Medical Devices
MetLife, providing dental plan administration for over 21 million people, announced additions to its dental continuing education program today. Three new quality re guides have been added to the MetLife program, which is recognized by the American Dental Association (ADA) and the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD). The new courses focus on: 1) Assessing Orofacial Pain, 2) Assessing Risk for Chronic Periodontitis in Adults 3rd Edition, and 3) Recognition and Management of Patients with Xerostomia 2nd Edition. The courses are available online at http://www.metdental.com and can be completed for continuing education credits.
Oculus Innovative Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCLS), a healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a family of products based upon the Microcyn® Technology platform, which includes new formulations intended to reduce the use of antibiotics by preventing or treating infections including those caused by bacteria and viruses, has confirmed the effectiveness of Microcyn® Technology at inactivating the H1NI Swine Influenza A. In a virucidal time-kill suspension test conducted by an independent laboratory, BioScience Laboratories, Inc., the specific Microcyn Technology formulation reduced infectivity of the swine flu virus by 4.00log10 (99.99%) reduction after just 30-seconds exposure. BioScience Laboratories, working in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, received formal approval to acquire, house and evaluate the specific swine influenza virus in April 2009.
Some patient advocates are lobbying to legalize "compassionate use" of experimental drugs for people with terminal illnesses who have exhausted other treatments, prompting a debate about how and when to provide such patients with treatments that could prolong their lives, the New York Times reports. Most insurers do not cover unproven treatments, and physicians have concerns that using experimental treatment could give patients false hope and cause unnecessary pain. Drugmakers are concerned that if there are unfavorable outcomes from providing patients with an unproven treatment, it could hurt the drug"s chances of receiving FDA approval. At the same time, FDA does not want to grant drugs and their makers the opportunity to skip clinical trials. Currently, patients must individually apply to receive treatments through compassionate use (Harmon, New York Times, 5/17).
Thousands of people in England are unaware that they are at risk of developing heart disease due to an undiagnosed genetic condition, says the Royal College of Physicians. Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is an inherited condition causing high levels of LDL cholesterol, and increased risk of coronary heart disease in men in their 50s and women in their 60s. Early treatment with statins has been shown to reduce risk and improve life expectancy to normal.
Liberal House Democrats are threatening to kill any plan that doesn"t include a government-run public option, Roll Call reports, quoting Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif.: ""No one in this building wants health care reform as much as we do. However, if reform legislation comes to the floor, and it does not include a real and robust public option that lives up to our criteria, then we will fight it with everything that we have," she said."
The Senate Commerce Committee has found that a flawed payment database produced by a UnitedHealth subsidiary and distributed to other major insurance companies has led insurers to underpay millions of out-of-network claims, forcing patients to make up the difference of health care providers" fees, the Wall Street Journal reports. Aetna, Cigna, WellPoint, and other large insurers used the data to calculate their "reasonable and customary" charges. They also provided UnitedHealth"s subsidiary, Ingenix, with historic data about their payments, which became the foundation of ongoing versions of the flawed payment models.
The shortage in primary care doctors is causing older doctors to stay on the job while young ones opt for specialties.
Staying ahead of the upcoming drive to sell electronic health records to hospitals and physicians may be difficult for smaller vendors, Pharmawire/Financial Times reports. General Electric announced a program last week to provide health care organizations with financing options to purchase health technology through its financial services arm even as it sells electronic records through its health care wing. Other large vendors like Cerner and McKesson will be able to keep up, but smaller producers will be left behind, industry experts said.
It may have been the biggest curveball of Seattle Mariners pitcher Brandon Morrow"s life: type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Forecast, the consumer magazine of the American Diabetes Association, features an interview with the bazooka-armed athlete in the July 2009 issue. Morrow shares insights on being a professional athlete while managing a chronic disease, his decision to stay in the bullpen, his supportive teammates and his unique and unexpected opportunity to mentor fellow Mariners reliever Mark Lowe, who also has diabetes.
Polk County, Fla., health officials have made educating the black community a top priority in addressing HIV/AIDS in the state, where blacks are disproportionately affected by the virus, the Lakeland Ledger reports. The Polk County Health Department has expanded its community outreach and testing efforts to different types of settings such as beauty salons, community centers and churches. County outreach workers hope that offering education and screening in such settings will encourage residents to get informed and tested for HIV (Williams Adams [1], Lakeland Ledger, 6/24). In addition, the Ledger examined the complex issues the black community faces with regard to HIV/AIDS and the barriers that need be addressed to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS on minorities (Williams Adams, Lakeland Ledger, 6/25). The Ledger also profiled Bonnie Munson, a local resident who performs volunteer outreach efforts in her community, including distributing condoms and informational material to other residents (Williams Adams [2], Lakeland Ledger, 6/24).
The H1N1 (swine flu) virus has reached the sub-Saharan African countries of Cape Verde, Ethiopia and Ivory Coast, according to the WHO, the AP/Boston Herald reports. Last week, South Africa became the first country in the region to confirm a 12-year-old, who had returned from the U.S., tested positive for the H1N1 virus.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published guidance on cetuximab for the treatment of recurrent and/or metastatic (where the cancer has spread) squamous cell cancer of the head and neck. The guidance does not recommend cetuximab in combination with platinum- based chemotherapy as a treatment option for patients with this type of head and neck cancer.
As a woman gets older, physical problems are less likely to influence whether she is sexually active than her partner"s health or interest in sex, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente.
A quarter of us will experience at least one mental health problem in any one year, and yet stigma and prejudice are still widespread.
Using a "neurologger" specially designed to record the brain activity of pigeons in flight, researchers reporting online on June 25th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, have gained new insight into what goes through the birds" minds as they fly over familiar terrain. The study is the first to simultaneously record electrical brain activity integrated with large-scale navigational movements of free-flying birds, according to the researchers.
AcademyHealth and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have awarded ten scholarships to graduate students who demonstrate outstanding potential to contribute to the field of public health systems research (PHSR).
AB Science, a young Paris-based biotech company, announces the pan-European commercial launch of its Masivet veterinary anticancer drug in June 2009. Masivet was approved in November 2008 by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for the treatment of dogs with non-resectable grade 2 or 3 mast cell tumours. Masivet"s active pharmaceutical ingredient is masitinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Masitinib, discovered and developed by AB Science, belongs to a therapeutic class of drug known as targeted therapy that is revolutionising the treatment of cancer in humans.
The NMC announced the appointment of Roger Thompson as its new Director of Standards and Registration.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality"s annual release of state-by-state quality data continues to give states mixed reviews for the quality of care they provide. As in previous years, AHRQ"s 2008 State Snapshots show that no state does well or poorly on all quality measures.
A new Auburn University-designed, high-tech pharmacy in Meridian, Miss., is the first of its kind and is a model facility that could be built in communities across the United States.
UroToday.com - Prostate and breast cancer appear to be homologous cancer in males and females respectively. Both cancers share hormone etiologies and are treated with hormonal manipulation. The incidence of these two hormone-dependent cancers has steadily risen throughout the twentieth century. Both cancers have race-based links: there is a higher incidence of prostate cancer in African-American men than Caucasian men followed by Asian men and under the age of forty, breast cancer is more lethal in African-American women than Caucasian women and Asian women[1-2] . Beyond genetic and cultural explanations for these differences, an alternative environmental hormone disruptor may be at play as follows.
An additional 535 confirmed human cases of Swine Flu A(H1N1) cases have been confirmed in the England, plus 111 in Scotland, 5 in Northern Ireland, and 3 in Wales, bringing the UK total so far since April 2009 to 4,250, says the Health Protection Agency (HPA). The HPA informs that the infection can be effectively treated with antiviral medication. The majority of UK cases have been mild, the agency says, and people have recovered fully after treatment.
Some senators on the Finance Committee said Thursday they"ve moved closer to cutting their health reform bill"s cost to under $1 trillion.
Tensions are showing as health reform continues to be center stage on the President"s and Congress" domestic policy agenda. The Associated Press reports that "President Barack Obama has learned the lessons of Bill Clinton"s failed bid to overhaul the nation"s health care system. Too well, in fact, say fellow Democrats angry over [Obama"s] refusal to intervene while a conservative proposal advances in the Senate," feel Obama has "over-learned the lessons of 1993 and is bending over too far to attract GOP support in the Senate." Obama supports a public option for health insurance, but "wants to avoid issuing nonnegotiable demands early in the legislative process," say White House aides. "Insurance companies oppose the public option proposal. Their cause was hurt this week when congressional investigators said two-thirds of the U.S. health insurance industry used a faulty database that overcharged patients for seeing doctors outside their insurance network, costing Americans billions of dollars in inflated medical bills" (Babington, 6/26).
Entomopathogenic fungi may be a safe and efficient means of controlling
As of January 2010, the Bulletin de la Sociç©tç© de Pathologie Exotique will join Springer"s publishing program. Founded in 1908 by Nobel Laureate Louis-Alphonse Laveran, the society celebrated its centenary last year. It plays a major role in the promotion of health issues and information on tropical pathology.
The Associated Press/Washington Post reported that U.S. health officials on Thursday said they believe as many as 1 million Americans have been infected with H1N1 and "6 percent or more of some urban populations are infected." The estimates were based upon survey data collected by health officials and mathematical modeling.
In malaria-endemic areas, vitamin A supplements - which cost about 2 U.S. cents each - can help reduce infections in children by one-third, according to a study published in the Malaria Journal, IRIN reports. The study analyzed results from previous studies conducted in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Papua New Guinea since 1995. It found that vitamin A supplements decreased malaria cases by one-third in Papua New Guinea and Burkina Faso.
There have been 19 new cases of HIV diagnosed in Montana since the beginning of the year, whereas the state usually has an average of about 20 newly diagnosed cases annually, according to a recent report by the state Department of Public Health and Human Services, the AP/KXNet.com reports (AP/KXNet.com, 6/25). Anna Whiting Sorrell, director of the agency, said that reaching 19 cases before the end of June suggests that people might be increasingly putting themselves at risk. Montana STD/HIV Section Supervisor Laurie Kops, said, "It"s just a little bit alarming to us that we"ve got those numbers, but it"s not that we don"t expect those numbers because we think that there are folks out there who don"t know what their status is." Officials are recommending residents be tested on Saturday as part of National HIV Testing Day (Montana"s News Station.com, 6/25).
A clinical trial of masitinib, a drug in development for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, has shown it to be well tolerated and effective. Researchers writing in BioMed Central"s open access journal Arthritis Research and Therapy have shown that treatment with masitinib significantly reduced the severity of active arthritis.
The national aortic screening programme in the UK should, in due course, prevent about half of all aneurysm deaths in men over 65 and will be extremely cost effective for the NHS, conclude researchers in a study published on bmj.com. However a second study, also published today, concludes that screening is not cost effective and calls for additional research into the long term outcomes and costs of screening.
Researchers in Berlin, Germany have ameliorated inflammation of the brain in mice caused by immune cells. A receptor they discovered on the surface of T cells in the central nervous system (CNS) plays the key role. The researchers showed that this bradykinin receptor 1 (B1) controls the infiltration of immune cells into the CNS. When they activated B1 in mice with encephalitis, they were able to slow down the crossing of the immune cells through the blood-brain-barrier into the CNS. As a result, the inflammation markedly decreased. The work by Dr. Ulf Schulze-Topphoff, Prof. Orhan Aktas, and Professor Frauke Zipp (Cecilie Vogt-Clinic, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Max DelbrÃøck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and NeuroCure Research Center) together with researchers in Canada and the USA may unveil a new target for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) (Nature Medicine, doi 10.1038/nm.1980)*.
GI Dynamics, a leader in non-surgical treatments for type 2 diabetes and obesity, today announced results from a pilot clinical study which demonstrated the substantially enhanced weight loss effects of combining the company"s EndoBarrier Gastrointestinal Liner with a new EndoBarrier Flow Restrictor. The EndoBarrier Flow Restrictor provides an adjustable restriction at the outlet of the stomach and is designed to delay gastric emptying, an additional mechanism which adds to the therapeutic effects of the liner. The results were presented today at the 26th annual meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).
This Friday 26 June, Alzheimer"s Society representatives and sports personality Micky Quinn will join Richard Dunwoody, in his quest to walk 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours.
Over the last five days, the Middlesex-London Health Unit has received reports of three children with E. coli O157:H7. To receive three laboratory confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 in such a short timeframe is unusual. In two of these cases, the common food consumed was kofta (spiced ground beef) purchased on June 14 and 15 from the Westmount Halal Food Store located at 490 Wonderland Road South. The of the third child"s infection is currently unknown. This child"s family also eats halal food but did not purchase any food from the Westmount Halal Food Store.
Because tobacco use impairs military readiness, harms the health of soldiers and veterans, and imposes a substantial financial burden on the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, these agencies should implement a comprehensive strategy to achieve the Defense Department"s stated goal of a tobacco-free military, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. DOD should gradually phase in a ban on tobacco use in the military, starting at military academies and officer training programs and among new recruits, the report says. DOD should also stop selling tobacco products in Army and Air Force commissaries -- Navy and Marine Corps commissaries already do not sell them -- and should stop selling them at a discount in military exchanges and other stores. In addition, Congress should allow VA to establish tobacco-free medical centers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today unveiled LEANWorks!, a Website designed to help businesses address obesity. LEAN stands for Leading Employees to Activity and Nutrition. The new Website was announced at a National Business Group on Health meeting in Washington, D.C.
Exercise and electro-acupuncture treatments can reduce sympathetic nerve activity in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), according to a new study. The finding is important because women with PCOS often have elevated sympathetic nerve activity, which plays a role in hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, obesity and cardiovascular disease
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) called for urgent assessment and responses from regulatory authorities into a possible link between the use of insulin glargine (an insulin analogue) and increased risk of cancer based on findings published on 26 June, 2009 in Diabetelogia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).
Physio-Control Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), announced today that LUCAS™ 2, the next-generation LUCAS™ Chest Compression System, has been granted 510(k) market clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Developed and manufactured by Jolife AB and distributed exclusively in the United States by Physio-Control, the LUCAS 2 is an automated, battery-powered device that is designed to give consistent, uninterrupted compressions to victims in cardiac arrest.
UNISON and UNITE are calling on North Somerset Council to put a stop to plans to privatise transport services, warning that outsourcing could put vulnerable young children at risk.
Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (NYSE Amex: SVA), a leading developer and provider of vaccines in China, announced today that it has received a revised Drug Supplementary Application Approval for Panflu(TM), Sinovac"s pandemic influenza vaccine from the China State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), based on the Phase IIb clinical trial, Under the revised approval, the age group eligible for use of the whole viron inactivated pandemic influenza vaccine was expanded to 18 years old and over, whereas it was previously 18 to 60 years of age, enabling Sinovac to reach a much broader percentage of the population.
-- 17 confirmed cases in Wales, with 0 new cases.
Some homeless teenagers in Colorado are getting dental work done for free as part of the economic stimulus that has expanded service to more poor and uninsured, The Associated Press reports.
Biovest International, Inc. (Other OTC:BVTI), a majority-owned subsidiary of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Other OTC:ABPIQ), today announced that BiovaxID®, Biovest"s personalized therapeutic anti-cancer vaccine, is available on a named-patient (compassionate-use) basis in Europe. Following compliance with local regulatory protocols, BiovaxID will be supplied by idis Limited to European healthcare professionals for the treatment of follicular non-Hodgkin"s lymphoma and potentially for other B-cell blood cancers such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Physicians in non-European countries may also contact idis to inquire about the potential availability of BiovaxID, as idis manages named-patient programs in more than 100 countries.
A new study uncovers a molecular mechanism that explains why joints fail to develop in embryos with paralyzed limbs. The research, published by Cell Press in the May issue of the journal Developmental Cell, answers a longstanding question about the influence of muscle activity on developing joints and underscores the critical contribution of movement to regulation of a signaling pathway that is important during development and beyond.
The CDC convened a national vaccine advisory committee Friday to discuss the best response to the spread of H1N1 (swine flu) with an estimated 6,000 new cases in the U.S. last week alone, Reuters reports. "The key point is this new infectious disease is not going away," despite the fact the flu season in North America has passed, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC said. "In the U.S., we"re still experiencing a steady increase in the number of reported cases."
The Los Angeles Times examines several stories of patients too poor to pay their hospital bills in Kenya that were held in a "makeshift patients" prison," until they escape or settle their debt. "Tragically, healthcare horror stories are common in Africa, where developing countries rarely have medical safety nets for the poor. But an increase in cases of cash-starved public hospitals and mortuaries detaining patients and even corpses over unpaid bills is spurring outrage in Kenya," writes the newspaper.
The Retail Advisory Board (RAB) of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) met yesterday during the 2009 NACDS Marketplace Conference to discuss social networking opportunities within their businesses.
Fireworks are a traditional part of America"s celebration of Independence Day on July 4.
"Although HIV/AIDS continues to pose a serious threat to the nation"s health, HIV testing is a powerful weapon against the disease," Kevin Fenton, director of CDC"s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, writes in a CNN.com opinion piece. Fenton writes that every 9 1/2 minutes someone in the U.S. becomes infected with HIV. "That"s 56,000 people every year," Fenton writes, adding, "But there"s something we can all do to help protect ourselves and our partners from this disease - get tested for HIV." He continues, "By increasing the number of people who know their HIV status, we can decrease the number of new HIV infections, and help save thousands of lives" (Fenton, CNN.com, 6/26).
Accredited Practising Dietitian and PhD student Janice Sangster has been awarded the Dietitians
Whether it"s the summer grass that tickles your feet or the red Bordeaux smacking on your palette, nearly every part of the world around you carries special chemical markers. These markers, called isotopes, can tell scientists where the molecules that compose a substance are from, where they traveled, and what happened to them along the way. But doing these analyses has been complex and costly. Now, Stanford chemists have developed a new method to make isotopic analysis easier and less expensive.
The recent release of two large randomized trials suggests that if there is a benefit of screening, it is, at best, small, says a new report in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Authored by Otis W. Brawley, M.D. of the American Cancer Society and Donna Ankerst, Ph.D. and Ian M. Thompson, M.D. of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the review says because prostate cancer is virtually ubiquitous in men as they age, it is clear that a goal of "finding more cancers" is not acceptable. Instead, public health principles demand that screening must reduce the risk of death from prostate cancer, reduce the suffering from prostate cancer, or reduce health care costs when compared with a non-screening scenario. The authors suggest prostate cancer screening has yet to reach one of these standards to date.
Every cell lining the small intestine bristles with thousands of tightly packed microvilli that project into the gut lumen, forming a brush border that absorbs nutrients and protects the body from intestinal bacteria. In the June 29, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, Matthew McConnell, Matthew Tyska, and colleagues now find that microvilli extend their functional reach even further using a molecular motor to send vesicles packed with gut enzymes out into the lumen to get a head start on breaking down their substrates.
The first three guides - Clinical Engagement, Governance and Prioritising Investment - will be launched at the Practice Based Commissioning National Forum, on 1 July. A fourth guide, on Patient and Public Engagement, will be published over the summer and a fifth, on Procurement, is already in the pipeline and expected to be published in September.
Dutch researchers have found the first evidence that a process of inactivating the X chromosome during embryo development and implantation, which was known to occur in mice but unknown in humans, does, in fact, take place in human female embryos prior to implantation in the womb.
The Australian Nursing Federation joined other unions in celebrating the end of WorkChoices.
Research at the University of Leicester will be breaking new ground in the search for a simple blood test that could tell whether a patient with melanoma has the condition in an aggressive form. Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Staging, which involves determining the size of the tumour and its extent of spread, is the best predictor of whether a patient will succumb to disease or survive.
The influenza virus that wreaked worldwide havoc in 1918-1919 founded a viral dynasty that persists to this day, according to scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. In an article published online on June 29 by the New England Journal of Medicine, authors Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Jeffery K. Taubenberger, M.D., Ph.D., and David M. Morens, M.D., argue that we have lived in an influenza pandemic era since 1918, and they describe how the novel 2009 H1N1 virus now circling the globe is yet another manifestation of this enduring viral family.
Commenting on new figures published yesterday which show that one in 20 deaths are attributable to alcohol, Dr Peter Terry, Chairman of the BMA in Scotland, said:
The current H1N1 swine flu strain has genetic roots in an illness that sickened pigs at the 1918 Cedar Rapids Swine Show in Iowa, report infectious disease experts at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health in the New England Journal of Medicine. Their paper, published online and slated for the July 16 print issue, describes H1N1"s nearly century-long and often convoluted journey, which may include the accidental resurrection of an extinct strain.
Adult-child conversations have a more significant impact on language development than exposing children to language through one-on-one reading alone, according to a new study in the July issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Helicobacter pylori survives in the body by manipulating important immune system cells. This is shown in a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy. The discovery may lead to new treatments against the common peptic ulcer bacterium.
An article published Online First and in a future edition of The Lancet reports on the use of Ketamine as a safe and valuable substitute to conventional etomidate. It is used as a sedative during intubation. Critically ill patients frequently require tubing inserted into their airways to help control their breathing during treatment. The article is the work of Professor Frederic Adnet, SAMU 93, of the Hç´pitaux de Paris, France, and his team.
Researchers at the University of Glasgow believe they have found a potential new treatment for cardiovascular disease which reduces blood pressure. Scientists at the British Heart Foundation Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre (BHF GCRC) used a recently-developed antioxidant called MitoQ10 to prevent damage to the mitochondria of cells in an experimental model of hypertension and stroke.
The Supreme Court"s 5-4 reversal of a decision endorsed by a three-judge appellate panel that included Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is attracting criticism from the judge"s conservative opponents but is not expected to have a significant effect on delaying her confirmation, the Washington Post reports. The appellate panel in 2008 upheld New Haven, Conn."s decision to discard a promotion test for firefighters after no blacks and only two Hispanics qualified for advancement after taking the test (Markon/Kane, Washington Post, 6/30). The panel"s ruling affirmed a lower court"s decision that the city had a right to discard the test based on a segment of civil rights law involving actions that have a "disparate impact" on minorities. A group of white and Hispanic firefighters who would have received promotions under the test sued, alleging reverse discrimination. Democrats and legal analysts said that Sotomayor was following legal precedent in the 2008 ruling and that it was the Supreme Court, which has the ability to exercise more discretion, that chose to make law by reversing the decision (Friedman, CongressDaily, 6/29). The Supreme Court typically reverses about 75% of the cases it reviews, according to legal experts. The court previously has reversed four of Sotomayor"s rulings and upheld three of her decisions, the Post reports. Tom Goldstein, a lawyer and founder of the SCOTUSblog Web site, said, "I don"t think it will persuade anybody who is inclined one way or another to change their views about Sotomayor" (Washington Post, 6/30). Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said, "The main charge against Sotomayor is that she will be an activist judge, but this decision clearly shows that she won"t." He said that the results of the case "won"t change things a wit," adding that "in fact, it bolsters (the claim) that she is mainstream" (CongressDaily, 6/29). Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the New Haven case "sharpens our focus on [Sotomayor"s] troubling speeches and writings" that "indicate ... that personal experiences and political views should influence a judge"s decisions." He added that the issue "will clearly be the subject of questioning" at Sotomayor"s confirmation hearing, which is scheduled to begin on Monday (Phillips, "The Caucus," New York Times, 6/29).
Renishaw, a world leader in engineering technologies, is introducing an exciting range of high precision systems for functional and stereotactic neurosurgery at the 15th Quadrennial Meeting of the World Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (WSSFN) taking place in Toronto, Canada, from May 24th to 27th 2009. These include the neuromate® surgical robot, and image-guided stereotactic technologies, some of which are still in development.
The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) has reached a management agreement with the International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound (ISTU) effective July 1, 2009. The AIUM will support the ISTU"s administrative, financial, and member service functions in an effort to maximize the ISTU"s mission of advancing therapeutic ultrasound applications worldwide.
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has called on Defra to abandon its plans for a new animal health body that will give responsibility for animal health to an independent board and leave responsibility for animal welfare with ministers.
Additional research is called for and patients with moderate to severe periodontitis should receive evaluation and possible treatment to reduce their risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a special consensus paper by editors of The American Journal of Cardiology and Journal of Peridontology in the July 1, 2009 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology, published by Elsevier.
Women who have a diminished number of eggs in their ovaries, either because they are older or for some other reason such as ovarian surgery, may be more at risk of a trisomic pregnancy than women with an ovarian reserve within the normal, fertile range.
A major new trial recently published in the journal Fertility and Sterility shows that for couples beginning infertility treatments, an accelerated path to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) can offer a shorter time to pregnancy, cost savings of nearly $10,000, and a lowered risk of multiple births.
While major advances have been made in the understanding of posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) anatomy and reconstruction, a literature review published in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS) finds that there must be continued advances in basic science research in order to determine the best course of treatment for those with PCL injuries.
Today, 15 new research projects aimed at bringing innovative medicines more quickly to the market have been selected to receive 246 million euros from the European Commission and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). The projects will foster understanding of health issues such as diabetes, pain, severe asthma and psychiatric disorders while increasing drug safety. They will also help improve the training of researchers and clinicians involved in medicines development. The projects were chosen following the first call for proposals launched within the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), a public-private partnership - so called Joint Technology Initiative- between the European Commission and the pharmaceutical industry. With this selection, IMI has reached a key milestone. This initiative marks the first time that pharmaceutical competitors are pooling their res, together with research organisations, patient groups and other stakeholders in large consortia, in order to develop generic, pre-competitive knowledge. The Commission"s contribution of €110 million is backed up with €136 million provided in-kind from the pharmaceutical industry. The successful projects will now enter into the final negotiation phase.
A front portion of the brain that handles tasks like decision-making also helps decipher different phonetic sounds, according to new Brown University research.
Scientists from Texas are batty over a new discovery which could lead to the single most important medical breakthrough in human history - significantly longer lifespans. The discovery, featured on the cover of the July 2009 print issue of The FASEB Journal, shows that proper protein folding over time in long-lived bats explains why they live significantly longer than other mammals of comparable size, such as mice.
Lyme disease in the U.S. is caused by the tick-borne bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and usually begins with a skin lesion, after which the bacteria spread throughout the body to the nervous system, heart or joints. About 60 percent of untreated individuals develop arthritis, which affects the knees in particular. Lyme disease usually responds well to antibiotic therapy, but in rare cases arthritis can persist for months or years after treatment, a rare condition known as antibiotic-refractory Lyme arthritis. Joint fluid usually tests negative for B burgdorferi after treatment, indicating that joint inflammation may persist even after the bacteria has been eradicated.
The potential role of periodontitis, an inflammatory disease of the gums, in the risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly ischemic stroke, has received growing attention during the last decade. A new study is the first prospective cohort study to use clinical measures of periodontitis to evaluate the association between this disease and the risk of cerebrovascular disease. The study is published in Annals of Neurology, the official journal of the American Neurological Association
Researchers at the University of Michigan have devised a microscale tool to help them understand the mechanical behavior of biofilms, slimy colonies of bacteria involved in most human infectious diseases.
The Met Office has raised the heatwave warning alert again today on behalf of the Department of Health.
Glucocorticoids are steroid hormones that have numerous functions; for example, they regulate the response to stress and suppress inflammation. Synthetic glucocorticoids are used clinically in many situations, most famously to treat asthma, allergies, and autoimmunity. They have also been shown in animals and humans to help protect the heart from the damaging effects of heart attack, and this has been attributed to their anti-inflammatory effects. However, Motoaki Sano and colleagues, at Keio University School of Medicine, Japan, have now determined another mechanism by which glucocorticoids protect rodent hearts from the damaging effects of heart attack. Specifically, glucocorticoids, acting via the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), induced mouse and rat heart muscle cells to produce PGD2, and this was responsible for the ability of glucocorticoids to reduce damage to mouse hearts in both an ex vivo and an in vivo model of heart attack. The authors therefore suggest that GR-selective glucocorticoids might be more beneficial to humans following heart attack than glucocorticoids that activate both GR and the MR protein, activation of which occurs in response to stress and might have unwanted consequences.
The search is on for fifty cancer patients undergoing chemo or radiotherapy to trial an innovative, natural cosmetic product, Evonail, aimed at reversing the damage done to cracked or broken nails during anti-cancer treatments.
What is done when the elderly lodge complaints about their services? elderly care? Why is it that staff describe complaints made by the elderly as "trivialities"? In two recent studies, Tove Persson, doctoral student at the School of Health Sciences, shows that staff, as well as social services directors in local administrations often trivialize complaints from the elderly, which in turn makes it difficult for the elderly to influence their everyday lives.
Today, during a Westminster Hall debate on the Archer Inquiry into the infection of nearly 5,000 haemophiliacs with HIV and Hepatitis C through NHS blood products, Jenny Willott, Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central, revealed evidence to show that the department"s reasons for offering fair compensation to those infected is inaccurate and unjustified.
Scientists in New Jersey are describing discovery and successful tests of the first once-a-month pill for controlling both fleas and ticks in domestic dogs and cats. Their study is in the current issue of ACS" Journal of the Medicinal Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.
Novocaine? Not necessarily. The widespread belief that dentists rely on Novocaine to make those office visits almost painless needs some updating, according to an article scheduled for the June 29 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS" weekly newsmagazine. In fact, patients are more likely to get any of several other anesthetics than the century-old standby Novocaine, which once reigned as the archetypal dental anesthetic.
A study published this week in the open access journal PLoS Medicine finds no evidence to suggest that a controversial antidote recommended by the
Nineteen House Democrats recently sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stating that they will not vote for health care reform legislation "unless it explicitly excludes abortion funding from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan," CongressDaily reports. In the letter, the lawmakers wrote that they want to ensure that the Health Benefits Advisory Committee cannot recommend that abortion services be included as part of benefits packages. They wrote, "Without an explicit exclusion, abortion could be included in a government-subsidized health care plan under general health care." The letter was signed by Reps. Dan Boren (Okla.), Bobby Bright (Ala.), Travis Childers (Miss.), Jerry Costello (Ill.), Lincoln Davis (Tenn.), Kathleen Dahlkemper (Pa.), Steve Driehaus (Ohio), Tim Holden (Pa.), Paul Kanjorski (Pa.), Marcy Kaptur (Ohio), Mike McIntyre (N.C.), Charlie Melancon (La.), John Murtha (Pa.), James Oberstar (Minn.), Solomon Ortiz (Texas), Collin Peterson (Minn.), Heath Shuler (N.C.), Bart Stupak (Mich.) and Gene Taylor (Miss.) (CongressDaily, 6/30).
There is growing evidence that a procedure for identifying chromosomal abnormalities in embryos prior to in vitro fertilization is ineffective at helping older women become pregnant, the Wall Street Journal reports. The procedure -- known as pre-implantation genetic screening, or PGS -- is performed in dozen of U.S. fertility clinics and sometimes marketed to older women as a way to increase the odds of a healthy live birth. PGS involves extracting a single cell from a six-cell embryo and inspecting it for chromosomal abnormalities known as aneuploidies; unaffected embryos can then be implanted through IVF. Women older than age 35 have a higher risk of aneuploidies, in which embryos have fewer or more than the usual number of 23 pairs of chromosomes. Aneuploidies can trigger early miscarriage or certain genetics conditions, such as Down syndrome. Most medical experts agree that embryo screening is capable of significantly reducing the risk of Down syndrome and other serious chromosome-related illnesses. However, evidence from several studies increasingly suggests that the procedure does not increase older women"s chances of healthy live births. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine released an initial opinion about PGS in 2007, saying that available evidence does not support the use of embryo screening to increase live birth rates in older women. Andrew La Barbera, scientific director of the society, said, "Since that time, there have been several more trials that have reached the same conclusion." Another shortcoming is that most clinics can only test for fewer than half of the 23 chromosomes, meaning that many defects can go undetected. However, medical experts say that the use of PGS has increased in the two years since ASRM issued its recommendations. According to the Journal, PGS can add more than $2,000 to the roughly $10,000 cost of one IVF cycle. Very few health insurers cover PGS, though some pay for IVF. Some experts contend that studies showing a lack of clinical benefit from PGS do not use more efficient biopsy techniques that can prevent damage to the embryo. Santiago Munne, scientific director for Reprogenetics, said that the treatment is "effective." In a 2007 study, Munne and colleagues used PGS to reduce the rate at which patients miscarried. However, the chances of a woman getting pregnant largely were unchanged, which the authors said could be attributed to the small number of study participants (Naik, Wall Street Journal, 6/1).
Now that the warm weather has arrived, there"s nothing like swimming to help cool you off on a hot summer day. The American Red Cross urges everyone to make water safety a priority over the holiday weekend, whether you are taking a dip in the pool, or spending the day at the beach:
Statement from Texas Medical Association President William H. Fleming III, MD, in response to today"s press conference by Sen. Eliot Shapleigh (D-El Paso) and Rep. Garnet Coleman (D-Houston). Senator Shapleigh and Representative Coleman called on Governor Rick Perry to add legislation that would expand the Children"s Health Insurance Program in the special session.
"Labor unions are showing their increasing displeasure over [health reform] financing proposals that target their healthcare benefits by launching attack ads against key lawmakers, causing the Senate"s leading advocate of taxing such benefits to seek an end to one especially aggressive campaign," Congress Daily reports. The Laborers" International Union of North America pulled an ad in Montana attacking Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus at the senator"s request, and after he asked to meet with the union"s president to discuss proposals (Dann, 6/30).
A diverse international network has proposed to significantly increase the
Johnson & Johnson has announced that Axel Ullrich, Ph.D., director of the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany, whose discoveries have led to novel cancer therapies including Herceptin® (trastuzumab) , is the winner of the 2009 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research. An independent committee of world-renowned scientists selected Dr. Ullrich, who on September 8 will receive a $100,000 prize during a ceremony in Beerse, Belgium.
Kuldev Singh, MD, MPH, Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of the Glaucoma Service at the Stanford University School of Medicine, was elected to Chair the Board of the Glaucoma Research Foundation at the Board of Directors Annual Meeting held April 29. The Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) is America"s oldest national institution dedicated solely to preventing vision loss from glaucoma.
Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have played a major role in an international effort that has shown, for the first time, that modern genetic technologies can solve the riddle of how gene variations lead to schizophrenia.
Occupational therapist, Ms Hannah McIlhinney has been suspended from the
For years, genes have been considered the one and only way biological traits could be passed down through generations of organisms.
History was made on May 13, 2009, as Minnesota became the first state to pass legislation allowing a "mid-level" oral health provider into state statute - enabling students who are educated under the Advanced Dental Hygiene Practitioner (ADHP) model to become licensed to practice. The Minnesota state House and Senate overwhelmingly passed Senate File 2083, a bill establishing the Dental Therapist and Advanced Dental Therapist providers in the state. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty signed the bill into law on May 16.
New research, conducted by Charles Wingo and his colleagues, at the University of Florida, Gainsville, suggests a link between the circadian rhythm and control of sodium (salt) levels in mice.
In response to Trust for America"s Health "F as in Fat" report released today, Health Secretary Alfredo Vigil, MD, said New Mexico needs to continue to strengthen its obesity-prevention efforts to address a serious problem with obesity. The report details obesity rates by states and discusses effective state policies and programs.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it is requiring manufacturers to put a Boxed Warning on the prescribing information for the smoking cessation drugs Chantix (varenicline) and Zyban (bupropion). The warning will highlight the risk of serious mental health events including changes in behavior, depressed mood, hostility, and suicidal thoughts when taking these drugs.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Multaq tablets (dronedarone) to help maintain normal heart rhythms in patients with a history of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter (heart rhythm disorders). The drug is approved to be used in patients whose hearts have returned to normal rhythm or who will undergo drug or electric-shock treatment to restore a normal heart beat.
Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, President & CEO: Haruo Naito, "Eisai") and Eisai Corporation of North America (Headquarters: Woodcliff Lake, NJ, Chairman and CEO Hajime Shimizu) are currently focusing on three clinical development programs for the company"s major product Aricept(R) (donepezil hydrochloride tablets) to further contribute to patients with Alzheimer"s disease. As progress in those programs has been made, Eisai announces the status as follows:
Sports-related injuries such as bruises, scrapes and broken bones accounted for 22 percent of hospital emergency department visits for children ages 5 to 17 in 2006, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
As spectators or players, America"s sports fanatics love ballgames at every age, from kids learning the basics at their first tee-ball game to top athletes playing in the All-Star game. Baseball is a game that can be played throughout our lives if injuries don"t leave us on the sidelines.
A new study by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) reveals the genetic underpinnings of what causes lung cancer to quickly metastasize, or spread, to the brain and the bone the two most prominent sites of lung cancer relapse. The study will be published online in the journal Cell on July 2.
Mental stress causes carotid artery dilation and increases brain blood flow. A series of ultrasound experiments, described in BioMed Central"s open access journal Cardiovascular Ultrasound, also found that this dilatory reflex was absent in people with high blood pressure.
An OECD report has confirmed that GP-led primary care is a cost effective way to promote good health while sending a warning about the need to better promote general practice as a career. The OECD Health Data 2009 report says despite the growing need for GPs worldwide there is an increasing trend towards specialisation. The number of specialists rose by 60% between 1990 and 2007, compared with only a 23% increase in GPs.
Scientists in the US and the Netherlands discovered what most doctors already suspected: the new H1N1 swine flu virus causes more
Politico"s Blog "Under the Radar" explores the HHS" recent decision to revise documents submitted to the Federal Register regarding a change in HIV-related immigration policy.
Before taking her job as the White House health reform director, Nancy-Ann DeParle earned more than $6 million serving on the boards of major health care corporations, some of which were accused of fraud, mismanagement and regulatory violations during her tenure, the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University reports on MSNBC.com. Some critics say the corporate relationships could be a conflict of interest for DeParle. Also, while there"s no evidence DeParle was involved in or aware of allegedly fraudulent activities, in three cases, she served on board committees overseeing the companies" legal and regulatory compliance.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., a member of the key Senate Finance Committee and advocate for a government-run health insurance plan, said yesterday he would abandon all other possible compromises in favor of immediately creating a public plan that "would operate on "a level playing field" with private insurers," CongressDaily reports. Other proposals have included a plan that would establish health insurance co-ops with government seed money or "trigger" the creation of a public plan only if private insurers fail to meet certain targets for containing costs and improving access.
The percentage of Americans with private health insurance is at its lowest level in 50 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.
Psychologists representing the American Psychological Association joined other invited health care practitioners, leaders and aides to President Obama today for the latest White House Stakeholder Discussion Group, emphasizing that health reform must include psychological services as part of primary care.