Cardiovascular
What
Want to find an asthma education centre or a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) clinic near you? Need to get a lung function test and don"t know where to go?
An analysis of rare genetic disorders in which children lack some genes from one parent suggests that maternal and paternal genes engage in a subtle tug-of-war well into childhood, and possibly as late as the onset of puberty.
A recently released AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition report says that although there has been a renewed focus on discovery, innovation and basic science in vaccine research, action is needed to ensure that research funding continues during the economic downturn, VOA News reports. AVAC executive director Mitchell Warren said the report is "about putting all the pieces together ... not just the search for an AIDS vaccine, but in fact the entire HIV prevention response." He added, "[T]he good news is we have some new pieces of the puzzle, and we"re expecting additional new pieces of understanding through research this year." Warren said that AVAC believes HIV/AIDS vaccine research is in "one of the most exciting times," with "new energy, new commitment to unlocking some of the basic scientific roadblocks that have impeded our ability to find a vaccine." For example, a study released earlier this week examined efforts to produce a vaccine through genetic transfer. Regarding the study, Warren said, "It doesn"t mean we have an AIDS vaccine, but it means we have an entirely new approach to trying to deliver protection." Warren said that the field of HIV/AIDS vaccine research has shown a renewed commitment since Merck canceled its vaccine trial in 2007. According to Warren, the new AVAC report examines knowledge gained from the Merck study, which has provided "an unimaginable amount of information." Meanwhile, the effect of the economic crisis on research funding is concerning, Warren said, adding, "I believe that every dollar spent is going to be held up to a greater scrutiny as budgets tighten and as funders have to re-examine their priorities." According to Warren, without renewed funding commitments, "we will not only incur a much greater public health catastrophe, but I would argue that the economic catastrophes to come, if we don"t respond aggressively to HIV, will actually have repercussions that will ... make the economic crisis pale in comparison" (DeCapua, VOA News, 5/18).
A bill (HR 252) introduced this month in the Ohio House would require a pregnant woman seeking an abortion to obtain written consent from the fetus" biological father, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. If the woman does not know the identity of the biological father, she would have to provide proof of paternity tests of potential fathers. The bill is sponsored by Rep. John Adams (R) and co-sponsored by four other Republicans.The bill would establish "abortion fraud" as a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Repeat offenders could be charged with a fifth-degree felony, punishable by up to one year in jail and up to a $2,500 fine. The bill is not clear as to who could be fined or jailed. Becki Brenner, president of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio, said that she believes doctors would be the ones ultimately fined or jailed.Brenner criticized the bill, saying that a woman would have to pay at least $1,400 for each DNA test if she is unsure who the father is. Brenner called the legislation "a burden on a woman," adding that the whole purpose behind the bill is to make it harder to obtain a legal abortion. She said, "Hopefully, [the bill] won"t even get debate in the committee" because it is "blatantly anti-woman."Paula Westwood, executive director of Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati, said that her group supports the bill. She added, "I would think men would want to have these rights."According to the Enquirer, the bill does not have the support of the House Democratic majority. The current version of the bill has not been assigned to a committee, and it is unlikely to pass the House, much like past bills seeking new restrictions on abortion (Craig/Preston, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7/24).
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a final regulation classifying dental amalgam and its component parts - elemental mercury and a powder alloy-used in dental fillings. While elemental mercury has been associated with adverse health effects at high exposures, the levels released by dental amalgam fillings are not high enough to cause harm in patients.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a Public Health Advisory (PHA) warning consumers to stop using body building products that are represented as containing steroids or steroid-like substances. Many of these products are marketed as dietary supplements.
Lawmakers are considering two new taxes to help pay for a health care overhaul: a tax on fatty foods and taxing insurers on so-called Cadillac plans. Both proposals were scrutinized in news articles.
A new report finds nearly 10 percent of health care costs are due to obesity and per capita medical spending is significantly higher for obese people.
Various states weigh in about health care reform with particular concerns about financial difficulties and different reform models. Massachusetts looks to its own experience to offer advice.
On the second annual World Hepatitis Day, the World Hepatitis Alliance today called on governments not to forget the plight of 500 million people living with hepatitis B and C, as the World Health Assembly postpones discussion of a World Health Organization (WHO) resolution on viral hepatitis - one of the biggest threats to global health.
Uganda"s Health Ministry announced Monday it has ordered investigations into whether the deaths of 17 patients living with HIV in Northern Uganda were caused by their inability to get antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, the AP/mlive.com reports. According to Zainab Akol, manager of the ministry"s HIV/AIDS control program, the ministry is exploring "whether apart from the lack of ARVs, another disease like malaria or any epidemic could have contributed to the deaths," according to the news service.
A new test developed by Edmonton-based Innovotech Inc. (TSX VENTURE:IOT) will now allow doctors to more accurately identify the right antibiotics required to treat serious, chronic infections that are biofilm based. With more than 80 per cent of infections in the developed world caused by biofilms, the potential for this new breakthrough test, called bioFILM PATM, is of immense significance to the medical community.
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have created a weakened strain of the malaria parasite that will be used as a live vaccine against the disease. The vaccine, developed in collaboration with researchers from the US, Japan and Canada, will be trialled in humans from early next year.
A new urine test developed with funding from the Wellcome Trust will allow doctors to diagnose Chlamydia infection in men within the hour, improving the ability to successfully treat the infection on the spot and prevent re-transmission.
Maternal exposure to nanoparticles of titanium dioxide (TiO2) affects the expression of genes related to the central nervous system in developing mice. Researchers writing in BioMed Central"s open access journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology found that mice whose mothers were injected with the nanoparticles while pregnant showed alteration in gene expression related to neurological dysfunction.
Smokeless tobacco products, as used in Europe and North America, do not appear to increase cancer risk. A large meta-analysis, published in the open access journal BMC Medicine, has shown that snuff as used in Scandinavia has no discernible effect on the risk of various cancers. Products used in the past in the USA may have increased the risk, but any effect that exists now seems likely to be quite small.
Lifepsychol is a new healthcare initiative designed to focus attention on ways to support and improve the quality of life of people with long term conditions.
Researchers at The University of Queensland have helped identify genes that could hold the key to treating a common and deadly type of breast cancer.
Sylentis, a bio-pharmaceutical company Zeltia Group (MC: ZEL), a
The growth of acute stroke care centres and systems of care could revolutionise clinicians" ability to treat patients with stroke, according to an analysis of services published ahead of print in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery.
Underscoring the need for meaningful health system reform for America"s patients and physicians, the American Medical Association (AMA) is running an ad emphasizing common ground on health reform to remember what"s at stake - access to care for millions. The AMA ad runs nationally today in the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Online advertising will run in various medical trade publications.
A coalition of Hispanic organizations on Tuesday urged parents of Hispanic teenagers to talk with their children about sex to curb the high teenage birth rate among the group, the McClatchy/Miami Herald reports. Hispanics are predicted to make up 25% of the teenage population nationwide by 2025 and efforts to curb their teen pregnancy rate is key to reducing unwanted pregnancies among all teenagers, according to the McClatchy/Herald. More than half of Hispanic teenage girls will become pregnant before age 20 -- nearly twice the national average and the highest of any ethnic or racial group in the U.S., according to coalition, which includes MANA, a national Hispanic women"s organization. Ana Sol Gutierrez, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates and a participant in the coalition, said the higher pregnancy rates among Hispanic teenagers can be attributed in part to a "different mind-set" among the group that embraces motherhood even at a young age. She said the key to reducing unplanned teenage pregnancies among Hispanics is to educate them about choosing "when and how" to become parents, while still embracing maternity. The National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy surveyed more than 1,600 Hispanic teenagers and adults nationwide and found that 76% of teens said their parents most influenced their decisions about sex but that most parents said they did not know how to have such a conversation with their children. The finding was particularly evident among parents who only speak Spanish. Ruthie Flores, a co-author of the study, said the solution is culturally appropriate education (Chung, McClatchy/Miami Herald, 5/19).
New research released by the Royal Pharmaceutical
QuatRx Pharmaceuticals Company, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, announced positive top-line efficacy results from the first of two patient cohorts in its second pivotal Phase 3 trial of the investigational compound, Ophena(TM) (ospemifene tablets), for the treatment of postmenopausal vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA). The Company has also successfully completed two long term safety extension studies from its first pivotal Phase 3 studies. QuatRx intends to use these results in support of a New Drug Application (NDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in early 2010 seeking approval for Ophena(TM), a new SERM (selective estrogen receptor modulator) for the treatment of the symptoms of vulvovaginal atrophy. Ophena(TM) is the only non-estrogen therapy currently in late-stage development for the treatment of vaginal symptoms associated with menopause.
Sanofi-aventis U.S. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Sculptra(R)Aesthetic (injectable poly-L-lactic acid) for the correction of shallow to deep nasolabial fold (smile lines) contour deficiencies and other facial wrinkles which are treated with the appropriate injection technique in healthy patients. Sculptra(R)Aesthetic works gradually to offer natural-looking results that can last up to two years.
Although acne traditionally has been considered a disease of teenagers, it is also extremely common in adult women. Studies show that acne affects more than 50 percent of women between the ages of 20-29 and more than 25 percent of women between the ages of 40-49 (1). In fact, after age 20, women are far more likely to report having acne than men. While there is no cure for acne, dermatologists are finding that hormonal therapies can help some women fight bothersome acne that occurs in adulthood.
A groundbreaking study in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggests that having the human papillomavirus (HPV) improves survival in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Furthermore, African Americans had far less HPV infection than whites, which led to worse survival.
Trusted health care s and continuity of care may help reduce the risk of prostate cancer deaths in African-American men, according to a study published in the current issue of the journal Cancer. James Mohler, MD, Chair of the Department of Urology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), and William R. Carpenter, PhD, Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of North Carolina, are lead investigators.
The American Hospital Association (AHA) has elected seven new members to its Board of Trustees for terms beginning January 1, 2010. The Board of Trustees is the policy-making body of the AHA and has ultimate authority for the governance and management of its direction and finances.
Doctors are objecting to one possible provision of a reform bill - favored by the White House and Blue Dogs - that would give an independent commission more power over Medicare payments.
Chief Medical Officer Otis W. Brawley, M.D. responds to Medicare"s decision not to cover CT colonography
The insurance industry opposes a long-term care proposal called the CLASS Act, currently included in two major health care reform measures.
The NPA is pleased by today"s decision from the MHRA to keep pseudoephedrine a P medicine and have no doubt that community pharmacies will continue to ensure pseudoephedrine is sold in line with MHRA guidance.
"Three internationally known organizations based in St. Louis - the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children"s Hospital" - have entered into a partnership, known as the Global Harvest Alliance (GHA), which aims to "create inexpensive, nutritionally complete food to help the world"s hungry and undernourished," the AP/Google.com reports. Alliance researchers will focus on several of the most successful approaches used to combat malnutrition and attempt to further enrich foods already used to fight it. "In addition, the alliance aims to help testing and distribution of crops genetically modified to boost nutritional content. They hope to provide the crops cheaply to farmers to produce more nutritious foods," writes the AP/Google.com (Taylor, 7/29).
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has completed the first comprehensive assessment of substances used as s of vitamins and minerals in food supplements which are currently sold in the European Union. EFSA has examined 533 applications since 2005, relating to 344 different substances. The assessments were based on scientific evidence provided by food supplement manufacturers to demonstrate the safety of these nutrient s and the extent to which they are absorbed in the body (i.e. their bioavailability).
Adults who use less salt in their diet can experience a slight reduction in their blood pressure in the medium term. However, whether in the long term this can also reduce the risk of late complications in people with sustained high blood pressure, otherwise known as essential hypertension, and whether in the long term their anti-hypertensive medication can be reduced remains unresolved. This is the conclusion of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) in its final report published in the form of a rapid report on 20 July 2009.
Men who have a regular, ongoing relationship with a health care provider are more likely to receive prostate cancer screening and less likely to be diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, regardless of their race, according to a University of North Carolina study published in the current issue of the journal Cancer.
Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown that they can engineer mouse and human cells to produce brown fat, a natural energy-burning type of fat that counteracts obesity. If such a strategy can be developed for use in people, the scientists say, it could open a novel approach to treating obesity and diabetes.
When
The National Prescribing Service (NPS) warns people are playing Russian roulette with their health when they take medicines inappropriately. Media reports this week about people mixing sleeping tablet, zolpidem (Stilnox), with energy drink Red Bull™ have failed to highlight the risks people are taking when they intentionally misuse pharmaceuticals.
Recycling is a critical component in the process of transmitting information from one neuron to the next, and a large protein called Tweek plays a critical role, said an international consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine in a report in the current issue of the journal Neuron.
In response to the publication of Demonstrating Quality: The Sixth National Adult Cardiac Surgical Database Report (1) which examined outcomes for adult cardiac patients British Heart Foundation (BHF) Associate Medical Director Dr Mike Knapton said:
Italian and U.S. biologists this week report that a little-understood protein previously implicated in a rare genetic disorder plays an unexpected and critical role in building and maintaining healthy cells. Even more surprising, their report in the journal Nature shows that the protein, called "atlastin," does its work by fusing intracellular membranes in a previously undocumented way.
Vystar Corporation and Alatech Healthcare, LLC announced 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market and sell the first exam gloves manufactured with Vytex® Natural Rubber Latex (NRL). Alatech plans to introduce exam gloves made with Vytex NRL in the near future.
Informa Healthcare - one of the world"s leading medical and scientific publishers- has announced that the new interactive http://www.informahealthcare.com site is now live and delivers online content from more than 180 peer-reviewed journals.
Osteoarthritis (OA), the most common joint disorder throughout the world and a leading cause of disability, is characterized by pain, impaired joint mobility, reduction of muscular strength and loss of joint function. Unlike most other common diseases, little is known about its origins, and factors predicting a severe disease course have not been identified. A new study, the first to establish a laboratory marker for the risk of severe OA, found that vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), was a strong predictor of hip and knee joint replacement due to severe OA. The study was published in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism .
Older adults who have less strength, poor physical function and low muscle density are at higher risk of being hospitalized compared to adults with more strength and better function. That"s the finding of a new study in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society.
This study consisted of 10 patients (three male and seven female) with hepatic angiomyolipoma, with a mean age of 55.1 years (age range, 19-78 years). Of these patients, dynamic contrast CT showed hepatic angiomyolipoma as a hypervascular mass with intratumoral fatty density, absence of a capsule, and prominent central vessels in six sporadic cases, and multiple, small hepatic angiomyolipomas, with or without a fat component in four cases with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and multiple hepatic angiomyolipomas were found in one patient with TSC.
Foot complications, such as open wounds and ulcers, can be one of the most difficult ailments for a podiatrist to treat. However, a new wound dressing powder, which acts very much like a layer of skin, is proving to speed the healing time and reduce the amount of pain that a patient suffering from a serious foot ulcer would normally experience. This includes open sores on the feet as a result of inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes or skin cancer. The study results will be released at the American Podiatric Medical Association"s (APMA) 97th Annual Scientific Meeting in Toronto, July 30 - August 2, 2009, and will highlight the powder"s unique ability to rapidly heal foot wounds and advance the treatment patients currently receive.
A new analysis finds that women in New Jersey who take the breast cancer drug tamoxifen in conjunction with certain popular antidepressants may be at a higher risk for a breast cancer recurrence.
In research that could lead to new asthma drugs, scientists at Yale School of Medicine, Hydra Biosciences of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the University of California, San Francisco have discovered that a protein may be a trigger of allergy-induced asthma in mice. They also demonstrated how a drug known to reduce inflammatory and neuropathic pain may also inhibit asthma symptoms in mice. Their paper is published in the May 18-22 online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
When the H1N1 flu vaccine becomes available in the fall, pregnant women should be among the first groups vaccinated because of their high risk for serious complications, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert panel said on Wednesday, the Washington Post reports. The 15-member committee advises CDC on vaccine policy. The priority list also includes caretakers of infants, health care workers, children and young adults, and older people with chronic conditions. Anthony Fiore, a physician and epidemiologist at CDC, told the committee that about 6% of H1N1 deaths and hospitalizations are among pregnant women (Brown, Washington Post, 7/30). According to a CDC study published online Wednesday in the journal Lancet, pregnant women who contract the H1N1 virus -- also known as "swine flu" -- are at least four times more likely to be hospitalized than other people with the virus, the AP/Google reports. The study analyzed the first 34 U.S. cases, including six deaths, in pregnant women from April to mid-June of 2009. Although it is not clear if pregnant women are more susceptible to the virus, they have a higher risk of complications after becoming infected. The study"s authors said pregnant women suspected of having H1N1 should be administered Tamiflu as soon as possible, prior to the completion of diagnostic testing. CDC"s Denise Jamieson, the lead author of the study, said that Tamiflu appears relatively safe for pregnant women, despite limited safety data on its use in that population.Most pregnant women who contract H1N1 have mild flu symptoms like a cough or fever, according to the World Health Organization. Jamieson said that CDC does not recommend specific precautions for pregnant women but that doctors should act quickly -- preferably within 48 hours -- if a pregnant woman shows symptoms. She added that the pregnant women who died were basically healthy, and nearly all had viral pneumonia before experiencing acute respiratory problems prior to their death (Cheng, AP/Google, 7/29).CDC"s priority groups include about 159 million people out of a total U.S. population of more than 300 million, the Chicago Tribune reports. The agency expects to have about 120 million doses of the vaccine by the end of October. Officials are confident there will be enough for their target groups because only 20% to 50% of those recommended to receive seasonal flu vaccines seek them out. However, if supplies of the vaccine are unexpectedly restricted, the panel recommended that a smaller group -- about 41 million of the most susceptible to adverse side effects from infection or most likely to spread the virus -- be given priority for the vaccine. This smaller group also includes pregnant women (Maugh, Chicago Tribune, 7/30).
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood-borne disease that causes inflammation of the liver and to which there is currently no vaccine available. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 3% of the world"s population, approximately 170 million people, are infected with HCV and it is a leading cause of liver cirrhosis, end stage liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver transplantation.
House Democrats on Wednesday made a deal with fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats on a health reform bill that "would reduce the overall cost of the package and ensure more funding for rural hospitals, concessions that could allow the Energy and Commerce Committee to finish its consideration of the legislation," The Washington Post reports. The deal will be considered on the House floor no earlier than September, according to several lawmakers. House lawmakers plan to conclude their markup of the legislation in the Energy Committee Thursday.
Under economic pressure, states are slashing funding for health services from Connecticut to California. The cuts frustrate providers and lawmakers are looking for ways to limit harm.
Congress Needs To Think Big About Medicare Fix Politico
Scientists have called it "junk DNA." They have long been perplexed by these extensive strands of genetic material that dominate the genome but seem to lack specific functions. Why would nature force the genome to carry so much excess baggage?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned companies in Lancashire to ensure they carry out regular, simple checks to protect employees from Legionnaires" disease.
Measles vaccination rates are still far lower than levels needed to protect the population. This is despite the finding of a new Department of Health survey that over 90 per cent of parents are aware it is the best way to protect their child.
Views are being sought on European proposals for a revised regime for regulating the placing on the market and use of biocides.
NHS staff will be vaccinated first in the Government"s swine flu vaccination campaign, followed by pregnant women, young children and adults with chronic illnesses, Pulse can exclusively reveal. Pulse has learned from a senior Government adviser that a "pecking order" has been drawn up for vaccination.
Older breast cancer patients are not receiving a full range of treatment options, according to a report published in the British Journal of Cancer.
Diphtheria is a bacterial infection in the upper respiratory tract. Typically it is characterized by sore throat, swollen neck glands, high temperature and breathing difficulties. Through means of successful immunization diphtheria is now very rare in the United States and Europe. However it"s still common in countries where immunization programs are not an integral part of standard public health care. It is a potentially fatal disease with an estimated 5-10% fatality rate. In children under 5 and adults over 40 the fatality rate may sometimes reach 20%.
Front-line staff in the nursing and care sector would welcome sensor and robot technology in nursing homes and the homes of elderly people.
President Obama on Thursday issued a directive to federal agencies to begin following new NIH guidelines on federally funded embryonic stem cell research, Reuters/New York Times reports (Reuters/New York Times, 7/30). NIH announced the final guidelines earlier this month. The guidelines assess whether newly created embryonic stem cell lines can be used for federally funded research, as well as clarify how old lines will be evaluated (Daily Women"s Health Policy Report, 7/7).In March, Obama overturned President George W. Bush"s policy limiting federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. In a statement Thursday, Obama said, "I hereby direct the heads of executive departments and agencies that support and conduct stem cell research to adopt these guidelines, to the fullest extent practicable in light of legal authorities and obligations" (Reuters/New York Times, 7/30).
International patients spending $3 billion a year on care in the United States are helping fund a gap for hospitals waiting with bated breath to see how health care reform will affect them, Marketplace reports.
"A U.S. plan to rely on swine flu vaccines without ingredients to stretch the supply [known as adjuvants] would reduce the number of available shots just when other countries need them most, the British journal Lancet said in an editorial," Bloomberg writes. On July 7, the WHO recommended the use of adjuvants - "mixes of oil and water that trigger a stronger response in the body to antigen, the substance that induces immunity" - to increase the global vaccine supply. Though adjuvants are not approved for flu vaccines in the U.S., HHS" decision to declare the H1N1 flu a public health emergency in April gave the FDA the go-ahead to use "unapproved medical products including adjuvants," according to Bloomberg.
CNN examines Malawi"s efforts to address its shortage of nurses. Though in the past, health workers "have been lured abroad by the promise of higher wages and better working conditions," the country has succeeded in putting a stop to "its crippling brain drain of nurses" by expanding "educational opportunities for nurses at all levels" and by "paying modestly more money," CNN writes.
A protein that helps regulate expression of androgen receptors could prove a new focal point for staging and treating testosterone-fueled prostate cancer, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.
In a world first, Melbourne scientists have made a critical breakthrough in understanding the differences in the brains of people with schizophrenia.
UroToday.com - In this paper, we investigated 809 prostate cancer patients subjected to >10 cores at initial or repeat prostate biopsy from two prospective, multi-center studies from Europe and North America It has been demonstrated that the urinary marker Prostate CAncer gene 3 (PCA3) represents a novel prostate cancer (PCa) detection marker capable of increasing accuracy of multivariable biopsy nomograms.[1] The paper reports the first PCA3-based nomograms which accurately identify individuals at risk of harboring PCa (AUC=0.73). If a PCA3 score in combination with established risk factors is available, this novel tool assists clinicians in deciding whether further prostatic evaluation is necessary.
By searching millions of DNA variations in the genomes of thousands of women with and without ovarian cancer, scientists have discovered a
"American seniors have a lot at stake in this health care reform debate and
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that prevention and partnership will guide their departments" efforts to safeguard the food Americans eat every day. Both Secretaries announced new strategies that focus on prevention and depend on working closely with growers, food processors and consumers to achieve their goals.
Reports published today in the Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism suggest that many people are confused about the health consequences of fats consumed. Often fat is not considered to be part of a healthy, balanced diet. Also many do not know that there are good, and even essential, fats. As a result, the quality of fats they consume is not in line with recommendations. To help overcome this problem, experts suggest that simple dietary changes be made, such as replacing full fat dairy (e.g. fatty cheeses) and meat products with lean choices, and use of fats and oils of vegetable origin rich in essential fats (sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, soybean oil and products made of these oils such as margarines) rather than of consuming fat of animal origin (lard, butter, etc).
If you"ve ever felt doomed to repeat your mistakes, researchers at MIT"s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory may have explained why: brain cells may only learn from experience when we do something right and not when we fail.
The intake of added sugars in the United States is excessive, estimated by the US Department of Agriculture in 1999-2002 as 17% of calories a day. Consuming foods with added sugars displaces nutrient-dense foods in the diet. Reducing or limiting intake of added sugars is an important objective in providing overall dietary guidance. In a study of nearly 30,000 Americans published in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers report that race/ethnicity, family income and educational status are independently associated with intake of added sugars. Groups with low income and education are particularly vulnerable to eating diets with high added sugars.
Thomson Reuters with Discovery Logic, Inc. announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has chosen Web of Science((R)) data to power the NIH electronic Scientific Portfolio Assistant (eSPA). eSPA is an information technology system designed to assist NIH grants management officials in creating grant portfolios and tracking research outputs and outcomes, including publications and citations.
Seven out of ten U.S. children have low levels of vitamin D, raising their risk of bone and heart disease, according to a study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The striking findings suggest that vitamin D deficiency could place millions of children at risk for high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.
Democrats are finding points they agree on in a tenuous accord for the message they want to relay to constituents during the August recess: The health insurance industry is the bad guy, The Washington Post reports.
House Democrats celebrated late last week the passage of a health reform bill out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, but they still face a lot of work when they return in September, Roll Call reports.
"A week-old agreement among House Democrats to smooth out disparities in the way Medicare reimburses rural and urban health providers is in danger of crumbling, as disputes erupted Friday over what actually was agreed to," The Wall Street Journal reports. "Some lawmakers from states with high health-care costs are also pressing House Democratic leaders for changes to the deal to ensure that their doctors and hospitals don"t see too big of a bite. ò€¦ Lawmakers from populous areas are questioning whether the deal on geographic disparities should be altered to allow more time for Medicare changes to take effect, since there is no longer the urgency of putting those changes into effect before the public option is rolled out. Another issue is for how long a period of time after changes go into effect urban hospitals should be "held harmless," meaning they won"t see their Medicare reimbursements cut" (Vaughan, 8/2).
Global Fund Audit Reveals Expired, Missing Drugs In Tanzania
About 1.3 million children"s lives could be saved each year by teaching new mothers how to breastfeed, but many women do not receive help and stop trying, the WHO said on Friday ahead of the start of World Breastfeeding Week, which runs from August 1 through August 7, Reuters reports. "Less than 40 percent of mothers worldwide breastfeed their infants exclusively in the first six months, as recommended by the WHO," the news service writes. Constanza Vallenas, a WHO medical officer in the Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development, said women "don"t have the practical support" to help them get their infants to latch on properly and find a technique that prevents pain and discomfort. Vallenas said the problem exists in both rich and poor countries, and she called for "more assistance in hospitals, health clinics and communities for new mothers who need information and help," according to Reuters (MacInnis, 7/31).
Study 1 Twins born as a result of assisted reproductive technology (ART) are more likely to be admitted to neonatal intensive care and to be hospitalised in their first three years of life than spontaneously conceived twins, according to new research published online in Human Reproduction [1].
The House Energy and Commerce Committee on July 31 approved its health care reform bill (HR 3200) by a 31-28 vote that was mostly along party lines, the AP/Seattle Times reports. Among the many amendments considered during the markup, the committee rejected an amendment offered by Reps. Joe Pitts (R-Pa) and Bart Stupak (D-MI) to prohibit government subsidies to any insurance plans that offers abortion coverage, effectively prohibiting abortion coverage for customers eligible for public premium assistance. The amendment was rejected by a 27-31 vote. Another provision approved on July 30 would neither require nor prohibit insurance companies from providing coverage for abortion services.The approved bill includes provisions limiting how much insurers can increase premiums and gives the federal government the power to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices under Medicaid. The provisions were part of an effort by Democrats on the committee to reconcile the demands of liberals and conservatives, the AP/Times reports. The bill also would require insurance companies to sell coverage to anyone seeking it, regardless of pre-existing conditions. The government would provide subsidies to lower-income families to help them afford policies. In addition, the legislation would establish health insurance exchanges offering a variety of insurance plans, where consumers with or without subsidies could purchase health insurance (Espo/Werner, AP/Seattle Times, 8/1).Five of the committee"s Democrats joined all 23 Republicans in opposing the measure, the Washington Post"s "Capitol Briefing" reports. The five Democrats who voted against the bill were Reps. John Barrow (Ga.), Rick Boucher (Va.), Jim Matheson (Utah), Charlie Melancon (La.) and Bart Stupak (Mich.) (Kane, "Capitol Briefing," Washington Post, 7/31).The committee was the last of three House panels to take action on the legislation, although the vote comes several weeks after the White House and Democratic leaders originally wanted, the AP/Times reports. The full House is expected to vote on the bill after policymakers return from their August recess.Although the House"s agenda has moved slower than party leaders had hoped, it still was faster than the action in the Senate, according to the AP/Times (AP/Seattle Times, 8/1). Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on July 30 announced that the panel will not mark up a health care reform bill this week after Republican negotiators urged that the speed of discussion in the Senate be slowed, the Post"s "44" reports. The announcement means that health care reform legislation will not be out of committee in both chambers before the summer recess (Pershing, "44," Washington Post, 7/31).Catholic Bishops Say That House Bill Could Expand Abortion Coverage In related news, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in a letter to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee voiced its opposition to the reform bill, arguing that it could be used to require private health insurance plans to cover abortion services, the Post reports. The bill has been opposed by conservative Christian groups for weeks, with the groups arguing that it could be used to expand abortion rights, the Post reports.In the letter, Cardinal Justin Rigali -- chair of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities -- said the bill could increase federal funding for abortion services because some government funding would not be covered by the Hyde Amendment, which currently bans the use of federal Medicaid funds for abortion services. Rigali also said the bill could overturn state laws that restrict access to abortion services, such as parental notification laws. In addition, Rigali said the bill should continue to ensure provider conscience rights to protect Catholic health care workers who refuse to provide abortion services based on their religious or moral beliefs (Washington Post, 8/1).
Our cells are controlled by billions of molecular "switches" and chemists at UC Santa Barbara have developed a theory that explains how these molecules work. Their findings may significantly help efforts to build biologically based sensors for the detection of chemicals ranging from drugs to explosives to disease markers.
Entire populations of North American fish already are being affected by several emerging diseases, a problem that threatens to increase in the future with climate change and other stresses on aquatic ecosystems, according to a noted U.S. Geological Survey researcher gave an invited talk on this subject yesterday at the Wildlife Disease Association conference in Blaine, Wash.
Brain cancer is among the deadliest of cancers. It"s also one of the hardest to treat. Imaging results are often imprecise because brain cancers are extremely invasive. Surgeons must saw through the skull and safely remove as much of the tumor as they can. Then doctors use radiation or chemotherapy to destroy cancerous cells in the surrounding tissue.
A new diagnostic tool developed by Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) scientists has shown promising results when used with patients of pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancer due to the difficulty of diagnosing it in its early stages. The method, which studies carbohydrate structures in the bloodstream, could lead to the development of blood tests that can detect cancer more effectively.
Brain scientists and cardiac surgeons at Johns Hopkins have evidence from 227 heart bypass surgery patients that long-term memory losses and cognitive problems they experience are due to the underlying coronary artery disease itself and not ill after-effects from having used a heart-lung machine.
Children"s after-school activities often consist of sedentary behavior such as watching television, but after-school programs that offer physical activity and healthy snacks could be the best place for children"s health.
Physical education (PE) in schools is one of the main tools used to increase physical activity and to prevent childhood obesity, and PE-related injuries are on the rise. Although increasing physical activity may reduce obesity, it may also increase the risk of injury. While recognizing that PE classes and physical activity are important components in combating obesity, parents and school administrators should remain vigilant for injuries. A recent study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children"s Hospital, found that the number of PE-related injuries to elementary, middle and high school students in the United States increased 150 percent between 1997 and 2007.
Bionovo, Inc. (Nasdaq: BNVI) announced positive results from the Phase 1B clinical trial of Bezielle (formerly BZL101), their lead drug candidate for advanced breast cancer. In the trial, Bezielle showed an excellent safety and tolerability profile, and also showed promising indications of efficacy in a difficult-to-treat population.
Over the weekend, a series of protests at Democratic events meant to promote health reform "organized by loose-knit coalition of conservative voters and advocacy groups, were a raucous start to what is expected to be weeks of political and ideological clashes over the health care overhaul," the New York Times reports. "Republicans said that the protests were just the beginning of spontaneous opposition to the health care proposals and that they would only gain momentum as Americans learn more about the legislation." But Democrats said they were only an effort to block discourse, and were anything but a grass-roots campaign. "This is a very coordinated effort," said one Democratic Congressman who was confronted by protestors at a grocery store (Herszenhorn and Stolberg, 8/3).
Major groups are promising that the August recess will be filled with advertising wars trying to manage the message of the health care reform debate, Politico reports.
The Associated Press reports on lobbying around biotechnology legislation. A letter urging the protection of biotech drug makers from generics from "the private National Health Council, sent to House leaders drafting health overhaul legislation, said the plea was on behalf of "the more than 133 million Americans living with chronic diseases and disabilities and their family caregivers." It urged lawmakers to protect the makers of high-technology biological medicines against early competition from lower-cost generic copycats. The letter did not mention that nearly $1.2 million of the council"s $2.3 million budget in 2007 came from the pharmaceutical industry"s chief trade group and 16 companies that sell or are developing the brand-name biotech drugs."
The National Institutes of Health is launching the first integrated, drug development pipeline to produce new treatments for rare and neglected diseases. The $24 million program jumpstarts a trans-NIH initiative called the Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases Program, or TRND.
The Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF) has announced $300,000 in awards from its inaugural winter commercialization grant competition to support commercial translation of health-related technologies by two Washington state-based research teams. Commercialization grants are designed to facilitate the transition of promising ideas or technologies from Washington"s non-profit research sector into marketable products and services that can improve health, foster economic growth, and promote life sciences competitiveness in the state. The grants support proof-of-concept experiments and prototype development activities that are expected to lower the risk of commercialization and help new technologies cross the "valley of death" - that stage of the commercialization pathway where development funding is particularly scarce.
Professor Declan Murphy and colleagues Dr Michael Craig and Dr Marco Catani from the Institute of Psychiatry at King"s College London have found differences in the brain which may provide a biological explanation for psychopathy. The results of their study are outlined in the paper "Altered connections on the road to psychopathy", published in Molecular Psychiatry.
More than 35 million Americans suffer from bladder control problems at some time in their lives. Those suffering from uncontrollable bladder may experience unexpected urine leakage, frequent bathroom use, or have the feeling of not being able to completely empty the bladder. Many people experience a combination of these symptoms. Although it is more common in older adults, and more likely to occur in women than men, it can affect anyone.
The active ingredient in many insect repellents, deet, has been found to be toxic to the central nervous system. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology say that more investigations are urgently needed to confirm or dismiss any potential neurotoxicity to humans, especially when deet-based repellents are used in combination with other neurotoxic insecticides.
In its fight against an intruding virus, an enzyme in our immune system may sense certain types of viral RNA pairs, according to scientists.
Emergency physicians should trust their judgment when evaluating patients who report with chest pain symptoms, said a group of researchers led by Abhinav Chandra, M.D., at Duke University Medical Center.
The amount of money PCTs (primary care trusts) are spending on management consultants has risen enormously, according to Pulse. In comparison to two years ago, the amount PCTs spend during the last financial year on external consultancy fees has risen threefold, according to figures compiled from 62 trusts.
A blood test (BNP) should be recommended over an electrocardiogram (ECG) for the diagnosis of heart failure suggests research published by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme.
A new US study has added to existing knowledge about the million or so brain cells in our gut by using lab mice to show that it can also grow
In today"s troubled economy, saving money is a hot topic. No matter what gets cut from your budget, however, experts at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center believe that healthy choices to prevent cancer shouldn"t be on the list.
Advocates on both sides of the abortion-rights debate are "preparing for a renewed battle" over insurance coverage of abortion services in health care reform efforts, the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Abortion-rights opponents say that current restrictions on federal funding for abortion services should carry over to any insurance sold under new health insurance exchanges proposed under reform legislation. However, abortion-rights supporters say that carrying over the restrictions would deny abortion coverage to millions of women who currently have it through employer-sponsored coverage and are likely to join the exchanges.A variation in how the questions were asked yielded different results but significant proportions of private plans were found to cover abortion services. A Guttmacher Institute study found that 87% of typical employer-sponsored health plans covered abortion services in 2002, and a 2003 Kaiser Family Foundation study found that 46% of workers covered by employer-sponsored plans had coverage for abortion services.A Congressionally imposed provision of law known as the Hyde Amendment currently prevents the use of federal Medicaid funds for abortion services except in cases of rape, incest or life endangerment. States that choose to cover abortion services for low-income women through Medicaid must use their own funding to do so. Other Congressionally imposed restrictions prohibit abortion coverage for federal employees, women in the military and other women who rely on the federal government for their health care coverage. An overhaul of the health care system would "create a stream of federal funding not covered by the restrictions," including federal subsidies to offset the cost of health insurance for low- and middle-income people purchasing public or private health insurance though an exchange, the AP/Journal-Constitution reports.Congressional Proposals The plan passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is "still largely silent" on the issue of coverage for abortion services, the AP/Journal-Constitution reports. Both the House and Senate bills leave the decision on whether the public plan would include abortion coverage to the HHS secretary.In the House Energy and Commerce Committee, members approved an amendment that would allow the public plan to cover abortion services through the use of beneficiary premiums but not federal funds. In addition, the amendment says that private plans in the insurance exchanges could choose whether to cover abortion services, but no federal subsidies could be used to pay for the procedure. The amendment -- proposed by Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), who supports abortion rights -- also would allow plans that do not cover abortions under any circumstances to be offered through insurance exchanges. Capps said that her amendment aims to appease both sides of the abortion-rights debate, adding, "Our country allows for both sides, and our health plan should reflect that as well."Comments Abortion-rights opponents say that they cannot accept a public insurance plan that would cover abortion services and that private plans in insurance exchanges should offer coverage for abortion services as a separate option, the AP/Journal-Constitution reports. Richard Doerflinger, associate director of antiabortion activities for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the group "want[s] to see people who have no health insurance get it," but coverage for abortion is "a sticking point." He said that there can be a "result where nobody has to pay for other people"s abortions," adding, "We don"t want health care reform to be the vehicle for mandating abortion."However, abortion-rights supporters argue that prohibiting coverage for abortion services would deny health care to women who have abortion services coverage through their private plans. Heidi Hartmann, president of the Institute for Women"s Policy Research, said that applying current restrictions for low-income women and federal employees to a program meant for the middle cla
USAID, "the main U.S. foreign aid agency is in limbo, entering its seventh month without a permanent director despite pledges by the Obama administration to expand development assistance and improve its effectiveness in poor countries," the Washington Post reports in an article examining the agency"s prospects and concerns that changes could reduce its clout. "While [Secretary of State Hillary Rodham] Clinton has championed additional personnel for USAID, aid groups worry that the once-autonomous agency could be swallowed up in the State Department, with long-term development goals losing out to short-term political aims," the Washington Post writes. The article includes comments from development experts and administration officials on USAID"s future.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends the human papillomavirus vaccination for all 11- and 12-year-old girls, but results of a recent survey showed that more than half of Texas physicians do not follow these recommendations.
In a presentation at the current General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) being held in Philadelphia, PA, a simple and inexpensive developmental diagnostic assay produced by MicroPhage, Inc., http://www.microphage.com, was shown to be highly accurate for rapid identification of serious staph bacterial infections from skin and soft tissue infections.
A.P. Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq:APPA), a specialty pharmaceutical company, announced that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) for its lead product, APF530, to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). APF530 is being developed for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) and is a long-acting formulation of granisetron that utilizes the Company"s proprietary Biochronomer™ drug delivery system.
Investigators from the Phase III TRITON-TIMI 38 study applied the new classification system for the Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction to the results of the study and showed that patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and taking prasugrel, as compared with patients taking clopidogrel (Plavix(R)/Iscover(R)), experienced reduced risk of heart attack regardless of heart-attack type (procedural related or spontaneous), size or timing over a 15-month period. The new Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction (1) was developed in 2007 by the Joint European Society of Cardiology, American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and the World Heart Federation Task Force. This post hoc analysis was published in Circulation online on May 18, 2009.(2)