Cardiovascular
A group of researchers at Johns Hopkins University has designed nanoparticles that can carry cancer-treating radioisotopes through the body and deliver them selectively to tumors. Today in Anaheim, CA, they will report the latest results of their research, including studies in animal models, at the 51st meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM).
Two people with the same kind of cancer who receive the exact same treatment may nevertheless have different chances of their tumors coming back years later. Now a team of scientists has developed a computer model that predicts cancer recurrence in an individual based on how her tumor changes size in response to the first rounds of radiation therapy.
A health care reform proposal that would allow employers and insurers to give large discounts to employees who lose weight or lower their cholesterol is facing push back from several groups worried about premium disparities, Kaiser Health News reports.
Victorian researchers have developed a wristwatch that continuously monitors the health status of people with Parkinson"s disease to help doctors manage their treatment, Victorian Minister for Innovation Gavin Jennings said today.
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.
New research supports the findings of a landmark drug comparison study published in 2002 in which a diuretic drug or "water pill" outperformed other medications for high blood pressure. A scientific team including investigators from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston reports the findings in the May 11 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Researchers have identified MEK4 as a pro-invasion protein and the target for genistein, a dietary compound, in prostate cancer cells, according to a new study published online July 28 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Teenagers whose mothers have mental health impairments are likely to suffer behavioural problems, UQ research has found.
Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics that modulate the growth of cells and tissues including red blood cells, bone and muscle, and Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) announced the initiation of a second Phase 2 clinical study of ACE-011. This Phase 2 clinical trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study designed to evaluate the potential of ACE-011 to treat chemotherapy-induced anemia in patients with metastatic breast cancer. ACE-011 is a novel therapeutic agent that has been shown to increase levels of red blood cells and hemoglobin and stimulate new bone formation. ACE-011 works through a novel mechanism by inhibiting certain members of the TGF-beta superfamily while potentially avoiding the erythropoietin pathway.
A shortage of primary care physicians in California "is driving community clinics to find innovate ways" to provide care to an increasingly linguistically and culturally diverse patient population, New America Media reports. According to New America Media, primary care physicians are in short supply nationwide because many medical students are pursuing more lucrative specialty fields that have higher reimbursement rates. Marty Lynch -- executive director of LifeLong Medical Care, a not-for-profit primary health care facility that operates nine health centers in Berkeley, Oakland and Marin County -- said he has tried unsuccessfully to hire minority primary care physicians and nurses. Lynch said it is "very difficult to find primary care providers" to provide care for minorities. Meanwhile, the demand for health services is on the rise, Jane Garcia, CEO of La Clinica de la Raza, said. The clinic has provided health services in the Bay Area at 27 satellite clinics for 38 years.The clinic for the last two years has partnered with neighboring community colleges to train medical assistants to work at their clinics to meet demand for diverse staff. "We"re training our own community members," Garcia said. She added that in the current economy, the "silver lining" is that "health care is one of the few sectors that more people will be choosing careers in" (Sundaram, New America Media, 5/18).
Retroviruses such as HIV that are already within cells are much more easily transmitted when they are next to uninfected cells than if they are floating free in the bloodstream.
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.
Pediatric researchers have found that a gene previously shown to be involved in the development of type 2 diabetes also predisposes children to having a lower birth weight. The finding sheds light on a possible genetic influence on how prenatal events may set the stage for developing diabetes in later childhood or adulthood.
Scientists in New York and North Carolina are reporting assembly of the first functioning prototype of an artificial Golgi organelle. That key structure inside cells helps process and package hormones, enzymes, and other substances that allow the body to function normally. The lab-on-a-chip device could lead to a faster and safer method for producing heparin, the widely used anticoagulant or blood thinner, the researchers note. Their study is scheduled for the Aug. 12 issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a weekly publication.
Amnesty International on Monday launched a campaign to repeal a 2006 Nicaraguan law that bans abortion procedures in all circumstances, including rape, incest or danger to the woman"s life, the Los Angeles Times reports. The group said the law is a violation of human rights and has increased maternal deaths. According to a new Amnesty International report, the law puts Nicaragua among the 3% of nations that do not allow abortion under any circumstances. According to the Times, Nicaragua has one of Latin America"s highest rates of sexual violence, and much of the abuse is perpetrated by fathers, uncles or other relatives.According to the report, at least half of reported rapes are of minors, and most of those who become pregnant are younger than age 15. Citing statistics from the Nicaraguan Health Ministry, the report found that 33 women and girls died from pregnancy-related complications in the first 19 weeks of this year, and 20 died in the same period in 2008. The report adds that the real numbers likely are much higher.Kate Gilmore, executive deputy secretary-general of Amnesty International, said, "A festering, debilitating human rights situation (is) bringing grave fear, threat, harm and even death to Nicaragua"s girl children and women." Leonel Arguello, president of the Nicaraguan Society of General Medicine, said, "Not being allowed to do everything to save your patient goes against medical ethics." He added that many physicians decline to treat pregnant women in obstetric emergencies or delay treatment because they fear breaking the law. The law includes penalties of eight years in prison for women who have abortions or physicians who provide the procedure.According to the Times, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega expressed support for the law during the 2006 election season to gain support of the Roman Catholic Church and return to power. The ban ended a 100-year-old exception that had allowed abortion when the woman"s health was at risk. Gilmore said that Ortega refused to meet with Amnesty International officials to discuss the report. In addition, the health minister dismissed the group"s findings of a growing mortality rate among pregnant women as unfounded (Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 7/28).
First, Make No Mistakes The New York Times
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and ranking member, Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), on Tuesday "introduced a bill to overhaul the U.S. system for providing global development aid," the Boston Globe reports (Smith, 7/29). The legislation was also introduced by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), according to a release from Menendez"s office (7/28).
China"s Deputy Health Minister Yin Li on Tuesday said that public health cooperation between China and the U.S. can improve the health of both countries and be strategically significant to world peace and development, Xinhua/China View reports (7/29).
"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).
At the 3rd Inter-Country Certification Committee Meeting -- where policymakers and experts from South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, the WHO and UNICEF gathered to address issues surrounding polio -- the WHO"s Nicholas Eseko lauded all three countries for becoming and staying polio free, according to BuaNews. He also encouraged them to remain committed to keeping the disease at bay: "Although the number of endemic countries has significantly dropped from 125 to four, some of the previously free countries in our neighbourhood have been re-infected in recent years, therefore posing a very real risk to our children" (Khumalo, 7/27).
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiled the Girlfriends Project, a domestic violence and HIV/AIDS education program implemented by the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force that targets at-risk black women in three Allegheny County, Pa., cities. Blacks "comprise just 7 percent of the total population in southwestern Pennsylvania but 41 percent of those living with HIV/AIDS, according to Allegheny County Health Department statistics provided by the task force," the Post-Gazette reports. "The Girlfriends Project was designed for Braddock, Clairton and Duquesne "because we knew nobody was doing outreach there," project coordinator, Lisa Dukes, said. As part of the project, Dukes hosts Tupperware party-style gatherings in homes of residents where she provides HIV testing and education, sexual health information, safe sex products and cash gift cards. The project is an outgrowth of the CDC"s prevention program Sisters Informing Sisters About Topics on AIDS, or SISTA, and has been so successful that CDC "has asked the task force to introduce it at the CDC"s 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta Aug. 23," the article states (Smith, 7/29).
The American Nurses Association (ANA) and the International
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has called for clarification of the responsible pharmacist requirements but will not be asking the Department of Health to amend the commencement date of the regulations.
New research has uncovered an early disruption in the process of memory formation in older humans who exhibit some early brain changes associated with Alzheimer"s disease (AD) but show little or no memory impairment. The work, published by Cell Press in the July 30th issue of the journal Neuron, sheds light on the role of amyloid protein in memory impairment and may lead to development of strategies for predicting and treating cognitive decline in individuals who are at-risk for AD.
Rates of severe childhood obesity have tripled in the last 25 years, putting many children at risk for diabetes and heart disease, according to a report in Academic Pediatrics by an obesity expert at Brenner Children"s Hospital, part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
A year ago, a study by Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University researchers reported that fewer than half the patients previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder received an actual diagnosis of bipolar disorder after using a comprehensive, psychiatric diagnostic interview tool -- the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). In this follow-up study, the researchers have determined the actual diagnoses of those patients. Their study is published in the July 28 ahead of print online edition of The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
[Is ambulance telephone triage using advanced medical priority despatch protocols able to identify patients with acute stroke correctly? Emerg Med J 2009; 26: 442-5]
A research article in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. This research led by Professor Kim and his colleagues in Pusan National University, South Korea. They evaluated the EUS features of gastric GISTs in comparison with gastric leiomyomas, and tried to determine the EUS features that could predict the malignant potential of gastric GISTs according to the histological risk classification.
Many experimental studies have found that physical exercise can improve cholesterol levels and subsequently decrease the risks of cardiovascular disease; however, few of these studies have included enough participant diversity to provide ethnic breakdowns. Now, a long-term study of over 8,700 middle-aged men and women provides race- and gender- specific data on the cholesterol effects of physical activity, with the interesting result that women, particularly African-American women, experience greater benefits as a result of exercise than men.
Breast cancer patients have for the first time been recruited from China to take part in an international trial of breast radiotherapy.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget urges policymakers to make controlling health care cost growth the focus of health care reform (see Principle #1: Slowing Health Care Cost Growth ).
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Australian Association of Practice Managers (AAPM) will work together to promote the speciality area of management in general practice. The three year partnership will focus on enhancing management in general practice to deliver better health care outcomes for patients.
VisEn Medical Inc., a leader in fluorescence in vivo imaging from research through medicine, announced that scientists reporting in the July 31 issue of SCIENCE have discovered a key disease-related biologic pathway using an integrated and innovative array of in vitro readouts and advanced in vivo imaging technologies. The newly reported biologic pathway relates to monocyte deployment from the spleen to inflammatory sites, including myocardial infarction. The findings are expected to open up new areas of research and potentially advance therapeutic approaches to key disease areas including inflammation and myocardial injury.
OmniComm Systems, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: OMCM), a leader in integrated electronic data capture (EDC) solutions for clinical trials announced that a growing US Clinical Research Organization (CRO) has selected OmniComm to provide eClinical solutions in connection with two of the CRO"s Phase IV studies covering approximately 27 sites and more than 700 subjects. Additional details were not disclosed. Phase IV studies take place after a drug has been approved for marketing and are designed to provide broader experience in evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the new medicine in larger numbers of patients, subpopulations of patients, and to compare and/or combine it with other available treatments.
An estimated 428,000 residents in New Mexico could lose their private, employer-based coverage if Congress passes a House health reform bill, according to state-specific analysis of The American Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 released this week by The Heritage Foundation.
Doing something unusual, like knocking on wood or patting yourself on the head, while taking a daily dose of medicine may be an effective strategy to help seniors remember whether they"ve already taken their daily medications, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.
Oxoid, a world leading microbiology brand, is pleased to announce that the next Oxoid Infection Control Seminar will take place on 02 June 2009 at The Belfry, West Midlands, UK. This all-day event is completely free of charge and is provided as an educational service to consultant microbiologists, laboratory managers/personnel and infection control professionals.
Doctors" leaders are warning that unless urgent action is taken to plug the gap in the shortage of middle grade doctors, the NHS in Wales could become unsafe both for staff and patients.
With just days to go before the implementation of the 48-hour working week for junior doctors, the BMA"s junior doctors" leader warns that not all of the NHS is prepared for the European Working Time Directive.
With the implementation of the 48-hour working week for workers throughout Europe, including doctors, on 1 August 2009, the BMA in Northern Ireland has said that it will insist that the health service must meet its obligations to implement the European Working Time Directive (EWTD).
The White House says opponents of the President"s health care reform effort are misrepresenting parts of the House and Senate legislation including a provision on end-of-life care. Critics say they fear health care reform could lead to excessive government intervention in end-of-life issues.
South Africa"s Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor on Tuesday announced a government-sponsored research initiative that "aims to combat HIV and AIDS through scientific and technological research, the development of new drugs, diagnostic tests and vaccines," SAPA/IOL reports (7/28). "[K]ey focus areas" of the South Africa HIV/AIDS Research and Innovation Platform (SHARP) will be prevention and therapeutics, according to BuaNews (7/28).
The New York Times examines a Doctors Without Borders pilot program to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis in South Africa that allows patients to stay in their homes rather than be isolated in hospital during treatment. The program, which is supported by the city of Cape Town and the Western Cape Province, aims to "show that such patients can be successfully treated in an impoverished community ò€¦ even while they are still infectious," the New York Times writes.
The Canadian Lung Association expressed disappointment in federal Health Committee Chair Joy Smith"s stance on the issue of Air Canada and WestJet"s policy to allow pets to travel in the passenger cabin of airplanes. The Lung Association launched an online campaign for pet-free flights in July following the decision by Air Canada to join WestJet in offering pet-free flights, despite the serious risks it presents to passengers and crew with asthma, COPD and severe animal allergies.
Shire plc announced that a study published online in the peer-reviewed journal Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health found once-daily Vyvanse® (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) CII significantly reduced the symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children aged 6 to 12 from the first time point measured (1.5 hours) up to the last time point assessed (13 hours) after administration. In this pediatric analog classroom study, treatment with Vyvanse was associated with significant improvement in behavior and attention in children at each time point measured, with improvement at 13 hours after administration.
The Physicians Coalition for Injectable Safety issued a consumer warning about carboxytherapy and mesotherapy injections. These products, touting everything from cellulite treatment to weight loss are not FDA approved, and do not have clinical data that demonstrates results or safety.
Physicians can and should play a leading role in achieving health care reform by working towards comprehensive reform of the way health care is paid for and delivered, helping achieve a guaranteed 1.5 percent annual savings in health care costs that would pay for covering all Americans, according to a New England Journal of Medicine Perspective piece published online.
Doctors are being reminded to contact the GMC with their licensing decision through an advertising campaign launched yesterday, 1 August. Adverts will appear in the medical trade press throughout the first half of August as a final push to encourage doctors to respond to the GMC.
Pregnant women have a higher incidence of insufficient amniotic fluid levels (oligohydramnios) in the summer months due to dehydration, according to a study conducted by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU).
Patients with developmental disabilities such as Down syndrome or cerebral palsy will benefit from a new online learning activity launched today by The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) to assist GPs to navigate the complex area of developmental disability.
Older breast cancer patients are not receiving a full range of treatment options, according to a report published in the British Journal of Cancer.
A study by Kansas State University researchers is looking at how children perceive and interact with peers who have various undesirable characteristics, such as being overweight or aggressive.
Cancer researchers at Georgetown University"s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center have successfully tested a small, engineered antibody they say shuts down growth of human glioblastoma tumors in cell and animal studies. Glioblastoma is the deadliest of brain cancers; there is no effective treatment.
Hopkins experts in applied physics, computer engineering, infectious diseases, emergency medicine, microbiology, pathology and surgery have unveiled a 7-foot-tall, $10,000 shower-cubicle-shaped device that automatically sanitizes in 30 minutes all sorts of hard-to-clean equipment in the highly trafficked hospital emergency department. The novel device can sanitize and disinfect equipment of all shapes and sizes, from intravenous line poles and blood pressure cuffs, to pulse oximeter wires and electrocardiogram (EKG) wires, to computer keyboards and cellphones.
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced new findings on INTUNIV (guanfacine) extended release, a selective alpha-2A-agonist, at a major psychiatric meeting. This randomized placebo controlled trial met its primary objective, which was to evaluate the effects of INTUNIV on oppositional symptoms in children aged 6 to 12 years with a diagnosis of ADHD and the presence of oppositional symptoms. The data presented today on this investigational compound reviewed secondary efficacy measures from three different rating scales.
With the health care debate heating up in Washington, and with no apparent solution in sight, it has been suggested that America might want to take a page from the Swiss playbook.
Family service agencies are missing huge opportunities to help children by focusing only on mothers and ignoring fathers, according to a groundbreaking study by some of the nation"s top family and child development researchers.
Merck & Co., Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an expanded indication for ISENTRESS®. The broadened indication now includes use in the treatment of adult patients starting HIV-1 therapy for the first time (treatment-naïve), as well as in treatment-experienced adult patients. ISENTRESS is used in combination with other antiretroviral (ARV) medicines for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adult patients. The indication for ISENTRESS is based on analyses of plasma HIV-1 RNA levels through 48 weeks in three double-blind controlled studies. Two of these studies were conducted in clinically advanced, 3-class antiretroviral (NNRT, NRTI, PI) treatment-experienced adults and one was conducted in treatment-naïve adults. The safety and efficacy of ISENTRESS have not been established in pediatric patients. The use of other active agents with ISENTRESS is associated with a greater likelihood of treatment response.
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved its fiscal year 2010 spending bill (HR 3293) for health, education and labor programs, CQ Today reports. The bill does not include funding for abstinence-only sex education, instead providing $104.5 million for a comprehensive "Teen Pregnancy Prevention" program. The recently passed House version of the bill takes a similar approach, according to CQ Today.The committee voted 29-1 to approve the $730 billion bill, with abstinence-only advocate Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) being the sole opponent (Wolfe, CQ Today, 7/30).In related news, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) in the FY 2010 spending bill did not request funding for abstinence-only sex education programs in his home state, despite routinely requesting such funds as a Republican, CQ Politics reports.When he was a Republican, Specter sponsored 22 earmarks totaling $550,000 for abstinence-only programs in the FY 2009 version of the bill. Specter"s aides said that he wanted to focus earmark requests on hospitals and universities in the FY 2010 version of the bill. However, the "likely" explanation for the absence of abstinence-only earmark requests is the senator"s 2009 switch to the Democratic Party, which often advocates for comprehensive sex education programs as a way to reduce teen pregnancy, CQ Politics reports (Clarke, CQ Politics, 7/29).
Rush University Medical Center has opened the first multidisciplinary center in the Midwest for the treatment of asthma, addressing a chronic respiratory disease that affects 22 million Americans, including 6 million children.
Intrauterine devices "seem like the perfect form of contraception: simple to use, long-lasting, reversible, hormone-free, economical," Slate columnist Kate Klonick writes. She asks, "So why are American women so late to this party? Perhaps the better question is: Why did they leave the party to begin with?"Klonick explains the benefits of IUDs, calling them a "foolproof method of birth control" and noting that they are 99% effective and "can last up to 10 years." Although IUDs can cost between $300 and $500, it is a one-time expense that is often covered by insurance, according to Klonick. She notes that although efficacy studies show that birth control pills, patches and vaginal rings can be "99% effective in a clinical setting, real-life compliancy -- like forgetting to take the pill at the same time every day -- reduces its success rate." Klonick adds that the availability of hormone-free IUDs makes them an "ideal" option for "women prone to some of the negative effects of hormonal birth control, like weight gain, mood swings, acne or high blood pressure."According to Klonick, IUDs were used by almost 10% of U.S. women taking birth control in the late 1970s but are now used by less than 2% of such women. She writes that Katharine O"Connell, a gynecologist at Columbia University who specializes in contraception, believes IUDs still carry a stigma "due to the erroneous belief that they"re highly dangerous" partly due to a number of deaths that occurred in the early 1970s tied to a specific brand of IUD known as the Dalkon Shield. Because of bad publicity surrounding the devices, "the U.S. pharmaceutical industry abandoned the research and manufacturing of IUDs in the mid-1980s, claiming the devices were no longer profitable," Klonick states. According to O"Connell, most experts now agree that the Dalkon Shield"s problems were related to its design, which made users more susceptible to infection, and a lack of testing for sexually transmitted infections before insertion.There are now two major brands of IUDs -- Mirena and ParaGard -- on the U.S. market, but physican training remains a problem, according to Klonick. She writes that studies show that premedical students are not educated regarding IUDs to the extent they are about oral contraceptive pills. O"Connell also noted that many medical schools limit classes on contraception to one lecture, which often omits IUDs. Klonick writes, "This lack of training can leave many doctors feeling uncomfortable recommending the once-controversial devices to their patients." She adds that many physicians who know how to insert and remove IUDs "still refuse to recommend it to childless patients because of the device"s checkered history." She concludes, "With Mirena advertising on television, the downturn in the economy forcing people to economize, and more women concerned about the long-term effects hormones have on their bodies, perhaps the IUD"s stigma will finally become a thing of the past" (Klonick, Slate, 7/29).
San Francisco area HIV/AIDS organizations are urging lawmakers to restore millions of dollars in funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs that were cut from the California budget by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) this week, KCBS.com reports. "The governor has removed a substantial amount of our capacity to make sure that people know their HIV status," Dana Van Gorder of Project Inform said, adding "Services that are keeping people who are already HIV positive healthy will be reduced with a major impact on their health." A rally is planned to take place next week at the state building in San Francisco to protest the cuts, according to the article (7/30). David Brinkman of the Desert AIDS Project in Palm Springs, "says the budget cuts are literally a matter of life and death," KESQ.com reports. The Desert AIDS Project is hoping that planned fundraising will temporarily offset the cuts to services in the Palm Springs area (Diaz, 7/30).
A study, "Prenatal Origins of Poor Sleep in Children," in the Aug.1 issue of the journal SLEEP found that alcohol consumption during pregnancy and small body size at birth predict poorer sleep and higher risk of sleep disturbances in 8-year-old children born at term. Findings are clinically significant, as poor sleep and sleep disturbances in children are associated with obesity, depressive symptoms, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and poor neurobehavioral functioning.
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.
The human eye lens consists of a highly concentrated mix of several proteins. Protective proteins prevent these proteins from aggregating and clumping. If this protective function fails, the lens blurs and the patient develops cataracts. Two research groups at the Department of Chemistry of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have succeeded in explaining the molecular architecture of this kind of protective protein. Their findings, which are published online in the current early edition of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), shed new light on the work of these proteins and may be able to help in the development of new treatments.
The ghrelin hormone not only stimulates the brain giving rise to an increase in appetite, but also favours the accumulation of lipids in visceral fatty tissue, located in the abdominal zone and considered to be the most harmful. This is the conclusion of research undertaken at Metabolic Research Laboratory of the University Hospital of Navarra, published recently in the International Journal of Obesity.
Taking opioid drugs without a prescription appears relatively common among high school seniors, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The most common reasons survey respondents gave for taking the medications included relaxation, feeling good or getting high, experimentation and pain relief.
Physicians should recommend low to moderate levels of exercise to their pregnant patients, even if they have not exercised prior to pregnancy, states a report published in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS). According to this review article, exercise can strengthen and improve overall musculoskeletal and physiologic health as well as pregnancy related symptoms. Exercise such as aerobics, impact and nonimpact activities, resistance training and swimming:
Oxygen levels while flying are substantially less than at ground level. Current guidelines for in-flight oxygen levels are sufficient to support the needs of passengers with non-obstructed lung disease. According to two articles published in the Wiley-Blackwell journal, Respirology, commercial air travel appears to be safe for patients with lung disease as the current policies for the in-flight oxygen levels and availability of supplemental oxygen can adequately accommodate passenger"s needs.
Hard to Treat Diseases, Inc. (HTDS:PK), announced that researchers in its Slavica BioChem division have reported results on experiments in which the potential beneficial effects of Hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO) after traumatic brain injury have been explored. These experiments were conducted in collaboration with doctors from the Hyperbaric Medical Center, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia.
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.
"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).
A former Clinton administration official said last week that there aren"t enough doctors in America to handle the increase in patients if health reform covers more uninsured, NPR reports.
A new deal to balance California"s budget may have serious repercussions for the health of the state"s children, while South Carolina grapples with health cuts of its own. Meanwhile, New Jersey may become one of the first states to publically disclose hospital errors.
A Wilmington News Journal editorial discussed the potential lifting of the ban on using federal funding for needle exchange programs. The editorial notes recent Congressional action and the restrictions in a House bill that prohibit needle exchanges to operate "within a 1,000 feet of day care centers, schools, parks, playgrounds, pools and youth centers." According to the News Journal, "This rule wipes out much of the flexibility many cities need in their fight to prevent the spread of HIV among intravenous drug users. The nation"s capital, where the rates of HIV and AIDS cases are considered epidemic, would be hit the hardest because no part of the District of Columbia would be eligible for the funding according to AIDS Action." The editorial adds, "Vans patrolling near vulnerable populations - specifically young, impressionable children - are an issue that must be addressed. But well-intentioned limits should not be allowed to hold up the rest of the program," according to the News Journal (8/1).
UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman, who visited Nigeria to launch the country"s first ever National Child Health Week, said an unacceptably high number of children in the country are dying from preventable diseases, and she called on Nigerian government officials to provide integrated healthcare, Xinhua reports (8/3).
Francis Collins, President Obama"s pick to head NIH, and Regina Benjamin, Obama"s surgeon general nominee, have spoken publicly about their religious beliefs but also have expressed views on issues such as embryonic stem cell research that conflict with church teachings, USA Today reports. Collins, who headed the Human Genome Project, is an evangelical Christian who supports the use of human embryonic stem cells in some medical research. Focus on the Family in a newsletter lauded Obama"s choice of an evangelical to lead NIH but said that abortion-rights opponents cannot support Collins" views, "particularly since he supports destructive human embryonic stem cell research."Benjamin is a Roman Catholic and sits on the board of the Catholic Health Association. She also is active in her local church and received a papal medal in 2006. According to USA Today, Catholic leaders from her native state of Alabama say they have not heard Benjamin voice support for abortion rights. The Bayou La Batre, La., medical clinic that she oversees does not perform abortions. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, initially expressed support for Benjamin"s nomination, saying, "Her tireless and selfless efforts are a model for all physicians." He later said that he opposes any possible support she might give "mandated abortion coverage" in health reform.The White House has said that Benjamin agrees with Obama "on reproductive issues." Retired archbishop Oscar Lipscomb, who nominated Benjamin for the papal medal, said, "She is a practicing Catholic and faithful and, to the best of my knowledge, in all those questions that have arisen so far, there has never been a conflict in her practice and in her conversation with regard to what the church expects of medical practitioners." Former Surgeon General David Satcher, who taught Benjamin at Morehouse School of Medicine, said, "While the religion of the surgeon general may very well influence his or her ... approach, the message has to be the public health science," adding, "It"s not a religious message. It"s a public health science message."Emilie Townes, associate dean of academic affairs for Yale Divinity School, said that Obama"s choices represent his aim to "break the mold" of traditional politics, adding that Collins and Benjamin are examples of "big tent" evangelicalism and Catholicism (Banks, USA Today, 8/3).
North Dakota Judge Douglas Herman failed to issue a temporary injunction on Thursday to prevent a state law from going into effect that requires abortion clinics to offer women the chance to view ultrasound images 24 hours prior to obtaining an abortion, the AP/Bismarck Tribune reports. Judge Herman promised to issue an opinion "as soon as possible" on the constitutional challenge to the state law, which is set to take effect on Aug. 1. The Center for Reproductive Rights filed the challenge, arguing that it creates an unnecessary burden on a woman"s right to an abortion.The group also said that a provision in the law is confusing and that the state"s only abortion provider is unsure how to comply. According to the AP/Tribune, the provision in question reads: "The auscultation of the fetal heart tone must be of a quality consistent with standard medical practice in the community." Suzanne Stolz, an attorney for CRR, said the bill"s language could require the Red River Women"s Clinic -- the only abortion clinic in the state -- to offer women the chance to hear audio of the fetal heartbeat in addition to the ultrasound image. She added that the clinic "cannot afford to guess what the law means and hope that it is right."Assistant Attorney General Douglas Bahr said that the law requires the clinic only to offer the option of an ultrasound, not provide one. He added that most people understand that an ultrasound includes both images and audio and that he does not "know why the clinic doesn"t feel it can offer this to the patient." Cass County state"s attorney Birch Burdick, a co-counsel with Bahr, said that although some of the language in the law is "a little confusing," he would not prosecute clinic officials if they make an attempt to apply the law until the judge rules.Tammi Kromenaker, the director of the clinic, said, "We"re disappointed that we did not get an injunction today but we felt that some of our questions were answered," adding that the clinics had offered women the option of viewing an ultrasound for the last 18 months (Kolpack, AP/Bismarck Tribune, 7/31).
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.
Responding to the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee (IUSS) report on "Students and Universities" Professor Paul Wellings, Chair of the 1994 Group of leading research intensive universities and Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University said:
Anorexic patients drastically reduce food intake and are often not capable of changing their behavior. This can lead to life-threatening weight loss. Using MRI technology, scientists at Heidelberg University Hospital have discovered for the first time processes in brain metabolism that explain this disturbed eating behavior.
Scientists at Leeds and Bradford have discovered a unique "DNA signature" in human sperm, which may act as a key that unlocks an egg"s fertility and triggers new life.
Almost all organisms evolve from a single cell, a fertilised egg. In the first hours after fertilisation, the fate of its future development is determined. It is dictated by the separation of cells that will become sperm and ovules - germ cells-, from the remaining cells, which will be responsible for forming the body - organs and tissues -, and that comprise the somatic cell line. Scientists at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), headed by Jordi Casanova, research professor at CSIC, have identified the mechanism that protects somatic cells against the behaviour of germ cells. When this mechanism fails, the embryo dies. Made in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, this finding could be universal. This research was published yesterday in the advanced online edition of EMBO Reports.
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology researchers studying an enzyme believed to play a role in allergy onset, instead have discovered its previously unknown role as a tumor suppressor that may be important in myeloproliferative diseases and some types of lymphoma and leukemia. Myeloproliferative diseases are a group of disorders characterized by an overproduction of blood cells by the bone marrow and include chronic myeloid leukemia. Lymphoma and leukemia are cancers of the blood.
The world"s top lung cancer specialists, medical professionals and researchers are convening this week in San Francisco, CA for the 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC), organized by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). As non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most common types of lung cancer affecting a heterogeneous population, researchers have focused on multi-modality treatment regimens to improve patient outcomes. According to research showcased today at the WCLC, multi-modality, tailored treatment regimens increased patient survival rates compared to single-agent therapies.
One of the most bothersome symptoms of leukemia is extreme fatigue, and asking these patients to exercise doesn"t sound like a way to help them feel better.
Recent research has uncovered an unexpected vulnerability in deadly melanoma cells that, when exploited, can cause the cancer cells to turn against themselves. The study, published by Cell Press in the August issue of the journal Cancer Cell, identifies a new target for development of future therapeutics aimed at selectively eliminating this aggressive skin cancer which is characterized by a notoriously high rate of metastasis and treatment-resistance.
Small-scale farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America are
Kefir, one of the world"s oldest "health" drinks, did little to prevent diarrhea in young children being treated with antibiotics, say researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC), who tested the drink in a unique and rigorous double-blind clinical trial.
As the field of stem cell based therapies has progressed, there have been numerous questions about the exact way one of the most promising lines of adult stem cells works to repair damaged heart muscle. Although cells obtained from adult bone marrow are proving to be useful to treat heart disease, there has been a major controversy over whether they are true stem cells capable of forming new heart muscle.
Researchers have pinpointed a specific gene variation that causes increased risk of urinary bladder cancer, according to a scientific team led by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
DOR BioPharma, Inc., (OTC Bulletin Board: DORB) (DOR or the Company), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today that the Office of Orphan Products Development of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to Oral BDP (beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate, or orBec((R))) for the treatment of gastrointestinal symptoms associated with chronic Graft-versus-Host disease (cGVHD) in patients who have undergone allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.
Older adults who are subjected to abuse or self-neglect face a greater risk of premature death than other seniors, according to a study published in the August 5 issue of JAMA.
Divers who held their breath for several minutes had elevated levels of a protein that can signal brain damage, according to a new study from the Journal of Applied Physiology. However, the appearance of the protein, S100B, was transient and leaves open the question of whether lengthy apnea (breath-holding) can damage the brain over the long term.
The study of the neural basis of language has largely focused on regions in the cortex - the outer brain layers thought by many researchers to have expanded during human evolution. Research at Brown University"s Department of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, reported in the September Issue of Cortex, published by Elsevier, adds to evidence that deeper, subcortical regions are also critical by pinpointing when Parkinson"s disease patients have difficulty while processing grammatically complex sentences. In Parkinson"s disease, degeneration of subcortical dopamine-secreting neurons leads not only to motor symptoms but often also to cognitive deficits.
"Senate Democrats may decide to pass a U.S. health-care overhaul without Republican support if some opposition lawmakers don"t agree to a plan by mid-September," Senator Charles Schumer[ D-N.Y.] said" according to Bloomberg. Schumer said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., set a self-imposed deadline of Sept. 15 to lead a negotiating team, composed of three Republicans and three Democrats within his Finance Committee, to a bipartisan compromise.
"House liberals are offended that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) mocked their threats to oppose a Democratic healthcare bill, saying leaders are underestimating their frustration over a deal cut with centrist Blue Dogs," The Hill reports. "Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), co-chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, on Monday expressed outrage at the comments and said her group is being "laughed at." Woolsey is the author of a letter signed by 60 fellow House liberals vowing to vote against a deal cut with the Blue Dogs ... Woolsey said the signers of the letter plan to "remind leadership" of the group"s support for a "robust public option." "Robust" to liberals generally means similar to Medicare. Liberals are irritated leaders granted Blue Dogs" concessions that prevent the public option from using Medicare rates for reimbursement. They believe that will make care too expensive for many people" (Soraghan and Allen, 8/3).
Efforts to standardize quality measures for medical tourism are underway as Mexico tries to attract medical tourists. Such efforts come after the swine flu outbreak significantly hurt Mexico"s tourism industry, which ranks third as the country"s of foreign income
The Boston Public Health Commission has allocated $100,000 to a new campaign that uses social networking sites and other media outlets to raise sexual health awareness among teenagers, the Boston Globe reports. The city is facing increasing rates of sexually transmitted diseases among those age 15 to 19, according to the Globe. The new campaign will include educational videos featuring teenagers that will air on the MTV, FX and BET television networks; radio and mass transit advertisements; and theater performances. Facebook, YouTube and other social networking sites also will be used to reach teenagers with safer sex messages. Officials hope to address teenagers" "casual attitudes" toward sexually transmitted diseases, the Globe reports. Lydia Shrier, an adolescent medicine specialist at Children"s Hospital Boston, said teenagers might say ""Hey, I may get HIV, but it"s treatable and I"m going to live." It"s not a death sentence to them" (Smith, 8/4).
The 8th International Conference of Food Science and Technology will bring together more than 100 scientists from China and the United States to present a wealth of information on food quality and safety. Conference sessions will take place in Freeborn Hall on Wednesday and Wellman Hall on Thursday. Both venues are on the UC Davis campus.
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.
Specific changes in brain pathways may counteract genetic mutations for the movement disorder dystonia, according to new research in the August 5 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Few people who inherit dystonia genes display symptoms - namely sustained muscle contractions and involuntary gestures - and the study provides a possible explanation. This result could lead to new treatments for the estimated 500,000 North Americans diagnosed with dystonia.
The Mount Sinai Medical Center has a new re center for prostate cancer treatment. Led by David B. Samadi, M.D., Chief of the Division of Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery in the Department of Urology, the new state-of-the-art facility at 625 Madison Avenue in New York City specializes in pre- and post-surgery care for patients who undergo a robotic prostatectomy at Mount Sinai"s main campus. It also provides expertise in the treatment of other urologic cancers, including bladder and kidney. A multilingual staff offers assistance with patient travel arrangements, accommodations, and translation services when required.
Data presented on Sunday at the The International Society of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) in San Francisco highlight the screening of over 3,000 patients for MAGRIT (MAGE-A3 as Adjuvant Non-Small Cell LunG CanceR ImmunoTherapy)1, the largest-ever treatment trial in lung cancer. The rapid screening of patients into the MAGRIT trial is unprecedented given so few eligible lung cancer patients (less than 1% in the U.S.2) traditionally enter clinical trials and benefit from the potential hope of novel treatments.
AlburtyLab released a report on its comprehensive evaluation of health risks for workers in pharmacies using air pressure-activated drug dispensing machines. The study tested pharmacy workers wearing personal exposure monitors (PEMs) while using the two leading types of air pressure-activated dispensing technologies - the McKesson/Parata Max and the McKesson/Parata RDS. This is the third major study conducted by AlburtyLab examining the issues relating to pharmacy worker exposure.
Celera Corporation (NASDAQ:CRA) announced yesterday the presentation of data replicating its novel mass spectrometry-based approach to identify and validate circulating protein biomarkers that detect non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in an independent cohort of individuals with lung cancer. This study was performed in collaboration with scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center, NY. A key outcome of the study was the validation of a 9 biomarker immunoassay on a cohort of samples that is enriched for stage I disease, important for screening of early stage disease. The assay detected lung cancer with 92% sensitivity at 93% specificity. The panel also accurately distinguished malignant cases from benign lung disease. The data is being presented at the 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer as part of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) in San Francisco, CA.
People who inject drugs may be less likely to inject buprenorphine-naloxone than other opioid substitutes, according to the results of a recent study published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
Students and staff, among others in the profession, have the chance to make their views
Just ten hours of the right brain fitness exercises can have a significant and long lasting impact on healthcare costs and outcomes, according to a study recently published in BMC Health Services Research, a leading peer-reviewed health services journal.
NeurogesX, Inc. (Nasdaq: NGSX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel pain management therapies, announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date from August 16, 2009 to November 16, 2009 to review the new drug application (NDA) for Qutenza(TM) to manage pain associated with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).
As we all know from experience, people eat not only because they are hungry, but also because the food just simply tastes too good to pass up. Now, a new study in the August 6th Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, helps to explain how leptin, a hormone produced by fat tissue, influences that motivation to eat.
Washington, D.C., officials are planning to make testing for sexually transmitted infections available at all public high schools in the coming school year, adding D.C. to a growing list of cities that test students for STIs, the Washington Post reports. All 50 states and the district allow minors older than age 12 to be tested for STIs without parental consent.The new program requires all students to attend a lecture about STIs, after which they are escorted into restroom areas in groups of 15 to 20. They are then given paper bags with urine collection cups and go into the stalls, at which point they can decide whether to provide a sample. All students return the paper bags, regardless of whether they provided samples. Students give a password and can call a week later to receive their confidential results and, if necessary, treatment at the school or an STI clinic, which is paid for by the city. The district first offered the program two years ago at two charter schools, and eight high schools were included during the past school year.A 2007 study by the D.C. public school system found that 60% of high school students and 30% of middle school students reported having sex. According to the study, 20% of high school students reported having sex with four or more partners and 12% of middle school students reported having three or more partners.According to the D.C. Department of Health, the program at eight high schools last year found that 13% of 3,000 students tested positive for an STI, most commonly chlamydia or gonorrhea. Fifty percent of the chlamydia and gonorrhea cases in the district are among teenagers.According to the D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, the new program is an important step toward curbing the district"s HIV/AIDS rate, which is among the highest in the U.S. Walter Smith, executive director of D.C. Appleseed, said, "If 13% of these students are testing positive for [STIs], those same kids could get HIV," adding, "A lot needs to be done to get the message out to the schools, ... and this very high [STI] rate is an indication that what we"ve been doing is not effective" (Fears/Hernandez, Washington Post, 8/5).
President Obama and his Administration launched "a coordinated effort Tuesday to combat what it calls a "viral whisper campaign" against health reform, Politico reports. The effort "continued through the day with press secretary Robert Gibbs and Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse both saying a series of confrontational town hall meetings were manufactured by Republicans, conservative groups and lobbyists who are paid to drum up opposition."
"The increasingly heated fight over health-care legislation is saturating the summer airwaves, with groups on all sides of the debate pouring tens of millions of dollars into advertising campaigns designed to push the cause of reform forward, slow it down or stop it in its tracks," the Washington Post reports. So far, drug makers, labor groups, Democrats and Republicans - among others - have spent $52 million to finance the ad campaigns, a heady start that could lead to a "record-breaking legislative battle."
"As they work to overhaul the nation"s healthcare system, President Obama and his congressional allies have pledged to help small-business owners such as Rhonda Ealy and Kelli Glasser," The Los Angeles Times reports. "Both businesswomen desperately want help. But they have strongly divergent views about what Washington should do, reflecting a broader debate about how to relieve the burden on the nation"s roughly 6 million small businesses." Ealy owns a coffee roasting company in Bend, Ore. with 13 employees, she says she "loves a Democratic proposal to create a government-run insurance plan, which she hopes will allow her to get her employees better coverage for less." Glasser, who "makes museum and trade-show exhibits" and has 87 employees, "hates a separate provision in the legislation that would place a new requirement on many businesses to cover their employees."
USA Today reports that Medicare Advantage, which allows seniors to buy Medicare coverage through private insurance companies, could provide one of the largest spending cuts for Congress to pay for an overhaul of the health care system though "President Obama has called (it) a "wasteful" subsidy for the health insurance industry. ... Debate over Medicare Advantage, which has 10.2 million enrollees - about one-fifth of all Medicare participants - illustrates a broader struggle Congress and Obama face as they look for ways to pay for a $1 trillion overhaul of health care without raising taxes on the middle class or compromising care. It has raised concerns among some seniors who might have to pay more for the program or enroll in regular Medicare instead."
A team of US scientists has for the first time unravelled the entire genetic code of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, paving the way for a better understanding of how these types of viruses
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) have today published their
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.
Timberline Knolls, one of the country"s leaders in the treatment of eating disorders, is recognizing well-known tennis star, Monica Seles, for disclosing her history with an eating disorder in her new book Get a Grip. Ms. Seles" display of courage and candor has the potential to help many others who have similar struggles, especially young female athletes.
Altair Therapeutics, Inc., a privately-held, biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for respiratory diseases, reported results from its phase I study evaluating the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of its lead product, once-weekly inhaled AIR645, in healthy volunteers. AIR645 is a non-steroidal dual inhibitor of cellular responses to interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13, cytokines that play a critical role in development and progression of asthma, rhinitis and other allergic disorders. Results presented today at the 2009 International Conference of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) within the Mini-Symposium "New Treatment Approaches for Asthma and Allergy" showed that inhaled AIR645 was safe, well tolerated and had dose-dependent exposure in the airways. These results demonstrate the potential of AIR645 as a convenient once-weekly treatment for asthma and other respiratory disorders. Later this year, Altair plans to initiate a phase II efficacy study in patients with asthma.