Health Insurance
Certain mutations in the DNA of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) are associated with the development of liver cancer and may help predict which patients with HBV infections are at increased risk of the disease, according to a large meta-analysis in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, published online July 2.
It"s estimated two out of three Americans are now overweight or obese*
The owners of a Brechin rendering plant have been convicted of failing to ensure proper health and safety standards were in place, after two workers were overcome by fumes produced by rotting animal waste.
One of the most important challenges in the cancer community today is whether people can, in fact, prevent their own cancers. Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is announcing millions of dollars in long-term grant funding to find out.
Imagine donating a sample of your DNA to help researchers study the genetics of diabetes. The disease is common among your friends and family, and you"re proud of your role in finding out why. Now, imagine that some time later, you learn that your DNA has been used for other studies on topics you never expected - schizophrenia, human migration, inbreeding. Although your name isn"t attached to the sample anymore, scientists are using your DNA to draw conclusions about your community and your ancestors. Some of these studies violate your cultural beliefs.
The MS Society has called on Gordon Brown to ring-fence funds for stem cell research into multiple sclerosis (MS).
As childhood obesity rates continue to increase, experts agree that more information is needed about the implications of being overweight as a step toward reversing current trends. Now, a new University of Missouri study has found that overweight children, especially girls, show signs of the negative consequences of being overweight as early as kindergarten.
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have discovered that gene mutations that once helped humans survive may increase the possibility for diseases, including cancer.
Memory loss is love"s great thief. Those who suffer aren"t just the ones who can"t remember - family, friends and loved ones agonize over how to react when the disorder begins its often inexorable progress.
Government"s announcement that the UK is moving to a new phase in the response to the current pandemic flu virus means there will be a change to the surveillance information that the Health Protection Agency will be able to provide to the media in future.
Genentech, Inc. announced today that the Phase III study BRAVO showed Lucentis® (ranibizumab injection) improved vision, as measured by the primary endpoint of mean change from baseline in best-corrected visual acuity at six months, in patients with macular edema due to branch retinal vein occlusion. The safety profile of Lucentis was consistent with previous experience and no new adverse events related to Lucentis were observed in the study. Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is a common cause of vision loss that occurs when blood flow through a retinal vein becomes blocked, such as by a blood clot.
Psychotherapy consists of a series of techniques for treating mental health, emotional and some psychiatric disorders. Psychotherapy helps the patient understand what helps them feel positive or anxious, as well as accepting their strong and weak points. If people can identify their feelings and ways of thinking they become better at coping with difficult situations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) informed in its weekly update on Friday evening, 3rd July, 2009, that the total number of confirmed human cases of swine flu A(H1N1) infection stands at 33,902, including 170 deaths.
New strategies to reduce maternal death in Bangladesh will be presented at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) South Asia Day. The conference gathers together a group of international experts to discuss ways to achieve Millennium Development Goals 4 (reduce child mortality) and 5 (improve maternal health).
The innovative pharmaceutical industry is committed to ensuring any animal-based
Australians should be able to receive Medicare-type benefits directly from the private health fund of their choice, according to the authors of an article published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) is encouraging gay men to learn more about hepatitis A, B and C today - World Hepatitis Day (May 19).
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) has received a good performance
A group of 15-16 year old students have been reporting directly to the UK government, (Tuesday 30th June), on their proposals for how nanotechnology could be used to help meet the future needs of the healthcare sector.
Media coverage of skin cancer advice and sun awareness campaigns may have generated a 47 percent increase in diagnoses of melanoma in just one year, according to research due to be released at the British Association of Dermatologists" Annual Conference next week.
Three programs that expand the reach of palliative and end-of-life care will be recognized as the 2009 recipients of the Circle of Life Award®: Celebrating Innovation in End-of-Life Care, along with two others that were awarded citations of honor.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is facing a budget shortfall of about $3 billion, Marcela Rojo, a Global Fund spokesperson, said on Friday, Reuters reports. Rojo said the Global Fund needs $170 million to pay for the programs it committed to supporting last year, and the organization will need between $2.5 billion and $3 billion to maintain and finance programs planned for 2010. "The Global Fund will need a substantially higher amount than the one pledged at the last replenishment in Berlin in 2007 ($10 billion)," Rojo said, adding, "The decisions that are made in the next 18 months will be critical for sustaining the gains achieved in global health so far and further scaling up programmes."
The "crippling" and "growing burden" of communicable diseases such as dengue fever, polio, or meningitis is not being sufficiently addressed in developing countries, according to "The Epidemic Divide," a report released Monday by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), AFP/Google.com reports. According to the report, res to deal with existing epidemics are "scarce."
Ikaria Holdings, Inc. and BioLineRx Ltd. (TASE: BLRX) announced that Ikaria has entered into an agreement to obtain a worldwide exclusive license to BioLineRx"s BL-1040, a potential breakthrough treatment for preventing pathological cardiac remodeling following acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
ATS Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATSI), manufacturer and marketer of state-of-the-art cardiac surgery products and services, announced FDA clearance and the first implant of the ATS Simulus(R) Semi-Rigid Annuloplasty Band. The Simulus Semi-Rigid Annuloplasty Band was developed through the Company"s collaboration with Genesee BioMedical and represents the latest addition to the expanding portfolio of valve repair products.
Patients with atrial fibrillation, common in those with advanced chronic heart failure, have an increased risk of hospitalization due to heart failure, according to new research from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The findings, published in June in the European Heart Journal, also suggest that atrial fibrillation is not associated with an increased risk of death in heart failure patients, contradicting previous assumptions.
Senators home for the Fourth of July recess found activists on each side of the health care debate waiting for them.
Hydra Biosciences, Inc., a biotech company developing novel ion channel drugs, has announced that research published by Hydra Biosciences scientists and collaborators at Yale University for the first time identified the ion channel TRPA1 as playing an essential role in allergic asthma and demonstrated that Hydra"s TRPA1 antagonist HC-030031 effectively treated allergic asthma in mice. The paper, titled "A sensory neuronal ion channel essential for airway inflammation and hyperreactivity in asthma," will appear this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
As the temperatures rise, so do trips to pediatric emergency rooms. Severe cuts, broken bones and head injuries are the most common causes for trips to the emergency room during the summer, says Tony Scalzo, M.D., professor of pediatric emergency medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
In answering two certified questions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, the Ohio State Supreme Court on July 1 declared that a state law regulating the use of mifepristone -- which is used in medication abortion -- bars physicians from prescribing it for off-label use, BNA reports. The court confirmed that doctors who use the drug to induce abortion must do so in compliance with the 49-day gestational limit included in FDA"s 2000 drug approval letter. Doctors also must prescribe the drug in accordance with the protocols and dosage indications included in its FDA-approved labeling.Interpretation of State Law in ContentionThe Ohio General Assembly in 2004 passed a law (Section 2919.123 (A)) that required any health care professional prescribing or dispensing mifepristone to comply with "all provisions of federal law that govern the use" of the drug. The law defines "federal law" as "any law, rule or regulation of the United States or any drug approval letter" from FDA "that governs or regulates the use of" mifepristone for inducing abortion. FDA"s approval letter states that the drug "is indicated for use in the termination of pregnancy (through 49 days" pregnancy) and has no other approved indication for use during pregnancy." In addition, the drug"s label states the recommended dosage and that its use requires three office visits by the patient. Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region challenged the law in district court, arguing that neither FDA"s approval letter nor any other federal provision bans the off-label use of mifespristone to induce abortion beyond 49 days" gestation. The group also argued that the state law was unconstitutionally vague because it did not notify abortion providers in advance regarding which FDA documents were included in the state"s criminal law. In addition, Planned Parenthood said that prohibiting the evidence-based use of the drug would infringe on the rights of women, requiring them to take higher-than-necessary dosages of the drug or to undergo surgical abortions when a noninvasive alternative is available. The district court ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood, saying that the law was void because of vagueness. The state appealed the decision to the 6th Circuit, which then submitted two questions to the state Supreme Court seeking its interpretation of the law.The state Supreme Court ruled that FDA"s drug approval letter is included in the definition of "federal law" and that the state law is not ambiguous, according to BNA. The court said that because the drug approval letter incorporated FDA"s labeling text, Ohio physicians cannot prescribe or provide mifepristone to induce abortion outside of the stipulations of the drug approval letter and approved label. According to BNA, product liability law experts say the ruling will not have an impact outside of mifepristone or the state of Ohio.Case Returns to Appeals CourtRoger Evans of Planned Parenthood Federation of America said that he is not sure if the court"s decision helps or hurts the group"s case. Evans said that the district court declared the law unconstitutional based on an interpretation that the statute operates in the same way the state Supreme Court ruled it does. He noted that there are other possible interpretations of the law that would have solved the constitutional issues at the center of the litigation. However, because those issues were not resolved, the case now returns to the 6th Circuit, which will decide if the statute is constitutional based on the state Supreme Court"s interpretation. If the circuit court agrees with the district court that the statute is unconstitutionally vague, the state of Ohio could seek a U.S. Supreme Court review. If the circuit court finds that the statute is constitutional, the case likely will be sent back to the district court for resolution of some other issues in the case, according to BNA (BNA, 7/6).
GeckoSystems Intl. Corp. (PINKSHEETS: GCKO) announced that they expect pent-up demand for their cost effective, home based eldercare personal robots. This new type of modern eldercare will postpone, if not eliminate, many elderly persons from having to endure the loneliness and loss of independence when living in nursing homes, and other assisted living facilities. Their families can now better manage the difficult decisions regarding independence they allow their now dependent aged parent while minimizing the concern and risk the adult caregiving child is willing to assume to enable an acceptable level of independence for their now dependent parent. GeckoSystems is a dynamic leader in the emerging Mobile Service Robot industry revolutionizing their development and usage with "Mobile Robot Solutions for Safety, Security and Service™."
Downing between eight and 14 units of alcohol a week boosts the total number of days spent in hospital, finds research published ahead of print in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
A new study of expectant mothers suggests that a group of common environmental contaminants called phthalates, which are present in many industrial and consumer products including everyday personal care items, may contribute to the country"s alarming rise in premature births.
Scientists from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) have found two new genes that together double a person"s risk of developing melanoma.
Last week, New York became the first state in America to allow scientists to pay women for donating their eggs for use in stem cell research, triggering further ethical debate. Professor Loane Skene of the Faculty of Law at the University of Melbourne and Deputy Chair of the high-profile Lockhart Committee on Human Cloning and Embryo Research (2005) says women should be paid for the invasive procedure.
Medical Industry E-Mail News Service™ -- July 07 2009 -- The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that its Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee will meet on July 15 2009, in Gaithersburg MD, to discuss (1) new drug application (NDA) 022-447, proposed trade name Yondelis (trabectedin) powder, for concentrate for solution for intravenous infusion, Centocor Ortho Biotech Products, L.P., proposed indication in combination with Doxcil (doxorubicin HCl liposome injection), for treating patients with relapsed ovarian cancer; and (2) supplemental new drug application (sNDA) 050-718/S-039, Doxil (doxorubicin HCl liposome injection), for intravenous infusion, Centocor Ortho Biotech Products, L.P., proposed indication in combination with docetaxel for treating patients with locally advanced or metasatic breast cancer who have received prior anthracycline treatment. There is no charge to attend.
In addition to greatly improving overall health and longevity, losing weight is an effective fall prevention strategy for persons with obesity, according to a new study from the American College of Sports Medicine.
The Alabama Department of Public Health has proposed a $650 civil penalty against
Using a combination of innovative genomic tools, researchers have turned up twenty genes that have important roles in controlling cholesterol within cells. The findings reported in the July 8 issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, could point the way to important new risk factors for cardiovascular disease, according to the researchers.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation announced today that all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, have passed legislation requiring that all newborns be screened for cystic fibrosis (CF) by the year 2010.
"Health care overhaul legislation from President Barack Obama"s congressional allies would create a federal insurance czar with sweeping new powers to oversee medical plans nationwide, an idea already drawing fierce criticism," The Associated Press reports. "State insurance commissioners are objecting, saying it would duplicate what they now do without offering any better protection for consumers. Conservatives are calling it a textbook example of a big government mentality."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking several actions to reduce the risk of overdose in patients using pain medications such as Darvon and Darvocet that contain propoxyphene. The actions were taken because of data linking propoxyphene and fatal overdoses.
Services for veterans have improved recently, but many veterans say more improvements still need to be made.
"There"s support in Michigan"s Legislature for eliminating insurance practices that deny coverage and charge high rates for people with chronic health problems. But the Michigan reforms face a tight timetable as lawmakers focus on the state"s worsening budget crisis," The Detroit Free Press reports. One Republican plan in the state Senate would address the problem of lost coverage from rising unemployment in Michigan by requiring "businesses -- including self-insured enterprises such as General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Group LLC, now exempt from state regulations, -- to pay to expand health care for poor people. The Detroit Regional Chamber and others oppose new taxes in the Senate plan, particularly when so many businesses are hurting" (Anstett, 7/6).
The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, filed a complaint seeking injunctive relief against Peregrina Cheese, Inc., (Peregrina Cheese), Brooklyn, N.Y. and two of its officers: Javier Peregrina and Isabel Peregrina.
Researchers at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in Wellington, New Zealand have found that abnormally proliferating human T-cells, rapidly dividing cancer cells such as primary myeloid and lymphoid leukemic blast cells undergo programmed cell death when exposed briefly to the investigational anti-tumor drug phenoxodiol.
A study by researchers from Duke University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and published in PLoS Medicine has found that upon infection "three lines of attack by the immune system are quickly neutralized by HIV," findings they hope "will provide a better understanding of how to develop a vaccine to protect against the virus," the Raleigh News & Observer reports. The study, lead by Duke"s Barton Haynes, showed that HIV, "once considered a slow if stealthy invader, actually works incredibly fast at disarming key immune fighters in the body." Haynes said scientists still have a difficult task in developing a vaccine, adding, "It would have to be different than any other vaccine made" (Avery, 7/7).
Cylene Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced that it will present major advances in the development of their first-in-class, CK2 inhibitor CX-4945 at the 2009 BIO International Convention on Wednesday, May 20th at 4:40 pm. William G. Rice, Ph.D., Cylene"s president and CEO, will discuss the mechanism, antitumor properties and tumor selectivity of CX-4945, the Company"s oral protein kinase inhibitor currently in Phase I clinical trials. This proprietary compound has demonstrated promise as a potent and selective oral inhibitor of protein kinase CK2, a previously unexploited molecular target with well documented roles in many cancers, indicating broad therapeutic potential. Cylene"s Serine/Threonine Kinase Inhibitor program has also delivered orally active pan-PIM inhibitors of the PIM-1,2,3 kinases, still in pre-clinical development.
For the last six years, doctors have faced a dilemma about whether to treat men at risk of prostate cancer with the drug finasteride. On one hand, the drug had been shown to prevent cancer in about one of every four patients who received it. On the other, those who did develop cancer while on the drug were 25 percent more likely to have a more aggressive form of the disease.
The latest work to "turn off the taps" in the brain and stop a chemical being released in excess amounts which can lead to Parkinson"s Disease - was presented at The British Pharmacological Society"s Summer Meeting in Edinburgh.
A recent survey of low-income parents has found that financial stress caused by the economic recession is forcing many families to choose between basic necessities such as food, transportation and housing, and routine dental care for their children - exacerbating an epidemic of poor dental health among children from underserved communities.
Surgical teams at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit successfully completed the first eight-way, multihospital, domino kidney transplant. The transplant involved eight donors -3 men and 5 women along with eight organ recipients - 3 men and 5 women. "All Johns Hopkins patients are in good condition and are recovering as anticipated," according to Robert A. Montgomery, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Transplant Center.
Infants and young children treated with heart drugs get the wrong dose or end up on the wrong end of medication errors more often than older children, according to research led by the Johns Hopkins Children"s Center published July 6 in Pediatrics.
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announced the launch of the platinum chromium TAXUS(R) Element(TM) Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System in select markets worldwide. The TAXUS Element Stent features a new platinum chromium alloy engineered specifically for coronary stent applications and represents the Company"s third-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) technology.
Dr. SleepGood, Inc. has announced the release of the SnoreSling™, a non-invasive fabric product that could help millions of sleep apnea and snoring sufferers, as well as their bed partners, finally get a good night"s rest.
The Narconon drug rehab program has noticed a trend of many drug addicts being involved with drug related charges due to their addiction. "You can have the everyday functioning addict who is battling a drug addiction, and just one day gets caught by police for possession of a small amount," comments Nick Hayes, a representative of Narconon Trois-Rivieres. "This is an all too common situation for many people who are involved in a drug addiction." More people are using illicit drugs in Canada, in fact Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada, where the Narconon drug rehab program is located, is one of the leading cities in Canada for drug crimes. "There are so many youth in Trois-Rivieres who are addicted to different drugs like speed, ecstasy, marijuana, and even cocaine. These teens get caught up with the law and start heading down the wrong path at a very young age," says Nick.
A single case study from Israel of a bilingual man who suffered damage to one part of his brain suggests that a person"s first and second language
As Ministers of Natural Res and Health, we are disappointed with AECL"s announcement of delays to the repair of the National Research Universal Reactor (NRU) at Chalk River. We wish to be clear to Canadians. The unplanned shutdown of the NRU will result in a significant shortage of medical isotopes in Canada and in the world this summer.
The House Appropriations Committee during consideration of the fiscal year 2010 Financial Services spending bill on Tuesday defeated an amendment that sought to prohibit Washington, D.C., from using locally raised money to fund abortion services, CQ Today reports. Funding for the district is under the bill"s jurisdiction.The panel voted 26-33 to defeat the amendment, offered by Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) and Lincoln Davis (D-Tenn). The committee approved the FY 2010 funding bill by voice vote, and House Democrats hope to have the measure on the floor by late next week (Clarke, CQ Today, 7/8).
New estimates of the likelihood that a latent case of tuberculosis (TB) will become active have resulted in a roughly 50 percent increase over previous estimates of the number of people needed to be screened (NNS) to prevent an active infection, limiting the cost effectiveness of screening in many Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-defined risk groups, according to an analysis conducted by experts in the epidemiology of the disease.
A condition known as congenital adrenal hyperplasia, or CAH, is easily treatable but frequently overlooked or misdiagnosed, leading to infertility and other "perplexing symptoms," the New York Times reports. CAH is a hormone deficiency that leads to excess production of androgens, which can hinder ovulation in women and cause low sperm count in men. It also can cause short stature, body odor, acne, irregular menstruation and excessive hair growth. The condition can be diagnosed through a blood test and treated with small doses of the steroid dexamethasone, which can reverse symptoms in three months to two-and-one-half years.According to Maria New, a leading authority on CAH and a professor of pediatrics and human genetics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the disease occurs in one in every 100 people in the general population. It is more common among certain ethnic groups, occurring in one in 27 Ashkenazi Jews and one in 40 Hispanics. Not everyone with the condition has symptoms or needs to be treated. The most severe form of the disease, classic CAH, can result in ambiguous genitalia in girls, while the milder nonclassical form sometimes produce no symptoms, the Times reports.Many fertility clinics do not test for the disease or only test after attempting other treatments. Some obstetricians are unaware of CAH and its effect on fertility, according to Zev Rosenwaks, director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell hospital. CAH also can be confused with polycystic ovarian syndrome -- which has some similar symptoms -- or early puberty in younger patients (Tarkan, New York Times, 7/7).
Reuters reports: "Efforts to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system and expand coverage to millions of uninsured could lead some wellness programs to expand and others to constrict, experts say.... In all of the bills in Congress, insurers would be required to cover some preventive services, and all of the bills include prevention and wellness incentives. That could alter what care and coverage are included in wellness programs, such as nutritional counseling or similar programs. ... One incentive under consideration would give tax credits to companies for wellness programs, said Maya Rockeymoore, head of Washington, D.C.-based Global Policy Solutions consultants."
The Elephant In The Room On Health Care Minneapolis Star Tribune
Inter Press Service News Agency examines the shortcomings of treatments for neglected tropical diseases - which, according to the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), account "for 12 percent of the global disease burden," and 1.3 percent of the new drugs developed between 1975 to 2004. "The diseases in question account for the deaths of 500,000 people annually, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, but drug development is biased towards the prospect of high profits, which diseases of the poor like sleeping sickness and visceral leishmaniaisis are unable to offer," IPS writes.
The anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin could hold promise as a treatment for Alzheimer"s disease, says a Saint Louis University doctor and researcher.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service"s (HHS) Indian Health Service (IHS) announced $90 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for improved access to vital drinking water and wastewater services in the American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The funds will be invested in "shovel ready" infrastructure projects designed to better protect human and environmental health in Indian Country and to create jobs.
Black women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have a higher probability of dying from the disease than white women, regardless of their estrogen receptor status, according to research from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. Differences in breast cancer mortality may reflect racial differences in access and response to innovative breast cancer treatments, as well as other biological and non-biological factors, according to the report. In addition, the researchers found that differences in outcomes in the first few years post-diagnosis make up nearly all of the disparity. These results were published online July 7, 2009 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
A registered learning disabilities nurse, Dzikamai Mussett Mhakayakora, has been jailed for nine months for fraud after being investigated by NHS Counter Fraud and the UK Border Agency (UKBA), at Chelmsford Crown Court (18th May).
bioMç©rieux (Paris:BIM), a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, announced that an AOAC-RI certification has been granted (No. 060903) to the VIDAS® UP E. coli O157 (Including H7) method for screening beef, selected produce and irrigation water. Food manufacturers in the U.S. and many other countries rely on AOAC-RI certified testing methods to release their products on the market. The new solution is based on recombinant phage protein, the latest technology available for food pathogen screening, which offers unique specificity and sensitivity. E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially lethal strain of Escherichia coli that has caused many food outbreaks in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Europe.
A new finding reveals that African-American patients with breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer tend to die earlier than patients of other races with these cancers, even when they receive identical medical treatment and when socioeconomic factors are controlled for. The finding, an analysis of almost 20,000 patient records from 35 clinical trials, points to biological or genetic factors as the potential of the survival gap. Dawn Hershman, M.D, M.S., a Columbia University Medical Center oncologist whose research is dedicated to examining racial and ethnic disparities in cancer outcome and in cancer survivorship, was the senior author of the research published online by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI).
Boston University School of Medicine researchers (BUSM) have observed in a study of pregnant women that consumption of at least seven servings per day of fruits and vegetables moderately reduced the risk of developing an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). The BUSM study appears online in the journal Public Health Nutrition.
With appointment waiting periods stretching as long as three-months to see a psychiatrist, Delaware County patients often don"t know where to turn for "best in class" mental health services. This barrier to care is further compounded by the fact that 67 percent of primary care physicians nationwide have trouble accessing mental health services on behalf of their patients.
Researchers of the University of Granada (Spain) have used a technique consisting of the induction of neuronal degeneration neuronal for intense light exposure in the mouse"s retina that will be helpful for the study of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a group of hereditary diseases which lead to blindness and affect more than one million persons a year all over the world. In addition, the results of this research work could be very useful for the detection of new factors or molecules originated by microglial cells and related to degenerative processes of the retina.
Nanyang Technological University (NTU)"s Associate Professor Zhong Guofu has made a significant contribution to the field of organic chemistry, in particular the study of using small organic molecules as catalysts, in the synthesis process called organocatalysis. Such synthesis process takes place for example, during the production of chiral drugs.
The giant monoliths of Easter Island are worn, but they have endured for centuries. New research suggests that a compound first discovered in the soil of the South Pacific island might help us stand the test of time, too.
Elsevier, a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, is pleased to announce that PM&R - The journal of injury, function and rehabilitation, the official scientific journal of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R), has been accepted for coverage by MEDLINE, just six months after its launch in January 2009.
John Csernansky wants to take your measurements. Not the circumference of your chest, waist and hips. No, this doctor wants to stretch a tape measure around your hippocampus, thalamus and prefrontal cortex.
Badger culling is necessary in certain circumstances to tackle the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), according to the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA).
Like clothing and hairstyles, oral piercings give teens and adults a way to express themselves. While trendy, this fashion statement poses a number of potential oral and overall health care risks. It"s also important to note that oral piercings most commonly involve the tongue, and also the lips, cheeks, uvula or a combination of sites. Oral piercings have been implicated in a number of adverse oral and systemic conditions.
White House health reformers have pressed over the last month for payment reforms that would reward doctors and hospitals for spending less and delivering higher quality care, rather than simply providing a higher volume of services. The Wall Street Journal reports that reexamining payment systems is a hot topic among administration officials in other disciplines, too: "President Barack Obama believes you get what you pay for--in business, in health care and in teaching. And in each of those spheres, he doesn"t think the way the U.S. pays professionals is designed to get what the nation really wants and needs."
A new Medicare analysis by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found a "double failure" at U.S. hospitals. Its release comes as the White House and Congress seek ways to reward quality over quantity of care in health care reform. USA Today reports that "Too many people die needlessly at U.S. hospitals, according to a sweeping new Medicare analysis showing wide variation in death rates between the best hospitals and the worst. The analysis examined death rates for heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia at more than 4,600 hospitals across the USA. At 5.9% of hospitals, patients with pneumonia died at rates significantly higher than the national average. With heart failure, 3.4% of hospitals had death rates higher than the average, and 1.2% of hospitals were higher when it came to heart attack. Researchers also found that the majority of U.S. hospitals operate the equivalent of revolving doors for their patients. One of every four heart failure patients and slightly less than one in five heart attack and pneumonia patients land back in the hospital within 30 days, data show."
OGX-011 survival benefit: an even better Hazard Ratio.
Replacing a joint in any part of the body often leads to a long recovery process and the possibility of not being able to return to a sport or activity. However, a new study presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine"s (AOSSM) Annual Meeting in Keystone, Colorado, (July 9 -12) presents findings that even an older individual who receives a total shoulder joint replacement can return to full participation within approximately six months of surgery.
Using a nicotine patch before quitting smoking can double success rates, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers. They say their latest data suggest changes should be made to nicotine patch labeling.
Attractive males release fewer sperm per mating to maximise their chances of producing offspring across a range of females, according to a new paper on the evolution of ejaculation strategies. The findings by researchers at UCL (University College London) and the University of Oxford suggest that, paradoxically, matings with attractive males may be less fertile than those with unattractive ones.
The strain of influenza, A/H1N1, that is currently pandemic in humans has been shown to be infectious to pigs and to spread rapidly in a trial pig population.
OptumHealth Inc. announced that it is partnering with Prevent Blindness America, the nation"s oldest volunteer eye health and safety organization, to donate 50,000 eyeglass frames worth more than $2 million to residents in Ohio who participate in the Prevent Blindness Ohio Vision Care Outreach program. The program provides access to eye exams and eyeglasses for children and adults without medical coverage.
Dialysis treatments do not affect the heart health of kidney disease patients who have had a heart attack, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Since cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in kidney disease patients, the findings are good news for individuals who need the treatments.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published its first Annual Report on Pesticide Residues, which provides an overview on the pesticide residues in food observed throughout the European Union (EU) during 2007 and assesses the exposure of consumers through their diets. The report showed that the majority of the samples complied with the legal maximum residue levels (MRLs) of pesticides and made a series of recommendations to further improve the collection of data required for pesticide exposure assessment.
A psychologist who investigated the effects of childbearing on women"s body image will present her findings at the British Psychological Society"s Division of Counselling Psychology annual conference, held at the University of Warwick.
An alcoholic is a person who suffers from alcoholism - the body is dependent on alcohol. An alcoholic is addicted to alcohol. Alcoholism is a chronic (long-term) disease. People who suffer from alcoholism are obsessed with alcohol and cannot control how much they consume, even if it is causing serious problems at home, work and financially. Alcohol abuse generally refers to people who do not display the characteristics of alcoholism but still have a problem with it - these people are not as dependent on alcohol as an alcoholic is; they have not yet completely lost their control over its consumption.
Students from Michigan Technological University have designed and developed a breakthrough in medical care that could save lives in a heartbeat.
UroToday.com - Increasingly surgical education is being focused on specific procedural training techniques. These researchers at the University of Minnesota have shown the importance of breaking the procedure down into its specific steps and deconstructing the various tasks applied to each step of the procedure.
UroToday.com - On occasion, urologists will encounter subtypes of prostate cancer (CaP) other than adenocarcinoma. One such subtype is ductal (or endometrioid) CaP. Ductal CaP is characterized by the presence of tall, pseudostratified columnar cells with abundant cytoplasm arranged in a papillary pattern. It can be diagnosed with high Gleason score and advanced stage, but its clinical course has been relatively undefined. In the online version of Cancer, Dr. Shi-Ming Tu and colleagues report a series of 108 patients with ductal CaP.
National Partnership for Women & FamiliesDuring his visit to the Vatican on Friday, President Obama is likely to receive a warmer welcome from Pope Benedict XVI than he has from some U.S. Roman Catholic bishops, experts on the church say, the New York Times reports. The meeting will occur after the conclusion of the Group of Eight industrialized nations summit in Italy and three days after the pope released an encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate," updating the church"s social teaching on the global economy.Early in Obama"s administration, U.S. Catholic bishops "set an adversarial tone" over Obama"s views on abortion rights, contraception and embryonic stem cell research, the Times reports. Although the pope also disagrees with Obama on those issues, he and Obama both recognize an opportunity to come together on international issues like climate change, poverty, nuclear nonproliferation and immigration reform, according to the Times. In a session with reporters from Catholic publications last week, Obama said the church has "always been a powerful moral compass" on questions of social justice. He also said that U.S. bishops "have a profound influence" and that he would take his critics" opinions seriously.The Vatican has often taken a much softer approach than the U.S. bishops in its reactions to Obama"s abortion-rights policies, according to the Times. The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a letter issued after the election that "aggressive pro-abortion policies" would "be seen by many as an attack on the free exercise of their religion." In contrast, the Vatican sent Obama a telegram of congratulations immediately after his election, which experts say is "a highly unusual gesture" because the Vatican usually waits until inauguration, the Times reports.More recently, several U.S. bishops denounced the University of Notre Dame for inviting Obama to give the spring commencement address and receive an honorary degree. The Vatican"s newspaper ran a "markedly positive" article about Obama"s speech in reaction to the controversy, according to the Times. Some Vatican officials have also expressed support for Obama"s "common ground" approach to reducing the need for abortion, whereas some U.S. bishops and antiabortion-rights leaders have reacted with "suspicion and disdain," the Times reports (Goodstein, New York Times, 7/10).According to John Allen, a Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, cultural differences between U.S. and European Catholic views on abortion rights help explain their contrasting approaches to the issue. Allen said that abortion is usually "the defining social and political issue" in the U.S., and that "everything else, in a way, takes second place." In Europe "that has never been the case," and "even the most conservative Catholics in Europe ... don"t evaluate political leaders exclusively through the basis of their positions on abortion and other so-called life issues," Allen said (Poggioli, "Morning Edition," NPR, 7/10).The Vatican and the U.S. bishops also have different approaches to working with governments, according to the Rev. Drew Christensen, editor-in-chief of the national Jesuit weekly magazine America. Christensen, who formerly worked for the church in international relations, said that some Obama critics "think you have to be at war, and the pope is saying, there"s a different way to proceed here and it"s very essential to the church"s approach, in that what you want is consensus." Christensen added that the pope is "trying to engage America"s capacity for good in the world at a time when it"s really critical" (New York Times, 7/10).
Fiscally conservative Democrats in the House are delaying a health care reform bill by withholding their support from it until certain concerns are addressed, the Associated Press reports.
The Health Care Follies CBS News /The New Republic
The WHO announced Thursday it had approved a second cervical cancer vaccine, opening "U.N. agencies and partners [to] now officially buy millions of doses of the vaccine for poor countries worldwide," where an estimated 80 percent of the 280,000 annual deaths from cervical cancer occur each year, the AP/Google.com reports (7/9).
Top researchers from the West Midlands are working to improve the treatment of conditions that affect millions of people. Across the region research into areas such as osteoarthritis, joint pain and sciatica, stroke prevention and treatment, community care for people living with diabetes, and the treatment of liver disease have received a real boost over the last three years.