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 Back to Medical News Today Archives
Medical News Today: 03-20-2006
People ages 75 and older provide more hours of caregiving than people in any other age group, according to a recent study by the Urban Institute, NPR's "Morning Edition" reports. The NPR segment profiles Clarice Morant -- a Washington, D.C., resident who is 101 and provides care for her elderly brother and sister -- and examines the physical toll of the "lifting, pulling and all-through-the-night work of caregiving... click link for more info.
University of Michigan scientists have found a common genetic variation in an immune system gene that makes people much more likely to develop psoriasis â?" a disfiguring inflammatory skin disease.Named PSORS1 (SORE-ESS-1), for psoriasis susceptibility 1, the gene is the first genetic determinant of psoriasis to be definitively identified in a large clinical study... click link for more info.
"Modeling the Impact of Antiretroviral Use in Developing Countries," PLoS Medicine: Stefano Bertozzi and Sergio Bautista-Arrendondo of the Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica in Cuernavaca, Mexico, discuss mathematical models of HIV/AIDS treatment, limitations of new model-based methods and policy implications of such methods... click link for more info.
Capsaicin, the stuff that turns up the heat in jalapeños, not only causes the tongue to burn, it also drives prostate cancer cells to kill themselves, according to studies published in the March 15 issue of Cancer Research.According to a team of researchers from the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in collaboration with colleagues from UCLA, the pepper component caused human prostate cancer cells to undergo programmed cell death or apoptosis... click link for more info.
The Oklahoma House on Monday voted 81-17 to approve a Medicaid bill (HB 2842) "that proponents say will curb costs and give patients more options," the Daily Oklahoman reports. The bill would appropriate $93 million to the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to be used for increasing hospital and physician payments to 100% of the cost of care, according to bill author Rep... click link for more info.
Grocers, florists and even pharmacists may soon have a better way to monitor the quality of the products they get from suppliers: a sensor that will tell how long before a product spoils or passes its expiration date.A team of University of Florida engineering students has designed and built a prototype of the new smart sensor, which can also record and wirelessly transmit information to retailers about when and where glitches occur as a product is being shipped... click link for more info.
U.S. residents receive appropriate medical care about 55% of the time -- regardless of race, income, education or health insurance status -- according to a study published on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Pugh, Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/16). For the study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, researchers at RAND examined data collected through telephone interviews and medical records from a nationally representative sample of 6,712 adults in 12 communities between 1998 and 2000... click link for more info.
Researchers studying strains of a lethal canine virus and a related human virus have determined why the canine virus was able to spread so quickly from cats to dogs, and then from sick dogs to healthy dogs. Their studies may lead to a new understanding of the critical molecular factors that permit viruses to jump from one species to another â?" information that could be helpful in assessing how much of a threat avian influenza is to humans... click link for more info.
Albuferon, an experimental hepatitis C treatment from Human Genome Sciences, is not effective when administered on a monthly basis but is more effective when taken every two weeks in combination with another medication, according to trial data released by the company on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reports... click link for more info.
Whether depressed patients will respond to an antidepressant depends, in part, on which version of a gene they inherit, a study led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has discovered. Having two copies of one version of a gene that codes for a component of the brain's mood-regulating system increased the odds of a favorable response to an antidepressant by up to 18 percent, compared to having two copies of the other, more common version... click link for more info.
Studies have found that themajority of people who work at a computer experience some eye or visionproblems, and that the level of discomfort appears to increase with the amountof computer use. But, increased use of smaller, portable work andrecreational gadgets such as Personal Digital Assistants, laptops, and cellphones used for text messaging and Web access may also be contributing factorsto the visual fatigue and discomfort experienced by millions, according to aleading expert... click link for more info.
The Idaho House on Tuesday approved a bill (HB 776) that would make changes to the state's Medicaid program, the Spokane Spokesman-Review reports. According to the Spokesman-Review, the bill would divide Medicaid beneficiaries into three categories -- low-income children and adults; the elderly; and disabled beneficiaries -- and tailor rules and benefits toward each group... click link for more info.
A newly recognized type of immune cell may play an important role in causing asthma, perhaps explaining why current therapies sometimes fail, report researchers from Children's Hospital Boston in the March 16th New England Journal of Medicine. These immune cells, known as natural-killer T cells (NKT cells), were found to be abundant in the lungs of patients with asthma, but virtually absent in the lungs of healthy people, supporting recent findings in mice showing a direct causative role for NKT cells... click link for more info.
As expected, the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler on Wednesday announced a reduction in health benefits for active and retired salaried employees, the Detroit Free Press reports (Norris, Detroit Free Press, 3/16). Under the plan, Chrysler will increase monthly health insurance premiums for salaried U... click link for more info.
People age 70 and older who continued taking the antidepressant that helped them to initially recover from their first episode of depression were 60 percent less likely to experience a new episode of depression over a two-year study period than those who stopped taking the medication, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health... click link for more info.
Several HIV/AIDS advocates and government health officials at a hearing before the Washington state Governor's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS on Tuesday said that HIV-positive people are experiencing problems with the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, the Seattle Times reports. Although advocates acknowledged improvements in the program since its launch on Jan... click link for more info.
A man-made chemical compound called ARC causes tumor cells to die but leaves normal cells unharmed, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago report in a study highlighted in the March 15 issue of Cancer Research. ARC also proved to have strong anti-angiogenic properties, showing promise as an inhibitor of new blood vessel formation in tumors... click link for more info.
The following highlights recent news of state actions on women's health issues. Abortion Regulations Indiana: The state Senate on Tuesday before its midnight adjournment deadline did not vote on a bill (HB 1172) that would have required physicians to tell women seeking abortion that life begins at conception and that fetuses can feel pain, the AP/WTHR13... click link for more info.
Three-year survival rates for heart and lung transplant patients have improved dramatically in the last 15 years.More than 64 percent of patients who underwent transplantation between 2000 and 2003 survived for at least three years, in comparison to slightly more than 55 percent of individuals operated on between 1988 and 1994... click link for more info.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday voted 11-9 along party lines to approve a bill (S 1955) that would allow small businesses to form association health plans under certain conditions, CongressDaily reports (Povich, CongressDaily, 3/15). The bill, sponsored by HELP committee Chair Mike Enzi (R-Wyo... click link for more info.
DURHAM, N.C. â?" Older women appear to quit smoking and stay off cigarettes in higher numbers than men in their age group, and older men and women are more likely to quit if they have recently received a diagnosis of cancer, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.The study results also showed that older people are far more likely to successfully quit smoking than has been indicated in other studies of smoking cessation in younger people... click link for more info.
Indian drug manufacturer Aurobindo Pharma has received FDA approval to produce a combination antiretroviral drug, the company announced Thursday, Reuters/NDTVProfit.com reports (Reuters/NDTVProfit.com, 3/16). The approval is for lamivudine 150 mg and zidovudine 300 mg fixed dose tablets packaged with efavirenz 600 mg tablets (Dow Jones, 3/16)... click link for more info.
Ginseng, one of the most widely used herbs in traditional Chinese medicine, may improve survival and quality of life after a diagnosis of breast cancer, according to a recent study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers.The large epidemiological study, led by Xiao-Ou Shu, M.D., Ph.D., was published online recently in the American Journal of Epidemiology... click link for more info.
The Basic-Abortion-Rights Network on Wednesday dropped its plans to sponsor a petition drive that would have put a South Dakota law (HB 1215) that bans abortion in the state except to save a woman's life on a statewide ballot in November, the AP/Aberdeen American News reports (Kafka, AP/Aberdeen American News, 3/15)... click link for more info.
Smoking appears to interfere with the brain's ability to recover from the effects of chronic alcohol abuse, according to a study conducted by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.After one month of sobriety, recovering alcoholics who smoked showed significantly less improvement than those who did not smoke in both brain function and neurochemical markers of brain cell health... click link for more info.
President Bush on Wednesday nominated acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach to become permanent head of the agency, the New York Times reports. Von Eschenbach, who also is director of the National Cancer Institute, was appointed acting commissioner for FDA in September 2005 after then-Commissioner Lester Crawford's unexpected resignation (Harris, New York Times, 3/16)... click link for more info.
Vaginal rejuvenation, pectoral implants, buttock implants and calf augmentation have been touted in the media recently as the "hot" new procedures taking plastic surgery by storm. According to a statistics report released today in which the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) tracked these procedures for the first time, the reality is quite different from the hype... click link for more info.
The U.S. in fiscal year 2006 has allocated about $150 million to fight HIV/AIDS in Zambia, up from $135 million in FY 2005, U.S. Ambassador to Zambia Carmen Martinez said on Monday, the Times of Zambia/AllAfrica.com reports. Speaking at the opening of an HIV/AIDS comprehensive care center in Ndola, Zambia -- which was built at the Ndola Central Hospital using funds from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- Martinez said the U... click link for more info.
The insulating myelin sheath enwrapping the cable-like axons of nerve cells is the major target of attack of the immune system in multiple sclerosis. Such attack causes neural short-circuits that give rise to the muscle weakness, loss of coordination, and speech and visual loss in the disease.Now, Douglas Fields of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and his colleagues have reported in the March, 2006, issue of Neuron that supporting cells called astrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS) promote myelination by releasing an immune system molecule that triggers myelin-forming cells to action... click link for more info.
Newsweek in its March 20 issue examines how the approval of a South Dakota law that bans abortion in the state except to save a pregnant woman's life, the recent "flurry of activity" on abortion-related restrictions in state legislatures and the recent changes on the Supreme Court have made some Republican politicians "nervous" because they see "big political risks" in talking about the issue... click link for more info.
Neuroscientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have discovered a new cell type in the part of the brain that processes our sense of smell. This new cell type, the Blanes cell, is a member of a group of previously unstudied brain cells described by the Spanish neuroanatomist Blanes (pronounced blon â?" es) in the late 1800s... click link for more info.
The Senate on Wednesday voted 76-22 to approve an amendment to the fiscal year 2007 budget resolution that would authorize HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt to extend the May 15 deadline for enrolling in the Medicare prescription drug benefit, CQ Today reports. The amendment, which was offered by Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), would give Leavitt the authority to extend the deadline but would not require him to do so... click link for more info.
Antwerp, Belgium and UmeÃ¥, Sweden âˆ' About 1 in 10 Europeans has to contend with some form of depression during his or her life. But how people become depressed is still largely a mystery. With their recent research, scientists from the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) connected to the University of Antwerp in collaboration with scientists of the University of UmeÃ¥ in Sweden, are lifting a corner of the veil... click link for more info.
Federal funding for social and medical services for low-income, HIV-positive people in Los Angeles County, has been cut by $1.9 million in 2006, a reduction of 5.2% from 2005, according to information released earlier this week by the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Los Angeles Times reports... click link for more info.
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have published findings that show, for the first time, that bone cells can grow and proliferate on a scaffold of carbon nanotubes.The paper, titled Bone Cell Proliferation on Carbon Nanotubes, appears in the March 8 edition of Nano Letters, a journal of the American Chemical Society... click link for more info.
President Bush on Wednesday nominated acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach to permanently head the agency, the Los Angeles Times reports (Alonso-Zaldivar, Los Angeles Times, 3/16). Shortly after the nomination was announced, Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) announced in a statement that they will place a hold on his confirmation vote in the Senate because of FDA's delay of a decision on Barr Laboratories' application for nonprescription sales of the emergency contraceptive Plan B -- which can prevent pregnancy if taken up to 72 hours after sexual intercourse -- for girls and women ages 17 and older (Schuler, CQ Today, 3/15)... click link for more info.
Amgen announced results from a Phase 2 study that showed that treating anemia with Aranesp(R) (darbepoetin alfa) in patients with symptomatic heart failure was well-tolerated, effectively raised hemoglobin and improved patients' symptoms as measured by the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ)... click link for more info.
Abbott today announced the first clinical results for its investigational ZoMaxx? Drug-Eluting Coronary Stent System. Data from ZOMAXX IVUS, a 40-patient, single-arm, clinical, angiographic and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) trial sponsored by Abbott, demonstrated 100 percent procedural success, no major adverse cardiac events and minimal late lumen loss (vessel diameter loss) during the four-month follow-up period... click link for more info.
Abbott Diabetes Care announced today it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its FreeStyle® Freedom? blood glucose monitoring system for consumer use. FreeStyle Freedom offers virtually pain-free testing because it measures glucose levels using a very small blood sample size (0... click link for more info.
Tokyo, (JCN) - Nagase, a Japanese trading company specializing in chemical products, recently announced its discovery, in collaboration with Kyoto University, that rosemary helps prevent brain aging. Specifically, the two partners elucidated that carnosic acid, which is found in rosemary, substantially stimulates the activity of Nrf2, a kind of transcription factor, promoting the growth of neuritis... click link for more info.
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