Cardiovascular
The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) announced they have released the 2009 updated Interventional Pain Management (IPM) guidelines.
Summaries of three opinion pieces related to health reform appear below.
Want to find an asthma education centre or a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) clinic near you? Need to get a lung function test and don"t know where to go?
Over 50 pharmacists have been trained to provide seasonal flu vaccinations under a private Patient Group Direction that the NPA is facilitating. Training days were conducted in London and Birmingham with further training days scheduled at the start of September 2009 in Newport, Durham, St Albans and Haydock.
Abortion coverage could become the next "sticking point" in debates over health reform between the House leadership and conservative Democrats, the Los Angeles Times reports. During most of the battle over a health care overhaul, abortion-related issues have taken a "back seat" to clashes between House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats over the cost of the House bill (HR 3200). However, reproductive health issues are increasingly coming into play, with some other conservative Democrats threatening to withdraw support for the bill if coverage of abortion services is not explicitly excluded from receiving federal funding. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and 18 fellow Democrats in June wrote a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stating that they "cannot support any health care proposal unless it excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan." According to the Times, Stupak has "vowed" to press Waxman to include restrictions on abortion coverage in the Energy and Commerce Committee"s version of the House bill. Abortion-rights supporter Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Rules Committee, opposes Stupak"s proposal. Slaughter spokesperson Vincent Morris said, "The starting point for Rep. Slaughter of the health care debate was protecting abortion rights."The Hyde Amendment currently prevents the use of federal Medicaid funds for abortion services. The reach of current law restrictions "grows murkier" if the government forms its own health insurance plan to compete with private insurers or creates a new market that allows the public to choose between various private plans, the Times reports. Both options are under consideration in Congress, and abortion-rights opponents fear that abortion services would be covered unless the language of the bill explicitly forbids it.Abortion-rights supporters argue that the bill would maintain the status quo, as insurance companies already are able to choose whether to cover abortion services. New government restrictions could mean that women seeking abortion coverage would have to choose a more expensive private plan rather than a lower-cost, government-subsidized option, according to abortion-rights advocates. Another concern, they say, is that insurers who currently cover abortion would discontinue that coverage to take advantage of government incentives. In a recent statement, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America said, "Opponents of women"s health and health care reform are exploiting health care reform as a way to push for unprecedented prohibitions on abortion coverage in the private marketplace."The Obama administration is attempting to remain neutral on the issue, the Times reports. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs recently said that "a benefit package is better left to experts in the medical field to determine how best and what procedures to cover." The House bill currently establishes a Health Benefits Advisory Committee to recommend which "essential benefits" should be covered under any government-supported insurance plan. In an interview with CBS News last week, President Obama said that he believes it is "appropriate for us to figure out how to just deliver on the cost savings and not get distracted by the abortion debate."According to the Times, the Obama administration"s silence on the issue is "precisely what worries" antiabortion-rights advocates. Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) said that Obama is "actually making an affirmative statement in favor of" federal funding for abortion services by not taking a stand on the issue (Oliphant, Los Angeles Times, 7/28).
A bill (HR 252) introduced this month in the Ohio House would require a pregnant woman seeking an abortion to obtain written consent from the fetus" biological father, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. If the woman does not know the identity of the biological father, she would have to provide proof of paternity tests of potential fathers. The bill is sponsored by Rep. John Adams (R) and co-sponsored by four other Republicans.The bill would establish "abortion fraud" as a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Repeat offenders could be charged with a fifth-degree felony, punishable by up to one year in jail and up to a $2,500 fine. The bill is not clear as to who could be fined or jailed. Becki Brenner, president of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio, said that she believes doctors would be the ones ultimately fined or jailed.Brenner criticized the bill, saying that a woman would have to pay at least $1,400 for each DNA test if she is unsure who the father is. Brenner called the legislation "a burden on a woman," adding that the whole purpose behind the bill is to make it harder to obtain a legal abortion. She said, "Hopefully, [the bill] won"t even get debate in the committee" because it is "blatantly anti-woman."Paula Westwood, executive director of Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati, said that her group supports the bill. She added, "I would think men would want to have these rights."According to the Enquirer, the bill does not have the support of the House Democratic majority. The current version of the bill has not been assigned to a committee, and it is unlikely to pass the House, much like past bills seeking new restrictions on abortion (Craig/Preston, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7/24).
"The current debate over government funding for abortion in the health care plan is a reminder of how we have failed poor women," Frances Kissling writes in a Salon opinion piece. According to Kissling, the 32-year-old Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortion services, has played a large role in denying impoverished women access to the procedure. "Restoring those funds has not been a top priority for pro-choice advocates, who sadly concluded that because the public does not care about poor women and is actually hostile to poor women who have sex and become pregnant, it would be futile to put too much capital into reversing Hyde," Kissling writes.However, "we have an opportunity to make amends" by reversing the Hyde Amendment and restoring federal funding for abortion services, according to Kissling. "But the portents are not promising," she writes, adding that a group of "pro-life" Democrats in the House in a recent letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) "laid down the first major antiabortion challenge to health care reform." In addition, the Obama administration "has refused to rule out including abortion in the health care package, but President Obama is already signaling that the status quo on abortion is likely to endure," Kissling writes."The longer it takes to pass a plan, the more momentum against including coverage for abortion -- and possibly contraception -- will build," Kissling writes, adding that "there is a good chance there will be limits on government funding for abortions in the health care package, if not outright exclusion." A compromise being considered by the House Energy and Commerce Committee would not prohibit or require private insurers offering government plans from covering abortions but would prohibit the use of federal funds to pay for them. "Whether this would result in a reduction of coverage in such plans is unclear, but it is possible," she continues."The timing is critical. The need is great, and growing," Kissling writes, adding, "If abortion services are excluded from the health care reform package, the number of women who will not be able to afford abortions is bound to rise and the number of unwanted children will increase." Kissling concludes, "One hears over and over again that we all agree that the health care system is broken; the status quo is not acceptable. The status quo on coverage for abortion is especially unacceptable" (Kissling, Salon, 7/27).
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a Public Health Advisory (PHA) warning consumers to stop using body building products that are represented as containing steroids or steroid-like substances. Many of these products are marketed as dietary supplements.
The Washington Post tells the story of Danny Watt, who drowned in April 2008 after a lifelong struggle with mental health. Watt had a dual diagnosis: a serious mental illness along with abuse of drugs or alcohol.
Researchers may be able to predict future severe cardiac events in patients with known, stable coronary artery disease (CAD) using coronary calcium scoring, according to a study published in the online edition of Radiology.
In an open letter to Cambodia"s prime minister and health minister, more than 100 international HIV/AIDS advocates and human rights organizations "accused the Cambodian government of herding HIV-affected families into an "AIDS colony" outside the capital, Phnom Penh," the Guardian reports (McCurry, 7/28).
Breakthrough Breast Cancer scientists have taken a significant step towards personalising cancer treatment by developing a new method to predict a patient"s response to the drug Herceptin.
The Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney TD, announced the commencement of the outstanding Sections of the Pharmacy Act 2007 to provide for the introduction of a Complaints, Inquires and Discipline regime for pharmacists and pharmacy businesses. Also included are Sections 63 and 64 of the Act, which relate to the prohibition of certain economic relationships between pharmacists or pharmacies and medical practitioners, or medical practices.
Using both animal and human cells, Duke University Medical Center scientists have demonstrated that a single lung cell can become one of two very different types of airway cells, which could lead to a better understanding of lung diseases.
Teenagers whose mothers have mental health impairments are likely to suffer behavioural problems, UQ research has found.
A new study by psychologists at the University at Buffalo and the F. W. Olin College of Engineering finds that in the aftermath of national trauma, the ability to make sense out of what happened has implications for individual well-being and that the kinds of stories people tell about the incident predict very different psychological outcomes for them.
One of the hotly contested issues in the debate about health care reform is whether or not there should be a new government health plan to compete with the plans offered by the insurance industry to employers and individuals. This idea is strongly supported by President Obama and most Democratic members of Congress but Republican members of Congress unanimously oppose it.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final regulation today, Wednesday, saying that at the levels dentists use for tooth cavity
New US legislation granting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Roche and Google.org recently started a joint project to demonstrate the feasibility of developing a multidisciplinary surveillance, research and response system. This system will enhance the ability to predict and prevent emerging infectious diseases in East Africa. Roche has donated a Genome Sequencer FLX system as backbone of this project."We are proud to work with Google.org, and the dedicated research organizations in Kenya to bring this technology to a region of the world where novel viruses frequently emerge. We are confident that access to the 454 Sequencing Systems will improve monitoring of novel infectious diseases and enable faster discovery in case of an outbreak," said Chris McLeod, CEO of 454 Life Sciences, a member of the Roche Group.
A study conducted by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health indicates that approximately 16 percent of public health care workers will not report for work in a pandemic flu emergency, regardless of the severity.
For many women, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can alleviate the physical symptoms associated with the change of life. But despite the initial hype generated by post-menopausal women who noticed a marked improvement in their skin"s appearance while on HRT, dermatologists argue that scientific studies of estrogen do not show definitive improvements for skin rejuvenation of photodamaged skin and the potential risks when used long-term outweigh any potential skin benefits.
The American Academy of Dermatology (Academy) commends the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) for its re-categorization of indoor tanning devices as carcinogenic to humans. This classification places indoor tanning in the highest cancer risk category afforded by this international agency, which is a division of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Congressional Budget Office has so far "failed to attribute any savings to increased efforts to provide preventive efforts like stop-smoking programs," challenging the notion that preventive care saves money for the health care system, NPR reports. "Former CBO health analyst Joe Antos, now at the American Enterprise Institute, says preventive services often cost more than they save. In screening people for cancer, for example, he says, "you screen literally millions of people, sometimes at fairly high cost per screen. You"ll pick up some true positives, people who really have the disease. You"ll pick up some false positives." Then all those people have to be followed up by the medical system, which costs even more money."
"Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced Tuesday that $200 million will be available for grants, loans, loan repayments and scholarships for the training of some 8,000 health professionals by the end of fiscal 2010," Congressional Quarterly reports. The money will "provide targeted investments in primary care, nursing, faculty development, and equipment purchases that will shore up the workforce as we prepare for reform," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said" (7/28).
A new article in the journal Risk Analysis assessed various ways in which aerosol transmission of the flu, a central mode of diffusion which involves breathing droplets in the air, can be reduced. Results show that face protection is a key infection control measure for influenza and can thus affect how people should try to protect themselves from the swine flu.
Older people with a history of cancer are more likely to have disabilities and be frail and vulnerable than older adults who have not had cancer, according to a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, published online July 29.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society welcomed the decision by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency that medicines containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine should retain their status as pharmacy (P) medicines.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has called for clarification of the responsible pharmacist requirements but will not be asking the Department of Health to amend the commencement date of the regulations.
For those who can"t imagine starting the day without an energy drink, RightHealth, the Guide to Health on the Web, is providing a wake up call. Although energy drinks can make all-night cram sessions easier to stay awake for, they may not receive a passing grade when it comes to health.
Informa Healthcare - one of the world"s leading medical and scientific publishers- has announced that the new interactive http://www.informahealthcare.com site is now live and delivers online content from more than 180 peer-reviewed journals.
[Association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and cognitive performance in middle-aged and older European men
A new analysis finds that women in New Jersey who take the breast cancer drug tamoxifen in conjunction with certain popular antidepressants may be at a higher risk for a breast cancer recurrence.
An estimated 428,000 residents in New Mexico could lose their private, employer-based coverage if Congress passes a House health reform bill, according to state-specific analysis of The American Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 released this week by The Heritage Foundation.
According to a new report based on a government survey in 2007, in the previous 12 months Americans had spent a total of $33.9 billion out of their own pockets on
With the implementation of the 48-hour working week for workers throughout Europe, including doctors, on 1 August 2009, the BMA in Northern Ireland has said that it will insist that the health service must meet its obligations to implement the European Working Time Directive (EWTD).
Chinese state media on Thursday reported that women in the country have about 13 million abortions annually, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. According to the China Daily newspaper, the actual number likely is much higher because the 13 million includes abortions performed in hospitals but not unreported procedures performed in rural clinics. Most of the abortions were among single young women who experts say know little about contraception. The paper also said that about 10 million pills for medical abortion are sold annually in the country. China imposed strict population controls in the 1970s that prohibit most couples from having more than one child. For married women, sterilization and the use of intrauterine devices are widely promoted and subsidized. However, Chinese policies typically do not address the needs of unmarried women, even as national attitudes have become more accepting of sex outside of marriage, the AP/Chronicle reports. According to the newspaper, about 62% of the abortions were among unmarried women ages 20 to 29. The Chinese report called the number of abortions "an unfortunate situation" but did not indicate whether the procedures are increasing or decreasing from year to year. National Population and Family Planning Commission official Wu Shangchun is quoted in the report as saying that almost half of the women seeking abortion had used no form of contraception. Wu also said that reducing abortions is a national challenge that requires significant effort. Peking University professor Li Ying said that sex education in China must be improved at the university level and that Chinese parents must do more to teach children about sex (AP/Houston Chronicle, 7/30).
Congress Needs To Think Big About Medicare Fix Politico
The New York Times examines a Doctors Without Borders pilot program to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis in South Africa that allows patients to stay in their homes rather than be isolated in hospital during treatment. The program, which is supported by the city of Cape Town and the Western Cape Province, aims to "show that such patients can be successfully treated in an impoverished community ò€¦ even while they are still infectious," the New York Times writes.
Certainly there is strength in numbers, but only if those numbers can effectively communicate with one another. Now, a new study finds that administration of a novel small molecule which effectively disrupts a key bacterial communication process protects an animal host from infection. The research, published by Cell Press in the July 31st issue of the journal Molecular Cell, may lead to more effective treatments for bacterial infection that won"t encourage growth of treatment resistant bacteria.
Patients with developmental disabilities such as Down syndrome or cerebral palsy will benefit from a new online learning activity launched today by The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) to assist GPs to navigate the complex area of developmental disability.
One of the most well-known psychological tools is the Rorschach Inkblot Test. A viewer looks at ten inkblots, one at a time, and describes what they see. The rationale behind this test is the idea that certain aspects of the subject"s personality will be exposed as they are interpreting the images, allowing for the possible diagnosis of various psychological disorders. However, does the inkblot really reveal all? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, published an exhaustive review of all data on the Rorschach (and other similar "projective" tests) in 2000. Such meta-analyses are major undertakings, so although this report is a few years old, it remains the most definitive word on the Rorschach. According to authors Scott O. Lilienfeld of Emory University, James M. Wood of University of Texas at El Paso, and Howard N. Garb of the University of Pittsburgh, despite its popularity, the Rorschach may not be the best diagnostic tool and practitioners need to be cautious in how they use this technique and interpret their results.
Cancer researchers at Georgetown University"s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center have successfully tested a small, engineered antibody they say shuts down growth of human glioblastoma tumors in cell and animal studies. Glioblastoma is the deadliest of brain cancers; there is no effective treatment.
The least-fit segment of the population has twice the mortality risk of even those who are just a bit more in shape, according to a study published in the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that prevention and partnership will guide their departments" efforts to safeguard the food Americans eat every day. Both Secretaries announced new strategies that focus on prevention and depend on working closely with growers, food processors and consumers to achieve their goals.
Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) and Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDVN) announced the initiation of a Phase 3 trial of the investigational drug dimebon (latrepirdine) in patients with Huntington disease. The international safety and efficacy trial, known as HORIZON, is designed to evaluate the potential benefits of dimebon on cognition (thinking and memory) in patients with Huntington disease. The companies also announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to dimebon for the treatment of Huntington disease.
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announces that it has received a Complete Response letter for INTUNIV TM (guanfacine) Extended Release from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This decision comes following labeling discussions with the FDA that did not result in agreement in time to meet the PDUFA date.
Huntington"s disease is an incurable, hereditary brain disorder. It is a devastating brain disorder for which there is no currently "effective" treatment. Nerve cells become damaged, causing various parts of the brain to deteriorate. The disease affects movement, behavior and cognition - the affected individuals" abilities to walk, think, reason and talk are gradually eroded to such a point that they eventually become entirely reliant on other people for their care. Huntington"s disease has a major emotional, mental, social and economic impact on the lives of patients, as well as their families.
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries.~ "A Taxing Problem," Jessica Arons, Huffington Post blogs: The five Democrats who last week sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) "suggesting a "common ground" solution to the abortion "roadblock" in health care reform" should be "applauded" for keeping the debate"s focus on covering the uninsured and "for being unwilling to sacrifice health care reform on the altar of abortion politics," writes Jessica Arons, director of the Women"s Health & Rights Program at the Center for American Progress. Arons adds that while the proposal, led by antiabortion-rights Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), "is in welcome contrast to the stonewalling and ultimatums coming from Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and his allies," it is "based on a misguided and attenuated definition of government spending, and it conflicts with what Americans want and expect from health care reform." She continues that the "suggestion that a health plan might offer abortion coverage, and it might be used by someone, who might have paid a lower premium than someone else, because the government might have helped pay their premium is a horrible reason for Congress to carve out an explicit exception to a bill that is otherwise entirely silent on coverage options." Taxpayers "do not have the right to specify how their tax money should be spent," she writes, adding, "I understand why people would want to withhold their taxes from purposes they oppose, but our system does not -- nor should it -- work that way" (Arons, Huffington Post blogs, 7/30).~ "The Breakup of the Pro-Life Movement," Cristina Page, Birth Control Watch: Rep. Ryan is "in many ways a typical pro-life American" who opposes abortion rights and, "like most pro-life Americans, ... supports every effort to prevent the need for it," including contraception, Page writes. However, because of his support for contraception and sponsorship of the "Preventing Unintended Pregnancies, Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act," Ryan was "banished" from the board of Democrats for Life of America, Page writes, adding that antiabortion-rights publications have "taken to qualifying his pro-life status as "allegedly" pro-life or referring to him as someone "who claims to be" pro-life." The bill, also known as the Ryan-DeLauro bill, would increase funding for contraception, and support comprehensive sex education and services for women who choose to carry unintended pregnancies to term, Page writes. She notes that the bill is supported by "many prominent pro-life individuals" and groups that support abortion rights, though "[n]ot one leading pro-life group signed onto the bill." Page writes, "Pro-life Americans favor expanding access to contraception because of the undeniable pro-life results," adding, "Unintended pregnancy is the root cause of abortion. We know when used properly, contraception works." It is "time for the disagreement over contraception to be addressed by the pro-life community at large," she writes, adding, "We will have no chance of making a real impact on unintended pregnancy and abortion rates without dramatic, informed strategies on prevention" (Page, Birth Control Watch, 7/28).~ "Senate Subcommittee: Ab-Only Out, Syringe Ban Still In; Advocates Hope for Further Changes in Conference Committee," Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check: The spending bill approved yesterday by the Senate Appropriations Committee "zeroes out funding" for the Community-Based Abstinence Education program, which has "for years [been] the main of support for now-discredited abstinence-only programs," Jacobson writes. The "elimination of these funds parallels similar action in the House, ... so unless amendments are proposed, accepted and passed during either the full committee vote or on the Senate floor, this bill spells "the end of abstinence-only programs as we know them," said one advocate, "at least for this year,"" Jacobson writes. The Senate version of the bill allocate
Just one day after it appeared negotiators were on the cusp of a deal, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus said Thursday that his committee will not vote on a health reform bill before the August recess, Politico reports. "Baucus"s announcement came after a day in which Republican negotiators on the committee made clear they were not comfortable with the Democratic timetable - pushed by President Barack Obama and other Democratic leaders."
"The U.N. unveiled a multimillion dollar strategy a dozen years ago to save children worldwide, but a new [Lancet] study has found the program had surprisingly little effect in Bangladesh, one of the world"s poorest countries," the Associated Press reports. Since 1997, when the WHO and UNICEF launched the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) Program to help reduce the numbers of deaths in children under age 5 from diarrhea, pneumonia, measles and malnutrition, more than 100 countries have adopted the program, drawing upon "millions" in aid, according to the news service.
China Aoxing Pharmaceutical Company, Inc. (OTCBB: CAXG) ("China Aoxing"), a pharmaceutical company specializing in research, development, manufacturing and marketing of narcotic and pain-management products, announced that it has acquired all rights to TJSL, a novel drug at Phase II development stage to treat primary dysmenorrhea ("PD"), or menstrual pain, in adult women.
Inter Press Service examines several civil society organizations" argument that legislative measures aimed at fighting HIV/AIDS, "hurt more" than they "help." There are 58 countries with laws in place to "prosecute HIV transmission" and 33 others where such legislation is being considered, according to the International Planned Parenthood Federation.
Gastroesophageal reflux diseases , or GERD, affects about 10 million people in the United States, yet the cause and an unexpected increase in its prevalence over the last three decades remains unexplainable. Now, researchers have discovered that GERD is associated with global alteration of the microbiome in the esophagus. The findings, reported in the August 1, 2009 issue of Gastroenterology, may provide for the foundation for further study of the condition as a microecological disease with new treatment possibilities.
UroToday.com - A recent European study demonstrated that 10-year mortality from cardiovascular disease and cancer was decreased in a population of 70 to 90 year olds who adhered to a Mediterranean diet, were physically active, had moderate alcohol consumption and did not smoke. There are also reports suggesting an inverse association between physical activity and risk of prostate cancer (CaP). Yet mechanisms linking lifestyle and longevity are not well investigated. This report in The Prostate investigates an animal model for the association between physical activity and development of CaP.
UroToday.com - We undertook a systematic review of the literature in reference to the use of ipsilateral adrenalectomy at the time of radical nephrectomy for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. Important in the understanding of this is accurately defining..
By searching millions of DNA variations in the genomes of thousands of women with and without ovarian cancer, scientists have discovered a
"American seniors have a lot at stake in this health care reform debate and
While state insurance regulators are working hard to keep most insurance oversight squarely in their hands, they are actively promoting new federal mandates and rules for health insurance-with a major caveat, according to a story in BestWeek U.S./Canada.
A marked and broad expansion in antidepressant treatment occurred among Americans older than 6 years between 1996 and 2005, although treatment rates remain low among racial and ethnic minorities, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
By combining the art of origami with nanotechnology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers have folded sheets of DNA into multilayered objects with dimensions thousands of times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. These tiny structures could be forerunners of custom-made biomedical nanodevices such as "smart" delivery vehicles that would sneak drugs into patients" cells, where they would dump their cargo on a specific molecular target.
Brazos Valley residents, neuroscience researchers, and interested clinicians will each have opportunities to hear from internationally recognized researchers on the topic of aging and Alzheimer"s Disease during the Texas Brain and Spine Institute"s Third Annual Neuroscience Symposium on September 3 and 4. This year"s symposium will consist of an evening of public presentations aimed at helping local residents, Alzheimer"s patients, and their family members better understand early signs of the disease and ways to reduce your risk. The Friday afternoon session will feature a clinical presentation for health providers and researchers.
Ovarian cancer is any cancerous growth that may occur in different parts of the ovary. The majority of ovarian cancers arise from the epithelium (outer lining) of the ovary. According to the American Cancer Society it is the 8th most common cancer among women in the USA (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers). In the UK ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer among females, after breast cancer, bowel cancer, lung cancer and uterine cancer (cancer of the uterus).
House Democrats celebrated late last week the passage of a health reform bill out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, but they still face a lot of work when they return in September, Roll Call reports.
"Confusing claims and outright distortions have animated the national debate over changes in the health care system," the Associated Press reports. The AP lists examples:
A former Clinton administration official said last week that there aren"t enough doctors in America to handle the increase in patients if health reform covers more uninsured, NPR reports.
Scientists in Sydney and Boston believe they may have identified a gene that controls abnormal production of sugar in the liver, a very troublesome problem for people with diabetes.
A Wilmington News Journal editorial discussed the potential lifting of the ban on using federal funding for needle exchange programs. The editorial notes recent Congressional action and the restrictions in a House bill that prohibit needle exchanges to operate "within a 1,000 feet of day care centers, schools, parks, playgrounds, pools and youth centers." According to the News Journal, "This rule wipes out much of the flexibility many cities need in their fight to prevent the spread of HIV among intravenous drug users. The nation"s capital, where the rates of HIV and AIDS cases are considered epidemic, would be hit the hardest because no part of the District of Columbia would be eligible for the funding according to AIDS Action." The editorial adds, "Vans patrolling near vulnerable populations - specifically young, impressionable children - are an issue that must be addressed. But well-intentioned limits should not be allowed to hold up the rest of the program," according to the News Journal (8/1).
To combat the many fetal deaths that occur annually because the placenta is too small, researchers at Yale School of Medicine have developed a method to measure the volume of the placenta, which provides nourishment to the fetus.
Study 1 Twins born as a result of assisted reproductive technology (ART) are more likely to be admitted to neonatal intensive care and to be hospitalised in their first three years of life than spontaneously conceived twins, according to new research published online in Human Reproduction [1].
Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties last week accused Orange County officials of having "gerrymandered" the process for distributing health grants and hindering the organization"s ability to establish a breast health program, the Los Angeles Times reports.Over the last eight years, Planned Parenthood and 17 other community clinics have received revenue from a tobacco settlement to fund health education programs. In March, the Board of Supervisors suspended Planned Parenthood"s contract after a constituent noted that taxpayer money was going to a group that performs abortions. The contract was reinstated with new guidelines that money go toward providing "direct medical" services and not toward abortion services. To meet the new guidelines, Planned Parenthood created the Breast Health Program for low-income women younger than age 40. The county rejected the program, followed by about two months of negotiations. The plan was abandoned last week after a deal was not reached within the 23-hour deadline imposed by the county Health Care Agency.In a letter sent last week to the Board of Supervisors and the Health Care Agency, PP OSBC President and CEO Jon Dunn wrote, "The county placed obstacle after obstacle in Planned Parenthood"s path, ultimately making [the breast health program] impossible to implement." He noted that the county refused to properly fund the program, held the organization to different accounting standards than other groups, and "refused to negotiate and imposed an unworkable deadline." According to Dunn, the "real reason" for the obstacles and the difficult negotiations was because the organization provides abortion services. He added, "You have eliminated critical health education programs, created barriers to critically needed care. You will be held accountable for your reckless and irresponsible actions."On Thursday, the county health agency released a statement saying that it had "worked in good faith" to reach an agreement but that funding could not be approved because "Planned Parenthood chose not to sign and return their agreement by the deadline date" (Abdollah, Los Angeles Times, 7/31).
Our cells are controlled by billions of molecular "switches" and chemists at UC Santa Barbara have developed a theory that explains how these molecules work. Their findings may significantly help efforts to build biologically based sensors for the detection of chemicals ranging from drugs to explosives to disease markers.
Entire populations of North American fish already are being affected by several emerging diseases, a problem that threatens to increase in the future with climate change and other stresses on aquatic ecosystems, according to a noted U.S. Geological Survey researcher gave an invited talk on this subject yesterday at the Wildlife Disease Association conference in Blaine, Wash.
Daytime temperature fluctuations greatly alter the incubation period of malaria parasites in mosquitoes and alter transmission rates of the disease. Consideration of these fluctuations reveals a more accurate picture of climate change"s impact on malaria.
Regular yoga practice is associated with mindful eating, and people who eat mindfully are less likely to be obese, according to a study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Researchers have identified what they believe is the original of malignant malaria: a parasite found in chimpanzees in equatorial Africa.
Biomolecular computers, made of DNA and other biological molecules, only exist today in a few specialized labs, remote from the regular computer user. Nonetheless, Tom Ran and Shai Kaplan, research students in the lab of Prof. Ehud Shapiro of the Weizmann Institute"s Biological Chemistry, and Computer Science and Applied Mathematics Departments have found a way to make these microscopic computing devices "user friendly," even while performing complex computations and answering complicated queries.
The new anti-wrinkle facial filler Dysport, which could be used as an alternative to Botox, noticeably reduced frown lines between the eyes, according to users and independent reviewers in a study involving plastic surgeons at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Drug companies may exploit new rules to promote their products to the public but present it as mere provision of information, according to an editorial published this week in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB).
Small-scale farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America are
The new medical consensus statement on accelerated partial breast irradiation is an important step toward defining patient selection criteria and highlights the importance of targeting radiation, said two of the nation"s leading APBI physicians.
Cephalon, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEPH) announced yesterday that the Journal of Clinical Oncology has published data from a pivotal phase 3 study demonstrating that TREANDA® (bendamustine HCl) for Injection improved clinical outcomes when compared to chlorambucil in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Results of this study were the basis of the March 2008 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of TREANDA for CLL, the first agent approved by the FDA for this disease since 2001. According to the American Cancer Society, there will be more than 15,000 new cases of CLL diagnosed in 2009 alone. The study results were published online today and will also appear in the print edition later this year.
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have found that a population of breast cells called luminal progenitor cells are likely to be responsible for breast cancers that develop in women carrying mutations in the gene BRCA1.
In a major step in spinal cord injury research, scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have demonstrated that regenerating axons can be guided to their correct targets and re-form connections after spinal cord injury. Their findings were published in the advance online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience on August 2.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have learned that some healthy people naturally developed an immune response against a protein that is made in excess levels in many cancers, including breast, lung, and head and neck cancers. The finding suggests that a vaccine against the protein might prevent malignancies in high-risk individuals.
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: LXRX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing breakthrough treatments for human disease, announced that it has initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial of LX2931 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. LX2931 is an orally-delivered, small molecule drug candidate that has recently completed Phase 1 testing in normal volunteers. Lexicon also successfully completed a drug-drug interaction (DDI) study of LX2931 with methotrexate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, with no clinically significant drug-drug interactions observed.
The 128,000-member American College of Physicians (ACP) has endorsed the Preserving Patient Access to Primary Care Act of 2009 (H.R. 2350), introduced by Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA). "Primary care is the best medicine for better health and lower costs," ACP noted, "and this is the best medicine for curing the growing crisis in primary care."
Boston"s health agency on Tuesday is scheduled to launch a safer-sex campaign that reaches out to teenagers through Web sites such as Facebook and YouTube, the Boston Globe reports. The campaign was created in response to rising rates of sexually transmitted infections among young people in the city, according to the Globe. The $100,000 campaign originally was intended to address communicable diseases in general. However, experts noticed the increase in STI cases among teenagers and decided to spend all the funding on the campaign targeting STIs.The increase in chlamydia cases in particular demonstrates the "scope of the challenge," as 1,383 Boston youths between ages 15 and 19 were diagnosed with the STI in 2007, a 70% increase since 1999, the Globe reports. The overall rate of chlamydia in Boston is more than twice the national average, and chlamydia and gonorrhea are more common among adolescents than any other age group in Boston. According to the Globe, a city study released in early 2009 found that 56% of Boston public high school students have had sex, and 24% of the sexually active students said they have had more than six partners.For the campaign, "teenagers will do much of the talking" in a video that offers information on STIs, the Globe reports. The video will air on cable channels that are popular with teenagers, such as MTV, FX and BET. It shows teenagers in a classroom receiving information on safer sex, including details about condoms and STI screening. The video does not discuss sexual abstinence.The campaign also includes advertisements on mass transit and the radio, as well as a team of teenagers that will travel around Boston performing street theater addressing the risks associated with STIs. Through the social networking Web site Facebook, teenagers can post questions anonymously regarding sexual health that will be answered by a disease specialist. Videos related to the campaign also will be posted on YouTube.Margaux Joffe, multimedia coordinator at the Public Health Commission, said teenagers "told us, "We don"t want some 40-year-old woman telling us about sex and STIs."" Joffe added that it "makes sense" because a teenager "may not trust the advice of an adult as much as you would someone in your peer group." Mark Schuster, the chief of general pediatrics at Children"s Hospital Boston who was not involved in the design of the campaign, said that using a "multilevel approach" to address the issue is a "great strategy." He added that young people "can be interested and learn from" a sex education curriculum in school, but "they need it in other settings too."Specialists speculate that the rise in STIs may reflect teenagers" casual attitudes about sex and parents" shifting attention to other children"s health concerns, the Globe reports. Experts also have said that the increase in STIs could reflect increased screening efforts by physicians, who have been "pressed for many years to screen much more carefully kids at younger and younger ages," Stephen Boswell, president of Fenway Health, said. The Globe reports that teenagers do not view HIV/AIDS in the same way previous generations have because of advancements in treatment, so preventing the virus "no longer seems quite as important." Experts are concerned that the spread of other STIs could be a forewarning of a rise in HIV/AIDS cases among teenagers. Anita Barry, a top disease specialist at BPHC, said the gonorrhea and chlamydia cases are "our future HIV cases unless we intervene" (Smith, Boston Globe, 8/4).
DNA-Prokids (http://www.dna-prokids.org), an international project on human trafficking prevention and fight using genetic identification of victims and their relatives, was officially presented, at the University of Granada (UGR) headquarters, in Spain.
"Louisiana will start paying less money Tuesday to many private health care providers for taking care of Medicaid patients, a move the state health department estimates will save $86 million this year," The Associated Press/The Advocate reports. Adults in the program may also have to pay a small co-pay if they visit emergency rooms for non-emergency care. "The cuts come as the health department shrinks its spending to $7.9 billion in the new fiscal year that began July 1, down $240 million from last year. Nearly all the cuts will be levied on the Medicaid program for the poor, elderly and disabled. But Jerry Phillips, state Medicaid director, said the department believes it can cover nearly two-thirds of that gap through efficiencies and the continuation of other cuts made during the last budget year."
Large number of individuals, such as recovery and rescue workers, nearby residents and office workers, who experienced intense or prolonged exposure to the World Trade Center attack have reported new diagnoses of asthma or posttraumatic stress 5-6 years after the attack, according to a study in the August 5 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.
New experiments by scientists at the University of Oxford revealed that
Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin will participate in a $3 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fight influenza and other diseases by creating models that simulate the complex interplay between human behavior and the spread of disease.
Avian influenza (AI) viruses are believed to be transmitted within aquatic bird populations through contaminated water. This study determined that filter-feeding clams can remove AI virus from water and reduce infectivity.
SAGE, the world"s fifth largest publisher of academic journals, is pleased to announce the January 2010 launch of a new quarterly journal, Social Psychological and Personality Science (SPPS).
Elevated cholesterol levels in midlife - even levels considered only borderline elevated - significantly increase the risk of Alzheimer"s disease and vascular dementia later in life, according to a new study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente"s Division of Research and the University of Kuopio in Finland. The study appears in the journal Dementia & Geriatric Cognitive Disorders.
The amount of money PCTs (primary care trusts) are spending on management consultants has risen enormously, according to Pulse. In comparison to two years ago, the amount PCTs spend during the last financial year on external consultancy fees has risen threefold, according to figures compiled from 62 trusts.
In many types of cancer, parts of the genetic material of tumor cells are switched off by chemical labels called methyl groups. This kind of methyl labeling ranges among the epigenetic changes that do not change the sequence of DNA building blocks. Such labels are found particularly often in genes which act as important inhibitors of pathogenic cell growth.
The weak tendons and fragile bones characteristic of osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease, stem from a genetic mutation that causes the incorrect substitution of a single amino acid in the chain of thousands of amino acids making up a collagen molecule, the basic building block of bone and tendon.
If you intend to make the most of the great outdoors at home or abroad during late spring and summer make sure you go prepared and are aware of the risk of tick bites.
The fight against obesity has stepped up a gear with the
Growing scientific evidence indicates that people who adhere to a special calorie-restricted diet can improve their health and could potentially add years to their lifespan, according to an article in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS" weekly newsmagazine.
Consumers should be warned about the dangers of eating untreated bitter lupin beans after two people who consumed products containing the beans became ill with anticholinergic syndrome, according to an article in the Medical Journal of Australia.
At its initial meeting today, the State Board of Massage Therapy began drafting preliminary regulations that will protect the health and safety of residents, said Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro A. Cortes.
Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have isolated a unique protein that appears to have a dual function and could lead to a "boon in medicine." The findings are published in the August issue of the Journal of Cell Biology.
A new study raises the possibility that flies and other insects that encounter nanomaterial "hot spots," or spills, near manufacturing facilities in the future could pick up and transport nanoparticles on their bodies, transferring the particles to other flies or habitats in the environment. The study on carbon nanoparticles - barely 1/5,000th the width of a human hair - is scheduled for the Aug. 15 issue of ACS" Environmental Science & Technology, a semi-monthly journal.
News organizations continue to cover contentious town hall meetings.
"The increasingly heated fight over health-care legislation is saturating the summer airwaves, with groups on all sides of the debate pouring tens of millions of dollars into advertising campaigns designed to push the cause of reform forward, slow it down or stop it in its tracks," the Washington Post reports. So far, drug makers, labor groups, Democrats and Republicans - among others - have spent $52 million to finance the ad campaigns, a heady start that could lead to a "record-breaking legislative battle."
The WHO on Tuesday maintained that roughly two billion people could become infected with the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, Reuters reports. "By the end of a pandemic, anywhere between 15-45 percent of a population will have been infected by the new pandemic virus," WHO spokeswoman Aphaluck Bhatiasevi said, adding that 30 percent, or 2 billion people worldwide, is the mid point of that estimate. "But the estimate comes with a big health warning: no one knows how many people so far have caught the new strain ... and the final number will never be known as many cases are so mild they may go unnoticed," the news service writes (Lynn, 8/4).
The addition of the anaesthetic lidocaine to radiocolloid injection for sentinel- lymph-node (SLN) mapping in patients with early breast cancer reduces injection pain and improves patient comfort without compromising SLN identification, and should be introduced as standard practice, concludes an Article published Online First and in the September edition of The Lancet Oncology.
Pfizer will present new data highlighting the company"s commitment to a personalized approach to oncology clinical research, which includes the use of targeted agents in specific patient populations in several advanced and difficult-to-treat cancers. These data will be presented later this month at the 45th Annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Orlando from May 29 to June 2.
A.P. Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq:APPA), a specialty pharmaceutical company, announced that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) for its lead product, APF530, to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). APF530 is being developed for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) and is a long-acting formulation of granisetron that utilizes the Company"s proprietary Biochronomer™ drug delivery system.