Cardiovascular
What
Global health experts have moved use of sunbeds and exposure to ultraviolet radiation (including sun exposure) to the highest risk category for causing cancer: they
The nation"s struggles with physician and nurse shortages are evident as health care reform takes shape.
Children who were exposed to Plasmodium falciparum "malaria before birth become tolerant to the malaria parasite, or their soluble products," according to a PLoS Medicine study, which has "unravelled the mystery behind why some children are more susceptible to malaria infection and anaemia," ANI/Newstrack India reports. This tolerance, which persists after birth and into childhood, erodes the immune system"s ability to attack and destroy parasites and increases the susceptibility of these children to develop a malaria infection and increases their risk for anemia (7/28).
A new test developed by Edmonton-based Innovotech Inc. (TSX VENTURE:IOT) will now allow doctors to more accurately identify the right antibiotics required to treat serious, chronic infections that are biofilm based. With more than 80 per cent of infections in the developed world caused by biofilms, the potential for this new breakthrough test, called bioFILM PATM, is of immense significance to the medical community.
A higher density of blood vessels and other unique physiological features in the flight muscles of bar-headed geese allow them to do what even the most elite of human athletes struggle to accomplish - assert energy at high altitudes, according to a new UBC study.
SNM and a coalition of eight other organizations have issued a white paper urging Congress to take steps to maintain adequate supplies of Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), a radioactive substance that is the basis for a common medical isotope used in more than 80 percent of all nuclear medicine procedures.
Audiologists from America Hears, Inc. now make online house calls to hearing aid customers who install the latest version of the company"s Virtual Office hearing aid programming software on their personal computers at home. The leading online supplier of premium digital hearing instruments introduced a new version of its Virtual Office software with remote-control capabilities enabling America Hears professionals to provide technical support and training over the Internet on customers" personal computers at home.
During 2008, 10% of people who were implanted with the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart received the device because they were suffering from rejection of their donor heart transplant.
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.
A simple urine test for diagnosing chlamydia in men could help reduce the risks of persistent infection and transmission to sexual partners, finds a study published on bmj.com.
New research released by the Royal Pharmaceutical
Pediatric researchers have found that a gene previously shown to be involved in the development of type 2 diabetes also predisposes children to having a lower birth weight. The finding sheds light on a possible genetic influence on how prenatal events may set the stage for developing diabetes in later childhood or adulthood.
ImmuneRegen BioSciences(R), a wholly owned subsidiary of IR BioSciences Holdings, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: IRBS), reports preliminary evidence that its selective Neurokinin 1-receptor agonist Homspera(R) is both active on oral administration and provides therapeutic effects against the current pandemic H1N1 virus infection.
The American Academy of Dermatology (Academy) commends the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) for its re-categorization of indoor tanning devices as carcinogenic to humans. This classification places indoor tanning in the highest cancer risk category afforded by this international agency, which is a division of the World Health Organization (WHO).
A new study reports what scientists term the first scientific evidence that freshly crushed garlic has more potent heart-healthy effects than dried garlic. Scheduled for the Aug. 12 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, it also challenges the widespread belief that most of garlic"s benefits are due to its rich array of antioxidants. Instead, garlic"s heart-healthy effects seem to result mainly from hydrogen sulfide, a chemical signaling substance that forms after garlic is cut or crushed and relaxes blood vessels when eaten.
The Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) published its report on the review of Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) service in Wales.
Chief Medical Officer Otis W. Brawley, M.D. responds to Medicare"s decision not to cover CT colonography
Lawmakers push bill to fight Medicare fraud as part of health reform legislation.
"Three internationally known organizations based in St. Louis - the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children"s Hospital" - have entered into a partnership, known as the Global Harvest Alliance (GHA), which aims to "create inexpensive, nutritionally complete food to help the world"s hungry and undernourished," the AP/Google.com reports. Alliance researchers will focus on several of the most successful approaches used to combat malnutrition and attempt to further enrich foods already used to fight it. "In addition, the alliance aims to help testing and distribution of crops genetically modified to boost nutritional content. They hope to provide the crops cheaply to farmers to produce more nutritious foods," writes the AP/Google.com (Taylor, 7/29).
China Daily explores how a new anti-smoking initiative in China targets the country"s medical professionals. According to the newspaper, "China is the world"s largest tobacco producer and consumer," with "350 million smokers, plus 450 million people exposed to second-hand smoke." Annually, 1 million deaths are smoking-related, according to China"s Ministry of Health.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Tuesday signed a state budget in which he made $489 million in line-item veto cuts that "will affect child welfare and children"s health care, the elderly, state parks and AIDS treatment and prevention, going beyond the dramatic cuts that were part of the deal Schwarzenegger negotiated with legislative leaders," the Los Angeles Times reports (Rothfeld/Goldmacher, 7/28). "Services for people with AIDS, which had previously been spared by the Legislature, were reduced by $52 million by Schwarzenegger on Tuesday. That cut will mean no state spending on HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, education or housing services for people with the disease. The state will continue paying for AIDS medications and for tracking the epidemic," the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Buchanan, 7/29). Schwarzenegger said, "The legislators have given me a budget with a $156 million negative reserve, so now I had to go in over this weekend and work with my team and make additional cuts." He added, "That"s ugly, when already we have cut so much, and then we had to make additional cuts" (Steinhauer, New York Times, 7/28). Mark Cloutier, executive director of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, said of the cuts to HIV/AIDS programs, "This means there are going to be more people who are HIV-positive who are unwittingly infecting others" (Buchanan, 7/29).
Adults who use less salt in their diet can experience a slight reduction in their blood pressure in the medium term. However, whether in the long term this can also reduce the risk of late complications in people with sustained high blood pressure, otherwise known as essential hypertension, and whether in the long term their anti-hypertensive medication can be reduced remains unresolved. This is the conclusion of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) in its final report published in the form of a rapid report on 20 July 2009.
Researchers at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer have found that head and neck cancer patients who test positive for the human papillomavirus (HPV) have much better survival rates than patients who don"t have the virus, according to a new study in the journal Cancer Prevention Research. The researchers also discovered that blacks in the study had a very low rate of HPV infection, and consequently worse survival, which may explain why African-American patients traditionally have had a poor prognosis for head and neck cancer.
Better online support services for suicidal people is more important than shutting down websites showing ways to die, a research academic from The University of Queensland says.
The Council of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain has announced a fee
Rates of severe childhood obesity have tripled in the last 25 years, putting many children at risk for diabetes and heart disease, according to a report in Academic Pediatrics by an obesity expert at Brenner Children"s Hospital, part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
BioElectronics Corp. (PINKSHEETS: BIEL), the maker of inexpensive, disposable drug-free anti-inflammatory devices, held a conference call yesterday morning, a replay of which is available by dialing (888) 203-1112 and entering passcode 4461002.
A systematic literature review of mothers" experiences with bottle-feeding found that while mothers recognize the benefits of breastfeeding, those who bottle-feed with infant formula do not receive adequate information and support from their healthcare providers and thus, ultimately put their baby"s health at risk. "While it is important to promote breastfeeding," the authors conclude, "it is also necessary to ensure that the needs of bottle-feeding mothers are not overlooked."
[Why Great Britain"s success in Beijing could have been anticipated and why it should continue beyond 2012
The Latino/a population in the United States is expected to triple by 2050, according to projections from the U.S. Census Bureau. And along with that growth, says University of Illinois professor Lydia Buki, will come a rise in the number of individuals from that population who are diagnosed with cancer.
An international team of scientists and clinicians from the United States and Saudi Arabia are working to develop gene therapy for treating a rare, hereditary retinal disease. The therapy has been shown to restore lost vision in animal models of retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Their work is being funded in part by a $1.5 million grant from the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research in Saudi Arabia, where the recessive gene mutation that leads to the eye disease RP has been found in children from several families.
In cancer research, as in most other biomedical sciences, they are playing a key role: living cells, kept in sterile plastic containers with red culture media populating incubators in laboratories around the world. But do researchers always know what is really living in their culture dishes? Under the microscope, different cell lines are almost impossible to distinguish from each other. When these important research objects stop growing without apparent reason - is it because of the manipulations by the scientists or because of an invisible viral or bacterial infection?
Older adults who have less strength, poor physical function and low muscle density are at higher risk of being hospitalized compared to adults with more strength and better function. That"s the finding of a new study in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society.
Nanoparticle delivery of diphtheria toxin-encoding DNA selectively expressed in ovarian cancer cells reduced the burden of ovarian tumors in mice, and researchers expect this therapy could be tested in humans within 18 to 24 months, according to a report in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
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:
With an estimated 57 million Americans with pre-diabetes, the American Diabetes Association today launches My Health Advisor, an online tool that helps people understand their personal risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. My Health Advisor is available at http://www.CheckUpAmerica.org/MHA.
OmniComm Systems, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: OMCM), a leader in integrated electronic data capture (EDC) solutions for clinical trials announced that a growing US Clinical Research Organization (CRO) has selected OmniComm to provide eClinical solutions in connection with two of the CRO"s Phase IV studies covering approximately 27 sites and more than 700 subjects. Additional details were not disclosed. Phase IV studies take place after a drug has been approved for marketing and are designed to provide broader experience in evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the new medicine in larger numbers of patients, subpopulations of patients, and to compare and/or combine it with other available treatments.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) can significantly lessen patients" quality of life, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Certain types of patients women, diabetics, and those with a history of heart complications are most affected. These findings indicate that medical care for CKD patients should include strategies to lessen the negative impact of CKD on quality of life.
Bronnie McNabb, 57, considers himself lucky. When his aggressive brain cancer returned after chemotherapy and radiation last winter, his UCLA doctor prescribed the off-label use of Avastin, a drug shown to quell cancers in the breast, colon and lung.
With the implementation of the 48-hour working week for workers throughout Europe, including doctors, on 1 August 2009, the BMA in Northern Ireland has said that it will insist that the health service must meet its obligations to implement the European Working Time Directive (EWTD).
The future use of Independent Sector Treatment Centres (ISTCs) in the NHS, will be fairer and on the same terms as other providers of NHS services, Health Minister Mike O"Brien announced today.
Today experts from the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society (PCCS) and HEART UK - the Cholesterol Charity, are calling upon primary care clinicians to embrace new guidance designed to support optimal care and treatment of post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients. Published in the latest issue of the British Journal of Cardiology, the guidance is unique as it is aligned to both patients and primary care, thereby recognising the vital role of empowering patients and their families in achieving the best possible clinical outcomes.2
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood-borne disease that causes inflammation of the liver and to which there is currently no vaccine available. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 3% of the world"s population, approximately 170 million people, are infected with HCV and it is a leading cause of liver cirrhosis, end stage liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver transplantation.
One of the "most lethal forms of sex discrimination" is the "systematic inattention to reproductive health care, from family planning to childbirth" in developing countries, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof writes. According to Kristof, a woman dies every minute somewhere in the world from pregnancy or childbirth complications, and 20 times that number suffer childbirth injuries. Providers of foreign aid, including the U.S., "have never shown much interest in maternal mortality, and impoverished women are typically the most voiceless, neglected people in their own countries -- so they die at astonishing rates," Kristof writes.Kristof highlights the childbirth experience of a 19-year-old Pakistani woman named Shazia Allahdita whose infant died in childbirth after her relatives refused to take her to the hospital because they did not want to pay for the taxi fare. Kristof writes that "[i]f men had uteruses, "paternity wards" would get res, ambulances would transport pregnant men to hospitals free of charge, deliveries would be free, and the Group of Eight industrialized nations would make paternal mortality a top priority." Kristof notes that there is "the dawn of a global movement against maternal mortality," with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon working with the U.S. and other countries to plan a "landmark global health session" on Sept. 23. The session will focus, in part, on maternal health, which Kristof terms a "milestone." He concludes, "My dream is that Barack and Michelle Obama will leap forward and adopt this cause -- and transform the prospects for so many young women like Shazia" (Kristof, New York Times, 7/29).
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.
"Congressional Democrats are determined to show progress on health care overhaul by pushing President Barack Obama"s top domestic priority through two critically important committees before they head home for their August break," the Associated Press reports. "In the Senate, negotiators on the Finance Committee say they are nearer to a bipartisan compromise that has eluded them for weeks" (Alonso-Zaldivar and Werner, 7/30).
Pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, advocacy groups and others with a stake in health reform continue to lobby in hopes of winning concessions in the overhaul, or at least surviving the changes unscathed. "One of the groups key to working any deal is the pharmaceutical industry, which has been quite active behind the scenes," National Public Radio reports. NPR interviewed former congressman Billy Tauzin, who is president of PhRMA, the drug industry"s lobbying group. Tauzin said he couldn"t predict whether health reform, which his group supports, would make the industry wealthier, but added, "we"ll do okay" (7/30).
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.
Under economic pressure, states are slashing funding for health services from Connecticut to California. The cuts frustrate providers and lawmakers are looking for ways to limit harm.
The Canadian Lung Association expressed disappointment in federal Health Committee Chair Joy Smith"s stance on the issue of Air Canada and WestJet"s policy to allow pets to travel in the passenger cabin of airplanes. The Lung Association launched an online campaign for pet-free flights in July following the decision by Air Canada to join WestJet in offering pet-free flights, despite the serious risks it presents to passengers and crew with asthma, COPD and severe animal allergies.
The Physicians Coalition for Injectable Safety issued a consumer warning about carboxytherapy and mesotherapy injections. These products, touting everything from cellulite treatment to weight loss are not FDA approved, and do not have clinical data that demonstrates results or safety.
Nine-year-olds can and should learn CPR. A study of 147 schoolchildren, published in BioMed Central"s open access journal Critical Care, has shown that, although the smallest may lack the requisite strength, the knowledge of how to perform basic life support is well retained by young children.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned companies in Lancashire to ensure they carry out regular, simple checks to protect employees from Legionnaires" disease.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging companies to ensure that sufficient safety procedures and risk assessments are in place to properly protect staff.
In this week"s New England Journal of Medicine, scientists in Singapore, The Netherlands and France report that they have developed a novel immunization method that will induce fast and effective protection in humans against the life-threatening malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, which infects 350 to 500 million people world-wide and kills over one million people each year.
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.
Laboratory studies at Kansas State University and the work of a K-State researcher are making headway in the effort to control the pandemic H1N1 virus.
A study led by scientists in Austria suggests that kids as young as 9 years old can and should learn how to use CPR (cardiopulmonary
Johns Hopkins experts in applied physics, computer engineering, infectious diseases, emergency medicine, microbiology, pathology and surgery have unveiled a 7-foot-tall, $10,000 shower-cubicle-shaped device that automatically sanitizes in 30 minutes all sorts of hard-to-clean equipment in the highly trafficked hospital emergency department. The novel device can sanitize and disinfect equipment of all shapes and sizes, from intravenous line poles and blood pressure cuffs, to pulse oximeter wires and electrocardiogram (EKG) wires, to computer keyboards and cellphones.
Physicians at Nationwide Children"s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio are turning to a device typically used in adults with heart problems to help children with severe stomach conditions.
Merck is committed to putting patients first and providing accurate information regarding the efficacy, safety and tolerability of our medicines. Merck offers the following statement concerning the osteoporosis medication FOSAMAX® (alendronate sodium) and reports of jaw problems associated with delayed healing and infection of the jaw often following tooth extraction. The condition is known as osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ).
The biotechnology medicine Ilaris® (canakinumab) has passed another major milestone with a recommendation for approval in the European Union to treat patients with a life-long and potentially fatal auto-inflammatory disease called cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS). When approved, Ilaris will be the only treatment in the EU indicated for CAPS patients aged four years and older[1].
Parkinson"s disease is well-known for impairing movement and causing tremors, but many patients also develop other serious problems, including sleep disturbances and significant losses in cognitive function known as dementia.
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.
President Obama on Thursday issued a directive to federal agencies to begin following new NIH guidelines on federally funded embryonic stem cell research, Reuters/New York Times reports (Reuters/New York Times, 7/30). NIH announced the final guidelines earlier this month. The guidelines assess whether newly created embryonic stem cell lines can be used for federally funded research, as well as clarify how old lines will be evaluated (Daily Women"s Health Policy Report, 7/7).In March, Obama overturned President George W. Bush"s policy limiting federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. In a statement Thursday, Obama said, "I hereby direct the heads of executive departments and agencies that support and conduct stem cell research to adopt these guidelines, to the fullest extent practicable in light of legal authorities and obligations" (Reuters/New York Times, 7/30).
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries.~ "A Taxing Problem," Jessica Arons, Huffington Post blogs: The five Democrats who last week sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) "suggesting a "common ground" solution to the abortion "roadblock" in health care reform" should be "applauded" for keeping the debate"s focus on covering the uninsured and "for being unwilling to sacrifice health care reform on the altar of abortion politics," writes Jessica Arons, director of the Women"s Health & Rights Program at the Center for American Progress. Arons adds that while the proposal, led by antiabortion-rights Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), "is in welcome contrast to the stonewalling and ultimatums coming from Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and his allies," it is "based on a misguided and attenuated definition of government spending, and it conflicts with what Americans want and expect from health care reform." She continues that the "suggestion that a health plan might offer abortion coverage, and it might be used by someone, who might have paid a lower premium than someone else, because the government might have helped pay their premium is a horrible reason for Congress to carve out an explicit exception to a bill that is otherwise entirely silent on coverage options." Taxpayers "do not have the right to specify how their tax money should be spent," she writes, adding, "I understand why people would want to withhold their taxes from purposes they oppose, but our system does not -- nor should it -- work that way" (Arons, Huffington Post blogs, 7/30).~ "The Breakup of the Pro-Life Movement," Cristina Page, Birth Control Watch: Rep. Ryan is "in many ways a typical pro-life American" who opposes abortion rights and, "like most pro-life Americans, ... supports every effort to prevent the need for it," including contraception, Page writes. However, because of his support for contraception and sponsorship of the "Preventing Unintended Pregnancies, Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act," Ryan was "banished" from the board of Democrats for Life of America, Page writes, adding that antiabortion-rights publications have "taken to qualifying his pro-life status as "allegedly" pro-life or referring to him as someone "who claims to be" pro-life." The bill, also known as the Ryan-DeLauro bill, would increase funding for contraception, and support comprehensive sex education and services for women who choose to carry unintended pregnancies to term, Page writes. She notes that the bill is supported by "many prominent pro-life individuals" and groups that support abortion rights, though "[n]ot one leading pro-life group signed onto the bill." Page writes, "Pro-life Americans favor expanding access to contraception because of the undeniable pro-life results," adding, "Unintended pregnancy is the root cause of abortion. We know when used properly, contraception works." It is "time for the disagreement over contraception to be addressed by the pro-life community at large," she writes, adding, "We will have no chance of making a real impact on unintended pregnancy and abortion rates without dramatic, informed strategies on prevention" (Page, Birth Control Watch, 7/28).~ "Senate Subcommittee: Ab-Only Out, Syringe Ban Still In; Advocates Hope for Further Changes in Conference Committee," Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check: The spending bill approved yesterday by the Senate Appropriations Committee "zeroes out funding" for the Community-Based Abstinence Education program, which has "for years [been] the main of support for now-discredited abstinence-only programs," Jacobson writes. The "elimination of these funds parallels similar action in the House, ... so unless amendments are proposed, accepted and passed during either the full committee vote or on the Senate floor, this bill spells "the end of abstinence-only programs as we know them," said one advocate, "at least for this year,"" Jacobson writes. The Senate version of the bill allocate
"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is trying to unite her divided caucus around a common enemy - the health insurance industry - previewing an August recess line of attack by Democrats trying to maintain momentum on health care reform," Politico reports. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday, "They are the villains in this. They have been part of the problem in a major way. They are doing everything in their power to stop a public option from happening, and the public has to know" (Thrush, 7/31).
"Health care costs are killing small businesses. Their insurance premiums are rising dramatically and unpredictably," NPR reports. "Jody Hall, who owns Seattle"s Cupcake Royale, now pays as much in health insurance for her employees as she does in rent for four choice Seattle storefronts. A majority of working Americans are employed by small businesses, but according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, only 6 in 10 small businesses provide health care. What"s more, the National Federation of Independent Business reports that small companies pay substantially more in premiums than large firms do. Hall, for example, has just three or four insurers to choose from, and she says they won"t negotiate on price."
"Creating an electronic health record for every American by 2014 is a big part of Obama"s agenda but it may be easier said than done," CNN Money reports. "For one, the cost can be prohibitive - easily running into the tens of millions of dollars. Getting physicians on board can be challenging. And the sheer magnitude of implementing the technology can be overwhelmingly cumbersome - translation: try creating a system for a hospital that serves 600,000 patients." The ambitious idea is to eventually create a network between hospitals and doctors offices all across the nation (Goldman, 7/31).
Actually, Failure Is An Option Congress Daily
This week Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and other Washington, D.C., officials "were racing to persuade congressional leaders to erase a House amendment that would essentially reinstate" a ban on using the district"s tax dollars to fund needle exchange programs, the Washington Post reports. A House bill including an amendment addressing needle exchange approved last week, which gives the district its federal appropriation for fiscal year 2010, "would prohibit the city from providing money to any needle exchange program that operates within 1,000 feet of virtually any location where children gather," according to the Post. Norton said, "It essentially wipes out the program," adding that she is calling on other lawmakers to pay close attention to any similar language in the Senate"s version of the bill, which is still in committee. According to the Post, "If the Senate does not include a similar amendment in its version of the bill, members would iron out their differences in a conference committee after Congress returns from its August recess. That"s where [district] officials and AIDS activists hope to kill the amendment" (Fears, 7/31).
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).
The intake of added sugars in the United States is excessive, estimated by the US Department of Agriculture in 1999-2002 as 17% of calories a day. Consuming foods with added sugars displaces nutrient-dense foods in the diet. Reducing or limiting intake of added sugars is an important objective in providing overall dietary guidance. In a study of nearly 30,000 Americans published in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers report that race/ethnicity, family income and educational status are independently associated with intake of added sugars. Groups with low income and education are particularly vulnerable to eating diets with high added sugars.
Patient satisfaction with their medications and the quality of interactions with their doctor reflect the success of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) therapy, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.
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.
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..
By searching millions of DNA variations in the genomes of thousands of women with and without ovarian cancer, scientists have discovered a
Participants in the University of Wisconsin-Madison"s
ImmunoGen, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMGN), a biopharmaceutical company that develops targeted anticancer therapeutics using its Targeted Antibody Payload (TAP) technology, today announced the presentation of encouraging initial efficacy, safety and tolerability clinical data with its IMGN901 product candidate in the treatment of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). In two early-stage clinical trials that enrolled patients whose SCLC had recurred following treatment with standard chemotherapies, IMGN901 administration achieved notable tumor shrinkage and/or sustained stable disease. The compound also demonstrated encouraging activity against other CD56-expressing (CD56+) solid tumors. These clinical data are being presented at the 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer taking place in San Francisco, CA, from July 31 to Aug. 4, 2009.
Response Genetics Inc. (Nasdaq: RGDX), a company focused on the development and sale of molecular diagnostic tests for cancer, will announce the results of separate analyses of KRAS gene mutations and TS and RRM1 gene expression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) during the 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer, which will be held July 31 to August 4. Results will provide insights into which patient subtypes are most likely to benefit from the commonly prescribed chemotherapies pemetrexed and gemcitabine.
A school-based program that integrates information about healthy relationships into the existing ninth-grade curriculum appears to reduce adolescent dating violence and increase condom use two and a half years later, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The effects of the low-cost intervention appear stronger in boys.
As a bright, young cheerleader trying out for the high school varsity squad, 14-year-old Laura Jackson had everything going for her.
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.
Unhealthy Compromise The Baltimore Sun
The Agence-France Press examines the debate over how much developed countries are spending to fight the H1N1 virus. There is concern that as developed countries store away antivirals, face masks and vaccines to protect against the H1N1 (swine) flu virus, poor countries are being left empty handed. "Some critics say the spending is so imbalanced that it amounts to health apartheid, protecting rich countries against H1N1 but leaving poor nations to fend for themselves," the news service writes, adding, "Others argue gargantuan sums are being spent on a disease that is no more lethal than seasonal flu, which is grotesquely disproportionate when thousands die each day of less media-friendly diseases."
Over the past 50 years, the field of wildlife disease as an issue for concern has exploded in significance, mostly because of the increased realization that most emerging human diseases are "zoonotic," that is, diseases that can spread from people to other animals or vice-versa. USGS emeritus scientist Dr. Milton Friend, in an invited talk at the Wildlife Disease Association conference, will explore how and why the field of wildlife disease research has changed over the last 50 years.
Assisted dying laws do not mean that fewer people use palliative care, according to a study published on bmj.com today.
Living in a three-generation household can significantly enhance the economic well-being of children, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
BMA Cymru Wales on Monday launched a campaign aimed at improving the working lives of junior doctors in Wales.
Children"s after-school activities often consist of sedentary behavior such as watching television, but after-school programs that offer physical activity and healthy snacks could be the best place for children"s health.
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:
The recent H1N1 pandemic has highlighted the importance of identifying public health measures which can help to mitigate flu virus transmission. Researchers conducted a prospective cluster-randomized trial to test whether improved hand hygiene or surgical face masks could reduce the spread of flu within households.
Kefir, one of the world"s oldest "health" drinks, did little to prevent diarrhea in young children being treated with antibiotics, say researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC), who tested the drink in a unique and rigorous double-blind clinical trial.
A new study, published in the journal Menopause, found postmenopausal women with vasomotor symptoms-which include hot flashes and night sweats-had lower bone mineral density in the spine and hip.
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)
An article published Online First exposes the facts of the poisoning of Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko in 2004. It is the work of Professor Jean Saurat, from the Swiss Centre for Human Applied Toxicology, and the University Hospital, in Geneva, Switzerland, and his collaborators. It establishes that there is a need for routine analytical techniques to test for metabolites of TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) which is a type of dioxin and the poison that was used. This will help to provide proper treatment.
Nearly 75 percent of Americans suffer from some form of periodontal disease, the major cause of adult tooth loss. In addition, cardiovascular disease, the leading killer of men and women in the United States, is a major public health issue contributing to 2,400 deaths each day. And while these two conditions are seemingly unrelated, research suggests that managing one disease may reduce the risk for the other.
The Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF) has announced $300,000 in awards from its inaugural winter commercialization grant competition to support commercial translation of health-related technologies by two Washington state-based research teams. Commercialization grants are designed to facilitate the transition of promising ideas or technologies from Washington"s non-profit research sector into marketable products and services that can improve health, foster economic growth, and promote life sciences competitiveness in the state. The grants support proof-of-concept experiments and prototype development activities that are expected to lower the risk of commercialization and help new technologies cross the "valley of death" - that stage of the commercialization pathway where development funding is particularly scarce.
The University of Illinois at Chicago has been awarded a $7.2 million federal grant to establish the UIC Center of Excellence in Eliminating Health Disparities.
Professor Declan Murphy and colleagues Dr Michael Craig and Dr Marco Catani from the Institute of Psychiatry at King"s College London have found differences in the brain which may provide a biological explanation for psychopathy. The results of their study are outlined in the paper "Altered connections on the road to psychopathy", published in Molecular Psychiatry.
Three cases of patients suffering from the adverse affects of steroid-enriched dietary supplements have been reported by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital.
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.
Celera Corporation (NASDAQ:CRA) announced yesterday the presentation of data replicating its novel mass spectrometry-based approach to identify and validate circulating protein biomarkers that detect non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in an independent cohort of individuals with lung cancer. This study was performed in collaboration with scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center, NY. A key outcome of the study was the validation of a 9 biomarker immunoassay on a cohort of samples that is enriched for stage I disease, important for screening of early stage disease. The assay detected lung cancer with 92% sensitivity at 93% specificity. The panel also accurately distinguished malignant cases from benign lung disease. The data is being presented at the 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer as part of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) in San Francisco, CA.
The results of the first ever silver antimicrobial product trial in a nursing home environment, published in the British Journal of Community Nursing, reveal that levels of potentially deadly bacteria can be dramatically reduced using products treated with silver antimicrobial agents, creating cleaner and safer nursing homes for elderly residents across the UK.
Growing scientific evidence indicates that people who adhere to a special calorie-restricted diet can improve their health and could potentially add years to their lifespan, according to an article in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS" weekly newsmagazine.
The GP leading on swine flu for the BMA has told Pulse the planned vaccination campaign will be delayed by "at least six weeks". Such a delay would ruin the Government"s plans of having the first doses of swine flu vaccine available by the end of August. Instead, the vaccine would not become available until October at the earliest - when a major surge of swine flu cases is expected.
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.
UroToday.com - Vitamin D needs, especially in the northern latitudes where direct sunlight is unavailable for much of the year, are currently under scrutiny by members of both the scientific and medical communities. Vitamin D primarily plays a role in regulating calcium absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. However, epidemiologic and laboratory studies support the notion that vitamin D might play a role in chemoprevention - particularly of cancers of the colon, breast, ovarian, and prostate (Garland et al., Am J Public Health 2006;96:252-61) - immune modulation and prevention of certain autoimmune disorders (Cantorna et al., Exp Biol Med 2004;229:1136-1142), promoting bone integrity and preserving muscle mass (Montero-Odasso et al., Mol Aspects Med 2005;26:203-19), cardiovascular disease prevention (Wang et al., Circulation 2008;117:503-11), and prevention of all-cause mortality (Melamed et al., Arch Intern Med 2008;168:1629-37).
The Senate on Tuesday began its floor debate on the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, the Wall Street Journal reports (Bravin, Wall Street Journal, 8/4). The debate will continue for the rest of the week before a final floor vote is held Thursday or Friday (Oliphant/Savage, Los Angeles Times, 8/5). Twenty-eight Republicans have said they will oppose her nomination. As of Tuesday, six Republicans were undecided (Stern, CQ Today, 8/4). In addition, at least six Republicans plan to vote for Sotomayor"s confirmation, while none of the 60 Democrats in the Senate have come out against her.Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who has announced his opposition, said, "I have expressed the view since this process began that we are at a fork in the road," asking, "Will we continue to adhere to the classical idea of American jurisprudence? Or will we follow results-oriented judging in which judges cease to be committed to equal justice?" He also said that "certain aspects of her record troubled me, ... whether she is deeply committed to the ideal of objectivity and impartiality" (Los Angeles Times, 8/5). Sotomayor opponent Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) expressed concern about Sotomayor"s statement in a speech that "a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion" than a white male judge. Inhofe said, "Well, that"s pretty emphatic. There"s no other way you can interpret that," adding, "She thinks a woman with her experience can make a better conclusion than a white male," and "to me, I consider that racist" (CQ Today, 8/4).However, Sotomayor supporter Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said, "Those who struggle to pin the label of judicial activist on Judge Sotomayor are met by her solid record of judging based on the law." He added, "She is a restrained, experienced and thoughtful judge who has shown no biases in her rulings." Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said, "You can"t find a nominee with better experience than Judge Sotomayor. She has seen the law from all sides." Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said, "When Judge Sotomayor takes her seat at the Supreme Court, America will have come of age" (Los Angeles Times, 8/4).
"The increasingly heated fight over health-care legislation is saturating the summer airwaves, with groups on all sides of the debate pouring tens of millions of dollars into advertising campaigns designed to push the cause of reform forward, slow it down or stop it in its tracks," the Washington Post reports. So far, drug makers, labor groups, Democrats and Republicans - among others - have spent $52 million to finance the ad campaigns, a heady start that could lead to a "record-breaking legislative battle."
Health Co-ops Emerge As Weak Substitute USA Today
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 fifth annual report card from the Washington, D.C.,-based Appleseed Center for Law and Justice examining the district"s response to HIV gives the city "high marks for rapid testing, interagency coordination, surveillance and fighting the disease in the D.C. Jail," but finds that the city falls short in other areas, the Washington Examiner reports (Neibauer, 8/5). "The government also received above-average grades for leadership, managing grants to groups that help people with the illness, and monitoring the effectiveness of those programs," the Washington Post reports. However, "While Mayor Fenty and his administration deserve recognition for the continued support of ò€¦ numerous [HIV/AIDS Administration] initiatives, his public appearances and statements about the epidemic have fallen short of his enthusiasm for action inside the government," the report said. The report added that the district could do more to address HIV and recommended that HAA assess whether the improvements they have made are reducing the spread of the virus, according to the Post (Fears, 8/5).
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
A team of researchers from CIC bioGUNE from the Cellular Biology and Stem Cell Unit, alongside a team from Paris" Cardiovascular Research Centre (INSERM U970) have developed a new area of research which looks extremely promising as regards the development of new therapeutic responses to ischemic pathologies and cardiovascular diseases in general. The results of this research project, which was initiated in 2005 and is supported by Bizkaia:Xede and the Basque Government"s Etortek programme, were published in the prestigious scientific journal Circulation.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) have today published their
Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex: RNN), announced that it has enrolled 50% of the total projected enrollment required for its Phase IIa trial to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of Serdaxin™ as a central nervous system based treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The complete trial calls for the enrollment of up to 80 patients at multiple clinical trial sites in the United States.
ViraCor Laboratories, the leader in molecular diagnostic testing for infectious diseases, announced the launch of a new ultrasensitive molecular test to detect JC Virus in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). The second JCV test to be developed in ViraCor"s laboratories, the ultrasensitive JCV PCR test can accurately detect the virus in a patient sample with as few as 25 viral copies per milliliter of sample.
LDR, a total spine solution company, announced they obtained approval in Japan to market their Easyspine posterior osteosynthesis system. The Easyspine system was approved by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on March 9, followed by government approval for reimbursement on April 1. LDR has worked closely with the Yufu Itonaga Company in Tokyo to obtain this approval. The Yufu Itonaga Company will distribute and support the Easyspine line.
Direct Flow Medical, Inc. a privately held, emerging medical device Company developing a next generation, minimally invasive implant to treat patients with heart valve disease announced the issuance of its 5th patent on their Percutaneous Aortic Valve (PAV) Technology. The patent (USP# 7,534,259) entitled: "Nonstented Heart Valves with Formed in situ Support" provides further protection for this second generation PAV device.