Diagnostics
A virus (from the Latin virus meaning toxin or poison) is a microscopic organism consisting of genetic material (RNA or DNA) surrounded by a protein, lipid (fat), or glycoprotein coat. Viruses are unique organisms because they cannot reproduce without a host cell. After contacting a host cell, a virus will insert genetic material into the host and take over the host"s functions. The cell, now infected, continues to reproduce, but it reproduces more viral protein and genetic material instead of its usual products. It is this process that earns viruses the classification of "parasite".
"As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to consider a restaurant group"s challenge to San Francisco"s health coverage ordinance, one voice is noticeably silent: the Obama administration"s," The San Francisco Chronicle reports. "In contrast to President George W. Bush"s Labor Department, which unsuccessfully urged a federal appeals court to overturn the groundbreaking law, the new administration submitted no arguments before the July 10 deadline for briefs supporting or opposing Supreme Court review. President Obama, meanwhile, has praised the San Francisco program, the first of its kind in the nation, while pressing Congress to enact comprehensive health coverage."
What"s Up, Docs? The Wall Street Journal
"The first clinical trial of an HIV/AIDS vaccine designed and developed in South Africa was launched in Cape Town" Monday, the SAPA/The Times reports. The trial will seek to determine the immune response of HIV-negative people to two experimental vaccines -- SAAVI DNA-C2 and SAAVI MVA-C (7/20).
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation last week filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court asking "the court to order the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to enforce regulations that require condom use in adult-film production or take other reasonable steps to stem the spread of disease," the Los Angeles Times reports (Yoshino, 7/17). In the petition, "the group claims that in the month since an actress tested positive for HIV, the county Department of Public Health has done little to address what it considers to be a serious health threat" (AP/San Jose Mercury News, 7/16). In a statement released last week, the department, said, "The county continues to strongly support state legislation and the regulatory role of the [California Division of Occupational Safety and Health] as the most appropriate means to regulate the practices in the adult-film industry that expose performers to unnecessary and preventable occupational risks of acquiring and transmitting these diseases," adding, "The department does not believe that litigation is the best means to deal with this issue" (Yoshino, 7/17).
Diabetes UK is looking for people with diabetes to share their experiences of supported self-management to help with our campaign for World Diabetes Day (14 November).
As the UK enters a summer of discontent, one company has a vision to make the outlook decidedly brighter - by looking at life through blue-tinted spectacles.
Every time a neuron sends a signal - to move a muscle or form a memory, for example - tiny membrane-bound compartments, called vesicles, dump neurotransmitters into the synapse between the cells. Researchers report that this process, which is fundamental to the workings of the nervous system, relies on a simple mechanical reality: Tension in the axon of the presynaptic neuron is required.
In a major advance in obesity and diabetes research, Yale School of Medicine scientists have found that reducing levels of a key enzyme in the brain decreased appetites and increased energy levels.
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AUXL), a specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced that new data from the two-part HYHYHI Study (Hypogonadal Hypotestosteronism in HIV-Seropositive Men) were presented as a poster today at the 5th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. This retrospective chart review, supported by the Company, evaluated the challenges associated with diagnosing low testosterone in men with HIV/AIDS. The study also compared the difference in testosterone levels achieved after 12 months of treatment with either Testim® 1% (testosterone gel) or AndroGel®, two commonly used FDA-approved testosterone replacement products.
Merck & Co., Inc. issued the following statement in response to study results published today by the World Health Organization offering the first evidence that elimination of the tropical disease river blindness (onchocerciasis) in Africa is feasible with treatment with ivermectin (registered trademark Mectizan®). As the discoverer and manufacturer of Mectizan, Merck decided in 1987 to donate the drug to all who need it for as long as necessary until river blindness is eliminated as a public health problem. The Merck Mectizan Donation Program is one of the longest-running disease-specific drug donation and public/private partnership programs in history.
Johns Hopkins biomedical engineering students have demonstrated a practical way to embed a patient"s own adult stem cells in the surgical thread that doctors use to repair serious orthopedic injuries such as ruptured tendons. The goal, the students said, is to enhance healing and reduce the likelihood of re-injury without changing the surgical procedure itself.
Aggressive forms of cancer are often driven by the abnormal over-expression of cancer-promoting genes, also known as oncogenes.
Researchers at North Carolina State University have found that intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), which results in low birth weight and long-term deleterious health effects in cloned swine, is linked to a type of gene - known as an imprinted gene - found only in placental mammals. Imprinted genes play an important role in the normal fetal development of all mammals, and this study could have future implications for the study of IUGR in humans.
New research suggests that antibiotic treatment could be asymptomatically inducing the transmission of the healthcare-acquired infection, C. difficile, contributing to the outbreaks that have recently been widely reported in hospitals and other settings. A team of scientists have successfully mirrored the infection cycle of C. difficile by generating a "mouse hospital" with conditions mimicking the human environment in which C. difficile is transmitted.
Bacterial diseases are usually detected by first enriching samples, then separating, identifying, and counting the bacteria. This type of procedure usually takes at least two days after arrival of the sample in the laboratory. Tests that work faster, in the field, and without complex sample preparation, whilst being precise and error-free, are thus high on the wish list. A Spanish research team headed by Jordi Riu and F. Xavier Rius at the University Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona has now developed a new technique to make this wish come true. With a novel biosensor, they have been able to detect extremely low concentrations of the typhus-inducing Salmonella typhi. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, their new method is based on electrochemical measurements by means of carbon nanotubes equipped with aptamers as bacteria-specific binding sites. If bacteria bind to the aptamers, the researchers detect a change in electrical voltage.
Nanoparticles are just billionths of a millimeter in size. Exhibiting novel and often surprising properties, they are finding their way into an endless stream of equally innovative products. In medical therapies, for example, tiny nanovehicles could one day ferry drugs or even genes into cells. So far, the only way of testing these approaches has been to wait for the desired effect to show - the activation of a transported gene inside a cell for example. Under the direction of LMU Munich physicochemist Professor Christoph Bräuchle, a research group cooperating with Dr. Christian Plank of the Technische Universität MÃønchen (TUM) has now used a highly sensitive microscopic technique to pursue individual nanoparticles as they make their way into target cells - in real-time and at high spatial and temporal resolution. They tested magnetic nanoparticles that could be used, among other things, in cancer therapy. This approach should also allow a better understanding of existing nanovectors as well as the development of new systems, as reported in the current cover story of the Journal of Controlled Release.
Young men who stay at home with their parents are more violent than those who live independently, according to new research at Queen Mary, University of London.
"Single-Shot" Vaccines May Protect Against H5N1 Influenza Virus
University of Queensland researchers will use a $2.5 million grant to help people who have suffered an acquired brain injury communicate with the world.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier today, Tuesday, that countries should consider closing schools as a way to slow the spread of
The NPA is asking for the RPSGB retention fee to be held at the present level, given the financial pressures on pharmacy businesses, many of which pay retention fees for their staff.
Debiopharm Group (Debiopharm), a Swiss-based global biopharmaceutical group of companies with a focus on the development of prescription drugs that target unmet medical needs, announced that the Swiss agency for therapeutic products, Swissmedic, has issued a marketing authorisation for Moapar(R) 11.25mg, the first 3-month injectable formulation, prescribed for a reversible reduction of serum testosterone to the level of castration in adult men suffering from sexual deviations. Developed by Debiopharm, Moapar(R) contains a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist analogue.
An updated Cochrane review finds that progressive resistance muscle training improves strength in older adults and enhances their ability to do daily tasks such as walking, climbing steps or getting out of a chair.
Following the publication of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) report on advanced practice, the NMC made the following statement.
A new paper to be published in The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist (TOG) examines the relationship between abortion and domestic violence. The authors call for greater awareness about domestic violence, and underline the need to support women seeking to terminate unwanted pregnancies associated with intimate partner violence.
A damning report from the Care Quality Commission has found multiple failings in inpatient care for patients at West London Mental Health Trust, ranging from sub-standard buildings, overcrowding, lack of staff and insufficient staff training, to failure to implement changes that could help prevent suicides on wards. In some areas, there were long delays in considering changes to help reduce suicide risk, and on one inpatient unit, bed occupancy was regularly running at over 110 per cent, resulting in patients sleeping on sofas due to lack of beds.
A "new set of antiabortion actors" who are "anti-war, anti-capital punishment, pro-environment "pro-lifers"" have "emerged as the face of a new and improved antiabortion movement," Salon columnist Frances Kissling writes. Although these advocates supported President Obama in the 2008 election, they "suffer from the same lack of understanding of women"s nature and identity as do old-line anti-abortionists," Kissling writes. She notes that this group has "already decided that a political effort to make abortion illegal is hopeless, which helps the pro-choice cause." According to Kissling, "Taking legality off the table" increases the prospects for "rational public discourse about all the factors at play in women"s decisions not to continue pregnancy and not to become mothers," but "[w]e are ... far from common ground between the new anti-abortionists and the pro-choice advocates."Members of this new group believe that data suggesting that many women decide to have abortions for financial reasons prove that "better economic support" for pregnant women "will result in more continued pregnancies and more women embracing motherhood," Kissling writes. In addition, they "assert that if adoption policies were friendlier," more women would choose adoption over abortion, according to Kissling. "But facts have little place in their strategy," as the policies they support "are already in place in much of Europe," and "few women who face unintended pregnancies in those countries opt out of abortion," Kissling writes. She adds, "Something much deeper influences a woman"s decision about what to do when she is pregnant and does not want to become a mother -- and the new anti-choicers don"t seem to have a clue about what this might be." For this group, "the outcome [of pregnancy] -- the new person -- is obviously so much more valuable than whatever short-term loss or pain the women might experience," Kissling writes. Therefore, they believe it is "not asking much of a woman who faces an unwanted, difficult or unintended pregnancy to shift the plan she had for this time in her life and continue the pregnancy," according to Kissling.Kissling lists four "positions taken by the new antiabortionists [that] illuminate this flawed thinking." The first is "[d]enying the "need" for abortion," she writes. Secondly, their "same sense of pregnancy as no big deal influences the new antiabortionists" unwillingness to embrace contraception," Kissling says. She adds that "[i]f we really understood what it meant for women to consent to becoming mothers, we would want them to be able to meet their moral obligation to their own identity by avoiding becoming pregnant." The third position is an attempt to make "sex sacred," Kissling writes, adding that if "creating new life is sacred, then we want men and women to have the tools necessary to fulfill the obligation to create life responsibly and not create it when they cannot -- or choose not to -- bring it to fruition." The fourth position is "[r]edefining adoption," Kissling continues. She asks whether adoption is "now a process of finding children for needy parents," adding, "Might it not be more generous of us as a society to work harder to make it possible for women to keep their children if they so wish?"Kissling writes that the "challenge to the new antiabortionists" is whether "women"s perspectives on the meaning of pregnancy and motherhood will be considered in their project" or if "their ethical frame will remain focused on the fetus." She asks, "How many of these women"s decisions will the new antiabortionists be able to say "yes" to?" Kissling concludes, "So far it seems that it is far more than abortion that is a stumbling block to common ground" (Kissling, Salon, 7/20).
The Obama administration recently laid out "a clear but narrow pathway" toward asylum for foreign women who have experienced severe physical or sexual abuse, a New York Times editorial states, noting that the U.S. government has debated the issue for 15 years. According to the editorial, the "question is not the fact of persecution, but whether the women would qualify for protection under the law, which limits asylum to those who suffer due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or "membership in a particular social group."" It adds that attorneys general under former Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush "have gone both ways and in circles" in their decisions.Although "[n]ot all victims will qualify," the Obama administration "made it clear that some could," the editorial states. "A petitioner would have to demonstrate to a judge that domestic violence was widely tolerated by society and government in her country, that women were viewed as subordinate to men and that she had no place within its borders to find a safe haven," the editorial adds.Department of Homeland Security lawyers say the new definition could apply to a severely abused Mexican woman, identified only by her initials, whose asylum petition is before a San Francisco immigration court. The editorial notes that DHS "did not immediately recommend asylum" for the woman, but "it did urge that she be allowed to continue to gather evidence and to refine her case according to the standards it proposed." The editorial concludes, "Advocates who have fought for years to advance women"s rights are celebrating the department"s action, which brings reasoned compassion, and an overdue dose of clarity, to an issue of anguish and difficulty" (New York Times, 7/19).
Sufferers of eating disorders have problems with certain mental tasks; this is the finding of a comprehensive overview of studies examining the link between cognitive deficits and eating disorders, published online in the Journal of Neuropsychology today, 22nd July 2009.
In addition to acting as life-saving therapy to people living with HIV/AIDS, WHO researchers say antiretrovirals (ARVs) may also be able to prevent the spread of HIV, Health-e/allAfrica.com reports. Reuben Granich, of the WHO, used a model to estimate the use of ARVs for the prevention of HIV transmission, and presented his findings to delegates gathered at the 5th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention meeting in Cape Town, South Africa (Thom, 7/20).
Speaking at the 5th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention on Monday, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby outlined President Obama"s global AIDS policy agenda, Plus News/IRIN reports. The news service writes, "Goosby began by reassuring delegates - many of whom are implementers of programmes funded by ò€¦ PEPFAR ò€¦ -- that fighting AIDS would remain a central component of Obama"s foreign policy. However, there would be a renewed focus on other priorities such as maternal and child health, and tropical diseases."
NICE has issued guidance to help healthcare professionals to identify children who may have been maltreated. The guidance provides a summary of alerting features that should prompt a healthcare professional to consider, suspect or exclude child maltreatment. Child maltreatment includes neglect, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and fabricated or induced illness.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has today (22 July) published final guidance recommending the use of tenofovir disoproxil for the treatment of people with chronic HBeAg-positive or HBeAg-negative hepatitis B in whom antiviral treatment is indicated.
The British Dental Health Foundation has called into question the basis of a Conservative party pledge to provide free check-ups in primary schools.
Commenting on the Care Quality Commission"s report into the West London Mental Health Trust, NHS Confederation Chief Executive Steve Barnett said:
The largest clinical trial of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) for people with HIV infection ever run in Africa has found that regular laboratory tests offer little additional clinical benefit to populations when compared to careful clinical monitoring.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released new data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample - the largest, all-payer emergency department database in the United States. The Nationwide Emergency Department Sample is designed to help public health experts, policymakers, health care administrators, researchers, journalists and others find the data they need to answer questions about care that occurs in U.S. hospital emergency departments.
The hospitalization rate of patients admitted for treatment of hip, pelvis and other fractures associated with osteoporosis increased by 55 percent between 1995 and 2006, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
According to the Department of Health, for every ÷£1 spent on healthcare in the UK, just 12p goes on medicines. Yet when it comes to debate around
A sixteen-month study of consensus-based diagnosis of patients with disorders of consciousness has shown that 41% of cases of minimally conscious state (MCS) were misdiagnosed as vegetative state (VS), a condition associated with a much lower chance of recovery. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Neurology have demonstrated that standardized neurobehavioral assessment is more sensitive than diagnoses determined by clinical consensus.
SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, has announced that SRI"s Center for Cancer Research was selected by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for a leading role in the newly-formed "Chemical Biology Consortium" (CBC), a collaborative drug discovery partnership focused on advancing new cancer therapeutics active against novel molecular and genetic cancer targets. Based on its track record of cancer drug discovery and development, SRI was chosen to lead three of the CBC"s research and development centers: Comprehensive Chemical Biology Screening, Chemical Diversity, and Specialized Applications.
As we age, our ability to adequately respond to summer heat can become a serious problem. The National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, has some advice for helping older people avoid heat-related illnesses, known collectively as hyperthermia, during the summer months.
Cardica, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRDC) announced that the full results of the PAS-Port system multi-center pivotal trial, known as the EPIC trial, were published in the July issue of the peer-reviewed publication The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. The PAS-Port system, which received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 2008, creates a secure connection, or anastomosis, between a vein graft and the aorta, the main artery in the human body, during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) procedures.
A new survey, released today by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), found that senior citizens are being forced to make drastic cuts to their medical and food budgets due to the recession.
Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a novel way to monitor in real time the behavior of the TB bacterium in mouse lungs noninvasively pinpointing the exact location of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The new monitoring system is expected to speed up what is currently a slow and cumbersome process to test the safety and efficacy of various TB drug regimens and vaccines in animals. Plans are already under way for developing a similar system to monitor TB disease in humans.
For years, George Forschler knew the mitral valve in his heart was failing and would eventually need repair or replacement. Concerned about the risks associated with open heart surgery the traditional way to access a mitral valve he did his best to postpone the inevitable. Forschler, a retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General who now heads a consulting firm, kept his heart healthy by exercising at the gym and doing weekend chores on his farm near here.
Registered nurses and hospital workers who provide care at hospitals owned by Tenet Healthcare Corporation organized an unprecedented national protest against attempts to cut their access to sick leave.
Commenting on the tragic death of 22-year-old Gary Reinbach, who died as a result of binge drinking since the age of 13, Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said:
Advocates are stepping up efforts to address the high pregnancy rate among teens in foster care programs, Time reports. Although teen pregnancy rates are rising nationwide after years of declines, the numbers in the foster care system are "truly epidemic," according to Time. A University of Chicago study showed that almost half of girls who have spent time in the foster system had been pregnant at least once before age 19, and almost one-fourth had multiple pregnancies in their teens. However, the problem has traditionally received scant attention from children"s health advocates. Last week, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy announced a new campaign to address pregnancy prevention for foster care teens. The groups plan to push the Obama administration to consider the issue as it develops strategies to prevent unintended pregnancies. Planned Parenthood is recruiting and training thousands of peer educators -- including many who are in foster care themselves -- to engage teens in medically accurate discussions about sex. A report released this week by the National Campaign shows that nearly half of the 500,000 children in foster care had sex for the first time before age 16, compared with 30% of all teens. Teens in foster care also were more likely to have had forced sex and less likely to have used contraception.National Campaign Senior Policy Director Andrea Kane said, "Foster parents already go through trainings -- the delivery system exists." She added, "[W]e have people who can teach them how to do this. We just need to put the two together." According to Time, foster parents might assume that children were taught about reproductive health while living with another family. Social workers might also be reluctant to discuss sex with foster children. Advocates say that intended pregnancy also should be addressed as part of prevention efforts. University of Chicago researcher Amy Dworsky said, "For some foster youth, having a child is a way to create a family that they don"t have, or to fill an emotional void" (Sullivan, Time, 7/22).
At a time when the entertainment industry is perpetuating inaccurate portrayals of nursing in the new television shows "Nurse Jackie" and "HawthoRNe," ANA"s ethics books are especially relevant to all registered nurses (RNs). The fictional nurses are shown violating the nursing Code of Ethics by participating in activities ranging from on-the-job drug use to inappropriate nurse/patient contact in these shows. The very heart of nursing is mischaracterized as nurses are portrayed engaging in irresponsible and often criminal acts for entertainment purposes. ANA sets the ethical standards for nurses in the U.S. and internationally with its highly respected Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements, and is deeply concerned about the lasting impact these negative portrayals may have on the nursing profession.
"A bitter Congressional fight over the cost of superexpensive biotechnology drugs has come down to a single, hotly debated number: How many years should makers of those drugs be exempt from generic competition?" The New York Times reports. "At issue are such drugs as Biogen Idec"s Avonex, for multiple sclerosis, which can cost more than $20,000 a year; Genentech"s Avastin for cancer, which can cost more than $50,000; and several Genzyme drugs for rare diseases that can cost $200,000 a year or more. ò€¦ Because they are hard to copy exactly, they have not been subject to the generic competition that eventually knocks down the price of drugs like Lipitor and Prozac."
A proposal in Massachusetts to end the practice of paying doctors for individual procedures could prove a model to hold down costs for U.S. health care reform, Reuters reports.
OCHA Report Warns Of Possible, New Cholera Outbreak In Zimbabwe
Proteus syndrome is a complex disorder associated with varied, disproportionate, asymmetric overgrowth of many body parts and unregulated adipose tissue. The overgrowth seen in Proteus syndrome is progressive and difficult to manage. Patients with Proteus syndrome require repeated treatment for the progressive overgrowth of tissue over a long period. Aggressive treatment may cause severe functional and cosmetic consequences, so surgical intervention is often delayed until it is absolutely necessary.
Nothing could be easier than walking out the door, right? According to a new University of Illinois journal article, an abused woman actually goes through a five-step process of leaving that can be complicated at every stage by boundary ambiguity.
A study led by Johns Hopkins and Utah State University researchers suggests that a particularly close relationship with caregivers may give people with Alzheimer"s disease a marked edge over those without one in retaining mind and brain function over time. The beneficial effect of emotional intimacy that the researchers saw among participants was on par with some drugs used to treat the disease.
CareFusion Corporation, the company that will become publicly traded following the planned spinoff of the clinical and medical products businesses of Cardinal Health, announced it has expanded its Pyxis® perioperative offerings that integrate with leading operating room information systems (ORIS), incorporate radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology1 and include new services.
Employers will hire 22 percent fewer college graduates in 2009 than they did last year, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. That means thousands of Pennsylvania college students graduating this spring may be without health insurance coverage due to unemployment or time elapsing before starting a new job.
Findings from the largest study to date comparing the efficacy of competing treatments for chronic hepatitis C infection (HCV) show that the regimens are similar when it comes to safety and their ability to provoke long-term viral eradication, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center. Still, subgroup analysis reveals provocative data suggesting some approaches might be better than others for women and minorities.
Dr. David H. Martin, Professor and Chief of the Section of Infectious Diseases at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine, updated reporters and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases on sexually transmitted diseases in the United States on July 22, 2009 at the National Press Club in Washington , DC. Dr. Martin, whose presentation was called, Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Neither Gone nor Forgotten, revealed significant information about STDs including Chlamydia trachomatis, gonorrhea, syphilis, and a relatively new STD, Mycoplasma genitalium.
Americans living with undiagnosed diabetes incur an estimated $18 billion in healthcare expenditures each year, or $2,864 per person in medical services and lost productivity from diabetes-related complications, according to a new study initiated by the National Changing Diabetes(R) Program and published in the journal, Population Health Management.
The recent H1N1 flu outbreak served as a genuine test of our national public health system"s ability to respond to an emerging public health threat and experts are cautioning that a more severe outbreak could occur in the fall of 2009. Leaders from some of the nation"s foremost public health and medical associations will conduct a briefing for staff members from House and Senate offices on Thursday, May 21, 2009. Speakers will focus on the status of the current public health workforce and efforts needed to sustain workforce capacity to respond to emerging infectious diseases.
Foot & Ankle Specialist (FAS), published by SAGE, has been accepted for inclusion in MEDLINE, the premier bibliographic database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), containing more than 16 million journal article citations.
Quantities of a prescription medication used throughout the world for treating malaria have been identified as lacking any active ingredient and presumably counterfeit. These are being removed from the market in Ghana, where they were discovered recently and confirmed as fake last Friday. The discovery was made by a vigilant citizen who contacted the Medicines Quality Monitoring program set up by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-supported Drug Quality and Information (DQI) Program, implemented by the U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention. USP is a nonprofit scientific organization that develops globally recognized standards for the quality of medicines. Through the DQI Program, USP works in developing countries to help verify, assure and improve the quality of medicines intended to treat life-threatening neglected diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, as well as advance the appropriate use of these medicines.
Whites experiencing depression are far more likely to be diagnosed by a physician than other ethnic groups, according to a new Consumer Health Sciences (CHS) study presented today at the 14th Annual ISPOR (International Society for Pharmacoeconomic and Outcomes Research) Conference in Orlando, Florida. The study reveals that 76% of whites with self-reported depression symptoms are officially diagnosed, compared to just 58.7% of blacks, 62.7% of Hispanics and 47.4% of Asians.
The NPHS influenza surveillance scheme, which records reports of diagnoses of flufrom more than 300 GP practices across Wales, shows low but increasing levels of influenza activity across Wales. Further detail can be found on the NPHS website: http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/page.cfm?orgid=457&pid=38241
The UK will play a leading role in coordinated European action to tackle dementia from.
Diarrhea is the frequent passing of loose or watery stools. Acute diarrhea, which is a common cause of death in developing countries, appears rapidly and may last from five to ten days. Chronic diarrhea lasts much longer and is the second cause of childhood death in the developing world. Diarrhea is sometimes accompanied by abdominal cramps or fever. It may be caused by infection, allergy, or could be a sign of a serious disorder, such as IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), or Crohn"s disease.
QRxPharma Limited (Pink Sheets: QRXPY; ASX: QRX) announced the initiation of a Phase 2 comparative proof-of-concept study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of MoxDuo(TM) IV (intravenous morphine and oxycodone) versus IV morphine alone for the treatment of moderate to severe post-operative pain in patients following hip replacement surgery. Data from this study will serve as a significant predictor of MoxDuo(TM) IV"s clinical benefits and provide guidance for the design of further clinical trials leading to submission of an NDA to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within the next three years.
The cost of insuring a family of four with an employer-sponsored health plan in the United States averaged $12,298 in 2008, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new use for its osteoporosis drug FORTEO((R)) [teriparatide (rDNA origin) injection] to treat osteoporosis associated with sustained, systemic glucocorticoid therapy in men and women at high risk of fracture. Glucocorticoid therapy is the most common cause of secondary osteoporosis, leading to bone loss and an increased risk for fracture.(1)
A recent Yankelovich survey unveiled that although a large majority of women know there are simple steps they can take to support breast health, few women are taking the necessary actions. What"s more, 80 percent of the women surveyed have been personally affected by breast cancer or know someone who has been. To address this issue, One A Day Women"s Multivitamins is encouraging women to join a virtual march against breast cancer through the One A Day Women"s Take A Stand Campaign.
Responding to data in Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England, 2008 that suggests the likelihood of a pupil drinking alcohol increases with the number of drinkers per household, Professor Ian Gilmore, President of the Royal College of Physicians said:
"With many Americans growing anxious about his plans to overhaul the nation"s healthcare system, President Obama on Wednesday sought to lay out in personal terms how they stand to gain from the legislation that he has made one of the top goals of his presidency," the Los Angeles Times reports. He used the speech to reach out to people who already have insurance, arguing that skyrocketing costs must be slowed and that inaction would hobble businesses and families alike. In making the case for health reform to the American public, however, Obama described specific policy ideas and "relied on jargon that Washington insiders embrace but that might leave the typical television viewer mystified" (Nicholas, Parsons and Levey, 7/23).
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified its voluntary recall action of the Intrepid™ Intervertebral Body Fusion Device as a Class II recall. Medtronic initiated a voluntary recall of the product on February 6, 2009, and communicated the risk to physicians and hospitals. As of the date of this news release, all unused product has been retrieved and Medtronic has received confirmation of notification from all affected physicians and hospitals.
A new survey suggests that "most Americans support an overhaul of the health system, but the percentage who believe they (and their family) will be worse off from the change" has gone from 11 percent to 21 percent in the past five months, Kaiser Health News reports. "The survey, conducted July 7 to July 14 by the Kaiser Family Foundation, found 56 percent of Americans say now is the time for the country to overhaul the health system. That"s down from 61 percent in June." (note: KHN is a program of Kaiser Family Foundation).
"Abortion is not explicitly mentioned in any of the major health-care bills under consideration in Congress," The Washington Post reports, but "abortion opponents charge that the legislation would make abortion more widely available and more common by requiring insurance plans to pay for the procedures and providing government funding to subsidize plans that pay for them."
"Will failing to reform health care have the same consequences for Obama"s administration as it did for Clinton"s?" CNN asks.
The administration"s negotiations with the health industry date back to first weeks after President Obama"s inauguration, according to newly released visitor logs that show numerous visits by health industry lobbyists and executives to the White House, the Associated Press/Boston Globe reports. Richard Umbdenstock, the president of the American Hospital Association, visited on Feb. 4 and Angela Braly, an executive at insurer WellPoint visited on Feb. 13.
Several analyses today on the Congressional Budget Office, and its director, Douglas Elmendorf, who has been at the center of increasing debate over health care reform after the recent release of the CBO"s "score" of health system overhaul legislation. President Barack Obama met with him Monday in a move that has spurred Republican criticism.
Reuters Examines Upcoming HIV Prevention Trial In Africa
During its summer session, the Joint Committee of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has approved funding for six new Research Units. Within these Research Units, researchers from different disciplines work together on a particular scientific topic. Funding for Research Units provides the personnel and equipment required for medium-term (usually six years) cooperation and contributes to the establishment of new research directions.
US researchers have created "bacterial computers" with the potential to solve complicated mathematics problems. The findings of the research, published in BioMed Central"s open access Journal of Biological Engineering, demonstrate that computing in living cells is feasible, opening the door to a number of applications. The second-generation bacterial computers illustrate the feasibility of extending the approach to other computationally challenging math problems.
An event to mark the celebrate the 10th anniversary of the UQ Ipswich Campus and the launch of UQ"s teaching of Medicine at UQ Ipswich will be held today, Friday, July 24, 2009.
With many British families packing for their annual summer holiday, basking Britons could face a cloud on the horizon this summer with many unaware of how to check for skin cancer, research from Friends Provident reveals.
Women who are at risk for heart disease and who are also experiencing menopause symptoms now have an added re a highly specialized clinic in the Division of Cardiology at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. The Advanced Preventive Women"s Clinic at the Women"s Heart Center recently opened and is offering comprehensive cardiac risk assessments designed specifically for women who are in menopause. The clinic also offers menopausal patients state-of-the-art screenings, as well as personalized medicine therapies and counseling, including high-risk hormone counseling.
Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc. (OMT), in collaboration with Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ, SGMO), Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ: SIAL), The Medical College of Wisconsin, and INSERM, have announced the creation of the first targeted knockout rats as detailed in "Knockout Rats Produced via Embryo Microinjection of Designed Zinc Finger Nucleases," published in the July 24th issue of Science. The creation of rats with permanent, heritable genetic mutations is a critical milestone in the development of OMT"s novel human monoclonal antibody platform.
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication in patients in intensive care. A new laboratory test called urine neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) helps predict if patients will develop acute kidney injury, reports an upcoming study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). "As a stand-alone marker, urine NGAL performed moderately well in predicting ongoing and subsequent AKI," comments T. Alp Ikizler, MD (Vanderbilt University).
A study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reveals how late-stage, hormone-independent prostate tumors gain the ability to grow without need of hormones.
BioOut is a strategic partner for several of the world"s leading vaccine manufacturers. As such, BioOut is currently working with partners on projects to develop vaccines against Pandemic Influenza (Swine Flu and Avian Flu).
The increased risk of persons with schizophrenia committing violent crime may be largely mediated by co-existing substance abuse problems, according to a study in the May 20 issue of JAMA.
Most Canadians with chronic conditions have a regular place of care, but there are some reported gaps in the management of their conditions according to a new study released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). The study, Experiences With Primary Health Care in Canada, measures access to and quality of care from a patient perspective across Canada"s 10 provinces. The study is based on the responses of more than 11,000 people age 18 and older to Statistics Canada"s 2008 Canadian Survey of Experiences With Primary Health Care, which was jointly funded by CIHI and the Health Council of Canada.
Speaking at a meeting of the New
Michael (Mike) Jones has become the world"s first recipient of adult cardiac stem cells to treat congestive heart failure. Jones" infusion on July 17 marks the world"s first phase-one FDA-approved clinical trial using adult cardiac stem cells to treat heart disease. The clinical trial is being conducted by a team of University of Louisville physicians at Jewish Hospital.
Merck KGaA announced the submission of a marketing authorization application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for Cladribine Tablets, Merck"s proprietary investigational oral formulation of cladribine, as a therapy for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). Cladribine Tablets could become the first orally administered disease-modifying therapy available for patients with MS, as all disease-modifying therapies currently approved for the treatment of MS are injectable.
Sanofi-aventis (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) and its wholly owned subsidiary, BiPar Sciences, announced the initiation of the pivotal Phase III trial for BSI-201 in combination with chemotherapy in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC), defined by tumors lacking expression of estrogen, progesterone receptors and without over-expression of HER2. BSI-201 is a novel investigational targeted therapy which inhibits poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP1), an enzyme involved in DNA damage repair.
Appendicitis is a condition in which the appendix becomes swollen, inflamed, filled with pus. The appendix is a small pouch shaped like a small finger. It is on the right side of the abdomen, connected to the colon.
The number of human cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 is still increasing substantially in many countries, even in countries that have already been affected for some time. Our understanding of the disease continues to evolve as new countries become affected, as community-level spread extends in already affected countries, and as information is shared globally.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Thursday said the Senate will be unable to pass health care reform before it leaves for its August recess, which will likely result in changes to the shape of the final bill, The Washington Post reports.
Current treatment of cystic echinococcosis is surgery or percutaneous aspiration, injection and reaspiration (PAIR) using hypertonic saline or ethanol. It is aimed at causing permanent damage to the endocyst - the thin, delicate, and translucid inner membrane that produces the cystic fluid and generates new larval elements able to expand the infestation. Surgery and PAIR on liver and lung can result in biliary or bronchial fistulae, prompted by endocyst detachment; chemical cholangitis or pneumonia, due to passing of hypertonic saline or ethanol into the biliary or bronchial tree; and infection or abscess on the residual cyst cavity.
Pregnant women appear to have worse clinical and economic outcomes after thyroid and parathyroid surgery compared with women who are not pregnant, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Half of all Americans will be diagnosed at some point in their lives with cancer, the number two killer in the United States. One of the most common types, especially among women, is breast cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, 192,370 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, and more than 40,000 women will die from the disease this year alone.
The California Medical Association expressed grave concerns about the budget passed by the Legislature, pointing to deep cuts in Medi-Cal and the Healthy Families Program that will deny hundreds of thousands of the state"s most vulnerable residents - children, the elderly and the poor - from getting the health care they need.
Treatment with surgery or an oral appliance that adjusts the jaw is associated with improvements in obstructive sleep apnea, a condition caused by blocked upper airways in which patients periodically stop breathing during sleep, according to two reports in the May issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
UCB announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has issued a positive opinion recommending that the European Commission grant marketing authorisation for Keppra® as adjunctive treatment of partial-onset seizures in infants and young children aged one month to under four years.
The poorest people in the UK are 2.5 times more likely to have diabetes at any age than the average person, a new Diabetes UK report reveals today. And once they have the condition, those in the most deprived homes are twice as likely to develop complications of diabetes as those in the least deprived.
It would make sense that teenage mothers have a lot of psychological stress in their lives, but a new study shows that the distress comes before the pregnancy, not because of it.
Roofing companies in Greater Manchester are being urged to make safety one of their top priorities after a man fell through the roof of a Swinton factory.
Nanobiotix, an emerging nanomedicine company, announced exciting preclinical results using its patented nanoXray therapeutics platform to fight tumors. The preclinical study, performed at Institut Gustave Roussy, one of Europe"s leading cancer treatment centers, showed that an intratumoral injection of NBTXR3 nanoparticles and activated via standard radiation therapy led to complete tumor regression in mice at 60 days, compared to zero tumor regression in mice treated with xray only or NBTXR3 only. The study was led by principal investigator, Jean Bourhis, M.D., Ph.D. a prominent radiation oncologist and researcher at Institut Gustave Roussy.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology announced that it has issued a revised policy statement on Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, and Vision. The revised statement, which was issued jointly with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) and the American Association of Certified Orthoptists (AACO), expands upon the previous policy and includes extensive scientific references. The statement was also published today in Pediatrics, the journal of the AAP.
House GOP members on Tuesday sent a letter to President Obama praising him for saying that he wants to "honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion" during his commencement address at the University of Notre Dame last weekend, The Hill reports. The Republican lawmakers -- Reps. James Sensenbrenner (Wis.), Chris Smith (N.J.) and John Fleming (La.) -- said Obama"s speech indicated to them that he would reinstate the HHS provider "conscience" rule, which expanded the ability of health workers to refuse to provide services or information they objected to on moral or religious grounds and prohibited federal funding for health entities that do not comply.In March, Obama began the process for rescinding the Bush-era rule, and it is currently undergoing a White House review. In the letter, the representatives said that they "agree with [Obama] that pro-life health care providers should have the right to refuse to participate in procedures that they find morally reprehensible." Smith said he has "renewed hope, hopefully not false" that Obama will "completely forgo the rescinding of this rule" after his remarks during Sunday"s speech (Hooper, The Hill, 5/19).
Continuing efforts to help its members form lasting and profitable partnerships and pre-empt disputes in veterinary practice, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) has revised its "Guide to partnerships in veterinary practice". It will be of particular interest to vets buying into a partnership for the first time and will also be helpful to partners revising their existing agreement.
A recent independent study has confirmed Fortoss Vital(R), developed by the Pioneering Orthobiologics Company, Biocomposites, as an effective bone replacement material demonstrating superior bone regenerative properties due to its unique negative zeta potential control (ZPC(TM)).
Relistor (Methylnaltrexone) is a medication for patients who suffer from constipation caused by opioid drugs. Opioid drugs are used for pain relief. An opioid is a chemical that binds to opioid receptors that exist mainly in the central nervous system and the gut (gastrointestinal tract). When people take opioids they have a lower perception of pain, a lower reaction to pain, as well as a higher pain tolerance - in other words, opioids provide effective pain relief. However, opioids also cause constipation.
Age Concern and Help the Aged has welcomed the long-awaited publication of the Government"s Green Paper on reform of the care and support system.
High-throughput sequencing has turned biologists into voracious genome readers, enabling them to scan millions of DNA letters, or bases, per hour. When revising a genome, however, they struggle, suffering from serious writer"s block, exacerbated by outdated cell programming technology. Labs get bogged down with particular DNA sentences, tinkering at times with subsections of a single gene ad nauseam before moving along to the next one.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) moved to a neutral position on assisted suicide following a discussion at its Council meeting.
A leading Democratic senator, Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said Sunday Democrats would need Republican support to make ambitious proposals to overhaul the health system a reality, the Associated Press reports. "Look, there are not the votes for Democrats to do this just on our side of the aisle," said Conrad, who chairs the Budget Committee. Democrats remain divided over the plans, prompting the Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to say, "The only thing bipartisan about the measure so far is the opposition to it" (7/26).
Covering the uninsured - a leading principle of health care reform - depends on the critical issue of who gets subsidies to pay for health insurance coverage and when.
The AMA has congratulated the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission on its final report launched in Canberra by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
It is known that Retroviruses, such as HIV, that are already within cells
CyDex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the company"s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for a clinical study of Captisol-Enabled® melphalan HCL (CDX-353). Melphalan is an FDA-approved low dose chemotherapy for multiple myeloma marketed under the brand name Alkeran® by GlaxoSmithKline.
Spinal Muscular Atrophy is the second-leading cause of infant mortality in the world.
A team of astronomers has discovered a group of rare galaxies called the "Green Peas" with the help of citizen scientists working through an online project called Galaxy Zoo. The finding could lend unique insights into how galaxies form stars in the early universe.
Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ: CLSN) and Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 2267) announced that Celsion"s global Phase III ThermoDox trial for the treatment of primary liver cancer will be extended to Japan by Yakult"s expertise. This is an important step towards a potential application to market the drug in Japan. Yakult Honsha is the exclusive licensor of Celsion"s ThermoDox in Japan.