Health Insurance
Scientists at the Health Protection Agency have published their advice to UK bodies following new international guidance on ionising radiation*.
When school is out, training and networking is in for the thousands of school nutrition professionals who will attend this year"s Annual National Conference of the School Nutrition Association in Las Vegas, Nevada. With the challenge of rising food and labor costs, increased demand for school meals, the legislative push for national nutrition standards through Child Nutrition Reauthorization, and the ongoing efforts to address childhood overweight, this year"s conference promises to be where the action is. Learn more about all the hot topics June 29 - July 3, 2009, in Las Vegas for SNA"s 63nd Annual National Conference (ANC.) The conference includes over 80 accredited educational breakout sessions and the largest exhibit hall in school nutrition, featuring more than 760 booths packed with healthful foods, beverages and ingredients, services, equipment and technology. ANC 2009 will be held at the Mandalay Bay in Vegas.
Several statistical and biological issues need to be addressed in order to improve biomarker identification for early detection of cancer, according to a commentary published online July 2 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Pregnant women who are indigenous to the Andes Mountains deliver more blood and oxygen to their fetuses at high altitude than do women of European descent. The study helps explain why babies of Andean descent born at high altitude weigh more than European babies born at altitude.
Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) are considered the "gold standard" research method for assessing new medical treatments. But research published in BioMed Central"s open access journal Trials shows that the design of a remarkable 93 percent of 2235 so-called RCTs published in some Chinese medical journals during 1994 to 2005 was flawed, casting doubt on the reliability of research that is likely to influence medical decision-makers.
As childhood obesity rates continue to increase, experts agree that more information is needed about the implications of being overweight as a step toward reversing current trends. Now, a new University of Missouri study has found that overweight children, especially girls, show signs of the negative consequences of being overweight as early as kindergarten.
- A $10 million project funded by the European Community to improve Iraq"s water and sanitation services is underway. Implemented by UNICEF in collaboration with the Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works and the Ministry of Municipalities in Kurdistan, the project will increase the government"s provision of services as well as strengthen their capacity to manage and develop Iraq"s water and sanitation sector.
Government"s announcement that the UK is moving to a new phase in the response to the current pandemic flu virus means there will be a change to the surveillance information that the Health Protection Agency will be able to provide to the media in future.
Diabetes UK has today cautioned that research claiming there is a link between certain insulins and some cancers is "inconclusive".
Resuming sexual activity is expressed by patients as extremely important after a myocar÷dial infarction (MI). In spite of this, sex counselling is an area of nursing practice that is frequently neglected and needs more evidence-based knowledge.
The essential chromosomal protein complex cohesin has crucial roles in sister chromatid cohesion, DNA repair and transcriptional regulation. Despite its conserved function, cohesin"s disparate association patterns in different organisms did not quite add up. New research published in the open access journal Genome Biology works towards completing the cohesin puzzle, reconciling some of these differences.
Homeopathy risks being subsumed by modern medicine, argues a historian of science. Not only does this means that homeopathy"s heroes have become mere footnotes in history, but it could limit homeopathy"s potential to contribute to the treatment of today"s pressing medical problems, she says.
Researchers at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) have discovered a key switch that makes stem cells turn into the type of muscle cells that reside in the wall of blood vessels. The same switch might be used in the future to limit growth of vascular muscle cells that cause narrowing of arteries leading to heart attacks and strokes, limit formation of blood vessels that feed cancers, or make new blood vessels for organs that are not getting enough blood flow.
Osteoporosis and periodontitis are common diseases whose sufferers must cope with weakness, injury and reduced function as they lose bone more quickly than it is formed. While the mechanism of bone destruction in these diseases is understood, scientists have had less information about how bone formation is impaired.
The Victorian hospital system coped well in the wake of the Black Saturday bushfires of February 2009 but new research, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, suggests the lessons learned over this time must be used to further strengthen the State"s prevention and medical response systems.
Patients who suffer from transient ischaemic attack (so-called "mini-strokes") are more likely to receive rapid assessment and care if they attend a hospital which has organised stroke care services, according to the results of a survey published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
The newest revolution in microbiology testing walks on four legs and says "baa."
Cougar Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CGRB) announced today that the initial offering period of Johnson & Johnson"s (NYSE: JNJ) tender offer for all the outstanding shares of Cougar common stock expired at midnight (Eastern time) on July 2, 2009. The offer was conducted through a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson named Kite Merger Sub, Inc.
At the start of the next round of international negotiations in Geneva (28 June-5 July) [1], ASH is releasing a major new report showing that if a protocol on tobacco smuggling were to be adopted, it could
Diabetes UK is concerned that more than half a million people with diabetes in England are still not been screened for retinopathy.
While Lands End and John O"Groats may be poles apart geographically they"re side by side when it comes to generosity.
Responding to the written statement from the Secretary of State for Health, Dr. Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said:
Heart transplant recipients" cardio-respiratory fitness is around 30 to 50 per cent lower than age-matched healthy sedentary individuals. As a result, exercise rehabilitation should be very important to these patients, and a University of Alberta study shows they can improve their overall physical fitness.
Power3 Medical Products, Inc. (OTCBB: PWRM), announced that results for the early stage diagnosis from clinical validation trials of the NuroPro® PD test for Parkinson"s disease are better than expected. The NuroPro PD test was developed to help clinicians distinguish patients with Parkinson"s disease from "normal" individuals and patients with other neurological disorders. The NuroPro PD test, developed by Power3, utilizes a panel of blood serum protein biomarkers evaluated by biostatistical analysis to predict the probability that a patient has Parkinson"s disease. The test is intended to solve a critical challenge facing physicians, clinicians, and patients for a quick, early stage and accurate diagnosis of the debilitating disease known as Parkinson"s.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is facing a budget shortfall of about $3 billion, Marcela Rojo, a Global Fund spokesperson, said on Friday, Reuters reports. Rojo said the Global Fund needs $170 million to pay for the programs it committed to supporting last year, and the organization will need between $2.5 billion and $3 billion to maintain and finance programs planned for 2010. "The Global Fund will need a substantially higher amount than the one pledged at the last replenishment in Berlin in 2007 ($10 billion)," Rojo said, adding, "The decisions that are made in the next 18 months will be critical for sustaining the gains achieved in global health so far and further scaling up programmes."
The findings of the PATRICIA study are reported in an article Online First and in a future edition of The Lancet. It shows that the HPV-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine (GlaxoSmithKline) has high efficacy against the precancerous cervical lesions that can eventually lead to cervical cancer. There is confirmation that the vaccine also shows cross-protective efficacy against other oncogenic (that cause cancer) Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types closely related to HPV-16/18. In addition, it also shows efficacy in the cohorts relevant to universal mass vaccination and catch-up programs. The article is written by Dr Jorma Paavonen, of the University of Helsinki, Finland, and collaborators.
AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., issued the following statement on the final National Institutes of Health"s (NIH) Guidelines on Human Stem Research, published today:
As President Barack Obama pushes to overhaul health care, many look to Europe for examples of government-run health care.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the availability of up to $40 million in grants to help reach families whose children qualify but are not yet enrolled in state Medicaid and Children"s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP). Sebelius was joined for the announcement by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter. Colorado has been a leader in the effort to provide health insurance coverage to more children.
As Minnesota braces for some cuts to public health programs, the state"s network of community health centers is being buoyed by money from the federal stimulus that will expand coverage to the un- and underinsured in that state, The Minnesota Post reports.
In answering two certified questions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, the Ohio State Supreme Court on July 1 declared that a state law regulating the use of mifepristone -- which is used in medication abortion -- bars physicians from prescribing it for off-label use, BNA reports. The court confirmed that doctors who use the drug to induce abortion must do so in compliance with the 49-day gestational limit included in FDA"s 2000 drug approval letter. Doctors also must prescribe the drug in accordance with the protocols and dosage indications included in its FDA-approved labeling.Interpretation of State Law in ContentionThe Ohio General Assembly in 2004 passed a law (Section 2919.123 (A)) that required any health care professional prescribing or dispensing mifepristone to comply with "all provisions of federal law that govern the use" of the drug. The law defines "federal law" as "any law, rule or regulation of the United States or any drug approval letter" from FDA "that governs or regulates the use of" mifepristone for inducing abortion. FDA"s approval letter states that the drug "is indicated for use in the termination of pregnancy (through 49 days" pregnancy) and has no other approved indication for use during pregnancy." In addition, the drug"s label states the recommended dosage and that its use requires three office visits by the patient. Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region challenged the law in district court, arguing that neither FDA"s approval letter nor any other federal provision bans the off-label use of mifespristone to induce abortion beyond 49 days" gestation. The group also argued that the state law was unconstitutionally vague because it did not notify abortion providers in advance regarding which FDA documents were included in the state"s criminal law. In addition, Planned Parenthood said that prohibiting the evidence-based use of the drug would infringe on the rights of women, requiring them to take higher-than-necessary dosages of the drug or to undergo surgical abortions when a noninvasive alternative is available. The district court ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood, saying that the law was void because of vagueness. The state appealed the decision to the 6th Circuit, which then submitted two questions to the state Supreme Court seeking its interpretation of the law.The state Supreme Court ruled that FDA"s drug approval letter is included in the definition of "federal law" and that the state law is not ambiguous, according to BNA. The court said that because the drug approval letter incorporated FDA"s labeling text, Ohio physicians cannot prescribe or provide mifepristone to induce abortion outside of the stipulations of the drug approval letter and approved label. According to BNA, product liability law experts say the ruling will not have an impact outside of mifepristone or the state of Ohio.Case Returns to Appeals CourtRoger Evans of Planned Parenthood Federation of America said that he is not sure if the court"s decision helps or hurts the group"s case. Evans said that the district court declared the law unconstitutional based on an interpretation that the statute operates in the same way the state Supreme Court ruled it does. He noted that there are other possible interpretations of the law that would have solved the constitutional issues at the center of the litigation. However, because those issues were not resolved, the case now returns to the 6th Circuit, which will decide if the statute is constitutional based on the state Supreme Court"s interpretation. If the circuit court agrees with the district court that the statute is unconstitutionally vague, the state of Ohio could seek a U.S. Supreme Court review. If the circuit court finds that the statute is constitutional, the case likely will be sent back to the district court for resolution of some other issues in the case, according to BNA (BNA, 7/6).
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning businesses across Britain not to be duped into buying unnecessary and overpriced copies of its health and safety law poster.
-- 50 laboratory confirmed cases in Wales, with no new cases.
The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC) will further the UK"s capacity in genomics - the science of understanding the genetic makeup of organisms and the genetic differences that exist between individuals. This knowledge can then be used for developments that include the production of new antibiotics to fight "superbugs", breeding of new crops with increased tolerance of drought, and the breeding of livestock better able to resist emerging exotic disease. TGAC will underpin these advances as well as making a significant contribution to economic development.
The prescription charge in England is a tax in all but name - and an unfair one at that - and should be axed, says Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB).
A new study of expectant mothers suggests that a group of common environmental contaminants called phthalates, which are present in many industrial and consumer products including everyday personal care items, may contribute to the country"s alarming rise in premature births.
A University of Toronto pilot study that re-conceptualized the hospital labour room by removing the standard, clinical bed and adding relaxation-promoting equipment had a 28 per cent drop in infusions of artificial oxytocin, a powerful drug used to advance slow labours.
The future of organ transplantation could include microscopic beads that create "designer" immune cells to help patients tolerate their new organ, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.
University of Minnesota Medical School researchers have discovered that a common anti-oxidant, widely available as a health food supplement, may help stop the urges of those with trichotillomania, a disorder characterized by compulsive hair-pulling.
Research from the Johns Hopkins Children"s Center exposes alarming gaps in training hospital residents in "first response" emergency treatment of staged cardiorespiratory arrests in children, while at the same time offering a potent recipe for fixing the problem.
Approximately 350 million to 500 million cases of malaria are diagnosed each year mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. While medications to prevent and treat malaria do exist, the demand for new treatments is on the rise, in part, because malaria parasites have developed a resistance to existing medications. Now, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered one way to stop malaria parasite growth, and this new finding could guide the development of new malaria treatments.
The worldwide economic downturn has exacerbated a global food crisis that started in 2007, leading to a significant increase in the number of people who are malnourished. The Institute of Medicine will convene top experts at a three-day workshop to explore the implications of the food crisis on nutrition and health. Participants will discuss the effects of the economic crisis and escalating food prices on nutrition, country and global responses, U.S. policies, and actions to mitigate food crises now and in the future. Speakers include representatives from the World Bank, World Food Program, UN Task Force on Global Food Security Crisis, academic health centers, and organizations from Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mexico, and other countries.
Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBST), a leading acute care therapeutics company, announced that it has begun dosing in the CONSERV™-2 clinical trial with ecallantide. CONSERV-2, being conducted in Europe, is a Phase 2 trial that will investigate ecallantide"s effect on surgical blood loss volume in cardiac surgery patients who are on cardiopulmonary bypass and are at a high risk of bleeding. The trial is expected to enroll 300 subjects.
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced it received a fourth approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ALIMTA® (pemetrexed for injection). The latest approval is for ALIMTA as a maintenance therapy for locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), specifically for patients with a nonsquamous histology whose disease has not progressed after four cycles of platinum-based first-line chemotherapy. ALIMTA is not indicated for treatment of patients with squamous cell non-small cell lung cancer.
Primary Health Care Trusts (PCTs) the length of England could soon find themselves in the High Court over the pitiful lack of appropriate treatment being offered to those with severe alcohol problems following an audit carried out by pressure group UK Advocates.
ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (OTC Bulletin Board: ACCP) announced new preclinical data demonstrating that thiarabine shows remarkable efficacy in the prevention and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In a well-established animal model for RA, an exceptional restoration of joint structure was observed in the studies, which were conducted at Wayne State University School of Medicine and at Southern Research Institute.
On the eve of the G8 Summit in Italy, the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) calls on leaders of the world"s richest countries to announce significant additional funds to ensure that AIDS treatment and prevention programs for millions of men, women and children do not become a casualty of the economic down-turn.
It is time for states to suspend, rather than terminate, the Medicaid benefits of inmates while they are incarcerated, say correctional health care experts from The Miriam Hospital in a commentary published online by the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
An article published Online First and in a future edition of The Lancet reports that the rising rates of suicide and murders in the population are directly associated to the growing unemployment rates originated by the economic downturn. Another effect is the decline in road-traffic accidents. Active labor market programs aiming to maintain and reintegrate workers in jobs could tone down some of these unfavorable effects. The article is the work of Dr David Stuckler, of the University of Oxford, UK, and Professor Martin McKee, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and their team.
The Canadian authorities have announced that a new strain of influenza A virus has been found in two pig farm workers in the Province of Saskatchewan
NIH on Monday announced final guidelines for assessing whether newly created embryonic stem cell lines can be used for federally funded research, as well as clarifying how old lines will be evaluated, CongressDaily reports (CongressDaily, 7/7). In March, President Obama overturned former President George W. Bush"s policy limiting federal funding of embryonic stem cell research to 21 lines. Obama asked NIH to develop new guidelines that would govern such research going forward. The agency received about 49,000 comments on a draft version of the guidelines announced in April (Vergano, USA Today, 7/7). The final guidelines, which take effect on Tuesday, state that stem cell lines used in federally funded research must come from embryos discarded after in vitro fertilization procedures. In addition, donors must have been informed that the embryo would be destroyed for stem cell research and made fully aware of other options, which include donating the embryo to other individuals for use in infertility treatments. Lastly, donors cannot be paid for an embryo, and no threats or other inducement can be part of the decision to donate (Vedantam, Washington Post, 7/7).Raynard Kington, acting director of NIH, said that lines developed before Tuesday likely would be approved if they were created in the spirit of the new rules, even if they do not follow them to the letter (Harris, New York Times, 7/7). NIH"s Advisory Committee to the Director will review such lines on a case-by-case basis. NIH also will create a registry of qualifying stem cell lines for use by researchers (Los Angeles Times, 7/7). Kington said, "Many of the lines already in existence may have met very rigorous standards of informed consent but may have been implemented in ways not consistent with the present guidelines." He added, "It"s unreasonable to retroactively apply procedures intended for future use" (New York Times, 7/7). Kington also said of the new guidelines, "We think this is a reasonable compromise to achieve the president"s goal of both advancing science while maintaining rigorous ethical standards. We believe that judgment is necessary" (Los Angeles Times, 7/7). Broadcast CoverageNPR"s "Morning Edition" on Tuesday reported on the stem cell guidelines (Shapiro, "Morning Edition," NPR, 7/7).
Responding to the annual report from the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE), Dr. Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said:
Despite some roadblocks, Senate Democrats are trying to hold true to their pledge to pass health care reform legislation by the August recess, Roll Call reports.
Roll Call reports that lobbyists feel Senator Edward Kennedy"s absence: "With the health care reform debate in full tilt, it"s fair to assume that the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is the key player in producing the final version of the Senate"s package. But with HELP Chairman Kennedy (D-Mass.) largely absent because of his battle with brain cancer, it"s not business as usual at the committee. The HELP Committee has certainly played a role in health care reform, but it has largely been a staff-driven process, according to health care lobbyists."
New data demonstrate that maintenance therapy with RISPERDAL(R) CONSTA(R) (risperidone) Long-Acting Treatment (RLAT) significantly delayed the time to relapse compared to placebo in patients with Bipolar I Disorder. Results of the study were presented this week at a major medical meeting.
The White House announced on Monday that the U.S. and Russia have signed on to a "memo of understanding" to cooperate on several public health and medical science projects, ModernHealthcare.com reports. The agreement calls for USAID and other scientific research institutions to work on specific health goals with Russian institutions, including the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences (Rhea, 6/6).
Trinity Biotech plc (NASDAQ: TRIB), a leading developer and manufacturer of diagnostic products for the point-of-care and clinical laboratory markets, announced the FDA approval and US launch of its high throughput haemostasis analyzer, the Destiny Max.
Pollution from the world"s wealthiest countries is spreading disease and hunger in developing countries, according to a new Oxfam International report, which calls on developed countries to address global warming when G8 leaders meet in Italy, the Globe and Mail reports. The report, titled "Suffering the Science: Climate Change, People and Poverty," says, "It is in the tropics where the bulk of humanity lives - many of them in poverty - that climate change is hitting now and hitting hardest" (Bailey, 7/6).
A research team has pinpointed a new class of gene mutations, which identify cases of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that have a high risk of relapse and death. The finding suggests specific drugs that could treat this high-risk leukemia subtype in children, particularly because such drugs are already in clinical trials for similar blood diseases in adults.
Lack Of Funds Prevents HIV-Positive People In Uganda From Receiving Antiretroviral Treatment
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have discovered a molecular coupling factor that helps bones grow and remodel themselves to stay strong, a finding that could lead to better bone-building therapies and new osteoporosis drugs, the researchers said
Iron supplements do not increase the likelihood of contracting malaria and should not be withheld from children at risk of the disease, despite World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines to the contrary, a new review by Cochrane Researchers suggests.
Psychological interventions intended to prevent the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the early stages after a traumatic experience have not been shown to be effective, Cochrane Researchers have concluded. This systematic review focused on multiple-session treatments for everyone involved, irrespective of the presence of symptoms. Two previous reviews found single session interventions to be ineffective.
There is not enough evidence to support using gels and creams containing rubefacients for chronic and acute pain, according to a systematic review by Cochrane Researchers. Rubefacients cause irritation and reddening of the skin, due to increased blood flow. The review focused on formulations containing salicylates, which are widely prescribed or sold over the counter as topical treatments for sports injuries and muscle pain.
Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University of Heidelberg, Germany, have come a step closer to understanding how cholesterol levels are regulated. In a study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, the researchers identified 20 genes that are involved in this process. Besides giving scientists a better idea of where to look to uncover the mechanisms that ensure cholesterol balance is maintained, the discovery could lead to new treatments for cholesterol-related diseases.
The Rosetta Stone of bacterial communication may have been found.
Terumo Heart Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Terumo Corporation, announced reaching a critical milestone in the worldwide expansion of its DuraHeart(TM) Left-Ventricular Assist System (LVAS) as the 100th patient was treated by Latif Arusoglu, MD and Michiel Morshuis, MD, cardiothoracic surgeons at the Clinic for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Heart and Diabetes Center NRW, University Hospital of the Ruhr-University of Bochum in Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
ARYx Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARYX), a biopharmaceutical company, announced results from its Phase 2/3 clinical trial, EmbraceAC, comparing its novel anticoagulant agent tecarfarin (previously ATI-5923) with the leading oral anticoagulant warfarin. In this trial, tecarfarin demonstrated efficacy essentially the same as in earlier Phase 2 studies but did not achieve the primary endpoint of superiority over warfarin, as measured by time in therapeutic range (TTR). This was due to the virtually unprecedented performance of warfarin in this trial. Using the International Normalized Ratio (INR), which is the standard measure of anticoagulation to evaluate TTR, the patients in the trial who were administered tecarfarin stayed within the target therapeutic range 74.0% of the time treated as compared to those patients receiving warfarin who stayed within the target therapeutic range 73.2% of the time (p=0.506). The result for the warfarin group was unexpected based upon the extensive history of prior studies and published literature for the drug. Tecarfarin appeared to be well tolerated by the patients in this Phase 2/3 clinical trial.
NexMed, Inc. (Nasdaq: NEXM), a developer of products based on the NexACT® technology, announced the mutual decision with Novartis to terminate the licensing agreement for NM100060, a topically-applied treatment for onychomycosis, commonly known as nail fungus. NexMed entered into the exclusive, worldwide agreement with Novartis in September 2005, under which Novartis assumed all clinical development, regulatory, manufacturing and commercialization responsibilities for NM100060.
The latest work to "turn off the taps" in the brain and stop a chemical being released in excess amounts which can lead to Parkinson"s Disease - was presented at The British Pharmacological Society"s Summer Meeting in Edinburgh.
Pending climate change legislation and regulations for the Renewable Fuel Standard are creating an uncertain environment for investment in advanced biofuels and biobased chemicals. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announced that executives of biofuel and industrial biotechnology companies as well as representatives of NGOs will offer their views on how the industry might fare under carbon accounting rules during the 2009 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, to be held July 19-22, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Hyperion Therapeutics announced that it has reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) process for the pivotal Phase III trial of investigational product HPN-100 (glycerol phenylbutyrate) in adults with urea cycle disorders (UCD). The SPA is a written agreement between the trial sponsor and the FDA regarding the design, endpoints, and planned statistical analysis of the Phase III trial to be used in support of a New Drug Application (NDA).
Surgical teams at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit successfully completed the first eight-way, multihospital, domino kidney transplant. The transplant involved eight donors -3 men and 5 women along with eight organ recipients - 3 men and 5 women. "All Johns Hopkins patients are in good condition and are recovering as anticipated," according to Robert A. Montgomery, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Transplant Center.
A new score for predicting a person"s risk of heart disease performs better than the existing test and should be recommended for use in the United Kingdom by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), say researchers in a paper published on bmj.com.
AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond released
New research may help doctors pinpoint when patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are becoming dangerously ill. The findings may also point the way to interventions that could sustain the lives of IPF patients until life-saving transplants could be performed.
In an effort to help families and school administrators fight the epidemic of obesity among children, a Yale-led team of researchers has developed a practical coding system to evaluate school wellness policies, which are required of all schools participating in the National School Lunch Program. This coding system was introduced in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
Commenting today on the Finance Minister"s decision that he would not allocate the necessary ÷£55 million funding to combat the swine flu pandemic, Dr Brian Patterson, Chairman of the BMA"s Northern Ireland Council said,
MEDai, Inc., headquartered in Orlando, FL, a leading provider of advanced solutions for healthcare that utilize award-winning predictive analytics, announced that its solutions are actively assisting Medicare Part D benefit sponsors with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services mandate, calling all Medicare Part D to offer members a medication therapy management (MTM) program.
Funxional Therapeutics Ltd (Funxional) has announced the successful completion of the first Phase I study with FX125L, an orally available small molecule which belongs to a new therapeutic class named Broad Spectrum Chemokine Inhibitors (BSCIs).
ChemoCentryx, Inc. announced that Thomas J. Schall, Ph.D., ChemoCentryx"s President and Chief Executive Officer, will give a keynote lecture at The 9th World Congress on Inflammation in Tokyo, Japan. Dr. Schall"s lecture titled, "Treating Inflammation by Inhibition of Chemokine Receptors: Practical Requirements and Efficacy of CCR9 Antagonism in Inflammatory Bowel Disease" will be given on Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 9:00 am local time.
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) announced results of a national survey that reveals the inability to pay for cancer care is among Americans" top fears about the disease. Seven out of ten report being very concerned about paying for cancer treatment if they developed the disease (69%), the same proportion who are very concerned about dying of it (68%). Only the cancer consequences of having a poor quality of life (75%) and being in pain (72%) evoke slightly more concern.
AlphaRx Inc. (OTCBB: ALRX) reported positive preclinical results on GAI-122 injectable nano-emulsion in multiple models of acute hepatitis, an inflammatory liver disease.
AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., issued the following statement today on President Obama"s nomination of Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., to be the new director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
As Ministers of Natural Res and Health, we are disappointed with AECL"s announcement of delays to the repair of the National Research Universal Reactor (NRU) at Chalk River. We wish to be clear to Canadians. The unplanned shutdown of the NRU will result in a significant shortage of medical isotopes in Canada and in the world this summer.
The issue of whether government-subsidized health care programs should include coverage for abortion procedures is gaining attention as Congress continues drafting health care reform legislation, Time reports. Currently, the Hyde Amendment -- a legislative provision attached annually to major spending bills since 1976 -- prohibits states from using federal Medicaid funds to pay for abortion. All but 17 states have similar restrictions on their own funds. Although current versions of health reform legislation do not yet address the issue of abortion, congressional s involved in the process say that an explicit ban on abortion coverage could have "much further-reaching implications" than the Hyde Amendment. According to Time, the restrictions could deny abortion coverage to women whose private insurance plans currently cover the procedure. A 2002 Guttmacher Institute survey found that nearly 90% of private insurers cover abortion procedures. Under the legislation being worked on in three House committees, U.S. residents with incomes up to 400% of the poverty level -- about $88,000 annually for a family of four, or $43,000 for an individual -- would be eligible for government subsidies to help purchase coverage. However, antiabortion-rights lawmakers are pushing to prohibit those subsidies from being used to purchase health insurance policies that include abortion coverage, Time reports. Such restrictions would mean that women who currently have abortion coverage in their private plans would have to give up the benefit. According to Time, such a provision also "would raise all sorts of other questions if insurers were allowed to discriminate among their customers based on whether or not they are using federal dollars to pay for their policies."Pelosi Negotiating With House Dems Over ConcernsLast week, 19 House Democrats sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stating that they "cannot support any health care reform proposal unless it explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan." They also said that abortion "must be addressed clearly in the bill text" of the legislation. The signers of the letter include Reps. Bart Stupak (Mich.) and Charlie Melancon (La.), both members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, one of the three panels with jurisdiction over health care reform. According to Time, Pelosi"s office is attempting to address the concerns through negotiations.Poll Shows Support for Reproductive Health CoverageMeanwhile, abortion-rights advocates are "pushing back" against those seeking to specifically exclude abortion coverage in health care reform legislation, Time reports. The National Women"s Law Center on Monday released results of a nationwide poll of 1,000 likely voters showing that 71% of respondents favor including reproductive services like birth control and abortion in health care reform (Tumulty, Time, 7/8). The poll also found that 72% would oppose exclusion of abortion coverage from any national health care plan (Eaton, Plain Dealer, 7/7). In addition, 75% of respondents said that an independent commission, not Congress, should determine what medical services are included in the basic benefits offered under health reform. Congress also is weighing giving that power to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (Time, 7/8).Judy Waxman, NWLC vice president, said that 80% of employer-based insurance plans provide coverage for abortion services, adding that "people will be angry if they don"t get to keep what they already have" under any public insurance option (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 7/7). Waxman said Congress should "refrain from practicing medicine and instead let medical professionals determine what health care services will be included in a benefits package" (Time, 7/8).
Researchers in London have demonstrated the ability of adult stem cells from bone marrow (mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs) to deliver a cancer-killing protein to tumors.
The idea of taxing health care benefits is proving to be a divisive issue for Democrats as they continue to press forward in health overhaul negotiations. "One day after lawmakers returned from a weeklong vacation, the White House and Democratic leadership made a conspicuous effort to assert control over the effort to push health insurance legislation through committees and both houses of Congress over the next five weeks," the Associated Press reports. "While Obama has called for a bipartisan measure, a partisan bill written by and for Democrats is also a possibility, given the size of the party"s majorities in the House and Senate. ò€¦ Nowhere were the challenges of passing legislation more evident than in the Senate. There, several Democratic officials said the party"s leadership told (Sen. Max) Baucus, D-Mont., that they were unhappy with any tax on health care benefits - a key component of bipartisan negotiations - and expressed fears it could lose more votes on their side of the aisle than it gained among Republicans."
An improved Continuing Professional Development (CPD) recording system is being launched
The American Lung Association and The CHEST Foundation are partnering to further clinical research to benefit the estimated 22.9 million of Americans living with asthma.
"Today"s White House health care reform announcement clearly demonstrates that hospitals are willing to make a tremendous sacrifice to help expand health care coverage to millions of Americans who desperately need and deserve better access to care.
"[E]xplicit indicators to measure progress in reducing heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, cancers and chronic respiratory diseases" are missing from the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) agenda as it meets in Geneva this week "to focus on implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to public health," and the "omission needs to be urgently addressed if the intent is to have a major impact on reducing poverty by 2015," Ala Alwan, WHO"s assistant director-general for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health; George Alleyne, PAHO"s director emeritus; and Martin Silink, president of the International Diabetes Federation write in an opinion piece in the Hindu.
Noncommunicable diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, cancers, diabetes, respiratory diseases, and common injuries account for the vast majority of all global deaths, but because they are not yet included as priorities in the global development agenda, donors and international organizations have yet to pledge support to help developing countries address these leading health problems.
A hyper-realistic Einstein robot at the University of California, San Diego has learned to smile and make facial expressions through a process of self-guided learning. The UC San Diego researchers used machine learning to "empower" their robot to learn to make realistic facial expressions.
Black women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have a higher probability of dying from the disease than white women, regardless of their estrogen receptor status, according to research from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. Differences in breast cancer mortality may reflect racial differences in access and response to innovative breast cancer treatments, as well as other biological and non-biological factors, according to the report. In addition, the researchers found that differences in outcomes in the first few years post-diagnosis make up nearly all of the disparity. These results were published online July 7, 2009 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Standardized requirements for one health insurance plan to electronically send Personal Health Record (PHR) data to another health insurance plan, called the "Personal Health Record (PHR) Transfer Between Health Plans Technical Report, 005050X274," was released by the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12, providing monumental interoperability among insurance companies assisting consumers.
Boston Medical Center (BMC) researchers have identified potential safety risks among methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) patients due to the quantity and accuracy of medical record documentation. Improved communication and coordination among substance use treatment and medical providers could mitigate and manage the potential adverse effects of methadone and interacting medications. The BMC study appears in the July issue of Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Bisphenol A, a chemical widely used in plastics and known to cause reproductive problems in the offspring of pregnant mice exposed to it, also has been found to retard the growth of follicles of adult mice and hinder their production of steroid hormones, researchers report.
John Csernansky wants to take your measurements. Not the circumference of your chest, waist and hips. No, this doctor wants to stretch a tape measure around your hippocampus, thalamus and prefrontal cortex.
This year, one hundred years since the discovery of Chagas disease, the medical humanitarian organisation Mç©decins Sans Frontiç¨res (MSF) is launching its campaign "Chagas: it"s time to break the silence." MSF calls on endemic countries to end neglect of Chagas sufferers and support diagnosis and treatment for affected people, rather than focusing solely on vector control. MSF also calls for further Research and Development (R&D) efforts into new drugs, rapid diagnosis tests to use in remote settings and better cure tests for one of the world"s most neglected diseases.
People with dementia and their families will get more support throughout the course of the illness as the first dementia advisors started work on Wednesday.
Badger culling is necessary in certain circumstances to tackle the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), according to the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA).
Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) announced that Schering-Plough K.K., the company"s country operation in Japan, has received marketing approval for ASMANEX TWISTHALER (mometasone furoate dry powder inhaler) for the treatment of bronchial asthma in adults.(1)
Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMLN) announced positive results from a 28-week dose-ranging study of pramlintide/metreleptin, a combination treatment comprising pramlintide, an analog of the natural hormone amylin, and metreleptin, an analog of the natural hormone leptin, in overweight and obese patients. This Phase 2 study successfully characterized patients who responded best to treatment and also provided important information to inform dose selection.
In response to a recent increase in media interest in lupus, the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) is providing a fact sheet about the disease.
A potential vaccine for Alzheimer"s disease also has been shown in mice to slow the weakening of muscles associated with inclusion body myositis, a disorder that affects the elderly.
Specialty care physicians can improve the health of high-risk patients by reviewing electronic health records and proactively providing e-consultations and treatment plan recommendations with primary care physicians, according to a Kaiser Permanente paper published online in the British Medical Journal.
Researchers working in Cambridge and San Francisco have discovered clues about how stem cells promote myelin repair.
Over 600 drummers will gather in Birmingham"s National Indoor Arena on Monday 13 July to beat a world record in aid of the MS Society.
Fourteen young people from countries attending the G8 called on their respective leaders to get tough with countries who don"t meet climate change targets and teachers whose standards slip.
Health Canada is informing Canadians of an ongoing safety review of the potential association between the diabetes drug Lantus (insulin glargine) and an increased risk of developing cancer.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Wednesday unanimously ruled to lift an injunction blocking Washington state officials from penalizing pharmacists who refused to dispense the emergency contraception pill Plan B, the Los Angeles Times reports (Williams, Los Angeles Times, 7/9). The panel said the district court judge who issued the injunction refused to consider women"s need for EC (Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 7/9). The panel"s ruling is part of a larger case before the district court involving the constitutionality of a 2007 state regulation requiring pharmacies to stock and dispense EC. Joyce Roper, an assistant attorney general for Washington state, said the appeals court ruling means that the 2007 regulation will take immediate effect.The plaintiffs in the case, Stromans -- a supermarket pharmacy owner -- and two pharmacists employed elsewhere, argued that the state regulation requiring pharmacists to stock and dispense EC violated their First Amendment right to freedom of religion (Los Angeles Times, 7/9). The regulation said that pharmacies must stock and fill legally prescribed prescriptions but allowed individual pharmacists to object on moral or religious grounds if another pharmacist was available, in person or by telephone, to fill the order (San Francisco Chronicle, 7/9). The plaintiffs argued that the regulation would force them to choose between following their religious beliefs and keeping their jobs. They contended that EC prevents implantation of a fertilized egg, which they equated with abortion. The U.S. District Court in Seattle awarded the plaintiffs the temporary injunction in November 2007, pending trial on the constitutionality of the regulation (Los Angeles Times, 7/9). Plan B contains a high dose of a drug found in most birth control pills that generally prevents ovulation or the fertilization of an egg. Recent research suggests that it does not prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus (Woodward, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 7/8). FDA in April lowered the age limit for nonprescription purchase of Plan B from 18 to 17 (San Francisco Chronicle, 7/9). Appeals Panel Returns Case to District CourtThe appeals court panel ruled that the freedom to exercise one"s religion "does not relieve an individual of the obligation to comply with a valid and neutral law of general applicability." The panel added, "Any refusal to dispense -- regardless of whether it is motivated by religion, morals, conscience, ethics, discriminatory prejudices or personal distaste for a patient -- violates the rules" (Los Angeles Times, 7/9). The panel ordered the district judge to reconsider the 2007 regulation under Supreme Court standards that allow states to pass neutral laws that may affect religious practices. According to the panel, the regulation does not aim to interfere with religious practices or beliefs and is intended to promote patients" health. In addition, the panel said the district court judge did not consider how the injunction would affect "sexually active women of childbearing age who will be denied reasonable access to Plan B" (San Francisco Chronicle, 7/9). According to the Times, the panel"s ruling could foretell future judgments in the case, including that a patient"s right to timely medication surpasses a pharmacist"s personal beliefs (Los Angeles Times, 7/9).
The cells of humans and other animals have likely evolved to reduce the chance of triggering cancers and other diseases, according to research published in the journal Science.
The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) is urging elderly adults who use canes and walkers as walking aids to be properly assessed and fitted by a physical therapist to avoid fall-related injuries. This advice comes in response to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (June 2009), which found that 47,000 senior citizens end up in emergency rooms each year due to falls from improper use and fit of walkers and canes.
Senators working feverishly to pass health reform ahead of Congress" August recess raised doubts Wednesday on whether they will be able to pass reform on schedule, The Boston Globe reports.
A focus on end-of-life care emphasizes social and spiritual elements over aggressive medical intervention.
IRIN reports that Ghanaians "are mixing high hopes with caution" in anticipation of President Obama"s arrival in the country Friday - "his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa." Obama is expected to "make a major policy statement," according to IRIN. The article looks back at some of the commitments that former Presidents Bush and Clinton previously made to Africa (7/8).
Giovanni Parmigiani, PhD, a noted leader in applying bioinformatics tools to cancer studies and medical decision-making, has been appointed professor of biostatistics at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and as chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
WHO Launches International Network To Take On Noncommunicable Disease
The Obama Administration sent a strong message to the nation today that it is time to start planning and preparing for the fall flu season and the ongoing H1N1 flu outbreak and that the federal government is prepared to commit res, training, and new tools to help state and local governments and America"s families get ready.
New data presented by BD Biosciences, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), at the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 7th Annual Meeting in Barcelona, Spain, highlights two novel flow cytometry-based sorting and analysis methods for neural and embryonic stem cell research. The two data presentations further validate the viability of tools used for separating near-pure populations of stem cell-derived neurons from undifferentiated stem cells (Abstract ID 2276, Poster ID 1177) and shows improved cell recovery and survival of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) after cell sorting (Abstract 2268, Poster ID 1170).
Using a nicotine patch before quitting smoking can double success rates, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers. They say their latest data suggest changes should be made to nicotine patch labeling.
A new mental health unit for children and young people in north Wales will be officially opened by Health Minister Edwina Hart.
An ambitious new national study that aims to follow children from conception through adulthood will miss a golden opportunity to gather data on the most underrepresented population in clinical research - pregnant women, say leading ethicists at Duke University Medical Center, Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities.
Revance Therapeutics, Inc. ("Revance") announces that RT001, a topical botulinum toxin type A, under investigation for the treatment of crow"s feet wrinkles, demonstrated efficacy and safety in a US Phase 2b clinical study. The randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, dose-finding study showed efficacy versus placebo at primary and multiple secondary endpoints.
Dialysis treatments do not affect the heart health of kidney disease patients who have had a heart attack, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Since cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in kidney disease patients, the findings are good news for individuals who need the treatments.
As soccer continues to grow in popularity, injuries to soccer players are likely to increase as well. Certain injuries fall into gender-based patterns and new research at Hospital for Special Surgery suggests some underlying causes that could help lead to better treatment, or even prevention for present and future soccer stars.
The "hard truth of our economic turmoil is almost at term," as hospitals are beginning to report a decrease in the number of births, about nine months after "American banks first admitted their collective crisis," author Lauren Sandler writes in Slate"s "The Big Money" column. Sandler writes that the trend is "hardly unprecedented," noting that the contraception business "was just about the only one booming" during the Great Depression. She asks, "Are market forces the great contraceptive?" Sandler continues that in the first few months of 2009, Nielsen reported a 10% increase in U.S. sales of condoms and emergency contraceptive pills. Additionally, sales of the permanent female contraceptive Essure have increased 28% over the past year, and clicks on physician profiles on Vasectomy.com have risen 40%. According to Sandler, Vasectomy.com"s chief operating officer, Maya Wank, reports that many urologists say that vasectomies are increasing because patients" salaries are down, with many men seeking vasectomies out of fear of job or health insurance loss.Sandler writes that the "tanking economy has delivered an awakening" that the "choice to have a child is probably the most serious, not to mention one of the most costly, that you"ll ever make." According to Sandler, a Gallup poll found that 12% of women say they know someone who has delayed a planned pregnancy because of the recession. The poll also found that one in five women reports that she is more concerned about unintended pregnancy than she was one year ago, and the same number reports being more "conscientious" about using birth control. Additionally, the poll found that, compared with one year ago, 13% more women who use hormonal contraception are concerned that they will be unable to afford their birth control. Since 2008, there has been an increase of 15% in the number of U.S. residents who say they had to cut back on medications due to cost.Sandler writes that it is "not surprising" that the National Network of Abortion Funds reports a fourfold increase in the number of calls from women who need assistance paying for abortion procedures. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recently announced that teen birth rates are up after a 14-year decline. "In other words, the recession could result in a drop in birth rates for women with easy access to contraception and abortion," Sandler writes, adding that experts believe that women with "more limited access ... may see the rate climb." Sandler concludes that "it"s not unreasonable to consider what things will look like if the middle class reduces its reproduction, while men and women who are struggling to even afford condoms expand their numbers despite their personal choice" (Sandler, "The Big Money," Slate, 5/17).
UroToday.com - On occasion, urologists will encounter subtypes of prostate cancer (CaP) other than adenocarcinoma. One such subtype is ductal (or endometrioid) CaP. Ductal CaP is characterized by the presence of tall, pseudostratified columnar cells with abundant cytoplasm arranged in a papillary pattern. It can be diagnosed with high Gleason score and advanced stage, but its clinical course has been relatively undefined. In the online version of Cancer, Dr. Shi-Ming Tu and colleagues report a series of 108 patients with ductal CaP.
Twenty people in California were arrested on Thursday "in a $4.6-million Medi-Cal fraud scheme that law enforcement officials allege used unlicensed individuals to provide in-home nursing care for disabled patients," The Los Angeles Times reports. "About 75 patients, many of them children with cerebral palsy or developmental disabilities, were treated at home or at school by the unlicensed individuals who stole identities to pose as licensed nurses, according to the United States Attorney"s office." Those arrested "are among 42 defendants named in a 41-count indictment," in what United States Attorney Thomas O"Brien calls "the largest single case alleging Medi-Cal fraud ever filed in the state of California" (Abdulrahim, 7/9).
The Obama administration on Thursday said a nationwide vaccination program could begin as early as mid-October to protect Americans from the H1N1 (swine flu) virus and pledged $350 million to help prepare communities across the country for this effort, the Washington Times reports (Ward, 7/9).
The WHO announced Thursday it had approved a second cervical cancer vaccine, opening "U.N. agencies and partners [to] now officially buy millions of doses of the vaccine for poor countries worldwide," where an estimated 80 percent of the 280,000 annual deaths from cervical cancer occur each year, the AP/Google.com reports (7/9).
MMWR Examines Polio Eradication In India
ECCO 15 - ESMO 34 will take place at the ICC Berlin - Internationales Congress Centrum, Messedamm 22, D-14055 Berlin, Germany (http://www.icc-berlin.de) from Sunday 20 September to Thursday 24 September 2009.