Endocrinology
Simplexo Enterprise, an enterprise search tool, has been selected by Nottingham University to enable the retrieval of information across a five-year clinical trial by its Division of Stroke Medicine into the causes and effects of strokes. The trial team is gathering and analysing information from more than 500 patients and several governing bodies in over 20 countries, including the UK, the United States, China, India and Australia.
Hives are also known as urticaria, welts, wheals, or nettle rash. It is a red, raised, itchy skin rash that is sometimes triggered by something that produces an allergic reaction - an allergen. When there is an allergic reaction the body releases a protein called histamine. When histamine is released our capillaries (tiny blood vessels) leak fluid. The fluid accumulates in the skin and causes a rash.
Bayer Diabetes Care in the UK and Ireland today unveils "DIDGET(TM), the
Doctors at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center-Markey Cancer Center compared symptom analysis to ultrasound in predicting ovarian cancer. They selected 272 women participating in annual trans-vaginal screening (TVS) from 31,748 women enrolled in a free screening project at the university, comparing symptom results to ultrasound and surgical pathology findings.
Current research is inconclusive regarding the relationship between alcohol consumption and prostate cancer risk. Researchers led by Zhihong Gong Ph.D. of the University of California San Francisco, examined the associations of total alcohol, type of alcoholic beverage, and drinking pattern with risks of total, low- and high-grade prostate cancer. They used data from more than 10,000 men participating in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT).
More and more children are participating and getting hurt playing sports each year. A
safefood today launched a new advertising campaign to highlight common and widespread poor food hygiene practices in the home as new research (1) revealed that 84% of people did not thoroughly wash their hands after handling raw chicken. The campaign titled "Don"t Take Risks" focuses on key messages of proper hand washing, proper cleaning of cooking utensils and thorough cooking, steps all of which can help minimise the risks of food poisoning in the home. The research also revealed that 72% failed to properly wash a knife used in preparing raw chicken before its reuse on salad vegetables, and 56% did not check if the chicken was cooked properly.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about two-thirds of people over the age of 65 have high blood pressure. What"s more, they report that if you haven"t had it by the time you reach age 55, there is a 90 percent chance you will end up with it during your lifetime. It is something that almost all of us will encounter in our lifetime. But the good news is that watching what you eat can go a long way toward helping you avoid high blood pressure and get the problem under control.
Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, Germany, are using the enterprise analytics platform from TIBCO Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TIBX) for scientific research. This research includes looking at the mechanisms behind the causes of cancer, development of custom-tailored drugs, and understanding the types of cancer caused by infections.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released the first in a series of health care "success story" reports that document innovative programs and initiatives that can serve as models for a reformed American health care system. The inaugural report highlights the Michigan Keystone ICU Project. A joint partnership between the Michigan Health & Hospital Association and the Johns Hopkins University, the Michigan Keystone ICU Project helped dramatically reduce the number of health care associated infections in Michigan, saving over 1,500 lives and $200 million.
British scientists are leading the field at the International Conference of Alzheimer"s Disease, in Vienna (ICAD, 11 - 16 July).
The Electronic Health Records Association (EHR Association) has made specific recommendations to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) on measurable criteria for achieving "meaningful use" of electronic health records (EHRs), as called for in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Association specifically calls for 2011 objectives to be based on software and standards that are currently deployed and implemented, with a focus on adoption and use of comprehensive EHRs and recognition of the need for differences between inpatient and ambulatory meaningful use criteria.
Ms Aine Brady T.D. Minister for Older People and Health Promotion, announced the publication of the 2008 Annual Report from the Alcohol Marketing Communications Monitoring Body (AMCMB). The AMCMB was established to monitor the level of adherence by advertisers and media owners to the Codes of Practice on Alcohol Marketing, Communications and Sponsorship. The AMCMB has concluded that there continues to be overall compliance with the Codes.
"I stood up and applauded for women everywhere when I heard the news" that the United Nations Human Rights Council, including the U.S., "recognized maternal death as a human rights issue," CARE President and CEO Helene Gayle writes in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution opinion piece. Gayle writes that governments for the past 15 years "have failed to meet the commitments made and targets set to reduce the more than half a million maternal deaths every year."According to Gayle, preventing maternal death "requires three well-coordinated actions: sustain political leadership, secure adequate res and strengthen health systems." She adds that the resolution "is a positive step" but that it is "only effective if it translates into action." She continues, "It"s great to see the Obama administration places women and girls high on the agenda," adding that many members of Congress also support these issues.Reducing maternal mortality "requires significant res," Gayle writes. She adds, "To be blunt, an estimated global commitment of $39 billion over 10 years is needed to make significant progress." Such a commitment would be "an investment in women, their families and the economic productivity of nations," according to Gayle."The cost of not investing is far greater," Gayle continues. She notes that women "do two-thirds of the world"s work and produce nearly 60% of the world"s food." In addition, "children who lose their mothers are 10 times more likely to die in childhood than children with mothers," and maternal and newborn deaths "represent an estimated annual loss of $15.5 billion in productivity," according to Gayle. "Clearly, other development goals cannot be met without healthy mothers," she adds.She continues that the "most tragic and infuriating point" is that the "death of a woman in childbirth is one of the most inexcusable deaths on earth." Because high maternal mortality is a "barometer of weak health systems, often reflecting the low status of women," strengthening health systems to improve maternal health will therefore enable the system to "address other health needs," Gayle writes. She adds that countries such as Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Peru have improved mortality rates "through four lifesaving programs: family planning, skilled and culturally sensitive care during pregnancy and childbirth, emergency care for complications and postpartum care."Gayle writes, "The U.S. can spearhead a comprehensive maternal health action plan and, by doing so, set an example for world leaders to join and invest in." She concludes, "The actions we take now can make maternal death a problem of the past and not one of our children"s future" (Gayle, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/10).
"After a week of international diplomacy, President Obama returns to Washington this week facing an even greater diplomatic challenge: nudging the large and controversial health-care reform package toward consensus on Capitol Hill," The Washington Post reports. Despite media reports of challenges including "the virtual wall of opposition among Republicans," "resistance among conservative Blue Dog Democrats over the potential cost," and "nervousness among progressives that the White House might compromise too much on a public insurance option," officials at the White House "remain publicly optimistic." White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said that the issues are just part of "the nature of what we"re doing," and that "we"ve never, on universal coverage, been this close to the goal line."
"A large percentage" of U.S. and Mexican men who regularly engage in sexual activity with sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico, do not use condoms and have a history of substance and alcohol use, according to a study published in the online journal AIDS, the Los Angeles Times" blog "L.A. Now" reports. The study, by researchers from Mexico and the University of California-San Diego, surveyed 400 men - both Mexico and U.S. residents - and found that half of the men had unprotected sex with a female sex worker within the last four months. Researchers noted that although Tijuana authorities require that sex workers be registered and tested regularly for HIV, "only about half of [sex workers] have registered or been tested," according to the blog. Thomas Patterson of the UC-San Diego"s department of psychiatry and the Veterans Affairs health center, said the findings indicate a need for an educational campaign targeting men who frequent sex workers (Perry, 7/11).
The Kansas City Star on Sunday examined a national petition -- signed recently by several local organizations -- requesting that CVS Caremark unlock condoms in all of its CVS pharmacy stores. "The petition, sponsored by the labor coalition Change to Win, said CVS stores tended to lock up condoms, especially in low-income neighborhoods with high numbers of minorities," the Star reports. CVS has said the practice is "a defense against shoplifters in stores where large numbers of condoms were stolen," according to the Star. CVS spokesperson Mike DeAngelis said not all condoms are locked in display cases. "DeAngelis also said the group behind the condom petition ò€¦ was mounting a smear campaign against CVS because of a labor dispute," the article states (Erickson, 7/12).
Men and women who walk or ride a bike to work appear more fit, and men are less likely to be overweight or obese and have healthier triglyceride levels, blood pressure and insulin levels, according to a report in the July 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
The General Medical Council has announced that it has appointed The King"s Fund"s chief executive Niall Dickson as its new chief executive. Niall Dickson will remain at the Fund until the end of the year before formally starting in his new role in January 2010.
Researchers from the Makerere University hospital in Uganda, the U.S. and Belgium have developed a formula, based on a set of questions, for determining HIV-positive people"s risk of treatment failure and drug resistance, according to a study recently published in the Journal of the International AIDS Society, the New York Times reports. According to the Times, most HIV-positive people in Africa rarely have access to viral load tests to determine if they are developing resistance to first-line antiretroviral drugs because the testing is expensive and complicated.The researchers questioned 496 HIV-positive people about:
New research from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Stanford Hospital & Clinics suggests that the use of a dietary supplement after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery can help obese patients to more quickly lose weight and to avoid deficiency of a critical B vitamin.
Undocumented people live in a shadowy world of high fear and stress -- fear of deportation and stress brought on lack of economic, linguistic and educational res.
The results of a preliminary clinical trial suggest that a new Alzheimer"s drug from Humanetics Corporation is safe for daily use and that cognitive performance in patients with mild to moderate disease remained stable during the six-week course of the trial. The lack of decline in cognitive performance was an encouraging finding to be further evaluated in a Phase IIB clinical trial.
What if you could test your risk for Alzheimer"s disease much like your cholesterol levels - through a simple blood test?
The tiny translucent egg nestled in the special laboratory gel was a mere 30 days old, but its four-week birthday caused researchers to quietly celebrate. This was the first time anyone had successfully grown a woman"s immature egg cells, contained in a tiny sac called a follicle, to a healthy and nearly mature egg in the laboratory. When an egg is fully mature, it is ready to be fertilized.
States that have passed privacy laws restricting the ability of hospitals to disclose patient information have seen the sharing of electronic medical records suffer by more than 24%, according to the Management Insights feature in the current issue of Management Science, the flagship journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS®).
HIV-positive people with opportunistic infections who receive earlier antiretroviral treatment lower their risk of death compared with people who delay treatment, according to a new study conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine and published in PLoS One, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The findings could lead to changes in recommendations for antiretroviral treatment protocol, specifically for patients diagnosed with HIV at an advanced stage, the Mercury News reports. The study included 262 HIV-positive participants at 39 health care sites across the U.S., and 20 participants in South Africa. During the yearlong study, the researchers found that among the participants who were treated promptly after developing an opportunistic infection, 14% died or developed another infection. The researchers also found that 24% of participants who deferred treatment for an average of 45 days died or had a decrease in health outcomes. According to the Mercury News, the question of when to start HIV-positive people on antiretroviral treatment remains unclear because of issues such as the high cost of medicines, side effects, and drug interactions or resistance. Andrew Zolopa, head of Stanford University School of Medicine"s division of infectious diseases and lead investigator of the study, said that physicians often treat HIV-positive people for an "acute crisis, then follow up later with treatment for HIV." He continues, "But that answer is wrong. The study shows very clearly that there is no safety downside to doing this -- and the benefit is quite substantial, reducing death by 50%." "Even in San Francisco, one of the first epicenters of HIV in the United States, we still find that many people present late in the course of their illness with an opportunistic infection," Mitch Katz, director of San Francisco"s Department of Health who was not involved in the study, said. He added, "This study shows that it is lifesaving to treat those persons with antiretroviral drugs while they are still in the hospital." Katz said that the results could lead to changes in HIV/AIDS practices worldwide. The International AIDS Society, CDC and the British AIDS Society have developed guidelines recommending that early antiretroviral treatment be considered in patients with opportunistic infections, Zolopa said. In addition, NIH is considering an international study to examine earlier initiation of antiretroviral treatment involving more than 9,000 people from both developed and developing countries (Krieger, San Jose Mercury News, 5/15).
In the brain, many types of synaptic proteins are spatio-temporally regulated to maintain synaptic activity at a constant level. Here, the Japanese research group led by Professor Masaki Fukata, Drs. Yuko Fukata and Jun Noritake in National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Japan, found that two types of palmitoylating enzymes finely-tune the location and function of a major synaptic protein, PSD-95, in different ways. They also found that this mechanism contributes to keeping synaptic activity stable when synaptic activity dynamically changes. The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) supported this study. They report the finding in Journal of Cell Biology published on July 13, 2009.
A study by scientists at Penn State provides new information about the genes that are involved in a mammal"s early brain development, including those that contribute to neurological disorders. The study is the first to use high-throughput sequencing to uncover active genes in developing brains, and it is likely the best evidence thus far for the activity in the brain of such a large number of genes. The research results one day could lead to the development of drugs or gene therapies that treat neurological disorders such as autism and mental retardation. The research, which was led by Distinguished Professor of Biology Hong Ma and Associate Professor of Biology Gong Chen, will be published online in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences sometime during the week of 13 July 2009.
Elsevier has announced the launch of the official version of BrainNavigator, a neuroscience research tool developed in collaboration with the Allen Institute for Brain Science and under the editorship of Professor George Paxinos and Charles Watson, Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Sydney. After unveiling the prototype version at the Society for Neuroscience"s Neuroscience 2008 tradeshow last November, the rodent brain version is now available at http://www.brainnav.com.
A UQ Science researcher has received a prestigious honorary fellowship for her long-time work into understanding the underlying mechanisms of pain.
Elbit Imaging Ltd. (TASE: EMIT, Nasdaq: EMITF), announced that, its subsidiary (in which EI holds indirectly approximately 58.34%, InSightec Ltd., announced that a team at the University Children"s Hospital Zurich has completed a feasibility study testing the use of non-invasive transcranial MR-guided focused ultrasound surgery (TcMRgFUS) for the treatment of neuropathic pain. Ten adult patients diagnosed with chronic neuropathic pain successfully underwent non-invasive deep brain ablation surgery (central lateral thalamotomy) with transcranial TcMRgFUS and showed improvement in pain scores and reduction of pain medication with no adverse effects at three months follow-up. This is the first study in the world to test non-invasive transcranial focused ultrasound as a treatment modality for functional brain disorders.
Health Secretary Andy Burnham set out three new models of funding adult social care in England yesterday.
The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. William Kassler as President and Chair of its Board of Directors.
The Baldwin County Health Department announced that a sentinel chicken from the Lillian area
A new health series following the lives of six South Asian people, and offering diet and healthy lifestyle advice, will be hitting our screens on Sunday 17 May.
SCIENTISTS have developed a new drug which can reduce the growth of tumours* in mice by up to 98 per cent, according to a study published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics ** this week.
The eyes may be the window into the soul, but they may also contain important medical information. According to new research presented at the American Thoracic Society"s 105th International Conference in San Diego on May 19, patients with diabetes who have retinopathy should also be screened for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Nineteen Democrats have written House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promising not to vote for a health bill that includes funding for abortion, igniting a debate that has the potential to derail a health care overhaul, NPR reports.
"After a weeklong overseas trip that pushed him to the fringes of Washington"s health care debate, Mr. Obama moved aggressively to reclaim control," the New York Times reports. "He summoned top Democrats to the White House to urge them to stick to his legislative timetable - he wants the House and the Senate to pass bills before the August recess - and appeared in the Rose Garden to cast himself as a kind of sheriff who had just come back to town."
The nation"s first online audit of Medicines Use Reviews (MURs) is being launched tomorrow
Richard Hunt CBE, appointed as the new Chair of the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
A unique study looking at the difference in cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke) and life expectancy between people of high and low socio-economic status has found that a person"s IQ may have a role to play.
Drugs that block a growth factor receptor on brain cells may prevent epilepsy after brain damage, according to a new study appearing in the July 15 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
Brazil"s nearly two-decade effort to treat people living with HIV and AIDS shows that developing countries can successfully combat the epidemic. Inexpensive generic medicines are a large part of the solution, say researchers from Brown University and the Harvard School of Public Health.
In the July 15th issue of Genes & Development, Dr. Roberto Kolter (Harvard Medical School) and colleagues make the unprecedented observation of paracrine signaling during Bacillus subtilis biofilm formation.
A team of researchers has discovered an unexpected concentration of a certain isotopic molecule in parts of the stratosphere that could have implications for understanding the carbon cycle and its response to climate change.
K2M, Inc., a spinal device company developing innovative solutions for the treatment of complex spinal pathologies, announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its ALEUTIAN® Spacer Systems as intervertebral body fusion devices. The ALEUTIAN family of five different systems offers a full array of anatomically designed PEEK-OPTIMA® interbody options, including the Anterior-Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF), Small-Anterior (Cervical), Posterior-Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF), Anatomically Narrow (AN), and Transforaminal-Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF).
An e-mail intervention program is an effective way to significantly improve diet and physical activity by helping people move more, sit less, and make healthier food choices, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Diabetes patients taking NovoLog((R)) (insulin aspart [rDNA origin] injection) can now use the insulin in their pump for up to six days following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a labeling change, diabetes care company Novo Nordisk announced today.(1) The previous label allowed for NovoLog((R)) to be stored in the pump reservoir for two days. This makes NovoLog((R)) the first and only rapid-acting insulin with this extended in-use time.
Many people who discover that they have inherited a higher risk of developing Alzheimer"s can cope with the news, especially if they receive the
The needs of mothers who bottle feed are being neglected, potentially risking the health of their babies, suggests research published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
A new UK study found that swearing appeared to lessen the effects of pain, perhaps because it invokes a similar response as that which occurs in
"Here"s a little secret you might not know about the health care reform being debated in Washington: Minnesota might not want it," Minnesota Public Radio reports. The state"s congressional delegation is "not sure that the potential cures for the system - requiring everyone to have insurance, expanding Medicare or taxing health benefits - won"t be worse than what currently ails health care." Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., is critical of the additional taxes proposed to help pay for the overhaul. "What they"re talking about doing here is just adding some more gasoline to the fire that"s going to burn down this country. And I"m not going to go along with that," Peterson says.
NPR reports on President Obama"s "broad global health strategy," which would increase the amount of funding for family planning, maternal and child health programs to about a "half billion dollars" next year. According to NPR, "the U.S. has committed $230 million [over the next five years] directly to health in Afghanistan, whose government has already built 2,000 health facilities since the collapse of the Taliban regime" (Wilson, 7/15).
A student team in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering is providing the blind with an opportunity many never thought possible: The opportunity to drive.
An osteoporosis drug proven to save lives after hip fractures may do so by strengthening the body"s immune system, according to geriatrics researchers at Duke University Medical Center.
Patrick Lane, age 74, was plagued by recurring aortic aneurysms ten years ago that threatened his survival. His doctor at the time suggested he contact a leading vascular surgeon at UCLA who was pioneering a new treatment technique for high-risk patients who couldn"t receive traditional surgery.
A reful study into the effect of third hand smoke upon the risk for genetic mutations in fruit flies won the top Addiction Science Award at this year"s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world"s largest science competition for high school students. The Intel ISEF Addiction Science Awards were presented at an awards ceremony last night by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, and Friends of NIDA, a group that supports NIDA"s mission, and educates policy makers, health professionals and the general public about advances achieved from the investments in biomedical and behavioral research related to finding a cure for and eliminating drug dependence.
Two international research teams have determined the complete genetic sequences of two species of parasitic flatworms that cause schistosomiasis, a debilitating condition also known as snail fever. Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma japonicum are the first sequenced genomes of any organism in the large group called Lophotrochozoa, which includes other free-living and parasitic flatworms as well as segmented roundworms, such as the earthworm.
More than three-quarters of parents would be willing to permit the use of their children"s newborn screening samples for research purposes if their permission were obtained beforehand, a University of Michigan survey shows.
Orthofix International N.V. (NASDAQ: OFIX) (the Company) announced that the Company has received CE Marking for its Advent™ Cervical Disc, allowing it to begin selling the new device in Europe.
PolyMedix, Inc. (OTCBB: PYMX), an emerging biotechnology company developing acute care products for infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent assigned to PolyMedix relating to angiogenesis inhibitors. The patent, number 7,553,876, entitled "Polycationic Compounds and Uses Thereof," relates to therapeutic uses of PolyMedix compounds for inhibiting angiogenesis.
Scientists at The Florida State University"s Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS) have developed a new computer model that they hope will predict with unprecedented accuracy how many hurricanes will occur in a given season.
The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) has released a Statement on Professionalism in Dental Education for the academic dental community. Aligned with existing codes of ethics and conduct within the dental education and dental practice communities, the Statement helps to define expectations for professional behavior in dental education institutions. It includes the values and behaviors that should guide students as they enter the dental and allied dental professions and faculty and administrators as they continuously improve their educational programs.
Diabetes patients taking NovoLog® (insulin aspart [rDNA origin] injection) can now use the insulin in their pump for up to six days following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a labeling change, diabetes care company Novo Nordisk announced today.[i] The previous label allowed for NovoLog® to be stored in the pump reservoir for two days. This makes NovoLog® the first and only rapid-acting insulin with this extended in-use time.
Sapient (NASDAQ: SAPE) announced that it has designed and delivered a Web-based multilingual solution to support the efforts of CdLS World, an international federation of non-profit organizations committed to assisting those affected by Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS), a rare congenital disorder. While there is as yet no cure for CdLS, information and access to early therapeutic interventions and therapies is the key to helping children with CdLS reach their full potential. Sapient"s Ask the Doctor - which can be accessed at http://www.cdlsworld.org or through local CdLS country websites - brings a vast online re of up-to-date, relevant medical information to families and medical professionals around the world.
With health care premiums increasing across the board, many companies are looking for alternative options to decrease spending without losing employee coverage. Now employers have the option to maintain the quality of coverage for their employees and lower their costs by as much as 25% by taking preventive measures through Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA).
A daily dose of sodium bicarbonate baking soda, already used for baking, cleaning, acid indigestion, sunburn, and more slows the decline of kidney function in some patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD), reports an upcoming study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). "This cheap and simple strategy also improves patients" nutritional status, and has the potential of translating into significant economic, quality of life, and clinical outcome benefits," comments Magdi Yaqoob, MD (Royal London Hospital).
With debate underway in the House Education and Labor Committee today on the sweeping healthcare reform bill in that body, the nation"s largest organization of registered nurses today called on Committee Chair George Miller to support a critical amendment that would enable individual states to go a step farther and adopt single-payer, Medicare-for-All style reforms.
The government"s Green Paper "Shaping the Future of Care Together" has been welcomed by the MS Society as the radical step necessary to address the crisis in social care.
"President Obama"s ambitious drive to overhaul the nation"s $2.3 trillion health-care system cleared a key Senate committee yesterday. But the administration was promptly buffeted by criticism from some of the industry players and moderate Democrats it has courted for months, calling into question the prospects for a bipartisan landmark bill," The Washington Post reports. This is the "the first time in 15 years a congressional panel has endorsed coverage for all. ò€¦ But the 13 to 10 party-line vote, after rancorous comments by the top Republican on the committee, underscored the mounting tensions in Congress and the country over the president"s signature item. From one end of Pennsylvania Avenue to the other, lawmakers, lobbyists and the president himself all moved quickly to position themselves for the intensifying battle."
When considering an overhaul of "the failure-plagued Afghanistan reconstruction program," U.S. development officials are looking to Afghanistan"s health sector, "where more than $1 billion in international aid since 2002 has produced measurable results," USA Today reports. In Afghanistan, the infant mortality rate has dropped 21 percent and tuberculosis treatment has expanded from 15 percent to 97 percent of cases, according to data from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University and the WHO.
US researchers have discovered the molecular mechanisms by which the human body metabolizes selenium, a trace element that plays an essential
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press has launched a new monthly publication, Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology, that provides comprehensive, systematically structured surveys of research in exciting areas of molecular and cellular biology, genetics, developmental biology, neuroscience, cancer biology, and molecular pathology.
New research, has revealed that an extract which concentrates specific nutrients from Klamath blue green algae, could provide an effective natural remedy for women looking for an effective alternative to HRT to control mood swings and improve overall wellbeing.
The SCAN Foundation released a policy report by Georgetown University researchers presenting four distinct policy options for including long-term care support and services in health care reform. The report comes on the heels of a National Omnibus Survey on Long-Term Care released last week, also from The SCAN Foundation, showing that nearly 80 percent of Americans would be more likely to support a health care reform package that includes improved coverage for long-term care services.
Clarithromycin is currently one of the antibiotics used for eradication of Helicobacter pylori. However, reports of H. pylori resistance to this antibiotic are increasing worldwide. Clarithromycin resistance has been attributed to the presence of mutations in the 23S rRNA gene, a component of the ribosome that is the protein manufacturing machinery of all living cells. There is little information on the prevalence and characteristics of clarithromycin resistance in H. pylori strains isolated from Malaysian patients.
New alternatives to statutory regulation for currently unregulated health and occupational professions have been proposed by a specialist working group, Health Minister Ann Keen announced recently.
New research demonstrates that a large majority (70%) of Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) in England are failing to oversee the Government"s strategy to tackle hepatitis C1, leaving infection rates of this deadly virus to increase and causing the disease to spiral out of control - putting thousands of lives at risk. A further study shows SHAs ignoring NICE guidance with only 29% of diagnosed patients2 being treated across the country, less than half of the 60% that NICE recommends.3
A team led by researchers from the National Institutes of Health reports
The Royal College of Nursing welcomed the signing of a joint agreement by European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) and the European Hospital and Healthcare Employers Association (HOSPEEM). This is an EU-wide agreement which the RCN has played a key role in bringing about to prevent one million medical sharps injuries per year. Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said:
It"s a word that"s been around since the days of the Truman presidency. But a patient looking up "physiatry" would find nothing in the dictionary.
The Brain Emporium offers Cleveland elders an opportunity to refute the adage "You can"t teach an old dog new tricks."
Highly intelligent adults with Asperger Syndrome still have difficulties in day-to-day social interaction. These difficulties may be explained by "mindblindness", the idea that they are unable to predict what other people will do by thinking about their mental states, that is, their knowledge and beliefs. If this is true then why do people with Asperger syndrome pass all the standard tests of mental state attribution? Is the theory wrong or are the tests insensitive? This study reports evidence from eye movements, that adults with Asperger Syndrome do not spontaneously anticipate another person"s behaviour on the basis of that person"s mental state. This is in stark contrast with typical adults, and even young toddlers.
One of the aims imposed by the European Union in 2004 is to reduce the number of traffic accidents. However, despite the measures taken by the different administrations and the consequent decrease in the number of accidents, the results for 2010 are not close to those set by Europe. Gerardo Reveriego, a young researcher of the University of Mç¡laga, has designed software that informs drivers of the risk situations s/he has while driving. This allows drivers to self-assess themselves and improve their driving behaviour.
The "religious right and its Republican enablers" are "playing the abortion card" with health care reform legislation by contending that "federal government dollars will pay directly for abortions," according to an American Prospect opinion piece by Dana Goldstein, an associate editor for the magazine. It is "unlikely" that federal money would be used this way, but the groups "want grassroots conservatives to believe it will, hoping the resulting outcry will scuttle attempts to reform our expensive health care system," Goldstein continues. She writes, "This rhetoric is beyond hyperbolic -- it is downright deceptive."Goldstein quotes Adam Sonfield, a senior policy associate at the Guttmacher Institute, who said discussion of family planning in federal law ""never includes abortion."" She adds, "In actuality, "family planning" language refers exclusively to contraceptive services, in part because of the Hyde Amendment," which bars the use of federal Medicaid dollars for abortion. She also notes that reproductive health issues are "so politicized ... that even to offer birth control to poor women who do not meet Medicaid"s strict eligibility requirements, individual states must apply for a waiver from the federal government." About half of states have done so, she says. In "choosing what services to cover under any potential public insurance plan," the HHS secretary "will likely be bound by all of the existing laws that prevent the federal government from financing abortion," according to Goldstein. She adds, "None of these restrictions would be explicitly overturned by any of the health reform proposals currently being considered in Congress."Antiabortion-rights Senate Republicans have said they will oppose any health reform bill "that subsidizes abortion coverage or even includes, in the proposed health insurance exchanges, private insurers that cover abortion," Goldstein writes. She adds that 87% of existing health plans include some abortion coverage, meaning that most women would lose coverage under the Republicans" demands. "The result would be a near-blanket restriction on women"s access to insurance-subsidized abortion, one far more radical than the Hyde Amendment," Goldstein says. Meanwhile, women"s health advocates have said that overturning the Hyde Amendment is not currently their top priority because "they are simply too busy playing defense on health reform" and do not have the votes, Goldstein writes.According to Goldstein, by "playing the abortion card, the real goal of anti-choicers is not only to maintain existing restrictions on abortion access, but to use health reform as a vehicle to expand them to the majority of American women." She writes, "If such efforts lead to legislative impasse, many conservatives will be delighted." She concludes, "After all, they"ve never really put any political muscle behind fixing our inadequate health care system" (Goldstein, American Prospect, 7/14).
A Battle looms over possible funding cuts for MRIs amid health care reform efforts.
One Maryland county"s tiny new health care programs for the uninsured could be a model for providing care nationwide, National Public Radio says in an ongoing series. The program is cheap, effective and heavy on preventive care, Howard County"s health commissioner, Dr. Peter Beilenson says. The program, called Healthy Howard, provides care for families of four earning up to $66,000 a year, and patients are required to pay $50 to $85 a month. But some of the enrollees are running into trouble.
CDC"s latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) examines the sexual health of young adults and teenagers in the U.S., Reuters reports. "The data presented in this report indicate that many young persons in the United States engage in sexual risk behavior and experience negative reproductive health outcomes," the MMWR states (7/16). For the report, CDC compiled data from several different studies involving hundreds of thousands of teenagers and young adults age 10 to 25. Among other findings, the data indicated that AIDS rates among boys age 15 to 19 increased from 1.3 cases per 100,000 in 1997 to 2.5 cases in 2006. The report also said that new HIV and AIDS diagnoses were highest among young blacks across all age groups (Chicago Tribune, 7/17). Kevin Fenton, director of CDC"s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, said, "It is imperative that all of us at the national and community level work together to ensure STD and HIV prevention programs are reaching young people, particularly in communities with the greatest burden of disease" (Brewington, "Picture of Health," Baltimore Sun, 7/16).
A low-cost generator with the potential to transform lives in the world"s poorest communities is now being tested across the UK and in Nepal. The Score project, led by The University of Nottingham, is developing a bio-mass burning cooking stove which also converts heat into acoustic energy and then into electricity, all in one unit.
As the winter cold and flu season tightens its grip, the National Asthma Council Australia is concerned that Australians may be incorrectly pointing the finger at milk as the mucus-causing culprit.
On 30 July sexual health and HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) will officially open its new centre in Nottingham. The charity has been based in the city since February 2008 from its old site in Lace Market. THT"s new centre on 23 Barker Gate, which is funded by NHS Nottingham City, NHS Nottinghamshire County, Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council will offer a wider range of services to support people living with HIV and help prevent the rising rates of sexual ill-health.
An Alice Springs doctor has urged the Federal Government to overhaul Medicare to remove disincentives for General Practitioners to conduct longer consultations with patients.
"Where care lodges, sleep will never lie," says Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet.
Pablo A. Celnik, M.D., an assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation and neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Thao (Vicky) Nguyen, 32, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the Whiting School of Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University, are among the 100 winners of this year"s Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).
A research team led by the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology has identified the specific gene which triggers the body to produce disease-fighting antibodies -- a seminal finding that clarifies the exact molecular steps taken by the body to mount an antibody defense against viruses and other pathogens. The finding, published online in the prestigious journal Science, has major implications for the development of new and more effective vaccines. The La Jolla Institute"s Shane Crotty, Ph.D., was the lead scientist on the team, which also included researchers from Yale University.
People have the opportunity to have their eyes checked with one-of-a-kind equipment for free, while helping to solve the mystery behind the leading cause of blindness in Australia. Even people with healthy eyes, aged 50 and over, are being encouraged to participate in the Queensland University of Technology study. Eye specialist and QUT researcher Dr Beatrix Feigl is embarking on the study to detect the early signs of age-related macular degeneration, a disease that progressively causes vision loss.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it has approved a vaccine for 2009-2010 seasonal influenza in the United States.
Fungi (Singular: fungus) are classified within their own kingdom - The Kingdom Fungi, while some are in The Kingdom Protista. A fungus is neither a plant nor an animal. It is similar to a plant, but it has no chlorophyll and cannot make its own food like a plant can through photosynthesis. They get their food by absorbing nutrients from their surroundings.
It is estimated that 1.4 billion people live in extreme poverty, on less than $2 a day. In 2000, 189 nations declared that they would "free all men, women, and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty". These nations signed up to Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to combat poverty by 2015. To help meet these complex challenges and "make poverty history" more knowledge and evidence is needed. A launch event Wednesday 22nd July 2009 at the Department for International Development (DFID) marks a new phase of research collaboration between the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and DFID which will provide more robust social science research to address poverty alleviation amongst the poorest countries and peoples of the world.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Friday announced that he will oppose Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, even as increased Republican support seemed to ensure that she would be confirmed, the New York Times reports. McConnell said that he would not support Sotomayor"s nomination because her "record of written statements suggests an alarming lack of respect for the notion of equal justice, and, therefore, in my view, an insufficient willingness to abide by the judicial oath." McConnell intends to deliver the remarks to the Senate on Monday. Meanwhile, Republican Sens. Richard Lugar (Ind.), Mel Martinez (Fla.) and Olympia Snowe (Maine) said that they would support Sotomayor. The Times reports that the senators" backing of Sotomayor -- combined with her "solid Democratic support" -- shows that she should receive "strong confirmation approval" (Hulse, New York Times, 7/18). Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) would not predict how many Republicans could vote for her confirmation. Sessions said that Republicans are seeking a committee vote on Sotomayor on July 28, one week later than the date sought by committee Democrats. During that week, Republicans hope to review her record, her answers from her confirmation hearings and other responses to questions (AP/Boston Globe, 7/20).