medical Association released has revealed how worried the public is about future funding of the health service in light of the recession.
When a patient is diagnosed with metastatic disease the primary site of the cancer is usually, but not always, evident. When the origin of the cancer is not identified it is described as a Cancer of Unknown Primary site, or CUP.
The Government of Canada is moving forward with proposed regulations to prohibit the advertisement, sale and importation of polycarbonate plastic baby bottles that contain bisphenol A, otherwise known as BPA, to reduce newborn and infant exposure to this substance, announced the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health.
Pharmacy technicians throughout England, Scotland and Wales will be regulated by the Royal
The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) House of Delegates elected officers, directors, and a member of the Nominating Committee during its annual meeting prior to PT 2009, June 10-13, in Baltimore.
Diabetes UK has just reached the 1,000 follower mark on Twitter, the social networking and micro-blogging site that allows its users to send and receive each other"s updates, or "tweets".
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) called for urgent assessment and responses from regulatory authorities into a possible link between the use of insulin glargine (an insulin analogue) and increased risk of cancer based on findings published on 26 June, 2009 in Diabetelogia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).
Biolex Therapeutics, Inc. announced that it has completed patient enrollment in the SELECT-2 Phase 2b trial of its lead product candidate Locteron® for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Locteron, controlled-release interferon alpha 2b, is designed to improve patient care by providing a more convenient once-every-two week dosing schedule and by reducing the side effects, including flu-like symptoms, associated with pegylated interferons, the current standard of care.
The recently released results of two large randomized trials suggest there are no big benefits from prostate cancer screening, and if
A research article published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. This is believed to be the first study to investigate the effect of PBD in ampullary cancer. A team of gastroenterologists led by Dr Steven Joseph Mesenas and hepatobiliary surgeons at Singapore General Hospital divided 82 patients with ampullary cancer planned for surgical resection into those with PBD (n = 35) and those without (n = 47). The authors looked into various outcomes after surgery, such as pancreatic leakage, wound infection, bile leakage, infectious morbidity, intra-abdominal or gastrointestinal bleeding, intra-abdominal abscess, delayed gastric emptying and mortality. They found that the PBD group had a significantly reduced wound infection rate compared to the non-PBD group. More studies should be conducted to assess this benefit, especially in ampullary cancer patients.
Yaupon Therapeutics, a privately held specialty pharmaceutical company, has announced it has completed enrollment for a pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial for Clearazide for the treatment of early-stage cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL - stages 1-2a). The study, which is being conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) with the FDA, has enrolled 260 patients in 13 of the top cancer centers in the US. Yaupon expects the last patient to complete treatment in the study by June of 2010 and, assuming positive results, will file its NDA shortly thereafter.
Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School, along with collaborators from research institutions across Europe and the United States, have for the first time identified two genes that are involved in determining when girls begin menstruation. The work will be published in Nature Genetics this weekend.
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers are conducting two pilot clinical trials to determine whether a single, early dose of estrogen can improve survival and neurological outcomes after severe traumatic brain injury or traumatic hemorrhagic shock.
Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer, diagnosed in more than 50,000 new patients in the United States annually. While the rate of incidences continues to rise, survival rate has not improved and the race is on to find the genetic and cellular changes driving melanoma and to devise new means of detection and treatment. In a study published online in Genome Research, scientists have mapped chemical modifications of DNA in the melanoma genome, finding new markers that will help develop more effective treatment strategies to fight this disease.
Sixty-two percent of U.S. residents want Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor to be confirmed, and 55% say she is "about right" on a liberal-to-conservative scale, according to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, the Post reports. For the survey, pollsters randomly surveyed a national sample of 1,001 adults by telephone between June 18 and June 21. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.The poll found that about three-fourths of abortion-rights supporters want Sotomayor to be confirmed, compared with less than half of abortion-rights opponents. According to the poll, six in 10 U.S. residents would want the new Supreme Court justice to vote to uphold Roe v. Wade. Most Republican men would want the next Supreme Court justice to vote to overturn Roe, while Republican women were split about evenly on the issue, the poll found. The poll also found that support for Sotomayor"s confirmation was equal between men and women. In addition, nearly eight in 10 Democrats and about two-thirds of independents said they supported Sotomayor"s confirmation, compared with 36% of Republicans. The poll found that most Republicans deemed Sotomayor a "more liberal" nominee than they would prefer. Among Republicans, those self-identifying as conservative Republicans were largely opposed to Sotomayor"s confirmation, with more than seven in 10 conservative Republicans saying she is too liberal. Sotomayor received support from Republicans self-identifying as moderate or liberal, with fewer than four in 10 saying she is too liberal. However, about one in five who opposed Sotomayor"s confirmation said that she is not liberal enough. The poll also found that among the 33% of U.S. residents who said that Sotomayor"s gender plays a role, more than twice as many said that is a positive attribute as opposed to a negative attribute (Cohen/Barnes, Washington Post, 6/28).Sessions Requests More InformationSenate Judiciary Committee ranking Republican Jeff Sessions (Ala.) on Friday sent a letter to the White House requesting additional information on Sotomayor, the New York Times" "The Caucus" reports. According to Sessions, the Obama administration has yet to provide members of the committee with information about a number of cases that Sotomayor brought to trial while working as a district attorney in New York. In addition, Sessions requested information regarding a case that Sotomayor argued on appeal. He also requested information about her work with Latino Justice PRLDEF, formerly known as the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. Sotomayor"s confirmation hearing is scheduled to begin July 13. Republicans have criticized the schedule, saying it gives them insufficient time to review Sotomayor"s record. Democrats have said that Republicans are seeking to create unnecessary delays and noted that the timeline is similar to that of past nominees (Herszenhorn, "The Caucus," New York Times, 6/26).
The White House remains open to taxing some health benefits to help pay for health care reform despite campaigning against the move last year, The Washington Post reports.
"Major medical organizations are urging health committees in the House and Senate to make comparative-effectiveness research a key component of healthcare reform," Modern HealthCare reports. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee"s bill "plans for a new federal center on health outcomes research was seen by some GOP members as a possible means to ration healthcare." But "a letter, co-signed by the American Medical Association and more than 60 other groups, countered that comparative-effectiveness research would not lead to "cookbook" medicine or rationing of expensive forms of care" (Lubell, 6/26).
Americans with serious illnesses who must often choose between paying a mortgage or their health premiums and deductibles are often going broke, The Seattle Times reports.
HIV diagnoses among all men in Louisiana declined from 1997 to 2006, but increased in 2007 and 2008 - diagnoses in the New Orleans metropolitan area alone increased by 9 percent from 2007 to 2008, according to the Louisiana Office of Public Health, the New Orleans Times Picayune reports. Of particular concern are the increases among black men in New Orleans. Among black men of all ages, new HIV diagnoses increased by 4 percent from 2007 to 2008, but increased 23 percent for black men age 20 to 24 and 30 percent for those age 45 to 54. The reasons behind the findings are "complex," according to the Times Picayune. Risky sexual behavior, a "declining sense of concern among young people about AIDS and the stubborn cultural stigma of homosexuality in the black community are all believed to be factors," the Times Picayune reports (Sandoval-Griffin, New Orleans Times Picayune, 6/27).
A powerful new research facility at the heart of King"s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre has been launched by Professor Dame Sally C Davies, Director General of Research and Development and Chief Scientific Adviser, Department of Health. The Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Nucleus is funded by a ÷£3M infrastructure grant from South London and Maudsley Charitable Funds (÷£1.8M) and Guy"s and St Thomas" Charity (÷£1.2M) to create a unique centre housing key translational initiatives to support the development of novel therapies and treatments for mental health and related disorders.
The RCN has responded to the recent (29 June) publication of Building Britain"s Future with Director of RCN England, Tom Sandford, saying of the two week target to see a cancer specialist:
For the first time RCN members can get a unique insight into the International Council of Nurses (ICN) Congress care of a daily blog.
Scientists at Queen Mary, University of London have discovered that an ingredient in human breast milk protects and repairs the delicate intestines of newborn babies.
Achaogen, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company addressing the issue of multi-drug resistant bacterial infections through the discovery and development of innovative broad-spectrum antibiotics, announced today the presentation of research on aminoglycoside (AG) resistance trends and comparative AG toxicities at the 19th Annual European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), being held May 16-19, 2009 in Helsinki, Finland.
Interest and concern about possible health threats posed by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is on the rise, yet there is currently no comprehensive coordinated approach to regulating EDCs in the United States. To address this emerging public health issue, The Endocrine Society today released a new position statement outlining the public health concerns of exposure to EDCs and proposing a series of recommendations for revising current policy and generating new policy on EDCs.
"Epidemiology is always important and topical, though sometimes unsung," says Professor Johan Giesecke, Chief Scientist at ECDC, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, "but the third applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology Conference in Stockholm in October this year will be an opportunity to put Epidemiology and infectious disease prevention and control into the spotlight; delegates will have the opportunity to discuss and share information on current and emerging infectious diseases, including influenza A (H1N1)v. The call for abstracts closes on July 3rd so there is no time to lose."
Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. announced today that a federal jury has returned a verdict of $1.67 billion against Abbott Laboratories in a patent infringement suit.
Pancreatitis is often a fatal condition, in which the pancreas digests itself and surrounding tissue. Scientists have previously found that alcohol can trigger the condition by combining with fatty acids in the pancreas, which leads to an excessive release of stored calcium ions. Once calcium ions enter cell fluid in the pancreas it activates digestive enzymes and damages the cells.
Research at the University of Leicester will be breaking new ground in the search for a simple blood test that could tell whether a patient with melanoma has the condition in an aggressive form. Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Staging, which involves determining the size of the tumour and its extent of spread, is the best predictor of whether a patient will succumb to disease or survive.
In an effort to increase understanding of the medical device development process and help companies execute the bench-to-bedside process of product development more effectively, researchers at Stanford University have published the first comprehensive model representing the medical device development process.
A team of experts in biomechanics and physiology that conducted experiments on Oscar Pistorius, the South African bilateral amputee track athlete, have just published their findings in the Journal of Applied Physiology. Some of their previously confidential findings were presented to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland in May of 2008. Other findings are now being released for the first time.
Summer is in full swing, and barbeques are a perfect way to relax, spend time with family and friends, and celebrate the July 4th holiday. To help you better prepare for this popular activity, nutrition experts at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center offer advice on how to barbeque the healthy way.
A new survey from the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests that a significant number of Asian Americans living in California adopt unhealthy sun-exposure behaviors as they become more westernized. The findings underscore a need for increased skin-health awareness on the part of primary care physicians, dermatologists and people of Asian ancestry, who may incorrectly assume that pigmented skin and hair protect against skin cancer.
PPD, Inc. (NASDAQ: PPDI) today announced that Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited issued a news release reporting that Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc., its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, has received a complete response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding its new drug application (NDA) for alogliptin.
The Guardia Pro Protective Embryo Transfer Catheter is uniquely engineered to protect and guide embryos through cervical mucus and blood and to eliminate the need for cervical flushing or aspiration prior to transfer.
The provision of medical care and the evacuation of the trapped and
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries. ~ "Just Released: Gains and Losses for Women in 2008-09 Supreme Court Decisions," National Women"s Law Center"s "Womenstake": The Supreme Court"s 2008-2009 term, which concluded Monday, included "several crucial decisions that demonstrate the impact of the court on women"s lives," according to the blog post, which summarizes a new analysis from NWLC on the cases. For example, the blog post says that the rulings in Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee and Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tenn., increased employees" protections against discrimination in the workplace. However, the rulings in Ricci v. DeStetano -- which overturned an appellate court"s anti-discrimination ruling -- and AT&T Corp. v. Hulteen -- which "permitted AT&T to pay women lower pension benefits for the rest of their lives" -- were "not as positive," the blog entry says. NWLC Co-President Marcia Greenberger said that the Supreme Court "ignored the realities of the workplace and the intent of Congress and ruled against female workers" in AT&T v. Hulteen. Greenberger also said that such cases "underscore why every seat on the Supreme Court is of paramount importance to women," adding that it is "absolutely critical" that Supreme Court nominees have "a strong commitment to upholding and enforcing women"s basic legal rights and protections" ("Womenstake," National Women"s Law Center, 6/29).~ "Waldman and Saletan: Oh What a Fine Bromance!" Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check: In a recent bloggingheads.tv chat on "common ground" in the abortion-rights debate, Slate columnist Will Saletan and Beliefnet Editor-in-Chief Steve Waldman "spent as much time as possible complimenting each other"s work" and "as little as possible on any real substance regarding reproductive health and choice issues," Jacobson writes. It is "clear that the Obama administration"s stated intention to create "a common ground platform"" on abortion rights has become "a full employment program for both Waldman and Saletan," she writes. Jacobson continues, "So perhaps the most striking thing about the conversation was that, in the end, they both effectively concluded that the common ground enterprise was a "just for show" political strategy," and that the "real strategies" necessary to reduce the need for abortion "are the very prevention programs least likely to be supported by the far right. (Revelation!)." She adds, "However, they came to this conclusion through the same faux-expert uninformed arguments that characterize their columns." During the "Will-interviews-Steve format," Saletan "revealed once again that there is no core philosophy or framework underlying his ever-shifting positions on choice and abortion," according to Jacobson. She adds that "Waldman, for his part, several times underscored what is clear from reading his work": that he "just throws things "out there" without considered thought" about what "might be good versus bad data, not understanding how to read evidence," and "oblivious or uncaring about the effects his free-form moralistic misinformation and opinions might actually have on an already polarized debate." According to Jacobson, "Public policies affecting sexual and reproductive health issues" should be "based first and foremost on public health and on promoting individual rights balanced by individual responsibilities," but "as anyone living on Planet Earth knows, sex and reproduction have become the front in a war waged by ultra-conservative religious and political forces for which Waldman serves as a paid flacky." She continues, "In fact, Waldman himself stated during the program: "I have a corporate interest in injecting religion into every debate."" Jacobson states, "Reading and watching this duo is like buying the OK! magazine version of the culture wars at the grocery store; they put whatever sells on the front cover, no matter the truth or consequences.
An unusual study at the Department of Surgery at Heidelberg University Hospital examined for the first time whether the incision technique used in major abdominal surgery had an effect on the results. Neither physician nor patient knew what kind of incision had been made. The study of 200 patients showed that pain perception and the healing process were unrelated to the technique used to open the abdominal cavity. Complications were also just as frequent, except for wound infections, which were more frequent for transverse incisions, possibly due to circulatory problems. The surgeons in Heidelberg thus recommend that the surgeon make an individual, case-by-case decision on the incision technique.
Transferring just one embryo at a time to a woman"s womb after embryos have undergone preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and freezing at the blastocyst stage has become a real option after researchers achieved pregnancy rates that were as good as those for blastocysts that had not had a cell removed for PGD before freezing. Their results mean that it will be possible to reduce the number of multiple pregnancies after PGD and the consequent complications associated with these pregnancies.
Since being declared a pandemic earlier this month, swine flu has continued to cause concern for many people across the world, not least those in high risk groups such as people with diabetes.
The latest National Diabetes Audit has revealed that 60 per cent of people with diabetes in England do not receive all of their vital annual health checks including blood glucose, blood pressure and eye tests.
Transcriptomic tests have uncovered the protein composition of venom from the Scorpiops jendeki scorpion. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Genomics have carried out the first ever venom analysis in this arachnid, and discovered nine novel poison molecules, never before seen in any scorpion species.
Local laws, insurance reimbursement and public misperceptions impede emergency medical services (EMS) workers from using best resuscitation practices, according to a study reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
Tomorrow"s Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting is a crucial opportunity to focus on achieving concrete long-term health improvements for Indigenous people, the AMA said.
Doctors have reaffirmed their opposition to assisted suicide following a debate at the BMA"s Annual Conference in Liverpool yesterday. Doctors rejected calls from Thameside doctor, Kailash Chand to change legislation to allow the choice of an assisted death by patients who are terminally ill and who have mental capacity.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for the Company"s Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to market a generic version of Ortho McNeil Janssen"s oral contraceptive, Ortho Tri-Cyclen® Lo. Shipment of this product, for which Teva"s trade name is Tri-Lo Sprintec, has commenced.
The rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in U.S. neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) has more than tripled in recent years, reports a study in the July issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry.
Tufts dental researchers conducted a three-year follow-up study that examined the stability of a treatment option for receding gums and found that complete root coverage the goal of the surgery had been maintained. This specific tissue regeneration application, developed at Tufts, reduces the considerable pain and recovery time of gum grafting surgery. The case study of six patients is published in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of Periodontology.
On June 11, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
Researchers in New Mexico are reporting the surprise discovery that common table salt - so brittle that it crushes easily between a thumb and forefinger - becomes a super plastic in the weird environs of the nanoworld. The super-elastic salt can stretch like taffy to twice its original length without breaking. The discovery could lead to new insights into the role of salt in a wide variety of situations ranging from helping clouds to form to triggering asthmatic attacks in people, they say. Their study is in the current issue of ACS" Nano Letters, a monthly journal.
A report from researchers at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States examines how $577 million in PEPFAR funding between 2004 and 2008 was used in Zambia, PlusNews/IRIN reports. According to the findings, the authors write, "we observed and documented some impressive prevention programming funded through PEPFAR ò€¦ Nonetheless, when stepping back and observing the whole picture, it becomes apparent that the overall approach of PEPFAR dollars to HIV prevention is far from comprehensive. Instead, it is overly restrictive, adhering to a narrow vision of a moralistic ideal, rather than responding to the reality of the epidemic and the needs of the entire population."
NARAL Pro-Choice America on Monday announced its endorsement of appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in her bid for a full term in 2010, Politico reports. New York Gov. David Paterson (D) in January appointed Gillibrand to fill the Senate seat vacated by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.NARAL"s political action committee to date has contributed $5,000 to Gillibrand"s campaign, and it plans to organize its more than 63,000 members on her behalf, according a press release from the group. The release calls Gillibrand "a rising star among pro-choice leaders in the Senate." It adds, "She is a resilient campaigner whose fully pro-choice voting record reflects an unwavering commitment to the values of freedom and privacy." NARAL endorsed Gillibrand in her successful 2006 and 2008 House election campaigns (Abrahamson, Politico, 6/30).
Colorado Right to Life and Personhood USA are proposing a 2010 state ballot initiative with a different version of 2008"s defeated "personhood" amendment to the state constitution, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports. The groups intend to submit their proposal to the Colorado Legislative Council this week. In the November 2008 election, 73% of state voters opposed the previous version, known as Amendment 48, which was sponsored by Colorado for Equal Rights.The new version includes modified language that its supporters say will clarify its intent. Rather than defining a person as "any human being from the moment of fertilization," the new version would establish personhood as "every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being." The initiative"s sponsors also said that they will be better funded and articulate a clearer message than in 2008, when a college student launched the campaign.According to the Gazette, abortion-rights supporters "weren"t overly concerned" about the new initiative. Jacy Montoya, head of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, said that the 2008 vote demonstrated that Colorado residents are "uncomfortable with the government and strangers making personal decision for families." Lynn Paltrow, executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women, said that the new attempt "gives us another opportunity to explain how personhood amendments threaten all pregnant women, including those going to term" (Barna,Colorado Springs Gazette, 6/29).
Alastair Campbell has won Mind"s Champion of the Year Award for his significant contribution to raising awareness of mental health. He beat fellow nominee and chat show host Paul O"Grady, among other mental health campaigners, to the prestigious award announced yesterday evening.
The drug industry began ramping up its lobbying efforts in 2003, when Medicare Part D began, and now is targeting Democrats.
Deadly diseases including plague, Ebola and Rift Valley Fever are being targeted as part of a new multi-million pound international partnership involving African researchers and the London International Development Centre (LIDC). The Southern African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance (SACIDS) links medical and veterinary institutions from five African countries and the UK to improve the capacity of African institutions to detect, identify and monitor infectious diseases affecting humans and animals, including new infectious human diseases of animal origin.
Pfizer Australia announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the local distribution rights for THELIN® (Sitaxentan sodium), an oral, once-daily highly selective endothelin receptor antagonist, indicated for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients with NYHA/WHO Functional Class III symptoms to improve exercise ability. Efficacy has been shown in primary pulmonary hypertension and in pulmonary hypertension associated with connective tissue disease1.
Summer is the season for sizzling - steaks, chicken, ribs, veggie kabobs and much more. The Connecticut Department of Public Health reminds everyone that food safety is essential when grilling outdoors and offers tips to ensure that family barbecues and backyard picnics remain fun, healthy outings.
Most knee replacement patients are between the ages of 60 and 80 years old. In some cases, younger patients with traumatic knee injuries may also require a total knee replacement. However the most common diagnosis is osteoarthritis. If you are prevented from carrying out your everyday activities due to pain or discomfort in the knee, then you may have arthritis of some kind. Similarly, difficulty in bending, squatting, kneeling, and walking may be indications that a knee replacement is in your future.
An additional 30 million bed nets, the development of life-saving new treatments and new funding to increase access to anti-malarial drugs are announced today in a package of measures by International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander, as the UK continues its fight to rid the world of malaria.
Cases of the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus has been confirmed in a Crawford County adult and a Miami County child. These are the first cases identified in both counties.
Deleting two genes in mice responsible for repairing DNA strands damaged by oxidation leads to several types of tumors, providing additional evidence that such stress contributes to the development of cancer. That"s the conclusion of a recent study* in DNA Repair by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and the New York University School of Medicine (NYUSM).
Treatment with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for eight weeks induces acid-related symptoms like heartburn, acid regurgitation and dyspepsia once treatment is withdrawn in healthy individuals, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.
The single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) known as 2q35-rs13387042 is associated with increased risk of estrogen receptor (ER) -positive and -negative breast cancer, according to a study published online July 1 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) in collaboration with scientists at the University of Louisville and the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis in France, have identified the target antigen PLA2R in patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy (kidney disease), which has implications for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. These findings appear in the July 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
An advisory committee to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted on Tuesday to recommend new restrictions on the popular pain
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Multaq tablets (dronedarone) to help maintain normal heart rhythms in patients with a history of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter (heart rhythm disorders). The drug is approved to be used in patients whose hearts have returned to normal rhythm or who will undergo drug or electric-shock treatment to restore a normal heart beat.
Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX) announced its initial agreement to license its proprietary, recombinant virus-like-particle (VLP) vaccine technology to ROVI Pharmaceuticals (Madrid: ROVI) of Spain. ROVI will use the VLP technology to create a comprehensive influenza vaccine solution for the Spanish government under a new 60 million-euro program sponsored and led by the Spanish Ministry of Health and other government groups to develop pandemic and seasonal flu vaccines and establish its only in-border facility. This program, which was announced by Spanish health officials, is being launched to develop safe and effective flu vaccines to serve the entire population of Spain.
New research out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine provides for the first time a solid scientific answer for the long-standing question of whether there is an association between preterm birth and brain malformations.
Scientists are to study a group of proteins that are highly effective at killing bacteria and which could hold the key to developing new types of antibiotics.
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is triggered by a traumatic event - it is a kind of anxiety. The sufferer of PTSD may have experienced or seen an event that caused extreme fear, shock and/or a feeling of helplessness. Most of us experience a brief period of difficulty adjusting and coping with traumatic events. However, we gradually get better with time and healthy coping methods. On the other hand, there are times when symptoms get worse and may last for several months, or years. This study explains how PTSD can surface two years after a traumatic event. Another study found that one in eight Lower Manhattan residents likely had PTSD two to three years after the 9/11 attacks.
Tinnitus (from the Latin tinnitus or "ringing") is a condition characterized by ringing, swishing, or other noises that appear to be originating in the ear or head. Not normally a dangerous or serious problem, tinnitus is usually a symptom of some other underlying condition and most often considered a nuisance. Age-related hearing loss, ear injury, foreign objects in the ear, and circulatory system problems, for example, may cause the condition.
The WHO on Wednesday announced plans for a clinical trial to test a new drug that "could halve the treatment period for river blindness [or onchocerciasis], a disease that threatens 100 million people mostly in Africa," AFP/Dow Jones Newswires/CNN Money reports (7/1). "This is a devastating illness that has plagued 30 African countries for centuries, in particular the populations in the most remote areas "beyond the end of the road,"" Uche Amazigo, director of the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC), said (ANI/Thaindian.com, 7/1).
Patients will continue to be unprotected if statutory independent regulation is not extended to counsellors and psychotherapists, according to leading national charities Mind and WITNESS. On the day that psychologists are to be regulated by the Health Professions Council (HPC), the charities welcome the advancement and urge counsellors and psychotherapists to follow suit.
Two studies that may influence clinical treatment of serious eye conditions are reported in the July issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. One correlates the incidence of silent cerebral infarcts (SCI) and visual field loss in patients with normal-tension glaucoma ; the other investigates inflammation biomarkers in relation to corneal transplant rejection in herpes simplex patients.
"As Congress prepares to do battle over health reform, a parallel dispute is shaping up among small-business groups that are staking out opposing positions on a key element of reform proposals: whether Uncle Sam will take on a bigger role in offering insurance coverage or leave the field to the private market," CNN Money reports. A fierce critic of the Clinton administration"s health care reform efforts a decade ago, the [National Federation of Independent Business] now considers universal health care to be one of its top legislative priorities. But it wants to see that care and coverage come from the private sector." The NFIB supports "a reform plan that would provide universal coverage and cut costs by increasing competition among private insurers, likely through the creation of government-mediated insurance pools." But "the Main Street Alliance, founded last year to lobby on behalf of small-business owners around health reform, says its survey of 1,200 small business operators and self-employed entrepreneurs in the 12 states where it operates found that 59% prefer a public option, with only 26% wanting more private plan choices alone" (deMaus, 7/2).
Independence Day and fireworks often go hand-in-hand. And even though fireworks have long been a tradition during this holiday, the American Optometric Association (AOA) cautions that they also carry the risk of serious injury to the eyes.
The percentage of Americans with private health insurance is at its lowest level in 50 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.
"The Food and Drug Administration announced (Wednesday) that it is requiring the smoking-cessation drugs Chantix and Zyban to carry the strongest type of safety warning possible to alert patients that the medications can cause serious mental health problems, including depression and suicide," the Washington Post reports (Stein, 7/1).
Over-the-counter remedies for menopause symptoms are growing in popularity among some women who fear potential risks from prescription hormone replacement therapy, the New York Times reports. According to the Times, the market for alternative therapies -- such as natural supplements and topical creams -- jumped in 2002 after initial results from the Women"s Health Initiative suggested that HRT could increase risk for heart disease, cancer, stroke and blood clots. Gynecologists estimate that about one-third of menopausal women are treated with conventional prescription hormones, and about one-third are treated with bio-identical hormones -- plant-derived synthetic hormones that mimic the molecular structure of human hormones. The remaining one-third either do not seek therapy for symptoms, are not bothered by symptoms or use over-the-counter therapies. There are more than 500 over-the-counter products available that claim to alleviate menopause symptoms, the Times reports. The treatments include such products as teas, low-dose progesterone creams, black cohosh capsules and phytoestrogens derived from soy and red clover, according to the Times. According to Nutrition Business Journal, the U.S. dietary supplement market associated with menopause increased from $211 million in 1999 to $337 million in 2007.Some studies have raised doubts about the safety and effectiveness of the over-the-counter remedies. Todd Cooperman -- director of consumerLab.com, a private nutrition product-testing lab -- said that his company"s study of more than one dozen products found that five failed to gain the lab"s approval because of problems such as inaccurate labeling or tainted ingredients. The Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research this fall is expected to release the results of a study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, that aims to determine the efficacy of the ingredients associated with menopause symptom relief. Some studies have questioned the efficacy of progesterone creams, which some experts contend can gather in fat cells and disrupt the production and synthesis of other hormones. Other experts maintain that the products are safe if properly used. Theresa Ramsey, director of the Center for Natural Healing in Arizona, said, "I think over all these products are generally safe, but must be taken in the right circumstances and in conjunction with a mindfully healthy approach to life if they are going to be effective at all" (Sweeney, New York Times, 7/2).
Women with breast cancer who receive chemotherapy appear more likely than those treated with radiation therapy to experience a major change in work status, according to a study published in the journal Cancer, Reuters reports. For the study, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researcher Michael Hassett and colleagues used a large health insurance claims database to identify 3,233 women who were first diagnosed with breast cancer between 1998 and 2002. All of the women were younger than age 64, insured, and working full time or part time as of diagnosis. About 54% of the women received chemotherapy, and 58% received radiation therapy.Hassett said that most of the women did "not experience a significant change in their employment after cancer diagnosis and treatment." However, of the 6.6% who experienced such a change, those who received chemotherapy had a 1.8-fold greater risk of leaving work, retiring or going on long-term disability leave in the subsequent year. Sixty-seven percent of women who experienced a change went from full-time employment to early retirement, while the rest went from full-time employment to long-term disability or retirement, or their status was unknown. Although the study looked at many factors, only chemotherapy and older age were associated with an increased likelihood of a change in employment. Hassett said that most of the participants in the study worked for large employers that offered health insurance. He added that further research is needed to evaluate the effect of cancer diagnosis and treatment on work status for women who are self-employed or work for smaller companies (Hendry, Reuters, 6/30).