Endocrinology
The abrupt withdrawal of morphine-like analgesics - opioids - can
The National AIDS Fund (NAF) praised the decision by a House subcommittee to remove language from an appropriations bill that for the past twenty years has banned the use of federal funds for syringe exchange programs (SEPs).
The Union-managed initiative TREAT TB (Technology, Research, Education and Technical Assistance for TB) is now on the web offering direct access to the work of this five-year, USAID-funded project.
Knee injuries are a common problem in collegiate and professional football, often
Speaking at a national summit this week on H1N1 flu preparedness, Dr. Damon T. Arnold, state public health director, stressed the need to prepare for the possibility the fall flu season could be more severe than normal.
Research published in the June 26, 2009 edition of Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences provides further evidence for novel roles of tRNA synthetases in disease, validating the therapeutic potential for aTyr Pharma"s new class of naturally occurring protein agents. The aminoacyl tRNA synthetases are universal and essential components of protein synthesis machinery found in all organisms, but human synthetases have naturally occurring resected variants with potent cell signaling activities that are vital to normal functioning of humans. aTyr Pharma"s proprietary product generating engine consists of these resected proteins (resectins) of human aminoacyl tRNA synthetases with cell signaling activities distinct from the protein synthesis activities. In this recently published study, a model of a human neuropathy was created in the fruit fly (Drosophila) by introducing mutations in the tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase which correspond to disease associated mutations in humans. These dominant mutations do not cause a loss in the protein synthesis activity, indicating that the neuropathy arises from distinct activities of this tRNA synthetase. This work provides further proof of noncanonical roles for tRNA synthetases in human disease.
US scientists have found that moderate drinkers - those who consume between 8 and 14 drinks per week - are at a 37% lower risk of dementia.
The School Nutrition Association"s 2008 National School Lunch Week Campaign, "Vote for School Lunch - Presidential Edition," was honored by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) with a 2009 Summit Award. The award will be presented to SNA during the 10th Annual Summit Awards Dinner, September 29, 2009 at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) announces that Ellis J. Neufeld, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School, Thomas Shea, MD, of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Alvin Schmaier, MD, of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, will each receive ASH"s Alternative Training Pathway Grant this July. The grant is awarded to selected training program directors to encourage the development and implementation of novel hematology-related training programs in recognition of the need for more clinicians and clinical/translational researchers in hematology-related disciplines.
The mood in Washington to compromise with hospitals, pharmaceutical makers and physician groups is not extending to physician-owned specialty hospitals, Time reports. "Any health-reform package passed by Congress will likely deal a major blow to an upstart competitor of many hospitals. Buried in the 850-page House health-reform draft is a provision that could in effect ban further construction of doctor-owned, for-profit specialty hospitals and prohibit existing ones from expanding. ò€¦ Senators Charles Grassley and Max Baucus, who lead the body"s powerful Finance Committee, have been vocal critics of the doctor-owned specialty-hospital model and the industry expects similar language to be included in any upcoming Senate health-reform bill as well."
VOA News reports that fake pharmaceuticals pose a greater risk to stability and human security in West Africa than illegal drug trafficking, according to U.N. Office Against Drugs and Crime report. More than half of the malaria medication available in West Africa is of "sub-standard quality," according to U.N. estimates, VOA News writes, adding, "West Africa has the highest estimated rate of malaria on the continent, with nearly 98 million cases of malaria per year."
Cancer Research Technology (CRT), Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Cancer Research UK, Cardiff University and The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) are set to begin a major new research collaboration for the first time. This will provide substantial investment in research on the WNT signalling pathway in the hope of finding new drug targets.
Going out like a brilliant flame is one way to get attention. If physicians could watch tumor cells committing a form of programmed suicide called apoptosis, a desired effect of workhorse cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, they could more quickly pick the most effective treatment. Now scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found a way to do just that, by lighting up cells as they die.
When cells experiencing DNA damage fail to repair themselves, they send a signal to their neighbors letting them know they"re in trouble. The discovery, which shows that a process dubbed the DDR (DNA Damage Response) also controls communication from cell to cell, has implications for both cancer and aging. The findings appear in the July 13 online edition of the Nature Cell Biology.
Researchers in the Heart Institute at Cincinnati Children"s Hospital Medical Center have discovered a novel gene responsible for heart muscle disease and chronic heart failure in some children and adults with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).
The beta-carotene in so-called "Golden Rice" converts to vitamin A in humans, according to researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Tufts University in an article that appears in the current issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSI) (Nasdaq: CSII), a medical device company developing and commercializing innovative interventional treatment systems for vascular disease, announced today that the first patient has been enrolled in the COMPLIANCE 360 degree clinical trial. This prospective, randomized study will generate additional data on patient outcomes achieved in treating lesions above the knee with CSI"s Diamondback 360°® Peripheral Arterial System, a minimally invasive catheter for treating peripheral arterial disease (PAD).
It comes as no surprise that some babies are more difficult to soothe than others but frustrated parents may be relieved to know that this is not necessarily an indication of their parenting skills. According to a new report in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, children"s temperament may be due in part to a combination of a certain gene and a specific pattern of brain activity.
HIV-positive people with opportunistic infections who receive earlier antiretroviral treatment lower their risk of death compared with people who delay treatment, according to a new study conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine and published in PLoS One, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The findings could lead to changes in recommendations for antiretroviral treatment protocol, specifically for patients diagnosed with HIV at an advanced stage, the Mercury News reports. The study included 262 HIV-positive participants at 39 health care sites across the U.S., and 20 participants in South Africa. During the yearlong study, the researchers found that among the participants who were treated promptly after developing an opportunistic infection, 14% died or developed another infection. The researchers also found that 24% of participants who deferred treatment for an average of 45 days died or had a decrease in health outcomes. According to the Mercury News, the question of when to start HIV-positive people on antiretroviral treatment remains unclear because of issues such as the high cost of medicines, side effects, and drug interactions or resistance. Andrew Zolopa, head of Stanford University School of Medicine"s division of infectious diseases and lead investigator of the study, said that physicians often treat HIV-positive people for an "acute crisis, then follow up later with treatment for HIV." He continues, "But that answer is wrong. The study shows very clearly that there is no safety downside to doing this -- and the benefit is quite substantial, reducing death by 50%." "Even in San Francisco, one of the first epicenters of HIV in the United States, we still find that many people present late in the course of their illness with an opportunistic infection," Mitch Katz, director of San Francisco"s Department of Health who was not involved in the study, said. He added, "This study shows that it is lifesaving to treat those persons with antiretroviral drugs while they are still in the hospital." Katz said that the results could lead to changes in HIV/AIDS practices worldwide. The International AIDS Society, CDC and the British AIDS Society have developed guidelines recommending that early antiretroviral treatment be considered in patients with opportunistic infections, Zolopa said. In addition, NIH is considering an international study to examine earlier initiation of antiretroviral treatment involving more than 9,000 people from both developed and developing countries (Krieger, San Jose Mercury News, 5/15).
Scientists have shown that E. coli - one of the best known and extensively studied organisms in the world - remains an enigma that may hold the key to human diseases, such as cancer.
The relationships between children and their parent of the same gender in the earliest years of life could be the key to understanding why some young people become obese and others do not, new research conducted by the EarlyBird Diabetes Study has shown.
Researchers have invented computational tools to decode and rapidly determine whether natural compounds collected in oceans and forests are new - or if these pharmaceutically promising compounds have already been described and are therefore not patentable.
A child"s brain has to work overtime in a noisy classroom to do its typical but very important job of distinguishing sounds whose subtle differences are key to success with language and reading.
Eye movement tests developed by Queen"s University researchers to aid in understanding childhood brain development and healthy aging may also help in the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and detecting the early onset of Parkinson"s disease. The project has received close to $1 million in recent funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
An article published Online First and in a future edition of The Lancet describes the procedures involved in a near-total face transplant. The patient is US citizen Connie Culp. In 2004, she was shot in the face with a shotgun by her husband. The article details her ground-breaking surgery and recovery to date. It is the work of Professor Maria Siemionow, of the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, and collaborators.
Different segments of the carotid artery that supply the brain with blood respond in different fashions to the build-up of complex, health-threatening plaque, according to researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and their colleagues.
While only two-thirds of Texas doctors treat Medicaid patients, a Texas government agency is using tactics that might turn more doctors away from the program, according to the Texas Medical Association (TMA).
SCIENTISTS have developed a new drug which can reduce the growth of tumours* in mice by up to 98 per cent, according to a study published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics ** this week.
The financial crisis and lack of trust in public services mean that the NHS and the government face tough political and economic challenges ahead. In this climate, improvements in health services will only be possible if primary care takes the lead and political leaders sharpen up their vision.
As the health care debate intensifies, divisions among lawmakers, competing lobbies and interest groups are increasingly tense. "The health care battle in Congress is getting hotter, fueled by growing opposition to taxing health insurance benefits, mandating small-business coverage and cutting Medicare payments and by creeping doubts about a public plan for the uninsured. And this is just among Democrats," the Washington Times reports. Notably, last week the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of conservative Democrats, objected to the cost of an anticipated House reform proposal and said it would hurt small businesses, a key constituency already reeling from the recession. The objection stalled the House, which delayed releasing the proposal (Lambro, 7/14).
"Saying the new H1N1 [swine flu] virus is "unstoppable", the WHO gave drug makers a full go-ahead to manufacture vaccines against the pandemic influenza strain on Monday and said healthcare workers should be the first to get one," Reuters reports (Fox, 7/14). This, as "Britain, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the Philippines and Thailand all reported deaths on Monday, while Saudi Arabia shut an international school after 20 students were diagnosed with the A(H1N1) virus," AFP/Google.com reports (7/13). "As of last week, the WHO had reported nearly 95,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of pandemic flu and 429 deaths," the Los Angeles Times reports (Maugh, 7/14).
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Monday rejected several Republican abortion-related amendments to the committee" health overhaul bill but adopted a Democratic amendment allowing health care providers who oppose abortion to contract with health plans, CQ HealthBeat reports. The committee voted mostly along party lines to reject an amendment by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) that would have prohibited abortion coverage in a health care exchange for participants who receive government-subsidized coverage. Democrats said that the language could have been used to restrict abortion coverage in private insurance plans. The amendment failed in an 11-12 vote, with Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) crossing party lines to support it. The committee also voted 11-12 to reject an amendment by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) that would have specified that federal health reform legislation could not override state laws on parental notification when minors seek abortion services. The committee adopted by voice vote an amendment submitted by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) on behalf of committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who is battling brain cancer. The amendment states that health care providers could not be excluded from contracting with health plans taking part in a health insurance exchange on the basis that the provider performs abortions or refuses to perform abortions except in an emergency if "performing abortions is contrary to the religious or moral beliefs of the provider or entity." Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) said that he is concerned the amendment might be unconstitutional because Congress cannot legislate on religious issues. Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) expressed concern that the phrase "except in emergency" was not more clearly defined. Dodd declined Enzi"s request to withdraw the amendment until it could be clarified. The committee rejected Coburn"s amendment that was a more sweeping version of "conscience" protections for health care providers with religious or moral objections (Norman [1], CQ HealthBeat, 7/13). Dodd said he expects the committee to complete its work on the bill Tuesday night (Norman [2], CQ HealthBeat, 7/13).According to NPR"s "Morning Edition," abortion is one of the most likely issues to "throw a wrench into the already fragile gears" of health reform legislation. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said, "I take a view that there"s almost anything (that can be compromised) in public affairs except probably the issue of abortion." Nineteen House Democrats recently sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), saying, "We cannot support any health care reform proposal unless it explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan." Democratic pollster Mark Mellman said any new restrictions on abortion coverage in government-subsidized health plans might be unpopular with the public. "Right now most health care plans cover abortion, cover contraception, cover women"s reproductive health," Mellman said. He added, "To some extent what they"re talking about on Capitol Hill is taking away coverage that people already have. Americans want health care reform. But they will oppose health care reform if it takes away the coverage they now have for things like abortion and contraception." Mellman recently conducted a poll for the National Women"s Law Center that found that 75% of respondents would prefer to have an independent commission of medical experts and citizens, rather than lawmakers, decide what should be covered (Rovner, "Morning Edition," NPR, 7/14).
Earlier this year, a scientific team from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the Broad Institute identified a class of RNA genes known as large intervening non-coding RNAs or "lincRNAs," a discovery that has pushed the field forward in understanding the roles of these molecules in many biological processes, including stem cell pluripotency, cell cycle regulation, and the innate immune response.
In Scotland, young men and women (ages 35-44) from socially deprived groups are around six times more likely to die from heart disease than the most affluent individuals in the same age range, according to research published on bmj.com today.
A large study of patients with mild cognitive impairment revealed that results from cognitive tests and brain scans can work as an early warning system for the subsequent development of Alzheimer"s disease.
Eating a "heart healthy" diet and maintaining or increasing participation in moderate physical activity may help preserve our memory and thinking abilities as we age, according to new research reported today at the Alzheimer"s Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer"s Disease (ICAD 2009) in Vienna.
For the first time, the Society of Interventional Radiology has assembled a major electronic collection of professional articles about uterine artery embolization, a treatment directed toward a number of conditions involving the uterus-most often adverse health effects that may occur due to the presence of uterine fibroids. The Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology "virtual" collection allows health care providers and the public to view the abstracts on current research on this topic in one place, eliminating the need to search topics individually.
There is a thin layer of cells (membrane) between the inner surface of the eyelids and the whites of the eyes, called the conjunctiva. Conjunctivitis is when the conjunctiva becomes inflamed. Another name for conjunctivitis is pink eye. Inflammation causes tiny blood vessels (capillaries) in the conjunctiva to become more prominent, giving the eye a red or pink look.
Diabetes patients taking NovoLog((R)) (insulin aspart [rDNA origin] injection) can now use the insulin in their pump for up to six days following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a labeling change, diabetes care company Novo Nordisk announced today.(1) The previous label allowed for NovoLog((R)) to be stored in the pump reservoir for two days. This makes NovoLog((R)) the first and only rapid-acting insulin with this extended in-use time.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released new data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample -- the largest, all-payer emergency department database in the United States. The Nationwide Emergency Department Sample is designed to help public health experts, policymakers, health care administrators, researchers, journalists and others find the data they need to answer questions about care that occurs in U.S. hospital emergency departments.
The MS Technology Collaborative has created a new way for people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) to exercise their brain power. The Collaborative, an alliance of Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Microsoft, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, today announced the launch of MyBrainGames, a free suite of online games filled with cognitive challenges for the MS community.
One day after President Obama told lawmakers to speed up their pace, three key Finance Committee senators expressed doubts about meeting the President"s August deadline for passing a reform proposal, Politico reports. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said he doesn"t "see how" his colleagues can confirm the new Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, and pass a health bill in the time left before the August recess.
The Johns Hopkins Hospital has once again -- for the 19th consecutive time -- earned the top spot in U.S. News & World Report"s annual rankings of more than 4,800 American hospitals, placing first in three medical specialties and in the top 16 in 13 others.
"Brazil has been successful in its nearly 20-year effort to treat people living with" HIV/AIDS, and generic medicines have been "a large part of the solution," according to a recent Health Affairs review, UPI reports (UPI, 7/14). The review examines Brazil"s passing of "a law in the 1990s that guaranteed citizens free and universal access to drugs for HIV and AIDS treatment" as well as the country"s production of generic HIV/AIDS medicines in public factories, AHN reports. "The [Brazilian] government also prompted drug companies to lower their prices by threatening to make generic versions of [patented] HIV and AIDS drugs in the public factories," writes AHN (Goodhue, 7/14).
Obama"s Policy Could Make U.S.-Africa Relations "Flower"
With the current outbreak of swine flu, and in the absence of a vaccine or treatment at present, the only way to contain the virus is to get people around the world to take precautionary measures. In a special editorial1 in the latest issue of Springer"s International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Johannes Brug, Arja Aro, and Jan Hendrik Richardus show that there are three key parameters that convince people to take precautions. Firstly, they need to be aware of the risk to them. Secondly, they need to believe that effective protective actions are available and have confidence in them. Lastly, communications about risk need to be carefully managed so that they express the actual risk accurately to prevent mass scares.
Eduardo Davila, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology, and Immunology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine and Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, has been awarded a $1.3 million grant over five years by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health to develop new immunotherapies, including a vaccine, for cancer. Two years of the research will be supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
A student team in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering is providing the blind with an opportunity many never thought possible: The opportunity to drive.
An osteoporosis drug proven to save lives after hip fractures may do so by strengthening the body"s immune system, according to geriatrics researchers at Duke University Medical Center.
Patrick Lane, age 74, was plagued by recurring aortic aneurysms ten years ago that threatened his survival. His doctor at the time suggested he contact a leading vascular surgeon at UCLA who was pioneering a new treatment technique for high-risk patients who couldn"t receive traditional surgery.
Two UCSF research papers this week are marking major breakthroughs in the effort to tackle schistosomiasis (bilharzia), a tropical disease that infects more than 200 million people worldwide and causes long-term debilitating illness and occasional paralysis or death.
When we are feeling blue we are told to count our blessings, but according to a study recently published in Psychological Science, counting our money might be a more useful activity. Psychologists Xinyue Zhou, Sun Yat-Sen University, Kathleen D. Vohs, University of Minnesota, and Roy F. Baumeister, Florida State University, investigated the psychological, physical and social impact of money.
Prolonged use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to treat people infected with both HIV and hepatitis B (HBV) helps to better control the hepatitis B infection and could delay or prevent liver complications, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Studying the way a person"s brain "sings" could improve our understanding of conditions such as epilepsy and schizophrenia and help develop better treatments, scientists at Cardiff University have discovered.
Array BioPharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ARRY) announced the filing of an investigational new drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial in cancer patients with its most advanced wholly owned MEK inhibitor, ARRY-162. Recent research confirms that the MEK pathway acts as a central axis in the proliferation of different tumors including melanoma, non-small cell lung, head/neck and pancreatic cancers. Array plans to simultaneously develop ARRY-162 for the treatment of both cancer and inflammatory disease. Array is currently completing a worldwide Phase 2, double-blinded clinical trial with ARRY-162 in 200 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis.
Memory probably begins during the prenatal period, but little is known about the exact timing or for how long memory lasts. Now in a new study from the Netherlands, scientists have found fetal short-term memory in fetuses at 30 weeks.
AGA Medical Corporation has received European CE Mark approval for its AMPLATZER® vascular plug, AVP 4. The device, which is indicated for arterial and venous embolizations in the peripheral vasculature, uses AMPLATZER"s proven mesh-braided Nitinol technology and may eliminate the need for catheter exchange, giving physicians a more efficient procedure. AGA Medical will begin marketing the AVP 4 in Europe immediately.
The "sloppier copier" discovered by USC biologists is also the best sixth man in the DNA repair game, an article in the journal Nature shows.
For the 11th consecutive year, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) has been named one of the 100 Most Wired hospitals and health systems in the United States, according to the results of the 2009 survey by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, the journal of the American Hospital Association. UPMC is one of only five organizations to appear on the list since its inception.
The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) has released a Statement on Professionalism in Dental Education for the academic dental community. Aligned with existing codes of ethics and conduct within the dental education and dental practice communities, the Statement helps to define expectations for professional behavior in dental education institutions. It includes the values and behaviors that should guide students as they enter the dental and allied dental professions and faculty and administrators as they continuously improve their educational programs.
AARP CEO Barry Rand released this statement following the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee"s passage of the Affordable Health Choices Act:
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announces it has received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for velaglucerase alfa, its enzyme replacement therapy in development for the treatment of Type I Gaucher disease. Shire is working with the FDA to determine subsequent steps and timing for the filing of its NDA.
Americans are unsure that a healthcare reform bill introduced this week is the solution to problems with the U.S. healthcare system, according to a poll created and commissioned by a public policy expert at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Mental Health America today commended Senate and House health reform legislation for including mental health and substance use coverage in a benefit package.
The Royal College of Nursing and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health commented on a new report from the Care Quality Commission, Safeguarding children: a review of arrangements in the NHS for safeguarding children. The report found that some providers had excellent systems and staff were delivering good practice, however in others training and evaluating procedures were patchy and many health organisations need to improve as a matter of urgency.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it is conducting a safety review of Xolair (omalizumab), a drug used to treat certain adults and adolescents with moderate-to-severe persistent asthma.
Researchers have sequenced the genomes of two parasites that cause bilharzia or schistosomiasis - a disease transmitted by water-borne snails that affects more than 200 million people worldwide - "revealing potential weaknesses that could be exploited by drug developers," Nature reports (Smith, 7/15).
The Daily Trust/allAfrica.com examines food security in Nigeria. Despite its agricultural potential, the "food crisis" in Nigeria "poses a big question as to what is responsible for the insecurity in food production, preservation and storage," according to the newspaper. A government committee recently toured the country in an effort to address some of the problems involved with agricultural production and food insecurity.
Yesterday"s Senate HELP Committee"s vote for a health reform bill and the beginning today of the committee markup process in the House of Representatives mark significant steps forward on the path to comprehensive health reform.
When hospitalists use discharge communication software, patients and the outpatient doctors who carry out the care have better perceptions of the quality of the discharge process, according to new research published in the August issue of the Journal of Hospital Medicine.
New research, has revealed that an extract which concentrates specific nutrients from Klamath blue green algae, could provide an effective natural remedy for women looking for an effective alternative to HRT to control mood swings and improve overall wellbeing.
Following Gordon Brown"s meeting at Downing Street with Britain"s top drinks industry executives he called for them to harness their considerable marketing powers to drive for change in social norm and cultural attitudes towards alcohol in the UK. This has resulted in Project "N" - a collaboration of the not inconsiderable res of top companies throughout the UK.
For a year and a half, Andrzej Bielak lived as a self-described "half man, half machine." Everywhere he went, he was accompanied by the "beautiful ticking" of the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart that kept him alive.
The word bacteria is the plural of bacterium. Grammatically the headline should just say "What are bacteria?" The incorrect usage has been included in the headline to remind readers that it is wrong - and hopefully help correct an increasingly common mistake in the English language. Bacteria are tiny living beings (microorganisms) - they are neither plants nor animals - they belong to a group all by themselves. Bacteria are tiny single-cell microorganisms, usually a few micrometers in length that normally exist together in millions.
A team led by researchers from the National Institutes of Health reports
The nation"s largest union and professional association of registered nurses hailed passage of a key amendment in the House Education and Labor Committee to the national healthcare reform bill this morning that would enable individual states to go a step farther and adopt single-payer, Medicare-for-All style reforms.
Asking members of Congress to support patient-focused reform of the Medicare home oxygen therapy benefit, patients and family members with the National Emphysema/COPD Association (NECA), a national advocacy organization representing patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other lung diseases, descended on Capitol Hill this week. Patients urged members of the U.S. House to support and pass the Medicare Home Oxygen Therapy Act of 2009 (H.R. 3220), which was recently introduced.
We use the term ringworm or tinea when referring to several types of contagious fungal infections of the top layer of the skin and scalp, as well as the nails. We call it ringworm because the itchy, red rash has a ring-like appearance. There is no connection between ringworm and worms.
The "religious right and its Republican enablers" are "playing the abortion card" with health care reform legislation by contending that "federal government dollars will pay directly for abortions," according to an American Prospect opinion piece by Dana Goldstein, an associate editor for the magazine. It is "unlikely" that federal money would be used this way, but the groups "want grassroots conservatives to believe it will, hoping the resulting outcry will scuttle attempts to reform our expensive health care system," Goldstein continues. She writes, "This rhetoric is beyond hyperbolic -- it is downright deceptive."Goldstein quotes Adam Sonfield, a senior policy associate at the Guttmacher Institute, who said discussion of family planning in federal law ""never includes abortion."" She adds, "In actuality, "family planning" language refers exclusively to contraceptive services, in part because of the Hyde Amendment," which bars the use of federal Medicaid dollars for abortion. She also notes that reproductive health issues are "so politicized ... that even to offer birth control to poor women who do not meet Medicaid"s strict eligibility requirements, individual states must apply for a waiver from the federal government." About half of states have done so, she says. In "choosing what services to cover under any potential public insurance plan," the HHS secretary "will likely be bound by all of the existing laws that prevent the federal government from financing abortion," according to Goldstein. She adds, "None of these restrictions would be explicitly overturned by any of the health reform proposals currently being considered in Congress."Antiabortion-rights Senate Republicans have said they will oppose any health reform bill "that subsidizes abortion coverage or even includes, in the proposed health insurance exchanges, private insurers that cover abortion," Goldstein writes. She adds that 87% of existing health plans include some abortion coverage, meaning that most women would lose coverage under the Republicans" demands. "The result would be a near-blanket restriction on women"s access to insurance-subsidized abortion, one far more radical than the Hyde Amendment," Goldstein says. Meanwhile, women"s health advocates have said that overturning the Hyde Amendment is not currently their top priority because "they are simply too busy playing defense on health reform" and do not have the votes, Goldstein writes.According to Goldstein, by "playing the abortion card, the real goal of anti-choicers is not only to maintain existing restrictions on abortion access, but to use health reform as a vehicle to expand them to the majority of American women." She writes, "If such efforts lead to legislative impasse, many conservatives will be delighted." She concludes, "After all, they"ve never really put any political muscle behind fixing our inadequate health care system" (Goldstein, American Prospect, 7/14).
"Congress"s chief budget analyst delivered a devastating assessment yesterday of the health-care proposals drafted by congressional Democrats, fueling an insurrection among fiscal conservatives in the House and pushing negotiators in the Senate to redouble efforts to draw up a new plan that more effectively restrains federal spending," the Washington Post reports.
The American Medical Association has backed the House bill that carries mandates on employers and individuals, a government-run health plan and reforms to Medicare and Medicaid, Politico reports.
A new study finds more veterans being diagnosed with mental health issues. The study was posted Thursday on the web site of The American Journal of Public Health.
"In a move that caught many public health experts by surprise, the WHO quietly announced Thursday that it would stop tracking swine flu cases and deaths around the world," the New York Times reports. According to the newspaper, the announcement "perplexed some experts, and even baffled a WHO spokesman, Gregory Hartl," who "earlier in the day ò€¦ had confirmed Argentina, with 137 swine flu deaths since June, had surpassed Mexico, where the epidemic began in February, as the country with second largest number of swine flu deaths." While the last WHO updated indicated nearly 95,000 people worldwide had been infected with H1N1, "[m]any epidemiologists have pointed out that, in reality, millions of people have had swine flu, usually in a mild form, so the numbers of laboratory-confirmed cases were actually meaningless" while tests "overwhelmed national laboratories," according to the New York Times (McNeil, 7/16).
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Thursday said food prices remain high in many developing countries because of reduced harvests, civil conflict and other factors, AP/Google.com reports (7/16).
Foster City, Calif.-based Gilead Sciences on Thursday said it has entered into a license and collaboration agreement with Johnson and Johnson subsidiary Tibotec Pharmaceuticals for the development and commercialization of a new once-daily fixed-dose treatment for HIV, the San Francisco Business Times reports. The FDA approved the first once-daily HIV treatment Atripla in 2006 (7/16). The new antiretroviral drug would contain Tibotec"s experimental non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, known as TMC278, and Gilead"s combination pill, Truvada. Kevin Young, head of commercial operations at Gilead "said the new combination pill, along with Gilead"s experimental "quad" pill, will be used for newly-diagnosed patients, with physicians reluctant to change therapy for patients who are responding well to Atripla," Reuters reports. Young said the drug is expected to reach the market in 2011 (Beasley, 7/16).
Male circumcision does not reduce the transmission of HIV from men to their female partners, according to a Lancet study conducted in Uganda, Bloomberg reports (Sargent, 7/16). The researchers recruited 922 uncircumcised HIV-positive men between the ages of 15 and 49 for the study, who were then divided into two groups - those who were "immediately circumcised" and those for whom the procedure was "delayed for two years" Reuters reports. Researchers also followed the wives and female sex partners of the men, who all were HIV-negative (Fox, 7/16). The analysis found that "18 percent of the female partners of the circumcised men became infected with the virus compared with 12 percent of the partners of men who hadn"t undergone the procedure," Bloomberg writes (7/16). Despite studies that "suggested circumcision ò€¦ can lower the rate of male-to-female virus transmission from HIV-positive men" the researchers concluded that "[c]ircumcision of HIV-infected men didn"t reduce HIV transmission to female partners over 24 months; longer-term effects could not be assessed" (Wawer et al., Lancet, July 2009).
Researchers have warned people to beware of the damage that acidic beverages have on teeth. Yet, for some, the damage and problems associated with drinking sodas, citric juices or certain tea may have already begun to take effect. The question remains: What can be done to restore teeth already affected?
The June cover of the Journal of Virology features a photograph of the unusual effects on a cell infected by a virus. Montana State University researchers were the first to view the virus, which they collected from a boiling, acidic spring in Yellowstone.
Bed bugs, known scientifically as Cimex lectularius (Cimicidae) are small wingless insects that feed by hematophagy - exclusively on the blood of warm blooded-animals. As we are warm-blooded animals we are ideal hosts for them. Over millions of years bed bugs have evolved as nest parasites - inhabiting the nests of birds and the roosts of bats. Some of them have learnt to adapt to the human environment and live in our nests, i.e. our homes, and more specifically, our beds. Newborns, called hatchlings or nymphs, are tiny, about the size of a poppy seed, while adults grow to about ÂÜ of an inch long. Their shape is oval and flattened. Both nymphs, eggs and adults are visible to the naked eye.
As the winter cold and flu season tightens its grip, the National Asthma Council Australia is concerned that Australians may be incorrectly pointing the finger at milk as the mucus-causing culprit.
The American Nurses Association (ANA) reached out to lawmakers Friday, with a letter in support of H.R. 3200 "America"s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009." After a contingent from ANA took part in a Rose Garden press conference with President Obama July 15th, ANA set out to engage lawmakers, nurses, and other health professionals across the country to voice their commitment to real healthcare reform.
Yesterday the AMA issued formal endorsement of the House Healthcare Bill. According to Sermo (http://www.sermo.com), the largest online community of physicians in the US, AMA"s endorsement does not reflect the position of practicing physicians.
AACP presents:
Commenting on today"s speech by Conservative Party Leader Rt
Diabetes patients taking NovoLog® (insulin aspart [rDNA origin] injection) can now use the insulin in their pump for up to six days following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a labeling change, diabetes care company Novo Nordisk announced today.[i] The previous label allowed for NovoLog® to be stored in the pump reservoir for two days. This makes NovoLog® the first and only rapid-acting insulin with this extended in-use time.
Update 20 July 2009: Statement from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) about the recent news about advice for pregnant women in Australia and New Zealand.
US Oncology, Inc. today announced that US Oncology Research will participate in the BiPar Sciences" Phase III, Multi-center, Open-Label, Randomized Trial of Gemcitabine/Carboplatin (G/C), with or without BSI-201, in patients with Estrogen Receptor (ER), Progesterone Receptor (PR), and HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.
Quotient Bioresearch Limited ("Quotient"), a leading provider of drug development services, announces that it has acquired Charles River Laboratories" (Charles River) Edinburgh clinical research facility. This represents the sixth acquisition in approximately three years for Quotient.
Five organizations representing the nation"s experts in infectious diseases medicine, infection prevention in healthcare settings, and public health and disease prevention announced their support for a provision requiring national reporting of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) rates, which is contained within the healthcare reform bill introduced by leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Children with stressed out parents may be more susceptible to developing asthma associated with environmental triggers such as high levels of traffic-related pollution and tobacco smoke, according to a new study led by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC).
The House Education and Labor Committee on Friday voted 26-22 to approve the House health reform bill (HR 3200) after adopting 20 amendments, many of which sought to expand the scope of coverage and increase the number of U.S. residents eligible for purchasing coverage through a health insurance exchange, CQ Today reports. The panel voted 19-28 to reject two amendments offered by Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) that would have precluded plans participating in the health insurance exchange -- including the proposed public insurance plan -- from covering abortion services. The committee agreed to allow some existing state and federal programs to obtain waivers from the bill"s requirements. Among the approved amendments was a 400-page amendment by committee Chair George Miller (D-Calif.) that would open the exchange to more small businesses, certain retirees, and families whose premiums and out-of-pocket costs total more than 11% of their income. The amendment was adopted by voice vote (Demirjian, CQ Today, 7/17).