Medical Devices
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is now accepting applications for Survivor Circle grants from cancer support organizations in Illinois. ASTRO awards these grants to non-disease site specific cancer support groups located in the state where ASTRO holds its Annual Meeting. ASTRO"s Annual Meeting will be held November 1-5, 2009, at McCormick Place West in Chicago.
A possible government rethink into the "flawed and expensive" private financing of NHS hospitals has been welcomed by Unite, the largest union in the country.
According to new research* carried out by Lloydspharmacy, the UK"s leading community pharmacy chain, around 2.1million British holidaymakers and travellers are ignoring the need to protect themselves against malaria.
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."
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.
A Lifeline For Primary Care The New England Journal of Medicine
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health yesterday issued a directive recommending that health care providers include written consent for HIV testing in the general permission forms given to patients receiving medical care, the Boston Globe reports. State health care providers typically give patients separate consent forms for HIV testing, a practice health officials say poses as a barrier to HIV testing for patients and their providers. The new Massachusetts recommendation states that HIV testing should be explicitly mentioned on standard general consent forms. Reinforcing a provision in the CDC"s 2006 HIV testing guidelines, the directive also recommends routine HIV testing for all residents age 13 to 64 in health care settings. Patients in Massachusetts must still opt in to HIV testing, whereas the CDC recommends that HIV testing be performed unless a patient opts out, according to the Globe (Cooney, Boston Globe, 6/25).
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 New York Times examines a program being offered at an orphanage in Tanzania that provides emotional and physical support for newborns and young children who are at a high risk of death after losing their mothers in infancy. "Africa is full of at least 50 million orphans, the legacy of AIDS and other diseases, war and high rates of death in pregnancy and childbirth," the newspaper writes. "With the numbers increasing every day, Africans are struggling to care for them, often in ways that differ strikingly from the traditional concept of an orphanage in the developed world."
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.
"Dr. Eric Goosby wasted no time starting his new job as the U.S. global AIDS coordinator. He flew from the Bay Area to Geneva hours after his confirmation by the Senate and was sworn in when he landed ò€¦ The ambassador is approaching his post with the urgency of a clinician who has spent more than 25 years fighting the disease," the San Francisco Chronicle writes.
FDA on Wednesday approved Watson Pharmaceuticals" generic version of the emergency contraceptive Plan B, the Wall Street Journal reports. The generic drug will be available without a prescription to women ages 18 and older on Aug. 24, when Duramed Pharmaceuticals" market exclusivity for Plan B expires (Kalish, Wall Street Journal, 6/25). The generic version will be available to women ages 17 and younger with a prescription, according to an FDA press release (FDA Web site, 6/24). Watson will market the generic version under the name Next Choice (AP/Washington Post, 6/24).A one-time use pack of the brand-name product, Plan B, currently costs $49.99 through the online retailer DrugStore.com. According to Bloomberg, generic drugs usually cost 30% to 80% less than brand-name versions (Larkin, Bloomberg, 6/24).
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published final guidance on the use of lenalidomide for multiple myeloma in people who have received at least one prior therapy.
President Barack Obama"s signature on a bill this week to grant the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory authority over tobacco was historic, and represents a step in the march to eliminate tobacco use in this country by 2047, two national tobacco experts said recently (June 25).
The recent decline in invasive breast cancer in the US was significantly less pronounced in the poor and those who live in rural areas. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medicine suggest this may be due to varying reductions in the numbers of women taking hormone therapy (HT).
The AGA Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition (FDHN) has named Michael Y. Choi , MD, the first recipient of the Mary Terese Hartzheim Award for Neuroendocrine Tumor Research. This new research award was created for young investigators interested in researching carcinoid or neuroendocrine tumors. Dr. Choi is an investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston. He was previously named an AGA Foundation Research Scholar Award recipient in 2005.
An unusual and touchingly domestic glimpse into the life of the world"s most famous naturalist, Charles Darwin, will be made public at the Royal Society"s Summer Science Exhibition, starting on Tuesday (30th June).
The Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) is extremely concerned about the length of time that it is taking to resolve the issues for the families of former patients at Gosport War Memorial Hospital.
Laboratoires Pierre Fabre announce that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the scientific advisory committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), has issued a positive opinion supporting approval and is recommending to grant marketing authorisation for JAVLOR(R) as monotherapy in metastatic treatment of bladder cancer (advanced or metastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelial tract after failure of a prior platinum-containing regimen).
According to the CDC"s (Center for Disease Control and Prevention"s) Friday evening weekly update, 27th June 2009, there have been 27,717 laboratory confirmed human cases including 127 deaths of Swine Flu or A(H1N1) influenza. Fortunately, so far the Swine Flu A(H1N1) virus appears to be no more virulent than ordinary seasonal human influenza. No reports have come in indicating that the virus may have mutated.
Health Community Should Welcome Human Rights Community"s Help With Reducing Maternal Deaths
"It"s getting harder to convince people of the urgency, that knowing your HIV status is better than not knowing, that this is still a serious problem," columnist Wendi Thomas writes in the Memphis Commercial Appeal. She writes that some people "assume being HIV positive is no big deal" because former National Basketball Association player Earvin "Magic" Johnson has lived with HIV since 1991 and appears to be healthy. "But if you are HIV positive and delay finding out, the virus could progress" to a point where it becomes "much more difficult to treat," Thomas adds (Thomas, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 6/25). Philadelphia Inquirer columnist George Curry today discussed HIV statistics and findings from a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey that looked at U.S. residents" views on HIV/AIDS. He said, "It"s time to refocus our attention on HIV and AIDS. And a good way to do that is by getting tested tomorrow" on National HIV Testing Day (Curry, Philadelphia Inquirer, 6/26).
Staphylococcus epidermidis is quite an opportunist. Commonly found on human skin, the bacteria pose little danger. But S. epidermidis is a leading cause of infections in hospitals. From catheters to prosthetics, the bacteria are known to hitch a ride on a range of medical devices implanted into patients.
Researchers at UC Davis have developed a new test that will measure the protein deficit responsible for fragile X syndrome - the single-most common cause of intellectual impairment and the most-commonly inherited cause of autism. The test, described in a study appearing online in the July 2009 issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, is the first to measure an individual"s level of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) protein.
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.
Eighty percent of Canadians believe Canada"s airlines should offer some pet-free flights to protect the health and safety of passengers and crew members, according to a new survey released today by The Canadian Lung Association. The findings come as Air Canada prepares to join WestJet in allowing pets to travel in the passenger cabin of airplanes - pet allergens can trigger serious or even life-threatening reactions in people with lung diseases like asthma and COPD.
The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) will publish in mid-July the second edition of Pagliaros" Comprehensive Guide to Drugs and Substances of Abuse. Written by veteran authors Louis A. Pagliaro and Ann Marie Pagliaro, the reference includes more than 100 monographs-11 of them new-dealing with each of the major drugs and substances of abuse used in North America, from acetone to zopiclone.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning employers and their staff to be mindful of following the correct safety procedures when operating machinery and drills, following the prosecution of a West Bromwich firm.
A new analysis of the incidence of breast cancer in Italy per 100,000 women between the ages of 0 to 84 from 2000 to 2005 shows a 72 percent spike above official estimates issued by the Ministry of Health, with the sharpest uptick of +28.6 percent found in the youngest group studied (ages 25 to 44).
A Vanderbilt chemist and a biomedical engineer have teamed up to develop a respiratory virus detector that is sensitive enough to detect an infection at an early stage, takes only a few minutes to return a result and is simple enough to be performed in a pediatrician"s office.
Data presented yesterday, in Budapest, demonstrated that add-on treatment with the novel, once-daily anti-epileptic Zebinix®* (eslicarbazepine acetate; ESL) resulted in a marked and sustained decrease in seizure frequency over the long-term. Results from the one-year extension of a pivotal Eslicarbazepine Acetate phase III study were presented at the International Congress for Epilepsy in Budapest, Hungary. Patients not controlled with existing anti-epileptic drugs who were given eslicarbazepine acetate as an add-on treatment experienced a mean reduction in seizure frequency of more than 61% (95%CI: -68.2%, -55.5%). Nearly 65% of patients were classified as responders, meaning that they had achieved at least a 50% reduction in seizure frequency with Zebinix® treatment1.
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.
Pioneering therapeutic trials to investigate the effectiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in hard-to-treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette"s syndrome are underway at multiple medical centers around the world, according to a review in the June 2009 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. "Deep brain stimulation has long been seen as valuable for controlling movement disorders," according to the review, written by Susannah Tye, Ph.D., Mark Frye, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, and Kendall Lee, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic Department of Neurosurgery. "It now is being investigated for hard-to-treat psychiatric disorders," according to the authors.
DOR BioPharma, Inc. (DOR or the Company) (OTC Bulletin Board: DORB), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced that investigators at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, published a paper this morning in Bone Marrow Transplantation in which they demonstrate that DOR"s lead product orBec(R) (oral beclomethasone dipropionate or BDP) decreases non-infectious inflammation of the lung in acute gastrointestinal Graft-versus-Host disease (GI GVHD) patients who received allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplants (HCT). Non-infectious inflammation of the lung is a common and potentially fatal complication of HCT that decreases the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lung and blood and, in its severe form, may present as interstitial pneumonitis. The full article, entitled "Influence of Oral Beclomethasone Dipropionate on Early Non-Infectious Pulmonary Outcomes after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.
Patients who have regained weight after gastric bypass surgery now have access to an incisionless procedure that appears highly effective at reversing weight gain, according to data presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons. Santiago Horgan, MD, professor of surgery and director of the Center for the Treatment of Obesity at UC San Diego, presented six-month outcomes from a national registry of 116 patients who underwent the procedure, known as ROSE (Restorative Obesity Surgery, Endolumenal).
Preventative Treatment Against Malaria May be Less Effective in Malnourished Children
The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) is looking into four recently
The challenge to the Prime Minister by Mark Harper MP, Shadow Minister for Disabled People, to remove Section 141 of the Mental Health Act which strips an MP of their seat in Parliament if detained under the Act for more than six months, and his tabling of an amendment to the Equality Bill on this issue, are both very welcome and long overdue.
Antares Pharma, Inc. (NYSE Amex: AIS) and the Population Council announced preliminary positive results from the Phase 2 trial for a novel contraceptive gel containing the progestin Nestorone and the bio-identical estrogen estradiol (NES/E2) utilizing the Antares ATD (advanced transdermal delivery) gel system.
Analysis of the longest running ICSI programme in the United States has found reassuring evidence that babies born from frozen embryos fertilised via ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) do just as well as those born from frozen embryos fertilised via standard IVF treatment.
Swedish researchers have discovered that babies born by Caesarean section
Americans with serious illnesses who must often choose between paying a mortgage or their health premiums and deductibles are often going broke, The Seattle Times reports.
Reform Needs Healthy Life Incentives The Wall Street Journal
Today, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) announced their support for H.R. 3108, the Medication Therapy Management Benefits Act of 2009, sponsored by Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR). The bill was introduced on Friday June 26, 2009, and was immediately referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and Committee on Ways and Means, two House committees with jurisdiction over comprehensive healthcare reform legislation.
HIV diagnoses among all men in Louisiana declined from 1997 to 2006, but increased in 2007 and 2008 - diagnoses in the New Orleans metropolitan area alone increased by 9 percent from 2007 to 2008, according to the Louisiana Office of Public Health, the New Orleans Times Picayune reports. Of particular concern are the increases among black men in New Orleans. Among black men of all ages, new HIV diagnoses increased by 4 percent from 2007 to 2008, but increased 23 percent for black men age 20 to 24 and 30 percent for those age 45 to 54. The reasons behind the findings are "complex," according to the Times Picayune. Risky sexual behavior, a "declining sense of concern among young people about AIDS and the stubborn cultural stigma of homosexuality in the black community are all believed to be factors," the Times Picayune reports (Sandoval-Griffin, New Orleans Times Picayune, 6/27).
Registered nurses and hospital employees will hold a patient care vigil Tuesday night, at UC Irvine Medical Center (UCIMC), to protest the administration"s retaliatory actions against Ethel Mark, an RN who has worked in the hospital"s cardiac care unit for the last seven years as a model patient advocate. Ms. Mark was informed that she could expect to be terminated by the beginning of July.
Joe Korner, Director of Communications at The Stroke Association said:
University of Minnesota Medical School researcher Iris Borowsky, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues found that one in seven adolescents believe that it is highly likely that they will die before age 35, and this belief predicted that the adolescents" would engage in risky behaviors.
Researchers from North Carolina State University and Mayo Clinic have developed a computer model that medical doctors can use to determine the best time to begin using statin therapy in diabetes patients to help prevent heart disease and stroke.
Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX], a pioneer in the discovery and development of Nanobodies®, a novel class of antibody-derived therapeutic proteins, announced that it has advanced ALX-0061, a new Nanobody®-based therapeutic programme, into preclinical development for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
Healthcare workers in South Africa are at a significantly increased risk of developing drug-resistant tuberculosis, or XDR-TB, in a trend which threatens to further exacerbate the already beleaguered healthcare systems in sub-Saharan countries, according to results of a new study. Researchers say the results underscore the urgent need for stringent TB screening policies among healthcare workers in these areas.
In a study published online by the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, UC Davis researchers report that it takes at least a year for former methamphetamine users to regain impulse control. The results tell recovering substance abusers, their families and drug-treatment specialists that it can take an extended period of time for the brain functions critical to recovery to improve.
Improved communication among patients and primary care physicians increases the chances those due for colorectal cancer screening will follow their doctors" advice and complete the procedure, a University at Buffalo study has found.
New pooled clinical data presented at the 28th International Epilepsy Congress (IEC) in Budapest, Hungary showed that VIMPAT® (lacosamide), a new antiepileptic drug (AED) with a novel mode of action,1,2 significantly improved seizure control, increased seizure freedom rates during the maintenance phase and enhanced quality of life and patient function, when used as adjunctive therapy in adult patients with uncontrolled partial-onset seizures.2,3
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. The BVA has also expressed deep concerns over the confusion caused by the new structure that could lead to delays in dealing with outbreaks of disease across the UK.
Enigma Diagnostics Limited, the decentralised and point-of-care molecular diagnostics company, announced successful independent testing for bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency to evaluate the performance of the Enigma FL (Field Laboratory).
Amira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced initial positive data from a Phase 1 clinical study of AM211, the company"s oral selective antagonist of the DP2 (also known as CRTH2) receptor.
Cephalon, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEPH) announced that it has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting approval of NUVIGIL(R) (armodafinil) Tablets [C-IV] for the indication of improved wakefulness in patients with excessive sleepiness associated with jet lag disorder resulting from eastbound travel. Jet lag disorder is an acute condition that occurs when a person"s internal body clock becomes disrupted as a result of rapid travel across several time zones. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics findings, an estimated 70 million American travelers experience jet lag annually. Currently, there are no FDA-approved medications to improve wakefulness in travelers who experience the excessive sleepiness commonly associated with long flights.
Roche, the maker of ACCU-CHEK blood glucose monitoring systems and insulin pumps, announced today the latest component of its Behavior Change through Patient Engagement (sm) program. Creative Coaching is an advanced educational program that fights the growing epidemic of diabetes by improving dialogue between diabetes educators and their patients.
Immunology pioneer Professor Chris Goodnow from The Australian National University has been elected as a Fellow of the prestigious UK and Commonwealth academy of science, The Royal Society.
The General Optical Council (GOC) is today reminding all optical businesses, students and supervisors to ensure their current arrangements for professional supervision of students meet the requirements outlined by the GOC, and examination or assessment bodies. This follows the recent Fitness to Practise (FTP) hearing involving Boots Opticians Ltd (a GOC-registered business); Trevor Burgess, a registered student dispensing optician; and Richard Simmons, a registered dispensing optician.
CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and development company engaged in the development of high-value human therapeutics, provided a favorable progress update for its ongoing Phase 2 STAR-1 registration clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of orally administered tamibarotene as a third-line treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL).
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries. ~ "Just Released: Gains and Losses for Women in 2008-09 Supreme Court Decisions," National Women"s Law Center"s "Womenstake": The Supreme Court"s 2008-2009 term, which concluded Monday, included "several crucial decisions that demonstrate the impact of the court on women"s lives," according to the blog post, which summarizes a new analysis from NWLC on the cases. For example, the blog post says that the rulings in Fitzgerald v. Barnstable School Committee and Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tenn., increased employees" protections against discrimination in the workplace. However, the rulings in Ricci v. DeStetano -- which overturned an appellate court"s anti-discrimination ruling -- and AT&T Corp. v. Hulteen -- which "permitted AT&T to pay women lower pension benefits for the rest of their lives" -- were "not as positive," the blog entry says. NWLC Co-President Marcia Greenberger said that the Supreme Court "ignored the realities of the workplace and the intent of Congress and ruled against female workers" in AT&T v. Hulteen. Greenberger also said that such cases "underscore why every seat on the Supreme Court is of paramount importance to women," adding that it is "absolutely critical" that Supreme Court nominees have "a strong commitment to upholding and enforcing women"s basic legal rights and protections" ("Womenstake," National Women"s Law Center, 6/29).~ "Waldman and Saletan: Oh What a Fine Bromance!" Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check: In a recent bloggingheads.tv chat on "common ground" in the abortion-rights debate, Slate columnist Will Saletan and Beliefnet Editor-in-Chief Steve Waldman "spent as much time as possible complimenting each other"s work" and "as little as possible on any real substance regarding reproductive health and choice issues," Jacobson writes. It is "clear that the Obama administration"s stated intention to create "a common ground platform"" on abortion rights has become "a full employment program for both Waldman and Saletan," she writes. Jacobson continues, "So perhaps the most striking thing about the conversation was that, in the end, they both effectively concluded that the common ground enterprise was a "just for show" political strategy," and that the "real strategies" necessary to reduce the need for abortion "are the very prevention programs least likely to be supported by the far right. (Revelation!)." She adds, "However, they came to this conclusion through the same faux-expert uninformed arguments that characterize their columns." During the "Will-interviews-Steve format," Saletan "revealed once again that there is no core philosophy or framework underlying his ever-shifting positions on choice and abortion," according to Jacobson. She adds that "Waldman, for his part, several times underscored what is clear from reading his work": that he "just throws things "out there" without considered thought" about what "might be good versus bad data, not understanding how to read evidence," and "oblivious or uncaring about the effects his free-form moralistic misinformation and opinions might actually have on an already polarized debate." According to Jacobson, "Public policies affecting sexual and reproductive health issues" should be "based first and foremost on public health and on promoting individual rights balanced by individual responsibilities," but "as anyone living on Planet Earth knows, sex and reproduction have become the front in a war waged by ultra-conservative religious and political forces for which Waldman serves as a paid flacky." She continues, "In fact, Waldman himself stated during the program: "I have a corporate interest in injecting religion into every debate."" Jacobson states, "Reading and watching this duo is like buying the OK! magazine version of the culture wars at the grocery store; they put whatever sells on the front cover, no matter the truth or consequences.
Senate Democrats and Obama administration officials hoping that preventive care would create federal savings have been disappointed to learn that it does not create expected cost savings.
"Only 26 percent of likely voters in Massachusetts believe health care reform has been a success and just 21 percent believe reform has made health care more affordable, according to newly released poll results," The State House News Service/Boston Herald reports. "The Rasmussen Reports poll of 500 likely Massachusetts voters, taken in April, also found only 10 percent said the quality of health care is getting better under the reform law rules here." "The poll was taken before talks stirred in Washington about a national health care reform push and before a wave of news in Massachusetts about difficulty affording the coverage expansions authorized under the 2006 reform law" (6/29).
Australia"s premier research centre for all aspects of oral health will be established at the University of Adelaide thanks to a $2.4 million Federal Government grant.
One-step screening for both genetic and chromosomal abnormalities has come a stage closer as scientists announced that an embryo test they have been developing has successfully screened cells taken from spare embryos that were known to have cystic fibrosis.
Local laws, insurance reimbursement and public misperceptions impede emergency medical services (EMS) workers from using best resuscitation practices, according to a study reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
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.
MUSCLE BIOLOGY: Not strong enough: the protein OPN promotes muscle degeneration
Commenting on the news announced today by ESHRE"s European IVF monitoring consortium on the improvements in the quality, safety and efficacy of ART, Clare Lewis-Jones MBE, Chief Executive of Infertility Network UK said "We are angry that although the UK pioneered infertility treatment, we are still among the lowest providers in Europe of NHS treatment, and these figures show that availability in the UK is less than one third of that in Denmark. Recent measures announced by the Government to encourage implementation of the NICE Guideline have led to an improvement in the provision in some areas but more needs to be done by Primary Care Trusts in England to ensure that patients have equal and timely access to the full range of treatment recommended by NICE, and to tackle the ongoing variations in provision that exist across the country.
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.
AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAG) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted marketing approval for Feraheme™ (ferumoxytol) Injection for intravenous (IV) use as an iron replacement therapy for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in adult patients with chronic kidney disease. The recommended dose of Feraheme is an initial 510 mg IV injection followed by a second 510 mg IV injection three to eight days later. Feraheme should be administered as an undiluted IV injection delivered at a rate of up to 1 mL/sec (30 mg/sec). The recommended Feraheme dose may be readministered to patients with persistent or recurrent iron deficiency anemia.
Many low-income women are failing to take the hormonal therapy prescribed as part of their breast cancer treatment, possibly lowering their survival rates, according to a study led by a researcher in the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Despite rapid advances using a child"s own cord blood stem cells in regenerative therapies to repair damaged tissue due to injury or disease, most pregnant women today don"t learn about the ability to save their newborn"s cord blood. According to research published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 3 out of every 4 pregnant women consider themselves only "minimally informed."
In a study that could help explain the connections between depression and cancer, researchers at the University of Chicago have used an animal model to find, for the first time, a biological link between tumors and negative mood changes.
Women who get less than the recommended eight hours sleep a night are at higher risk of heart disease and heart-related problems than men with the same sleeping patterns.
Microbial populations have traditionally been studied in carefully controlled, laboratory-grown cultures. New metagenomic approaches are being developed to study these organisms in environmental or medical samples. The July issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols presents a method developed by Holger Daims from the University of Vienna for quantifying populations of microorganisms in a variety of naturally occurring conditions such as plankton samples or biofilms. Use of Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization and the daime Image Analysis Program for the Cultivation-Independent Quantification of Microorganisms in Environmental and Medical Samples combines fluorescent in situ hybridization using rRNA-targeted probes with digital image analysis. The results show an organism"s "biovolume fraction" in a given sample; this indicates the share of biochemical reaction space occupied by the quantified population and can be more relevant ecologically than absolute cell numbers. The article is freely available on the website for Cold Spring Harbor Protocols.
HIV-Positive Babies More Likely To Contract Deadly TB If Given BCG
Complications during pregnancy may increase the risk of having a child with autism, according to American researchers.
Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) announced 20 New Jersey health centers will receive $16,987,384 to address facility and equipment needs, increase access to health care for underserved populations, and create construction-related jobs. The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funds are being provided under the Economic Recovery Law signed by President Obama in February.
The pharmaceutical company Roche on Wednesday announced a program to help ensure developing countries have access to its antiviral Tamiflu, for "the management of a novel influenza strain defined by the WHO as having significant and current pandemic potential," Reuters reports (Egenter, 7/1). The program will make Tamiflu, which has been shown to be effective against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, available to developing countries for "half the price normally charged," Dow Jones Newswires/Wall Street Journal reports (Mengewein, 7/1).
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously voted to uphold Al Franken"s (D) win in the 2008 U.S. Senate election in Minnesota, effectively clearing the way for Franken to become the state"s newest senator, the Wall Street Journal reports. His election gives Democrats in the Senate a 60-vote supermajority, which could help the party pass health care reform legislation, according to the Journal. Following the ruling, opponent Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) conceded the election, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) said that he would certify the result Tuesday.Franken is expected to be seated next week. He will join the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he will vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which is completing its draft of health care reform legislation (Bendavid/Hitt, Wall Street Journal, 7/1).
Michigan from 1992 to 2007 experienced improvements in rates of teenage pregnancies, smoking among pregnant women, and six other indicators of maternal and infant health, though there was an increase in out-of-wedlock births and low-birthweight infants, according to a Michigan League for Human Services report issued Tuesday, the Detroit News reports. The report, titled "Right Start in Michigan," examined statistics in eight categories that affect the health of newborns. The findings track trends for the state as a whole and for its 83 counties and 69 communities with populations greater than 25,000 (Jun, Detroit News, 6/30). According to the report, teen births and repeat births decreased by more than 25% statewide (AP/9and10news.com, 6/30). The decline in teen births was more pronounced in urban areas (Lavey, Lansing State Journal, 6/30). The report also found that the rate of women who received no or late prenatal care dropped by 15%, while the rate of premature births declined by 9%. In addition, smoking by pregnant women decreased by more than one-third. However, out-of-wedlock births increased by 10%, and the percentage of low-birthweight infants rose by 10% (AP/9and10news.com, 6/30).State budget cuts are expected to affect assistance programs for teen and low-income women with children, according to the Lansing State Journal. Marcus Cheatham, assistant deputy health officer for Ingham County, Mich., said, "I"m really worried that we"re going to lose the gains we"ve made in this state" (Lansing State Journal, 6/30).
A new poll conducted by CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation released Wednesday says that 51 percent of people favor the president"s health reform plan while 45 percent oppose it, CNN reports.
Comparative-Effectiveness Research - Implications of the Federal Coordinating Council"s Report The New England Journal Of Medicine
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control "has prioritized testing" for HIV and offered free or low-cost testing at events in conjunction with National HIV Testing Day last week, an Orangeburg Times and Democrat editorial states, adding, "The importance of testing is not to be forgotten the other 364 days of the year." The editorial continues, "On the national level, Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California has reintroduced a bill to require health insurance plans to cover routine HIV tests under the same terms and conditions as other routine health screenings. The risk of further spread of [HIV] illustrates the legislation is needed to ensure broader testing" (Orangeburg Times and Democrat, 7/1).
More than fifty institutions from eighteen African countries - from Senegal to Sudan to South Africa - are to participate in international consortia under a ÷£30 million initiative from the Wellcome Trust to strengthen research capacity on the continent.
Responding to scientists" need to measure organic contaminants in human body fluids, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has recently made four new Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) available for purchase. Developed in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the human milk and serum SRMs have certified levels of contaminants, including flame retardants and pesticides, commonly found in the U.S. population. Scientists at the CDC and other laboratories will use the SRMs as controls in their experiments to ensure their methods are providing trustworthy results.
The NHS Chief Executive has recently warned that the NHS could have to
Researchers at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center are injecting a modified herpes virus into melanoma tumors, hoping to kill the cancer cells while also bolstering the body"s immune defenses against the disease.
Most knee replacement patients are between the ages of 60 and 80 years old. In some cases, younger patients with traumatic knee injuries may also require a total knee replacement. However the most common diagnosis is osteoarthritis. If you are prevented from carrying out your everyday activities due to pain or discomfort in the knee, then you may have arthritis of some kind. Similarly, difficulty in bending, squatting, kneeling, and walking may be indications that a knee replacement is in your future.
An additional 30 million bed nets, the development of life-saving new treatments and new funding to increase access to anti-malarial drugs are announced today in a package of measures by International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander, as the UK continues its fight to rid the world of malaria.
New research at Rhode Island Hospital has uncovered the biological effects of a novel membrane estrogen receptor, a finding that has potential implications for hormonal therapy for breast cancer. The study is published in the July edition of the journal Molecular Endocrinology. This new study by Edward Filardo, MD, and his research team further supports earlier published work by the group that linked the transmembrane receptor, GPR30/GPER-1, to specific estrogen binding, rapid estrogen signaling and breast cancer metastasis. "What is exciting about this new work," says Filardo, "is that it provides some insight into the influence of GPR30 at the cellular level. It shows that estrogen action through GPR30 allows for breast tumor cell survival, and not breast tumor cell proliferation." Prior studies by Filardo"s group showed that estrogen acts through GPR30 to promote the rapid release of preformed growth factors that are tethered to the surface of breast cancer cells. Their latest study was conducted in an effort to better understand the mechanism by which GPR30 triggered the release of epidermal growth factor (EGF) polypeptides from the surface of breast cancer cells.
Deleting two genes in mice responsible for repairing DNA strands damaged by oxidation leads to several types of tumors, providing additional evidence that such stress contributes to the development of cancer. That"s the conclusion of a recent study* in DNA Repair by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and the New York University School of Medicine (NYUSM).
An otherwise effective treatment for cystic fibrosis places patients at a high risk of sensorineural hearing loss, according to new research published in the July edition of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
A low dose of oral interferon alpha shows promise in preserving beta cell function for patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes, or juvenile diabetes, according to researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
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.
A team of Penn State scientists has shed light on the processes that lead to certain human DNA mutations that are implicated in hundreds of inherited diseases such as tuberous sclerosis and neurofibromatosis type 1. The results one day could influence the way couples who seek to have children receive genetic counseling. The team, led by Kateryna Makova, an associate professor of biology, also includes Erika Kvikstad, a graduate student in the Department of Biology, and Francesca Chiaromonte, an associate professor of statistics. Their findings will be published in the July 2009 issue of the journal Genome Research.
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.
An advisory committee to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted on Tuesday to recommend new restrictions on the popular pain
Lixte Biotechnology Holdings (OTC Bulletin Board: LIXT) announced that investigators of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health and Lixte reported that its novel compound, LB-1.2, enhances the effectiveness of two standard chemotherapy drugs in mouse models of human cancers. This research is being conducted under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between NINDS and Lixte. The report was published online in the early edition (June 29) of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (US). The print version will appear July 14.
In response to the advisory committee"s recommendations to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to put new restrictions on acetaminophen this week, physician leaders from the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM), have released the following statement:
The persistent cool and damp weather in the Northeast this spring put many outdoor activities on hold. With the weather finally improving, many people will head outdoors, and when they do, they are likely to find a perennial pest has been lurking, ready to latch onto the next warm-blooded body that comes by. "And that could spell serious health trouble," warns Dr. Chad Richmond, a family physician at the UDMNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine.
A newly published document, titled "Health Survey of American Indians of Alabama 2008:
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is triggered by a traumatic event - it is a kind of anxiety. The sufferer of PTSD may have experienced or seen an event that caused extreme fear, shock and/or a feeling of helplessness. Most of us experience a brief period of difficulty adjusting and coping with traumatic events. However, we gradually get better with time and healthy coping methods. On the other hand, there are times when symptoms get worse and may last for several months, or years. This study explains how PTSD can surface two years after a traumatic event. Another study found that one in eight Lower Manhattan residents likely had PTSD two to three years after the 9/11 attacks.
Tinnitus (from the Latin tinnitus or "ringing") is a condition characterized by ringing, swishing, or other noises that appear to be originating in the ear or head. Not normally a dangerous or serious problem, tinnitus is usually a symptom of some other underlying condition and most often considered a nuisance. Age-related hearing loss, ear injury, foreign objects in the ear, and circulatory system problems, for example, may cause the condition.
This statement updates Members on the Influenza A (H1N1) swine flu outbreak and the latest developments in Wales, across the UK and internationally.
Curcumin, the major polyphenol found in turmeric, appears to reduce weight gain in mice and suppress the growth of fat tissue in mice and cell models. Researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University (USDA HNRCA) studied mice fed high fat diets supplemented with curcumin and cell cultures incubated with curcumin.
A lack of emotional intelligence leads to poor coping strategies and seriously increases the likelihood of self-harm in teenagers, claims a study published yesterday, in the British Journal of Clinical Psychology.
The Patients Doctors Don"t Know The New York Times
Over-the-counter remedies for menopause symptoms are growing in popularity among some women who fear potential risks from prescription hormone replacement therapy, the New York Times reports. According to the Times, the market for alternative therapies -- such as natural supplements and topical creams -- jumped in 2002 after initial results from the Women"s Health Initiative suggested that HRT could increase risk for heart disease, cancer, stroke and blood clots. Gynecologists estimate that about one-third of menopausal women are treated with conventional prescription hormones, and about one-third are treated with bio-identical hormones -- plant-derived synthetic hormones that mimic the molecular structure of human hormones. The remaining one-third either do not seek therapy for symptoms, are not bothered by symptoms or use over-the-counter therapies. There are more than 500 over-the-counter products available that claim to alleviate menopause symptoms, the Times reports. The treatments include such products as teas, low-dose progesterone creams, black cohosh capsules and phytoestrogens derived from soy and red clover, according to the Times. According to Nutrition Business Journal, the U.S. dietary supplement market associated with menopause increased from $211 million in 1999 to $337 million in 2007.Some studies have raised doubts about the safety and effectiveness of the over-the-counter remedies. Todd Cooperman -- director of consumerLab.com, a private nutrition product-testing lab -- said that his company"s study of more than one dozen products found that five failed to gain the lab"s approval because of problems such as inaccurate labeling or tainted ingredients. The Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research this fall is expected to release the results of a study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, that aims to determine the efficacy of the ingredients associated with menopause symptom relief. Some studies have questioned the efficacy of progesterone creams, which some experts contend can gather in fat cells and disrupt the production and synthesis of other hormones. Other experts maintain that the products are safe if properly used. Theresa Ramsey, director of the Center for Natural Healing in Arizona, said, "I think over all these products are generally safe, but must be taken in the right circumstances and in conjunction with a mindfully healthy approach to life if they are going to be effective at all" (Sweeney, New York Times, 7/2).
A new campaign has just been launched encouraging young men in Argyll & Bute aged 16 - 24 to get tested for chlamydia and gonorrhoea. The scheme, run by Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland and funded by NHS Highland, aims to reduce undiagnosed sexually transmitted infections (STIs) amongst young men because research suggests they are much less likely to get checked out.