Sexual Health
Once placed into a patient"s body, stem cells intended to treat or cure a disease could end up wreaking havoc simply because they are no longer under the control of the clinician.
Nearly two of every three adult Americans under age 65 who were covered by public insurance from 2005 to 2006 had at least one chronic illness, such as diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced it will begin enrolling patients this month in two separate but identical Phase III clinical trials of solanezumab(i), previously referred to as LY2062430, an anti-amyloid beta monoclonal antibody being investigated as a potential treatment to delay the progression of mild to moderate Alzheimer"s disease. The trials, called EXPEDITION and EXPEDITION 2, will each include a treatment period that lasts 18 months and are expected to enroll a total of 2,000 patients age 55 and over from 16 countries.
ZymoGenetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZGEN) announced that Interleukin 21 (IL-21) demonstrated an impressive overall response rate in the treatment of metastatic melanoma. In interim Phase 2 results from 24 patients, 29 percent showed a partial response, with an additional 33 percent of patients showing stable disease in this difficult to treat disease.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vaccination with seasonal flu vaccines made for the 2005 to 2009
President Obama on Wednesday held a private meeting with Appeals Court Judge Diane Wood to discuss her possible nomination to the Supreme Court, the New York Times reports. The meeting is thought to be Obama"s first one-on-one interview with a potential candidate to replace retiring Justice David Souter. A White House official said that other possible nominees will be interviewed. According to the Times, White House aides expect an announcement no earlier than next week (Zeleny, New York Times, 5/21). According to the AP/Google.com, Wood was in Washington, D.C., to attend a Georgetown University Law Center conference on the importance of judicial independence. Wood declined to comment on the meeting with Obama or the Supreme Court vacancy. Solicitor General Elena Kagan, another possible candidate, also attended the conference, where she delivered the keynote address (Sherman, AP/Google.com, 5/20). Kagan in her speech paid tribute to former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O"Connor, who was being honored at the conference, and discussed the independence of the Office of the Solicitor General. According to the Washington Post, conservative groups already are criticizing Wood and Kagan, as well as potential candidates Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D). The Post reports that Wood "is held in high esteem in liberal legal circles in Chicago for serving as an intellectual counterpart to the circuit"s star conservative judges." The Post reports that Obama has solicited the opinions from senators of both political parties, including every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Robert Gibbs, Obama"s press secretary, said that Obama is "very active" in the decision-making process and that the nomination process is "something that he"s quite familiar with" (Barnes/Murray, Washington Post, 5/21).
Dynavax Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq:DVAX) announced the award of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). This grant will support the preclinical development of Dynavax"s first-in-class oligonucleotide-based Toll-like Receptor (TLR) inhibitors for use in inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis, cutaneous lupus, and dermatomyositis. This new two-year $700,000 grant is in addition to a $1.8 million grant awarded in 2008.
The Massachusetts Health Insurance Law of 2006 has allowed the state to have the lowest uninsured rate in the country while having a "marginal impact" on state spending, according to a report by the Massachusetts Taxpayer Association, the AP/Boston Globe reports. MTA was among the groups supporting the bill"s original passage. The report shows that health care spending will increase by $707 million from fiscal year 2006 to FY 2010. Half of that increase would be covered by the federal government, so the annual cost increase for the state would be $88 million, according to MTA. It noted that many workers who had chosen not to purchase employer-provided insurance before the law took effect now have done so, which has resulted in about $750 million in additional costs for businesses each year (AP/Boston Globe, 5/20). A summary of the report is available online. The full report also is available on the same page (.pdf).
A chemical found in green tea might be an effective tool against the sexual transmission of HIV, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, AFP/Google.com reports. According to the study, green tea polyphenol -- called epigallocatechin-3-gallete, or EGCG -- neutralizes a protein in sperm that aids in the transmission of HIV during sex. The researchers noted that they "recently identified a peptide fraction in human semen that consistently enhanced HIV-1 infection." The study found that EGCG is able to neutralize the sperm protein, known as a semen-derived enhancer of virus infection, or SEVI. The researchers said that SEVI is "an important infectivity factor of HIV." According to the researchers, EGCG "appears to be a promising supplement to antiretroviral microbicides to reduce sexual transmission of HIV-1." The researchers said that because a majority of people living with HIV contract the disease through heterosexual transmission and that 96% of new cases are reported in developing and impoverished nations, the use of green tea in topical creams could be a "simple and affordable prevention method" (AFP/Google.com, 5/19).
New research provides exciting genetic insight into a rare syndrome that first appeared in the medical literature in the mid 1800s with the case of Julia Pastrana, the world"s most notorious bearded lady. The study, published by Cell Press in the May 21st issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, reveals intriguing molecular clues about the pathogenesis of this mysterious condition that has captured the attention of the public since the Middle Ages.
An international scientific study involving researchers from the University of Glasgow has identified eight common genetic differences which may increase the risk of high blood pressure.
John Swinney MSP, Finance Secretary officially opened a new vaccine manufacturing facility at Big DNA, Roslin Biocentre, by Edinburgh on 12 May 2009. This major facility takes a completely new method of making vaccines to its next level, to test a variety of methods that will be used in future to manufacture important new vaccines, which have the potential to save millions of lives during major outbreaks of disease worldwide.
PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company developing acute care products for infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, has received a notice of no objection from Health Canada for the Company"s Clinical Trial Application ("CTA") for its defensin mimetic antibiotic compound, PMX-30063. This notice of no objection allows for the initiation of the second human clinical study in Canada. PMX-30063 is a defensin mimetic antibiotic compound, the first of an entirely new class of antibiotic drugs that is believed to work in such a way that makes bacterial resistance unlikely to develop.
UK charity the Blood Pressure Association has responded to the BMJ research paper "Use of blood pressure lowering drugs in the prevention of cardiovascular disease":
Researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) in Buffalo, New York, are strongly advocating a national discussion about the need to vaccinate both young men and women against HPV 16 to prevent head & neck cancers. The call comes amid growing evidence that certain cancers of the head and neck are strongly linked to HPV 16, a specific strain of the human papillomavirus (HPV) that is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the United States. It is estimated that approximately 70% of Americans, both men and women, will be infected with HPV at some point in their lives.
According to the Health Protection Agency (HPA), UK, there were five new confirmed cases of swine flu (H1N1), bringing the total to 117. The HPA"s laboratories carry out all testing of swine flu virus. The five new cases include two adults from London, two adults from South East England, and a child from the West Midlands. Two of them returned from a country where swine flu exists, while another is linked to a previously confirmed case in England - the s of the other two are still being investigated, the HPA reported. Nobody in the UK has died from swine flu.
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee delayed a confirmation vote on President Obama"s nominees for federal court positions until after the Memorial Day recess, Roll Call reports. David Hamilton, a district court judge in southern Indiana, is nominated for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Andre Davis is nominated for the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (Brady, Roll Call, 5/21). Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said, "Our members are concerned" about Hamilton, adding that Hamilton "has had a number of troubling rulings dealing with a series of prayers at the Indiana Legislature." Hamilton in 2005 ruled that prayers used to open the Legislature must be nonsectarian. Sessions said he also is concerned about Hamilton"s ruling to prohibit religious displays in public buildings. Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) defended Hamilton"s record. Leahy said, "He is, after all, the son of a minister, and he believes very strongly in the constitutional separation of church and state" (Stern, Bloomberg/Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/22). Leahy added that Hamilton "ought to be commended rather than obstructed or delayed." Meanwhile, the committee is awaiting Obama"s nominee to replace Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court. The nomination could further complicate consideration of Hamilton and Davis, as it is expected to occupy the panel through the summer (Roll Call, 5/21).
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries. ~ "Peaceful Revolution: Another Blow to Women," Debra Ness, Huffington Post blogs: The Supreme Court"s ruling this week in AT&T Corp. v. Hulteen "dealt a serious and painful blow to working women and the families who rely on their retirement benefits," Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, writes. The ruling "affects a limited number of people," and it "would be easy to ignore them -- easy, but terribly wrong," Ness continues. "This ruling sends a terrible message about whether discrimination will bring penalties and costs, and whether the courts will address the ongoing effects of prior discrimination," she writes. Ness notes that the ruling "couldn"t come at a worse time," adding, "In today"s grim economic climate, women and their families cannot afford to see their retirement benefits kept lower by discriminatory workplace policies that should have been remedied decades ago." Ness writes that it is "sobering that, at a time when negative stereotypes about pregnant women clearly persist, we have a Supreme Court that doesn"t stand firm for equal rights and equal opportunity." She concludes, "It"s a good reminder of what"s at stake with the Supreme Court nomination President Obama is about to make" (Ness, Huffington Post blogs, 5/21).~ "This Week in Religion and Politics," Sarah Posner, American Prospect"s "The FundamentaList": When "viewed in the context of Obama"s entire faith-based outreach project, the events" surrounding the University of Notre Dame"s commencement ceremony "highlighted how he has embraced traditionalist, conservative religion -- to the detriment of sexual and reproductive justice," Posner writes. President Obama has "focused his outreach efforts" to reduce the need for abortion "on more conservative religious groups" and "claims to honor their position on moral issues," Posner writes. However, "when the dust settles on the Notre Dame controversy, he"ll have to figure out what to do with the policy advice he has sought" from the White House Office on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, she continues. Posner adds, "How Obama reacts to that advice will demonstrate whether the council is mere window dressing to shore up support from swing constituencies or whether Obama will yield to conservative religious dogma on reproductive-health issues." Meanwhile, Christian conservatives have been "making hay of the findings" of recent Pew and Gallup polls that found more U.S. residents identifying with "pro-life" positions and using the data to argue "that Obama"s position is out of touch with the majority of Americans," Posner writes. However, as bloggers at The Monkey Cage and FiveThirtyEight have pointed out, the polls are not representative of most U.S. residents" views on abortion rights, she writes. "Because of that deception on reproductive rights, it"s more important than ever for the president to lay the moral groundwork for his own position -- not just to recognize the moral qualms of abortion opponents," Posner says (Posner, "The FundamentaList," American Prospect, 5/20).~ "Meghan McCain Preaches What She Practices," Willa Paskin, Slate"s "XX Factor": Meghan McCain -- Sen. John McCain"s (R-Ariz.) daughter -- "acquitted herself quite admirably" on Monday"s episode of Comedy Central"s "The Colbert Report" by "defending her core position" that the Republican Party "needs to appeal to younger voters, and it can only do so by getting liberal on social issues," Paskin writes. On the show, McCain said, "I think it"s not realistic for this generation to be just plain abstinent, I think we need to have sex education with condoms and birth control. ... I would never practice anything I didn"t preach." Paskin also includes a video clip of McCain"s appearance (Paskin, "XX Factor," Slate, 5/19).~ "Skill the Messenger," Cristina Page, Birth Control Watch: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin"s (R) 18-year-old daughter Bristol -- who was
Despite calamities from economic recessions, wars and famine to a flu epidemic afflicting the Earth, a new study from the University of Kansas and Gallup indicates that humans are by nature optimistic.
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, on Thursday said that he supports "a version" of government-run health insurance but that such a program would not cover undocumented immigrants, the Washington Times reports. Baucus was speaking at an event sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Families USA and the National Federation of Independent Business (Haberkorn, Washington Times, 5/22). Baucus said that health care reform likely would provide coverage to between 94% and 96% of U.S. residents but that it would be "too politically explosive" to provide coverage to undocumented residents (Young, The Hill, 5/21). Undocumented immigrants account for between 15% and 22% of the estimated 47 million U.S. residents who lack health insurance, according to analyses by the Center for Immigration Studies and the U.S. Census Bureau. Baucus said the finance committee has not yet discussed whether federal funding to treat low-income, uninsured patients should be expanded to treat undocumented immigrants. "I don"t have a good answer yet to undocumented workers," Baucus said, adding, "There will still be charity care." According to the Dallas Morning News, some immigration advocates have said health reform efforts will not be complete if undocumented immigrants do not have coverage. Jaime Torres, president of Latinos for National Health Insurance, said, "In light of what"s happening now with the flu pandemic, it"s pretty clear that, for any health care system to work, it has to cover everyone residing in the United States" (Landers, Dallas Morning News, 5/22). Torres added, "It"s unfortunate that Sen. Baucus and the Congress might not have the courage to include the undocumented" (Washington Times, 5/22). A podcast and video of the press conference are available online at kff.org.
"Trends in Child Health 1997-2006: Assessing Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Unmet Dental Care Needs," Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies: The issue brief examines disparities in the reporting of unmet dental care needs because of cost over the past 12 months among black, Hispanic and white children younger than age 18. The brief compares the unmet dental care needs among the racial/ethnic groups of children overall and among children of various racial/ethnic groups in families with similar sociodemographic characteristics, such as family type, poverty status and health insurance coverage. Hispanic children are the most likely to have dental care needs that are unmet because of cost, according to the brief. In addition, the brief analyzes several indicators of child health -- including low birthweight, health status, unmet dental care needs, ADHD/ADD diagnosis and asthma diagnosis -- to provide additional details of disparities in child health (Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, May 2009).
Between 20 and 70 percent of Canadians affected by mental illness shun medical treatment. Such avoidance of services provided by doctors and psychologists is particularly acute among men, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research.
American Science and Engineering, Inc. (AS&E®) (NASDAQ: ASEI), a leading worldwide supplier of innovative X-ray detection solutions, announced that it has received a $25 million follow-on order for a Middle East client for multiple Z Portal® cargo and vehicle screening systems and OmniView™ Gantry cargo inspection system to protect critical infrastructure in the region. AS&E"s Z Portal and OmniView systems will scan vehicles and trucks entering a high-risk facility in the Middle East for explosive threats and contraband.
Almost 90% of diabetic patients invited to attend a routine diabetic eye screening appointment did so last year.
Women who are at risk for heart disease and who are also experiencing menopause symptoms now have an added re - a highly specialized clinic in the Division of Cardiology at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. The Advanced Preventive Women"s Clinic at the Women"s Heart Center recently opened and is offering comprehensive cardiac risk assessments designed specifically for women who are in menopause. The clinic also offers menopausal patients state-of-the-art screenings, as well as personalized medicine therapies and counseling, including high-risk hormone counseling.
Mr Secretary General, Madame Director General, Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today in the shadow of the pandemic influenza threat posed by the Novel A / H1N1 virus.
The GMC is proposing to extend the types of cases that can be concluded by "consensual disposal" instead of being referred to a full fitness to practise hearing.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning employers to ensure they assess the safety of equipment and ensure that it is sufficiently guarded after an employee"s left hand was severely damaged by the rotating blades of a valve that forms part of the extraction system in a metal recycling process.
There has been an alarming rise in new cases of the deadliest form of skin cancer in the UK, with binge tanning cited as a main reason, said a
Amid all the speculation over what course the Swine Flu epidemic will take, Boston-based biotech firm Replikins Ltd. last week analyzed the most recent peptide genomic sequence data available and determined that the infectivity of the H1N1 virus will increase markedly, while its lethality will remain relatively low for the immediate future.
Since 2000, nearly 1,000 "retail clinics" -- offering routine care like sports physicals and immunizations and treatment for minor illnesses like strep throat -- have opened their doors inside pharmacies and grocery stores across the United States. Retail chain operators proposed that the new clinics would improve access to medical care among uninsured or underserved populations. However, these clinics have been opened more often in higher-income areas that are less likely to be classified as medically underserved, according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine published in the May 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) could lead to the development of new and better treatments for broken bones and other orthopaedic problems associated with ageing.
UroToday.com - You pass what you eat! If you eat wisely, passage shouldn"t be painful. This may be especially true for stone formers. To be sure, high fluid intake resulting in a urine output of > 2 liters per day is key; however, what is eaten also plays a role. In this study among 56 hyperoxaluric patients on a low oxalate diet, the institution of a low salt (4-5 grams/day), low animal protein (approximately 20 grams per day vs. a norm of 50 grams per day), and normal calcium diet over a 3 month period, resulted in a statistically significant drop in 24 hour urine calcium (364 to 263 mg/d) and oxalate (50 to 35 mg/d).
Health Canada is advising expectant mothers and breastfeeding women not to take the vitamin-mineral supplements Maxum Matragen or Maxum Multi-Vite by Seroyal International Inc. Maxum Multi-Vite has been approved as a vitamin-mineral supplement for only the general public but lacks the required cautionary statement on the label regarding pregnant and/or breast feeding women. The product Maxum Matragen is being promoted by the company as a prenatal supplement; however, neither product has been authorized for sale by Health Canada for use by women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Two hundred physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and students of physical therapy marched on Capitol Hill Tuesday to educate lawmakers about the critical need for patients to have improved access to physical therapy services. The group-members of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)-conducted approximately 350 visits with Representatives and Senators.
Thank parasites for making some of our immune proteins into the inflammatory defenders they are today, according to a population genetics study that will appear in the June 8 issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine (online May 25). The study, conducted by a team of researchers in Italy, also suggests that you might blame parasites for sculpting some of those genes into risk factors for intestinal disorders.
Hospice, a well-established approach to palliative care, has enabled countless people worldwide to die with dignity. Through focusing on the patient rather than the disease, individuals can spend the last weeks of their lives in an environment where hospice caregivers minimize their pain, maximize their comfort, and provide bereavement services for loved ones and family members.
For the first time, scientists have been able to identify genetic factors that influence the age at which natural menopause occurs in women. Ms Lisette Stolk, a researcher from Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, told the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics that a greater understanding of the factors influencing age at menopause might eventually help to improve the clinical treatment of infertile women.
In a world first, West Australian scientists have cured mice of a devastating muscle disease that causes a Floppy Baby Syndrome - a breakthrough that could ultimately help thousands of families across the globe.
At a time when the drug industry is striving for patient-friendly delivery methods for new and existing drugs, the growing availability of innovative inhaler device designs is driving interest in pulmonary drug delivery technology and devices as an alternative to oral and parenteral routes of administration. While well-established for treating upper respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD, companies competing in the inhaled drug delivery sector - major players such as GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim as well as pure-play start-ups - continue to view delivery of systemic drugs via inhalation as a major opportunity.
Scientists at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology uncover how an important cancer gene, BRCA1, works by increasing the accuracy with which broken DNA is repaired. Women who inherit a faulty version of the BRCA1 gene are at a higher risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer.
Trying to quit cigarettes but don"t know how? A new analysis led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health, suggests that Web- and computer-based smoking cessation programs are worth a try, and fortunately during these tough economic times, many of them are free.
AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond
The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) praises Representative Allyson Schwartz and nearly 100 cosponsors of The Preserving Patient Access to Primary Care Act for their leadership in health care reform. This legislation, which will increase the number of primary care providers and improve patient access to primary care services, is a critical step if we truly are to reform our health care delivery system. Our nation needs leaders like Representative Schwartz to affect real and lasting change in our health care system.
The Society for Prevention Research (SPR) will hold its annual meeting, May 27-29, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency, 400 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., 20001. The featured stories are:
A drug currently FDA-approved for use in diabetes shows some protective effects in the brains of patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine report in a study currently available online in the Journal of Neuroimmunology.
On May 27 and 28, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hear testimony about the FDA-guided effort to develop a classwide Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for all controlled-release opioids from more than 70 patients, scientists, public health professionals, and representatives of pharmacist groups, prescriber groups, and pharmaceutical companies. Controlled-release opioids include prescription pain medications that release the medication over a period of several hours and contain fentanyl, hydromorphone, methadone, morphine, oxycodone, or oxymorphone. More than 21 million prescriptions are written every year for these medications.
A study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has identified two proteins in the blood that could become important prognostic markers for long-term survival in breast cancer patients. The proteins are associated with chronic inflammation, which is known to contribute to cancer development and progression.
The key to reducing the leading cause of pediatric emergency room visits could be to educate young patients and their parents about how to manage asthma, according to an updated review of studies. Moreover, such programs could lead to fewer hospitalizations for children.
Philadelphia"s Wistar Institute has been issued U.S. patent No. 7,527,798 for a synthetic vaccine technology with the potential to be developed into a universal flu vaccine that could eliminate annual flu shots and protect against pandemics. Wistar is seeking a corporate partner to license and develop the vaccine, which has been tested in animals and currently is in prototype form. The patent pertains to technology developed by Walter Gerhard, professor emeritus and former professor of immunology at Wistar, and Laszlo Otvos, formerly an associate professor of immunology at Wistar. The vaccine prototype contains an engineered peptide that mimics a viral coat protein called M2 that remains largely constant from year to year.
Columbia University Science & Technology Ventures (STV) and New York-based EndoRobotics, Inc. have entered into an exclusive license agreement to develop and commercialize a micro-robotic imaging and surgical device platform designed to reduce the complexity of minimally invasive surgical (MIS) procedures and improve patient outcomes.
An Ohio State University researcher is shifting his development of an MRI-compatible treadmill to his start-up company and plans to have a device ready for clinical testing in three months. The treadmill could allow physicians to measure a patient"s heart during peak stress more accurately than the echocardiograph and nuclear imaging processes now widely used.
Specialty clinics that provide family planning services in Texas have seen a significant decrease in state funding over the past four years because lawmakers have redirected millions of dollars to expand family planning at community health centers, the Dallas Morning News reports. The funding changes began in 2005, when lawmakers said they were shifting funding to community health centers because they offered more comprehensive health care to low-income patients. Advocates for the family planning clinics argue that the policy is an attempt by antiabortion-rights advocates to shut the clinics down. Although clinics that receive state funding are prohibited from offering abortion services, some conservative lawmakers believe that limiting the funding will hurt groups like Planned Parenthood, which offers abortion services at other locations, according to some family planning advocates. The Morning News reports that state lawmakers might return some of the funding to the specialty clinics during the current legislative session; however, the funding only would equal any money left unused by the community health centers.The most significant funding change occurred in 2005, when almost 25% of the state"s $45 million annual family planning budget was set aside for "federally qualified health centers" -- community health centers that offer services to uninsured and underserved people. Advocates for family planning clinics say that the number of patients receiving state-funded reproductive services declined by nearly 22%, from 326,000 patients in 2005 to 255,000 in the last fiscal year. They also note that the community health centers have an unused surplus of more than $11.5 million since 2005, which they say the family planning clinics could have used.According to the Morning News, many public health experts believe that specialty clinics that have family planning services offer more efficient and effective reproductive care than community health centers. David Warner, a health care finance and policy expert at the University of Texas Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, said the specialty clinics are "very targeted" and "don"t have a lot of overhead," whereas the community clinics have "limited enrollment and can be a lot less accessible." He added, "Continuing to starve those clinics means that you"re not going to be reaching the number of people you could be reaching with family planning services." Family planning clinics in Texas offer more than a dozen services ranging from birth control prescriptions to breast and cervical cancer screening and sexually transmitted infection testing. However, reproductive health advocates say many people often associate the clinics with abortion services, which gives antiabortion-rights lawmakers an incentive to shut down the clinics by withholding funding. Fran Hagerty, CEO of the Women"s Health and Family Planning Association of Texas, said, "Some lawmakers believe if they can prevent Planned Parenthood from participating in the state"s family planning program, then they"ve accomplished their goal."Supporters of community health centers say that billing issues and other administrative problems have distorted their data on how many reproductive health patients they are treating. Many women receive care at the community centers for family planning services along with treatment of other health problems, so they often are not recorded as reproductive health patients, according to the centers (Ramshaw, Dallas Morning News, 5/22).
Cancer patients treated with the widely used drug bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy are at significantly greater risk of potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal (GI) perforations (a hole in the wall of the stomach, small intestine or large bowel)-particularly patients with advanced colorectal cancer and renal cell cancer, according to an Article published Online First and in the June edition of The Lancet Oncology.
Two newspapers recently published opinion pieces responding to President Obama"s comments on the need for "empathy" in candidates to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter. Summaries appear below.~ Ellen Goodman, Boston Globe: When discussing Souter"s replacement, Obama said he will seek a nominee ""who understands that justice isn"t about some abstract theory. ... It is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people"s lives,"" Globe columnist Goodman writes in an opinion piece. According to Goodman, Obama"s emphasis on the need for judicial "empathy" has sparked outrage among a "phalanx of horrified conservatives" who claim that "empathy is just a code word for the sentimental liberal bias in favor of underdogs over the Constitution." However, she continues, "let us remember that empathy is not sympathy. It doesn"t require that we take sides. Nor is it an emotional shortcut that upends all legal reasoning to declare a winner." According to Goodman, empathy "is rather the ability to imaginatively enter into the experience of others." She writes that the "capacity to recognize another person"s reality is not just liberal," adding that empathy "doesn"t trump reason, it informs reason." Goodman writes, "The truth is that we want judges who "get it,"" adding that the "myth of justice as a matter of pure objective reasoning that could be meted out by a computer is just that, a myth" (Goodman, Boston Globe, 5/22).~ Mike Rosen, Denver Post: Although Obama"s emphasis on empathy might seem "[c]ompassionate and seductive" to some, his stance "represents a radical and dangerous departure from traditional American jurisprudence," radio host Rosen writes in a Post opinion piece. Rosen writes, "When empathetic judges rule on their feelings, they are exceeding their authority," adding that the "role of the judicial branch of our government is to rule on the Constitution as written and the law as passed by Congress and signed by the president." According to Rosen, the courts "are a co-equal branch of government, not a superior branch," and judges should not "rule on what they think the law ought to be" because that would be "government by a presumptuous, unelected judiciary." Rosen continues that "judges are referees, not rule makers" because they are "not there to empathize with the fans or the players. They represent the rule book, and they aren"t authorized to … make it "fairer."" According to Rosen, the "dispute between conservatives and liberals on judicial activism is philosophical and irreconcilable." He concludes that Senate confirmation hearings for Obama"s nominee "should make for an interesting debate on these principles" (Rosen, Denver Post, 5/22).
Tackling the very causes of ageing, rather than treating the symptoms in a piecemeal way offers the best prospects for dealing with the diseases and effects of ageing according to a public lecture being given at the Royal Society tonight.
Synosia Therapeutics announced today that it has started a Phase I clinical trial of SYN-120, its new generation 5-HT6 antagonist under development for the treatment of cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer"s and schizophrenia. The study will assess the safety and tolerability of single ascending doses of SYN-120 in healthy volunteers.
Despite being larger in size and heavier in weight, an analysis of the cardiovascular disease risk factors of about 500 National Football League players finds that overall, they have a similar cardiovascular risk profile compared to the general population. The NFL population was found to have a lower incidence of impaired fasting glucose and similar prevalence of abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels as compared to a sample of healthy young-adult men, but have an increased prevalence of high blood pressure, according to a study in the May 27 issue of JAMA.
CircuLite®, Inc. will be participating at the 2009 American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO) conference in conjunction with the 5th International Conference on Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems & Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion (PEDS) held May 28 - 30, 2009 in Dallas, with a booth display featuring it"s Synergy® Pocket Circulatory Assist Device. Synergy is the first micro-pump designed for long-term, partial circulatory support to improve the quality of life for a broad range of chronic heart failure patients.
May is Healthy Vision Month, which in 2009 focuses on the 60 percent of Americans who have refractive vision problems.
An estimated 35 percent of U.S. adults age 40 and older have vestibular dysfunction (inner ear balance disorders), and those who do may have a higher risk of falling, according to a report in the May 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"The most lamentable and heart-breaking dimension of multilateralism" is the "absence of any serious focus on gender throughout" the United Nations system, Stephen Lewis, founder of AIDS-Free World, writes in a London Independent opinion piece. He adds, "I can cite chapter and verse, but let me start by telling you that whether it is poverty alleviation, or HIV and AIDS, or sexual violence and conflict, the whole panoply of discrimination visited on women around the world, particularly in developing countries, the U.N."s agencies and the Secretariat have been profoundly delinquent in their response."According to Lewis, the "struggle for gender equality has become the most important struggle on the planet; the continuing marginalization of 52% of the world"s population is simply unacceptable." He adds, "So we"re now engaged in an effort to create a new international agency for women, a fascinating undertaking that I hope will engage" governments. "Nothing approximates the possibility of finally having a vehicle that would give voice and res and support to the struggles of women around the world," Lewis writes, adding, "Everyone knows what"s happening in these areas about women"s vulnerability but there is never a consistent voice to bring it to the attention of the world community, to continue to hammer it home, to demand action from government." He concludes, "So the emergence and creation of a women"s agency I think would be a godsend internationally and would overcome the record of the United Nations on gender" (Lewis, Independent, 5/22).
Fact or fiction? Chewing gum stays in your stomach for seven years. Cold weather makes you sick. You should never wake a sleepwalker. A dog"s mouth is cleaner than a human"s.
A national guideline that young athletes suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury in practice or games be removed from competition until examined or cleared by a medical professional is at the heart of a multi-organizational call-to-action announced today at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) 56th Annual Meeting in Seattle. ACSM is collaborating with the Brain Injury Association of Washington (BIAWA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to build national momentum on a new Washington state law protecting young athletes from death or disability caused by premature return to play following a concussion.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted full approval for SPRYCEL® (dasatinib) for the treatment of adults in all phases of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) (chronic, accelerated, or myeloid or lymphoid blast phase) with resistance or intolerance to prior therapy including Gleevec®* (imatinib mesylate).
GARDASIL® [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16 and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant], Merck"s cervical cancer vaccine, has been awarded World Health Organization (WHO) pre-qualification. GARDASIL is the first cervical cancer vaccine to receive WHO pre-qualification.
Irving A. Cohen, MD, MPH, will be at Book Expo America 2009, Booth 5065, May 29-31, to discuss his new book "Dr. Cohen"s Guide to the New Hippocratic Diet™: How to Really Lose Weight and Beat the Obesity Epidemic" It teaches dieters how to lose weight easily and naturally despite having failed before.
Even microbes are governed by the principle of supply and demand - at least at the genetic level. Not all of their gene products, the blueprints for proteins, are required at all times. That means most of their genes only become active when they are needed, as is the case in higher organisms. In the simplest case, a transcription factor will activate the gene in question at the right time. Genes that are regulated in a somewhat more complex manner, on the other hand, are kept inactive by a repressor that is removed only when the gene is needed. Which of these two regulation mechanisms will develop is a question of demand, along the lines of a "use-it-or-lose-it" principle: if genes are frequently active, then, as a rule, they will be directly induced. Genes that encode more rarely used proteins, on the other hand, tend to be kept inactive by repressors. LMU physicist Ulrich Gerland and Professor Terence Hwa of the University of California have now demonstrated using computer simulations and theoretical analyses that another - indeed opposing - principle also comes into play: "wear-and-tear". According to this principle, direct activation can lead to harmful changes. "Which of the two principles prevails depends on evolutionary criteria such as the population size and the periods over which environmental changes take place," says Gerland. "Our study may serve as a useful basis for more detailed studies of the evolution of regulatory systems." (PNAS Early Edition, 22 Mai 2009)
The atherosclerosis vaccine development program by AFFiRiS AG is receiving financial support from the EU"s EUROTRANS-BIO call. The respective project is being carried out in cooperation with German company EMC microcollections GmbH. The aim of atherosclerosis vaccination is to increase the amount of "good" high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) in the blood and thus reduce the occurrence of harmful fatty deposits in the arteries. Product candidates were delivered by AFFiRiS" AFFITOME(R) platform technology. The target is a protein known as CETP (cholesteryl ester transfer protein). Following vaccines for Alzheimer"s disease and Parkinson"s disease, the atherosclerosis vaccine is the third such project announced by AFFiRiS AG.
Deaths of children aged under five years have dropped by 27% globally since 1990, according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) estimates. But in WHO"s first progress report on the health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) released today in the World.
More people in the Atlanta area and across the U.S. are delaying pregnancy in a possible reaction to the current economic recession, leading to a decline in the number of couples seeking infertility treatments, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. According to the Journal-Constitution, 13 states saw a decrease in the number of recorded births in 2008 compared with 2007. The Georgia Hospital Association reports that there were 5,352 fewer recorded births in Georgia in 2008 than in 2007. Mark Perloe of Georgia Reproductive Specialists said there has been a 20% decline in the number of people seeking infertility services. To retain business during the economic downturn, Perloe said Georgia Reproductive Specialists is offering a discount on select services of as much as 70%.Elisabeth Burgess, a Georgia State University sociology professor who focuses on families, said, "In times of economic downturns, different people react in different ways." For some people, "[f]amily becomes more important, so you might decide to have a child." The Journal-Constitution reports that one cycle of treatment can cost $15,000 or more, which some people pay for through credit, retirement savings or home equity loans. Evelina Sterling, co-author of a book on budgeting finances for infertility treatments, said that 70% of infertility patients cover the costs of the treatments completely out of pocket. She added that some older infertility patients "can"t wait on" the economy to recover to start a family.Carol Hogue, a professor of maternal and child health at Emory University, said there has been a "very predictable" pattern of reduced births during periods of economic recessions dating back to the Great Depression. The Journal-Constitution reports that some people delay planned pregnancy because of concerns over job security, health insurance, income and the cost of raising a child. Statistics from USDA show that the average middle-class family will pay $11,000 to raise a child in the first year, with the largest portion of that cost going to child care. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported in 2007 -- the latest year for which data are available -- that prenatal care and routine delivery costs about $7,600 after insurance (Cash, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/24).
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced results of a study showing that coadministration of the ADHD medication VYVANSE® (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) CII with the proton pump inhibitor (PPI) Prilosec OTC® 40 mg (20 mg X 2), did not alter the median time it took for maximum plasma concentration of d-amphetamine to be reached in the subjects evaluated. In the same study, coadministration of Prilosec OTC with ADDERALL XR resulted in a nearly 45 percent reduction in the median time to reach maximum plasma concentrations of amphetamine, the active medication. Other pharmacokinetic parameters (maximum plasma concentration and area under curve) of active medication were not altered for either VYVANSE or ADDERALL XR when coadministered with Prilosec OTC. This study, which is the first to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of VYVANSE and ADDERALL XR taken alone and with Prilosec OTC 40 mg, was recently presented at the International Congress on Clinical Pharmacy, co-sponsored by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), in Orlando, FL.
The Australian Medical Students" Association (AMSA) is pleased that a significant proportion of the limited
Promoting physical activity during Girl Scout meetings can be an effective way for young girls to get the exercise they need to be healthy, according to a study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine"s 56th Annual Meeting in Seattle.
When scientist Loretta Mayer set out to alleviate diseases associated with menopause, she didn"t realize her work could lead to addressing world hunger and feeding hundreds of millions of people.
Triage technology comes with a Star Trek twist, at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security"s Science & Technology Directorate (DHS S&T).
The California Medical Association praised state lawmakers for ordering an audit of Medi-Cal"s costly Treatment Authorization Request (TAR) process today and said the state should streamline the program and use the savings to pay for health care for children.
When Chicago Blackhawk"s leading scorer Martin Havlat returned to the ice for game four of the Western Conference Final after sustaining a concussion only two days earlier, questions were raised surrounding his swift return. According to a new study by St. Michael"s Hospital neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Cusimano, similar questions were raised by 25% of minor league hockey players who did not know if an athlete with symptoms of a concussion should continue to play hockey. Nearly a majority of these players were also unable to identify a concussion or its related symptoms.
Our brain is wired to identify gender based on facial cues and coloring, according to a new study published in the Journal of Vision. Psychology Professor Frçİdçİric Gosselin and his Universitçİ de Montrçİal team found the luminescence of the eyebrow and mouth region is vital in rapid gender discrimination.
Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted infected caused by HSV (herpes simplex virus). This virus affects the genitals, the cervix, as well as the skin in other parts of the body. There are two types of herpes simplex viruses: a) HSVp1, or Herpes Type 1, and b) HSV-2, or Herpes Type 2.
The most reliable method of diagnosing gout is to aspirate the joint in order to obtain fluid to verify the presence of monosodium urate crystals (uric acid). Up to now, computed tomography (CT) has played a limited role in the evaluation of gout, since conventional CT systems cannot reliably verify deposits of uric acid. However, a current study at the Vancouver General Hospital in Canada gives rise to speculation that dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) could radically change the diagnosis of this disease. DECT enables fast, noninvasive examinations and, based on initial evaluations, has the potential to surpass the invasive gold standard and clinical examination in terms of reliability. Investigations have confirmed the high sensitivity of the DECT method in detecting uric acid deposits. The Canadian scientists used the SOMATOM Definition computed tomography (CT scanner) from Siemens for their investigation. This system is the only CT scanner worldwide that features two X-ray tubes capable of simultaneously producing different energies.
Elderly people who live below the poverty line and perceive their neighborhoods to be dangerous are more likely to have a mobility disability. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health suggest that even perceiving one"s neighborhood as unsafe can "get into the body" and, ultimately, prove hazardous for elder health.
That"s one conclusion from a new study that looked at how virulence evolves in parasites. The research examined whether parasites evolve to be more or less aggressive depending on whether they are closely connected to their hosts or scattered among more isolated clusters of hosts.
A recent study finds that the antidepressant effects of drugs like Prozac involve both neurogenesis-dependent and -independent mechanisms, a finding that may lead to development of better treatments for depression and anxiety. The research, published by Cell Press in the May 28th issue of the journal Neuron, utilizes a new experimental mouse model of depression/anxiety that is the first to permit simultaneous examination of multiple effects of antidepressant treatment in the same animal.
Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust has "gone-live" with Horizon Enterprise Visibility; a visual control system designed specifically for hospitals, from healthcare IT solutions and services specialists, McKesson. Via real-time access to patient information, Walsall will be using Horizon Enterprise Visibility to improve re efficiency and bed utilisation to reduce costs and improve the quality of patient care.