Saturday, April 5, 2008
First New NNRTI In Nearly A Decade To Benefit Canadians With HIV/AIDS
First New NNRTI In Nearly A Decade To Benefit Canadians With HIV/AIDS Canadians living with HIV/AIDS now have a new prescription treatment option, with the recent approval of INTELENCE (etravirine, also known as TMC125) from Tibotec, a division of Janssen-Ortho Inc. INTELENCE is the newest member of the family of AIDS-fighting drugs known as non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI), and is the first new NNRTI to be introduced in nearly 10 years. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comPediatric Gymnastics Related Injuries A Concern More than 600,000 children participate in school-sponsored and club-level gymnastics competitions annually in the United States. Yet gymnastics continues to be overlooked in terms of potential for injury, while having one of the highest injury rates of all girls' sports. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comLevitra� Therapy Suitable For Men With High Cholesterol At the 23rd Annual European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress, results were presented which added evidence that Levitra� (vardenafil HCI) works very well in men with dyslipidemia. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
Friday, April 4, 2008
Making A Living Will
Making A Living Will The American College of Physicians (ACP), along with other national, state, and community organizations, is participating in National Healthcare Decisions Day. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comPennsylvania House Passes Bill Limiting Insurers Ability To Base Rates On Health History For Individual, Small-Business Plans The Pennsylvania House on Tuesday voted 131-72 to approve legislation (HB 2005) that would limit the ability of insurers to consider certain factors, such as health history, when setting rates for health plans offered to individuals and small businesses, the Pittsburg Post-Gazette reports. The measure would allow insurers to set rates based on age and geographic region. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comLarge International Study Identifies Genetic Predisposition To Lung Cancer In a paper published in the April 3 edition of Nature*, a worldwide consortium of investigators present a major breakthrough for understanding the genetic basis of lung cancer. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comNew Web Portal To Advance Wide Range Of Protein Studies The Protein Structure Initiative (PSI), an effort supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has launched an online resource that will enable scientists from across biomedical disciplines to easily access a wealth of information about proteins and to speed discovery about these molecules. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Senators Propose Offsets For House Mental Health Parity Bill To Increase Chance Of Passage
Senators Propose Offsets For House Mental Health Parity Bill To Increase Chance Of Passage Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) have proposed a new set of cost offsets to the House version of a mental health parity bill (HR 1424) that passed in March, CongressDaily reports. The offsets are part of a compromise parity measure that was sent to the House during the spring recess. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comStigma, Funding Challenges HIV/AIDS Advocates In Rochester, N.Y. Advocates who seek to raise HIV/AIDS awareness in black communities in Rochester, N.Y., are faced with a number of challenges, including determining how to "combat an epidemic that carries so many stigmas, without indicting a race of people," the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports.In Monroe County, N.Y. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comSkin Cancer May Be Just The First Sign Of Trouble With more than a million new cases a year, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in this country.* If it's caught early, skin cancer can be very treatable. For some people, however, it might be just a warning sign of more problems to come. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Studying The Lean Gene
Studying The Lean Gene Your friend can eat whatever she wants and still fit into her prom dress, but you gain five pounds if you just look at that chocolate cake. Before you sign up for Weight Watchers and that gym membership, though, you may want to look at some recent research from Tel Aviv University and save yourself a few hundred dollars. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comPhysicians Concerned About Anonymous Comments On Web Sites That Rate Doctors' Performance Physicians appreciate patient opinions of the care that they provide, but they oppose rating Web sites that allow users to post anonymous comments about physicians because they can damage reputations and patient relationships, according to Nancy Nielsen, president-elect of the American Medical Association, USA Today reports. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com2008 BIO International Convention Focuses On Global Reach Of Biotechnology Printer Friendly The 2008 BIO International Convention will demonstrate the biotechnology industry's global focus with international case studies, global health breakout sessions and receptions that spotlight examples of biotechnology innovation from around the world. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comWashington, D.C., City Council Proposal Would Provide Universal Coverage Washington, D.C., Council member David Catania (I) on Monday proposed a $50 million plan that would require all district residents to obtain health insurance and provide subsidized care for those who qualify, the Washington Times reports (Emerling, Washington Times, 4/1). Catania, chair of the council's Committee on Health, said the Healthy D.C. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comDoctors Who Train At Community Health Centers More Likely To Treat The Underserved University of Washington researchers have found that community health center-trained family physicians were more likely to work in underserved settings than their non-community health center-trained counterparts (64 percent versus 37 percent), based on a study published in the April issue of Family Medicine. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comCalifornia County Officials Focus On HIV/AIDS Prevention Among Migrant Workers San Joaquin County, Calif., health outreach workers "face a range of obstacles in their work to prevent" HIV/AIDS among migrant workers, including challenges in encouraging workers to be tested, the Stockton Record reports. California has the largest population of undocumented immigrants in the U.S., according to the Record. Because AIDS is about twice as prevalent in the U.S. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comPa. Catholic Bishop To Boycott College Graduation Over Clinton Visit, Citing Her Support Of Abortion Rights Donald Trautman -- the Roman Catholic Bishop for Erie, Pa. -- announced on Monday that he will not attend the Catholic Mercyhurst College's graduation because of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (N.Y.) planned visit to the college on Tuesday, the Erie Times-News reports. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com14th Annual Conference & Exhibition Of The Society For Biomolecular Sciences Reports Business Of Drug Development On Verge Of Great Change Significant changes to drug discovery and the pharmaceutical industry currently underway will increase in the next five to 10 years, according to a top researcher at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) who is helping transform the business of drug research and development.According to Christopher Austin, M.D. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comAMA Supports Coalition's Call For Transparency And Accurate Reporting Among Health Insurers "The American Medical Association applauds efforts by the Consumer-Purchaser Disclosure Project to raise the bar on the reliability and validity of information that health insurers provide to patients. "The Patient Charter drafted by the Consumer-Purchaser Disclosure Project requires health insurers to be more transparent and balanced when providing information to patients. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Stigma Clings Stubbornly To Women Living With HIV/AIDS
Stigma Clings Stubbornly To Women Living With HIV/AIDS HIV-positive women in the United States face strikingly high levels of stigma, according to survey results released by amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research.The amfAR survey results were presented at a press conference on Monday, March 31 in Washington, D.C. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comFewer Babies Born After Caesarean Delivery Women who have a Caesarean delivery for their first child go on to have fewer children than women who give birth in the traditional way. This is shown in a study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) and University of Bergen. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comEditorials Respond To Call For Increase In Basic Research, New Strategies For HIV/AIDS Vaccine Two newspapers recently published editorials in response to a call last week from HIV/AIDS researchers for an increase in basic research on the virus and new strategies for research into a vaccine during an NIH AIDS Vaccine Summit. The summit was held to discuss the future of HIV vaccine research following the recent failure of a Merck vaccine candidate. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comTB Accumulates Fat To Survive And Spread Medical scientists from the University of Leicester, together with colleagues from St Georges, University of London, funded principally by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and The Wellcome Trust, have published details of a new breakthrough discovery on TB. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comMinnesota Senate Gives Preliminary Approval To Health Care Overhaul Bill The Minnesota Senate on Thursday voted 41-22 to grant preliminary approval to legislation that would overhaul the state health care system and expand coverage to 47,000 state residents, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The bill would require health care providers to make their fees public and would create standard benefit sets to allow consumers to compare care and prices. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
Support For National Health Insurance Has Grown 10 Percent Over Past 5 Years
Support For National Health Insurance Has Grown 10 Percent Over Past 5 Years The largest survey ever of American physicians' opinions on health-care financing has found that 59 percent of doctors support government legislation to establish national health insurance while only 32 percent oppose it. A similar survey conducted by the IU researchers in 2002 found 49 percent of physicians supporting national health insurance and 40 percent opposing it. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comMRSA Epidemic Hits Denmark Drug resistant hospital superbugs like MRSA have been kept under control in Denmark for more than 30 years. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
Monday, March 31, 2008
Latest Launch For GE ECG Data Management System Boosts Clinical, It Benefits
Latest Launch For GE ECG Data Management System Boosts Clinical, It Benefits The newest version of GE's featured MUSE data management system incorporates upgrades in information technology, ECG management processes and clinical report editing in an all-digital environment for truly paperless workflow. "The MUSE version 7. 1 offers new benefits including additional options that enhance clinical workflows and improved IT connectivity," said Dr. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comCardiovascular Imaging Made Easy With Automation At this week's meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Chicago, GE Healthcare is launching a solution capable of assessing the coronary arteries and cardiovascular function automatically, dramatically improving overall workflow when reviewing cardiac CT images. The two latest advanced CT applications for the Advantage Workstation, CardIQ Xpress 2. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comNICE Revises Guidance On Prophylactic Antibiotic Cover Against Endocarditis The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has just published a guideline entitled Prophylaxis Against Infective Endocarditis. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comLeukaemia Research And Argos Celebrate 500,000 Pounds Milestone, UK Leukaemia Research is celebrating having raised £500,000 in record time, thanks to the support of Argos employees and customers. Just seven months into the year-long charity partnership, Argos have raised enough funds to support a special cytogenetic database, which will record symptoms and treatments of different types of blood cancer to make future treatment more effective. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comRoom For Improvement In Balancing Epileptic Seizure Control And Side Effects On the heels of the nation's largest event dedicated to the epilepsy community, the National Walk for Epilepsy, advocates have announced their recommendations in response to a new national survey uncovering key challenges facing the epilepsy community. Challenges include gaps in patient-physician communication around medication-related side effects and low public awareness of epilepsy. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
Stem Cells From Hair Follicles May Help 'Grow' New Blood Vessels
Stem Cells From Hair Follicles May Help 'Grow' New Blood Vessels For a rich source of stem cells to be engineered into new blood vessels or skin tissue, clinicians may one day look no further than the hair on their patients' heads, according to new research published earlier this month by University at Buffalo engineers. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comFDA To Review Safety Of GSK, BMS Antiretrovirals Abacavir, Didanosine FDA on Thursday announced that it will review the safety of GlaxoSmithKline's antiretroviral drug abacavir and Bristol-Myers Squibb's antiretroviral didanosine, Reuters reports (Richwine, Reuters, 3/27). Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comStatement By The Office Of Resident And Humanitarian Coordinator For Sudan On Attacks Against Humanitarian Actors The humanitarian community in Sudan is raising its voice against intolerable attacks that are putting the humanitarian operation and the welfare of the people of Darfur in jeopardy. Attacks against those implementing humanitarian activities are never justified. Such incidents in Darfur have reached an unprecedented level. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comPublic Health Website Now Provides All Food Inspection Scores, USA The Alabama Department of Public Health now makes scores for the more than 23,000 restaurants and food service establishments throughout Alabama available to the public through the department's Web site, http://www.alabamafoodscores.com. Users may search by county, city or establishment name. State Health Officer Dr. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comU.S. Health System Should Not Rely On Employer-Sponsored Coverage, Opinion Piece States In the current U.S. employment market, "where most individuals change employers many times over a lifetime," the "reliance on employers" to provide health care coverage "makes little sense economically," Peter Beilenson -- founder of Maryland's Health Care for All initiative and health officer for Howard County, Md. -- writes in a Baltimore Sun opinion piece. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comJoint Statement On FDA Investigation Of Singulair From The AAAAI And ACAAI Leadership from the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology and the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology released the following statement in response to the Thursday announcement of a Food and Drug Administration investigation into Singulair:There are no data from well-designed studies to indicate a link between Singulair and suicide. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Tailored Clopidogrel Dosing Improves PCI Outcomes
Tailored Clopidogrel Dosing Improves PCI Outcomes Using a simple blood test to individualize the loading dose of a medication that prevents blood clotting significantly reduces the risk of major cardiovascular complications after percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), according to a multicenter study reported in a Late-Breaking Clinica Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comTAXUS(R) Express(TM) Stent Shows Similarly Low Re-intervention Rates In Diabetic Patients Compared To Non Diabetics In ARRIVE 1 And 2 Registries Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announced results from an analysis of 4,772 patients from its TAXUS ARRIVE 1 and 2 registries, designed to assess the performance of the TAXUS(R) Express2(TM) Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System in real-world practice. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comMysterious Child Fevers Of Unknown Origin: Could Surgery Be A Cure? A child spikes a high fever, sometimes as high as 104 or 105 degrees, and sometimes causing seizures. She's rushed to the emergency room, the hospital runs test after test, specialists are brought in, but no explanation is found.Many families though no one knows how many go through this cyclical nightmare. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comA Vision For Infrastructure In The 21st Century On Thursday, April 10, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Popular Mechanics will co-host a webcast conference to address challenges and solutions driving the future of infrastructure in the United States. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comCould Graphene Be The New Silicon? Research results from University of Maryland physicists show that graphene, a new material that combines aspects of semiconductors and metals, could be a leading candidate to replace silicon in applications ranging from high-speed computer chips to biochemical sensors. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comPhysician Scientists Present At American College Of Cardiology's 57th Annual Scientific Session Physician-scientists from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center will present their latest research findings at the American College of Cardiology's 57th Annual Scientific Session in Chicago, March 29 to April 1. Among the most significant presentations are the following:Drug-Eluting Stents Versus Bare-Metal Stents for Transplant Allograft VasculopathyDr. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comStudy Finds PCI Safe, Effective Despite Off Site Cardiac Surgery Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) can be performed safely and successfully in medical centers without on-site cardiac surgical back-up, provided programs are well-organized, highly skilled and committed to quality. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comThe National Sleep Foundation Young Investigator Award Won By Dr. Tracy Rupp Dr. Tracy Rupp has won the 2008 National Sleep Foundation Young Investigator Award. A total of 106 abstracts from young sleep researchers (i.e., within 5 years of having obtained the doctoral degree) were submitted to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). Each submission was rated by a team of 3 established sleep researchers. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
Study Finds PCI Safe, Effective Despite Off Site Cardiac Surgery
Study Finds PCI Safe, Effective Despite Off Site Cardiac Surgery Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) can be performed safely and successfully in medical centers without on-site cardiac surgical back-up, provided programs are well-organized, highly skilled and committed to quality. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comStudy Finds Improvement In The Care Of Children With Cancer At The End Of Life Expanded use of palliative care services is associated with enhanced communications between families and caregivers, improved symptoms management, and better quality of life for children dying from cancer, according to study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comStudy Finds Repeated Episodes Of Stent Thrombosis Common When a clot develops inside a coronary stent, it can block blood flow to the heart, potentially causing a heart attack or even death. A single incident of stent thrombosis is bad enough, but a new study suggests that one in six patients can expect to experience at least one repeat episode. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comTRITON TIMI 38 Stent Analysis Favors Prasugrel Prasugrel has been shown to block platelet activity in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) more effectively than clopidogrel, and to cut by more than half the risk of thrombosis, or blood clotting, inside the coronary stent. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.comPharsight Invited To Present On HIV Modeling And Simulation At ASCPT Annual Meeting Pharsight Corporation (Nasdaq: PHST), a leading provider of software, strategic consulting, and regulatory services for optimizing clinical drug development, announced that Bill Poland, Ph.D. Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
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