Cardiovascular
When at the pool or lake we all lather up with sun screen to protect our skin from the harmful rays of the sun. But do we remember to apply sunscreen to our feet?
The number of people killed by individuals suffering from mental illness in England and Wales increased between 1997 and 2005, figures show. The rise occurred in people who were not under mental health care and was not found in mental health patients.
Abortion coverage could become the next "sticking point" in debates over health reform between the House leadership and conservative Democrats, the Los Angeles Times reports. During most of the battle over a health care overhaul, abortion-related issues have taken a "back seat" to clashes between House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats over the cost of the House bill (HR 3200). However, reproductive health issues are increasingly coming into play, with some other conservative Democrats threatening to withdraw support for the bill if coverage of abortion services is not explicitly excluded from receiving federal funding. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and 18 fellow Democrats in June wrote a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stating that they "cannot support any health care proposal unless it excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan." According to the Times, Stupak has "vowed" to press Waxman to include restrictions on abortion coverage in the Energy and Commerce Committee"s version of the House bill. Abortion-rights supporter Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Rules Committee, opposes Stupak"s proposal. Slaughter spokesperson Vincent Morris said, "The starting point for Rep. Slaughter of the health care debate was protecting abortion rights."The Hyde Amendment currently prevents the use of federal Medicaid funds for abortion services. The reach of current law restrictions "grows murkier" if the government forms its own health insurance plan to compete with private insurers or creates a new market that allows the public to choose between various private plans, the Times reports. Both options are under consideration in Congress, and abortion-rights opponents fear that abortion services would be covered unless the language of the bill explicitly forbids it.Abortion-rights supporters argue that the bill would maintain the status quo, as insurance companies already are able to choose whether to cover abortion services. New government restrictions could mean that women seeking abortion coverage would have to choose a more expensive private plan rather than a lower-cost, government-subsidized option, according to abortion-rights advocates. Another concern, they say, is that insurers who currently cover abortion would discontinue that coverage to take advantage of government incentives. In a recent statement, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America said, "Opponents of women"s health and health care reform are exploiting health care reform as a way to push for unprecedented prohibitions on abortion coverage in the private marketplace."The Obama administration is attempting to remain neutral on the issue, the Times reports. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs recently said that "a benefit package is better left to experts in the medical field to determine how best and what procedures to cover." The House bill currently establishes a Health Benefits Advisory Committee to recommend which "essential benefits" should be covered under any government-supported insurance plan. In an interview with CBS News last week, President Obama said that he believes it is "appropriate for us to figure out how to just deliver on the cost savings and not get distracted by the abortion debate."According to the Times, the Obama administration"s silence on the issue is "precisely what worries" antiabortion-rights advocates. Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) said that Obama is "actually making an affirmative statement in favor of" federal funding for abortion services by not taking a stand on the issue (Oliphant, Los Angeles Times, 7/28).
A small trial testing the benefits in multiple sclerosis (MS) of a drug used to treat type II diabetes, in combination with beta-interferon-1a, has been shown to potentially prevent brain cell loss.
Senate Finance Committee members negotiating a sweeping health care reform package are close to dropping a requirement that employers provide health insurance for employees as well as a government-run public insurance plan to forge a compromise, The Associated Press reports. "After weeks of secretive talks, three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee were edging closer to a compromise that excludes a requirement many congressional Democrats seek for large businesses to offer coverage to their workers. Nor would there be a provision for a government insurance option, despite Obama"s support for such a plan, officials said."
As they worked to move health care reform legislation through the Energy and Commerce Committee, House Democrats said they were close to a compromise with fiscally conservative Democrats, a group that so far has been a roadblock, The Hill reports.
A new report finds nearly 10 percent of health care costs are due to obesity and per capita medical spending is significantly higher for obese people.
Researchers may be able to predict future severe cardiac events in patients with known, stable coronary artery disease (CAD) using coronary calcium scoring, according to a study published in the online edition of Radiology.
In an open letter to Cambodia"s prime minister and health minister, more than 100 international HIV/AIDS advocates and human rights organizations "accused the Cambodian government of herding HIV-affected families into an "AIDS colony" outside the capital, Phnom Penh," the Guardian reports (McCurry, 7/28).
Victorian researchers have developed a wristwatch that continuously monitors the health status of people with Parkinson"s disease to help doctors manage their treatment, Victorian Minister for Innovation Gavin Jennings said today.
The assumption that gangs are at the root of gun crime in the UK is overstated, according to a study published in a special issue of Criminology and Criminal Justice, published by SAGE.
Using both animal and human cells, Duke University Medical Center scientists have demonstrated that a single lung cell can become one of two very different types of airway cells, which could lead to a better understanding of lung diseases.
Lifepsychol is a new healthcare initiative designed to focus attention on ways to support and improve the quality of life of people with long term conditions.
In order to increase productivity, healthcare providers have started to integrate many IT-based ancillary systems such as EMR, HIS and PACS. So far, this has purely been a service-oriented business, in which IT systems have accelerated healthcare practices. However, the lack of qualified staff, such as technologists, physicians and radiologists is creating a challenge for hospitals. A huge number of radiological examinations and the interpretation of images has to take place, and many hospitals are outsourcing this work to speed up productivity.
Leading Australian bone and geriatric specialists have hailed the Nepean Consensus Statement meeting on the treatment of osteoporosis in the aged care setting a major success, and a significant step forward in addressing this growing national issue.
England"s ethnic minorities are just as likely to access GP services as their white counterparts and have similarly positive clinical outcomes, a study published this month has found.
Concerns are being raised by a growing number of British academics that bureaucratic overload is stifling their ability to undertake clinical research, compromising the future of this activity in the UK, and ultimately doing patients a disservice. The issues are discussed in a Special Report in the August edition of The Lancet Oncology, written by freelance journalist Adrian Burton.
A shortage of primary care physicians in California "is driving community clinics to find innovate ways" to provide care to an increasingly linguistically and culturally diverse patient population, New America Media reports. According to New America Media, primary care physicians are in short supply nationwide because many medical students are pursuing more lucrative specialty fields that have higher reimbursement rates. Marty Lynch -- executive director of LifeLong Medical Care, a not-for-profit primary health care facility that operates nine health centers in Berkeley, Oakland and Marin County -- said he has tried unsuccessfully to hire minority primary care physicians and nurses. Lynch said it is "very difficult to find primary care providers" to provide care for minorities. Meanwhile, the demand for health services is on the rise, Jane Garcia, CEO of La Clinica de la Raza, said. The clinic has provided health services in the Bay Area at 27 satellite clinics for 38 years.The clinic for the last two years has partnered with neighboring community colleges to train medical assistants to work at their clinics to meet demand for diverse staff. "We"re training our own community members," Garcia said. She added that in the current economy, the "silver lining" is that "health care is one of the few sectors that more people will be choosing careers in" (Sundaram, New America Media, 5/18).
IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced that St. Elizabeth Healthcare is connecting hospitals, clinics and physicians offices in Northern Kentucky in the state"s largest roll-out of electronic medical records to improve patient care and lower costs.
Although acne traditionally has been considered a disease of teenagers, it is also extremely common in adult women. Studies show that acne affects more than 50 percent of women between the ages of 20-29 and more than 25 percent of women between the ages of 40-49 (1). In fact, after age 20, women are far more likely to report having acne than men. While there is no cure for acne, dermatologists are finding that hormonal therapies can help some women fight bothersome acne that occurs in adulthood.
A US study published online ahead of print in a leading medical journal suggests that complications from H1N1 swine flu could hit pregnant
Doctors are objecting to one possible provision of a reform bill - favored by the White House and Blue Dogs - that would give an independent commission more power over Medicare payments.
The insurance industry opposes a long-term care proposal called the CLASS Act, currently included in two major health care reform measures.
Lawmakers push bill to fight Medicare fraud as part of health reform legislation.
Health officials are growing increasingly concerned over the impact the H1N1 (swine) flu is having on populations living in Latin America, a region "which accounts for around two-thirds of the 816 confirmed deaths so far from the disease," the AFP/channelnewsasia.com reports. "The outlook is especially unsettling for the estimated 380 million people grappling with winter in South America, where the A(H1N1) virus is speedily propagating," the news service writes. The article examines the number of H1N1 cases and deaths across countries and how government officials are working to prevent the spread of the virus (7/29).
Inter Press Service examines how efforts underway in Namibia have helped to decrease the number of infants born with HIV while also increasing the number of HIV-positive infants on life-saving antiretrovirals (ARVs). According to the news service, since the launch of an early infant detection (EID) program in 2006, "the number of HIV-infected newborns has dropped from 13 percent to two percent in Namibia, according to the national Ministry of Health" -- figures that "stand in sharp contrast with data from other African countries where many pregnant women are not diagnosed in time to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus and only a few HIV-positive infants receive ARVs."
Over the past few years, MIT engineers have successfully tested robotic devices to help stroke patients learn to control their arms and legs. Now, they"re building on that work to help children with cerebral palsy.
Malaria parasites in western Cambodia have become resistant to artemisinin-based therapies, the first-line treatment for malaria, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Resistance to the drugs makes them less effective and could eventually render them obsolete, putting millions of lives at risk.
Politicians will be put under the pump today as aged care nurses push for better funding in Budget 2010.
The Council of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain has announced a fee
Stem cell research promises remedies to many devastating diseases that are currently incurable, ranging from diabetes and Parkinson"s disease to paralysis. Totipotent embryonic stem cells have great potential for generating a wide range of different human cells that can be used to restore malfunctioning or damaged cells and tissues in patients. Recent studies have shown that pluripotent stem cells derived from adult bone marrow, the umbilical cord and the placenta could also be induced to differentiate into a variety of different tissues. In this issue, we have invited several scientists in China to summarize their pioneering works in the stem cell research field.
The American Lung Association will tell the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at a public hearing today to adopt even stronger, health-based national air quality standards for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) than what the agency proposed. Lung Association leadership and healthy air advocates will call for tighter standards at the hearing that begins at 9:00 AM at the EPA Potomac Yard Conference Center located at 1 Potomac Yard, 2777 South Crystal Drive in Arlington, Va. Mary Partridge, American Lung Association National Board Chair, is scheduled to speak at 10:15 AM. The hearing will conclude at 9:00 PM.
The latest findings of the North Carolina-Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project reveal potential new targets for reducing racial disparities in prostate cancer survival and highlight the importance of the health care delivery system. The study reports differences in physician trust, access to care, and continuity of care between African American and Caucasian men which result in advanced prostate cancer at the time of diagnosis and contribute to the higher death rate among African American men. The study is published in the early view issue of Cancer online July 27, 2009.
A year ago, a study by Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University researchers reported that fewer than half the patients previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder received an actual diagnosis of bipolar disorder after using a comprehensive, psychiatric diagnostic interview tool -- the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). In this follow-up study, the researchers have determined the actual diagnoses of those patients. Their study is published in the July 28 ahead of print online edition of The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Spiration, Inc., a developer of novel medical devices designed to benefit patients with acute and chronic conditions of the lung, announced today that several new clinical sites are now actively recruiting patients for participation in a pivotal trial of the company"s minimally invasive treatment for severe emphysema.
There are at least 100 ways to say, "It hurts!" And that is the problem.
More patients with metastatic breast cancer could benefit from Avastin (bevacizumab) as a result of a broader label announced by the European Commission that allows bevacizumab to be combined with either docetaxel or paclitaxel chemotherapy1. This is an important announcement, as although bevacizumab has been approved for use in the UK in combination with paclitaxel for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer since March 2007, a higher proportion of metastatic breast cancer patients in the UK are treated with docetaxel.
The American Red Cross is pleased to announce five new additions to its National Celebrity Cabinet, a group of celebrity supporters who promote Red Cross services by donating their time, helping neighbors prepare for emergencies, responding to disasters and lending a helping hand to those in need.
Responding to the publication of the Public Accounts Committee report, Reducing Alcohol Harm: health services in England for alcohol misuse, Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), renews the call for tighter alcohol regulation. He said:
Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted unanimously in favor of SAPHRIS(R) (asenapine) sublingual tablets as effective and safe for the acute treatment of manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adults and in favor of use in acute treatment of schizophrenia in adults. If approved by FDA, SAPHRIS would be the first psychotropic drug to be approved initially for both of these indications.
Numerous pathogens contain an "internal time bomb", a deadly mechanism that can be used against them. After years of work, VIB researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) were able to determine the structure and operating mechanism of the proteins involved. This clears the road for finding ways to set the clock on this internal time bomb and, hopefully, in the process developing a new class of antibiotics. The research was accepted for publication by top journal Molecular Cell, with congratulations from the editorial board.
An Article published Online First (http://www.thelancet.com) and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet shows that pregnant women could be at increased risk for complications from H1N1 flu. Furthermore, the study, from the USA, shows that the rate of hospitalisation for pregnant women is more than four times that of the general population. Pregnant women with H1N1 flu should start antiviral treatment as soon as possible, while those who are well should be vaccinated once a vaccine becomes available. The Article is written by Dr Denise J Jamieson, Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA, and colleagues.
Doctors" leaders are warning that unless urgent action is taken to plug the gap in the shortage of middle grade doctors, the NHS in Wales could become unsafe both for staff and patients.
Janet Davison Rowley, MD, a pioneer in demonstrating that cancer is a genetic disease, will receive the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom the White House announced Thursday. President Barack Obama will award the Medals of Freedom, the nation"s highest civilian honor, to Rowley and 15 others at a ceremony Wednesday, August 12.
Americans spent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) over the previous 12 months, according to a 2007 government survey1. CAM is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products such as herbal supplements, meditation, chiropractic, and acupuncture that are not generally considered to be part of conventional medicine. CAM accounts for approximately 1.5 percent of total health care expenditures ($2.2 trillion2) and 11.2 percent of total out-of-pocket expenditures (conventional out-of-pocket: $286.6 billion2 and CAM out-of-pocket: $33.9 billion1) on health care in the United States.
Thousands of scientists and hundreds of software programmers studying the process by which RNA inside cells normally degrades may soon broaden their focus significantly.
When the H1N1 flu vaccine becomes available in the fall, pregnant women should be among the first groups vaccinated because of their high risk for serious complications, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert panel said on Wednesday, the Washington Post reports. The 15-member committee advises CDC on vaccine policy. The priority list also includes caretakers of infants, health care workers, children and young adults, and older people with chronic conditions. Anthony Fiore, a physician and epidemiologist at CDC, told the committee that about 6% of H1N1 deaths and hospitalizations are among pregnant women (Brown, Washington Post, 7/30). According to a CDC study published online Wednesday in the journal Lancet, pregnant women who contract the H1N1 virus -- also known as "swine flu" -- are at least four times more likely to be hospitalized than other people with the virus, the AP/Google reports. The study analyzed the first 34 U.S. cases, including six deaths, in pregnant women from April to mid-June of 2009. Although it is not clear if pregnant women are more susceptible to the virus, they have a higher risk of complications after becoming infected. The study"s authors said pregnant women suspected of having H1N1 should be administered Tamiflu as soon as possible, prior to the completion of diagnostic testing. CDC"s Denise Jamieson, the lead author of the study, said that Tamiflu appears relatively safe for pregnant women, despite limited safety data on its use in that population.Most pregnant women who contract H1N1 have mild flu symptoms like a cough or fever, according to the World Health Organization. Jamieson said that CDC does not recommend specific precautions for pregnant women but that doctors should act quickly -- preferably within 48 hours -- if a pregnant woman shows symptoms. She added that the pregnant women who died were basically healthy, and nearly all had viral pneumonia before experiencing acute respiratory problems prior to their death (Cheng, AP/Google, 7/29).CDC"s priority groups include about 159 million people out of a total U.S. population of more than 300 million, the Chicago Tribune reports. The agency expects to have about 120 million doses of the vaccine by the end of October. Officials are confident there will be enough for their target groups because only 20% to 50% of those recommended to receive seasonal flu vaccines seek them out. However, if supplies of the vaccine are unexpectedly restricted, the panel recommended that a smaller group -- about 41 million of the most susceptible to adverse side effects from infection or most likely to spread the virus -- be given priority for the vaccine. This smaller group also includes pregnant women (Maugh, Chicago Tribune, 7/30).
To fulfill America"s humanitarian obligations as a member of the international community and to invest in the nation"s long-term health, economic interests, and national security, the United States should reaffirm and increase its commitment to improving the health of developing nations, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.
House Republicans Wednesday unveiled their version of health reform legislation. It offers tax credits to help people buy insurance and doesn"t require individuals or businesses to carry coverage, The Associated Press reports. The plan costs $700 billion, less than current Democratic proposals in Congress.
The White House says opponents of the President"s health care reform effort are misrepresenting parts of the House and Senate legislation including a provision on end-of-life care. Critics say they fear health care reform could lead to excessive government intervention in end-of-life issues.
This is the time of year when even teens who have never tried a drop of alcohol may be tempted. Middle and high school proms and graduation are big events and there will be multiple parties to attend and a wide array of opportunities for alcohol to be served.
This week long observation of the importance of breastfeeding is organized by the World Breastfeeding Week organization (worldbreastfeedingweek.org). The theme this year is the importance of breastfeeding during emergency situations. It is important that when natural or man-made disasters strike that all involved remember the importance of maintaining and supporting breastfeeding of infants affected by the disaster.
The New York Times examines a Doctors Without Borders pilot program to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis in South Africa that allows patients to stay in their homes rather than be isolated in hospital during treatment. The program, which is supported by the city of Cape Town and the Western Cape Province, aims to "show that such patients can be successfully treated in an impoverished community ò€¦ even while they are still infectious," the New York Times writes.
It"s been a year since fashion designer Joanne Scott went through a cancer treatment that changed her life -- and made history to boot. Ms. Scott, 54, was the first person in the world to receive an injection of tumor-activated natural killer (TaNK) cells as a treatment for leukemia.
Video Game Teaches Kenyan Teens HIV Prevention
Cold and flu remedies containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine will remain as pharmacy (P) medicines after tighter controls were found to minimise the misuse of these ingredients in the illegal manufacture of methylamphetamine (crystal meth).
Short-term complications and death rates were low following bariatric surgery to limit the amount of food that can enter the stomach, decrease absorption of food or both, according to the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS-1). The study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. Results are reported in the July 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
In light of yesterday"s Public Health Advisory from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning consumers to immediately stop using all body-building products that claim to contain steroids or steroid-like substances, The Endocrine Society is re-issuing its Position Statement on Steroid Abuse initially launched in 2008.
Views are being sought on European proposals for a revised regime for regulating the placing on the market and use of biocides.
Without knowing how much of an industrial chemical is being produced, it is almost impossible for scientists to determine if it poses any threat to the environment or human health.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that prevention and partnership will guide their departments" efforts to safeguard the food Americans eat every day. Both Secretaries announced new strategies that focus on prevention and depend on working closely with growers, food processors and consumers to achieve their goals.
A new chemical imaging technique could one day help in the fight against atherosclerosis, suggests research published in the August 2009 edition of the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
GSK announced that it has notified the European Medicines Agency of its decision to withdraw the Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) in the EU for mepolizumab for the treatment of hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES).
Rush University Medical Center has opened the first multidisciplinary center in the Midwest for the treatment of asthma, addressing a chronic respiratory disease that affects 22 million Americans, including 6 million children.
A Lancet world report examines the growing threat of visceral leishmaniasis on populations in eastern Africa. Each year, the parasitic disease affects around 500,000 people worldwide, killing roughly 50,000. Though "[t]wo-thirds of [leishmaniasis] patients are in southeast Asia ò€¦ the second largest foci is east Africa: perhaps as many as 40,000 cases every year, and incidence is on the rise," according to the article. The report explores the difficulty monitoring visceral leishmaniasis due to poor diagnostics and data surveillance, a surge in leishmania/HIV coinfection in Ethiopia and the Sudan, the shortcomings of the therapies available to treat visceral leishmaniasis, as well as future efforts to control the spread of the disease.
Global Health Aid Should Take An "Integrated Approach"
The National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors and the Kaiser Family Foundation released a report that "provides the first, comprehensive inventory of HIV prevention efforts at the state and local levels" and is based on a survey of 65 state health departments, including all state and territorial jurisdictions and six U.S. cities. The report "is intended to offer a baseline picture of how HIV prevention is delivered across the country. ... " ("The National HIV Prevention Inventory: The State of HIV Prevention Across the U.S.," July 2009).
Patients with second primary lung cancers (SPLC), when compared to those with one primary lung cancer (OPLC), are more likely to have localized disease at the time of diagnosis and are more likely to receive surgical treatment rather than radiation treatment. However, patients with SPLC have a 12% higher lung cancer specific mortality, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers reported at the annual meeting of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.
In a world first, Melbourne scientists have made a critical breakthrough in understanding the differences in the brains of people with schizophrenia.
UroToday.com - A recent European study demonstrated that 10-year mortality from cardiovascular disease and cancer was decreased in a population of 70 to 90 year olds who adhered to a Mediterranean diet, were physically active, had moderate alcohol consumption and did not smoke. There are also reports suggesting an inverse association between physical activity and risk of prostate cancer (CaP). Yet mechanisms linking lifestyle and longevity are not well investigated. This report in The Prostate investigates an animal model for the association between physical activity and development of CaP.
The ghrelin hormone not only stimulates the brain giving rise to an increase in appetite, but also favours the accumulation of lipids in visceral fatty tissue, located in the abdominal zone and considered to be the most harmful. This is the conclusion of research undertaken at Metabolic Research Laboratory of the University Hospital of Navarra, published recently in the International Journal of Obesity.
UroToday.com - We undertook a systematic review of the literature in reference to the use of ipsilateral adrenalectomy at the time of radical nephrectomy for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. Important in the understanding of this is accurately defining..
Data presented today at the 8th European Congress on Menopause
Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, released the following statement after the Committee favorably reported HR 3200, the Democrat health care reform bill, by a vote of 31 to 28
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that prevention and partnership will guide their departments" efforts to safeguard the food Americans eat every day. Both Secretaries announced new strategies that focus on prevention and depend on working closely with growers, food processors and consumers to achieve their goals.
If you"ve ever felt doomed to repeat your mistakes, researchers at MIT"s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory may have explained why: brain cells may only learn from experience when we do something right and not when we fail.
Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SVNT) announced that the Company has received a complete response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stating that the FDA can not at this time approve the Company"s Biologics License Application (BLA) for KRYSTEXXA(TM) (pegloticase) as a treatment for chronic gout in patients refractory to conventional therapy.
Hard to Treat Diseases, Inc. (HTDS:PK), announced that researchers in its Slavica BioChem division have reported results on experiments in which the potential beneficial effects of Hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO) after traumatic brain injury have been explored. These experiments were conducted in collaboration with doctors from the Hyperbaric Medical Center, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia.
The Society of Gynecologic Oncologists (SGO) has published the first in a series of four papers on a variety of cervical cancer issues and topics that were the focus of its Forum "The Future Strategies for Cervical Cancer Prevention: What Do We Need to Do Now to Prepare," held last September in Chicago, Illinois. The paper, entitled "The Impact of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination on Cervical Cancer Prevention Efforts," is featured in the August, 2009 issue of Gynecologic Oncology. It includes data relevant to HPV natural history as well as excerpts from Forum discussions regarding the limits of current screening, the impact that eliminating HPV 16/18 through vaccination may have on rates of cervical precancer and cervical cancer screening, strategies to measure vaccine uptake and obstacles surrounding separate screening for vaccinated women.
The U.S. Census Bureau published 2006 estimates of health insurance coverage for each of the nation"s counties.
"Confusing claims and outright distortions have animated the national debate over changes in the health care system," the Associated Press reports. The AP lists examples:
To mark the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) on 17 May, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth group in Telford and Shropshire is calling for local people to be aware that "Being gay is only part of who you are". The group chose this slogan to put across the message that LGBT people should not be defined by their sexuality alone, but by who they are as individuals. The I-mix group, run by HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), will be distributing posters and flyers across the region to encourage LGBT young people interested in joining to get in touch.
Unhealthy Compromise The Baltimore Sun
Global Fund Audit Reveals Expired, Missing Drugs In Tanzania
Nearly two-thirds of parents reported they felt the need to watch over their child"s care to ensure that medical errors are not made during their hospital stay, according to a study led by Beth A. Tarini, M.D., M.S., assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School.
A new study of childhood obesity in the United States has found that some social factors, such as the presence of friends, may put overweight youths at greater risk of overeating.
Brain cancer is among the deadliest of cancers. It"s also one of the hardest to treat. Imaging results are often imprecise because brain cancers are extremely invasive. Surgeons must saw through the skull and safely remove as much of the tumor as they can. Then doctors use radiation or chemotherapy to destroy cancerous cells in the surrounding tissue.
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) welcomed the launch of a new website, http://www.syntaxscore.com, dedicated to the understanding and use of the SYNTAX Score™, a novel angiographic tool used to measure the complexity of coronary artery disease. The Company made the announcement at the annual EuroPCR Scientific Program in Barcelona.
Researchers have identified what they believe is the original of malignant malaria: a parasite found in chimpanzees in equatorial Africa.
Pregnant women with mild hypertensive disorders such as high blood pressure/mild pre-eclampsia^ should have their labour induced once they complete 37 weeks of their pregnancy. This is the conclusion of the HYPITAT study, published in an Article Online First and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet, written by Dr Corine M Koopmans, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Medical Centre Groningen, Netherlands, and colleagues.
Middle aged people who smoke, have high blood pressure or diabetes are far more likely to develop dementia in later life, suggests research published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement tonight on the vote by the House Energy and Commerce Committee to pass the America"s Affordable Health Choices Act, the third House committee to pass the bill this month. The House Ways and Means Committee and Education and Labor Committee approved the bill earlier this month:
A new Equality and Diversity Council that will strengthen the national focus on improving quality in the National Health Service, was announced by the Department of Health today.
A consultation on whether, and if so, how, practitioners of acupuncture, herbal medicine and traditional Chinese medicine should be regulated was launched today by the Department of Health.
Sirtuin proteins have been shown to promote longevity in many organisms, and increased expression of one sirtuin protein, SIRT3, has been linked to increased human lifespan. New data, generated in mice, by Mahesh Gupta and colleagues, at the University of Chicago, Chicago, has revealed that Sirt3 helps protect the mouse heart.
Moffitt Cancer Center and Frantz BioMarkers, LLC have signed a license agreement on phospholipid biomarkers of ovarian cancer. Frantz BioMarkers, which has been granted exclusive worldwide rights to Moffitt"s interests in the biomarkers, will pay initiation, developmental milestone and license maintenance fees, and royalties on sales. Moffitt and Frantz BioMarkers will collaborate on ovarian cancer biomarker research, combining use of these licensed markers with lipid markers developed independently by Frantz BioMarkers.
One of the most bothersome symptoms of leukemia is extreme fatigue, and asking these patients to exercise doesn"t sound like a way to help them feel better.
With the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States, there is concern that overweight and obese children need to be screened for chronic medical conditions, including high cholesterol levels.
As the field of stem cell based therapies has progressed, there have been numerous questions about the exact way one of the most promising lines of adult stem cells works to repair damaged heart muscle. Although cells obtained from adult bone marrow are proving to be useful to treat heart disease, there has been a major controversy over whether they are true stem cells capable of forming new heart muscle.
Bionovo, Inc. (Nasdaq: BNVI) announced positive results from the Phase 1B clinical trial of Bezielle (formerly BZL101), their lead drug candidate for advanced breast cancer. In the trial, Bezielle showed an excellent safety and tolerability profile, and also showed promising indications of efficacy in a difficult-to-treat population.
Kowa Research Institute (KRI) based in Morrisville, NC and Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. (KPA), a privately-held specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Montgomery, AL, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved LIVALO(R) (pitavastatin), a potent HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (statin), for the primary treatment of hypercholesterolemia and combined dyslipidemia.
Eczema is a chronic skin disorder characterized by dry, itchy, scaly skin and rashes. It is commonly known as "the itch that rashes." (1) While the exact cause of eczema is not known, it appears to result from a complex interaction of factors including personal and family genetics, immune response and environmental factors. (2)
Today, the Maricopa County Department of Public Health in cooperation with Phoenix Elementary School District has closed Lowell Elementary School until May 26, 2009 due to a high rate of influenza like illness.
"Senate Democrats may decide to pass a U.S. health-care overhaul without Republican support if some opposition lawmakers don"t agree to a plan by mid-September," Senator Charles Schumer[ D-N.Y.] said" according to Bloomberg. Schumer said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., set a self-imposed deadline of Sept. 15 to lead a negotiating team, composed of three Republicans and three Democrats within his Finance Committee, to a bipartisan compromise.
Minnesota"s only storefront needle exchange drop-in center, called Access Works!, "fell victim to economic hard times and federal anti-drug policies" and ended its program last week after 13 years, the Minnesota Independent reports. The program "traded used needles for clean ones, conducted HIV and Hepatitis C testing, taught overdose prevention, held support groups and connected users with chemical dependency treatment experts," according to the Independent. Federal funding cannot be used to administer needles for such programs, Lauri Wollner, executive director of the program said. She added, "The federal ban has had a long-term impact. We spend almost $40,000 a year on needles and about $5,000 a year on disposal (of used needles)." Private donations also have been down, she said. While the ban on the use of federal funding for needle exchange is being revisited by Congress, "local needle-exchange activists say it is doubtful that congressional action will be able to save the struggling organization," the article states (Birkey, 8/3).
The Shreveport Times profiled the 20-year-old Shreveport, La.-based Philadelphia Center, an agency that provides HIV/AIDS services to "an average of nearly 600 people each year in northwest Louisiana" and provides "about 1,400 free HIV tests each year." The organization also has a residential program called the Mercy Center, "a haven for homeless people with HIV or those fighting addiction and other challenges," according to the Times. The center in large part is supported by an annual auction from which proceeds "help the agency operate support groups, coordinate medical, dental and housing services for clients, provide food and medicine to people and offer free, on-the-spot HIV testing," the article states. The center recently opened a satellite office in a nearby town in response to an increase in HIV infections in the area (Brumble 8/2).
The 8th International Conference of Food Science and Technology will bring together more than 100 scientists from China and the United States to present a wealth of information on food quality and safety. Conference sessions will take place in Freeborn Hall on Wednesday and Wellman Hall on Thursday. Both venues are on the UC Davis campus.
Avian influenza (AI) viruses are believed to be transmitted within aquatic bird populations through contaminated water. This study determined that filter-feeding clams can remove AI virus from water and reduce infectivity.
How you eat may be just as important as how much you eat, if mice studies are any clue.
Cooling unconscious cardiac arrest survivors can increase survival and has a cost effectiveness comparable to other widely accepted treatments in modern health care, researchers report in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
A widely publicized analysis of social network size, which reported dramatically increasing social isolation when it was published in 2006, has sparked an academic debate in the August issue of the American Sociological Review (ASR), the flagship journal of the American Sociological Association.
Although lead content in paint has been restricted in the United States since 1978, University of Cincinnati (UC) environmental health researchers say in major countries from three continents there is still widespread failure to acknowledge its danger and companies continue to sell consumer paints that contain dangerous levels of lead.
Two pharmacists, and one non-pharmacist, have been recognised by the Council of the Royal
A new study led by Mayo Clinic researchers has found that relief of pain from vertebral compression fractures, as well as improvement in pain-related dysfunction, were similar in patients treated with vertebroplasty and those treated with simulated vertebroplasty without cement injections. The article, "A Randomized Controlled Trial of Vertebroplasty for Osteoporotic Spine Fractures," was released today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Decoding the complete DNA of cancer patients is giving scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis a clearer picture of the complexity of the disease and allowing them to see intriguing and unexpected genetic relationships among patients.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has cut short its annual health ministers meeting because of influenza A (H1N1) preparations and has postponed discussions about Chagas disease. Much needed progress in diagnosing and treating people for this neglected disease must not be further delayed, warned the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Mç©decins Sans Frontiç¨res (MSF) today.
In the first study of its kind, researchers at Saint Louis University are recruiting patients for a clinical trial that will use cutting-edge imaging equipment to map the brain injuries of combat veterans and civilians, aiming to better understand the nature of their injuries. Funded by a $5.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, researchers will use three types of imaging equipment together, producing better data and a more complete taxonomy of brain injuries, information that investigators hope may lead to better treatment for blast injuries and car accidents.
The structure of an entire HIV genome has been decoded for the first time by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The results have widespread implications for understanding the strategies that viruses, like the one that causes AIDS, use to infect humans.
"As they work to overhaul the nation"s healthcare system, President Obama and his congressional allies have pledged to help small-business owners such as Rhonda Ealy and Kelli Glasser," The Los Angeles Times reports. "Both businesswomen desperately want help. But they have strongly divergent views about what Washington should do, reflecting a broader debate about how to relieve the burden on the nation"s roughly 6 million small businesses." Ealy owns a coffee roasting company in Bend, Ore. with 13 employees, she says she "loves a Democratic proposal to create a government-run insurance plan, which she hopes will allow her to get her employees better coverage for less." Glasser, who "makes museum and trade-show exhibits" and has 87 employees, "hates a separate provision in the legislation that would place a new requirement on many businesses to cover their employees."
During a presentation about the Health Agenda for the Americas at the "Seventh
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday in Kenya "re-affirmed the new U.S. administration"s commitment towards expanding its partnership with African countries, expressing optimism in the continent"s long-term potential for growth and development," VOA News reports. Speaking at the African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum in Nairobi, which marked the start of her 11-day trip to Africa, Clinton "also stressed to the delegates that economic progress is tied directly to good governance (Boswell, 8/5). Clinton"s message was that the "new American policy for Africa would be trade not aid," according to the New York Times. She told the forum, "We want to be your partner, not your patron" (Gettleman, 8/5).
Results of a new study confirm trends that different Hispanic population groups have higher incidence rates of certain cancers and worse cancer outcomes if they live in the United States, than they do if they live in their homelands.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends the human papillomavirus vaccination for all 11- and 12-year-old girls, but results of a recent survey showed that more than half of Texas physicians do not follow these recommendations.
A team of US scientists has for the first time unravelled the entire genetic code of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, paving the way for a better understanding of how these types of viruses
Pfizer will present new data highlighting the company"s commitment to a personalized approach to oncology clinical research, which includes the use of targeted agents in specific patient populations in several advanced and difficult-to-treat cancers. These data will be presented later this month at the 45th Annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Orlando from May 29 to June 2.
According to the latest data in a clinical study supported by St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy for depression may provide sustainable improvement in depression symptoms among patients with major depressive disorder. Study results will be presented at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) meeting in San Francisco.
Timberline Knolls, one of the country"s leaders in the treatment of eating disorders, is recognizing well-known tennis star, Monica Seles, for disclosing her history with an eating disorder in her new book Get a Grip. Ms. Seles" display of courage and candor has the potential to help many others who have similar struggles, especially young female athletes.