Nutrition
American health care reform has become a "hot topic north of the border," the Washington Times reports. "If Mr. Obama succeeds, the U.S. could draw even more Canadian doctors and nurses to the U.S., exacerbating a shortage of medical professionals, said Dr. Brian Day, a Canadian health care critic and former head of the Canadian Medical Association. If Mr. Obama fails, perhaps Canada could open its system to "medical tourism" from the U.S., Dr. Day said." Under the Canadian system, everyone is insured and has "access to basic health care without ever seeing a doctor or hospital bill." But 70% of Canadians also have "some form of supplemental health insurance," in part because of long wait times for tests and treatments under the government plan. For Canadian citizens who become ill in the U.S., it is often cheaper to "ride on a private Lear jet back to Canada" than to be treated in a U.S. hospital.
Legislation seeks to fix Medicare payment rates for doctors, who are routinely underpaid for services in California, while hearings in South Dakota focus on Medicare reimbursement issues in rural areas.
The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine is pleased to announce the release of Medical Ultrasound Safety, Second Edition. All operators of ultrasound systems with an output display should review the information in this publication. The book consists of 3 parts: Bioeffects and Biophysics, Prudent Use, and Implementing ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable). With the information from this 64 page publication, users can better control the diagnostic ultrasound equipment and examination to ensure that needed diagnostic information is obtained with minimal risk to the patient.
Operation Rescue President Troy Newman on Wednesday said that his group is considering trying to purchase murdered abortion provider George Tiller"s Wichita, Kan., clinic, which Tiller"s family permanently closed on Tuesday, the New York Times reports. The clinic is owned by Tiller"s family. The family"s lawyer, Dan Monnat, called Operation Rescue"s proposal "just another irreverent, extremist publicity stunt." He declined to comment further on the situation. The family has not announced its plans for the building and land, which are worth $734,100, according to Sedgwick County, Kan., property records. The clinic has long been a focal point for the antiabortion-rights movement because it was one of the few in the U.S. that offered abortion later in pregnancy. Newman said that he has discussed the possible purchase with only a few members of Operation Rescue"s board but is certain that the funds could be raised if they decide to attempt to buy the clinic. Newman also said that one possibility for the location would be to turn it into a memorial museum to serve as "a tribute to the babies." He denied the claim that his comments are a publicity stunt.According to the Times, the closing of Tiller"s clinic has set off a "flurry of concerns" from abortion-rights advocates that it will be more difficult for women to access abortion services in situations when catastrophic health issues are identified late in pregnancy (Davey, New York Times, 6/11). LeRoy Carhart, a Nebraska abortion provider who worked with Tiller at the clinic, said that he will continue to perform third-trimester abortions in Kansas but did not provide information on where he will practice, the AP/Yahoo! News reports. Although he did not provide details, Carhart said that "there will be a place in Kansas for the later second- and the medically indicated third-trimester patients very soon." He said he has seen an increase in patients at his Nebraska clinic since Tiller"s murder. Carhart traveled to Tiller"s clinic to perform second- and third-trimester abortions because Kansas has less restrictive abortion laws than Nebraska. Carhart said he has not performed any procedures at his clinic after 22 weeks" gestation because his staff is not trained to do them. According to the AP/Yahoo! News, Nebraska law prohibits abortion when a fetus is considered viable. Kansas law, however, allows abortion after 21 weeks" gestation if continuing the pregnancy would endanger the woman"s life or cause "substantial and irreversible impairment" of a major bodily function, which courts have interpreted to include mental health (Gibbs, AP/Yahoo! News, 6/11).Broadcast CoverageThree media outlets on Wednesday reported on issues related to Tiller"s murder. Summaries appear below.~ MSNBC"s "The Rachel Maddow Show": The program included a discussion with Jennifer Boulanger, executive director for the Allentown Women"s Center, about threats to the center since Tiller"s murder (Maddow, "The Rachel Maddow Show," MSNBC, 6/10).~ NPR"s "All Things Considered": The program included a discussion with NPR health policy correspondent Julie Rovner about the correct terminology for referring to abortion later in pregnancy and why the phrase "late-term abortion" is inaccurate (Block, "All Things Considered," NPR, 6/10).~ WBUR"s "On Point": The program included a discussion with the Rev. Katherine Ragsdale -- a board member of NARAL Pro-Choice America and the incoming dean and president of Episcopal Divinity School -- and Jim Wallis -- founder and editor of the progressive evangelical group Sojourners -- about abortion-rights supporters" reaction to violence in the antiabortion-rights movement (Ashbrook, "On Point," WBUR, 6/10).
With schools dismissing for summer and summer activities underway, the Iowa Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) reminds Iowans to be aware of illnesses and health concerns that are typically associated with warmer weather. Increased outdoor activities mean increased potential for exposure to ticks, waterborne illnesses like Cryptosporidiosis (Crypto) and other diseases. "Everyone is eager to get outdoors," said IDPH Medical Director, Dr. Patricia Quinlisk. "Being aware of spring and summer health concerns is important, especially when simple precautions can help prevent illnesses."
Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), warned consumers not to eat SENG Chen PiMei Candy, after tests by CDPH found unacceptable levels of lead. Consumers in possession of the candy should discard it immediately.
Recovering stroke patients and others who find it hard to swallow when they eat and drink are now at a lower risk of developing pneumonia or chest infections, thanks to new technology which will help assess and treat their swallowing difficulties. Many patients suffering from stroke, head injury or major trauma often have swallowing difficulties when food and drink can go down the wrong way - patients can later develop nasty chest infections and pneumonias.
This week, the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) reported 24 new cases of H1N1 swine flu, bringing the state"s total number of cases to 58. The new cases are in Harrison (7), Jackson (4), Hinds (3), Holmes (2), Rankin (2), Jones (2), Lowndes (2), Lauderdale (1) and Madison (1) counties.
Undertaking a supervised exercise programme can have beneficial effects on functional status and physical function, reduce the need for daily corticosteroid and anti-inflammatory intake and improve levels of depression and anxiety in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a new study presented at EULAR 2009, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Copenhagen, Denmark.
In teenagers, laparoscopic gastric banding surgery for treatment of extreme obesity can significantly improve and even reverse the metabolic syndrome, a new study found. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society"s 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
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.
In today"s image-obsessed society where millions of photos are uploaded daily through digital networks such as Facebook and Flickr, how much of an impact can a common skin condition like acne have on the life of teens? Based on first impressions, teens with acne are perceived to have different personality and social traits than if they had clear skin, according to results of a new online perception survey sponsored by the American Acne & Rosacea Society (AARS), and co-authored by Dr. Eva Ritvo, psychiatrist and co-author of The Beauty Prescription.(1) The survey asked thousands of teens and adults to offer their impressions of a group of teens based solely on photos of their faces - with clear skin or digitally enhanced to simulate acne. The results, which are being released to mark the first-ever National Acne Awareness Month, also expose the significant lengths that teens with acne would go to if it meant they could get rid of their acne forever.(1a)
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®.
A report broadcast during the CBS Evening News on June 8 noted that one in 200 patients die during elective coronary angioplasty procedures and suggested that patients may be safest at institutions where surgical backup is readily available when complications occur. The report also noted that as many as 40 percent of the angioplasties performed may be unnecessary because patients could experience the same benefits from drug therapies.
As many as half of all men taking the antidepressant medication paroxetine (trade names Seroxat, Paxil) may have increased sperm DNA fragmentation -- a predictor of compromised fertility. Research led by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center also found that the changes are reversible with normal levels of sperm returning after discontinuation of the drug.
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 U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting patients to the Class I recall of certain Medtronic Kappa and Sigma pacemakers. These devices may fail due to a separation of wires that connect the electronic circuit to other pacemaker components, such as the battery.
Eduardo Villamor , Assistant Professor of International Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), will serve as co-principal investigator of a research and training center in Guatemala to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the Mesoamerican region, which includes Central America, the Caribbean, and Southern Mexico.
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.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning home owners to check that gas installers are properly registered and carry a current "Gas Safe Register" identity card.
NanoScan Imaging, LLC announced the publication of new data demonstrating the use of its investigational, radio-opaque contrast agent (N1177) to visualize vulnerable plaques that can cause heart attack or stroke using advanced, non-invasive and high-resolution computed tomography (CT) techniques. Results of the study were published in the current issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Nuclear Medicine (J Nucl Med. 2009 Jun;50(6):959-965).
A study involving 678 individuals who apply pesticides, culled from a U.S. Agricultural Health Study of over 50,000 farmers, recently found that exposure to certain pesticides doubles one"s risk of developing an abnormal blood condition called MGUS (monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance) compared with individuals in the general population. The disorder, characterized by an abnormal level of a plasma protein, requires lifelong monitoring as it is a pre-cancerous condition that can lead to multiple myeloma, a painful cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow. The study will appear in the June 18 issue of Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology.
Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSPT) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has informed the company that it should expect to receive formal notice of a three month extension of the review period for the new drug application (NDA) for Intermezzo(R) (zolpidem tartrate sublingual tablet). The Intermezzo(R) NDA had been assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date of July 30, 2009. Under this revised timeline, Transcept now anticipates action from the FDA on the NDA on or before October 31, 2009.
WASHINGTON D.C. - Most patients with acromegaly who are switched to the long-acting somatostatin analogue lanreotide (SomatulineR Depot) injection from initial treatment with octreotide cite a preference for lanreotide as their future therapy, according to data released here at the 91st Annual Meeting of the Endocrine Society (ENDO 09).
Seeing others in pain can automatically engage the brain"s empathy systems even if we are not paying attention, according to new research from Mount Sinai School of Medicine presented at the Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping. The investigators showed people images of hands and feet in painful or non-painful situations while scanning the brain using magnetic resonance imaging. Under some conditions the subjects paid attention to whether the situation was painful, while in other conditions they paid attention to other aspects of the images. The results showed that a brain area called the insula responded to pain even if the subject was not paying attention to pain, while another area called the anterior cingulate cortex was important for the voluntary control of empathy for pain. The research provides a better understanding of how the social brain responds to others" pain.
Researchers in the Neuroimaging and Stroke Recovery Laboratory at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center / Harvard Medical School are using a novel treatment for chronic stroke patients. The non-invasive technique of dual-hemisphere transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) uses electrical stimulation to modulate brain activity while simultaneous engaging the paretic arm/hand in sensorimotor activities. They studied chronic stroke patients who had movement problems after a stroke in a randomized clinical trial. The patients were divided into groups receiving either the electrical stimulation or placebo stimulation while receiving occupational therapy (OT) at the same time. After only 5 treatment sessions, patients receiving real stimulation and OT significantly improved in their motor functions, while control patients (receiving placebo stimulation and OT) showed no significant improvement. Functional magnetic resonance imaging showed increased brain activity in areas that control limb movement on the affected side for patients who received the real tDCS. It is important to notice that these changes were found in patients whose strokes had occurred on average about 3 years prior to the study, when patients are typically considered to be stable and unlikely to experience further improvement. This new treatment offers hope for patients debilitated by strokes.
The number of talented and motivated applicants for integrated vascular training programs far outweighs available positions according to a new, four-year study by researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.
The UK reported its first death to H1N1 swine flu on Sunday after a 38-year old mother from Glasgow died in a Scottish hospital days after she
Clare Lewis-Jones, Chief Executive of Infertility Network UK (I N UK) and More to Life, the largest national charity providing help, support and information to those suffering the effects of infertility, has been awarded an MBE in the Queen"s Birthday Honours List for her services to healthcare.
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.
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.
"The nation"s deep recession is helping to alleviate the decade-long nursing shortage, as workers who had left the field in better times are returning in droves," the Wall Street Journal reports. The paper quotes a study, one of six papers on the nursing workforce published today in the journal Health Affairs, that found "nearly a quarter-million nurses entered the work force in 2007-08, an 18% surge that was the largest two-year increase in at least three decades." Many of them had left nursing, but "re-entered the work force to compensate for a spouse"s lost income or health benefits, the study said." The increase is "particularly remarkable at a time when the U.S. economy has shed more than six million jobs, helping to solidify the profession"s "recession-proof" image." The study found that the surge in new nurses is due to "efforts to expand nursing schools, attract more young people into the field and improve working conditions," along with an increase in the number of foreign-born nurses.
Walgreen Co."s member organization in Delaware has "filed a suit against the state to put a stop to Medicaid rate cuts" just one week after "Walgreens announced it will stop filling prescriptions of brand-name medications for patients on Medicaid" in Delaware, the News Journal reports. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court by the National Community Pharmacists Association and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, whose members include Rite Aid, CVS, Wal-Mart and Target, in addition to Walgreens. The groups say "the new rates will lead to more pharmacies closing their doors to Medicaid clients. Gov. Jack Markell, D-Del., "said in a statement that the suit will not intimidate his administration into paying Walgreens higher reimbursement rates."
The WHO"s decision Thursday to declare H1N1 (swine) flu a pandemic will "speed the production of a vaccine against the new virus," however scientists continue to caution that "it will be fall at the earliest before the first doses are available," the Los Angeles Times reports.
At the 2009 HIV Implementers" Meeting in Namibia Thursday, Paul DeLay, deputy executive director of UNAIDS, said the global economic crisis will impact countries who receive international aid for HIV/AIDS programs, so recipients of such aid should identify priorities for their programs, the China Post reports (China Post, 6/12).
PTI/Hindu reports on the Worldwide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN) - an "international network of malaria scientists," which will be "established to map the emergence of resistance" to malaria drugs and "guide global efforts to control and eradicate the disease." The goal of WWARN, which "will integrate the efforts of researchers, NGOs and public health experts in malaria-endemic areas around the world," is to provide "comprehensive and rigorous evidence" for policy makers, which will help them "select the best anti-malarial treatments and to formulate strategies to control the critical problem of resistance wherever it arises," PTI/Hindu writes.
To continue to provide the most advanced care for adults, newborns and children across the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains region, Presbyterian/St. Luke"s Medical Center and Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children at P/SL have installed Toshiba"s Aquilion® ONE, the world"s first dynamic volume CT system. The hospital will use the Aquilion ONE to support its more than 80 specialties, including cardiology, neurology, oncology, diabetes management, orthopedics, pediatrics, emergency medicine and its nationally acclaimed wound healing/limb preservation program.
Protesters gathered outside a Washington, D.C., CVS Pharmacy on Thursday to urge the pharmacy chain to end the practice of locking condoms in display cases in certain neighborhoods, WJLA News reports. The protesters contend that CVS restricts access to condoms in poor black neighborhoods, whose residents may be at higher risk for HIV, other sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies (WJLA News, 6/11). The protest was a part of a nationwide effort called, "Cure CVS: Unlock the Condoms Initiative," which aims to urge CVS to keep condoms unlocked at all times (Business Wire release, 6/10). CVS said in a statement, "All CVS stores sell condoms that are unlocked and accessible" (WJLA News, 6/11).
A new study using advanced cardiac imaging technology indicates that cardiac abnormalities experienced by some marathon runners following competition are temporary, and do not result in damage to the heart muscle. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Manitoba, marked the first use of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, or CMR, in a post-marathon setting.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration provided further updated safety information on a class of asthma drugs known as leukotriene modifiers. The FDA has requested that manufacturers include a precaution in the drug prescribing information (drug labeling) regarding neuropsychiatric events (behavior, mood changes) that have been reported in some persons taking montelukast (Singulair), zafirlukast (Accolate), and zileuton (Zyflo and Zyflo CR).
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries.~ " White House Leaning Toward Pregnant Women Support Act," Dan Gilgoff, U.S. News & World Report"s "God and Country": Congressional sponsors of the Pregnant Women Support Act are "growing more optimistic about prospects for White House support," Gilgoff writes. Antiabortion-rights groups like the Southern Baptist Convention and the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops support the bill, as does Democrats for Life. According to Gilgoff, although the Planned Parenthood Federation of America has not officially come out in opposition to the bill, PPFA opposes provisions that aim to convince women to forgo abortion. The group supports informing women of options without attempting to persuade them in any way, Gilgoff writes. He continues that the White House has not publicly commented on the bill and that aides to President Obama are still working to produce a "common ground" policy related to abortion and other reproductive health issues. However, Gilgoff says that he received an e-mail from a congressional close to the bill who wrote that the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships ""reached out to our office at the staff level for information on [PWSA] to begin what would become a larger dialogue on the issue of abortion reduction."" The e-mail added that there has been continued correspondence on the issue and that a meeting is scheduled in the coming weeks with White House and congressional staff. Gilgoff writes that the also told him that the recent appointment of Alexia Kelley -- former president of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good -- to head the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships could be a sign of the White House"s potential support for the bill, as CACG showed support for PWSA under Kelley. Gilgoff concludes, "It seems more likely that the White House could incorporate less controversial parts of the bill into its own plan around abortion; I doubt President Obama would back legislation that would trigger objections from abortion-rights groups" (Gilgoff, "God and Country," U.S. News & World Report, 6/10).~ "God and Abstinence: State Funding for Religious Agendas," Kathryn Royals, RH Reality Check: None of the speakers at a Mississippi Department of Human Services" recent youth event -- called "Abstinence Works: Let"s Talk About It" -- provided any information "on what to do if abstinence fails," Royals writes. Although the speakers at the event "didn"t talk about abstinence," they "sure did chant, cheer, dance, pray and sing about it," she continues. She notes that the "constant and overzealous" Christianity references at the conference were "wrong" not only because they "ostracized anyone who didn"t prescribe to a particular brand of Christianity," they were "wrong because ... [t]axpayer and state money funded the event." She adds that she "would like to know why scientifically valuable and lifesaving information is being censored and made unavailable, and to what end," noting that speakers at the event offered misogynistic comments and medically inaccurate information but no thoughts on the "proper use of condoms or birth control." Royals also notes that Mississippi ranks No. 1 in the U.S. for teen births and has spent more than $16 million in abstinence-only sex education programs. "I tried to put myself in the place of the kids who attended the pep rally -- I mean, summit," Royals writes, concluding, "I would have walked out ... that day humming a new tune or chanting a new cheer, but my level of sexual education would not have improved. In fact, it would have been dangerously stunted" (Royals, RH Reality Check, 6/10).~ "Ross Douthat"s Abortion Solution: Don"t Let Women Have Abortions," Kathleen Reeves, RH Reality Check: New York Times columnist Ross Douthat argued in a Tuesday opinion piece that "that we should reconsider the conditions for legal abortion, and that stricter regulation of (restriction on) abortion, particularly after the
The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) says the annual Roy Morgan professions survey, which shows nurses are regarded as the most "ethical and honest" of all professions, confirms the Australian public continues to appreciate the benefits nurses bring to Australia"s health.
Biopharma company UCB and PatientsLikeMe, the leading online community for people with life-changing conditions, today announced a strategic partnership to create an online, open epilepsy community that captures real-world experiences of people living with epilepsy in the U.S.
Roughly a billion years from now, the ever-increasing radiation from the sun will have heated Earth into inhabitability; the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that serves as food for plant life will disappear, pulled out by the weathering of rocks; the oceans will evaporate; and all living things will disappear.
The BDA has produced a series of vintage oral health promotional posters and postcards featuring designs produced by the Ministry of Health between the nineteen thirties and sixties. The exclusive series, unveiled at the British Dental Conference and Exhibition, uses a combination of eye-catching vintage illustrations and photographs to emphasise the value of good oral health and nutrition in a fun and novel way.
Yissum Research Development Company Ltd., the Technology Transfer Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, announced today at the ILSI-Biomed Israel 2009 conference, it has signed an agreement with Aurum, Ventures MKI, the technology investment arm of Mr. Morris Kahn, for the development of a nanotechnology controlled release drug delivery platform that increases the bioavailability of orally administered lipophilic drugs. The technology was developed by Prof. Simon Benita at the Hebrew University"s School of Pharmacy.
UroToday.com - Over the past decade, the most significant advance, in my mind, with regard to the treatment of the distal ureteral stone, has been the advent of medical expulsive therapy as described by Porpiglia and colleagues in 2000, and corroborated by many subsequent studies. Savings with this approach, according to work by Lotan and colleagues, is around $1100/patient in addition to the benefits of decreased renal colic. Stone passage rates increase anywhere from 40-100% of controls within 10 days of starting medical expulsive therapy. While a variety of medications have been used (e.g. alpha blockers, steroids, calcium channel blockers), the alpha blockers (i.e. tamsulosin and alfuzosin) appear to be effective and well tolerated.
Statement of Charles D. Connor, American Lung Association President and CEO:
Body mass index (BMI) should be taken into account when assessing a cancer patient"s vitamin D status, according to researchers at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), who found that obese cancer patients had significantly lower levels of vitamin D compared to non-obese patients.
NECT (Nifurtimox-Eflornithine Combination Therapy), a new treatment option against sleeping sickness, a fatal disease which threatens 60 million people across sub-Saharan Africa, has been added to the Essential Medicines List (EML) of the World Health Organization (WHO) based on the application submitted by the non-profit Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and supported by Epicentre and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).
AEterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ: AEZS; TSX: AEZ), a global biopharmaceutical company focused on endocrine therapy and oncology, reported that patient follow-up in the open-label safety study (study 041) of its Phase 3 program in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with its lead endocrinology compound, cetrorelix pamoate, is scheduled to be completed at the end of this week. Therefore, data analysis and reporting will be brought forward from the scheduled fourth quarter into the third quarter of 2009, and will follow the disclosure of results from the first double-blind placebo controlled efficacy study (study 033). BPH is a benign enlargement of the prostate, affecting more than 20 million men in the U.S. alone.
Novartis has successfully completed the production of the first batch of influenza A(H1N1) vaccine, weeks ahead of expectations. Cell-based manufacturing technology[1] allows vaccine production to be initiated once a pandemic virus strain is identified without the need to adapt the virus strain to grow in eggs, as with traditional vaccine technologies. This advance has cut weeks off the time required to begin vaccine production. This first batch of ten liters of wild type influenza A(H1N1) vaccine monobulk will be used for pre-clinical evaluation and testing and is also being considered for use in clinical trials. It demonstrates the value of the cell-based production approach, that is also being used by Novartis with reassortant influenza A(H1N1) seed.
In a viewpoint published Online First and in a future edition of The Lancet, Sir Iain Chalmers, of the James Lind Library, Oxford, UK, and Professor Paul Glasziou, of the University of Oxford, UK, debate on the unnecessary waste that exists in medical research. This misuse leads many reports to be of no purpose. If there is a lack of functional reports and if they are not easily accessible, research is of no help to patients or their doctors.
The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, announced the approval of a new of Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) for Canada.
Australia"s peak nursing and midwifery groups will host a roundtable at Parliament House in Canberra today bringing nurses, midwives, doctors and the Government together to discuss community health services that better meet the needs of all Australians and that will take pressure off our over-burdened public hospitals.
Galapagos NV (Euronext: GLPG) announced that it has initiated Phase I clinical development of its integrin receptor antagonist (IRA), GLPG0187. This is the second small molecule therapeutic from Galapagos" internal drug discovery program to enter the clinic in 2009. Candidate drug GLPG0187 could offer a promising new therapeutic approach for treating cancer patients. Initial development will focus on bone metastases from prostate and breast cancer.
As the Senate Finance Committee prepares to unveil a health overhaul proposal this week, key players have been weighing in on aspects of potential legislation.
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.
Kathleen G. Sebelius: I am pleased Congress has taken swift action to pass the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation of tobacco products will be a critical piece of a coordinated effort to save lives, lower costs and reduce suffering from heart disease, cancer and other tobacco-related illness. This is a great step towards a healthier America.
Numerous Global Health Events In Seattle This Week
The tobacco industry knows exactly what makes social smokers tick. Now, researchers want to use that once-secret information to help them quit.
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)
Fertility Centers of Illinois (FCI), Crystal Lake location - part of one of the nation"s leading infertility treatment practices - has expanded its services to include an array of holistic treatments such as acupuncture, massage and nutrition counseling, in addition to free patient education seminars. FCI recognizes the growing benefits of integrating holistic therapies with medical treatment and with an increasing demand from patients, has extended its partnership with Pulling Down The Moon to create the first holistic center located within the fertility clinic.
OCD-UK is delighted to announce the first event of its kind, an OCD conference with a difference, a conference specifically aimed at the family, friends and carers of people with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
The Government has, for the first time, declared its support for what could be England"s first Autism Bill. The National Autistic Society (NAS) celebrated the move as a vital development for people with autism as Care Services Minister Phil Hope committed to enshrining in law a raft of new measures, via the Autism Bill, which could drive a dramatic improvement in local authority and NHS services for people with the condition.
The most common form of human heart beat irregularity (atrial fibrillation) can be fatal if left untreated. It has been suggested that it is caused, in part, by calcium leaking from a cellular store in heart cells, potentially through the RyR2 channel, although this mechanism remains controversial. However, a team of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, and Dresden University of Technology, Germany, has provided support for this hypothesis by showing that the protein CaMKII can enhance RyR2-mediated calcium leak, promoting atrial fibrillation in mice.
Although maintaining the integrity of blood vessel walls is essential for life, well-controlled temporary leakage of blood contents through the walls of blood vessels into the tissues is a hallmark of inflammation. Although the molecule S1P is known to act on the cells that line blood vessels (endothelial cells) to regulate the permeability of blood vessel walls, the in vivo of SIP in this process remains unknown, and whether it has a role in inflammation has not been determined. In a new study, Shaun Coughlin and colleagues, at UCSF, San Francisco, have shed light on these issues, revealing that mice that lack S1P selectively in plasma (the liquid component of blood) have increased leakage from the blood vessels in response to a variety of stimuli, including inflammatory ones. As the leakage was reversed by treatment with either S1P-containing red blood cells or an agonist for the protein to which SIP binds, the authors conclude that S1P in the blood regulates blood-vessel integrity and prevents potentially lethal decreases in blood volume after exposure to leak-inducing stimuli.
Resident physicians from the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare will join activist doctors, nurses, and medical students from across the country in Philadelphia tomorrow, May 15 to call for urgent reforms to the nation"s health care system. The group will gather at Independence National Historic Park at 1:30 p.m. Friday on Market between S. 5th and S. 6th Streets.
President Barack Obama spoke to the American Medical Association (AMA) recently addressing concerns about health insurance reform and the whole nation, including physicians from coast to coast, listened.
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.
June is National Osteoporosis Month and health experts from NHS Somerset are urging people to look after their bones by living well and eating well.
Rush University Medical Center is the only hospital in Illinois and the only hospital in the Midwest to receive the highest possible rating in the Healthcare Equality Index 2009 (HEI), which is an annual survey that evaluates the nation"s hospitals on their treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients, their families and hospital employees.
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM) reported that researchers will present data at the SNM 2009 Annual Meeting showing that its brain cancer agent Cotara(R) specifically localizes to brain tumors at high concentrations with minimal radiation exposure to other organs. Cotara is a targeted monoclonal antibody linked to a radioisotope being developed as a potential new treatment for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a deadly form of brain cancer. The results reported from an ongoing dosimetry study at U.S. brain cancer centers show that in patients dosed in the first two cohorts of the study, the concentration of Cotara in brain tumors was on average more than 300-fold higher than in other normal organs. In addition, these patients have all either met or exceeded the expected median survival time of six months for recurrent GBM patients. Cotara is currently being tested in this Phase I dose response and dosimetry trial and in a Phase II clinical trial in recurrent GBM patients.
Global Med Technologies(R), Inc. ("Global Med" or the "Company") (OTC Bulletin Board: GLOB), an international healthcare information technology company, announced that its Wyndgate Technologies(R) division has licensed its SafeTrace Tx(R) transfusion management software to a 40+ hospital healthcare system. The organization will also be contracting validation services, another cost-effective business solution, from Global Med"s PeopleMed subsidiary. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Summer is the peak season for lightning-related injuries. When planning outdoor activities, know what shelter is available and where to go if you hear thunder.
A report published revealed the social care workforce is unfit to deliver quality care for people with dementia.
Complex new Medicare rules that seek to cut costs of home-oxygen therapy are confusing the more than one million people who rely on the federal insurer to pay for the coverage.
The three nursing organizations at the heart of the newly announced national RN SuperUnion today announce a new television and internet advertising campaign in conjunction with the debut of HawthoRNe, one of the new TV shows debuting this season that features nurse characters.
The Delaware State Senate recently passed a bill (SB 86) that would add HIV testing to the standard battery of tests given to all pregnant women, WMTD.com reports. Lawmakers hope that the bill will help reduce the rate of mother-to-child HIV transmission. Women would be able to choose to "opt out" of taking the test, according to WMTD.com (Saki, WMTD.com, 6/14).
The Kaiser Family Foundation will hold a briefing on June 17 to examine the U.S. government"s role in addressing malaria, including its strategic options for reducing the impact of the disease and the current status of the development of the comprehensive malaria strategy. The discussion will touch on issues such as: What will the U.S. malaria response look like over the next five years? What strategies are most likely to prove effective? How will the U.S. efforts fit into the broader global response to malaria?
Ark Therapeutics Group plc (AKT:LSE) announces that Named Patient Supply (NPS) for Cerepro® (sitimagene ceradenovec) has been approved in Finland by the National Agency for Medicines (NAM). The approval follows an application made by a neuro-surgeon in Finland for the use of Cerepro®.
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) today honored Christopher A. Hatwig, M.S., FASHP, with the ASHP Board of Directors Award of Excellence for his work to help safety net hospitals provide safe and cost-effective drug therapy to low-income and uninsured patients. Hatwig, vice president of Apexus in Irving, Texas, received the award during ASHP"s Summer Meeting in Rosemont, Ill.
Taking popular cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, such as Lipitor® (atorvastatin), does not lower the risk of pneumonia. That"s the new finding from a study of more than 3,000 Group Health patients published online on June 16 in advance of the British Medical Journal"s June 20 print issue.
Our tendency to see people and faces as individuals may explain why we are such experts at recognizing them, new research indicates. This approach can be learned and applied to other objects as well.
Utopia Home Care, Inc. has announced that Michelle Harris will be its 2009 Caregiver of the Year. At the company"s annual corporate breakfast meeting this morning, Utopia Home Care, Inc. President and CEO Manuel F. Martinez and Executive Vice President Manuel G. Martinez presented Ms. Harris with a commemorative plaque and a check for $1,000. The presentation was made before approximately 125 staff members representing Utopia offices in New York, Connecticut, Florida, South Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Doctors who ignore the socioeconomic status of patients when evaluating their risk for heart disease are missing a crucial element that might result in inadequate treatment, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study published in the June 2009 American Heart Journal.
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.
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.
The kids are playing in the backyard and enjoying their break from school. Your husband is enjoying the day on the golf course. And you"re cleaning up the house, folding laundry and cooking three meals. Sound familiar?
An imaging agent used during PET scans to highlight apoptosis (programmed cell death) appears to help oncologists detect the effect of radiation treatment on brain metastases (tumors from elsewhere in the body that have spread to the brain) early in treatment, according to new data presented at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, taking place June 13-17 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Duke University engineers have taken a first step toward a minimally invasive treatment of brain tumors by combining chemotherapy with heat administered from the end of a catheter.
Gene regulatory networks in cell nuclei are similar to cloud computing networks, such as Google or Yahoo!, researchers report today in the online journal Molecular Systems Biology. The similarity is that each system keeps working despite the failure of individual components, whether they are master genes or computer processors.
A group of researchers led by Carnegie Mellon University Biological Sciences Professor Aaron Mitchell has identified a novel regulatory gene network that plays an important role in the spread of common, and sometimes deadly, yeast infections. The findings, which establish the role of Zap1 protein in the activation of genes that regulate the synthesis of biofilm matrix, will be published in the June 16, 2009, issue of PLoS Biology, a peer-reviewed open-access journal from the Public Library of Science.
A coalition of organizations representing healthcare stakeholders throughout Greater Boston has been selected by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to participate in a planning grant to become part of the Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) initiative. AF4Q is the Foundation"s signature effort to lift the overall quality of healthcare in targeted communities, reduce racial and ethnic disparities, and provide models for national reform.
The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, announced recently that the Government of Canada is supporting research to find alternatives to nuclear-produced Technetium-99m, the principal medical isotope affected by the current shutdown at the Chalk River nuclear reactor. Health professionals use medical isotopes in combination with imaging technologies to diagnose and treat conditions such as cancer and heart disease.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) announced interim results from two Phase II studies of SPRYCEL® (dasatinib) which demonstrate that the medicine may have potential as a treatment for a certain type of advanced prostate cancer.
The first formal meeting of the Health Minister"s new National Advisory Board will take place on Monday, 29 June at 11am in Conference Room 24, Ty Hywel, Cardiff Bay.
The University of Granada will house the first European research centre on teenagers" mental mechanisms when driving motorcycles and carrying out risk conducts, which could be helpful, in a near future, to modify and avoid them. The Faculty of Psychology will house three state-of-the-art simulators there was already one at the UGR so far- that will be useful to do research into these mechanisms, thanks to an agreement signed with the company Honda Motor Co. (Europe); the University will become one of the most important centres around the world in this subject.
Food, fitness or familyň€¦which one is most to blame for childhood obesity? New research from Mintel shows today"s parents aren"t sure, and they"re feeling overwhelmed and worried as they try to prevent obesity in their own children.
BioElectronics Corp. (PINKSHEETS: BIEL), the maker of inexpensive, disposable drug-free anti-inflammatory devices, announced its sponsorship of a groundbreaking clinical study on musculoskeletal disorders. The randomized, double blinded and placebo-controlled study will be supervised by a primary investigator, Sheena Kong, MD of San Francisco, California in conjunction with several other leading physicians.
HearAtLast Holdings, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: HRAL) is pleased to announce that it has formed a strategic alliance with VitaSound to distribute Future Sonics MP3 Ear Buds. Future Sonics is the award-winning innovator of the original professional custom and universal fit earphones for personal monitoring for major tours, venues, artists, engineers, broadcasting and houses of worship worldwide.
"Democrats Tom Daschle and George Mitchell are set to join Republicans Bob Dole and Howard Baker on Wednesday to release a $1.2 trillion proposal that would be fully paid for with a combination of spending cuts and tax increases," the Associated Press reports. The proposal from the four former Senate leaders "combines ideas from both political parties to guarantee coverage for all" and is an attempt to "prevent a repeat of the 1990s standoff over health care."
Members of Congress grilled executives from the insurance industry"s big three - UnitedHealth Group, WellPoint, and Assurant - for canceling coverage of more than 20,000 paying policy holders at a hearing Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reports. The executives responded that they would continue the practice, known as rescission, which has saved them an estimated $300 million over a five-year period.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn., announced Tuesday that "health and human services will come in for $236 million in additional cuts as part of his unallotment strategy," the Star Tribune reports. The "list of about 20 cuts to health services" includes ending a health care program for the poor "six weeks sooner than expected, saving $15 million" and "reducing hours for personal care attendants, who serve fragile and disabled people." Pawlenty "noted he was proposing no new payment reductions for primary care doctors and clinics, and no additional cuts in Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals that serve a large number of poor patients."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon during a General Assembly meeting Tuesday urged governments not to cut aid for the international fight against HIV/AIDS, the AP/Washington Post reports. Even as Ban "called for "bold action" not only to increase funding but also to break down social barriers to achieve the goal set by world leaders in 2006 of universal access to comprehensive HIV prevention services, treatment, care and support by 2010," he and other speakers at the meeting "reviewing progress and challenges in the battle against AIDS indicated that it will be exceedingly difficult - if not impossible - to reach the goal" (Lederer, AP/Washington Post, 6/16).
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.
Scott Roeder, who is charged with the murder of abortion provider George Tiller, and James von Brunn, who is charged with last week"s shooting death of a Holocaust Memorial Museum guard, "appear to be murderers, not terrorists," Jonathan Turley, a professor of public interest law at George Washington University, writes in a USA Today opinion piece. Although "liberals denounced" the tendency of conservatives to call "every possible crime an act of terrorism" while former President George W. Bush was in office, now that there are antiabortion-rights and anti-Semetic suspects, "there is an insistence that these crimes must be treated as terrorism -- as if to call them "murder" or "hate crimes" would diminish their significance," Turley states. Many people who "kill strangers out of hate for their race or religion or some other association" are "loners or rogue operators who seek to satisfy a blood lust against different groups," Turley contends, noting that classifying a crime as an act of terrorism allows for a different types of prosecution, investigation and punishment. According to Turley, the "term "terrorism" once had a clear meaning before it was used as a point of emphasis to evaluate or distinguish certain crimes." The Bush administration"s broadening of the definition to include "any prosecution that disrupts a "potential" terrorism threat" served to further divert the term from its historical definition, he adds. Now, "many want to see terrorism investigations targeting antiabortion activists and other groups that use violent speech," Turley writes."We do not advance our efforts by classifying every hate crime as terrorism," Turley continues, adding that it would be "the terrorists who will benefit from our lack of focus" in the definition. According to Turley, the "fact is that even an authoritarian nation can do little to stop a determined rogue operator from walking into a church and killing someone like Dr. Tiller." Referring to "someone such as Roeder as a murderer does not diminish the crime or the victim" because "we do not have to call murder "terrorism" to take the crime or its causes seriously," Turley writes (Turley, USA Today, 6/17).
Enhancing the response to teen depression and suicide is the focus of a new planning grant announced on June 12 by the Stanford Medical Center. The $100,000 grant, funded by Lucile Packard Children"s Hospital, the Stanford University School of Medicine and Stanford Hospital & Clinics, will support collaboration among Palo Alto-area providers of health care res for teens.
Antigenics Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN) announced that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has launched a Phase 3 study with the world"s most clinically-advanced malaria vaccine, RTS,S, which contains Antigenics" QS-21 Stimulon® adjuvant.
The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission (Commission) has completed its evaluation of the 147 applications in response to its three official Requests for Applications (RFAs). The board of directors of the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) reviewed the Commission"s recommendations today and approved 59 projects totaling $18.9 million in funding through the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) under the Maryland Stem Cell Research Act of 2006.