| Abortion News | |
| Blogs Comment On Federal Judicial Vacancies, Health Insurance For Women The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries."The Bench in Purgatory," Doug Kendall, Slate: The "slow pace" of President Obama's judicial nominations is "part of the problem" with the high number of federal vacancies, but the "larger issue is a new form of obstructionism in the Senate," as only three of Obama's 22 lower court nominees have been confirmed, Kendall writes. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| GOP Infighting Over Centrist In N.Y. Congressional Race Shows Party's 'Glaring Misunderstanding' Of Voters, NYT Editorial Says The "feeble pulse of moderation" in the Republican Party "is in danger of flat lining" in the Nov. 3 congressional election in upstate New York, with prominent Republicans like former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Texas State Lawmaker Requests Information On Licenses For Dispensing Mifepristone Texas state Rep. Frank Corte (R) earlier this month requested that Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) provide information about whether medical facilities that regularly dispense mifepristone for medical abortion procedures should be licensed by the state, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Aid / Disasters News | |
| Developing Countries Paying More For Food, WFP Executive Director Says Despite drops in commodity market prices due to the global economic downturn, "[m]ost of the developing world is paying more for food," and the price of food staples in developing countries has risen, Josette Sheeran, executive director of the U. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Gateses To Appeal For Ongoing U.S. Funding Of Global Health Bill and Melinda Gates are expected to ask Washington officials on Tuesday to "continue funding global health initiatives despite the recession and to commit to nearly halve the number of child deaths worldwide by 2025," the Washington Post reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| American Red Cross To Receive Charitable Donations Through Amazon Payments Program The American Red Cross today announced that through a new collaboration with Amazon Payments, people will be able to make charitable donations to the Red Cross through the Amazon Payments program. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs News | |
| Families Suffer From Problem Gambling Many people perceive gambling to be a harmless recreational activity. However, it is estimated that six to eight million people in the United States personally suffer from a gambling related problem. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Alzheimer's / Dementia News | |
| Older Patients With Dementia At Increased Risk For Flu Mortality An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza (P&I) in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without dementia. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Finding That Memory Loss Is Slower In Alzheimer's Patients With Diabetes Surprises Researchers Researchers from France and the UK who set out to investigate whether people with Alzheimer's disease and diabetes have more rapid memory loss were surprised to find not only that they did not, but that their memory loss was actually slower than that of Alzheimer's patients without diabetes. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Older Patients With Dementia At Increased Risk For Flu Mortality An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza (P&I) in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without dementia. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Older Patients With Dementia At Increased Risk For Flu Mortality An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza (P&I) in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without dementia. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| New TAU Formulation May Slow Down Parkinson's, Alzheimer's And Huntington's Diseases Working like an architect, Prof. Hagit Eldar-Finkelman of Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine is "building" a new drug, L803-MTS, to treat a number of central nervous system (CNS) diseases like Alzheimer's. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Anxiety / Stress News | |
| Anxious Pregnant Mothers More Likely To Have Smaller Babies A new study published in the journal Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology reveals that anxiety in pregnant women impacts their babies' size and gestational age. Specifically, women with more severe and chronic anxiety during pregnancy are more likely to have affected babies. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Biology / Biochemistry News | |
| Consortia Of European Scientists Show New Role For Master Patterning Genes In Defining Number Of Vertebrae In Spine Vertebrates have in common a skeleton made of segments, the vertebrae. During development of the embryo, each segment is added in a time dependent manner, from the head-end to the tail-end: the first segments to be added become the vertebrae of the neck, later segments become the vertebrae with ribs and the last ones the vertebra located in the tail (in the case of a mouse, for example). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Biophysicists' Method Targets Cancerous Tumors Two University of Rhode Island associate professors, biophysicists Yana Reshetnyak and Oleg Andreev, have discovered a technology that can detect cancerous tumors and deliver treatment to them without the harming the healthy cells surrounding them, thereby significantly reducing side effects. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Tiny Sea Creature And A New Medical Adhesive: New American Chemical Society Podcast Scientists questing after a long-sought new medical adhesive describe copying the natural glue secreted by a tiny sea creature called the sandcastle worm in the latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) award-winning podcast series, "Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Curry Powder Ingredient Kills Cancer Cells Researchers from Ireland and Poland found that curcumin, a compound found in the popular Indian spice turmeric that gives curry powder its distinct yellow colour, killed oesophageal cancer cells in the lab via an unexpected cell-death mechanism that did not involve apoptosis or cell suicide. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| That '4 Hour Erection': New Discovery May Help Prevent A Complication Of Priapism For men coping with painful erections lasting for long periods of time, or priapism, new research published online in The FASEB Journal offers hope. That's because researchers from the United States and China show that the enzyme adenosine deaminase may prevent priapism from progressing to penile fibrosis, a condition associated with the build up of scar tissue and eventual impotence. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Dominant Chemical That Attracts Mosquitoes To Humans Identified By UC Davis Researchers Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have identified the dominant odor naturally produced in humans and birds that attracts the blood-feeding Culex mosquitoes, which transmit West Nile virus and other life-threatening diseases. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Protein Critical For Insulin Secretion May Be Contributor To Diabetes A cellular protein from a family involved in several human diseases is crucial for the proper production and release of insulin, new research has found, suggesting that the protein might play a role in diabetes. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Bipolar News | |
| Break-through Preventative Care Program For People Living With Bipolar Disorder A major breakthrough in mental health has been developed, a cooperative venture between the National Bipolar Foundation and the MedicAlert Foundation; a preventative care program called "Safe 'til Stable. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Funding Supports ADA Technologies' Development Of Home Monitor For Bipolar Disorder ADA Technologies, Inc. (ADA) received a $189,886 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to develop a home lithiummonitor for use by patients with bipolar disorder. The testing tool would allow reliable, routine at-home monitoring of blood lithium concentrations, enabling individuals with bipolar disorder to conveniently and effectively manage their care. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Blood / Hematology News | |
| Change In Treating Pulmonary Embolisms Recommended By Stanford Study William Kuo, MD, was the on-call interventional radiologist one Friday night three years ago when he received a call from the intensive care unit at Stanford Hospital & Clinics. He was asked to attend to a 62-year-old woman who had collapsed at home and was rushed to the emergency room with massive blood clots in her lungs. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| AdvanDx Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance For 90 Minutes PNA FISH(R) Protocol For Identifying Enterococcal Bloodstream Pathogens AdvanDx announced that it has received FDA 510(k) clearance for a fast, 90 minutes protocol for its E. faecalis/OE PNA FISH(®) test. The faster protocol reduces the PNA FISH turn-around time from the original 2. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Alternatively Spliced Tissue Factor Identified As Promising New Biomarker For Aggressive Cancers A recently discovered form of the protein that triggers blood clotting may play a key role in the molecular mechanisms leading to the growth of certain metastatic cancers, according to new research reported by an international team of scientists. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Bones / Orthopaedics News | |
| Consortia Of European Scientists Show New Role For Master Patterning Genes In Defining Number Of Vertebrae In Spine Vertebrates have in common a skeleton made of segments, the vertebrae. During development of the embryo, each segment is added in a time dependent manner, from the head-end to the tail-end: the first segments to be added become the vertebrae of the neck, later segments become the vertebrae with ribs and the last ones the vertebra located in the tail (in the case of a mouse, for example). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Tiny Sea Creature And A New Medical Adhesive: New American Chemical Society Podcast Scientists questing after a long-sought new medical adhesive describe copying the natural glue secreted by a tiny sea creature called the sandcastle worm in the latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) award-winning podcast series, "Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Invitation To Attend The World Congress On Osteoporosis 2010 (IOF WCO - ECCEO10) Springtime in Tuscany! Come to Florence to hear the world's key opinion leaders in osteoporosis talk about the field's 'hot topics' and join in clinically-oriented 'Meet-the-Expert' sessions, limited in size for maximum interaction between experts and participants. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Breast Cancer News | |
| Adding Tool Against Breast Tumors At the end of a 10-year, coast-to-coast study of women with an unusual form of breast cancer, Richard J. Barth Jr., M.D., and three fellow researchers are making the case for a particular combination of treatments to stop the tumors in their tracks. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Moving Images Reveal Secrets Behind Breast Cancer Spread Cancer Research UK scientists have used a cutting edge microscopy technique to identify genes whose activity could be blocked by drugs to stop the spread of the breast cancer. The research is published in Nature Cell Biology* . | 28 Oct 2009 |
| First Lady Stresses Importance Of Health Reform To Women At White House Breast Cancer Event First lady Michelle Obama framed health care reform as a women's issue at a breast cancer event on Friday, "marking the third time in recent weeks she has weighed in on the health debate so directly," Politico reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| How Women Make Decisions About Breast Cancer Surgery For women just diagnosed with breast cancer, one of the important decisions confronting them is whether to have a lumpectomy or mastectomy. A diagnosis of breast cancer will affect one in every eight women in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society, causing them to have to decide quickly about treatment. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Best Practices In Breast, Cervical And Colorectal Cancer Screening Translated Into Risk-Based Guidelines For The Public Drawing on years of experience in cancer research and patient care, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have just released the most comprehensive, risk-based screening guidelines publicly available to date for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Cancer / Oncology News | |
| Celsion And Yakult Honsha Announce Treatment Of First Patient In Japan In Celsion's Global Phase III ThermoDox(R) Trial For Primary Liver Cancer Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ: CLSN) and Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 2267) announced today that the first patient has been enrolled and treated in Japan as part of Celsion's global Phase III ThermoDox HEAT trial for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of primary liver cancer. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Liver Removed And Re-Implanted For Cancer Treatment Distinguished transplant and cancer surgeon, Alan Hemming, MD, has been recruited to the University of California, School of Medicine to launch a multidisciplinary center for the treatment of advanced liver disease at the UC San Diego Medical Center and Moores UCSD Cancer Center. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Biophysicists' Method Targets Cancerous Tumors Two University of Rhode Island associate professors, biophysicists Yana Reshetnyak and Oleg Andreev, have discovered a technology that can detect cancerous tumors and deliver treatment to them without the harming the healthy cells surrounding them, thereby significantly reducing side effects. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Moving Images Reveal Secrets Behind Breast Cancer Spread Cancer Research UK scientists have used a cutting edge microscopy technique to identify genes whose activity could be blocked by drugs to stop the spread of the breast cancer. The research is published in Nature Cell Biology* . | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Lawrence Dallaglio Hosts Star-studded Party In Aid Of Cancer Research UK Former England rugby captain Lawrence Dallaglio has joined forces with Cancer Research UK to launch the first ever 8Rocks party, in honour of his mother Eileen who died of cancer in December 2008. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Curry Powder Ingredient Kills Cancer Cells Researchers from Ireland and Poland found that curcumin, a compound found in the popular Indian spice turmeric that gives curry powder its distinct yellow colour, killed oesophageal cancer cells in the lab via an unexpected cell-death mechanism that did not involve apoptosis or cell suicide. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Curry Compounds Kill Oesophageal Cancer Cells In Lab MOLECULES found in curry ingredients have been shown to kill oesophageal cancer cells in the laboratory, reveals research published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Wednesday). Scientists based at the Cork Cancer Research Centre treated oesophageal cancer cells with curcumin - a chemical found in the curry spice tumeric. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| ASTRO Annual Meeting To Unveil Practice-Changing Cancer Studies The following are highlights of new cancer research being presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO) 51st Annual Meeting on November 1-5, 2009, in Chicago.Short-term hormone therapy added to radiation increases survival for medium-risk, but not low-risk, prostate cancer patients (late-breaking study)Short-term hormone therapy given prior to and during radiation treatment to medium-risk prostate cancer patients increases their chance of living longer, compared to those who receive radiation alone, however there is no significant benefit for low-risk patients, according to the largest randomized study of its kind presented at the plenary session, November 2, 2009…Shorter radiation course as effective as standard therapy for prostate cancer recurrenceA shorter, five-week course of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer sessions, known as hypofractionation, appears to be just as effective and as safe in reducing the risk of prostate cancer from returning as standard radiation therapy, yet is delivered in two-and-a-half weeks less time, according to interim results of a randomized study presented Wednesday, November 4, 2009…Shorter radiation course stops cancer growth in high-risk prostate cancer patientsHypofractionated radiation treatment, a newer type of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer treatments than conventional radiation therapy, is significantly more effective in stopping cancer from growing in high risk patients, compared to receiving standard radiation treatment, according to a study presented on Wednesday, November 4, 2009…Radiation after surgery reduces chance of melanoma returningHigh-risk melanoma patients who are treated with radiation after surgery have a significantly lower risk of their cancer returning to the lymph nodes (19 percent), compared to those patients who do not have radiation therapy (31 percent), according to the first randomized study-of-its-kind presented at the plenary session on Monday, November 2, 2009…Stereotactic radiotherapy stops lung cancer from growing in frail patientsStereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) stopped the growth of cancer at its original site in the lung for three years among nearly 98 percent of patients with early non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are unable to have the cancer surgically removed, according to an updated three-year study presented on Monday, November 2, 2009…Adding proton therapy "boost" to X-ray radiation therapy reduces prostate cancer recurrencesMen who receive a "boost" of proton therapy after receiving a standard course of X-ray radiation therapy have fewer recurrences of their prostate cancer compared to men who did not receive the extra dose of proton radiation, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented November 2, 2009…Proton therapy is well-tolerated in prostate cancer patientsProton beam therapy can be safely delivered to men with prostate cancer and has minimal urinary and rectal side effects, according to a study presented November 2, 2009…Cancer patients want honesty, compassion from their oncologistWhat do patients want from their radiation oncologists? The most significant preference is that more than one-third of female cancer patients (37 percent) prefer to have their hands held by their radiation oncologists during important office visits, compared to 12 percent of men, according to a randomized study presented on Wednesday, November 4, 2009…Obesity significantly increases side effects of stereotactic body radiation therapy in lung cancer patientsObesity, not the amount of radiation given, is the greatest factor in whether early-stage lung cancer patients develop chest wall pain after receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy to the chest wall, with obese patients being more than twice as likely to develop chronic pain compared to those who have less body weight, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented on Tuesday, November 3, 2009…What are the real benefits versus risks of preventative brain radiation for patients with non-small cell lung cancer?Patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with preventative brain radiation (called prophylactic cranial irradiation or PCI), significantly decrease their risk of developing brain metastases (cancer spread in the brain) by more than 50 percent (from 18 percent to 8 percent), compared to those who did not receive the treatment, according to a randomized study presented at the plenary session on Monday, November 2, 2009…Three-week course of breast radiation may be as effective as conventional five to seven week course for early breast cancers, says U. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| New Strategies Required To Monitor Exposure To Environmental Carcinogens A new report from an American Cancer Society (ACS) scientific advisory subcommittee on cancer and the environment says exposure to carcinogens should be minimized or eliminated whenever feasible, and calls for new strategies to more effectively and efficiently screen the large number of chemicals to which the public is exposed. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Patients With Advanced Head And Neck Cancer: Adding Chemotherapy To Radiotherapy Increases Survival An article published Online First in The Lancet Oncology reports that giving chemotherapy at the same time as radiotherapy to patients who have not had surgery with locally advanced head and neck cancer more than doubles their event-free survival to 2. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Cholesterol-lowering Medicines May Be Effective Against Cancer Millions of people around the world use medicines based on statins to lower their blood cholesterol, but new research from the University of Gothenburg, published in the prestigious journal PNAS, shows that statins may also be effective in the treatment of cancer. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Medtronic Launches New Neuro Oncology Surgical Imaging System Internationally This week at the annual Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) announced the Conformite Europeen (CE) mark and international launch of the PoleStar® N30 Surgical MRI system, the latest in neuro oncology surgical solutions. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| ImmunoCellular Therapeutics To Present Today Data From Phase I Clinical Trial Of ICT-107 At Annual Meeting Of Congress Of Neurological Surgeons ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (OTCBB: IMUC), a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is developing immune-based therapies for the treatment of brain and other cancers, today announced that it will be presenting today, at the Annual Meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in New Orleans, Louisiana at 3:15pm central time, data from its Phase I clinical trial investigating the role that its ICT-107 vaccine may play in increasing patient survival and inhibiting tumor progression in patients with glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive type of primary brain tumor. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Data Presented On Oncophage(R) Cancer Vaccine In Recurrent Glioma At SNO 2009 Antigenics (NASDAQ: AGEN) announced that the Brain Tumor Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has presented an update on a Phase 2 clinical trial of Oncophage (vitespen) for recurrent high grade glioma (brain cancer) at the 2009 Joint Meeting of SNO (Society for Neuro-Oncology) and AANS/CNS Section on Tumors 2009 in New Orleans, LA. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Alternatively Spliced Tissue Factor Identified As Promising New Biomarker For Aggressive Cancers A recently discovered form of the protein that triggers blood clotting may play a key role in the molecular mechanisms leading to the growth of certain metastatic cancers, according to new research reported by an international team of scientists. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Clues On Cancer And Aging Provided By Common Weed A common weed and human cancer cells could provide some very uncommon details about DNA structure and its relationship with telomeres and how they affect cellular aging and cancer, according to a team led by scientists from Texas A&M University and the University of Cincinnati (UC). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Do Drug Therapies Raise Risk Of Bladder Cancer? In her most recent study of possible triggers of cancer among northern New England residents, Dartmouth epidemiologist Margaret R. Karagas, Ph.D., and her team identified an enhanced risk to the bladders of patients taking drugs that suppress the immune system. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Scientific And Clinical Development Of Innovative Radiation Therapy Discussed By International Experts The largest congress worldwide on the topic of particle or ion therapy - radiation with heavy ions and protons - has taken place in in Heidelberg. Well over 600 international participants, especially from Japan and the USA, convened in the Heidelberg Town Hall for the annual meeting of the "Particle Therapy Cooperative Group" (PTCOG), including leading experts from the fields of radiation therapy, medical physics and oncology. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Cardiovascular / Cardiology News | |
| Onset Medical Performs First Human Use Of The SoloPath™ Endovascular Access Catheter To Deliver Percutaneous Aortic Heart Valve Onset Medical Corporation announced the first human usage of its SoloPathTM Endovascular Access Catheter in a case performed by Eberhard Grube MD, Chief, Department of Cardiology/Angiology, Helios Heart Center, Siegburg in Germany. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| UT Southwestern Patient First In North Texas To Receive Newest-generation Heart Failure Device UT Southwestern Medical Center patient Michael LeBlanc, 40, is the first in North Texas to receive the newest generation of a mechanical device designed to improve heart function. It will be his lifeline while he awaits a heart transplant. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Health Care Costs For Employees With Cardiac Risk Factors Reduced By Web-Based Nutrition Program Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have shown that an employer-sponsored, internet-based diet and exercise program shows promise as a low-cost benefit to lower healthcare costs for those at higher risk for above-average costs and healthcare utilization such as cardiac, hyperlipidemia, hypertension or diabetes patients. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Rennes University Hospital Begins SynCardia Certification Training For The Total Artificial Heart On Oct. 26 & 27, the surgical team from Rennes University Hospital, led by Dr. Erwan Flecher and Prof. Jean-Philippe Verhoye, completed the first phase of certification training for the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart in Paris. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Vascular Surgeons Perform Most Peripheral Arterial Interventions Vascular surgeons have the highest market share and the lowest overall mortality and morbidity rates for peripheral arterial interventions (PAI), when compared to interventional cardiologists and interventional radiologists who also perform this procedure. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Melody(R) Transcatheter Valve Demonstrates Encouraging Results In Study On Patients With Congenital Heart Disease Clinical trial results published in this week's Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) describe six-month outcomes for patients using the Melody® Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve from Medtronic, Inc. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Top US Cardiologist Honoured For Healing Damaged Hearts Dr. Eduardo Marbán, a pioneering American cardiologist, will receive the Canadian Institutes of Health Research - Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (CIHR-ICRH) Distinguished Lecture and Prize Award. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Thermo Fisher Scientific Launches New Biomarker Test In Europe To Rapidly Diagnose Heart Attack Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, announced the availability in Europe of its new Copeptin assay, which helps medical personnel quickly and accurately diagnose acute myocardial infarction (AMI), commonly known as a heart attack. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Caregivers / Homecare News | |
| Health Net Shares Tips For Family Caregivers In Honor Of National Family Caregivers Month The beginning of November marks the start of National Family Caregivers Month, which is sponsored by the National Family Caregivers Association. In support of this annual awareness effort, Health Net, Inc. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine News | |
| HPV Vaccine Makes Girls More Cautious About Sex Nearly eighty per cent of girls say that having the HPV vaccine makes them think twice about the risks of having sex, according to a study published in the British Journal of Cancer. The survey - the first to focus on girls' views of the vaccine rather than their parents' - showed that, despite speculation that the vaccine could make girls more likely to start having sex younger, it highlighted the risks of sex for the overwhelming majority. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Best Practices In Breast, Cervical And Colorectal Cancer Screening Translated Into Risk-Based Guidelines For The Public Drawing on years of experience in cancer research and patient care, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have just released the most comprehensive, risk-based screening guidelines publicly available to date for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Clinical Trials / Drug Trials News | |
| Results Of Phase I Study Show Novel, Investigational PA65020 Compound Significantly Decreased Risk Of Upper Gastrointestinal Damage In Healthy Adults POZEN Inc. (NASDAQ: POZN) announced the results of a Phase I study that showed a novel, investigational combination of enteric-coated aspirin (EC-ASA) and immediate-release omeprazole known as PA65020, is associated with a significantly decreased risk of GI mucosal damage compared to analgesic doses (650 mg twice daily) of over-the-counter enteric-coated aspirin (EC-ASA) in healthy adults treated for one month. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Alkermes Announces Initiation Of Phase 1 Clinical Study Of ALKS 37 For The Treatment Of Opioid-Induced Constipation Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) announced the initiation of a phase 1 clinical study of ALKS 37, an orally active, peripherally-restricted opioid antagonist with potential to block the opioid agonist effects on gastrointestinal motility, commonly referred to as opioid-induced constipation (OIC). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Celsion And Yakult Honsha Announce Treatment Of First Patient In Japan In Celsion's Global Phase III ThermoDox(R) Trial For Primary Liver Cancer Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ: CLSN) and Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 2267) announced today that the first patient has been enrolled and treated in Japan as part of Celsion's global Phase III ThermoDox HEAT trial for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of primary liver cancer. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Medical Food Reduces Medical Costs And Use Of Anti-Convulsant Medication Diabetic patients diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy had lower medical costs and reduced use of anticonvulsant medications when treated with a folate-enriched prescription medical food, according to data presented at the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research 12th Annual European Congress. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Subset Data From Two Randomized Phase 3 Trials Show TYSABRI Significantly Reduces Rates Of Hospitalization In Patients With Crohn's Disease Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) and Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) announced data showing that treatment with TYSABRI® (natalizumab) significantly reduced the rate of hospitalization compared with placebo in patients with moderate - to - severe Crohn's disease during both induction and maintenance treatment. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| 22nd Century Continuing Development Of Its Smoking Cessation Aid 22nd Century Limited, LLC ("22nd Century") is pleased to announce that it is continuing development of a very low nicotine cigarette for use in smoking cessation. Clinical trial results demonstrate that these cigarettes, also referred to as 'nicotine-free' and 'denicotinized,' may be more effective for quitting than FDA-approved therapies. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Is Childhood Sexual Abuse Linked To Inability To Express Emotions In Adulthood? An investigation published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics explores the link between child sexual abuse and inability to express emotions in adulthood. Alexithymia, a clinical condition typified by a reported inability to identify or describe one's emotions, is associated with various forms of psychopathology, including depression. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| The Way To Overcome Emotional Disturbances In Children May Be Improving Their Psychological Well-being A group of investigators of the University of Bologna suggest a new way of approaching emotional disturbances in children by improving their psychological well-being. The study is published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Vascular Surgeons Perform Most Peripheral Arterial Interventions Vascular surgeons have the highest market share and the lowest overall mortality and morbidity rates for peripheral arterial interventions (PAI), when compared to interventional cardiologists and interventional radiologists who also perform this procedure. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Logical Therapeutics Announces Positive Results Of LT-NS001 Vs. Naproxen Clinical Study Logical Therapeutics, Inc., a Waltham, MA-based biopharmaceutical company announced the positive results of a Phase I/II clinical trial evaluating the gastrointestinal (GI) safety of its investigational drug LT-NS001, the first of a new class of bio-activated prodrugs being developed for the chronic treatment of arthritic conditions. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals Announces Positive Phase II Results For INT-747 As A Treatment For Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced positive results from a 165 patient, placebo controlled, double-blind Phase II clinical trial of INT-747 in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Phase 2 Data From Oral NKTR-118 Presented At American College Of Gastroenterology In San Diego Data from a phase II study demonstrated that oral NKTR-118 improved lower gastrointestinal dysfunction by increasing the frequency of bowel movements in patients with opioid-induced constipation, while simultaneously preserving opioid-mediated analgesia. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Impax Pharmaceuticals Initiates Second Phase III Trial Of IPX066 In Parkinson's Disease Impax Pharmaceuticals, the brand products division of Impax Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IPXL), announced that it has initiated a multinational Phase III trial of its late-stage drug candidate IPX066 in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| ImmunoCellular Therapeutics To Present Today Data From Phase I Clinical Trial Of ICT-107 At Annual Meeting Of Congress Of Neurological Surgeons ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (OTCBB: IMUC), a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is developing immune-based therapies for the treatment of brain and other cancers, today announced that it will be presenting today, at the Annual Meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in New Orleans, Louisiana at 3:15pm central time, data from its Phase I clinical trial investigating the role that its ICT-107 vaccine may play in increasing patient survival and inhibiting tumor progression in patients with glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive type of primary brain tumor. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Data Presented On Oncophage(R) Cancer Vaccine In Recurrent Glioma At SNO 2009 Antigenics (NASDAQ: AGEN) announced that the Brain Tumor Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has presented an update on a Phase 2 clinical trial of Oncophage (vitespen) for recurrent high grade glioma (brain cancer) at the 2009 Joint Meeting of SNO (Society for Neuro-Oncology) and AANS/CNS Section on Tumors 2009 in New Orleans, LA. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Changing Behavior Helps Patients Take Medication As Prescribed Taking medication as the doctor prescribes is crucial to improving health. However, 26 to 59 percent of older adults do not adhere to instructions, according to a 2003 study published in Drugs and Aging. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Colorectal Cancer News | |
| Diverticulosis Not Associated With Higher Incidence Of Polyps: Henry Ford Hospital Study A Henry Ford Hospital study questions the need for aggressive screening for colonic polyps in patients with diverticulosis.The study sought to determine if asymptomatic patients with diverticular disease are at higher or lower risk for developing colonic polyps, abnormal growths found in the wall of the colon that sometimes become cancerous. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Unsedated Colonoscopy For Colorectal Cancer Screening Well Accepted By Patients Researchers from Taiwan report in a new study that unsedated colonoscopy for primary colorectal cancer screening is well accepted in a majority of patients. Sedation is typically used for colonoscopy to make the patient feel comfortable during the procedure. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Best Practices In Breast, Cervical And Colorectal Cancer Screening Translated Into Risk-Based Guidelines For The Public Drawing on years of experience in cancer research and patient care, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have just released the most comprehensive, risk-based screening guidelines publicly available to date for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Complementary Medicine / Alternative Medicine News | |
| More People Rely On Alternative Medicine As consumers look to save money in a tough economy, many turn to alternative health care options. CBS 4 reports: "Health care costs are soaring. Thousands of people are without jobs and without the benefits afforded them. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Propolis Has Proved To Be A Product With Ability To Have Beneficial Effects For Health Growing concerns about health has caused the scientific community to focus their interest on investigating functional foods which contribute to boosting the prevention and reduction of the risk of suffering from certain illnesses. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Compliance News | |
| Policy Recommendations For Improving Medication Adherence A diverse group of health care and consumer organizations released five policy recommendations this week that are designed to promote better medication adherence and improved health outcomes for patients. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Changing Behavior Helps Patients Take Medication As Prescribed Taking medication as the doctor prescribes is crucial to improving health. However, 26 to 59 percent of older adults do not adhere to instructions, according to a 2003 study published in Drugs and Aging. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Conferences News | |
| ASTRO Annual Meeting To Unveil Practice-Changing Cancer Studies The following are highlights of new cancer research being presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO) 51st Annual Meeting on November 1-5, 2009, in Chicago.Short-term hormone therapy added to radiation increases survival for medium-risk, but not low-risk, prostate cancer patients (late-breaking study)Short-term hormone therapy given prior to and during radiation treatment to medium-risk prostate cancer patients increases their chance of living longer, compared to those who receive radiation alone, however there is no significant benefit for low-risk patients, according to the largest randomized study of its kind presented at the plenary session, November 2, 2009…Shorter radiation course as effective as standard therapy for prostate cancer recurrenceA shorter, five-week course of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer sessions, known as hypofractionation, appears to be just as effective and as safe in reducing the risk of prostate cancer from returning as standard radiation therapy, yet is delivered in two-and-a-half weeks less time, according to interim results of a randomized study presented Wednesday, November 4, 2009…Shorter radiation course stops cancer growth in high-risk prostate cancer patientsHypofractionated radiation treatment, a newer type of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer treatments than conventional radiation therapy, is significantly more effective in stopping cancer from growing in high risk patients, compared to receiving standard radiation treatment, according to a study presented on Wednesday, November 4, 2009…Radiation after surgery reduces chance of melanoma returningHigh-risk melanoma patients who are treated with radiation after surgery have a significantly lower risk of their cancer returning to the lymph nodes (19 percent), compared to those patients who do not have radiation therapy (31 percent), according to the first randomized study-of-its-kind presented at the plenary session on Monday, November 2, 2009…Stereotactic radiotherapy stops lung cancer from growing in frail patientsStereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) stopped the growth of cancer at its original site in the lung for three years among nearly 98 percent of patients with early non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are unable to have the cancer surgically removed, according to an updated three-year study presented on Monday, November 2, 2009…Adding proton therapy "boost" to X-ray radiation therapy reduces prostate cancer recurrencesMen who receive a "boost" of proton therapy after receiving a standard course of X-ray radiation therapy have fewer recurrences of their prostate cancer compared to men who did not receive the extra dose of proton radiation, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented November 2, 2009…Proton therapy is well-tolerated in prostate cancer patientsProton beam therapy can be safely delivered to men with prostate cancer and has minimal urinary and rectal side effects, according to a study presented November 2, 2009…Cancer patients want honesty, compassion from their oncologistWhat do patients want from their radiation oncologists? The most significant preference is that more than one-third of female cancer patients (37 percent) prefer to have their hands held by their radiation oncologists during important office visits, compared to 12 percent of men, according to a randomized study presented on Wednesday, November 4, 2009…Obesity significantly increases side effects of stereotactic body radiation therapy in lung cancer patientsObesity, not the amount of radiation given, is the greatest factor in whether early-stage lung cancer patients develop chest wall pain after receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy to the chest wall, with obese patients being more than twice as likely to develop chronic pain compared to those who have less body weight, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented on Tuesday, November 3, 2009…What are the real benefits versus risks of preventative brain radiation for patients with non-small cell lung cancer?Patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with preventative brain radiation (called prophylactic cranial irradiation or PCI), significantly decrease their risk of developing brain metastases (cancer spread in the brain) by more than 50 percent (from 18 percent to 8 percent), compared to those who did not receive the treatment, according to a randomized study presented at the plenary session on Monday, November 2, 2009…Three-week course of breast radiation may be as effective as conventional five to seven week course for early breast cancers, says U. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Invitation To Attend The World Congress On Osteoporosis 2010 (IOF WCO - ECCEO10) Springtime in Tuscany! Come to Florence to hear the world's key opinion leaders in osteoporosis talk about the field's 'hot topics' and join in clinically-oriented 'Meet-the-Expert' sessions, limited in size for maximum interaction between experts and participants. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Phase 2 Data From Oral NKTR-118 Presented At American College Of Gastroenterology In San Diego Data from a phase II study demonstrated that oral NKTR-118 improved lower gastrointestinal dysfunction by increasing the frequency of bowel movements in patients with opioid-induced constipation, while simultaneously preserving opioid-mediated analgesia. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Cosmetic Medicine / Plastic Surgery News | |
| More News Briefs From Plastic Surgery 2009 Face and Hand Transplants - Ready to Become Mainstream Medicine?Though once inconceivable, face and hand transplants are quickly making themselves more present, both in the operating room and in the media. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Patients Honored For Giving Back An injured Iraqi citizen, a port wine stain patient, a breast reconstruction patient and a skin cancer patient will be named honorees of the Patients of Courage: Triumph Over Adversity awards by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) at Plastic Surgery 2009, October 24, 4:30 p. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Crohn's News | |
| Subset Data From Two Randomized Phase 3 Trials Show TYSABRI Significantly Reduces Rates Of Hospitalization In Patients With Crohn's Disease Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) and Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) announced data showing that treatment with TYSABRI® (natalizumab) significantly reduced the rate of hospitalization compared with placebo in patients with moderate - to - severe Crohn's disease during both induction and maintenance treatment. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Dentistry News | |
| Exposure To Alkaline Substances Can Result In Damaged Teeth It has long been known that acids can erode tooth enamel but a new Swedish study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows that strong alkaline substances can damage teeth too - substances with high pH values can destroy parts of the organic content of the tooth, leaving the enamel more vulnerable. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Depression News | |
| TAU Seeks Genetic "Prozac Markers" To Find A Simple Test For Treating Depression Prozac works wonders for some depressed people, but not for others. In some cases, patients derive little benefit and at worst, it can lead to bizarre hallucinations and fits of rage. Researchers and doctors remain puzzled as to what causes the wide range of reaction to Prozac and similar antidepressants. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| NonWestern Communal Cultures Keep Biology From Having Its Way With Depression A genetic tendency to depression is much less likely to be realized in a culture centered on collectivistic rather than individualistic values, according to a new Northwestern University study. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Group Culture Protects From Depression Collectivistic cultures, which promote social harmony over individuality, protect people who are genetically predisposed to depression from experiencing the condition. So says a study published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, which looks at how genes and environment can evolve together. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Dermatology News | |
| Halloween Face Paints Contain Lead And Other Heavy Metals Says US Report A US group that arranged for an independent lab to test 10 children's face paints for heavy metals and also review ingredient labels of Halloween products sold at a seasonal holiday store, has reported that Halloween face paints are contaminated with lead and other heavy metals, and other Halloween products contain hazardous ingredients. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| PhotoMedex Offers Free Seminar For Psoriasis Patients: "A Win For Your Skin In The Daily Fight Against Psoriasis" PhotoMedex, Inc. (Nasdaq: PHMD) a leading provider of advanced dermatology, clinical skincare and medical laser products, is hosting a free seminar in Indianapolis, IN on November 17, 2009. The seminar, "A Win for Your Skin in the Daily Fight Against Psoriasis with XTRAC® Excimer Lasers," is open to the public and will feature three prominent local physicians (from the Dermatology Group LLC and The Dermatology Center of Indiana, LLC) explaining the New XTRAC Velocity Laser treatments for psoriasis sufferers. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| More News Briefs From Plastic Surgery 2009 Face and Hand Transplants - Ready to Become Mainstream Medicine?Though once inconceivable, face and hand transplants are quickly making themselves more present, both in the operating room and in the media. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Diabetes News | |
| GI Dynamics' EndoBarrier™ Gastrointestinal Liner Demonstrates Safety And Efficacy In Pre-surgical Weight Loss GI Dynamics, a leader in non-surgical treatments for type 2 diabetes and obesity, announced data which support the safety and efficacy of the EndoBarrier™ Gastrointestinal Liner for pre-surgical weight loss treatment, along with a positive effect on glucose homeostasis in morbidly obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Medical Food Reduces Medical Costs And Use Of Anti-Convulsant Medication Diabetic patients diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy had lower medical costs and reduced use of anticonvulsant medications when treated with a folate-enriched prescription medical food, according to data presented at the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research 12th Annual European Congress. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Finding That Memory Loss Is Slower In Alzheimer's Patients With Diabetes Surprises Researchers Researchers from France and the UK who set out to investigate whether people with Alzheimer's disease and diabetes have more rapid memory loss were surprised to find not only that they did not, but that their memory loss was actually slower than that of Alzheimer's patients without diabetes. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Vegetables Can Protect Unborn Child Against Diabetes New evidence is emerging for how important it is for pregnant women to eat good, nutritious food. Expecting mothers who eat vegetables every day seem to have children who are less likely to develop type 1 diabetes, is revealed in a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Protein Critical For Insulin Secretion May Be Contributor To Diabetes A cellular protein from a family involved in several human diseases is crucial for the proper production and release of insulin, new research has found, suggesting that the protein might play a role in diabetes. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Eczema / Psoriasis News | |
| PhotoMedex Offers Free Seminar For Psoriasis Patients: "A Win For Your Skin In The Daily Fight Against Psoriasis" PhotoMedex, Inc. (Nasdaq: PHMD) a leading provider of advanced dermatology, clinical skincare and medical laser products, is hosting a free seminar in Indianapolis, IN on November 17, 2009. The seminar, "A Win for Your Skin in the Daily Fight Against Psoriasis with XTRAC® Excimer Lasers," is open to the public and will feature three prominent local physicians (from the Dermatology Group LLC and The Dermatology Center of Indiana, LLC) explaining the New XTRAC Velocity Laser treatments for psoriasis sufferers. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Endocrinology News | |
| Endocrine Society Calls For Expanded Scope And Funding For Stem Cell Research Stem cell research holds great promise for the treatment of millions of Americans with debilitating and possibly fatal diseases. Current legislation and guidelines, however, continue to limit researchers' endeavors in unlocking the potential breakthroughs that stem cell research can provide. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Eye Health / Blindness News | |
| Onus On Government To Pass Bill To Give Certainty To Cataract Surgery Patients, Australia With the cataract surgery Medicare items disallowed in the Senate today, the onus is back on the Government to provide certainty and security to anxious patients who are booked for private cataract surgery from 1 November onwards. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| AMA Calls For Commonsense To Prevail In Cataract Surgery Senate Standoff, Australia The AMA today called for the Government and the Opposition to come to an agreement in the Senate on the Medicare rebate payable for cataract surgery - and that agreement must be to keep the rebate at its current level. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Traumatic Brain Injury-Vision Loss Severely Impacts Veterans' Quality Of Life;Who Is That Stranger On My Couch? Hallucinations In Low-vision Patient Today's Scientific Program, 2009 American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) - Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology (PAAO) Joint Meeting, includes a Veterans Administration study that indicates that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with vision loss from traumatic brain injury have significantly poorer quality of life than comparable civilian patients, and a Harvard doctor's insights on how to best evaluate and care for low-vision patients who experience vivid visual hallucinations due to Charles Bonnet syndrome. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Cosmetic Contacts Can Be A 'Scary' Choice For Halloween Halloween means big business for a variety of stores-adults and children alike search for the perfect costume and accessories to transform themselves into a character or superhero for a day. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Gene Therapy Restores Sight To Children With Congenital Blindness Results from a breakthrough study, conducted by researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, show that gene therapy has restored significant vision in five children and seven adults who were previously blind. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Flu / Cold / SARS News | |
| Diagnostic Hybrids Announces FDA Clearance Of D3(R) FastPointTM L-DFATM Influenza A/ Influenza B Virus Identification Kit Diagnostic Hybrids, a leading developer of in vitro diagnostic fluorescent staining kits and cell culture products, announces the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (510k) clearance of its D3 FastPointTM L-DFATM Influenza A/ Influenza B Virus Identification Kit, which allows for the identification of influenza A virus and influenza B virus from a patient's specimen in under 30 minutes. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Older Patients With Dementia At Increased Risk For Flu Mortality An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza (P&I) in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without dementia. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| High-risk Individuals Offered H1N1 Influenza Vaccine County health departments will start administering a limited number of doses of H1N1 influenza vaccine to individuals in targeted high-risk groups beginning Wednesday at locations throughout the state. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Swine Influenza Daily Update: 26 October 2009, Wales A daily update on swine flu issued by the National Public Health Service for Wales. Spread and extent of the outbreak (information as at 5pm on 25 October) The NPHS influenza surveillance scheme, which records reports of diagnoses of flu from more than 300 GP practices across Wales, shows levels of influenza continue to increase across Wales and are higher than usual for the time of year. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Older Patients With Dementia At Increased Risk For Flu Mortality An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza (P&I) in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without dementia. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Swine Flu Vaccine Must Be Free And Safe For High Uptake Almost half of adults surveyed in Summer 2009 in Hong Kong (45%) say they would take up free swine flu vaccination. However, this figure drops to around 1 in 7 (15%) if the price they have to pay for the vaccine reaches $HK200 (16 pounds; 17 euros; 26 dollars). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology News | |
| Results Of Phase I Study Show Novel, Investigational PA65020 Compound Significantly Decreased Risk Of Upper Gastrointestinal Damage In Healthy Adults POZEN Inc. (NASDAQ: POZN) announced the results of a Phase I study that showed a novel, investigational combination of enteric-coated aspirin (EC-ASA) and immediate-release omeprazole known as PA65020, is associated with a significantly decreased risk of GI mucosal damage compared to analgesic doses (650 mg twice daily) of over-the-counter enteric-coated aspirin (EC-ASA) in healthy adults treated for one month. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Alkermes Announces Initiation Of Phase 1 Clinical Study Of ALKS 37 For The Treatment Of Opioid-Induced Constipation Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) announced the initiation of a phase 1 clinical study of ALKS 37, an orally active, peripherally-restricted opioid antagonist with potential to block the opioid agonist effects on gastrointestinal motility, commonly referred to as opioid-induced constipation (OIC). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Curry Powder Ingredient Kills Cancer Cells Researchers from Ireland and Poland found that curcumin, a compound found in the popular Indian spice turmeric that gives curry powder its distinct yellow colour, killed oesophageal cancer cells in the lab via an unexpected cell-death mechanism that did not involve apoptosis or cell suicide. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Logical Therapeutics Announces Positive Results Of LT-NS001 Vs. Naproxen Clinical Study Logical Therapeutics, Inc., a Waltham, MA-based biopharmaceutical company announced the positive results of a Phase I/II clinical trial evaluating the gastrointestinal (GI) safety of its investigational drug LT-NS001, the first of a new class of bio-activated prodrugs being developed for the chronic treatment of arthritic conditions. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals Announces Positive Phase II Results For INT-747 As A Treatment For Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced positive results from a 165 patient, placebo controlled, double-blind Phase II clinical trial of INT-747 in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Phase 2 Data From Oral NKTR-118 Presented At American College Of Gastroenterology In San Diego Data from a phase II study demonstrated that oral NKTR-118 improved lower gastrointestinal dysfunction by increasing the frequency of bowel movements in patients with opioid-induced constipation, while simultaneously preserving opioid-mediated analgesia. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Diverticulosis Not Associated With Higher Incidence Of Polyps: Henry Ford Hospital Study A Henry Ford Hospital study questions the need for aggressive screening for colonic polyps in patients with diverticulosis.The study sought to determine if asymptomatic patients with diverticular disease are at higher or lower risk for developing colonic polyps, abnormal growths found in the wall of the colon that sometimes become cancerous. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Genetics News | |
| Consortia Of European Scientists Show New Role For Master Patterning Genes In Defining Number Of Vertebrae In Spine Vertebrates have in common a skeleton made of segments, the vertebrae. During development of the embryo, each segment is added in a time dependent manner, from the head-end to the tail-end: the first segments to be added become the vertebrae of the neck, later segments become the vertebrae with ribs and the last ones the vertebra located in the tail (in the case of a mouse, for example). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| TAU Seeks Genetic "Prozac Markers" To Find A Simple Test For Treating Depression Prozac works wonders for some depressed people, but not for others. In some cases, patients derive little benefit and at worst, it can lead to bizarre hallucinations and fits of rage. Researchers and doctors remain puzzled as to what causes the wide range of reaction to Prozac and similar antidepressants. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| NonWestern Communal Cultures Keep Biology From Having Its Way With Depression A genetic tendency to depression is much less likely to be realized in a culture centered on collectivistic rather than individualistic values, according to a new Northwestern University study. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Clues On Cancer And Aging Provided By Common Weed A common weed and human cancer cells could provide some very uncommon details about DNA structure and its relationship with telomeres and how they affect cellular aging and cancer, according to a team led by scientists from Texas A&M University and the University of Cincinnati (UC). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Protein Critical For Insulin Secretion May Be Contributor To Diabetes A cellular protein from a family involved in several human diseases is crucial for the proper production and release of insulin, new research has found, suggesting that the protein might play a role in diabetes. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Headache / Migraine News | |
| Only Some Migraine Sufferers At Higher Risk Of Stroke On the publication of research in the British Medical Journal looking at the links between migraine and an increased risk of stroke, Ellen Mason, Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation said: 'This review clarifies that it is only migraine with aura - a migraine with temporary visual and sensory disturbances that is linked to increased risk of having a stroke. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Migraine With Aura Doubles The Risk Of Stroke Migraine with aura (temporary visual or sensory disturbances before or during a migraine headache) is associated with a twofold increased risk of stroke, finds a study published on bmj.com today. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Health Insurance / Medical Insurance News | |
| Today's Opinions And Editorials Health Reform Will Increase Medicaid Costs The Philadelphia Inquirer The financial stakes are high for the states, nearly all of which are struggling just to discharge their current Medicaid commitments (Laura Katz Olson, 10/27). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| State Watch: Uninsured Kids In Dallas, Louisiana Medicaid Rates Cut, Massachusetts Feeling Squeezed Today's state round-up includes coverage of uninsured children in Dallas, the Massachusetts state budget and a Medicaid rate cut in Louisiana. The Dallas Morning News: "Next year, Dallas County will lead the state in the percentage of uninsured children, a rate nearly triple the national average, according to a report Children's Medical Center Dallas is releasing today. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Young People Speak Out Regarding Efforts To Overhaul The Health Care System "As the health care debate winds its way through Congress, everyone can agree on at least this much: Bringing more young adults into the health care system would balance out the costs for everyone else because the young use the least amount of care," The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| AARP's Dual Role In Health Reform The Washington Post reports on questions raised about AARP's dual role in health reform. It profits from sales of health insurance policies to seniors and is strongly supporting reform legislation. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| AFL-CIO To Push Even Harder For Health Reform, May Bend On 'Cadillac Tax' AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is "willing to consider a tax on high-value health insurance plans - something labor has vehemently opposed - if middle-class workers aren't hurt, The Associated Press reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Senators Draw Lines Around A Handful Of Swing Voters Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Maine Republicans, have been in the spotlight this year because of their ability to cross party lines with political impunity, Politico reports. Collins took the lead in negotiating a stimulus bill in February that drew three GOP votes, including Snowe's. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Economic Adviser Romer Goes To Bat For 'Cadillac Tax,' Ways To Control Costs ABC News reports that Christina D. Romer, chair of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, "went to bat on Monday for a tax on high-priced insurance plans, the so-called 'Cadillac tax,' calling it 'probably the number one item that health economists across the ideological spectrum believe is likely to stem the explosion of health-care costs. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Lawmakers Press Obama To 'Speak Out' For Health Bills Liberal legislators feel that their leaders have done their job, and now it's time for President Obama to step up to the plate, Politico reports. "Now that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| House Democrats Continue Courting, Counting Votes For 'Robust' Public Option The New York Times reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is scheduled to discuss the public option and health costs with other Democratic leaders. "Ms. Pelosi has been working hard to build support for the most liberal version of a government-run insurance plan, the so-called robust public option, which would generally tie payments to doctors, hospitals and other health care providers to Medicare rates. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Reid's End Game? Senate Bill Will Have Public Option With 'Opt Out' Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced yesterday that he will include a public insurance plan in the final Senate health overhaul legislation. The Washington Post: "Reid's decision was a reversal from two weeks ago, when the Nevada Democrat appeared inclined to set aside the idea -- among the most divisive in the reform debate -- in an attempt to avoid alienating party moderates. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Blogs Comment On Federal Judicial Vacancies, Health Insurance For Women The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries."The Bench in Purgatory," Doug Kendall, Slate: The "slow pace" of President Obama's judicial nominations is "part of the problem" with the high number of federal vacancies, but the "larger issue is a new form of obstructionism in the Senate," as only three of Obama's 22 lower court nominees have been confirmed, Kendall writes. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| First Lady Stresses Importance Of Health Reform To Women At White House Breast Cancer Event First lady Michelle Obama framed health care reform as a women's issue at a breast cancer event on Friday, "marking the third time in recent weeks she has weighed in on the health debate so directly," Politico reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Sen. Reid Announces Senate Health Care Reform Bill Will Include Public Option Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Monday announced that the Senate's final health reform bill will include a federal public health insurance plan option that would allow states to opt out, the Washington Post reports (Murray/Montgomery, Washington Post, 10/27). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Heart Disease News | |
| Onset Medical Performs First Human Use Of The SoloPath™ Endovascular Access Catheter To Deliver Percutaneous Aortic Heart Valve Onset Medical Corporation announced the first human usage of its SoloPathTM Endovascular Access Catheter in a case performed by Eberhard Grube MD, Chief, Department of Cardiology/Angiology, Helios Heart Center, Siegburg in Germany. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Rennes University Hospital Begins SynCardia Certification Training For The Total Artificial Heart On Oct. 26 & 27, the surgical team from Rennes University Hospital, led by Dr. Erwan Flecher and Prof. Jean-Philippe Verhoye, completed the first phase of certification training for the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart in Paris. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Melody(R) Transcatheter Valve Demonstrates Encouraging Results In Study On Patients With Congenital Heart Disease Clinical trial results published in this week's Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) describe six-month outcomes for patients using the Melody® Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve from Medtronic, Inc. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Top US Cardiologist Honoured For Healing Damaged Hearts Dr. Eduardo Marbán, a pioneering American cardiologist, will receive the Canadian Institutes of Health Research - Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (CIHR-ICRH) Distinguished Lecture and Prize Award. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Thermo Fisher Scientific Launches New Biomarker Test In Europe To Rapidly Diagnose Heart Attack Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, announced the availability in Europe of its new Copeptin assay, which helps medical personnel quickly and accurately diagnose acute myocardial infarction (AMI), commonly known as a heart attack. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| HIV / AIDS News | |
| Foreskin Surface Area And HIV Acquisition: Size Matters Randomized clinical trials conducted by researchers in Rakai, Uganda, have revealed a link between the size of foreskin surface area and the risk of male HIV acquisition. The results of the trials have been published in the current issue of AIDS, the leading journal in the field of HIV and AIDS research. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| World's Fastest Supercomputer Used To Create The Largest HIV Evolutionary Tree Supporting Los Alamos National Laboratory's role in the international Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI) consortium, researchers are using the Roadrunner supercomputer to analyze vast quantities of genetic sequences from HIV infected people in the hope of zeroing in on possible vaccine target areas. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Also In Global Health News: U.S. Grant To Uganda; Reproductive Health In Philippines; Counterfeit Drugs U.S. Grants Uganda $246M In Aid To Improve Agricultural, Health Systems The U.S. Embassy in Uganda announced a grant of $246 million in new aid for improving the Uganda's agricultural and health systems, Reuters reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| HIV Infections, Deaths Declining In Caribbean, Senior Official Says Ahead of the regional Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) meeting, a senior official announced that the number of new HIV infections in the region has fallen since last year, Agence France-Presse reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Gateses To Appeal For Ongoing U.S. Funding Of Global Health Bill and Melinda Gates are expected to ask Washington officials on Tuesday to "continue funding global health initiatives despite the recession and to commit to nearly halve the number of child deaths worldwide by 2025," the Washington Post reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Federal Officials Consider Testing All Adults In A Community For AIDS The New York Times reports that "Federal health officials are preparing a plan to study a bold new strategy to stop the spread of the AIDS virus: routinely testing virtually every adult in a community, and promptly treating those found to be infected. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Financial Times To Launch Special Report On 'Combating AIDS' With Contribution To Global Business Coalition The Financial Times announces the launch of its special report 'Combating AIDS.' The supplement will be distributed in all global editions of the FT on Tuesday 1st December 2009, to coincide with World AIDS Day. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Huntingtons Disease News | |
| New TAU Formulation May Slow Down Parkinson's, Alzheimer's And Huntington's Diseases Working like an architect, Prof. Hagit Eldar-Finkelman of Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine is "building" a new drug, L803-MTS, to treat a number of central nervous system (CNS) diseases like Alzheimer's. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Hypertension News | |
| Four Basics And Some Good Information About Beta-Blocker Treatment For High Blood Pressure If you're one of the millions of Americans taking a medicine called a beta-blocker for high blood pressure, here are some basics about this family of medicines: -- Beta-blockers are a family of medicines also known as beta-adrenergic blocking agents. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Immune System / Vaccines News | |
| World's Fastest Supercomputer Used To Create The Largest HIV Evolutionary Tree Supporting Los Alamos National Laboratory's role in the international Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI) consortium, researchers are using the Roadrunner supercomputer to analyze vast quantities of genetic sequences from HIV infected people in the hope of zeroing in on possible vaccine target areas. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| H1N1 Flu Virus: Canada Works With Australia To Ensure Early Delivery Of Vaccine For Pregnant Women Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq and Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, announced today that the Government of Canada had secured additional unadjuvanted H1N1 flu vaccine from Australia. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| H1N1 Overwhelms Hospitals; Sebelius Addresses Flu Vaccine Shortage Hospitals across the country are overwhelmed "as waves of flu patients arrive at their doors, doubling their emergency room volume," USA Today reports. "Just as significant is the effect on intensive care units: A relatively small number of flu patients are requiring intensive care, but some are so ill they will need round-the-clock care for weeks. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Swine Flu Vaccine Must Be Free And Safe For High Uptake Almost half of adults surveyed in Summer 2009 in Hong Kong (45%) say they would take up free swine flu vaccination. However, this figure drops to around 1 in 7 (15%) if the price they have to pay for the vaccine reaches $HK200 (16 pounds; 17 euros; 26 dollars). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Data Presented On Oncophage(R) Cancer Vaccine In Recurrent Glioma At SNO 2009 Antigenics (NASDAQ: AGEN) announced that the Brain Tumor Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has presented an update on a Phase 2 clinical trial of Oncophage (vitespen) for recurrent high grade glioma (brain cancer) at the 2009 Joint Meeting of SNO (Society for Neuro-Oncology) and AANS/CNS Section on Tumors 2009 in New Orleans, LA. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Do Drug Therapies Raise Risk Of Bladder Cancer? In her most recent study of possible triggers of cancer among northern New England residents, Dartmouth epidemiologist Margaret R. Karagas, Ph.D., and her team identified an enhanced risk to the bladders of patients taking drugs that suppress the immune system. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses News | |
| Harvard Medical School Introduces New H1N1 IPhone Application The HMSMobile Swine Flu Center, a new iPhone application developed by the Harvard Health Publications Division of Harvard Medical School, is now available for purchase in the iTunes store. Following the decision by The White House to sign an emergency declaration for H1N1, this new application is a critical tool that leverages Harvard's extensive knowledge and provides the public with timely information on prevention and outbreaks of the H1N1 virus. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| What Is Encephalitis? What Causes Encephalitis? Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain resulting from a viral infection. Encephalitis usually begins with flu-like symptoms, such as fever and headache. The symptoms rapidly worsen, and may cause seizures, changes in mental state, such as confusion, drowsiness and loss of consciousness, or a coma. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Propolis Has Proved To Be A Product With Ability To Have Beneficial Effects For Health Growing concerns about health has caused the scientific community to focus their interest on investigating functional foods which contribute to boosting the prevention and reduction of the risk of suffering from certain illnesses. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| AdvanDx Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance For 90 Minutes PNA FISH(R) Protocol For Identifying Enterococcal Bloodstream Pathogens AdvanDx announced that it has received FDA 510(k) clearance for a fast, 90 minutes protocol for its E. faecalis/OE PNA FISH(®) test. The faster protocol reduces the PNA FISH turn-around time from the original 2. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| E. Coli O157 In Surrey: Update, UK The Health Protection Agency (HPA) reports that the total number of cases of E. Coli O157 linked to Godstone Farm in Surrey remains 93. All children have been discharged from hospital. The next update will be published on Friday, October 30. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Gilead's Aztreonam For Inhalation Solution To Be Reviewed By FDA Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee On December 10, 2009 Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:GILD) announced that aztreonam for inhalation solution, an investigational product for the treatment of infections due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), is scheduled to be reviewed by the Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee of the U. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| IT / Internet / E-mail News | |
| Harvard Medical School Introduces New H1N1 IPhone Application The HMSMobile Swine Flu Center, a new iPhone application developed by the Harvard Health Publications Division of Harvard Medical School, is now available for purchase in the iTunes store. Following the decision by The White House to sign an emergency declaration for H1N1, this new application is a critical tool that leverages Harvard's extensive knowledge and provides the public with timely information on prevention and outbreaks of the H1N1 virus. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Health Care Costs For Employees With Cardiac Risk Factors Reduced By Web-Based Nutrition Program Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have shown that an employer-sponsored, internet-based diet and exercise program shows promise as a low-cost benefit to lower healthcare costs for those at higher risk for above-average costs and healthcare utilization such as cardiac, hyperlipidemia, hypertension or diabetes patients. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| World's Fastest Supercomputer Used To Create The Largest HIV Evolutionary Tree Supporting Los Alamos National Laboratory's role in the international Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI) consortium, researchers are using the Roadrunner supercomputer to analyze vast quantities of genetic sequences from HIV infected people in the hope of zeroing in on possible vaccine target areas. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Tobacco Addiction Reduced By Crushing Cigarettes In A Virtual Reality Environment Smokers who crushed computer-simulated cigarettes as part of a psychosocial treatment program in a virtual reality environment had significantly reduced nicotine dependence and higher rates of tobacco abstinence than smokers participating in the same program who grasped a computer-simulated ball, according to a study described in the current issue of CyberPsychology and Behavior, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Six Innovations That Could Prove Critical To Reforming The Health Care System The Wall Street Journal offers a collection of stories that looks at changes in health care that could yield big responses: "Health-care innovations come in many shapes and sizes ... [including] the kind that can help reach the goal that continues to elude our policy makers: getting good care to the greatest number of people in the most cost-effective way. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Consumer Electronics Can Help Improve Patient Health Electronic tools and technology applications for consumers can help improve health care processes, such as adherence to medication and clinical outcomes like smoking cessation, according to a report by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Litigation / Medical Malpractice News | |
| Death Penalty Cases Afffected By Legal Counsel Legal counsel is a matter of life and death in Houston, but it is not necessarily tied to a defendant's socioeconomic status, according to new research by Scott Phillips, associate professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Denver (DU). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Today's Opinions And Editorials Health Reform Will Increase Medicaid Costs The Philadelphia Inquirer The financial stakes are high for the states, nearly all of which are struggling just to discharge their current Medicaid commitments (Laura Katz Olson, 10/27). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Liver Disease / Hepatitis News | |
| Celsion And Yakult Honsha Announce Treatment Of First Patient In Japan In Celsion's Global Phase III ThermoDox(R) Trial For Primary Liver Cancer Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ: CLSN) and Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 2267) announced today that the first patient has been enrolled and treated in Japan as part of Celsion's global Phase III ThermoDox HEAT trial for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of primary liver cancer. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Liver Removed And Re-Implanted For Cancer Treatment Distinguished transplant and cancer surgeon, Alan Hemming, MD, has been recruited to the University of California, School of Medicine to launch a multidisciplinary center for the treatment of advanced liver disease at the UC San Diego Medical Center and Moores UCSD Cancer Center. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals Announces Positive Phase II Results For INT-747 As A Treatment For Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced positive results from a 165 patient, placebo controlled, double-blind Phase II clinical trial of INT-747 in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Lymphoma / Leukemia / Myeloma News | |
| Lymphoma Patients Benefit From Exercise A healthy dose of exercise is good medicine, even for lymphoma patients receiving chemotherapy, University of Alberta researchers have found.The Healthy Exercise for Lymphoma Patients (HELP) trial, a three-year study led by Kerry Courneya, Canada Research Chair in physical activity and cancer in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, found that a regimen of aerobic exercise training produced significant improvements in physical functioning and overall quality of life benefits in patients with lymphoma. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Medical Devices / Diagnostics News | |
| GI Dynamics' EndoBarrier™ Gastrointestinal Liner Demonstrates Safety And Efficacy In Pre-surgical Weight Loss GI Dynamics, a leader in non-surgical treatments for type 2 diabetes and obesity, announced data which support the safety and efficacy of the EndoBarrier™ Gastrointestinal Liner for pre-surgical weight loss treatment, along with a positive effect on glucose homeostasis in morbidly obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Onset Medical Performs First Human Use Of The SoloPath™ Endovascular Access Catheter To Deliver Percutaneous Aortic Heart Valve Onset Medical Corporation announced the first human usage of its SoloPathTM Endovascular Access Catheter in a case performed by Eberhard Grube MD, Chief, Department of Cardiology/Angiology, Helios Heart Center, Siegburg in Germany. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| UT Southwestern Patient First In North Texas To Receive Newest-generation Heart Failure Device UT Southwestern Medical Center patient Michael LeBlanc, 40, is the first in North Texas to receive the newest generation of a mechanical device designed to improve heart function. It will be his lifeline while he awaits a heart transplant. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Diagnostic Hybrids Announces FDA Clearance Of D3(R) FastPointTM L-DFATM Influenza A/ Influenza B Virus Identification Kit Diagnostic Hybrids, a leading developer of in vitro diagnostic fluorescent staining kits and cell culture products, announces the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (510k) clearance of its D3 FastPointTM L-DFATM Influenza A/ Influenza B Virus Identification Kit, which allows for the identification of influenza A virus and influenza B virus from a patient's specimen in under 30 minutes. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Rennes University Hospital Begins SynCardia Certification Training For The Total Artificial Heart On Oct. 26 & 27, the surgical team from Rennes University Hospital, led by Dr. Erwan Flecher and Prof. Jean-Philippe Verhoye, completed the first phase of certification training for the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart in Paris. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Biophysicists' Method Targets Cancerous Tumors Two University of Rhode Island associate professors, biophysicists Yana Reshetnyak and Oleg Andreev, have discovered a technology that can detect cancerous tumors and deliver treatment to them without the harming the healthy cells surrounding them, thereby significantly reducing side effects. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Cook Medical Unveils FluoroSetTM To Aid Diagnosis Of Tubal Occlusion Approximately one million women in the United States are rendered infertile by disease in the fallopian tubes, the most common being tubal occlusion or blockage1. This condition is commonly diagnosed using a complicated, invasive fluoroscopic evaluation, consisting of real-time, action images of the fallopian tubes to identify possible occlusions. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Scientific And Clinical Development Of Innovative Radiation Therapy Discussed By International Experts The largest congress worldwide on the topic of particle or ion therapy - radiation with heavy ions and protons - has taken place in in Heidelberg. Well over 600 international participants, especially from Japan and the USA, convened in the Heidelberg Town Hall for the annual meeting of the "Particle Therapy Cooperative Group" (PTCOG), including leading experts from the fields of radiation therapy, medical physics and oncology. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Medical Students / Training News | |
| Not Enough Med Students Choosing Primary Care, Experts Say "It's one small piece of health care reform, but it's a big deal for medical schools and doctor's offices: forgiving the student loans of doctors who choose primary care," the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP News | |
| Today's Opinions And Editorials Health Reform Will Increase Medicaid Costs The Philadelphia Inquirer The financial stakes are high for the states, nearly all of which are struggling just to discharge their current Medicaid commitments (Laura Katz Olson, 10/27). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| State Watch: Uninsured Kids In Dallas, Louisiana Medicaid Rates Cut, Massachusetts Feeling Squeezed Today's state round-up includes coverage of uninsured children in Dallas, the Massachusetts state budget and a Medicaid rate cut in Louisiana. The Dallas Morning News: "Next year, Dallas County will lead the state in the percentage of uninsured children, a rate nearly triple the national average, according to a report Children's Medical Center Dallas is releasing today. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Medicare Payment Issues Worry Doctors The issue of Medicare payment cuts to doctors still looms, causing some physicians to shun Medicare patients and others to push for greater reform. Many worry that doctors may boycott the program if the planned 21 percent cut in payment rates goes through in 2010 while others complain about low Medicare reimbursement rates for certain procedures and geographic areas. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Economic Adviser Romer Goes To Bat For 'Cadillac Tax,' Ways To Control Costs ABC News reports that Christina D. Romer, chair of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, "went to bat on Monday for a tax on high-priced insurance plans, the so-called 'Cadillac tax,' calling it 'probably the number one item that health economists across the ideological spectrum believe is likely to stem the explosion of health-care costs. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| House Democrats Continue Courting, Counting Votes For 'Robust' Public Option The New York Times reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is scheduled to discuss the public option and health costs with other Democratic leaders. "Ms. Pelosi has been working hard to build support for the most liberal version of a government-run insurance plan, the so-called robust public option, which would generally tie payments to doctors, hospitals and other health care providers to Medicare rates. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Reid's End Game? Senate Bill Will Have Public Option With 'Opt Out' Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced yesterday that he will include a public insurance plan in the final Senate health overhaul legislation. The Washington Post: "Reid's decision was a reversal from two weeks ago, when the Nevada Democrat appeared inclined to set aside the idea -- among the most divisive in the reform debate -- in an attempt to avoid alienating party moderates. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Bending The 'Cost Curve': Lawmakers, White House Consider A Bipartisan Route Kaiser Health News staff writer Eric Pianin reports on the idea of a bipartisan idea to establish a commission to control future federal program spending. "Amid growing signs that health care overhaul legislation will do little to 'bend the cost curve' in the coming decade, lawmakers and administration officials are considering tougher steps to rein in costly entitlement programs and address mounting concerns about soaring deficits. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Sen. Reid Announces Senate Health Care Reform Bill Will Include Public Option Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Monday announced that the Senate's final health reform bill will include a federal public health insurance plan option that would allow states to opt out, the Washington Post reports (Murray/Montgomery, Washington Post, 10/27). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| SK&A Releases Study On Acceptance Of Medicare And Medicaid Programs By U.S. Medical Offices With last month's U.S. Census Bureau report showing that the number of Americans supported by government-sponsored health insurance plans rose to 87.4 million in 2008 -- 29% of the U.S. population -- SK&A, a leading provider of healthcare information and research, today released its Physician Office Acceptance of Government Insurance Programs Report, which reveals that 83% of U. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Men's health News | |
| That '4 Hour Erection': New Discovery May Help Prevent A Complication Of Priapism For men coping with painful erections lasting for long periods of time, or priapism, new research published online in The FASEB Journal offers hope. That's because researchers from the United States and China show that the enzyme adenosine deaminase may prevent priapism from progressing to penile fibrosis, a condition associated with the build up of scar tissue and eventual impotence. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Mental Health News | |
| Group Culture Protects From Depression Collectivistic cultures, which promote social harmony over individuality, protect people who are genetically predisposed to depression from experiencing the condition. So says a study published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, which looks at how genes and environment can evolve together. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| NAMI Applauds NPR Story Highlighting Mental Health On Campus The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) applauds the commitment by National Public Radio to devote time to the ongoing and important topic of mental illness through their recent show "Colleges See Rise In Mental Health Issues," which highlighted the dramatic increase in the number of students with mental illness on the nation's college and university campuses. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| NICE Guidance Must Not Be Used To Cut Counselling, UK New NICE guidance on treating depression released today (Wednesday 28 October) risks closing down treatment options for patients seeking counselling services, according to mental health charity Mind. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Use Of Antipsychotic Medications By Children And Adolescents Associated With Significant Weight Gain Many pediatric and adolescent patients who received second-generation antipsychotic medications experienced significant weight gain, along with varied adverse effects on cholesterol and triglyceride levels and other metabolic measures, according to a study in the October 28 issue of JAMA. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Funding Supports ADA Technologies' Development Of Home Monitor For Bipolar Disorder ADA Technologies, Inc. (ADA) received a $189,886 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to develop a home lithiummonitor for use by patients with bipolar disorder. The testing tool would allow reliable, routine at-home monitoring of blood lithium concentrations, enabling individuals with bipolar disorder to conveniently and effectively manage their care. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| MRI / PET / Ultrasound News | |
| Long Island Doctor Shows First '4K' Ultra-High Definition Surgery Doctors at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine got a glimpse into the future of women's health with the presentation of endoscopic gynecologic surgery performed for the first time using "4K" technology. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Medtronic Launches New Neuro Oncology Surgical Imaging System Internationally This week at the annual Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) announced the Conformite Europeen (CE) mark and international launch of the PoleStar® N30 Surgical MRI system, the latest in neuro oncology surgical solutions. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Neurology / Neuroscience News | |
| Medical Food Reduces Medical Costs And Use Of Anti-Convulsant Medication Diabetic patients diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy had lower medical costs and reduced use of anticonvulsant medications when treated with a folate-enriched prescription medical food, according to data presented at the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research 12th Annual European Congress. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| What Is Encephalitis? What Causes Encephalitis? Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain resulting from a viral infection. Encephalitis usually begins with flu-like symptoms, such as fever and headache. The symptoms rapidly worsen, and may cause seizures, changes in mental state, such as confusion, drowsiness and loss of consciousness, or a coma. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| A Common Side Effect Of Long Stays In Intensive Care Units Is Muscle Weakness After decades of focusing on the management of respiratory failure, circulatory shock and severe infections that lead to extended stays in hospital intensive care units, critical care researchers are increasingly turning attention to what they believe is a treatable complication developed by many who spend days or weeks confined to an ICU bed: debilitating muscle weakness that can linger long after hospital discharge. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| ImmunoCellular Therapeutics To Present Today Data From Phase I Clinical Trial Of ICT-107 At Annual Meeting Of Congress Of Neurological Surgeons ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (OTCBB: IMUC), a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is developing immune-based therapies for the treatment of brain and other cancers, today announced that it will be presenting today, at the Annual Meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons in New Orleans, Louisiana at 3:15pm central time, data from its Phase I clinical trial investigating the role that its ICT-107 vaccine may play in increasing patient survival and inhibiting tumor progression in patients with glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive type of primary brain tumor. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Study Presented At AANEM Reveals Significant Percentage Of Unreliable Electrodiagnostic Tests Among Non-Prequalified Providers In a recent study of workers' compensation injury cases, Electromyography (EMG) and Nerve Conduction Studies (NCSs), which were performed by physicians who were not evaluated and pre-determined to meet a certain level of quality, were discovered to be highly unreliable. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Drug Used For Neuropathic Pain Relieves Discomfort From Abdominal Adhesions: Henry Ford Study Pregabalin, FDA-approved for neuropathic pain (pain caused by shingles and peripheral neuropathy), effectively reduced abdominal pain and improved sleep in women with adhesions, according to a Henry Ford study. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Penn Researchers Reverse The Cognitive Impairment Caused By Sleep Deprivation A research collaboration led by biologists and neuroscientists at the University of Pennsylvania has found a molecular pathway in the brain that is the cause of cognitive impairment due to sleep deprivation. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Nutrition / Diet News | |
| Chewing Gum Can Reduce Calorie Intake, Increase Energy Expenditure A nutrition professor at the University of Rhode Island studying the effects of chewing sugar-free gum on weight management has found that it can help to reduce calorie intake and increase energy expenditure. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Health Care Costs For Employees With Cardiac Risk Factors Reduced By Web-Based Nutrition Program Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) have shown that an employer-sponsored, internet-based diet and exercise program shows promise as a low-cost benefit to lower healthcare costs for those at higher risk for above-average costs and healthcare utilization such as cardiac, hyperlipidemia, hypertension or diabetes patients. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| The Poor In Rural Oregon Face 'Double Binds' When Getting Food A new study by Oregon State University researchers shows that those in poverty in rural Oregon often know what kinds of foods they should be eating, but face tough choices between eating well and spending less money for meals. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Developing Countries Paying More For Food, WFP Executive Director Says Despite drops in commodity market prices due to the global economic downturn, "[m]ost of the developing world is paying more for food," and the price of food staples in developing countries has risen, Josette Sheeran, executive director of the U. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| For Building Muscle, Moderate Amounts Of Protein Per Meal Recommended For thousands of years, people have believed that eating large amounts of protein made it easier to build bigger, stronger muscles. Take Milo of Croton, the winner of five consecutive Olympic wrestling championships in the sixth century BC: If ancient writers are to be believed, he built his crushing strength in part by consuming 20 pounds of meat every day. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness News | |
| GI Dynamics' EndoBarrier™ Gastrointestinal Liner Demonstrates Safety And Efficacy In Pre-surgical Weight Loss GI Dynamics, a leader in non-surgical treatments for type 2 diabetes and obesity, announced data which support the safety and efficacy of the EndoBarrier™ Gastrointestinal Liner for pre-surgical weight loss treatment, along with a positive effect on glucose homeostasis in morbidly obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Chewing Gum Can Reduce Calorie Intake, Increase Energy Expenditure A nutrition professor at the University of Rhode Island studying the effects of chewing sugar-free gum on weight management has found that it can help to reduce calorie intake and increase energy expenditure. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Use Of Antipsychotic Medications By Children And Adolescents Associated With Significant Weight Gain Many pediatric and adolescent patients who received second-generation antipsychotic medications experienced significant weight gain, along with varied adverse effects on cholesterol and triglyceride levels and other metabolic measures, according to a study in the October 28 issue of JAMA. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Pain / Anesthetics News | |
| Alkermes Announces Initiation Of Phase 1 Clinical Study Of ALKS 37 For The Treatment Of Opioid-Induced Constipation Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) announced the initiation of a phase 1 clinical study of ALKS 37, an orally active, peripherally-restricted opioid antagonist with potential to block the opioid agonist effects on gastrointestinal motility, commonly referred to as opioid-induced constipation (OIC). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Drug Used For Neuropathic Pain Relieves Discomfort From Abdominal Adhesions: Henry Ford Study Pregabalin, FDA-approved for neuropathic pain (pain caused by shingles and peripheral neuropathy), effectively reduced abdominal pain and improved sleep in women with adhesions, according to a Henry Ford study. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Palliative Care / Hospice Care News | |
| New TAU Formulation May Slow Down Parkinson's, Alzheimer's And Huntington's Diseases Working like an architect, Prof. Hagit Eldar-Finkelman of Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine is "building" a new drug, L803-MTS, to treat a number of central nervous system (CNS) diseases like Alzheimer's. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Parkinson's Disease News | |
| Impax Pharmaceuticals Initiates Second Phase III Trial Of IPX066 In Parkinson's Disease Impax Pharmaceuticals, the brand products division of Impax Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IPXL), announced that it has initiated a multinational Phase III trial of its late-stage drug candidate IPX066 in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Pediatrics / Children's Health News | |
| Halloween Face Paints Contain Lead And Other Heavy Metals Says US Report A US group that arranged for an independent lab to test 10 children's face paints for heavy metals and also review ingredient labels of Halloween products sold at a seasonal holiday store, has reported that Halloween face paints are contaminated with lead and other heavy metals, and other Halloween products contain hazardous ingredients. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Anxious Pregnant Mothers More Likely To Have Smaller Babies A new study published in the journal Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology reveals that anxiety in pregnant women impacts their babies' size and gestational age. Specifically, women with more severe and chronic anxiety during pregnancy are more likely to have affected babies. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| The Poor In Rural Oregon Face 'Double Binds' When Getting Food A new study by Oregon State University researchers shows that those in poverty in rural Oregon often know what kinds of foods they should be eating, but face tough choices between eating well and spending less money for meals. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Guide To Help Scientists Understand Children's Exposure To Pollutants The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a user-friendly document to help risk assessors understand how children are exposed to pollution.The document, titled "Highlights of the Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook," serves as a quick-reference guide to the more comprehensive "Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook," published by EPA in 2008. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Global Health Promotion Conference Begins In Kenya, Maternal Mortality Addressed At the 7th Global Conference on Health Promotion, which kicked off in Kenya on Monday, participants discussed reducing maternal mortality and the related Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the Daily Nation reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| More Than 150 Health Ministers Meet In Ethiopia To Discuss Maternal Mortality At a U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, "[h]ealth ministers from around the world have agreed that swift action must be taken to reduce the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth," the BBC reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| State Watch: Uninsured Kids In Dallas, Louisiana Medicaid Rates Cut, Massachusetts Feeling Squeezed Today's state round-up includes coverage of uninsured children in Dallas, the Massachusetts state budget and a Medicaid rate cut in Louisiana. The Dallas Morning News: "Next year, Dallas County will lead the state in the percentage of uninsured children, a rate nearly triple the national average, according to a report Children's Medical Center Dallas is releasing today. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| California Medical Association Endorses Dr. Richard Pan For AD 5 The California Medical Association has endorsed Sacramento pediatrician Dr. Richard Pan for the 5th Assembly District. As a long-time pediatrician and educator in the Sacramento community, Dr. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| The Way To Overcome Emotional Disturbances In Children May Be Improving Their Psychological Well-being A group of investigators of the University of Bologna suggest a new way of approaching emotional disturbances in children by improving their psychological well-being. The study is published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Gene Therapy Restores Sight To Children With Congenital Blindness Results from a breakthrough study, conducted by researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, show that gene therapy has restored significant vision in five children and seven adults who were previously blind. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry News | |
| Logical Therapeutics Announces Positive Results Of LT-NS001 Vs. Naproxen Clinical Study Logical Therapeutics, Inc., a Waltham, MA-based biopharmaceutical company announced the positive results of a Phase I/II clinical trial evaluating the gastrointestinal (GI) safety of its investigational drug LT-NS001, the first of a new class of bio-activated prodrugs being developed for the chronic treatment of arthritic conditions. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Pharmacy / Pharmacist News | |
| Policy Recommendations For Improving Medication Adherence A diverse group of health care and consumer organizations released five policy recommendations this week that are designed to promote better medication adherence and improved health outcomes for patients. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Texas State Lawmaker Requests Information On Licenses For Dispensing Mifepristone Texas state Rep. Frank Corte (R) earlier this month requested that Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) provide information about whether medical facilities that regularly dispense mifepristone for medical abortion procedures should be licensed by the state, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Pregnancy / Obstetrics News | |
| Anxious Pregnant Mothers More Likely To Have Smaller Babies A new study published in the journal Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology reveals that anxiety in pregnant women impacts their babies' size and gestational age. Specifically, women with more severe and chronic anxiety during pregnancy are more likely to have affected babies. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| H1N1 Flu Virus: Canada Works With Australia To Ensure Early Delivery Of Vaccine For Pregnant Women Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq and Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, announced today that the Government of Canada had secured additional unadjuvanted H1N1 flu vaccine from Australia. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Global Health Promotion Conference Begins In Kenya, Maternal Mortality Addressed At the 7th Global Conference on Health Promotion, which kicked off in Kenya on Monday, participants discussed reducing maternal mortality and the related Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the Daily Nation reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| More Than 150 Health Ministers Meet In Ethiopia To Discuss Maternal Mortality At a U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, "[h]ealth ministers from around the world have agreed that swift action must be taken to reduce the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth," the BBC reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Preventive Medicine News | |
| More People Rely On Alternative Medicine As consumers look to save money in a tough economy, many turn to alternative health care options. CBS 4 reports: "Health care costs are soaring. Thousands of people are without jobs and without the benefits afforded them. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Propolis Has Proved To Be A Product With Ability To Have Beneficial Effects For Health Growing concerns about health has caused the scientific community to focus their interest on investigating functional foods which contribute to boosting the prevention and reduction of the risk of suffering from certain illnesses. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Unsedated Colonoscopy For Colorectal Cancer Screening Well Accepted By Patients Researchers from Taiwan report in a new study that unsedated colonoscopy for primary colorectal cancer screening is well accepted in a majority of patients. Sedation is typically used for colonoscopy to make the patient feel comfortable during the procedure. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Primary Care / General Practice News | |
| The Power Of Doctors Makes Elderly Patients Passive Elderly patients are often critical about consultations with their doctor. Hierarchical structures, time pressure and traditions in the health care sector make these patients and their relatives passive when facing the doctor and his or her position of power. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| A Common Side Effect Of Long Stays In Intensive Care Units Is Muscle Weakness After decades of focusing on the management of respiratory failure, circulatory shock and severe infections that lead to extended stays in hospital intensive care units, critical care researchers are increasingly turning attention to what they believe is a treatable complication developed by many who spend days or weeks confined to an ICU bed: debilitating muscle weakness that can linger long after hospital discharge. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Not Enough Med Students Choosing Primary Care, Experts Say "It's one small piece of health care reform, but it's a big deal for medical schools and doctor's offices: forgiving the student loans of doctors who choose primary care," the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Six Innovations That Could Prove Critical To Reforming The Health Care System The Wall Street Journal offers a collection of stories that looks at changes in health care that could yield big responses: "Health-care innovations come in many shapes and sizes ... [including] the kind that can help reach the goal that continues to elude our policy makers: getting good care to the greatest number of people in the most cost-effective way. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Medicare Payment Issues Worry Doctors The issue of Medicare payment cuts to doctors still looms, causing some physicians to shun Medicare patients and others to push for greater reform. Many worry that doctors may boycott the program if the planned 21 percent cut in payment rates goes through in 2010 while others complain about low Medicare reimbursement rates for certain procedures and geographic areas. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| The Vast Majority Of Physicians Are Satisfied With Hospital Chaplain Services A national survey of physicians' experience with hospital chaplains found that the vast majority of doctors were satisfied with the spiritual services provided. Physicians in the Northeast and those with a dim view of religion's effects on patients, however, were less likely to be pleased. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Psychology / Psychiatry News | |
| Raising Kids Makes Married People Happier: New Study Having children improves married peoples' life satisfaction and the more they have, the happier they are. For unmarried individuals, raising children has little or no positive effect on their happiness. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| TAU Seeks Genetic "Prozac Markers" To Find A Simple Test For Treating Depression Prozac works wonders for some depressed people, but not for others. In some cases, patients derive little benefit and at worst, it can lead to bizarre hallucinations and fits of rage. Researchers and doctors remain puzzled as to what causes the wide range of reaction to Prozac and similar antidepressants. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Tobacco Addiction Reduced By Crushing Cigarettes In A Virtual Reality Environment Smokers who crushed computer-simulated cigarettes as part of a psychosocial treatment program in a virtual reality environment had significantly reduced nicotine dependence and higher rates of tobacco abstinence than smokers participating in the same program who grasped a computer-simulated ball, according to a study described in the current issue of CyberPsychology and Behavior, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| NonWestern Communal Cultures Keep Biology From Having Its Way With Depression A genetic tendency to depression is much less likely to be realized in a culture centered on collectivistic rather than individualistic values, according to a new Northwestern University study. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Group Culture Protects From Depression Collectivistic cultures, which promote social harmony over individuality, protect people who are genetically predisposed to depression from experiencing the condition. So says a study published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, which looks at how genes and environment can evolve together. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Lymphoma Patients Benefit From Exercise A healthy dose of exercise is good medicine, even for lymphoma patients receiving chemotherapy, University of Alberta researchers have found.The Healthy Exercise for Lymphoma Patients (HELP) trial, a three-year study led by Kerry Courneya, Canada Research Chair in physical activity and cancer in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, found that a regimen of aerobic exercise training produced significant improvements in physical functioning and overall quality of life benefits in patients with lymphoma. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| NAMI Applauds NPR Story Highlighting Mental Health On Campus The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) applauds the commitment by National Public Radio to devote time to the ongoing and important topic of mental illness through their recent show "Colleges See Rise In Mental Health Issues," which highlighted the dramatic increase in the number of students with mental illness on the nation's college and university campuses. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| NICE Guidance Must Not Be Used To Cut Counselling, UK New NICE guidance on treating depression released today (Wednesday 28 October) risks closing down treatment options for patients seeking counselling services, according to mental health charity Mind. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Is Childhood Sexual Abuse Linked To Inability To Express Emotions In Adulthood? An investigation published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics explores the link between child sexual abuse and inability to express emotions in adulthood. Alexithymia, a clinical condition typified by a reported inability to identify or describe one's emotions, is associated with various forms of psychopathology, including depression. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| The Way To Overcome Emotional Disturbances In Children May Be Improving Their Psychological Well-being A group of investigators of the University of Bologna suggest a new way of approaching emotional disturbances in children by improving their psychological well-being. The study is published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Families Suffer From Problem Gambling Many people perceive gambling to be a harmless recreational activity. However, it is estimated that six to eight million people in the United States personally suffer from a gambling related problem. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Use Of Antipsychotic Medications By Children And Adolescents Associated With Significant Weight Gain Many pediatric and adolescent patients who received second-generation antipsychotic medications experienced significant weight gain, along with varied adverse effects on cholesterol and triglyceride levels and other metabolic measures, according to a study in the October 28 issue of JAMA. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| The Vast Majority Of Physicians Are Satisfied With Hospital Chaplain Services A national survey of physicians' experience with hospital chaplains found that the vast majority of doctors were satisfied with the spiritual services provided. Physicians in the Northeast and those with a dim view of religion's effects on patients, however, were less likely to be pleased. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Public Health News | |
| Research & Diagnostic Antibodies LLC Receives Allowance For Key SIRS/Sepsis Diagnostic Patent In Europe Research & Diagnostic Antibodies LLC (R&D Antibodies) announced today that it has received a notification stating that the European Patent Office intends to grant a patent for its monoclonal antibody-based immunoassays and apparatuses for measuring inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) as a plasma biomarker for the early detection of the sepsis pathology. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| The Power Of Doctors Makes Elderly Patients Passive Elderly patients are often critical about consultations with their doctor. Hierarchical structures, time pressure and traditions in the health care sector make these patients and their relatives passive when facing the doctor and his or her position of power. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| The Poor In Rural Oregon Face 'Double Binds' When Getting Food A new study by Oregon State University researchers shows that those in poverty in rural Oregon often know what kinds of foods they should be eating, but face tough choices between eating well and spending less money for meals. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Tiny Sea Creature And A New Medical Adhesive: New American Chemical Society Podcast Scientists questing after a long-sought new medical adhesive describe copying the natural glue secreted by a tiny sea creature called the sandcastle worm in the latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) award-winning podcast series, "Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Policy Recommendations For Improving Medication Adherence A diverse group of health care and consumer organizations released five policy recommendations this week that are designed to promote better medication adherence and improved health outcomes for patients. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| New Statistics Show Big Improvements In Britain's Workplace Safety And Health Record Britain became a healthier and safer place to work last year, according to figures released today by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Statistics show there has been a significant reduction in the numbers of people killed, injured or suffering work related ill-health from April 2008 to March 2009. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| AMA Supports Proposed National Strategy On Body Image, Australia AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said that the AMA supports the objectives of the Proposed National Strategy on Body Image to encourage the media, advertising and fashion industries to promote realistic and positive body images. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Death Penalty Cases Afffected By Legal Counsel Legal counsel is a matter of life and death in Houston, but it is not necessarily tied to a defendant's socioeconomic status, according to new research by Scott Phillips, associate professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Denver (DU). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Guide To Help Scientists Understand Children's Exposure To Pollutants The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a user-friendly document to help risk assessors understand how children are exposed to pollution.The document, titled "Highlights of the Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook," serves as a quick-reference guide to the more comprehensive "Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook," published by EPA in 2008. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| A Common Side Effect Of Long Stays In Intensive Care Units Is Muscle Weakness After decades of focusing on the management of respiratory failure, circulatory shock and severe infections that lead to extended stays in hospital intensive care units, critical care researchers are increasingly turning attention to what they believe is a treatable complication developed by many who spend days or weeks confined to an ICU bed: debilitating muscle weakness that can linger long after hospital discharge. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| New Strategies Required To Monitor Exposure To Environmental Carcinogens A new report from an American Cancer Society (ACS) scientific advisory subcommittee on cancer and the environment says exposure to carcinogens should be minimized or eliminated whenever feasible, and calls for new strategies to more effectively and efficiently screen the large number of chemicals to which the public is exposed. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| High-risk Individuals Offered H1N1 Influenza Vaccine County health departments will start administering a limited number of doses of H1N1 influenza vaccine to individuals in targeted high-risk groups beginning Wednesday at locations throughout the state. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| H1N1 Overwhelms Hospitals; Sebelius Addresses Flu Vaccine Shortage Hospitals across the country are overwhelmed "as waves of flu patients arrive at their doors, doubling their emergency room volume," USA Today reports. "Just as significant is the effect on intensive care units: A relatively small number of flu patients are requiring intensive care, but some are so ill they will need round-the-clock care for weeks. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Six Innovations That Could Prove Critical To Reforming The Health Care System The Wall Street Journal offers a collection of stories that looks at changes in health care that could yield big responses: "Health-care innovations come in many shapes and sizes ... [including] the kind that can help reach the goal that continues to elude our policy makers: getting good care to the greatest number of people in the most cost-effective way. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Swine Influenza Daily Update: 26 October 2009, Wales A daily update on swine flu issued by the National Public Health Service for Wales. Spread and extent of the outbreak (information as at 5pm on 25 October) The NPHS influenza surveillance scheme, which records reports of diagnoses of flu from more than 300 GP practices across Wales, shows levels of influenza continue to increase across Wales and are higher than usual for the time of year. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Health Minister Approves Assembly Government Funding For Bronglais Hospital, Wales More than £7.5million Welsh Assembly Government funding will be invested in a project that will pave the way for a major re-development of Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth, Health Minister Edwina Hart announced this Monday. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Consumer Electronics Can Help Improve Patient Health Electronic tools and technology applications for consumers can help improve health care processes, such as adherence to medication and clinical outcomes like smoking cessation, according to a report by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| British Medical Journal Raises Concerns Over "Outlawed" Gagging Clauses In NHS Contracts Despite government outlawing of gagging clauses in NHS contracts, new evidence published on bmj.com today reveals how some trusts have continued to use them. The first case relates to a dispute between Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust and Peter Bousfield, a long serving consultant, who was offered early retirement and a termination payment after he had raised a series of concerns about patient safety. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| The Vast Majority Of Physicians Are Satisfied With Hospital Chaplain Services A national survey of physicians' experience with hospital chaplains found that the vast majority of doctors were satisfied with the spiritual services provided. Physicians in the Northeast and those with a dim view of religion's effects on patients, however, were less likely to be pleased. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Radiology / Nuclear Medicine News | |
| ASTRO Annual Meeting To Unveil Practice-Changing Cancer Studies The following are highlights of new cancer research being presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO) 51st Annual Meeting on November 1-5, 2009, in Chicago.Short-term hormone therapy added to radiation increases survival for medium-risk, but not low-risk, prostate cancer patients (late-breaking study)Short-term hormone therapy given prior to and during radiation treatment to medium-risk prostate cancer patients increases their chance of living longer, compared to those who receive radiation alone, however there is no significant benefit for low-risk patients, according to the largest randomized study of its kind presented at the plenary session, November 2, 2009…Shorter radiation course as effective as standard therapy for prostate cancer recurrenceA shorter, five-week course of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer sessions, known as hypofractionation, appears to be just as effective and as safe in reducing the risk of prostate cancer from returning as standard radiation therapy, yet is delivered in two-and-a-half weeks less time, according to interim results of a randomized study presented Wednesday, November 4, 2009…Shorter radiation course stops cancer growth in high-risk prostate cancer patientsHypofractionated radiation treatment, a newer type of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer treatments than conventional radiation therapy, is significantly more effective in stopping cancer from growing in high risk patients, compared to receiving standard radiation treatment, according to a study presented on Wednesday, November 4, 2009…Radiation after surgery reduces chance of melanoma returningHigh-risk melanoma patients who are treated with radiation after surgery have a significantly lower risk of their cancer returning to the lymph nodes (19 percent), compared to those patients who do not have radiation therapy (31 percent), according to the first randomized study-of-its-kind presented at the plenary session on Monday, November 2, 2009…Stereotactic radiotherapy stops lung cancer from growing in frail patientsStereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) stopped the growth of cancer at its original site in the lung for three years among nearly 98 percent of patients with early non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are unable to have the cancer surgically removed, according to an updated three-year study presented on Monday, November 2, 2009…Adding proton therapy "boost" to X-ray radiation therapy reduces prostate cancer recurrencesMen who receive a "boost" of proton therapy after receiving a standard course of X-ray radiation therapy have fewer recurrences of their prostate cancer compared to men who did not receive the extra dose of proton radiation, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented November 2, 2009…Proton therapy is well-tolerated in prostate cancer patientsProton beam therapy can be safely delivered to men with prostate cancer and has minimal urinary and rectal side effects, according to a study presented November 2, 2009…Cancer patients want honesty, compassion from their oncologistWhat do patients want from their radiation oncologists? The most significant preference is that more than one-third of female cancer patients (37 percent) prefer to have their hands held by their radiation oncologists during important office visits, compared to 12 percent of men, according to a randomized study presented on Wednesday, November 4, 2009…Obesity significantly increases side effects of stereotactic body radiation therapy in lung cancer patientsObesity, not the amount of radiation given, is the greatest factor in whether early-stage lung cancer patients develop chest wall pain after receiving stereotactic body radiation therapy to the chest wall, with obese patients being more than twice as likely to develop chronic pain compared to those who have less body weight, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented on Tuesday, November 3, 2009…What are the real benefits versus risks of preventative brain radiation for patients with non-small cell lung cancer?Patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with preventative brain radiation (called prophylactic cranial irradiation or PCI), significantly decrease their risk of developing brain metastases (cancer spread in the brain) by more than 50 percent (from 18 percent to 8 percent), compared to those who did not receive the treatment, according to a randomized study presented at the plenary session on Monday, November 2, 2009…Three-week course of breast radiation may be as effective as conventional five to seven week course for early breast cancers, says U. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Medtronic Launches New Neuro Oncology Surgical Imaging System Internationally This week at the annual Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) announced the Conformite Europeen (CE) mark and international launch of the PoleStar® N30 Surgical MRI system, the latest in neuro oncology surgical solutions. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Scientific And Clinical Development Of Innovative Radiation Therapy Discussed By International Experts The largest congress worldwide on the topic of particle or ion therapy - radiation with heavy ions and protons - has taken place in in Heidelberg. Well over 600 international participants, especially from Japan and the USA, convened in the Heidelberg Town Hall for the annual meeting of the "Particle Therapy Cooperative Group" (PTCOG), including leading experts from the fields of radiation therapy, medical physics and oncology. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Regulatory Affairs / Drug Approvals News | |
| Halloween Face Paints Contain Lead And Other Heavy Metals Says US Report A US group that arranged for an independent lab to test 10 children's face paints for heavy metals and also review ingredient labels of Halloween products sold at a seasonal holiday store, has reported that Halloween face paints are contaminated with lead and other heavy metals, and other Halloween products contain hazardous ingredients. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Research & Diagnostic Antibodies LLC Receives Allowance For Key SIRS/Sepsis Diagnostic Patent In Europe Research & Diagnostic Antibodies LLC (R&D Antibodies) announced today that it has received a notification stating that the European Patent Office intends to grant a patent for its monoclonal antibody-based immunoassays and apparatuses for measuring inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) as a plasma biomarker for the early detection of the sepsis pathology. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| AdvanDx Receives FDA 510(k) Clearance For 90 Minutes PNA FISH(R) Protocol For Identifying Enterococcal Bloodstream Pathogens AdvanDx announced that it has received FDA 510(k) clearance for a fast, 90 minutes protocol for its E. faecalis/OE PNA FISH(®) test. The faster protocol reduces the PNA FISH turn-around time from the original 2. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Gilead's Aztreonam For Inhalation Solution To Be Reviewed By FDA Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee On December 10, 2009 Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:GILD) announced that aztreonam for inhalation solution, an investigational product for the treatment of infections due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), is scheduled to be reviewed by the Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee of the U. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Respiratory / Asthma News | |
| Change In Treating Pulmonary Embolisms Recommended By Stanford Study William Kuo, MD, was the on-call interventional radiologist one Friday night three years ago when he received a call from the intensive care unit at Stanford Hospital & Clinics. He was asked to attend to a 62-year-old woman who had collapsed at home and was rushed to the emergency room with massive blood clots in her lungs. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Older Patients With Dementia At Increased Risk For Flu Mortality An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza (P&I) in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without dementia. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Schizophrenia News | |
| Penn Researchers Reverse The Cognitive Impairment Caused By Sleep Deprivation A research collaboration led by biologists and neuroscientists at the University of Pennsylvania has found a molecular pathway in the brain that is the cause of cognitive impairment due to sleep deprivation. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Seniors / Aging News | |
| Older Patients With Dementia At Increased Risk For Flu Mortality An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza (P&I) in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without dementia. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| The Power Of Doctors Makes Elderly Patients Passive Elderly patients are often critical about consultations with their doctor. Hierarchical structures, time pressure and traditions in the health care sector make these patients and their relatives passive when facing the doctor and his or her position of power. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| AARP's Dual Role In Health Reform The Washington Post reports on questions raised about AARP's dual role in health reform. It profits from sales of health insurance policies to seniors and is strongly supporting reform legislation. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| House Democrats Continue Courting, Counting Votes For 'Robust' Public Option The New York Times reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is scheduled to discuss the public option and health costs with other Democratic leaders. "Ms. Pelosi has been working hard to build support for the most liberal version of a government-run insurance plan, the so-called robust public option, which would generally tie payments to doctors, hospitals and other health care providers to Medicare rates. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Finding That Memory Loss Is Slower In Alzheimer's Patients With Diabetes Surprises Researchers Researchers from France and the UK who set out to investigate whether people with Alzheimer's disease and diabetes have more rapid memory loss were surprised to find not only that they did not, but that their memory loss was actually slower than that of Alzheimer's patients without diabetes. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| The Power Of Doctors Makes Elderly Patients Passive Elderly patients are often critical towards the meeting with the doctor. Hierarchical structures, time pressure and traditions in the health care sector make these patients and their relatives passive when facing the doctor and his or her position of power. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Older Patients With Dementia At Increased Risk For Flu Mortality An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza (P&I) in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without dementia. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Age Concern And Help The Aged Comment On The Take-up Figures For The Free Swimming Initiative Commenting on the take-up figures for the free swimming initiative, Andrew Harrop, Head of Policy at Age Concern and Help the Aged, said: 'It's great news that increasing numbers of older people have taken the plunge and are now swimming their way towards a healthier lifestyle thanks to the free swimming initiative. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Older Patients With Dementia At Increased Risk For Flu Mortality An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza (P&I) in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without dementia. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Clues On Cancer And Aging Provided By Common Weed A common weed and human cancer cells could provide some very uncommon details about DNA structure and its relationship with telomeres and how they affect cellular aging and cancer, according to a team led by scientists from Texas A&M University and the University of Cincinnati (UC). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Changing Behavior Helps Patients Take Medication As Prescribed Taking medication as the doctor prescribes is crucial to improving health. However, 26 to 59 percent of older adults do not adhere to instructions, according to a 2003 study published in Drugs and Aging. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| For Building Muscle, Moderate Amounts Of Protein Per Meal Recommended For thousands of years, people have believed that eating large amounts of protein made it easier to build bigger, stronger muscles. Take Milo of Croton, the winner of five consecutive Olympic wrestling championships in the sixth century BC: If ancient writers are to be believed, he built his crushing strength in part by consuming 20 pounds of meat every day. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Sexual Health / STDs News | |
| HIV Infections, Deaths Declining In Caribbean, Senior Official Says Ahead of the regional Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) meeting, a senior official announced that the number of new HIV infections in the region has fallen since last year, Agence France-Presse reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| That '4 Hour Erection': New Discovery May Help Prevent A Complication Of Priapism For men coping with painful erections lasting for long periods of time, or priapism, new research published online in The FASEB Journal offers hope. That's because researchers from the United States and China show that the enzyme adenosine deaminase may prevent priapism from progressing to penile fibrosis, a condition associated with the build up of scar tissue and eventual impotence. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia News | |
| Penn Researchers Reverse The Cognitive Impairment Caused By Sleep Deprivation A research collaboration led by biologists and neuroscientists at the University of Pennsylvania has found a molecular pathway in the brain that is the cause of cognitive impairment due to sleep deprivation. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Smoking / Quit Smoking News | |
| 22nd Century Continuing Development Of Its Smoking Cessation Aid 22nd Century Limited, LLC ("22nd Century") is pleased to announce that it is continuing development of a very low nicotine cigarette for use in smoking cessation. Clinical trial results demonstrate that these cigarettes, also referred to as 'nicotine-free' and 'denicotinized,' may be more effective for quitting than FDA-approved therapies. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Tobacco Addiction Reduced By Crushing Cigarettes In A Virtual Reality Environment Smokers who crushed computer-simulated cigarettes as part of a psychosocial treatment program in a virtual reality environment had significantly reduced nicotine dependence and higher rates of tobacco abstinence than smokers participating in the same program who grasped a computer-simulated ball, according to a study described in the current issue of CyberPsychology and Behavior, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Sports Medicine / Fitness News | |
| Lymphoma Patients Benefit From Exercise A healthy dose of exercise is good medicine, even for lymphoma patients receiving chemotherapy, University of Alberta researchers have found.The Healthy Exercise for Lymphoma Patients (HELP) trial, a three-year study led by Kerry Courneya, Canada Research Chair in physical activity and cancer in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, found that a regimen of aerobic exercise training produced significant improvements in physical functioning and overall quality of life benefits in patients with lymphoma. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Age Concern And Help The Aged Comment On The Take-up Figures For The Free Swimming Initiative Commenting on the take-up figures for the free swimming initiative, Andrew Harrop, Head of Policy at Age Concern and Help the Aged, said: 'It's great news that increasing numbers of older people have taken the plunge and are now swimming their way towards a healthier lifestyle thanks to the free swimming initiative. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| For Building Muscle, Moderate Amounts Of Protein Per Meal Recommended For thousands of years, people have believed that eating large amounts of protein made it easier to build bigger, stronger muscles. Take Milo of Croton, the winner of five consecutive Olympic wrestling championships in the sixth century BC: If ancient writers are to be believed, he built his crushing strength in part by consuming 20 pounds of meat every day. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Statins News | |
| Cholesterol-lowering Medicines May Be Effective Against Cancer Millions of people around the world use medicines based on statins to lower their blood cholesterol, but new research from the University of Gothenburg, published in the prestigious journal PNAS, shows that statins may also be effective in the treatment of cancer. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Stem Cell Research News | |
| Endocrine Society Calls For Expanded Scope And Funding For Stem Cell Research Stem cell research holds great promise for the treatment of millions of Americans with debilitating and possibly fatal diseases. Current legislation and guidelines, however, continue to limit researchers' endeavors in unlocking the potential breakthroughs that stem cell research can provide. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Stroke News | |
| Only Some Migraine Sufferers At Higher Risk Of Stroke On the publication of research in the British Medical Journal looking at the links between migraine and an increased risk of stroke, Ellen Mason, Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation said: 'This review clarifies that it is only migraine with aura - a migraine with temporary visual and sensory disturbances that is linked to increased risk of having a stroke. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Migraine With Aura Doubles The Risk Of Stroke Migraine with aura (temporary visual or sensory disturbances before or during a migraine headache) is associated with a twofold increased risk of stroke, finds a study published on bmj.com today. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Swine Flu News | |
| Harvard Medical School Introduces New H1N1 IPhone Application The HMSMobile Swine Flu Center, a new iPhone application developed by the Harvard Health Publications Division of Harvard Medical School, is now available for purchase in the iTunes store. Following the decision by The White House to sign an emergency declaration for H1N1, this new application is a critical tool that leverages Harvard's extensive knowledge and provides the public with timely information on prevention and outbreaks of the H1N1 virus. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| H1N1 Flu Virus: Canada Works With Australia To Ensure Early Delivery Of Vaccine For Pregnant Women Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq and Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, announced today that the Government of Canada had secured additional unadjuvanted H1N1 flu vaccine from Australia. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| High-risk Individuals Offered H1N1 Influenza Vaccine County health departments will start administering a limited number of doses of H1N1 influenza vaccine to individuals in targeted high-risk groups beginning Wednesday at locations throughout the state. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| H1N1 Overwhelms Hospitals; Sebelius Addresses Flu Vaccine Shortage Hospitals across the country are overwhelmed "as waves of flu patients arrive at their doors, doubling their emergency room volume," USA Today reports. "Just as significant is the effect on intensive care units: A relatively small number of flu patients are requiring intensive care, but some are so ill they will need round-the-clock care for weeks. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| More People Rely On Alternative Medicine As consumers look to save money in a tough economy, many turn to alternative health care options. CBS 4 reports: "Health care costs are soaring. Thousands of people are without jobs and without the benefits afforded them. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Triple-combo Drug Shows Promise Against Antiviral Resistant H1N1 An experimental drug cocktail that includes three prescriptions now widely available offers the best hope in developing a single agent to treat drug-resistant H1N1 swine flu, says a virology researcher in the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| ASM Recommends Nasopharyngeal Flocked Swabs As The Specimen Of Choice For Influenza A Testing (Including H1N1) Preparing for this flu season, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) PSAB Committee on Laboratory Practices has recently published a new interim algorithm providing guidance to clinical laboratories responsible for testing patients with respiratory illness for Influenza A, including H1N1. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Swine Influenza Daily Update: 26 October 2009, Wales A daily update on swine flu issued by the National Public Health Service for Wales. Spread and extent of the outbreak (information as at 5pm on 25 October) The NPHS influenza surveillance scheme, which records reports of diagnoses of flu from more than 300 GP practices across Wales, shows levels of influenza continue to increase across Wales and are higher than usual for the time of year. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Swine Flu Vaccine Must Be Free And Safe For High Uptake Almost half of adults surveyed in Summer 2009 in Hong Kong (45%) say they would take up free swine flu vaccination. However, this figure drops to around 1 in 7 (15%) if the price they have to pay for the vaccine reaches $HK200 (16 pounds; 17 euros; 26 dollars). | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Transplants / Organ Donations News | |
| UT Southwestern Patient First In North Texas To Receive Newest-generation Heart Failure Device UT Southwestern Medical Center patient Michael LeBlanc, 40, is the first in North Texas to receive the newest generation of a mechanical device designed to improve heart function. It will be his lifeline while he awaits a heart transplant. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| More News Briefs From Plastic Surgery 2009 Face and Hand Transplants - Ready to Become Mainstream Medicine?Though once inconceivable, face and hand transplants are quickly making themselves more present, both in the operating room and in the media. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Tropical Diseases News | |
| New York Times Examines Journal Editorial On Neglected Tropical Diseases In Islamic Nations The New York Times examines the conclusions drawn in a recent PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases editorial that the Islamic world is suffering from a "devastating burden" of neglected tropical diseases. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Gateses To Appeal For Ongoing U.S. Funding Of Global Health Bill and Melinda Gates are expected to ask Washington officials on Tuesday to "continue funding global health initiatives despite the recession and to commit to nearly halve the number of child deaths worldwide by 2025," the Washington Post reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Dominant Chemical That Attracts Mosquitoes To Humans Identified By UC Davis Researchers Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have identified the dominant odor naturally produced in humans and birds that attracts the blood-feeding Culex mosquitoes, which transmit West Nile virus and other life-threatening diseases. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Tuberculosis News | |
| Also In Global Health News: U.S. Grant To Uganda; Reproductive Health In Philippines; Counterfeit Drugs U.S. Grants Uganda $246M In Aid To Improve Agricultural, Health Systems The U.S. Embassy in Uganda announced a grant of $246 million in new aid for improving the Uganda's agricultural and health systems, Reuters reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Urology / Nephrology News | |
| Do Drug Therapies Raise Risk Of Bladder Cancer? In her most recent study of possible triggers of cancer among northern New England residents, Dartmouth epidemiologist Margaret R. Karagas, Ph.D., and her team identified an enhanced risk to the bladders of patients taking drugs that suppress the immune system. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Vascular News | |
| Change In Treating Pulmonary Embolisms Recommended By Stanford Study William Kuo, MD, was the on-call interventional radiologist one Friday night three years ago when he received a call from the intensive care unit at Stanford Hospital & Clinics. He was asked to attend to a 62-year-old woman who had collapsed at home and was rushed to the emergency room with massive blood clots in her lungs. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Vascular Surgeons Perform Most Peripheral Arterial Interventions Vascular surgeons have the highest market share and the lowest overall mortality and morbidity rates for peripheral arterial interventions (PAI), when compared to interventional cardiologists and interventional radiologists who also perform this procedure. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Alternatively Spliced Tissue Factor Identified As Promising New Biomarker For Aggressive Cancers A recently discovered form of the protein that triggers blood clotting may play a key role in the molecular mechanisms leading to the growth of certain metastatic cancers, according to new research reported by an international team of scientists. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Veterans / Ex-Servicemen News | |
| Traumatic Brain Injury-Vision Loss Severely Impacts Veterans' Quality Of Life;Who Is That Stranger On My Couch? Hallucinations In Low-vision Patient Today's Scientific Program, 2009 American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) - Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology (PAAO) Joint Meeting, includes a Veterans Administration study that indicates that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with vision loss from traumatic brain injury have significantly poorer quality of life than comparable civilian patients, and a Harvard doctor's insights on how to best evaluate and care for low-vision patients who experience vivid visual hallucinations due to Charles Bonnet syndrome. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Water - Air Quality / Agriculture News | |
| Guide To Help Scientists Understand Children's Exposure To Pollutants The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a user-friendly document to help risk assessors understand how children are exposed to pollution.The document, titled "Highlights of the Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook," serves as a quick-reference guide to the more comprehensive "Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook," published by EPA in 2008. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| New Strategies Required To Monitor Exposure To Environmental Carcinogens A new report from an American Cancer Society (ACS) scientific advisory subcommittee on cancer and the environment says exposure to carcinogens should be minimized or eliminated whenever feasible, and calls for new strategies to more effectively and efficiently screen the large number of chemicals to which the public is exposed. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Also In Global Health News: U.S. Grant To Uganda; Reproductive Health In Philippines; Counterfeit Drugs U.S. Grants Uganda $246M In Aid To Improve Agricultural, Health Systems The U.S. Embassy in Uganda announced a grant of $246 million in new aid for improving the Uganda's agricultural and health systems, Reuters reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Developing Countries Paying More For Food, WFP Executive Director Says Despite drops in commodity market prices due to the global economic downturn, "[m]ost of the developing world is paying more for food," and the price of food staples in developing countries has risen, Josette Sheeran, executive director of the U. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Women's Health / Gynecology News | |
| Global Health Promotion Conference Begins In Kenya, Maternal Mortality Addressed At the 7th Global Conference on Health Promotion, which kicked off in Kenya on Monday, participants discussed reducing maternal mortality and the related Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the Daily Nation reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| More Than 150 Health Ministers Meet In Ethiopia To Discuss Maternal Mortality At a U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, "[h]ealth ministers from around the world have agreed that swift action must be taken to reduce the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth," the BBC reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Blogs Comment On Federal Judicial Vacancies, Health Insurance For Women The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries."The Bench in Purgatory," Doug Kendall, Slate: The "slow pace" of President Obama's judicial nominations is "part of the problem" with the high number of federal vacancies, but the "larger issue is a new form of obstructionism in the Senate," as only three of Obama's 22 lower court nominees have been confirmed, Kendall writes. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| GOP Infighting Over Centrist In N.Y. Congressional Race Shows Party's 'Glaring Misunderstanding' Of Voters, NYT Editorial Says The "feeble pulse of moderation" in the Republican Party "is in danger of flat lining" in the Nov. 3 congressional election in upstate New York, with prominent Republicans like former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| 'Shriver Report' Shows Equality For Women Benefits Society, Former Secs. Of State Say In Politico Opinion Piece The "most intriguing aspects" of the trends documented in "The Shriver Report" -- a study on the roles women play in the U.S. work force that was led by California first lady Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress -- are "the implications for women across the globe," former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice, both members of the study's advisory committee, write in a Politico opinion piece. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| First Lady Stresses Importance Of Health Reform To Women At White House Breast Cancer Event First lady Michelle Obama framed health care reform as a women's issue at a breast cancer event on Friday, "marking the third time in recent weeks she has weighed in on the health debate so directly," Politico reports. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Long Island Doctor Shows First '4K' Ultra-High Definition Surgery Doctors at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine got a glimpse into the future of women's health with the presentation of endoscopic gynecologic surgery performed for the first time using "4K" technology. | 28 Oct 2009 |
| Drug Used For Neuropathic Pain Relieves Discomfort From Abdominal Adhesions: Henry Ford Study Pregabalin, FDA-approved for neuropathic pain (pain caused by shingles and peripheral neuropathy), effectively reduced abdominal pain and improved sleep in women with adhesions, according to a Henry Ford study. | 28 Oct 2009 |
