Colorado Right to Life and Personhood USA are proposing a 2010 state ballot initiative with a different version of 2008's defeated "personhood" amendment to the state constitution, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports.
Nineteen House Dems Plan To Vote Against Health Reform If Abortion Funding Is Included
Nineteen House Democrats recently sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stating that they will not vote for health care reform legislation "unless it explicitly excludes abortion funding from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan," CongressDaily reports.
| ADHD News | |
| VYVANSE CII Provided Significant Efficacy At 14 Hours After Administration In Adults With ADHD In An Adult Simulated Workplace Environment
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced results from a Phase 3b study that found VYVANSE® (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) CII demonstrated significant efficacy at 14 hours after administration during a simulated workplace environment study in adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). | 02 July 2009 |
| Aid / Disasters News | |
| Seasonal Hunger Devastating And Under Recognized
Most of the world's acute hunger and undernutrition occurs not in conflicts and natural disasters but in the annual "hunger season," according to an article in this week's open access journal PLoS Medicine. | 02 July 2009 |
| WFP Operation In DPRK Under-Funded
Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Amir Abdulla, of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today said that the agency's emergency operation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) - which aims to assist 6. | 02 July 2009 |
| Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs News | |
| Intervention Program Targets Siblings
"Siblings are Special," a pilot prevention program targeting fifth graders and their younger siblings, recently received $1.45 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse as part of the National Institutes of Health's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding. | 02 July 2009 |
| Drug & Alcohol Action Team Uses SAS To Tackle Drugs And Save Lives By Improving Joined-Up Delivery
The London Borough of Croydon's Drug & Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) is using SAS software to achieve better results in its efforts to get more people into drug treatment, reduce drug-related crime and empower the local community to resist drug misuse. | 02 July 2009 |
| Drinkaware's Response To Public Health Commission Report About Health Messages, UK
In response to a report by the Public Health Commission which says health messages need greater clarity and consistency to help people make the right choices, Chris Sorek, Chief Executive of Drinkaware, says: "When it comes to messages about health and alcohol in particular, it's important that people have the information they need to make the decisions that are right for them. | 02 July 2009 |
| Parkinson's Disease Alters Patient's Ability To Learn From Rewards While Treatment Affects Ability To Learn From Negative Outcomes
A new neuropsychological memory test is helping to uncover how Parkinson's disease can alter people's ability to learn about the consequences of the choices they make. The test was developed by Dr. | 02 July 2009 |
| Swedish Discovery May Provide New Treatments For Alcohol Dependence
Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg, have discovered a new brain mechanism involved in alcohol addiction involving the stomach hormone ghrelin. When ghrelin's actions in the brain are blocked, alcohol's effects on the reward system are reduced. | 02 July 2009 |
| Allergy News | |
| Successful Initial Safety Tests For Genetically-modified Rice That Fights Allergy - Journal Of Agricultural And Food Chemistry
In a first-of-its-kind advance toward the next generation of genetically modified foods - intended to improve consumers' health - researchers in Japan are reporting that a new transgenic rice designed to fight a common pollen allergy appears safe in animal studies. | 02 July 2009 |
| Alzheimer's / Dementia News | |
| Memory Decline In Mice Reversed By Blood Stem Cell Growth Factor
A human growth factor that stimulates blood stem cells to proliferate in the bone marrow reverses memory impairment in mice genetically altered to develop Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the University of South Florida and James A. | 02 July 2009 |
| Alzheimer's Research Yields Potential Drug Target
Scientists at UC Santa Barbara and several other institutions have found laboratory evidence that a cluster of peptides may be the toxic agent in Alzheimer's disease. Scientists say the discovery may lead to new drugs for the disease. | 02 July 2009 |
| Eisai And Pfizer Decide Not To Appeal NICE Decision And Call For An Expedited Review Of Guidance For Alzheimer's Disease
On June 11, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) announced that, following consultation with stakeholders on the economic model that underpinned NICE's 2006 guidance on the use of drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease, the guidance remains unchanged despite recognising significant errors within their model. | 02 July 2009 |
| Anxiety / Stress News | |
| Post-Surgery Distress In Children Eased By Hormone Treatment
A scary unknown for many children, the prospect of surgery can cause intense preoperative anxiety. While some amount of stress is normal, what many parents do not know is that extreme anxiety before surgery can contribute to the occurrence of emergence delirium, a distressing incidence of acute behavioral changes experienced when "waking up" from anesthesia. | 02 July 2009 |
| Arthritis / Rheumatology News | |
| MorphoSys And The University Of Melbourne File New Patent Applications In MOR103 Program
MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) and the University of Melbourne announced today an agreement to cooperate on investigating new therapeutic applications for MorphoSys's MOR103 program. | 02 July 2009 |
| POZEN Submits New Drug Application For VIMOVO™ (PN 400)
POZEN Inc. (NASDAQ:POZN), announced the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the marketing approval of VIMOVO™ (PN 400), the combination of enteric coated (EC) naproxen and immediate release esomeprazole. | 02 July 2009 |
| Aclasta(R) (zoledronic Acid 5mg) Approved In EU To Treat Steroid Induced Osteoporosis In Men And Post-menopausal Women
Aclasta® (zoledronic acid 5 mg)[1] has been approved in the European Union to treat men and post-menopausal women with osteoporosis caused by the long-term use of glucocorticoids, commonly known as steroids. | 02 July 2009 |
| Examining The Risk Of Tuberculosis From Arthritis Medication
Treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents is recognized as a risk factor for tuberculosis (TB) in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease, psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis. | 02 July 2009 |
| Study Provides Greater Understanding Of Lyme Disease-Causing Bacteria
Lyme disease in the U.S. is caused by the tick-borne bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and usually begins with a skin lesion, after which the bacteria spread throughout the body to the nervous system, heart or joints. | 02 July 2009 |
| Autism News | |
| Pregnancy Complications May Increase Autism Risk
Complications during pregnancy may increase the risk of having a child with autism, according to American researchers. The team reviewed 64 studies of prenatal risk factors for autism. It is the first time a meta-analysis of the relationship between pregnancy-related factors and risk of autism has been carried out. | 02 July 2009 |
| Biology / Biochemistry News | |
| Longevity Of Dental Fillings May Be Increased By Nanotechnology
Tooth-colored fillings may be more attractive than silver ones, but the bonds between the white filling and the tooth quickly age and degrade. A Medical College of Georgia researcher hopes a new nanotechnology technique will extend the fillings' longevity. | 02 July 2009 |
| Alzheimer's Research Yields Potential Drug Target
Scientists at UC Santa Barbara and several other institutions have found laboratory evidence that a cluster of peptides may be the toxic agent in Alzheimer's disease. Scientists say the discovery may lead to new drugs for the disease. | 02 July 2009 |
| $500,000 Gruber Neuroscience Prize Awarded To Hall, Rosbash And Young
The 2009 Neuroscience Prize of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation is being awarded to Jeffrey Hall, professor of neurogenetics at the University of Maine; Michael Rosbash, professor and director of the National Center for Behavioral Genomics at Brandeis University; and Michael Young, professor and head of the Laboratory of Genetics at Rockefeller University. | 02 July 2009 |
| 2009 Dr. Paul Janssen Award For Biomedical Research Won By Axel Ullrich
Johnson & Johnson has announced that Axel Ullrich, Ph.D., director of the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany, whose discoveries have led to novel cancer therapies including Herceptin® (trastuzumab) , is the winner of the 2009 Dr. | 02 July 2009 |
| Targeting Human And Animal Diseases In Africa: Research Network Wins Approximately £5.7 Million
Deadly diseases including plague, Ebola and Rift Valley Fever are being targeted as part of a new multi-million pound international partnership involving African researchers and the London International Development Centre (LIDC). | 02 July 2009 |
| Brittle Table Salt Can Stretch Like Taffy In The Nanoworld - Nano Letters
Researchers in New Mexico are reporting the surprise discovery that common table salt - so brittle that it crushes easily between a thumb and forefinger - becomes a super plastic in the weird environs of the nanoworld. | 02 July 2009 |
| Microbial Analysis, Micropatterning Methods Featured In Cold Spring Harbor Protocols
Microbial populations have traditionally been studied in carefully controlled, laboratory-grown cultures. New metagenomic approaches are being developed to study these organisms in environmental or medical samples. | 02 July 2009 |
| New e-Science Service Could Accelerate Cancer Research
The University of Manchester and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) have launched a major new e-science resource for biologists which could accelerate research into treatments for H1N1 flu and cancer. | 02 July 2009 |
| Mechanics Of Bacteria Colonies Measured By New Lab-On-A-Chip
Researchers at the University of Michigan have devised a microscale tool to help them understand the mechanical behavior of biofilms, slimy colonies of bacteria involved in most human infectious diseases. | 02 July 2009 |
| Echo-Location In Humans Developed By Spanish Scientists
A team of researchers from the University of Alcalá de Henares (UAH) has shown scientifically that human beings can develop echolocation, the system of acoustic signals used by dolphins and bats to explore their surroundings. | 02 July 2009 |
| Biological 'Fountain Of Youth' Discovered In New World Bat Caves
Scientists from Texas are batty over a new discovery which could lead to the single most important medical breakthrough in human history - significantly longer lifespans. The discovery, featured on the cover of the July 2009 print issue of The FASEB Journal, shows that proper protein folding over time in long-lived bats explains why they live significantly longer than other mammals of comparable size, such as mice. | 02 July 2009 |
| Bipolar News | |
| Schizophrenia And Bipolar Disorder Share Many Common Genetic Variants Says International Research Consortium
A new study by a large international consortium found that many common genetic variants contribute up to a third of a person's risk of inheriting schizophrenia and many of the same DNA variations are also involved in bipolar disorder. | 02 July 2009 |
| A Combination Of Common Genetic Variations Can Lead To Schizophrenia
A multi-national group of investigators, including a scientist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has discovered that nearly a third of the genetic basis of schizophrenia may be attributed to the cumulative actions of thousands of common genetic variants. | 02 July 2009 |
| Blood / Hematology News | |
| Human Milk And Blood Serum SRMs For Contaminant Measurements Issued By National Institute Of Standards And Technology
Responding to scientists' need to measure organic contaminants in human body fluids, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has recently made four new Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) available for purchase. | 02 July 2009 |
| Government "No Leg To Stand On" Over Refusalto Compensate Tainted Blood Victims - Willott, UK
Today, during a Westminster Hall debate on the Archer Inquiry into the infection of nearly 5,000 haemophiliacs with HIV and Hepatitis C through NHS blood products, Jenny Willott, Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central, revealed evidence to show that the department's reasons for offering fair compensation to those infected is inaccurate and unjustified. | 02 July 2009 |
| Will IVF Work For A Particular Patient? The Answer May Be Found In Her Blood
For the first time, researchers have been able to identify genetic predictors of the potential success or failure of IVF treatment in blood. Dr. Cathy Allen, from the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, Ireland, told the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Wednesday 1 July) that her research would help understand why IVF works for some patients but not for others. | 02 July 2009 |
| Cord Blood Awareness Month: Understanding Still Low, Despite Medical Advancements
Despite rapid advances using a child's own cord blood stem cells in regenerative therapies to repair damaged tissue due to injury or disease, most pregnant women today don't learn about the ability to save their newborn's cord blood. | 02 July 2009 |
| Bones / Orthopaedics News | |
| How Do I Know If I Need Knee Replacement Surgery?
Most knee replacement patients are between the ages of 60 and 80 years old. In some cases, younger patients with traumatic knee injuries may also require a total knee replacement. However the most common diagnosis is osteoarthritis. | 02 July 2009 |
| The Multiple Health Benefits Of Dairy Foods Examined By New Science Review
WHAT: Food prices rose by 5.5 percent in the past year and are expected to increase up to an additional 4 percent in 2009. Americans are seeking to get the most out of their dollar, and since together, dairy foods provide a unique package of nine essential nutrients, they are a nutritional bang for the buck. | 02 July 2009 |
| Aclasta(R) (zoledronic Acid 5mg) Approved In EU To Treat Steroid Induced Osteoporosis In Men And Post-menopausal Women
Aclasta® (zoledronic acid 5 mg)[1] has been approved in the European Union to treat men and post-menopausal women with osteoporosis caused by the long-term use of glucocorticoids, commonly known as steroids. | 02 July 2009 |
| Breast Cancer News | |
| Saint Barnabas Medical Center Is Only Hospital In New Jersey To Offer Clinical Trial For The Treatment Of Recurrent Chest Wall Breast Cancer
Some patients who suffer from recurrent cancer at the chest wall now have another option. The Radiation Oncology Department at Saint Barnabas Medical Center is one of a few hospitals nationwide to participate in a study which combines the use of the heat-sensitive chemotherapeutic agent ThermoDox® with microwave hyperthermia, or heat. | 02 July 2009 |
| Cancer / Oncology News | |
| $500,000 Gruber Genetics Prize Awarded To Cancer Geneticist Janet Davison Rowley
Janet Davison Rowley, MD, a founder in the field of cancer cytogenetics and a renowned leader in molecular oncology, will receive the 2009 Genetics Prize of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation. | 02 July 2009 |
| 2009 Dr. Paul Janssen Award For Biomedical Research Won By Axel Ullrich
Johnson & Johnson has announced that Axel Ullrich, Ph.D., director of the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany, whose discoveries have led to novel cancer therapies including Herceptin® (trastuzumab) , is the winner of the 2009 Dr. | 02 July 2009 |
| Gefitinib Receives European Licence For The Treatment Of Lung Cancer For Patients With EGFR Activating Mutation Positive Tumours
AstraZeneca announced that it has received a licence by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for its oral targeted anti-cancer drug, gefitinib, for EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase) activating mutation positive patients with Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). | 02 July 2009 |
| Cancer Survivors At Greater Risk Of Birth Complications; Special Monitoring Needed
Survivors of childhood cancer run particular risks when pregnant and should be closely monitored, the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology heard today (Wednesday 1 July). | 02 July 2009 |
| New e-Science Service Could Accelerate Cancer Research
The University of Manchester and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) have launched a major new e-science resource for biologists which could accelerate research into treatments for H1N1 flu and cancer. | 02 July 2009 |
| Peregrine Awarded European Patent For Innovative Labeling Technology Featured In New Study In The Journal Of Nuclear Medicine
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM) today announced that it has been awarded a European patent for a novel device and methods for linking biological agents to labels for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. | 02 July 2009 |
| Pfizer Discontinues Phase 3 Trial Of Sutent(R) In Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Pfizer Inc announced the discontinuation of the SUN 1122 Phase 3 trial that evaluated Sutent® (sunitinib malate) plus FOLFIRI (irinotecan plus infusional 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin) versus FOLFIRI alone for the first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). | 02 July 2009 |
| Appeal For Cancer Patients To Trial New Nail Damage Remedy
The search is on for fifty cancer patients undergoing chemo or radiotherapy to trial an innovative, natural cosmetic product, Evonail, aimed at reversing the damage done to cracked or broken nails during anti-cancer treatments. | 02 July 2009 |
| BMA Reaffirms Opposition To Assisted Suicide, UK
Doctors have reaffirmed their opposition to assisted suicide following a debate at the BMA's Annual Conference in Liverpool yesterday. Doctors rejected calls from Thameside doctor, Kailash Chand to change legislation to allow the choice of an assisted death by patients who are terminally ill and who have mental capacity. | 02 July 2009 |
| Colorectal Cancer - MDC Researchers Identify Genetic Markers For Metastasis Formation
Previously, only a few genes had been associated with the formation of metastases in colorectal cancer. Now, researchers of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Germany, have identified 115 genes that are disregulated both in the primary tumor and in its metastases. | 02 July 2009 |
| Advanced Prostate Cancer - New Review On PROSTVAC(TM) Published By Key Investigators From NCI
A just published Review in the publication "Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs", Volume 18, Issue 7 2009, confirms the previous published information on PROSTVAC(TM). This is the most comprehensive and updated Review on PROSTVAC(TM) so far. | 02 July 2009 |
| Cardiovascular / Cardiology News | |
| New Product For Pfizer Specialty Takes Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension To Heart
Pfizer Australia announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the local distribution rights for THELIN® (Sitaxentan sodium), an oral, once-daily highly selective endothelin receptor antagonist, indicated for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients with NYHA/WHO Functional Class III symptoms to improve exercise ability. | 02 July 2009 |
| Lap-Band Weight-Loss Surgery Can Reverse Metabolic Syndrome In Obese Teens
A new study of obese adolescents has shown that laparoscopic gastric banding surgery -- the "Lap-Band" procedure -- not only helps them achieve significant weight loss but can also improve and even reverse metabolic syndrome, reducing their risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. | 02 July 2009 |
| Clinical Trials / Drug Trials News | |
| Provectus Pharmaceuticals Completes Patient Accrual In Initial Phase 2 Study Of PH-10 For Atopic Dermatitis
Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC BB: PVCT), a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, has completed patient accrual for its Phase 2 study of PH-10 for atopic dermatitis. | 02 July 2009 |
| Sucampo Reports Top-Line Results Of Phase 2 Clinical Trial Of Cobiprostone For Prevention Of NSAID-Induced Gastrointestinal Injuries
Sucampo Pharma Americas, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCMP), today reported top-line results from its phase 2 clinical trial of orally administered cobiprostone for the prevention of gastric ulcers and other gastrointestinal injuries in patients treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). | 02 July 2009 |
| Sepracor Provides Update On Clinical Trials For SEP-225289 And LUNESTA(R) Pediatrics
Sepracor Inc. (Nasdaq: SEPR) announced that it has completed the analysis and validation of the preliminary results of a Phase II, 514-patient study evaluating the efficacy and safety of SEP-225289 for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder, including patients with melancholic and atypical features. | 02 July 2009 |
| Memory Decline In Mice Reversed By Blood Stem Cell Growth Factor
A human growth factor that stimulates blood stem cells to proliferate in the bone marrow reverses memory impairment in mice genetically altered to develop Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the University of South Florida and James A. | 02 July 2009 |
| UCB And Biogen Idec Discontinue Phase II Clinical Trial Of CDP323 - Analysis Showed No Clinically Relevant Benefit For Patients
UCB and Biogen Idec announced today the discontinuation of the Phase II clinical trial of CDP323 for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). Preliminary interim efficacy analysis showed that patients enrolled in this clinical trial did not benefit as expected from CDP323 compared to placebo after a six month treatment period. | 02 July 2009 |
| XenoPort Reports Positive Results From A Phase 2 Trial Of Arbaclofen Placarbil In Spinal Cord Injury Patients With Spasticity
XenoPort, Inc. (Nasdaq:XNPT) announced positive preliminary results from a Phase 2 clinical trial of arbaclofen placarbil (AP), also known as XP19986, for the treatment of patients with spasticity due to spinal cord injury (SCI). | 02 July 2009 |
| Lack Of Sleep Could Be More Dangerous For Women Than Men
Women who get less than the recommended eight hours sleep a night are at higher risk of heart disease and heart-related problems than men with the same sleeping patterns.Research by the University of Warwick and University College London has found that levels of inflammatory markers vary significantly with sleep duration in women, but not men. | 02 July 2009 |
| New Report Finds Obesity Epidemic Increases, Mississippi Weighs In As Heaviest State
Adult obesity rates increased in 23 states and did not decrease in a single state in the past year, according to F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009, a report released today by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). | 02 July 2009 |
| Hard To Treat Diseases (HTDS) Clinical Trial Update On Therapeutic Effects Of Combined Treatment With Ribavirin And Tiazofurin
Hard To Treat Diseases (HTDS) Chief Scientist with its Slavica BioChem subsidiary, Dr. Sanja Pekovic provided updates on recent clinical trials with animal subjects in regards to the use of Ribavirin And Tiazofurin for the potential treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). | 02 July 2009 |
| Peregrine Awarded European Patent For Innovative Labeling Technology Featured In New Study In The Journal Of Nuclear Medicine
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM) today announced that it has been awarded a European patent for a novel device and methods for linking biological agents to labels for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. | 02 July 2009 |
| DeCODE-led Megastudy Finds New Genetic Clues To Causes Of Schizophrenia
The largest study of the genetics of schizophrenia ever undertaken has revealed several new common single-letter variants in the sequence of the human genome (SNPs) linked to risk of the disease. | 02 July 2009 |
| Pfizer Discontinues Phase 3 Trial Of Sutent(R) In Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Pfizer Inc announced the discontinuation of the SUN 1122 Phase 3 trial that evaluated Sutent® (sunitinib malate) plus FOLFIRI (irinotecan plus infusional 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin) versus FOLFIRI alone for the first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). | 02 July 2009 |
| New Drug That Could Dramatically Speed Up The Elimination Of River Blindness Across Africa Begins Clinical Trial
A clinical trial is being launched in three African countries of a drug that could eliminate onchocerciasis, or river blindness, one of the leading infectious causes of blindness across Africa. | 02 July 2009 |
| Schering-Plough Announces Phase II And III Data For Corifollitropin Alfa
Schering-Plough Corp., (NYSE: SGP) announced results from the Phase III ENGAGE clinical trial demonstrating that a single injection of corifollitropin alfa, first in the class of sustained follicle stimulants, achieved similar efficacy to recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (rFSH) given once daily for seven days. | 02 July 2009 |
| Colorectal Cancer News | |
| Pfizer Discontinues Phase 3 Trial Of Sutent(R) In Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Pfizer Inc announced the discontinuation of the SUN 1122 Phase 3 trial that evaluated Sutent® (sunitinib malate) plus FOLFIRI (irinotecan plus infusional 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin) versus FOLFIRI alone for the first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). | 02 July 2009 |
| Colorectal Cancer - MDC Researchers Identify Genetic Markers For Metastasis Formation
Previously, only a few genes had been associated with the formation of metastases in colorectal cancer. Now, researchers of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Germany, have identified 115 genes that are disregulated both in the primary tumor and in its metastases. | 02 July 2009 |
| Complementary Medicine / Alternative Medicine News | |
| New Nutritional Supplement BioShield-Radiation(R) First To Offer Radiation Protection In Pill Form
After a series of comprehensive research studies and a governmental research initiative, a respected team of radiation biologists and antioxidant scientists at Premier Micronutrient Corporation has developed BioShield-Radiation® - a patented micronutrient formulation specifically designed to address oxidative stress produced by ionizing radiation. | 02 July 2009 |
| Compliance News | |
| Today's Selection Of Opinions And Editorials
Comparative-Effectiveness Research - Implications of the Federal Coordinating Council's Report The New England Journal Of Medicine Comparative patient-centered information is essential to translating new discoveries into better health outcomes, accelerating the application of beneficial innovations, and delivering the right treatment to the right patient at the right time (Conway and Clancy, 6/30). | 02 July 2009 |
| Cosmetic Medicine / Plastic Surgery News | |
| New Treatment For Receding Gums: No Pain, Lots Of Gain
Tufts dental researchers conducted a three-year follow-up study that examined the stability of a treatment option for receding gums and found that complete root coverage the goal of the surgery had been maintained. | 02 July 2009 |
| Men And Women Find Cosmetic Surgery Appealing When They Suffer Appearance-Based Rejection Sensitivity
Researchers have found that men and women who feel sensitive to rejection based on their physical appearance are more likely to express interest in having cosmetic surgery than those who are less sensitive to appearance-based rejection. | 02 July 2009 |
| Dentistry News | |
| Minimise Risks Of Phone Consultations, Warns Summons, Scotland
GP phone consultations carry definite risks, warns an article in the current edition of Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS) magazine Summons today (Thursday, 2 July).Latest data suggests that between a tenth and a fifth of all daytime contacts between patients and GP surgeries are by phone, says the article, by GP and GP trainer Dr Malcolm Thomas. | 02 July 2009 |
| Longevity Of Dental Fillings May Be Increased By Nanotechnology
Tooth-colored fillings may be more attractive than silver ones, but the bonds between the white filling and the tooth quickly age and degrade. A Medical College of Georgia researcher hopes a new nanotechnology technique will extend the fillings' longevity. | 02 July 2009 |
| Today's Selection Of Opinions And Editorials
Comparative-Effectiveness Research - Implications of the Federal Coordinating Council's Report The New England Journal Of Medicine Comparative patient-centered information is essential to translating new discoveries into better health outcomes, accelerating the application of beneficial innovations, and delivering the right treatment to the right patient at the right time (Conway and Clancy, 6/30). | 02 July 2009 |
| Other "-Caines" Often Replace Novocaine In The Dentist's Office - Chemical & Engineering News
Novocaine? Not necessarily. The widespread belief that dentists rely on Novocaine to make those office visits almost painless needs some updating, according to an article scheduled for the June 29 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine. | 02 July 2009 |
| New Treatment For Receding Gums: No Pain, Lots Of Gain
Tufts dental researchers conducted a three-year follow-up study that examined the stability of a treatment option for receding gums and found that complete root coverage the goal of the surgery had been maintained. | 02 July 2009 |
| History Of Periodontitis Linked To Cerebrovascular Disease In Men
The potential role of periodontitis, an inflammatory disease of the gums, in the risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly ischemic stroke, has received growing attention during the last decade. | 02 July 2009 |
| Acidic Drinks Worse For Teeth Than Whitening
With the increasing popularity of whitening one's teeth, researchers at the Eastman Institute for Oral Health, part of the University of Rochester Medical Center, set out to learn if there are negative effects on the tooth from using whitening products. | 02 July 2009 |
| Depression News | |
| Sepracor Provides Update On Clinical Trials For SEP-225289 And LUNESTA(R) Pediatrics
Sepracor Inc. (Nasdaq: SEPR) announced that it has completed the analysis and validation of the preliminary results of a Phase II, 514-patient study evaluating the efficacy and safety of SEP-225289 for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder, including patients with melancholic and atypical features. | 02 July 2009 |
| No 'Empty Nest Syndrome' For Parents In Rural Thailand
So-called 'empty nest syndrome' does not affect parents living in rural areas as much as previously thought, according to a new study carried out in Thailand. In fact, parents whose children have all migrated to urban areas of Thailand are less likely to experience depression than parents whose children stay at home. | 02 July 2009 |
| Dermatology News | |
| Provectus Pharmaceuticals Completes Patient Accrual In Initial Phase 2 Study Of PH-10 For Atopic Dermatitis
Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTC BB: PVCT), a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, has completed patient accrual for its Phase 2 study of PH-10 for atopic dermatitis. | 02 July 2009 |
| Take Care Health Systems Expands Treatment For Skin Conditions And Minor Injuries
Take Care Health Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walgreens (NYSE:WAG) (NASDAQ:WAG) and the largest and most comprehensive provider of convenient care clinics and worksite health and wellness centers in the country, is now offering a new set of procedures for skin conditions and minor injury treatments. | 02 July 2009 |
| Diabetes News | |
| Study Indicates Support Group Attendance Improves Post-Surgical Weight Loss
Major scientific contributors within the bariatric and psychiatric industries publicized the results of a recent study demonstrating that LAP-BAND(R) patients who regularly attend support groups experience considerably higher rates of post-surgical weight loss. | 02 July 2009 |
| Lap-Band Weight-Loss Surgery Can Reverse Metabolic Syndrome In Obese Teens
A new study of obese adolescents has shown that laparoscopic gastric banding surgery -- the "Lap-Band" procedure -- not only helps them achieve significant weight loss but can also improve and even reverse metabolic syndrome, reducing their risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. | 02 July 2009 |
| Endocrinology News | |
| Swedish Discovery May Provide New Treatments For Alcohol Dependence
Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg, have discovered a new brain mechanism involved in alcohol addiction involving the stomach hormone ghrelin. When ghrelin's actions in the brain are blocked, alcohol's effects on the reward system are reduced. | 02 July 2009 |
| Epilepsy News | |
| Liver Transplantation After Drug Induced Acute Liver Failure Examined By Study
Liver transplantation offers a good chance for survival for patients with drug induced acute liver failure, however, certain pre-transplant factors are associated with worse outcomes. Patients who are on life support, who have elevated serum creatinine, and children whose liver failure was caused by antiepileptic drugs did not fare as well after transplantation. | 02 July 2009 |
| Eye Health / Blindness News | |
| New Drug That Could Dramatically Speed Up The Elimination Of River Blindness Across Africa Begins Clinical Trial
A clinical trial is being launched in three African countries of a drug that could eliminate onchocerciasis, or river blindness, one of the leading infectious causes of blindness across Africa. | 02 July 2009 |
| Echo-Location In Humans Developed By Spanish Scientists
A team of researchers from the University of Alcalá de Henares (UAH) has shown scientifically that human beings can develop echolocation, the system of acoustic signals used by dolphins and bats to explore their surroundings. | 02 July 2009 |
| Fertility News | |
| Evidence Challenges Effectiveness Of Embryo Screening For Older Women
There is growing evidence that a procedure for identifying chromosomal abnormalities in embryos prior to in vitro fertilization is ineffective at helping older women become pregnant, the Wall Street Journal reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Cook Medical Introduces The Guardia™ Pro Protective Embryo Transfer Catheter
The Guardia Pro Protective Embryo Transfer Catheteris uniquely engineered to protect and guide embryos through cervical mucus and blood and to eliminate the need for cervical flushing or aspiration prior to transfer. | 02 July 2009 |
| Will IVF Work For A Particular Patient? The Answer May Be Found In Her Blood
For the first time, researchers have been able to identify genetic predictors of the potential success or failure of IVF treatment in blood. Dr. Cathy Allen, from the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, Ireland, told the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Wednesday 1 July) that her research would help understand why IVF works for some patients but not for others. | 02 July 2009 |
| Chromosomal Problems Affect Nearly All Human Embryos; Discovery May Explain Low Fertility Rates In Humans
For the first time, scientists have shown that chromosomal abnormalities are present in more than 90% of IVF embryos, even those produced by young, fertile couples. Ms Evelyne Vanneste, a PhD student in the Centre for Human Genetics and the University Fertility Center, Leuven University, Belgium, told the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Wednesday July 1), that the surprising finding meant that current techniques used in preimplantation genetic screening (PGS), where embryos are screened genetically in order to select the best embryo for transfer, do nothing to improve pregnancy and live birth rates. | 02 July 2009 |
| Schering-Plough Announces Phase II And III Data For Corifollitropin Alfa
Schering-Plough Corp., (NYSE: SGP) announced results from the Phase III ENGAGE clinical trial demonstrating that a single injection of corifollitropin alfa, first in the class of sustained follicle stimulants, achieved similar efficacy to recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (rFSH) given once daily for seven days. | 02 July 2009 |
| Availability Of IVF Treatment In UK Still Poor Compared With Rest Of Europe
Commenting on the news announced today by ESHRE's European IVF monitoring consortium on the improvements in the quality, safety and efficacy of ART, Clare Lewis-Jones MBE, Chief Executive of Infertility Network UK said "We are angry that although the UK pioneered infertility treatment, we are still among the lowest providers in Europe of NHS treatment, and these figures show that availability in the UK is less than one third of that in Denmark. | 02 July 2009 |
| Flu / Cold / SARS News | |
| Roche To Offer Developing Countries Discounted Tamiflu
The pharmaceutical company Roche on Wednesday announced a program to help ensure developing countries have access to its antiviral Tamiflu, for "the management of a novel influenza strain defined by the WHO as having significant and current pandemic potential," Reuters reports (Egenter, 7/1). | 02 July 2009 |
| Swine Flu Daily Update Issued At: 11am Tuesday 30 June 2009, Wales
-- 26 confirmed cases in Wales, with 9 new cases: - A 25-year-old male from Cardiff who is a healthcare worker at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff. The infection is related to travel and not to another case of swine flu in a healthcare worker at the same hospital. | 02 July 2009 |
| Don't Throw Swine Flu Parties, Say Northern Ireland Doctors
Throwing "swine flu parties" in an attempt to get immunity against the virus while it is a fairly mild form is not a good idea, the BMA said yesterday, 1 July 2009.Reports have emerged of people intentionally mixing with friends who have flu. | 02 July 2009 |
| GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology News | |
| Sucampo Reports Top-Line Results Of Phase 2 Clinical Trial Of Cobiprostone For Prevention Of NSAID-Induced Gastrointestinal Injuries
Sucampo Pharma Americas, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCMP), today reported top-line results from its phase 2 clinical trial of orally administered cobiprostone for the prevention of gastric ulcers and other gastrointestinal injuries in patients treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). | 02 July 2009 |
| Genetics News | |
| Immune System Link To Schizophrenia Identified By UCLA Collaboration
Schizophrenia is a devastating mental disease, thought to be caused by the interaction of both genetic and environmental factors. Because there is no biochemical test that can identify the disorder, physicians rely upon the recognition of its symptoms - which can include auditory hallucinations and paranoia - in order to make their diagnosis. | 02 July 2009 |
| Virus-Gene Therapy Combination Being Tested Against Melanoma
Researchers at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center are injecting a modified herpes virus into melanoma tumors, hoping to kill the cancer cells while also bolstering the body's immune defenses against the disease. | 02 July 2009 |
| $500,000 Gruber Genetics Prize Awarded To Cancer Geneticist Janet Davison Rowley
Janet Davison Rowley, MD, a founder in the field of cancer cytogenetics and a renowned leader in molecular oncology, will receive the 2009 Genetics Prize of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation. | 02 July 2009 |
| $500,000 Gruber Neuroscience Prize Awarded To Hall, Rosbash And Young
The 2009 Neuroscience Prize of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation is being awarded to Jeffrey Hall, professor of neurogenetics at the University of Maine; Michael Rosbash, professor and director of the National Center for Behavioral Genomics at Brandeis University; and Michael Young, professor and head of the Laboratory of Genetics at Rockefeller University. | 02 July 2009 |
| 2009 Dr. Paul Janssen Award For Biomedical Research Won By Axel Ullrich
Johnson & Johnson has announced that Axel Ullrich, Ph.D., director of the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany, whose discoveries have led to novel cancer therapies including Herceptin® (trastuzumab) , is the winner of the 2009 Dr. | 02 July 2009 |
| Evidence Challenges Effectiveness Of Embryo Screening For Older Women
There is growing evidence that a procedure for identifying chromosomal abnormalities in embryos prior to in vitro fertilization is ineffective at helping older women become pregnant, the Wall Street Journal reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Successful Initial Safety Tests For Genetically-modified Rice That Fights Allergy - Journal Of Agricultural And Food Chemistry
In a first-of-its-kind advance toward the next generation of genetically modified foods - intended to improve consumers' health - researchers in Japan are reporting that a new transgenic rice designed to fight a common pollen allergy appears safe in animal studies. | 02 July 2009 |
| Scientists Uncover Patterns Of Genetic Changes In Mental Retardation
Researchers at Radboud University Medical Centre, together with UK Medical Research Council scientists at Oxford University, have uncovered some of the central characteristics of genes underlying mental retardation. | 02 July 2009 |
| Chromosomal Problems Affect Nearly All Human Embryos; Discovery May Explain Low Fertility Rates In Humans
For the first time, scientists have shown that chromosomal abnormalities are present in more than 90% of IVF embryos, even those produced by young, fertile couples. Ms Evelyne Vanneste, a PhD student in the Centre for Human Genetics and the University Fertility Center, Leuven University, Belgium, told the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Wednesday July 1), that the surprising finding meant that current techniques used in preimplantation genetic screening (PGS), where embryos are screened genetically in order to select the best embryo for transfer, do nothing to improve pregnancy and live birth rates. | 02 July 2009 |
| Study Rewrites Textbook On Key Genetic Phenomenon
Because females carry two copies of the X chromosome to males' one X and one Y, they harbor a potentially toxic double dose of the over 1000 genes that reside on the X chromosome.To compensate for this imbalance, mammals such as mice and humans shut down one entire X-chromosome through a phenomenon known as X-inactivation. | 02 July 2009 |
| DeCODE-led Megastudy Finds New Genetic Clues To Causes Of Schizophrenia
The largest study of the genetics of schizophrenia ever undertaken has revealed several new common single-letter variants in the sequence of the human genome (SNPs) linked to risk of the disease. | 02 July 2009 |
| Biological 'Fountain Of Youth' Discovered In New World Bat Caves
Scientists from Texas are batty over a new discovery which could lead to the single most important medical breakthrough in human history - significantly longer lifespans. The discovery, featured on the cover of the July 2009 print issue of The FASEB Journal, shows that proper protein folding over time in long-lived bats explains why they live significantly longer than other mammals of comparable size, such as mice. | 02 July 2009 |
| Health Insurance / Medical Insurance News | |
| 'Underinsured' Face Financial And Coverage Problems
Health care is increasingly expensive, including for the insured, and many insurance plans offer only limited benefits and a false sense of security. The New York Times reports that "an estimated three-quarters of people who are pushed into personal bankruptcy by medical problems actually had insurance when they got sick or were injured. | 02 July 2009 |
| Two Doctors Share Their Expectations For Health Reform
Two doctors with over 30 years of experience spoke with National Public Radio about how medicine has changed over their careers, and what they expect to see come out of the current health reform debate. | 02 July 2009 |
| Ad Update: Religious Groups Back Reform, Unions Target Senators' Tax Plans
"Labor unions are showing their increasing displeasure over [health reform] financing proposals that target their healthcare benefits by launching attack ads against key lawmakers, causing the Senate's leading advocate of taxing such benefits to seek an end to one especially aggressive campaign," Congress Daily reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Questions Linger Over Pharmaceutical Deal Agreement To Cut Costs
"As details emerge of the pharmaceutical industry's agreement to kick in $80 billion to help pay for health care reform, the deal is facing increasing skepticism from inside and outside the health care industry," Politico reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Wal-Mart Backs Employer Mandate On Insurance
"In a major break with most other large companies, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Tuesday told the White House that it supports requiring employers to provide health insurance to workers, a centerpiece of President Barack Obama's effort to provide near-universal coverage to Americans," The Wall Street Journal reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| New Poll Suggests Slim Majority Favors Obama Plan
A new poll conducted by CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation released Wednesday says that 51 percent of people favor the president's health reform plan while 45 percent oppose it, CNN reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Congressional Recess: Senators Talk Health Reform With Voters, Staffs Toil On Bills
Three Republican senators took their case against Democrats' health reform to a Texas Medical Center gathering Tuesday, warning that a government insurance option is a "gateway to a single-payer system," The Houston Chronicle reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| White House Refines Health Reform Message
As the White House declines direct comment on pending health care reform bills in Congress, President Obama is readying his message ahead of his second town hall meeting in as many weeks, Roll Call reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Hearing / Deafness News | |
| Echo-Location In Humans Developed By Spanish Scientists
A team of researchers from the University of Alcalá de Henares (UAH) has shown scientifically that human beings can develop echolocation, the system of acoustic signals used by dolphins and bats to explore their surroundings. | 02 July 2009 |
| Heart Disease News | |
| New Product For Pfizer Specialty Takes Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension To Heart
Pfizer Australia announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the local distribution rights for THELIN® (Sitaxentan sodium), an oral, once-daily highly selective endothelin receptor antagonist, indicated for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients with NYHA/WHO Functional Class III symptoms to improve exercise ability. | 02 July 2009 |
| HIV / AIDS News | |
| African Institutions Lead International Consortia In $49 Million Initiative
More than fifty institutions from eighteen African countries - from Senegal to Sudan to South Africa - are to participate in international consortia under a £30 million initiative from the Wellcome Trust to strengthen research capacity on the continent. | 02 July 2009 |
| Editorial Urges Broader HIV Testing In South Carolina, Across Nation
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control "has prioritized testing" for HIV and offered free or low-cost testing at events in conjunction with National HIV Testing Day last week, an Orangeburg Times and Democrat editorial states, adding, "The importance of testing is not to be forgotten the other 364 days of the year. | 02 July 2009 |
| White House Officials Used Twitter, Ashton Kutcher To Promote HIV Testing Day
The White House sought the help of actor Ashton Kutcher to promote National HIV Testing Day on June 27, through his Twitter page, Politico reports. Kutcher has over 2.5 million followers on Twitter, where he recently posted a link to a White House blog post and video commemorating the day. | 02 July 2009 |
| Study Examines PEPFAR Efforts In Zambia
A report from researchers at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States examines how $577 million in PEPFAR funding between 2004 and 2008 was used in Zambia, PlusNews/IRIN reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Also In Global Health News: HIV & TB; ITN Program; DRC's Health System
HIV-Positive Babies More Likely To Contract Deadly TB If Given BCG A three-year study in South Africa found that babies who were born HIV-positive had a higher risk of contracting a deadly form of tuberculosis if given the widely used BCG vaccine, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| The Mystery Of Why HIV Patients Are More Susceptible To TB Infection Solved By Harvard Scientists
A team of Harvard scientists has taken an important first step toward the development of new treatments to help people with HIV battle Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) infection. In their report, appearing in the July 2009 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology they describe how HIV interferes with the cellular and molecular mechanisms used by the lungs to fight TB infection. | 02 July 2009 |
| Hypertension News | |
| New Product For Pfizer Specialty Takes Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension To Heart
Pfizer Australia announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the local distribution rights for THELIN® (Sitaxentan sodium), an oral, once-daily highly selective endothelin receptor antagonist, indicated for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients with NYHA/WHO Functional Class III symptoms to improve exercise ability. | 02 July 2009 |
| Immune System / Vaccines News | |
| Immune System Link To Schizophrenia Identified By UCLA Collaboration
Schizophrenia is a devastating mental disease, thought to be caused by the interaction of both genetic and environmental factors. Because there is no biochemical test that can identify the disorder, physicians rely upon the recognition of its symptoms - which can include auditory hallucinations and paranoia - in order to make their diagnosis. | 02 July 2009 |
| Also In Global Health News: HIV & TB; ITN Program; DRC's Health System
HIV-Positive Babies More Likely To Contract Deadly TB If Given BCG A three-year study in South Africa found that babies who were born HIV-positive had a higher risk of contracting a deadly form of tuberculosis if given the widely used BCG vaccine, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| History Of Periodontitis Linked To Cerebrovascular Disease In Men
The potential role of periodontitis, an inflammatory disease of the gums, in the risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly ischemic stroke, has received growing attention during the last decade. | 02 July 2009 |
| Examining The Risk Of Tuberculosis From Arthritis Medication
Treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents is recognized as a risk factor for tuberculosis (TB) in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease, psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis. | 02 July 2009 |
| Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses News | |
| Texas Department Of State Health Services Urges Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis Precautions
The Texas Department of State Health Services is reminding swimmers and skiers to take precautions to avoid infection from Naegleria fowleri, an ameba assumed to be present in all rivers, lakes, ponds, tanks and streams. | 02 July 2009 |
| Virus-Gene Therapy Combination Being Tested Against Melanoma
Researchers at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center are injecting a modified herpes virus into melanoma tumors, hoping to kill the cancer cells while also bolstering the body's immune defenses against the disease. | 02 July 2009 |
| Hospital-Acquired Infections Tied To Nurse Staffing Ratios
The public was well-served today with the release of a report by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) about hospital-acquired infection rates at specific facilities in New York State. | 02 July 2009 |
| Targeting Human And Animal Diseases In Africa: Research Network Wins Approximately £5.7 Million
Deadly diseases including plague, Ebola and Rift Valley Fever are being targeted as part of a new multi-million pound international partnership involving African researchers and the London International Development Centre (LIDC). | 02 July 2009 |
| Mechanics Of Bacteria Colonies Measured By New Lab-On-A-Chip
Researchers at the University of Michigan have devised a microscale tool to help them understand the mechanical behavior of biofilms, slimy colonies of bacteria involved in most human infectious diseases. | 02 July 2009 |
| Study Provides Greater Understanding Of Lyme Disease-Causing Bacteria
Lyme disease in the U.S. is caused by the tick-borne bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and usually begins with a skin lesion, after which the bacteria spread throughout the body to the nervous system, heart or joints. | 02 July 2009 |
| IT / Internet / E-mail News | |
| The United Nations To Launch "Texting4Health" In Uganda
The UN is launching, on Wednesday the 1st of July 2009, a ten-day initiative intended to reach out to 10,000 people in Uganda through mobile phones to demonstrate the reach and potential use of mobile phones in health information and promotion. | 02 July 2009 |
| White House Officials Used Twitter, Ashton Kutcher To Promote HIV Testing Day
The White House sought the help of actor Ashton Kutcher to promote National HIV Testing Day on June 27, through his Twitter page, Politico reports. Kutcher has over 2.5 million followers on Twitter, where he recently posted a link to a White House blog post and video commemorating the day. | 02 July 2009 |
| Drug & Alcohol Action Team Uses SAS To Tackle Drugs And Save Lives By Improving Joined-Up Delivery
The London Borough of Croydon's Drug & Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) is using SAS software to achieve better results in its efforts to get more people into drug treatment, reduce drug-related crime and empower the local community to resist drug misuse. | 02 July 2009 |
| Litigation / Medical Malpractice News | |
| Occupational Therapist Suspended For Lack Of Competence
Occupational therapist, Ms Hannah McIlhinney has been suspended from the HPC Register for lack of competence whilst working for the Greater Glasgow & Clyde NHS trust. A panel of the HPC Conduct and Competence Committee heard how Ms McIlhinney had been employed on a six month contract during which time it quickly became apparent that she had difficulties making the transition from being a student to a basic grade occupational therapist and a number of deficiencies in her practice in a clinical setting had emerged early in her employment. | 02 July 2009 |
| Franken To Be Seated As Minn. Senator, Will Serve On HELP, Judiciary Committees
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously voted to uphold Al Franken's (D) win in the 2008 U.S. Senate election in Minnesota, effectively clearing the way for Franken to become the state's newest senator, the Wall Street Journal reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Liver Disease / Hepatitis News | |
| Liver Transplantation After Drug Induced Acute Liver Failure Examined By Study
Liver transplantation offers a good chance for survival for patients with drug induced acute liver failure, however, certain pre-transplant factors are associated with worse outcomes. Patients who are on life support, who have elevated serum creatinine, and children whose liver failure was caused by antiepileptic drugs did not fare as well after transplantation. | 02 July 2009 |
| Lung Cancer News | |
| Gefitinib Receives European Licence For The Treatment Of Lung Cancer For Patients With EGFR Activating Mutation Positive Tumours
AstraZeneca announced that it has received a licence by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for its oral targeted anti-cancer drug, gefitinib, for EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase) activating mutation positive patients with Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). | 02 July 2009 |
| Lymphoma / Leukemia News | |
| $500,000 Gruber Genetics Prize Awarded To Cancer Geneticist Janet Davison Rowley
Janet Davison Rowley, MD, a founder in the field of cancer cytogenetics and a renowned leader in molecular oncology, will receive the 2009 Genetics Prize of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation. | 02 July 2009 |
| Medical Devices / Diagnostics News | |
| Cook Medical Introduces The Guardia™ Pro Protective Embryo Transfer Catheter
The Guardia Pro Protective Embryo Transfer Catheteris uniquely engineered to protect and guide embryos through cervical mucus and blood and to eliminate the need for cervical flushing or aspiration prior to transfer. | 02 July 2009 |
| Mechanics Of Bacteria Colonies Measured By New Lab-On-A-Chip
Researchers at the University of Michigan have devised a microscale tool to help them understand the mechanical behavior of biofilms, slimy colonies of bacteria involved in most human infectious diseases. | 02 July 2009 |
| Acidic Drinks Worse For Teeth Than Whitening
With the increasing popularity of whitening one's teeth, researchers at the Eastman Institute for Oral Health, part of the University of Rochester Medical Center, set out to learn if there are negative effects on the tooth from using whitening products. | 02 July 2009 |
| Medical Students / Training News | |
| An Increase In Indigenous Medical Students Will Help Close The Gap, Australia
The Australian Medical Students' Association (AMSA) Global Health Conference continues today, with the focus turning towards our own backyard. Medical Students will join leaders in Indigenous health to discuss and debate possible strategies to address the 17-year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. | 02 July 2009 |
| Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP News | |
| State Senior And Disabilities Services Responds To Federal Review
The state Division of Senior and Disabilities Services is working this summer in coordination with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve its compliance with federal standards in the areas of Home and Community Based Medicaid Waivers and Personal Care Services (Personal Care Assistance). | 02 July 2009 |
| Colorado Medicaid Cuts Some Services For Developmentally Disabled
"Cuts to Medicaid benefits for hundreds of developmentally disabled people in Colorado take effect today, a move that will be devastating, caretakers and advocates say," The Gazette reports. "Annual payments for services such as transportation and work programs are being cut by at least half for about 700 Coloradans with developmental disabilities . | 02 July 2009 |
| Veterans Affairs Provides Underused Monthly Pension Benefit While Medicaid Receives Increased Attention
Medicaid receives increased attention while an underused, special monthly pension benefit called Aid and Attendance can help veterans, and spouses, with assisted living. Newsday reports that the "pension benefit may be available to wartime veterans and surviving spouses who have in-home care or who live in nursing homes or assisted-living facilities" and that "eligible veterans need not have served overseas or in combat; they must have served during the period of a war: World War II, Dec. | 02 July 2009 |
| Drug Industry Increases Lobbying Efforts And Targets Democrats
The drug industry began ramping up its lobbying efforts in 2003, when Medicare Part D began, and now is targeting Democrats. CQ Politics reports: "The industry is increasingly employing Democratic lobbyists with ties to the Obama administration and congressional leaders such as Sen. | 02 July 2009 |
| Avalere Estimates Medicare Part D 'Donut Hole' Will Be Obsolete In 2023
Today's 65 year old Medicare Part D beneficiary will be 79 when the coverage gap, or 'donut hole,' is eliminated, says a new analysis of proposed legislation from the House of Representatives released today by Avalere Health. | 02 July 2009 |
| Melanoma / Skin Cancer News | |
| Virus-Gene Therapy Combination Being Tested Against Melanoma
Researchers at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center are injecting a modified herpes virus into melanoma tumors, hoping to kill the cancer cells while also bolstering the body's immune defenses against the disease. | 02 July 2009 |
| Men's health News | |
| Prostate-Specific Antigen: To Test Or Not To Test, From Harvard Men's Health Watch
One of the most controversial issues in men's health is whether men should routinely have a blood test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) to screen for prostate cancer. Some experts argue that PSA testing saves lives by helping detect this common form of cancer early. | 02 July 2009 |
| Menopause News | |
| Aclasta(R) (zoledronic Acid 5mg) Approved In EU To Treat Steroid Induced Osteoporosis In Men And Post-menopausal Women
Aclasta® (zoledronic acid 5 mg)[1] has been approved in the European Union to treat men and post-menopausal women with osteoporosis caused by the long-term use of glucocorticoids, commonly known as steroids. | 02 July 2009 |
| Mental Health News | |
| When Husbands Work In US, Mexican Wives' Mental Health Dives
Selected highlights from a new study on immigration, health and gender roles: Mexican wives who stay home when their husbands immigrate to the United States for work have poorer mental health than a comparison group. | 02 July 2009 |
| Mental Health America Establishes Regional Policy Council To Strengthen State Advocacy Work
Mental Health America announced the establishment of a Regional Policy Council made up of 10 affiliate policy leaders from around the country to strengthen its state advocacy work. Each member of the council will work with Mental Health America's Advocacy and State Policy Department and Mental Health America's Board and Public Policy Committee to strengthen relationships with and between affiliates, and communicate with the national office and affiliates regarding policy priorities, advocacy activities, and technical assistance and training needs. | 02 July 2009 |
| MRSA / Drug Resistance News | |
| Newborn ICUs Seeing More Antibiotic-Resistant Staph Infections
The rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in U.S. neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) has more than tripled in recent years, reports a study in the July issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. | 02 July 2009 |
| Multiple Sclerosis News | |
| UCB And Biogen Idec Discontinue Phase II Clinical Trial Of CDP323 - Analysis Showed No Clinically Relevant Benefit For Patients
UCB and Biogen Idec announced today the discontinuation of the Phase II clinical trial of CDP323 for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). Preliminary interim efficacy analysis showed that patients enrolled in this clinical trial did not benefit as expected from CDP323 compared to placebo after a six month treatment period. | 02 July 2009 |
| Hard To Treat Diseases (HTDS) Clinical Trial Update On Therapeutic Effects Of Combined Treatment With Ribavirin And Tiazofurin
Hard To Treat Diseases (HTDS) Chief Scientist with its Slavica BioChem subsidiary, Dr. Sanja Pekovic provided updates on recent clinical trials with animal subjects in regards to the use of Ribavirin And Tiazofurin for the potential treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). | 02 July 2009 |
| Important Modulator Of Immune Cell Entry Into The Brain Discovered
Researchers in Berlin, Germany have ameliorated inflammation of the brain in mice caused by immune cells. A receptor they discovered on the surface of T cells in the central nervous system (CNS) plays the key role. | 02 July 2009 |
| Muscular Dystrophy / ALS News | |
| CytRx Files Report With The FDA In Response To The Partial Clinical Hold On Its Phase 2b Arimoclomol ALS Trial
CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ:CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and development company engaged in the development of high-value human therapeutics, has filed a report with the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) in response to the Agency's partial clinical hold on the Company's Phase 2b efficacy clinical trial with its molecular chaperone regulator drug candidate arimoclomol for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). | 02 July 2009 |
| Neurology / Neuroscience News | |
| $500,000 Gruber Neuroscience Prize Awarded To Hall, Rosbash And Young
The 2009 Neuroscience Prize of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation is being awarded to Jeffrey Hall, professor of neurogenetics at the University of Maine; Michael Rosbash, professor and director of the National Center for Behavioral Genomics at Brandeis University; and Michael Young, professor and head of the Laboratory of Genetics at Rockefeller University. | 02 July 2009 |
| Deep Brain Stimulation Shows Promising Results For Some Patients With Cerebral Palsy
Deep brain stimulation improves movement skills and quality of life in some patients with a subtype of cerebral palsy (CP) (dystonia-choreoathetosis CP)*, and could be an effective treatment option for these patients, finds an Article published Online first and in the July edition of The Lancet Neurology. | 02 July 2009 |
| XenoPort Reports Positive Results From A Phase 2 Trial Of Arbaclofen Placarbil In Spinal Cord Injury Patients With Spasticity
XenoPort, Inc. (Nasdaq:XNPT) announced positive preliminary results from a Phase 2 clinical trial of arbaclofen placarbil (AP), also known as XP19986, for the treatment of patients with spasticity due to spinal cord injury (SCI). | 02 July 2009 |
| Scientists Uncover Patterns Of Genetic Changes In Mental Retardation
Researchers at Radboud University Medical Centre, together with UK Medical Research Council scientists at Oxford University, have uncovered some of the central characteristics of genes underlying mental retardation. | 02 July 2009 |
| Peregrine Awarded European Patent For Innovative Labeling Technology Featured In New Study In The Journal Of Nuclear Medicine
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM) today announced that it has been awarded a European patent for a novel device and methods for linking biological agents to labels for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. | 02 July 2009 |
| Important Modulator Of Immune Cell Entry Into The Brain Discovered
Researchers in Berlin, Germany have ameliorated inflammation of the brain in mice caused by immune cells. A receptor they discovered on the surface of T cells in the central nervous system (CNS) plays the key role. | 02 July 2009 |
| Neupro(R), The Only Transdermal Patch For Restless Legs Syndrome, Now Available In The UK
The only transdermal patch in the UK for the symptomatic treatment of moderate to severe idiopathic Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) in adults was launched by UCB. Applied once-a-day, Neupro® (rotigotine transdermal patch) allows for continuous drug delivery to provide stable drug levels in the bloodstream 24 hours a day and improves symptom control day and night. | 02 July 2009 |
| Parkinson's Disease Alters Patient's Ability To Learn From Rewards While Treatment Affects Ability To Learn From Negative Outcomes
A new neuropsychological memory test is helping to uncover how Parkinson's disease can alter people's ability to learn about the consequences of the choices they make. The test was developed by Dr. | 02 July 2009 |
| Study Provides Greater Understanding Of Lyme Disease-Causing Bacteria
Lyme disease in the U.S. is caused by the tick-borne bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and usually begins with a skin lesion, after which the bacteria spread throughout the body to the nervous system, heart or joints. | 02 July 2009 |
| Swedish Discovery May Provide New Treatments For Alcohol Dependence
Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg, have discovered a new brain mechanism involved in alcohol addiction involving the stomach hormone ghrelin. When ghrelin's actions in the brain are blocked, alcohol's effects on the reward system are reduced. | 02 July 2009 |
| Nutrition / Diet News | |
| Connecticut Health Department Urges Food Safety When Grilling Outdoors
Summer is the season for sizzling - steaks, chicken, ribs, veggie kabobs and much more. The Connecticut Department of Public Health reminds everyone that food safety is essential when grilling outdoors and offers tips to ensure that family barbecues and backyard picnics remain fun, healthy outings. | 02 July 2009 |
| The Multiple Health Benefits Of Dairy Foods Examined By New Science Review
WHAT: Food prices rose by 5.5 percent in the past year and are expected to increase up to an additional 4 percent in 2009. Americans are seeking to get the most out of their dollar, and since together, dairy foods provide a unique package of nine essential nutrients, they are a nutritional bang for the buck. | 02 July 2009 |
| For Research On Protective Effects Of Fish Oil In Stroke LSUHSC MD/PHD Student Awarded NIH Grant
Tiffany Niemoller, a 5th year MD/PhD student at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies, has been awarded a grant in the amount of $148,480 over four years by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health. | 02 July 2009 |
| Seasonal Hunger Devastating And Under Recognized
Most of the world's acute hunger and undernutrition occurs not in conflicts and natural disasters but in the annual "hunger season," according to an article in this week's open access journal PLoS Medicine. | 02 July 2009 |
| Brittle Table Salt Can Stretch Like Taffy In The Nanoworld - Nano Letters
Researchers in New Mexico are reporting the surprise discovery that common table salt - so brittle that it crushes easily between a thumb and forefinger - becomes a super plastic in the weird environs of the nanoworld. | 02 July 2009 |
| Successful Initial Safety Tests For Genetically-modified Rice That Fights Allergy - Journal Of Agricultural And Food Chemistry
In a first-of-its-kind advance toward the next generation of genetically modified foods - intended to improve consumers' health - researchers in Japan are reporting that a new transgenic rice designed to fight a common pollen allergy appears safe in animal studies. | 02 July 2009 |
| Food For Thought: Report Published Into The UK's Health
Medical scientists from Southampton have contributed to a major new report published today, setting out plans to enhance the nation's health by improving diet, increasing physical activity and cutting harmful drinking. | 02 July 2009 |
| Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness News | |
| Study Indicates Support Group Attendance Improves Post-Surgical Weight Loss
Major scientific contributors within the bariatric and psychiatric industries publicized the results of a recent study demonstrating that LAP-BAND(R) patients who regularly attend support groups experience considerably higher rates of post-surgical weight loss. | 02 July 2009 |
| Lap-Band Weight-Loss Surgery Can Reverse Metabolic Syndrome In Obese Teens
A new study of obese adolescents has shown that laparoscopic gastric banding surgery -- the "Lap-Band" procedure -- not only helps them achieve significant weight loss but can also improve and even reverse metabolic syndrome, reducing their risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. | 02 July 2009 |
| New Report Finds Obesity Epidemic Increases, Mississippi Weighs In As Heaviest State
Adult obesity rates increased in 23 states and did not decrease in a single state in the past year, according to F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009, a report released today by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). | 02 July 2009 |
| Pain / Anesthetics News | |
| FDA Panel Votes To Restrict Acetaminophen
An advisory committee to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted on Tuesday to recommend new restrictions on the popular pain relief drug acetaminophen (known in many other countries as paracetamol), which is found in many US top selling over the counter medications such as Tylenol, aspirin-free Anacin, Excedrin, and also in prescription drugs such as Vicodin and Percocet. | 02 July 2009 |
| Post-Surgery Distress In Children Eased By Hormone Treatment
A scary unknown for many children, the prospect of surgery can cause intense preoperative anxiety. While some amount of stress is normal, what many parents do not know is that extreme anxiety before surgery can contribute to the occurrence of emergence delirium, a distressing incidence of acute behavioral changes experienced when "waking up" from anesthesia. | 02 July 2009 |
| Other "-Caines" Often Replace Novocaine In The Dentist's Office - Chemical & Engineering News
Novocaine? Not necessarily. The widespread belief that dentists rely on Novocaine to make those office visits almost painless needs some updating, according to an article scheduled for the June 29 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine. | 02 July 2009 |
| Palliative Care / Hospice Care News | |
| BMA Reaffirms Opposition To Assisted Suicide, UK
Doctors have reaffirmed their opposition to assisted suicide following a debate at the BMA's Annual Conference in Liverpool yesterday. Doctors rejected calls from Thameside doctor, Kailash Chand to change legislation to allow the choice of an assisted death by patients who are terminally ill and who have mental capacity. | 02 July 2009 |
| Parkinson's Disease News | |
| Parkinson's Disease Alters Patient's Ability To Learn From Rewards While Treatment Affects Ability To Learn From Negative Outcomes
A new neuropsychological memory test is helping to uncover how Parkinson's disease can alter people's ability to learn about the consequences of the choices they make. The test was developed by Dr. | 02 July 2009 |
| Pediatrics / Children's Health News | |
| Governor Rell: State Of Connecticut To Receive $3.75 Million Grant To Enhance Heath Care Access For At-Risk Mothers
Governor M. Jodi Rell announced that the State of Connecticut is receiving $3.75 million federal grant to expand access to health care in Hartford for low-income women nearing childbirth to ensure their newborns get a healthy start. | 02 July 2009 |
| Sepracor Provides Update On Clinical Trials For SEP-225289 And LUNESTA(R) Pediatrics
Sepracor Inc. (Nasdaq: SEPR) announced that it has completed the analysis and validation of the preliminary results of a Phase II, 514-patient study evaluating the efficacy and safety of SEP-225289 for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder, including patients with melancholic and atypical features. | 02 July 2009 |
| The Multiple Health Benefits Of Dairy Foods Examined By New Science Review
WHAT: Food prices rose by 5.5 percent in the past year and are expected to increase up to an additional 4 percent in 2009. Americans are seeking to get the most out of their dollar, and since together, dairy foods provide a unique package of nine essential nutrients, they are a nutritional bang for the buck. | 02 July 2009 |
| Post-Surgery Distress In Children Eased By Hormone Treatment
A scary unknown for many children, the prospect of surgery can cause intense preoperative anxiety. While some amount of stress is normal, what many parents do not know is that extreme anxiety before surgery can contribute to the occurrence of emergence delirium, a distressing incidence of acute behavioral changes experienced when "waking up" from anesthesia. | 02 July 2009 |
| Intervention Program Targets Siblings
"Siblings are Special," a pilot prevention program targeting fifth graders and their younger siblings, recently received $1.45 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse as part of the National Institutes of Health's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding. | 02 July 2009 |
| Texas Medical Association Agrees: Texas Children Need Access To Health Care
Statement from Texas Medical Association President William H. Fleming III, MD, in response to today's press conference by Sen. Eliot Shapleigh (D-El Paso) and Rep. Garnet Coleman (D-Houston). | 02 July 2009 |
| Michigan Report Shows Decline In Teen Pregnancy, Improvement In Prenatal Care
Michigan from 1992 to 2007 experienced improvements in rates of teenage pregnancies, smoking among pregnant women, and six other indicators of maternal and infant health, though there was an increase in out-of-wedlock births and low-birthweight infants, according to a Michigan League for Human Services report issued Tuesday, the Detroit News reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Medarex To Receive Milestone Payment For The Approval Of Ilaris For The Treatment Of Cryopyrin-Associated Periodic Syndrome
Medarex, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDX) announced it will receive a milestone payment of an undisclosed amount from Novartis Pharma AG (Novartis), in connection with the marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to market Ilaris® (canakinumab, previously known as ACZ885) for the treatment of children as young as four years old and adults with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome, or CAPS, a serious life-long auto-inflammatory disease caused by rare genetic mutations. | 02 July 2009 |
| Cook Medical Introduces The Guardia™ Pro Protective Embryo Transfer Catheter
The Guardia Pro Protective Embryo Transfer Catheteris uniquely engineered to protect and guide embryos through cervical mucus and blood and to eliminate the need for cervical flushing or aspiration prior to transfer. | 02 July 2009 |
| Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry News | |
| Drug Industry Increases Lobbying Efforts And Targets Democrats
The drug industry began ramping up its lobbying efforts in 2003, when Medicare Part D began, and now is targeting Democrats. CQ Politics reports: "The industry is increasingly employing Democratic lobbyists with ties to the Obama administration and congressional leaders such as Sen. | 02 July 2009 |
| Questions Linger Over Pharmaceutical Deal Agreement To Cut Costs
"As details emerge of the pharmaceutical industry's agreement to kick in $80 billion to help pay for health care reform, the deal is facing increasing skepticism from inside and outside the health care industry," Politico reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Roche To Offer Developing Countries Discounted Tamiflu
The pharmaceutical company Roche on Wednesday announced a program to help ensure developing countries have access to its antiviral Tamiflu, for "the management of a novel influenza strain defined by the WHO as having significant and current pandemic potential," Reuters reports (Egenter, 7/1). | 02 July 2009 |
| Potential New Drugs: 970 Million And Still Counting - Journal Of The American Chemical Society
Like astronomers counting stars in the familiar universe of outer space, chemists in Switzerland are reporting the latest results of a survey of chemical space - the so-called chemical universe where tomorrow's miracle drugs may reside. | 02 July 2009 |
| Pharmacy / Pharmacist News | |
| FDA Panel Votes To Restrict Acetaminophen
An advisory committee to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted on Tuesday to recommend new restrictions on the popular pain relief drug acetaminophen (known in many other countries as paracetamol), which is found in many US top selling over the counter medications such as Tylenol, aspirin-free Anacin, Excedrin, and also in prescription drugs such as Vicodin and Percocet. | 02 July 2009 |
| Closer Working Between GPs And Community Pharmacists Would Save Lives And Improve NHS Cost Effectiveness And Care Quality
The NHS Chief Executive has recently warned that the NHS could have to make 'unprecedented' efficiency savings of up to £20 billion between 2011 and 2014. David Nicholson's Annual Report1 also emphasised that services should where possible move out of hospital to primary care and into the community, to allow both better quality and improved productivity. | 02 July 2009 |
| Pharmacies Urged To Register From 1 - 31 July 2009 To Receive Early-bird Payment
Community pharmacies are urged to register to participate in Phase 2 of the Dose Administration Aids (DAA) and Patient Medication Profile (PMP) programs. Pharmacies registering from 1 to 31 July 2009 will be eligible for the full incentive payment of $2,250 for DAA and $1,250 for PMP (+GST). | 02 July 2009 |
| Potential New Drugs: 970 Million And Still Counting - Journal Of The American Chemical Society
Like astronomers counting stars in the familiar universe of outer space, chemists in Switzerland are reporting the latest results of a survey of chemical space - the so-called chemical universe where tomorrow's miracle drugs may reside. | 02 July 2009 |
| Pregnancy / Obstetrics News | |
| Governor Rell: State Of Connecticut To Receive $3.75 Million Grant To Enhance Heath Care Access For At-Risk Mothers
Governor M. Jodi Rell announced that the State of Connecticut is receiving $3.75 million federal grant to expand access to health care in Hartford for low-income women nearing childbirth to ensure their newborns get a healthy start. | 02 July 2009 |
| Prime Minister Pledges Action On Maternal Mortality, UK
Today, the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said he was determined to keep the issue of maternal mortality high on the agenda of the G8 summit in Italy next week. Speaking after meeting with midwives and doctors from the Global Maternal Mortality Campaign, the Prime Minister said: "It's outrageous that one woman dies every minute in childbirth, despite an agreement to tackle this in 2000. | 02 July 2009 |
| Michigan Report Shows Decline In Teen Pregnancy, Improvement In Prenatal Care
Michigan from 1992 to 2007 experienced improvements in rates of teenage pregnancies, smoking among pregnant women, and six other indicators of maternal and infant health, though there was an increase in out-of-wedlock births and low-birthweight infants, according to a Michigan League for Human Services report issued Tuesday, the Detroit News reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Pregnancy Complications May Increase Autism Risk
Complications during pregnancy may increase the risk of having a child with autism, according to American researchers. The team reviewed 64 studies of prenatal risk factors for autism. It is the first time a meta-analysis of the relationship between pregnancy-related factors and risk of autism has been carried out. | 02 July 2009 |
| IPS Examines Obstetric Fistula In Southern Senegal
Inter Press Service News Agency examines the prevalence of obstetric fistula in the southern region of Senegal. According to state reproductive health officials in the town of Kolda, 58 percent of births take place at home without medical assistance. | 02 July 2009 |
| Will IVF Work For A Particular Patient? The Answer May Be Found In Her Blood
For the first time, researchers have been able to identify genetic predictors of the potential success or failure of IVF treatment in blood. Dr. Cathy Allen, from the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, Ireland, told the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Wednesday 1 July) that her research would help understand why IVF works for some patients but not for others. | 02 July 2009 |
| Cancer Survivors At Greater Risk Of Birth Complications; Special Monitoring Needed
Survivors of childhood cancer run particular risks when pregnant and should be closely monitored, the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology heard today (Wednesday 1 July). | 02 July 2009 |
| Teva Announces Approval And Launch Of Tri-Lo Sprintec Tablets
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for the Company's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to market a generic version of Ortho McNeil Janssen's oral contraceptive, Ortho Tri-Cyclen® Lo. | 02 July 2009 |
| Preventive Medicine News | |
| Intervention Program Targets Siblings
"Siblings are Special," a pilot prevention program targeting fifth graders and their younger siblings, recently received $1.45 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse as part of the National Institutes of Health's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding. | 02 July 2009 |
| Primary Care / General Practice News | |
| Closer Working Between GPs And Community Pharmacists Would Save Lives And Improve NHS Cost Effectiveness And Care Quality
The NHS Chief Executive has recently warned that the NHS could have to make 'unprecedented' efficiency savings of up to £20 billion between 2011 and 2014. David Nicholson's Annual Report1 also emphasised that services should where possible move out of hospital to primary care and into the community, to allow both better quality and improved productivity. | 02 July 2009 |
| Today's Selection Of Opinions And Editorials
Comparative-Effectiveness Research - Implications of the Federal Coordinating Council's Report The New England Journal Of Medicine Comparative patient-centered information is essential to translating new discoveries into better health outcomes, accelerating the application of beneficial innovations, and delivering the right treatment to the right patient at the right time (Conway and Clancy, 6/30). | 02 July 2009 |
| Two Doctors Share Their Expectations For Health Reform
Two doctors with over 30 years of experience spoke with National Public Radio about how medicine has changed over their careers, and what they expect to see come out of the current health reform debate. | 02 July 2009 |
| New Survey Shows That Welsh Patients Are Happy With Their GPs
The results of the first Welsh GP patient survey have been published recently. The survey, published on the Welsh Assembly Government website, shows that high numbers of patients in Wales are happy with the service and treatment they receive from their GPs. | 02 July 2009 |
| Prostate / Prostate Cancer News | |
| Prostate-Specific Antigen: To Test Or Not To Test, From Harvard Men's Health Watch
One of the most controversial issues in men's health is whether men should routinely have a blood test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) to screen for prostate cancer. Some experts argue that PSA testing saves lives by helping detect this common form of cancer early. | 02 July 2009 |
| Advanced Prostate Cancer - New Review On PROSTVAC(TM) Published By Key Investigators From NCI
A just published Review in the publication "Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs", Volume 18, Issue 7 2009, confirms the previous published information on PROSTVAC(TM). This is the most comprehensive and updated Review on PROSTVAC(TM) so far. | 02 July 2009 |
| Psychology / Psychiatry News | |
| When Husbands Work In US, Mexican Wives' Mental Health Dives
Selected highlights from a new study on immigration, health and gender roles: Mexican wives who stay home when their husbands immigrate to the United States for work have poorer mental health than a comparison group. | 02 July 2009 |
| No 'Empty Nest Syndrome' For Parents In Rural Thailand
So-called 'empty nest syndrome' does not affect parents living in rural areas as much as previously thought, according to a new study carried out in Thailand. In fact, parents whose children have all migrated to urban areas of Thailand are less likely to experience depression than parents whose children stay at home. | 02 July 2009 |
| Scientists Uncover Patterns Of Genetic Changes In Mental Retardation
Researchers at Radboud University Medical Centre, together with UK Medical Research Council scientists at Oxford University, have uncovered some of the central characteristics of genes underlying mental retardation. | 02 July 2009 |
| Schizophrenia And Bipolar Disorder Share Many Common Genetic Variants Says International Research Consortium
A new study by a large international consortium found that many common genetic variants contribute up to a third of a person's risk of inheriting schizophrenia and many of the same DNA variations are also involved in bipolar disorder. | 02 July 2009 |
| Study Indicates Support Group Attendance Improves Post-Surgical Weight Loss
Major scientific contributors within the bariatric and psychiatric industries publicized the results of a recent study demonstrating that LAP-BAND(R) patients who regularly attend support groups experience considerably higher rates of post-surgical weight loss. | 02 July 2009 |
| A Combination Of Common Genetic Variations Can Lead To Schizophrenia
A multi-national group of investigators, including a scientist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has discovered that nearly a third of the genetic basis of schizophrenia may be attributed to the cumulative actions of thousands of common genetic variants. | 02 July 2009 |
| VYVANSE CII Provided Significant Efficacy At 14 Hours After Administration In Adults With ADHD In An Adult Simulated Workplace Environment
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced results from a Phase 3b study that found VYVANSE® (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) CII demonstrated significant efficacy at 14 hours after administration during a simulated workplace environment study in adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). | 02 July 2009 |
| Men And Women Find Cosmetic Surgery Appealing When They Suffer Appearance-Based Rejection Sensitivity
Researchers have found that men and women who feel sensitive to rejection based on their physical appearance are more likely to express interest in having cosmetic surgery than those who are less sensitive to appearance-based rejection. | 02 July 2009 |
| Public Health News | |
| HCL Welcomes Government Proposals For More Flexible NHS, UK
HCL plc, the UK's largest health and social care recruitment agency, said the Government's proposals to reform the NHS by devolving power to frontline professionals and patients will mean a greater need for flexible staffing and more collaboration between the public and private sectors. | 02 July 2009 |
| Illinois Department Of Public Health Director Offers Tips For A Safe And Healthy Holiday Weekend
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Damon T. Arnold wants to remind you of some steps you can take to ensure a safe and healthy Fourth of July. Food SafetyPicnics and cookouts top the list of summer activities. | 02 July 2009 |
| Human Milk And Blood Serum SRMs For Contaminant Measurements Issued By National Institute Of Standards And Technology
Responding to scientists' need to measure organic contaminants in human body fluids, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has recently made four new Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) available for purchase. | 02 July 2009 |
| The United Nations To Launch "Texting4Health" In Uganda
The UN is launching, on Wednesday the 1st of July 2009, a ten-day initiative intended to reach out to 10,000 people in Uganda through mobile phones to demonstrate the reach and potential use of mobile phones in health information and promotion. | 02 July 2009 |
| University Of Queensland To Provide Ipswich Healthcare Boost With $2.5m Super Clinic, Australia
The University of Queensland will establish a $2.5million GP Super Clinic at Ipswich that will focus on key local health issues. The Australian Government has signed an agreement with the University to develop the Ipswich GP Super Clinic which will have a standard GP service for management of acute presentations complemented by a focus on chronic disease and mental health. | 02 July 2009 |
| Veterans Affairs Provides Underused Monthly Pension Benefit While Medicaid Receives Increased Attention
Medicaid receives increased attention while an underused, special monthly pension benefit called Aid and Attendance can help veterans, and spouses, with assisted living. Newsday reports that the "pension benefit may be available to wartime veterans and surviving spouses who have in-home care or who live in nursing homes or assisted-living facilities" and that "eligible veterans need not have served overseas or in combat; they must have served during the period of a war: World War II, Dec. | 02 July 2009 |
| Ad Update: Religious Groups Back Reform, Unions Target Senators' Tax Plans
"Labor unions are showing their increasing displeasure over [health reform] financing proposals that target their healthcare benefits by launching attack ads against key lawmakers, causing the Senate's leading advocate of taxing such benefits to seek an end to one especially aggressive campaign," Congress Daily reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Red Cross Offers Helpful Water Safety Tips As Holiday Weekend Approaches
Now that the warm weather has arrived, there's nothing like swimming to help cool you off on a hot summer day. The American Red Cross urges everyone to make water safety a priority over the holiday weekend, whether you are taking a dip in the pool, or spending the day at the beach: "With so many families planning to visit beaches and pools, it's important for parents to make water safety a priority," says Scott Conner, Senior Vice President for Preparedness and Health and Safety Services for the Red Cross. | 02 July 2009 |
| Funding, Restrictions Keep WFP From Reaching Millions Of Hungry North Koreans
The U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) said Wednesday a "lack of international funding and new restrictions by North Korea on its staff and where it can operate has left it unable to reach millions of hungry women and children in the impoverished country," AP/Taiwan News reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Lautenberg Announces Nearly $17 Million For 20 Health Centers Across New Jersey
Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) announced 20 New Jersey health centers will receive $16,987,384 to address facility and equipment needs, increase access to health care for underserved populations, and create construction-related jobs. | 02 July 2009 |
| No Evidence That WHO-recommended Treatment For Insecticide Poisoning Improves Survival
A study published this week in the open access journal PLoS Medicine finds no evidence to suggest that a controversial antidote recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to treat patients poisoned with highly toxic insecticides improves their chance of survival. | 02 July 2009 |
| Burgess Response To President Obama's Answer To His Question On Medical Liability Reform
During today's White House online town hall on health care, a question was submitted by Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), Chairman of the Congressional Health Care Caucus. Following President Obama's response to the question on medical liability reform, Congressman Burgess issued the following statement: "First and foremost, I would like to thank those of you who viewed my YouTube question to President Obama for today's White House online town hall on health care. | 02 July 2009 |
| New Jersey Leaders Detail Savings For Health Reform
Saying that the savings from chronic disease prevention and treatment "can fill the funding gap for health care reform," the New Jersey Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) was joined by key state business leaders in urging federal lawmakers to "take the savings and run" with a health care reform bill that works for all Americans. | 02 July 2009 |
| Swine Flu Daily Update Issued At: 11am Tuesday 30 June 2009, Wales
-- 26 confirmed cases in Wales, with 9 new cases: - A 25-year-old male from Cardiff who is a healthcare worker at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff. The infection is related to travel and not to another case of swine flu in a healthcare worker at the same hospital. | 02 July 2009 |
| BMA Reaffirms Opposition To Assisted Suicide, UK
Doctors have reaffirmed their opposition to assisted suicide following a debate at the BMA's Annual Conference in Liverpool yesterday. Doctors rejected calls from Thameside doctor, Kailash Chand to change legislation to allow the choice of an assisted death by patients who are terminally ill and who have mental capacity. | 02 July 2009 |
| Don't Throw Swine Flu Parties, Say Northern Ireland Doctors
Throwing "swine flu parties" in an attempt to get immunity against the virus while it is a fairly mild form is not a good idea, the BMA said yesterday, 1 July 2009.Reports have emerged of people intentionally mixing with friends who have flu. | 02 July 2009 |
| COAG Should Maintain Focus On Improving Indigenous Health, Australia
Tomorrow's Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting is a crucial opportunity to focus on achieving concrete long-term health improvements for Indigenous people, the AMA said. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) will meet in Darwin tomorrow (Thursday) to discuss a strategic national plan for closing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. | 02 July 2009 |
| Heatwave Warning Issued - Level 3, UK
The Met Office has raised the heatwave warning alert again today on behalf of the Department of Health. The highest temperatures today will be to the west of London where 31-32 degrees celsius should be reached. | 02 July 2009 |
| Radiology / Nuclear Medicine News | |
| New Nutritional Supplement BioShield-Radiation(R) First To Offer Radiation Protection In Pill Form
After a series of comprehensive research studies and a governmental research initiative, a respected team of radiation biologists and antioxidant scientists at Premier Micronutrient Corporation has developed BioShield-Radiation® - a patented micronutrient formulation specifically designed to address oxidative stress produced by ionizing radiation. | 02 July 2009 |
| Regulatory Affairs / Drug Approvals News | |
| FDA Panel Votes To Restrict Acetaminophen
An advisory committee to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted on Tuesday to recommend new restrictions on the popular pain relief drug acetaminophen (known in many other countries as paracetamol), which is found in many US top selling over the counter medications such as Tylenol, aspirin-free Anacin, Excedrin, and also in prescription drugs such as Vicodin and Percocet. | 02 July 2009 |
| Medarex To Receive Milestone Payment For The Approval Of Ilaris For The Treatment Of Cryopyrin-Associated Periodic Syndrome
Medarex, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDX) announced it will receive a milestone payment of an undisclosed amount from Novartis Pharma AG (Novartis), in connection with the marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to market Ilaris® (canakinumab, previously known as ACZ885) for the treatment of children as young as four years old and adults with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome, or CAPS, a serious life-long auto-inflammatory disease caused by rare genetic mutations. | 02 July 2009 |
| POZEN Submits New Drug Application For VIMOVO™ (PN 400)
POZEN Inc. (NASDAQ:POZN), announced the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the marketing approval of VIMOVO™ (PN 400), the combination of enteric coated (EC) naproxen and immediate release esomeprazole. | 02 July 2009 |
| CytRx Files Report With The FDA In Response To The Partial Clinical Hold On Its Phase 2b Arimoclomol ALS Trial
CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ:CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and development company engaged in the development of high-value human therapeutics, has filed a report with the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) in response to the Agency's partial clinical hold on the Company's Phase 2b efficacy clinical trial with its molecular chaperone regulator drug candidate arimoclomol for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). | 02 July 2009 |
| FDA Approves Feraheme™ To Treat Iron Deficiency Anemia In Adult Chronic Kidney Disease Patients
AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAG) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing approval for Feraheme™ (ferumoxytol) Injection for intravenous (IV) use as an iron replacement therapy for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in adult patients with chronic kidney disease. | 02 July 2009 |
| Teva Announces Approval And Launch Of Tri-Lo Sprintec Tablets
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for the Company's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to market a generic version of Ortho McNeil Janssen's oral contraceptive, Ortho Tri-Cyclen® Lo. | 02 July 2009 |
| Respiratory / Asthma News | |
| Gefitinib Receives European Licence For The Treatment Of Lung Cancer For Patients With EGFR Activating Mutation Positive Tumours
AstraZeneca announced that it has received a licence by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for its oral targeted anti-cancer drug, gefitinib, for EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase) activating mutation positive patients with Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). | 02 July 2009 |
| MPs Debate 'Blatant Discrimination' Of Oyxgen Users, UK
Yesterday MPs debated the discrimination that people with a lung condition can experience when they travel on planes. People with lung conditions such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Pulmonary Hypertension often require additional supplementary oxygen due to the low levels of oxygen in their blood. | 02 July 2009 |
| Schizophrenia News | |
| Schizophrenia Linked For First Time To Chromosome Region In Study Led By Stanford Scientists
Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have played a major role in an international effort that has shown, for the first time, that modern genetic technologies can solve the riddle of how gene variations lead to schizophrenia. | 02 July 2009 |
| Immune System Link To Schizophrenia Identified By UCLA Collaboration
Schizophrenia is a devastating mental disease, thought to be caused by the interaction of both genetic and environmental factors. Because there is no biochemical test that can identify the disorder, physicians rely upon the recognition of its symptoms - which can include auditory hallucinations and paranoia - in order to make their diagnosis. | 02 July 2009 |
| Schizophrenia And Bipolar Disorder Share Many Common Genetic Variants Says International Research Consortium
A new study by a large international consortium found that many common genetic variants contribute up to a third of a person's risk of inheriting schizophrenia and many of the same DNA variations are also involved in bipolar disorder. | 02 July 2009 |
| A Combination Of Common Genetic Variations Can Lead To Schizophrenia
A multi-national group of investigators, including a scientist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has discovered that nearly a third of the genetic basis of schizophrenia may be attributed to the cumulative actions of thousands of common genetic variants. | 02 July 2009 |
| DeCODE-led Megastudy Finds New Genetic Clues To Causes Of Schizophrenia
The largest study of the genetics of schizophrenia ever undertaken has revealed several new common single-letter variants in the sequence of the human genome (SNPs) linked to risk of the disease. | 02 July 2009 |
| Seniors / Aging News | |
| State Senior And Disabilities Services Responds To Federal Review
The state Division of Senior and Disabilities Services is working this summer in coordination with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve its compliance with federal standards in the areas of Home and Community Based Medicaid Waivers and Personal Care Services (Personal Care Assistance). | 02 July 2009 |
| For Research On Protective Effects Of Fish Oil In Stroke LSUHSC MD/PHD Student Awarded NIH Grant
Tiffany Niemoller, a 5th year MD/PhD student at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies, has been awarded a grant in the amount of $148,480 over four years by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health. | 02 July 2009 |
| Drug Industry Increases Lobbying Efforts And Targets Democrats
The drug industry began ramping up its lobbying efforts in 2003, when Medicare Part D began, and now is targeting Democrats. CQ Politics reports: "The industry is increasingly employing Democratic lobbyists with ties to the Obama administration and congressional leaders such as Sen. | 02 July 2009 |
| Increasing Age Of Mothers In Spain Leads To Rise In Mortality Rates
A new study examining the evolution of maternal mortality rates in Spain since 1996 shows a 17% increase in deaths. This trend is linked to the widespread increase in maternal age. The highest death rates are among foreign women and those who live in the province of Malaga. | 02 July 2009 |
| Complaints By The Elderly Valuable Information Or Trivialities?
What is done when the elderly lodge complaints about their services? elderly care? Why is it that staff describe complaints made by the elderly as "trivialities"? In two recent studies, Tove Persson, doctoral student at the School of Health Sciences, shows that staff, as well as social services directors in local administrations often trivialize complaints from the elderly, which in turn makes it difficult for the elderly to influence their everyday lives. | 02 July 2009 |
| Biological 'Fountain Of Youth' Discovered In New World Bat Caves
Scientists from Texas are batty over a new discovery which could lead to the single most important medical breakthrough in human history - significantly longer lifespans. The discovery, featured on the cover of the July 2009 print issue of The FASEB Journal, shows that proper protein folding over time in long-lived bats explains why they live significantly longer than other mammals of comparable size, such as mice. | 02 July 2009 |
| Sexual Health / STDs News | |
| IOM Panel's Comparative Effectiveness Report Includes Pregnancy Prevention Measures
The U.S. should conduct research to compare the effectiveness of innovative programs aimed at preventing unintended pregnancy, according to a report issued Tuesday by a congressionally convened Institute of Medicine panel, the New York Times reports (Meier, New York Times, 7/1). | 02 July 2009 |
| Chlamydia Infection - The Most Commonly Reported Sexually Transmitted Infection In Europe - ECDC Issues Chlamydia Control Guidance
In the coming summer months it is estimated that 200,000 young people in Europe will become infected with Chlamydia and most of them won't know that they are infected. Chlamydia trachomatis, the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection in Europe, continues to increase in many countries. | 02 July 2009 |
| Study Examines PEPFAR Efforts In Zambia
A report from researchers at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States examines how $577 million in PEPFAR funding between 2004 and 2008 was used in Zambia, PlusNews/IRIN reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia News | |
| Lack Of Sleep Could Be More Dangerous For Women Than Men
Women who get less than the recommended eight hours sleep a night are at higher risk of heart disease and heart-related problems than men with the same sleeping patterns.Research by the University of Warwick and University College London has found that levels of inflammatory markers vary significantly with sleep duration in women, but not men. | 02 July 2009 |
| Smoking / Quit Smoking News | |
| Pfizer Updates CHANTIX(R) (varenicline) Labeling In The United States
Pfizer Inc announced that it has updated the U.S. product labeling for CHANTIX® (varenicline), a prescription aid to smoking cessation treatment, to communicate important safety information in a boxed warning as well as in revised warnings and precautions. | 02 July 2009 |
| New Study Shows Many Unplanned Quit Smoking Attempts Are Successful
Data published in the journal, Nicotine and Tobacco Research, shows that many U.S. quit attempts are unplanned and can be a successful route to cessation. In the study, almost 40 percent of subjects reported that their most recent quit attempt started without any advance planning, suggesting that for some smokers, setting an advance quit date may not be as necessary as once thought. | 02 July 2009 |
| Sports Medicine / Fitness News | |
| UPMC Sports Medicine Urges Sedentary, Over-40 Adults To Enroll In 'Start' Fitness Program
Start, a lifestyle-changing fitness program at the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine, currently is enrolling adults over age 40 for its summer session. Beginning July 18, sports medicine professionals will guide participants through fitness and education sessions twice weekly for three months, preparing them to run or walk the 5K portion of the Richard S. | 02 July 2009 |
| Stem Cell Research News | |
| Memory Decline In Mice Reversed By Blood Stem Cell Growth Factor
A human growth factor that stimulates blood stem cells to proliferate in the bone marrow reverses memory impairment in mice genetically altered to develop Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the University of South Florida and James A. | 02 July 2009 |
| Cord Blood Awareness Month: Understanding Still Low, Despite Medical Advancements
Despite rapid advances using a child's own cord blood stem cells in regenerative therapies to repair damaged tissue due to injury or disease, most pregnant women today don't learn about the ability to save their newborn's cord blood. | 02 July 2009 |
| Stroke News | |
| For Research On Protective Effects Of Fish Oil In Stroke LSUHSC MD/PHD Student Awarded NIH Grant
Tiffany Niemoller, a 5th year MD/PhD student at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies, has been awarded a grant in the amount of $148,480 over four years by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health. | 02 July 2009 |
| History Of Periodontitis Linked To Cerebrovascular Disease In Men
The potential role of periodontitis, an inflammatory disease of the gums, in the risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly ischemic stroke, has received growing attention during the last decade. | 02 July 2009 |
| Swine Flu News | |
| Roche To Offer Developing Countries Discounted Tamiflu
The pharmaceutical company Roche on Wednesday announced a program to help ensure developing countries have access to its antiviral Tamiflu, for "the management of a novel influenza strain defined by the WHO as having significant and current pandemic potential," Reuters reports (Egenter, 7/1). | 02 July 2009 |
| Swine Flu Daily Update Issued At: 11am Tuesday 30 June 2009, Wales
-- 26 confirmed cases in Wales, with 9 new cases: - A 25-year-old male from Cardiff who is a healthcare worker at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff. The infection is related to travel and not to another case of swine flu in a healthcare worker at the same hospital. | 02 July 2009 |
| Don't Throw Swine Flu Parties, Say Northern Ireland Doctors
Throwing "swine flu parties" in an attempt to get immunity against the virus while it is a fairly mild form is not a good idea, the BMA said yesterday, 1 July 2009.Reports have emerged of people intentionally mixing with friends who have flu. | 02 July 2009 |
| Transplants / Organ Donations News | |
| Liver Transplantation After Drug Induced Acute Liver Failure Examined By Study
Liver transplantation offers a good chance for survival for patients with drug induced acute liver failure, however, certain pre-transplant factors are associated with worse outcomes. Patients who are on life support, who have elevated serum creatinine, and children whose liver failure was caused by antiepileptic drugs did not fare as well after transplantation. | 02 July 2009 |
| Tropical Diseases News | |
| New UK Drive To End Malaria Deaths
An additional 30 million bed nets, the development of life-saving new treatments and new funding to increase access to anti-malarial drugs are announced today in a package of measures by International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander, as the UK continues its fight to rid the world of malaria. | 02 July 2009 |
| African Institutions Lead International Consortia In $49 Million Initiative
More than fifty institutions from eighteen African countries - from Senegal to Sudan to South Africa - are to participate in international consortia under a £30 million initiative from the Wellcome Trust to strengthen research capacity on the continent. | 02 July 2009 |
| Targeting Human And Animal Diseases In Africa: Research Network Wins Approximately £5.7 Million
Deadly diseases including plague, Ebola and Rift Valley Fever are being targeted as part of a new multi-million pound international partnership involving African researchers and the London International Development Centre (LIDC). | 02 July 2009 |
| Kenya Malaria Study Shows One-Third Of Patients Receive ACTs
Just about one-third of people seeking malaria treatment in Kenya received the recommended artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) and some people are being treated with ineffective drugs like chloroquine, which was phased out almost 10 years ago, according to the recently launched 2007 Kenya Malaria Indicator Survey - the country's "first ever comprehensive malaria study," the Daily Nation reports (Gathura/Cheboi, 6/30). | 02 July 2009 |
| Tuberculosis News | |
| African Institutions Lead International Consortia In $49 Million Initiative
More than fifty institutions from eighteen African countries - from Senegal to Sudan to South Africa - are to participate in international consortia under a £30 million initiative from the Wellcome Trust to strengthen research capacity on the continent. | 02 July 2009 |
| Benefits Of Anti-TB Plan Would Dwarf Costs In Sub-Saharan Africa
A diverse international network has proposed to significantly increase the resources devoted to fighting tuberculosis, the second most deadly of the world's infectious diseases. The "Global Plan to Stop TB" would step up use of treatments and techniques that have proved effective in fighting the disease, but would the benefits of the additional effort outweigh the costs? In sub-Saharan Africa, the answer is yes, according to an analysis published today on the Health Affairs Web site. | 02 July 2009 |
| Also In Global Health News: HIV & TB; ITN Program; DRC's Health System
HIV-Positive Babies More Likely To Contract Deadly TB If Given BCG A three-year study in South Africa found that babies who were born HIV-positive had a higher risk of contracting a deadly form of tuberculosis if given the widely used BCG vaccine, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Examining The Risk Of Tuberculosis From Arthritis Medication
Treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents is recognized as a risk factor for tuberculosis (TB) in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease, psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis. | 02 July 2009 |
| The Mystery Of Why HIV Patients Are More Susceptible To TB Infection Solved By Harvard Scientists
A team of Harvard scientists has taken an important first step toward the development of new treatments to help people with HIV battle Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) infection. In their report, appearing in the July 2009 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology they describe how HIV interferes with the cellular and molecular mechanisms used by the lungs to fight TB infection. | 02 July 2009 |
| Urology / Nephrology News | |
| Prostate-Specific Antigen: To Test Or Not To Test, From Harvard Men's Health Watch
One of the most controversial issues in men's health is whether men should routinely have a blood test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) to screen for prostate cancer. Some experts argue that PSA testing saves lives by helping detect this common form of cancer early. | 02 July 2009 |
| FDA Approves Feraheme™ To Treat Iron Deficiency Anemia In Adult Chronic Kidney Disease Patients
AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAG) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing approval for Feraheme™ (ferumoxytol) Injection for intravenous (IV) use as an iron replacement therapy for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in adult patients with chronic kidney disease. | 02 July 2009 |
| Veterans / Ex-Servicemen News | |
| Veterans Affairs Provides Underused Monthly Pension Benefit While Medicaid Receives Increased Attention
Medicaid receives increased attention while an underused, special monthly pension benefit called Aid and Attendance can help veterans, and spouses, with assisted living. Newsday reports that the "pension benefit may be available to wartime veterans and surviving spouses who have in-home care or who live in nursing homes or assisted-living facilities" and that "eligible veterans need not have served overseas or in combat; they must have served during the period of a war: World War II, Dec. | 02 July 2009 |
| Veterinary News | |
| Once-A-Month Pill For Both Fleas And Ticks In Fido And Fluffy - Journal Of Medicinal Chemistry
Scientists in New Jersey are describing discovery and successful tests of the first once-a-month pill for controlling both fleas and ticks in domestic dogs and cats. Their study is in the current issue of ACS' Journal of the Medicinal Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication. | 02 July 2009 |
| Water - Air Quality / Agriculture News | |
| Human Milk And Blood Serum SRMs For Contaminant Measurements Issued By National Institute Of Standards And Technology
Responding to scientists' need to measure organic contaminants in human body fluids, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has recently made four new Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) available for purchase. | 02 July 2009 |
| What Should Be Human Right
In this months editorial the Editors argue that-despite recent international objections- access to clean water should be recognised as a human right. At the March 2009 United Nations (UN) meetings coinciding with the World Water Forum, Canada, Russia, and the United States refused to support a declaration that would recognize water as a basic human right. | 02 July 2009 |
| PLoS Medicine Editorial Argues For Water Access To Be Considered Human Right
"As scientists warn that the world's fresh water supplies will soon run critically short, and companies scramble to privatize them, some researchers and activists say water should be considered a basic human right," Wired's blog, "Wired Science" writes of an editorial published in PLoS Medicine Tuesday (Keim, 6/30). | 02 July 2009 |
| Women's Health / Gynecology News | |
| Governor Rell: State Of Connecticut To Receive $3.75 Million Grant To Enhance Heath Care Access For At-Risk Mothers
Governor M. Jodi Rell announced that the State of Connecticut is receiving $3.75 million federal grant to expand access to health care in Hartford for low-income women nearing childbirth to ensure their newborns get a healthy start. | 02 July 2009 |
| When Husbands Work In US, Mexican Wives' Mental Health Dives
Selected highlights from a new study on immigration, health and gender roles: Mexican wives who stay home when their husbands immigrate to the United States for work have poorer mental health than a comparison group. | 02 July 2009 |
| New York Times Editorial Lauds Appointment Of White House Adviser On Violence Against Women
"Domestic violence is a serious law enforcement and public health problem affecting as many as one in four women in this country," but "Washington has devoted too little attention to reducing domestic violence and sexual assaults generally," a New York Times editorial states. | 02 July 2009 |
| Antiabortion-Rights Groups To Reintroduce Colorado Personhood Initiative
Colorado Right to Life and Personhood USA are proposing a 2010 state ballot initiative with a different version of 2008's defeated "personhood" amendment to the state constitution, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| Evidence Challenges Effectiveness Of Embryo Screening For Older Women
There is growing evidence that a procedure for identifying chromosomal abnormalities in embryos prior to in vitro fertilization is ineffective at helping older women become pregnant, the Wall Street Journal reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| NARAL Endorses Sen. Gillibrand's 2010 Bid For Full Senate Term
NARAL Pro-Choice America on Monday announced its endorsement of appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in her bid for a full term in 2010, Politico reports. New York Gov. David Paterson (D) in January appointed Gillibrand to fill the Senate seat vacated by U. | 02 July 2009 |
| Franken To Be Seated As Minn. Senator, Will Serve On HELP, Judiciary Committees
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously voted to uphold Al Franken's (D) win in the 2008 U.S. Senate election in Minnesota, effectively clearing the way for Franken to become the state's newest senator, the Wall Street Journal reports. | 02 July 2009 |
| IOM Panel's Comparative Effectiveness Report Includes Pregnancy Prevention Measures
The U.S. should conduct research to compare the effectiveness of innovative programs aimed at preventing unintended pregnancy, according to a report issued Tuesday by a congressionally convened Institute of Medicine panel, the New York Times reports (Meier, New York Times, 7/1). | 02 July 2009 |
| Increasing Age Of Mothers In Spain Leads To Rise In Mortality Rates
A new study examining the evolution of maternal mortality rates in Spain since 1996 shows a 17% increase in deaths. This trend is linked to the widespread increase in maternal age. The highest death rates are among foreign women and those who live in the province of Malaga. | 02 July 2009 |
| Teva Announces Approval And Launch Of Tri-Lo Sprintec Tablets
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for the Company's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to market a generic version of Ortho McNeil Janssen's oral contraceptive, Ortho Tri-Cyclen® Lo. | |
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