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Herceptin Improves Survival In Stomach Cancer Patients
A new study showed that the breast cancer drug Herceptin improved survival in patients with HER2-positive stomach cancer, an aggressive form
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Medical Experts Call For Greater Use Of Gastric Banding For Obese People With Type 2 Diabetes
UK experts are calling for greater consideration of gastric banding as an option for obese people with type 2 diabetes who need to lose weight. Dr Jonathan Pinkney, diabetologist, and Mr Paul Super, obesity surgeon, initiated this call to action following the recent European label change confirming that weight loss with Allergan"s LAP-BAND [TM] AP System can lead to improvement or remission of type 2 diabetes. The risk of developing type 2 diabetes is increased up to 10 times in obese people and, alarmingly, the UK has the fastest growing rate of obesity in the developed world.
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Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor Resumes Meetings With Senators; Confirmation Vote Still Unclear
Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama"s nominee for the Supreme Court, on Thursday will hold a third round of private meetings with senators who will be voting on her confirmation, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports. The AP/Tribune reports that by Friday, Sotomayor will have met with more than one-quarter of the Senate and a majority of members on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will lead an as-yet-unscheduled set of hearings for her confirmation.The Judiciary Committee is expected to receive and examine a large collection of documents for the hearings -- including Sotomayor"s writings, speeches and unpublished rulings -- as part of a questionnaire response on personal and financial data, possible conflicts of interest and the procedure that led to her nomination. According to the AP/Tribune, the White House in recent days has been rallying support for Sotomayor, with first lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday talking about the nominee at a high school graduation (Hirschfeld Davis, AP/Chicago Tribune, 6/4).Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on Wednesday failed to reach an agreement on a timeline for Sotomayor"s confirmation hearings and vote, CongressDaily reports. According to CongressDaily, Democrats and Republicans generally are "at odds" over the issue, particularly over when the confirmation hearings should start (Friedman, CongressDaily, 6/3). Leahy said that he would like hearings to begin next month, with the goal of scheduling a confirmation vote before the month-long congressional recess that begins in early August. Sessions has called for the process to be spread out over the summer to allow committee members to analyze the large volume of Sotomayor"s records, with hearings beginning in September (AP/Chicago Tribune, 6/4).Leahy -- who will have the final say on the start of the hearings -- on Tuesday said that "it would be irresponsible to leave [Sotomayor] hanging out there" until September (CongressDaily, 6/3).
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Finding The Best Heart Disease And Stroke Treatments For Patients With Diabetes Using New Tool

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. "The research is significant because patients with diabetes are at high risk for cardiovascular disease and statins are the single most commonly used treatment for patients at risk of heart disease and/or stroke," says Dr. Brian Denton, "and this model can help determine the best course of action for individual patients based on their risk of developing cardiovascular disease." Denton is an assistant professor in NC State"s Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering and lead author of the study. Statins are a key component of current cardiovascular medical treatment guidelines, Denton says. They lower cholesterol levels and may significantly reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, particularly in patients that are considered to be at high risk. The researchers developed a new mathematical model that examines various possible treatment policies to see how they influence short-term and long-term health outcomes for patients. The model shows how people are affected by diabetes, and how their health changes over time as the disease advances and patients age. The new model incorporates patient-specific data. An established risk model calculates each patient"s probability of heart attack and stroke based on risk factors, such as their cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. This overall risk "score" is used to weigh the medical advantages of beginning statin therapy against the financial cost of the statins. Overall, by accounting for the progression of diabetes, the patient"s specific risk score and the cost-benefit analysis, the new model may help patients and doctors decide on the optimal time to begin statin therapy. Denton says the new model has not yet been put into practice, but that the research team plans to develop a pilot to put the tool into the hands of medical professionals. The research, "Optimizing the Start Time of Statin Therapy for Patients with Diabetes," was funded in part by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Science Foundation, and was published earlier this month in the journal Medical Decision Making. The research was co-authored by Denton from NC State; Nilay D. Shah, Sandra C. Bryant and Steven A. Smith of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine; and University of Pittsburgh graduate student Murat Kurt. Matt Shipman North Carolina State University


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