Mental Health
UBC researchers have created the world"s first animal laboratory experiment to successfully model human gambling. The advance will help scientists develop and test new treatments for gambling addictions, a devastating condition that affects millions worldwide.
A radically different approach to choosing the best treatment options for early breast cancer has been proposed by an international panel of experts in a report from the 11th St Gallen conference.
In research that could lead to new approaches for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, a Yale School of Medicine team has found that suppressing a liver enzyme that induces glucose production helped diminish the symptoms of the disease in a rat model - reducing blood glucose concentrations, decreasing rates of glucose production in the liver, and improving insulin sensitivity. Decreasing expression of the gene, Sirtuin 1, also lowered total cholesterol levels.
Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV; XETRA-DAX: UR9; ADR: CLVLY) is pleased to announce that afamelanotide, its photoprotective drug, has been granted Orphan Medicinal Product (OMP) designation by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for the treatment of Solar Urticaria (SU). The EMEA granted afamelanotide its first OMP designation in March 2008 for the treatment of Erythropoietic Protoporphyria (EPP), Clinuvel"s lead indication currently in Phase III clinical trials.
U.S. Representatives Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL), Steve Israel (D-NY) and Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH) have introduced H.R. 2872, the Medicare Quality Cancer Care Demonstration Act of 2009. H.R. 2872 is a bill that will authorize Congress to direct the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement the Quality Cancer Care Demonstration (QCCD) project.
An article published Online First and in the July edition of The Lancet Oncology reports that the combination of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing with regular liquid-based cytology (LBC) screening does not improve the detection of cervical cancer compared with LBC screening alone.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have successfully edited the genome of human- induced pluripotent stem cells, making possible the future development of patient-specific stem cell therapies. Reporting this week in Cell Stem Cell, the team altered a gene responsible for causing the rare blood disease paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, or PNH, establishing for the first time a useful system to learn more about the disease.
Thousands of unregistered Rohingya refugees living in the Kutupalong makeshift camp, Bangladesh, are being forcibly displaced from their homes, in an act of intimidation and abuse by the local authorities. The international medical organization Doctors Without Border/Mç©decins Sans Frontiç¨res (MSF) has treated numerous people for injuries, of which the majority were women and children. Furthermore, MSF has witnessed countless destroyed homes and heard many reports of people being warned to remove their own shelters or face the consequences.
US consumer watchdog Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has informed Bayer Healthcare that it will sue them and file a complaint
Senator Byron Dorgan (ND) on Tuesday introduced legislation that would for the first time establish a national coordinated system to collect and analyze data on multiple sclerosis and Parkinson"s disease. Accurate incidence and prevalence information on these two diseases currently does not exist. Click here to ask your Senator to support this legislation.
GENEART AG, global leader in gene synthesis and specialist in the field of Synthetic Biology, announces being awarded a contract for the design and production of two DNA vaccine candidates against HIV by the UK HVC. The genes (blueprints for virus proteins), optimized and customized by GENEART, are to be used as basis for clinical studies.
In the face of growing numbers of uninsured and low-income patients due to the economy, some free clinics are having difficulty meeting the increased demand, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Since March, the Parma Health Ministry, in Cleveland, "which has only two volunteer primary care physicians who see patients in the evenings, has had to turn people away." Nicole Lamoureux, executive director of the National Association of Free Clinics, said the number of people seeking care at free clinics had increased by 40 to 50 percent in recent months, and that many of the newcomers have recently lost insurance coverage.
The pharmaceutical company Tibotec said it will join with the non-profit Global Alliance for Tuberculosis Development (TB Alliance) to speed up the development of the experimental TB drug TMC207, Health-e/IOL reports (Thom, Health-e/IOL, 6/18). Tibotec, which is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, announced the news on Wednesday at the Pacific Health Summit in Seattle (Doughton, Seattle Times, 6/18).
A new survey completed by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (BAAPS) suggests that patients may experience higher complication rates with permanent cosmetic fillers than with other types of cosmetic injections. The survey reveals 38.5% of surgeons saw 1-3 patients over the past year experiencing complications with permanent facial fillers, and 23% of surgeons saw 1-3 patients in the past year with complications so severe surgery was needed to treat those complications. "Permanent fillers present challenges, particularly for inexperienced injectors," says Coalition leader Julius Few, MD, a plastic surgeon practicing in Chicago, IL. "In addition to potential complications that may develop years after injection, the challenge of a permanent, synthetic filler is the anticipation of aging changes and the need for outcomes that will not look unnatural over time. To date, fat continues to be the option closest to a permanent filler with a proven safety record."
The mystery of giant sperm present in some living animal groups today has taken on a new dimension. In one group of micro-crustaceans new evidence shows the feature is at least 100 million years old.
Throughout the animal kingdom brilliant colors or elaborate behavioral displays serve as "advertisements" for attracting mates. But, what do the ads promise, and is there truth in advertising? Researchers at Yale theorize that when males must provide care for the survival of their offspring, the males" signals will consistently be honest - and they may devote more of their energy to caring for their offspring than to being attractive.
Natural Standard Research Collaboration invites researchers to submit articles to Journal of Dietary Supplements (JDS) - an international peer-reviewed forum for original research and review articles that focus on vitamins, minerals, herbs and other substances that make up the multi-billion dollar dietary supplement industry. The journal addresses important issues that meet a broad range of interests - not only in integrative healthcare, but also in academic, regulatory and industrial sectors.
A small study has shown that people tend to believe that bottled water is somehow healthier than water from the tap. However, the research, published in the open access journal BMC Public Health, also shows that people are unsure exactly what these benefits might be and that they are rarely the main reason for choosing bottled.
New animal research suggests that a noninvasive therapy called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) may help treat chronic migraines.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation said recently that for the fourth time in 18 months, one of its biotech partners has signed a collaboration agreement with a large pharmaceutical company to move research on type 1 diabetes into the final phases of trials.
Dr. Denis Therien, Vice-Principal (Research and International Relations) of McGill University has welcomed the Canada Foundation for Innovation"s (CFI) investment of $32,649,184 supporting five projects led by Dr. David Plant, Dr. Paul Lasko, Dr. David Thomas, Dr. Vincent Giguç¨re and Dr. Chao-Jin (C.J.) Li. The Quebec government also confirmed it would match that funding.
A period, or menstruation, is the shedding of the endometrium - the uterine lining. Menstruation is also known as menses. All female humans, as well as some other female mammals, have regular periods during their reproductive age. Menstruation which includes bleeding from the vagina is found mainly among humans and similar animals, such as primates. In many mammals, the endometrium is reabsorbed by the animal. As far as humans are concerned a period is a bleed from the womb (uterus) that is released through the vagina. Women have a period every 28 days approximately. However, some women may have a 24-day cycle while other may have a 35-day one. A period is part of the woman"s menstrual cycle.
Allergy testing and treatment may offer a new therapeutic option for many patients with interstitial cystitis (IC). IC is a severely painful bladder condition affecting as many as 8 million women and 1.5 million men in the United States. Patients and the providers who treat them have long noticed a correlation between allergies and IC. Recently, a urologist and allergist in Louisville, Kentucky, began to explore the link between these two chronic ailments to provide patients with more effective treatment. The story of their discoveries is featured in the ICA Update, the quarterly magazine of the Interstitial Cystitis Association (ICA).
Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN), announced that it has initiated a phase II clinical trial of SGN-35 for patients with relapsed or refractory systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). SGN-35 is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that utilizes Seattle Genetics" proprietary technology to empower antibodies by linking them to potent cell-killing drugs.
Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY), a global leader in the field of
HHS Secretary Proclaims: "Single-Payer is Not Part of the Discussion" Allows Health Insurance Corporations to Continue Patient Abuses
The press for health care reform hit a snag this week as Congress sputtered to resolve its differences, but President Barack Obama continues his call, almost daily, to continue to try to change the system, The New York Times reports.
Several news organizations had explainers detailing the ongoing the health reform debate.
New research published by the Royal College of Physicians shows that more consultants on Acute Medical Units (AMUs) can reduce hospital stays and prevent inappropriate admissions in the first place. AMUs are now found in hospitals all over the country, despite being a relatively new specialty. This is the first evidence to support arguments that they will bring benefits to patient care.
The Houston Chronicle reports on a medical philosophy that focuses on providing coordinated care and personal care to older patients, mostly indigent seniors. The paper examines Select Senior Clinic, a Texas facility that ascribes to the medical home concept.
More pre-cancerous polyps were found in colonoscopies performed with deep sedation primarily using Propofol than with milder sedation in which patients remained conscious, according to a recent study conducted by Katherine Hoda, M.D. of Oregon Health and Science University. This improvement in cancer detection will save lives and reduce the number of patients requiring surgery and chemotherapy.
Some Pacific Health Summit attendees said more action should have come from the tuberculosis-focused conference, which ended on Thursday in Seattle, Seattle Times" "Business of Giving" blog reports. Paula Akugizibwe, regional treatment advocacy coordinator for the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa, said, "The gap between rhetoric and reality grows bigger and bigger," adding that she does not intend to attend anymore global health conferences, where people say the same things, then jet off to another conference and repeat the process.
The Economist examines schistosomiasis in China. The disease, which is also called snail-fever, is the "world"s second-most prevalent tropical disease after malaria, affecting 207 million people of whom 726,000 are Chinese, according to the most recent official figures, from 2004," the Economist reports.
Oculus Innovative Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: OCLS), a healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a family of products based upon the Microcyn® Technology platform, announced that preliminary results from its U.S. 40-patient feasibility study, in which an enhanced formulation of the company"s Microcyn Technology-based hydrogel was used in the treatment of acne, are highly encouraging and warrant further examination.
After years of declining teenage pregnancy rates and improved teen contraception use during the 1990s and early 2000s, the trends appeared to have flattened or even reversed among some groups of teens in recent years, according to a study from Columbia University"s Mailman School of Public Health and the Guttmacher Institute, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Researchers found that from 2003 to 2007, teens" contraceptive use declined by 10%, while their level of sexual activity did not change. The decrease in contraceptive use was particularly prevalent among black teens. The figures take into account the rate of contraception use as well as the types of contraceptives used, as methods vary in effectiveness. Teen condom use leveled off and in some cases declined, according to the study. The study also reported that the teen birth rate increased by 5% from 2005 to 2007. According to the study"s authors, the findings suggest a link between declining teen contraception use and the rise in abstinence-only education during former President George W. Bush"s administration. President Obama"s fiscal year 2010 budget proposal calls for redirecting some abstinence-only funds toward increased comprehensive sex education, the Monitor reports. In addition to the effects of abstinence-only sex education, the decline in condom use also could be tied to lessening concern about sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. A shift in the teen population to include a higher number of Hispanics -- who have the highest rates of teen pregnancy and birth -- also could contribute to the findings. Laura Lindberg, one of the study"s authors and a senior research associate at Guttmacher, said, "In the end, this story is really about the loss of momentum." She added that although the statistical changes are small, "they raise concern about what the next few years will bring in this country." Sarah Brown, director of the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, noted that the proportion of births to unmarried women, particularly among women ages 20 to 24, also is on the upswing (Feldmann, Christian Science Monitor, 6/18).
Senate Democratic leaders on Thursday circulated talking points stating that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has a "mainstream record of judicial modesty," the AP/Miami Herald reports. The document includes a quote from Sotomayor expressing her belief in basing judicial decisions on the Constitution rather than on politics.Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) also wrote to the president of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, formerly known as the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Educational Fund, requesting the quick disclosure of documents Sotomayor has requested in relation to her work with the group (Hirschfeld Davis, AP/Miami Herald, 6/19). Sotomayor worked with the group from 1980 to 1992, assisting in a number of legal briefs and helping the group develop stances on public policy matters (Stanton, Roll Call, 6/18). According to the AP/Herald, interest groups and members of both political parties are "competing to define" Sotomayor ahead of her confirmation hearing, which is scheduled to begin July 13. Conservative groups have focused on labeling her an "activist" and singled out her involvement with PRLDEF as evidence of her support for abortion rights. The group sided with abortion-rights supporters in several major Supreme Court cases during Sotomayor"s time on its board (AP/Miami Herald, 6/19).
Sports & Orthopaedic Specialists, a national leader in orthopedic care for women, in collaboration with Sister Kenny Sports and Physical Therapy, launched the renowned Prevent Injury and Enhance Performance (PEP) program to the local and regional market. PEP is an exercise and training program designed to significantly reduce the incidence of ACL injury and enhance performance as an added benefit.
Eli Lilly and Company presented data on the short- and long-term efficacy and safety of olanzapine long-acting injection (LAI) in the treatment of adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Olanzapine LAI is an investigational formulation that combines the atypical antipsychotic Zyprexa(R) (olanzapine) with pamoic acid, allowing for the sustained delivery of olanzapine for up to four weeks.
A new study analyzing the prevalence of sensory impairment among older U.S. workers found that hearing impairment prevalence was three times that of visual impairment, and that 38 percent of older workers reported experiencing either impairment.
A new study shows that high levels of job strain during early pregnancy are associated with reduced birthweight and an increased risk of delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.
Obesity is probably the most important factor in the development of insulin resistance, but science"s understanding of the chain of events is still spotty. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have filled in the gap and identified the missing link between the two. Their findings, to be published in the June 21, 2009 advance online edition of the journal Nature, explain how obesity sets the stage for diabetes and why thin people can become insulin-resistant.
Notch signaling helps determine the fate of a number of different cell types in a variety of organisms, including humans. In an article that appears in the current issue of Nature Cell Biology, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine report that a new finding about the Notch signaling pathway in sensory organ precursor cells in the fruit fly could explain the mystery behind an immunological disorder called Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome.
Rearrangements of all sizes in genomes, genes and exons can result from a glitch in DNA copying that occurs when the process stalls at a critical point and then shifts to a different genetic template, duplicating and even triplicating genes or just shuffling or deleting part of the code within them, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in a recent report in the journal Nature Genetics. The report further elucidated the effect of the fork stalling and template switching mechanism involved in some forms of copy number variation.
Amarillo Biosciences, Inc. (ABI) (OTCBB: AMAR) announced that the screening of volunteers for inclusion in a Phase 2 clinical study of the company"s oral interferon product at the University of Western Australia is now complete. The investigators met their target of screening at least 200 healthy adults for participation in the trial. A total of 215 volunteers were evaluated and 134 of them have been enrolled into the study to date. About 90% of the screened subjects have been found to qualify for the study, so additional enrollments are expected over the next 2 weeks to bring the total number of study participants up to or above the targeted 160 subjects.
AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond issued this statement following today"s release of a draft health care reform bill in the House of Representatives:
The fulfilment which so many people increasingly derive from competitive sports and endurance training comes with a real - even if rare - twist. Because, while most people will enjoy the benefits and pleasures of exercise, there are a few for whom regular athletic training will increase the risk of cardiac arrhythmias and even sudden death, especially among those in middle-age or with pre-existing cardiac diseases.
There are few things as vital to health and well-being as a good night"s sleep. Yet millions of us -- nearly 50 million according to the National Sleep Foundation -- suffer from chronic sleep problems or disorders. Every year, more and more scientific studies are showing correlations between poor or insufficient sleep and disease. Now there is a simple, easy way to quantify and measure sleep problems with patient populations.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Dr. Howard Koh as the next Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS.
Alphatec Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATEC), the parent company of Alphatec Spine, Inc., a medical device company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets products for the surgical treatment of spine disorders, with a focus on treating conditions related to the aging spine, today announced that, as of June 1, 2009, over 115 patients in eight European countries have been treated with the OsseoFix™ Spinal Fracture Reduction System, the Company"s innovative product for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures. The first European training session was held at the University of Vienna in mid-December 2008. The first shipments of OsseoFix products into Europe occurred at the end of December 2008.
Results of the HIGHCARE2008 Project were announced during the recent 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH), Milan, Italy. The first-ever ambulatory blood pressure (ABPM) study conducted at high and very high altitude investigated treatment with telmisartan and showed that:1
Epeius Biotechnologies stuns the medical and scientific communities with a dramatic demonstration of single-agent efficacy with its lead product, Rexin-G, for metastatic cancer. The landmark article (accessible online as of June 16, 2009 in Molecular Therapy, the Official Journal of The American Society of Gene Therapy, documents the results of two related studies using Rexin-G, a tumor-targeted anti-cancer agent designed to seek-out and destroy metastatic cancers that have spread throughout the body, while sparing normal cells and healthy tissues and organs. Following the FDA"s designation of Rexin-G as an Orphan Drug for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma and osteosarcoma in 2008, the results of these two independent studies represent a major step toward gaining Accelerated Approval of Rexin-G for osteosarcoma in the United States.
Oncothyreon Inc. (Nasdaq: ONTY) (TSX:ONY) (the "Company") announced that Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, has initiated a global Phase 3 trial of Stimuvax(R) (BLP25 liposome vaccine, L-BLP25) in patients with hormone receptor-positive, locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic breast cancer. Stimuvax is an investigational therapeutic cancer vaccine being developed by Merck KGaA under a license agreement with Oncothyreon.
Loss of muscle strength, speed and dexterity is a common consequence of aging and a well-established risk factor for death, disability and dementia. Yet little is known about how and why motor decline occurs when it is not a symptom of disease.
Essentialis Inc, a clinical stage pharmaceutical company, announced that it met its primary endpoint of statistically significant triglyceride reduction in a 90-patient Phase 2b trial of DCCR in dyslipidemic patients. The study encompassed both patients with very high triglycerides and mixed dyslipidemia and included normal weight, overweight and obese patients presenting with or without hypertension.
ArcelorMittal and the American Red Cross are launching a new national partnership, Creating Safer Communities, designed to bring important safety training and res to people who live and work in communities where ArcelorMittal operates. ArcelorMittal, the world"s leading steel company, provided a grant of $152,500 to be distributed in multiple communities across the US. The program will provide health and safety education to more than 1,800 community members in addition to thousands of ArcelorMittal employees and their families.
House Democrats" health care bill draft released Friday is likely to survive relatively intact, "including a robust new Medicare-like public health plan that would compete with private companies in a national health insurance exchange," Roll Call reports.
Scrubbing In: Good Health Care Doesn"t Come Cheap The Philadelphia Inquirer
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on Friday resigned from an all-women group in an effort to avoid claims that she belonged to a discriminatory organization, according to a letter she wrote to Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the Wall Street Journal reports. The group, the Belizean Grove, calls itself a "constellation of influential women" formed in response to the all-male Bohemian Club. Sotomayor wrote, "I believe the Belizean Grove does not practice invidious discrimination, and my membership did not violate the Judicial Code of Ethics, but I do not want questions about this to distract anyone from my qualifications and record." A Senate Republican aide said that GOP members did not plan to object to Sotomayor"s involvement in the group but aimed to compare their position with Democratic objections to previous judicial nominees who were members of all-male groups (Bravin, Wall Street Journal, 6/20).Sotomayor also sent Leahy and Sessions a list of events taken from her own handwritten calendar between 1992 and 1995, which included several entries about events where she spoke. Sessions had told Leahy that he would delay the confirmation proceedings if she did not provide missing information on about 50 speeches she had given. Sotomayor told the senators that she was unable to find drafts or recording of the speeches, noting that her calendar notes did not include details from the speeches (Swanson, The Hill, 6/19).In related news, the New York Times on Saturday examined how "it is far from clear that [Sotomayor"s] judicial record supports the accusation that she is an activist," who, as some critics have claimed, "legislates from the bench." According to the Times, "[s]everal empirical studies have concluded that she is not particularly prone to overriding policy decisions by elected branches." Her decisions that have "attracted the most criticism from conservatives" are "instances in which she deferred to policy decisions by elected branches that conservatives hoped judges would strike down," according to the Times (Savage, New York Times, 6/20).
The UK"s life sciences companies have just two days remaining to tell the Government what it can do to help them succeed, as medical and healthcare industry specialist MedilinkWM brings its Voices of Industry Campaign to fruition.
Women may be more susceptible to the lung damaging effects of smoking than men, according to new research by Inga-Cecilie Soerheim, M.D., and her colleagues from Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women"s Hospital and University of Bergen, Norway.
With millions of people in the United States eagerly awaiting those July 4 fireworks displays - and our Canadian neighbors doing likewise for their July 1 Canada Day celebrations - here"s a prospect for those light shows of the future likely to ignite a smile on Mother Nature"s face: A new generation of "green" fireworks is quietly making its way toward the sky.
A new study shows that older people who are thinner or are losing weight quickly are at a higher risk of developing dementia, especially if they started out overweight or obese. The research is published in the May 19, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Only 37, Janie Lee had endured excruciating back pain for 20 years. She couldn"t stay in one position for more than five minutes, and walking hunched over was the only way she could get around. Her search for help took her to several doctors and an emergency room, but it wasn"t until she found Hyun Bae, M.D., a renowned spine specialist at Saint John"s Health Center in Santa Monica that she received the diagnosis and care that would return her life to her.
U-Systems, the leader in dedicated breast ultrasound systems, together with Medical Director Jessica A. Guingrich, MD of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Susan G. Komen Breast Center and Centers for Breast Health announced that they have initiated the SOMOò€¢INSIGHT Clinical Study. The first participants have been enrolled and the first pathologically confirmed cancer has been detected in a mammographically-negative screening patient. The clinical study is examining whether Digital Mammography along with the somoò€¢v™ Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) is more sensitive to detecting breast lesions when compared to Mammography alone in women with dense breasts.
Researchers at Children"s Hospital Boston have isolated a potent inhibitor of tumor metastasis made by tumor cells, one that could potentially be harnessed as a cancer treatment. Their findings were published in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of June 22.
A landmark study has successfully demonstrated a 29 percent reduction in heart failure or death in patients with heart disease who received an implanted cardiac resynchronization therapy device with defibrillator (CRT-D) versus patients who received only an implanted cardiac defibrillator (ICD-only).
Abbott announced that it has received CE Mark (Conformite Europeenne) for its next-generation XIENCE PRIME(TM) Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System for the treatment of coronary artery disease. The company plans to launch XIENCE PRIME in a broad size matrix with lengths up to 38 mm in Europe in the third quarter.
Depression in older adults too often goes unrecognized and untreated, resulting in untold misery, worsening of medical illness, and early death. A new study has identified one important remedy: Adding a trained depression care manager to primary care practices can increase the number of patients receiving treatment, lead to a higher remission rate of depression, and reduce suicidal thoughts.
An international team of researchers found that middle-aged women who had migraines with aura (perceptual disturbance that may precede or
The Department of Public Health (DPH) announced that it is implementing a plan to limit the spread of novel H1N1 influenza, or swine flu, in youth camps.
Major population centers such as those in New York and California have the highest numbers of HIV cases, however, many of the areas that have the highest rates of people with HIV are in the South, according to data from an online mapping tool launched by the National Minority Quality Forum yesterday, the AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The map, which is the first tool of its kind to look at HIV and AIDS cases on a county level, is based on 2006 data collected from states and cross-checked with CDC data. According to the mapping tool, of the 48 counties with the highest HIV prevalence rates, 25 are in Georgia. In addition, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia have the highest prevalence rates for HIV cases that have progressed to AIDS (Stobbe, AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune, 6/22). In Virginia, Richmond, Petersburg and Norfolk were among the nation"s urban areas hardest hit by HIV/AIDS (Smith, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 6/23). Three metro counties in Kansas City, Mo., have HIV and AIDS rates that are higher than about 80 percent of counties nationwide, according to the data, NBC Action News reports (Ptacek, NBC Action News, 6/22).
Two new Drug Use Evaluation (DUE) tools have been developed by the National Prescribing Service Ltd (NPS) to assist health professionals working in aged care facilities with optimal drug therapy relating to laxative use, and hypnotics.
Older eyewitnesses can inadvertently add or change aspects of their account if they have the chance to speak to another eyewitness. This is one of the findings of Jane Montague and colleagues from University of Derby who will present their research at the British Psychological Society"s Division of Forensic Psychology"s Annual Conference today, Wednesday 24th June. The conference is being held the University of Central Lancashire, Preston.
Dutch biopharmaceutical company Crucell N.V. (Euronext, Nasdaq: CRXL) (SWISS: CRX) today announced the results of a second phase II clinical study of its investigational rabies monoclonal antibody combination, which started in May 2008 in the Philippines.
Young adults who are overweight or obese have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, and being obese at an older age is associated with a lower overall survival rate for patients with pancreatic cancer, according to a study in the June 24 issue of JAMA.
New ways of diagnosing and treating patients with glaucoma will be piloted in two areas in Wales, Health Minister Edwina Hart announced today.
The world has suddenly discovered that the so-called "Nordic diet" is comparable in terms of nutrition and healthiness with the well-known sun-ripened Mediterranean diet. Scientists are constantly on the lookout for answers to how food affects our health and how to give people guidelines on a balanced diet that will both keep us healthy and at a normal weight.
Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced the initiation of a second Phase 2 clinical trial with a novel drug candidate for the treatment of liver disease associated with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection. The trial will enroll patients for whom treatment with approved standard of care treatments is not currently advised. Results from an earlier clinical trial in HCV patients who failed standard of care treatment are expected to be reported later this year.
Women who have migraines with aura may be more likely to have a stroke or heart attack than women who don"t have the condition, and the association varies by migraine frequency, according to research published in the June 24, 2009, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. An aura is a visual or other sensory disturbance that occurs before the migraine starts, such as seeing bright lights.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists" discovery of a cancer-causing gene the first in its family to be linked to cancer demonstrates how the panoramic view of genomics and the close-up perspective of molecular biology are needed to determine which genes are involved in cancer and which are mere bystanders. The findings are reported in the June 25 issue of the journal Nature.
St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: STJ) commends the efforts of investigators in the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial with Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (MADIT-CRT). The early results of the trial indicate that early intervention with CRT-D therapy can slow a patient"s progression from early stage heart failure (NYHA Class I-II) to late stage heart failure (NYHA Class III-IV).
On the heels of a successful partnership between MDVIP and Project Access in Palm Beach County, Florida, MDVIP will now roll out their second initiative to support the uninsured community in Northern Virginia. In collaboration with The INOVA Health Systems and Project Access of Northern Virginia (PANV), four of the local MDVIP-affiliated physicians will participate in a pilot program to provide services to uninsured patients who have diabetes, cardiovascular disease or may be considered a high-risk patient for either chronic condition.
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School jointly announce the successful implant of the AbioCor® Total Replacement Heart, the world"s first completely self-contained, fully implantable artificial heart, as well as the first internal artificial organ. The surgery was led by Mark Anderson, MD, associate professor of surgery at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and chief of the section of cardiac surgery at both the medical school and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and assisted by Juan Plate, MD, assistant professor of surgery at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and an attending surgeon at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is one of only three centers nationwide approved to perform the surgery and the only one in the New York and Philadelphia areas. Dr. Anderson is one of a handful of physicians nationwide trained to perform this procedure. This is the first time the AbioCor has been implanted in a patient since the completion of clinical trials and approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
Shire plc has launched a new UK adherence programme, called "Be Active", to support patients who have been prescribed Calcichew D3 Forte (1250mg calcium carbonate and 400IU colecalciferol). Current guidance highlights the importance of calcium and vitamin D supplementation in the elderly at risk of falls and fractures.1 2, 3 However, adherence to calcium and vitamin D supplementation in the UK is low, with 30% of UK patients regularly reporting missing a dose of calcium/vitamin D supplementation.4 This may contribute to more falls and fractures among the elderly 5, 6 and increase the burden on the healthcare system. 7, 8, 9
Figures from the British Institute for Anger Management reveal that the UK already has the worst road rage figures of any European nation, with 80% of drivers saying they"ve been involved in an incident and 1 in 4 admitting to committing an act of road rage themselves. Men are three times more likely to commit an act of aggression than women and over 60% of drivers say they have been intimidated by aggressive tailgating.
The Rheumatology Futures Project and the Department of Health have launched a new 18-week commissioning pathway for inflammatory arthritis (IA).
Senate Republicans on Tuesday in the first in a series of floor addresses launched more strongly worded criticism of Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor"s judicial record and previous speeches, Politico reports. Although the floor speeches are not likely to undermine the Democratic majority"s support for Sotomayor or block her confirmation, they indicate a shift in strategy for the GOP as it tries to generate more opposition to the nomination, according to Politico. As senators approach the weeklong July 4 recess, Republicans are attempting to show that they have "no intention of lying down in the face of what appears to be an increasingly inevitable confirmation," Politico reports. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Judiciary Committee ranking Republican Jeff Sessions (Ala.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) used their time on the Senate floor to attempt to portray Sotomayor as a "judicial activist" and to attack President Obama"s previous statements that he would like to appoint a judge who displays "empathy" (Isenstadt, Politico, 6/24). Republicans also reiterated they will attempt to delay Sotomayor"s confirmation hearing, scheduled to begin July 13, if they do not feel they have enough time to review her judicial record, Roll Call reports. They also questioned Sotomayor"s involvement with the civil rights group LatinoJustice PRLDEF, which they labeled "far left," taking up a line of criticism that other conservatives have pushed. Sotomayor served as a board member for the group from 1980 to 1992. Democrats and White House officials are aggressively defending Sotomayor"s record, arguing that her lengthy judicial career supersedes any public statements or speeches she made in the past, according to Roll Call. Both said that their strategy is to avoid a point-counterpoint argument with Republicans. A White House official said there is "no reason to speculate on her record," which includes more than 3,000 panel decisions. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said that he has been "struck by her extraordinary career and how she"s excelled at everything she"s done." Leahy said that he is not convinced that Republicans need more time, noting that the Senate is using the same confirmation timetable as it used for Chief Justice John Roberts. Although Leahy said that he might be willing to discuss a schedule change if Republicans agreed not to filibuster or delay the nomination, he added that Republicans have not suggested such a deal at this point (Stanton, Roll Call, 6/24).
Investigators at Children"s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California found a way to obtain large numbers of hematopoietic stem cell from human term placenta. The results, which appear in the July 2009 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, describe detailed report on quantification, characterization, engraftment capacity, and most importantly, practical way to obtain hematopoietic stem cells from placenta in numbers that are several-fold higher than could be obtained from cord blood.
Researchers at the Duke University Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy have found that variation in the same gene in humans and baboons produces the same kind of disease resistance. The findings were published in the June 24 online edition of the journal Nature.
The Government of Canada revealed the new organic logo that will give organics producers access to more markets and make sure Canadian families can find more certified organic food products in their grocery stores.
The six industry groups that pledged to reduce health care spending growth by $2 trillion over 10 years on Friday issued a statement reaffirming their commitment to work toward the goal, Roll Call reports (Murray, Roll Call, 5/15). The industry groups in a letter sent to President Obama on May 10 wrote, "We will do our part to achieve your administration"s goal of decreasing by 1.5 percentage points the annual health care spending growth rate. ... This represents more than a 20% reduction in the projected rate of growth." The letter -- which was signed by the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, America"s Health Insurance Plans and the Service Employees International Union -- did not elaborate on what specific measures the groups would take to achieve such reductions (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 5/12). Obama in a May 11 public announcement of the groups" pledge said the coalition"s goal was to cut the growth rate by 1.5 percentage points "each year," which would total $2 trillion over 10 years (Norman, CQ HealthBeat, 5/15).However, industry leaders who attended the meeting with Obama said that they did not promise specific year-by-year savings, but instead agreed to a more incremental approach (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 5/15). Richard Umbdenstock, president of AHA, said, "There"s been a lot of misunderstanding that has caused a lot of consternation among our members." AHA sent its members a bulletin stating that "the groups did not support reducing the rate of health spending by 1.5 percentage points annually," and that the pledge was to eventually reduce the growth rate by 1.5 percentage points (CQ HealthBeat, 5/15).In response to media reports that said they were backing away from their pledge, the groups on Friday in a joint statement reiterated their vow. They wrote, "Our organizations are currently engaged in an intensive process to develop proposals to reduce the rate of increase in future health care costs" (Young, The Hill, 5/15). The statement also said, "We are committed to working together to bend the health care cost curve" and "to doing our part to make reform sustainable and to make the system more affordable and effective for patients and purchasers" (Budoff Brown, Politico, 5/18). It continued that "to be successful, we must take action in public-private partnership. We look forward to offering cost-savings recommendations in the weeks ahead." The Obama administration has requested specifics on the coalition"s cost-cutting plans by June 1. White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag on Friday in a blog post wrote that it is "understandable" that the groups need to "ramp up" to the 1.5 percentage point reduction in spending. According to Orszag, "The groups have committed to significant reductions in the growth rate, thereby recognizing that substantial efficiencies can be captured in the health system. Some ramp-up time also does not materially affect the long-term impact from reducing the growth rate, on either national health expenditures or the federal budget" (CQ HealthBeat, 5/15). Orszag"s blog posting is available online.
A free card from the Michigan Retailers Association can lift some of the weight of concern and worry for seniors buying expensive prescription drugs.
The social class, the gender and the ethnic group are three essential dimensions, not only in the social differentiation, but also in the affective sexual education of the adolescents, where it is necessary to take part in order to promote sexual and gender equity and prevent gender violence. This is one of the main conclusions of the investigation Affective sexual policy: a sociological approach to affective sexual education", carried out by the researcher of the department of Sociology of the University of Granada Mar Venegas Medina and supervised by professor Francisco Fernández Palomares.
Global warming will likely mean more unpredictable weather, scientists say, and a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia pins down, possibly for the first time, how drought conditions in an area"s fall and winter may effect tornado activity the following spring.
Researchers from the University of California, Davis have developed a specific and quantitative means of measuring levels of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) protein (FMRP), which is mutated in fragile X syndrome. The related report by Iwahashi et al, "A quantitative ELISA assay for the fragile X mental retardation 1 protein," appears in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.
A group led by Dr. Paul T. Martin of The Ohio State University College of Medicine has demonstrated that the glycosyltransferase Galgt2 can lessen symptoms in multiple models of muscular dystrophy. Their report can be found in the July 2009 issue of the American Journal of Pathology.
UA scientists looking at the link between BMI over a lifetime and the risk of developing pancreatic cancer found that overweight and obese young
South London Healthcare NHS Trust (SLHT) is delighted to announce a new partnership with the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement as part of the trust"s drive for
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) or sleeping sickness affects tens of thousands of people every year in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a fatal disease with few treatment options. According to an article in this week"s issue of The Lancet, Nifurtimox in combination with eflornithine is safe, effective, and more affordable than current treatments for sleeping sickness. This new drug combination should be implemented as a matter of priority by control programmes across sub-Saharan Africa.
Like many diseases, causes for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) can be categorized as either "nature" or "nurture". Researchers think these factors, when used in the proper model, can be strong predictors of the disease.
Headaches are a widespread problem in the United States, affecting roughly 45 million people. Migraine headaches affect millions of Americans each year they are the most common type of headache that sends patients running to their doctor"s office. Migraines occur when constricting blood vessels in the brain cause intense, recurring vascular headaches. Like other forms of headaches, women suffer from migraines more frequently than men.
A protein called STAT3 has been found to play a fundamental role in converting normal cells to cancerous cells, according to a new study led by David E. Levy, Ph.D., professor of pathology and microbiology at NYU Langone Medical Center. The study, published in the June 26th issue of the journal Science, found that STAT3, in addition to its role in the cell nucleus regulating gene expression, is also present in mitochondria and regulates the activity of the electron transport chain in tumors cells. Mitochondria are the basic energy-producing organelles of the cell and are known to be critical for tumor cell metabolism.
The American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society have released official standards for clinical trials and practice with respect to the assessment of asthma. The statement appears in the July 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Higher selenium levels in the blood may worsen prostate cancer in some men who already have the disease, according to a study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the University of California, San Francisco.
SonoSite, Inc. (Nasdaq:SONO), the world leader and specialist in hand-carried ultrasound for point-of-care medicine, announced today the launch of the SonoAccess™ application, the first medical iPhone app from an ultrasound company that provides a multimedia library of ultrasound re materials for medical professionals to access when and where they need it.