Nutrition
"In recent years, conservative political strategists have painted African Americans as being more opposed to abortion than the white population," but experts believe that there actually "is a declining black support for conservative social policies like abortion," Tracie Powell, a former congressional fellow with the American Political Science Association, writes in a CQ Politics opinion piece. According to Powell, a recent Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey found that 49% of black U.S. residents -- who generally are considered more religious than the entire U.S. population -- are in favor of keeping abortion legal in most or all cases.Powell continues that experts vary in their explanations of the declining opposition to abortion rights among blacks. She writes that Christopher Metzler, an associate dean at Georgetown University, said that economic concerns, such as the high unemployment rate for black workers, have become more important than abortion for the group. According to Powell, Metzler said that black U.S. residents also have started questioning the antiabortion-rights agenda because they received little support from conservatives in return.Powell writes that some experts believe the feelings of black U.S. residents regarding abortion might go "deeper than current economic and social realities." Powell adds that Salamishah Tillet, founder of the organization A Long Walk Home, said that reproductive injustice for black women dates to times of slavery, when they had no reproductive rights. According to Tillet, black women face reproductive injustice in modern times through underfunding of family planning programs, lack of access to contraception and legislation like the Hyde Amendment, which restricts access to abortion for low-income women, who are disproportionately black and Hispanic.Powell writes, "I doubt most Americans, including those who are black, consider abortion a civil rights issue, and I"m not arguing that it should be." However, "I do know that while black Americans remain one of the most religious demographics in the country, this isn"t the 1960s and African Americans no longer march lock-step behind the church," she writes (Powell, CQ Politics, 6/10).
It"s rare when real-world events perfectly mirror experiments that scientists are conducting.
Knockout of myostatin, a growth factor that limits muscle growth, can decrease body fat and promote resistance against developing atherosclerosis, or "hardening" of the arteries, according to a new study conducted in mice. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society"s 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
A new study suggests that delivering small RNAs, known as microRNAs, to cancer cells could help to stop the disease in its tracks. microRNAs control gene expression and are commonly lost in cancerous tumors. Researchers have shown that replacement of a single microRNA in mice with an extremely aggressive form of liver cancer can be enough to halt their disease, according to a report in the June 12 issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication.
Researchers at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles and Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona have discovered a reason why smoking increases the risk of heart disease and strokes.
Researchers at Addenbrook"s Hospital in Cambridge published a study on bmj.com in which they explain their design and evaluation of a new cognitive test for detecting Alzeimer" disease called TYM ("test your memory") which is considered quicker and more precise than many existing tests, and which can also help diagnose early dementia.
The first long-term study following a large number of chest pain patients who are screened with coronary computerized tomographic angiography (CTA) confirms that the test is a safe, effective way to rule out serious cardiovascular disease in patients who come to hospital emergency rooms with chest pain, according to new research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine which was presented Friday, May 15, 2009 at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine"s annual conference.
Some disease-causing bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics because they have peculiar sex lives, say researchers publishing new results in the journal Science. The new study helps scientists understand how bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics, which is a major challenge for those treating infectious diseases, say the authors from Imperial College London.
The body mass index (BMI) and waistline measurement overestimate obesity in blacks, according to a new study. The results, which were presented at The Endocrine Society"s 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., suggest that conventional methods for estimating body fat may need to become race-specific.
The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) will honor a senior U.S. Senator, a top Administration official, a cutting-edge television network, and several pioneering companies developing treatments for rare diseases at the 2009 NORD Gala at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, on Thursday, May 14.
The U.S. Senate has introduced a bill, S. 1221, "The Medicare Prompt Pay Correction Act," a companion bill to H.R. 1392, which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and currently has 45 co-sponsors.
Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle report that algorithms for the management of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) with a preference for endovascular repair (EVAR), serve as surrogates for an organized approach to managing the disease process and reducing overall mortality. These findings are from a study presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Vascular Surgery®.
The use of fenestrated endografts to treat juxta-renal and para-renal aneurysms (adjacent to and involving the visceral segment of the aorta) after prior aortic reconstruction, is a viable alternative to open repair. These findings are from a study presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Vascular Surgery®.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced it has raised the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 5 to phase 6, following an
HCL, the UK"s largest health and social care recruiter, said today that it anticipates increasing demand for its temporary and locum staff as the NHS seeks to increase efficiencies in healthcare provision.
Given Imaging Ltd.
The benefits of alcohol are all about moderation. Low to moderate drinking - especially of red wine - appears to reduce causes of mortality, while too much drinking causes multiple organ damage.
U.S. Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced legislation sponsored by the California Medical Association to eliminate one of the biggest barriers for seniors to get access to health care - low Medicare reimbursement rates in several counties.
The UK Revalidation Programme Board (UKRPB) has reviewed the strategy and timetable for developing local systems to support the introduction of revalidation for doctors. The Board expects that these systems will be in place in some parts of the country by 2011. The GMC is committed to a phased approach to introducing revalidation from 2011. This will mean starting where the systems needed to support revalidation are ready and fit for purpose.
The California Medical Association supports the passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act that would allow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to finally set standards for cigarettes and regulate chemicals. In 1963, CMA was the first among state medical societies to create policy to inform people about the harmful effects of cigarette smoking.
Researchers, doctors and patient groups will today call on
Pfizer announced today that data from two new mid-stage clinical studies of the company"s oral JAK-3 inhibitor, CP-690,550, showed statistically significant response versus placebo for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Data from these two Phase 2 trials and one ongoing open-label safety study are being presented this week at the 10th Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR). These results confirm findings from two previously reported Phase 2 studies in RA and have been used to support dose selection for Phase 3.
UroToday.com - Prostate Cancer Screening among African Americans. Our manuscript that was published in Cancer Nursing, revealed an important topic in how African American men decided whether or not to get a prostate cancer screening. This is particularly important currently due to the controversy of prostate cancer screening.
UroToday.com - Two papers in the May 5, 2009 edition of Nature Genetics link ERG chromosomal gene translocations with loss of PTEN in the early stages of prostate cancer (CaP) progression. Both are reviewed in Urotoday.
Almost 90 per cent of the world"s population will not have timely access to affordable supplies of vaccines and antiviral agents in the current influenza pandemic, but it is possible that inexpensive generic drugs that are readily available, even in developing countries, could save millions of lives.
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have developed a new method to study single cells while exposing them to controlled environmental changes. The unique method, where a set of laser tweezers move the cell around in a microscopic channel system, allows the researchers to study how single cells react to stress induced by a constantly changing environment.
Depression is an established risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) in healthy patients and for adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with existing CHD. Dietary factors resulting in lower levels of omega 3 fatty acids not only increase CHD risk, but may also be involved in the pathophysiology of depression. The investigators measured red blood cell levels of two omega 3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and assessed depressive symptoms in a cross-sectional study of 987 adults with CHD. Omega 3 fatty acids were blindly measured in fasting venous blood samples using capillary gas chromatography to measure the fatty acid composition of red blood cell membranes. Red blood cell levels of EPA and DHA are presented as a percentage composition of total fatty acid methyl esters. The investigators assessed current depression using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire. They evaluated the association between omega 3 fatty acid levels and depressive symptoms as continuous variables using linear regression.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that globally a total of 8,840 swine flu A(H1N1) cases of human infection have been confirmed, including 71 deaths (all of them in Mexico, the USA and Canada). The death rate for this novel influenza strain appears to be no different from that of seasonal human influenza. Several countries have now lifted travel restrictions on non-essential visits to Mexico.
Mental Health America announced Sharon Jenkins Tucker of Decatur, Georgia, as its 2009 recipient of the Clifford W. Beers Award.
The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), the nation"s oldest women"s health organization, is pleased to announce that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has reaffirmed its support for equitable reimbursement for certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and certified midwives (CMs) within the Medicare program, a priority legislative initiative for ACNM members.
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and WHO (World Health Organization), the total number of swine flu A(H1N1) cases stood at 4,714, plus four deaths, on 17th May, 2009. Non-essential travel to Mexico has been downgraded from a "Warning" to a "Precaution"; meaning authorities consider travel to Mexico as not being dangerous for people who are not at high risk of normal flu complications.
What is sure to be a staggering price tag for health reform has Senate Democrats talking about changing the chamber"s normal accounting procedures, The Hill reports.
President Obama used his popularity Thursday at a town hall meeting in Green Bay, Wisc., in an effort to help make the case to Americans that a health care system overhaul needs to happen this year, Time reports.
XenaCare Holdings Inc. (OTCBB:XCHO), a healthcare company specializing in the branding, retailing and internet distribution of consumer products, has announced today that in the July 2009 issue of Prevention Magazine™ an article written by Roopoka Malhorta which is about Ageless Summer Beauty - 21 fast, easy ways to look young - and stay that way - this summer and beyond states as their #1 choice was to "Try a Sun Protection pill" they further stated "ò€¦boost your UV protection by taking an antioxidant supplement such as SunPill ($20 for a month"s supply; available at http://www.sunpill.com)." According to Frank Rizzo, president of XenaCare, the SunPill can also be purchased at Walgreens, Rite-Aid, Amazon.com, Drugstore.com, CVS.com, Target.com and various other major retailers.
Automated phone calling may help physicians solve a perennial problem: patients who don"t take medicine prescribed for chronic health conditions.
The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada praised the government"s announcement of $15 million to study the impact of a wide variety of neurological conditions, including multiple sclerosis.
Global Post examines the quest for an effective vaccine to fight malaria. According to Global Post, "epidemiologists are pinning their hopes on a malaria vaccine" because "[k]illing mosquitoes, or avoiding bites, is an imprecise solution to malaria."
Future Studies Needed To Determine If "Test And Treat" Approach Could "End HIV Pandemic Within 50 Years," Researchers Say
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has learned that some stolen vials of the long-acting insulin Levemir made by Novo Nordisk Inc. have reappeared and are being sold in the U.S. market. Three lots or a total of 129,000 vials of this product were stolen in all. These stolen insulin vials may not have been stored and handled properly and may be dangerous for patients to use.
The Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme
Since August 2008, Meda (STO:MEDAA) and BioDelivery Sciences International (BDSI) have worked in close collaboration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to complete the final requirement of a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program for Onsolis (fentanyl - treatment of breakthrough cancer pain).
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has called HM Prison Service to account over a case of Legionnaires Disease at Nottingham Prison.
A protein known to play a role in growth of some types of leukemia appears to have a mixed function in breast cancer development, say researchers from the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC).
President Barack Obama is seeking support from America"s doctors today as he addresses delegates at the 158th annual meeting of the American
There may be an association between the use of stimulant medications for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, known as ADHD, and sudden cardiac death in healthy children, according to a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that, because of the study"s limitations, parents should not stop a child"s stimulant medication based on the study. The FDA recommends that parents should discuss concerns about the use of these medications with the prescribing health care professional.
FluoroPharma Inc., a company developing breakthrough PET molecular imaging agents, announced that it will present Phase I data relating to the safety, dosimetry, and pharmacokinetics in human subjects of BFPET, its novel 18-F labeled PET tracer for myocardial perfusion imaging, at the Society of Nuclear Medicine 2009 Annual Meeting in Toronto.
In recent years, the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has been changing. This trend may be the result of antimicrobial use, infection control practices, or other factors. It is critical for healthcare professionals to be aware of the epidemiology of this virulent pathogen and apply evidence-based principles for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announced that results from nine studies involving the Company"s Urology/Gynecology products will be presented at the 34th Annual Meeting of the International Urogynecological Association (IUGA). Presentations will feature Boston Scientific"s pelvic floor reconstruction systems and mid-urethral sling systems used to treat pelvic floor prolapse and stress urinary incontinence (SUI). The Company will also sponsor a symposium highlighting long-term registry data comparing the benefits of experienced-based versus evidence-based outcomes for patients treated with mid-urethral slings. The IUGA Congress will be held June 16-20 at the Villa Erba Conference Center in Como, Italy.
People with memory problems who are depressed are more likely to develop Alzheimer"s disease compared to people who are not depressed, according to a study published in the June 16, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. However, the research also shows that the popular Alzheimer"s drug donepezil may delay the progression to Alzheimer"s disease for depressed people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or memory problems.
The United Kingdom"s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published a Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) recommending the use of the drug Erbitux® (cetuximab) in combination with chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic (advanced) colorectal cancer (mCRC) who have met specific additional criteria(1) - presenting the possibility of potentially curative surgery.(2) The treatment is recommended for patients in whom the cancer has spread only to the liver and who have normal or "wild-type" KRAS tumors.(1) In the UK, a recommendation by NICE is a prerequisite for funding of a medical treatment by the National Health Service.
Abbott"s (NYSE: ABT) TRILIPIX® (fenofibric acid) delayed-release capsules in combination with rosuvastatin calcium achieved individual and combined lipid targets in patients with mixed dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes. In these patients, the combination of TRILIPIX and rosuvastatin helped up to three times more patients simultaneously reach all three key lipid targets HDL, triglycerides and LDL than the pre-determined monotherapy. Results from this post-hoc analysis were presented at the American Diabetes Association"s 2009 Scientific Sessions.
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Diabetes UK is today bringing together 100 people, including 20 diabetes amputees, at the "Body Worlds and Mirror of Time" exhibition at London"s O2 Arena for a photo call to highlight the fact that diabetes causes 100 amputations a week in the UK.
Physicians are still waiting for clear cut rules for how they must use health information technology in order to be eligible for economic stimulus-funded incentives, American Medical News, a publication of the American Medical Association, reports. The publication notes that (the $2 billion) "incentive money will directly address the use of EMRs, not the purchase of the systems." The sole, ambiguous requirement - that doctors must make "meaningful use" of the technology - will be defined by year"s end. But, industry consultants say doctors can and should get a head start on the governments expectation that they"ll be able to adopt the technology by 2011. Practices can expect requirements to include e-prescribing, certification through a government-approved certifying body, quality reporting, and the ability of one system to exchange information with others (Dolan, 6/15).
Numerous Global Health Events In Seattle This Week
Twenty-nine students arrived at Indiana University School of Medicine"s Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research to work a 10-week summer internship alongside top pediatric researchers. More than 250 applicants vied for the treasured research spots. Most of the candidates come from Indiana universities.
New York: With a growing recognition that "blind faith in economic growth and gain as the be-all, end-all, cure-for-all has been misplaced," World Health Organization Director-General Dr Margaret Chan responded to leaders who have been calling for a redesign of international systems.
New research from Cincinnati Children"s Hospital Medical Center highlights the critical role a certain gene and its protein play during early embryonic development on formation of a normal heart and skull.
Scientists in Israel have identified the key substances in exhaled breath associated with healthy and diseased kidneys - raising expectations, they say, for development of long-sought diagnostic and screening tests that literally sniff out chronic renal failure (CRF) in its earliest and most treatable stages. Their report is in the current issue of ACS Nano, a monthly journal.
Scientists have used genetic engineering to tame one of the most deadly food poisoning microbes and turn it into a potential new way of giving patients medicine and vaccines in pills rather than injections. The study is in the current issue of ACS" Molecular Pharmaceutics, a bi-monthly journal.
Recently, researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory"s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) launched a new database, the Gene Expression Atlas, which allows scientists to search and compare gene expression data at unprecedented detail and scope. Observing how gene expression varies in different cell types, tissues and under disease conditions can help researchers understand gene function and to develop new drugs and therapies.
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) has announced the recipients of the 2009 Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award. MUHC researcher Dr. Maya Saleh was one of six recipients granted $500,000 over a 6-year period for her research proposal, "Regulation and molecular mechanisms of NLR-mediated innate immunity."
Has the key to reducing breast cancer gotten lost in the race for a cure? A new book, No Family History, presents compelling evidence that exposure to everyday products such as cosmetics and toiletries, hormones in food, household cleaners and pesticides is behind the dramatic increase in breast cancer and argues that the solution is simple: prevention.
Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals announced positive results of the U.S.-based, randomized Daily-Dose Consensus Interferon and Ribavirin: Efficacy of Combined Therapy (DIRECT) clinical trial authored by Bruce R. Bacon, M.D., of Saint Louis University, and colleagues at 44 centers in the United States. The primary endpoint of increased sustained virological response (SVR), was achieved demonstrating that INFERGEN provides a second chance to those HCV patients failing to respond to standard, first-line therapy of pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV). "The retreatment of PEG-IFN/RBV nonresponders with INFERGEN and RBV is safe and efficacious and can be considered a retreatment strategy for patients failing previous therapy with PEG-IFN/RBV, especially in interferon-sensitive patients with lower baseline fibrosis scores," stated Dr. Bruce Bacon the lead Investigator for the study.
The American Dental Association (ADA) Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry (EBD) and The Forsyth Institute announce the offering of an intensive, five-day training course in evidence-based principles and tools, including systematic reviews and applications for clinical decision making.
The 2009 monsoon season will soon arrive in the Asian territories and culicine mosquito populations are expected to increase. "These mosquitoes may carry the virus that causes Japanese Encephalitis (JE), which kills 10-15,000 people each year," warned Fran Lessans, CEO of Passport Health, the largest provider of travel medical services in the U.S. A new vaccine called Ixiaro(R) has been approved by the FDA, and is ready for distribution in the United States. Some Passport Health"s offices will have both JE-VAX(R) and Ixiaro(R) until JE-VAX(R) is phased out. "The new vaccine is good for adults over 18 so we still have to use JE-VAX(R) for the younger population," concluded Lessans. Both vaccines protect against JE.
A report released by the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism found that binge drinking and drinking-related deaths among college-age students are increasing.
In testimony before the Listening Panel of the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (FCCC) on June 10, 2009, ECRI Institute President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey C. Lerner, Ph.D., called for devoting a substantial proportion of the $1.1 billion allocated to the comparative effectiveness research to go toward establishing a National Patient Library™. ECRI Institute® (http://www.ecri.org) is an independent nonprofit organization that researches the best approaches to improving patient care.
Nanoparticles specially engineered by
A new study by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) researchers contradicts the conventional wisdom that living near a fast food outlet increases weight in children and that living near supermarkets, which sell fresh fruit and vegetables as well as so called junk food, lowers weight.
"GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, Ky., GOP Senate Whip Jon Kyl, Ariz., Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander, Tenn., and House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence, Ind., went on the offensive following Obama"s speech in Chicago to the American Medical Association. Kyl and McConnell unveiled a bill to rival the Democratic bill, while Alexander and Pence spoke to reporters," according to the Hill. "Pence, who said he did not watch Obama"s speech, said House Republicans would try to force amendments to the bill and would vote "no" on the bill otherwise because it improperly pits the government against private insurers. He and Alexander both said such a government role would eventually prompt employers to reduce the plans they offer employees."
In an interview with NPR, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stressed that talk of a public plan doesn"t mean that a single-payer option is a possibility. "This is not a trick. This is not single payerò€¦ That"s not what anyone is talking about - mostly because the president feels strongly, as I do, that dismantling private health coverage for the 180 million Americans that have it, discouraging more employers from coming into the marketplace, is really the bad, you know, is a bad direction to go," she said. Sebelius added that a public insurance option would pressure private insurance companies to lower costs, which she says is "a good thing for the American public. Medicare right now has lower overhead than private insurers." Some Republicans have argued that Americans currently in private plans would flee to the public option, but Sebelius countered that expanding health insurance would potentially create "50 million-plus new insurance customers, whether you"re talking about a private plan or public option."
A joint legislative budget committee in California on Monday rejected a number of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger"s (R) proposals to cut funding from some state programs to address the state"s $24.3 billion deficit, including a plan to cut $80.1 million from HIV/AIDS programs, the Sacramento Bee reports (Wiegand/Sanders, Sacramento Bee, 6/14). The committee voted to reduce the $80.1 million proposal, which would affect a number of HIV/AIDS education, prevention and treatment services, by roughly $50 million, to $33.5 million, according to the Los Angeles Times (Goldmacher, Los Angeles Times, 6/15).
The NPA has the following initial comments to make on the Government"s response to the Pharmacy Order 2009 consultation, which came out today.
A new report issued recently by the U.S. Global Change Research Program outlines the extent of climate change around the U.S. and its effects not only at present but for the future as well.
American Career College has gained approval to offer a Respiratory Therapy (RT) program at its Ontario campus, where the program"s initial class will commence on July 20, 2009. Currently, American Career College offers an RT program at its Orange County campus in Anaheim.
To improve efficiency and expand capacity to monitor the growing number of clinical studies being conducted in Western Sub-Saharan Africa, Quintiles today announced the opening of a new office in Accra, Ghana.
A list of more than 200 indicators of high quality care in the NHS is being published for the first time to help clinicians drive up the quality of care they deliver to patients, the Department of Health and The NHS Information Centre announced today.
Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic disease, announced final data from three separate Phase II trials involving its lead cholesterol management compound, lomitapide (AEGR-733), which is a microsomal triglyceride transfer protein inhibitor (MTP-I) small molecule drug. The final data was recently presented at the American Diabetes Association"s "69th Scientific Sessions" in New Orleans, LA on June 7, 2009 and the International Symposium on Atherosclerosis (ISA) in Boston, MA on June 15, 2009.
Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. The tumors are generally found in the skin, but may also appear in the bowel and the eye (uveal melanoma). Melanoma is a type of skin cancer - one of the rarer types - but the cause of most skin cancer related deaths. Malignant melanoma is caused by an uncontrolled growth of skin pigment cells (melancytes). The word "melanoma" comes from the Ancient Greek melas meaning "black", and the Ancient Greek oma meaning "disease, morbidity".
ARYx Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ARYX), a biopharmaceutical company, announced today that the database for the EmbraceAC study has been locked and the study remains on schedule, with the efficacy and safety results to be available during the week of July 6, 2009. The study was designed to compare its oral anticoagulation therapy, tecarfarin (previously ATI-5923), against the leading anticoagulant agent, warfarin. The purpose of the trial is to evaluate whether tecarfarin is superior to warfarin in its ability to maintain patients within a target therapeutic range of the level of anticoagulation as measured by INR (International Normalized Ratio). Based upon recent interactions with the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ARYx believes this trial could be positioned as one of the required registration studies for tecarfarin.
Two new studies published by neurologists at Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital demonstrate a need for more vigilant monitoring for seizure activity among intensive care patients who may be experiencing subtle seizures that are typically unrecognized. These subtle seizures may be affecting patients" prognoses and causing long-term brain damage, death and severe disability.
In a letter to this week÷´s BMJ, a researcher expresses his concern on how in order to empower NHS patients with choice, the UK government is in danger of sacrificing the principle of equality on which the service was founded.
The immune system"s T-cells react to foreign protein fragments and therefore are crucial to combating viruses and bacteria. Errant cells that attack the body"s own material are in most cases driven to cell death. Some of these autoreactive T-cells, however, undergo a kind of reeducation to become "regulatory T-cells" that keep other autoreactive T-cells under control. A group led by immunologist Professor Ludger Klein of LMU Munich has now shown that the developmental stage of an autoreactive T-cell is decisive to its ultimate destiny. Young autoreactive T cells are very readily reeducated into regulatory T-cells. Under identical conditions, however, older T cells become fully activated and can cause damage they are in a way resistant to reeducation. "We now intend to study at the molecular level what makes a T-cell accessible for reeducation," said Klein, "because then it may be possible to convert even normal adult T-cells, which can be obtained easily and in great numbers from blood. Possibly, they could then be used as regulatory T-cells in therapies for autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes or multiple sclerosis: these are diseases that are triggered by uncontrolled autoreactive T-cells." (PNAS, 10 June 2009)
Hydration expert, Water Wellpoint is playing a key role in helping public sector employers look after the health and wellbeing of their staff. The company has recently been working with East London NHS Foundation Trust to run a series of wellbeing days, giving employees the ability to check key aspects of their health in a total voluntary format.
Discovering for the first time that copy number variation or CNV, where a strip of DNA is duplicated or missing, may
Brain injuries are the number one killer and disabler of people under the age of 45 in Canada. These injuries are
After nine years of providing health care for the population in Bakool region, Doctors Without Borders/Mç©decins Sans Frontiç¨res (MSF) has reached the regrettable conclusion that it does not have sufficient security to continue its work. This decision was MSF"s alone and the organization was not expelled by the authorities. MSF medical activities elsewhere in Somalia continue.
Legislation to establish a Frontline Providers Loan Repayment Program that includes physical therapists was introduced Tuesday by Representative Bruce Braley (D-IA). The Access to Frontline Health Care Act of 2009 (HR 2891) would encourage physical therapists to practice in underserved areas, says the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).
Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., says the House Ways and Means Committee may seek to raise money for health reform by imposing a $37 billion tax on drugmaker"s advertisements, Bloomberg reports: "As lawmakers seek ways to pay for a health-care overhaul, "one thing that"s not off the table is you can pick up $37 billion knocking out the deduction for advertising" for prescription drugs,"" Rangel said. The idea is among several proposals by Democratic legislators to raise reform money (Donmoyer, 6/16).
As the recession forces more hospitals and doctors to pare costs and services, children are being especially hard hit.
The Ozone Man, Inc. (OTCBB: OZOM), dba TOMI Environmental Solutions, or TOMIES, announced today the completion of a deep cleaning treatment of Xaverian High School with a student body of 1400 located in Brooklyn, New York. The Ozone Man"s treatment eliminated contaminants including Swine Flu "H1N1" along with inactivating viruses. The Ozone Man"s treatment also eliminates odor, mold spores and kills bacteria in the treated areas. Its proprietary Ultraviolet Ozone Generators produce the cleanest ozone south of the stratosphere, helping to ensure the health, safety and well being of the building and its inhabitants.
Opponents and proponents of health care reform are using "rationing" as the word to drive opinion regarding health care reform in the United States, The New York Times reports.
Los Angeles County public health officials on Tuesday said that they cannot confirm that the 16 cases of HIV they reported last week were in fact active adult film industry workers at the time of their diagnoses, the Los Angeles Times reports. Officials contend that they mistakenly labeled all cases of individuals who tested positive from the Adult Industry Medical Foundation (AIMF) clinic since 2004 as "adult performers," even though AIMF also serves clients who are not in the industry. In addition, officials increased the total number of cases of HIV reported by the clinic since 2004 from 16 to 18 (Yoshino/Lin, Los Angeles Times, 6/17).
ECRI Institute Patient Safety Organization (PSO) is pleased to announce an agreement with the Coalition for Quality & Patient Safety (CQPS) of Chicagoland PSO to provide patient safety data collection, reporting, and analysis. The Chicagoland PSO focuses on local experience, patterns, trends, and patient safety initiatives specific to Chicago and the surrounding counties. CQPS will coordinate its PSO and other patient safety efforts with other Illinois-based hospital and primary care associations, the Illinois Department of Public Health, consumers and consumer advocates, other patient safety and quality improvement stakeholders, and existing patient safety collaboratives across the state.
Consumers of over-the-counter homeopathic and "natural" cold remedies should carefully research such treatment options and properly follow dosage instructions, urges a UMDNJ physician who specializes in integrative medicine.
Researchers from Strategic BioSciences, together with investigators from the Institute for Asthma and Allergy (Wheaton, MD) reported that the new all-natural product is safe and effective in relieving symptoms of allergic rhinitis. MucoAd® is a mucoadhesive molecule (hypromellose) that prolongs contact with the nasal surface so that the nasal spray is well tolerated, lasts longer, and repeat dosing is needed less frequently.
The Endocrine Society is pleased to announce the 2009 Laureate Awards established in 1944 to recognize the highest achievements in endocrinology including: science, leadership, teaching and service. This year"s Laureate Awards were presented at ENDO 09, the 91st Annual Meeting of The Endocrine Society, being held June 10-13, in Washington, DC.
Concerns over whether the tests a treatment undergoes before release onto the market are enough to ensure its long-term safety are raised in an editorial published by BMJ Clinical Evidence today.
Researchers in Japan are reporting new evidence that the ordinary vinegar - a staple in oil-and-vinegar salad dressings, pickles, and other foods - may live up to its age-old reputation in folk medicine as a health promoter. They are reporting new evidence that vinegar can help prevent accumulation of body fat and weight gain. Their study is scheduled for the July 8 issue of ACS" Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.
An evaluation of recent innovations in delivering primary care at a Group Health Cooperative medical center shows significant success and rapid return on investment. The data led to a decision to invest in these best practices in all of Group Health"s 26 medical centers by 2010.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) announced the initiation of a Phase I clinical trial with LGD-4033, a next-generation selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) designed to provide the benefits of androgen receptor stimulation on skeletal muscle and bone without the side effects of currently marketed androgens. The Phase I study will evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic profile of orally administered LGD-4033.
Shape is turning out to be a particularly important feature of some commercially important nanoparticles - but in subtle ways. New studies* by scientists at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) show that changing the shape of cobalt nanoparticles from spherical to cubic can fundamentally change their behavior.