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Publication Of World Health Report 2000 'An Act Of Remarkable Courage', Says School Expert

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Ten years on, Martin McKee reflects on report placing health system performance rankings firmly on political agenda. Martin McKee, Professor of European Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has contributed one of three commentaries appearing today in the journal Health Policy and Planning, each of which take a different perspective on the World Health Report 2000 on health systems (WHR2000)...

New Data Reveals How Romantically Separated People Give Spoken Clues To How They're Coping

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

A new study from the University of Arizona shows that people in the midst of a divorce typically reveal how they are handling things - not so much by what they say but how they say it. In fact, data revealed that even complete strangers were able to figure out how people were coping with their emotions using relatively small amounts of information...

Depression Significantly Improved By Non-Invasive Therapy

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Major depression is a common and disabling brain condition marked not only by the presence of depressed mood but also by its effects on sleep, energy, decision-making, memory and thoughts of death or of suicide. Major depression affects 15 million adults in the U.S., and the World Health Organization projects that by 2020, it will be the largest contributor to disability in the world after heart disease. While antidepressants have helped many to recover and resume their lives, only 30 percent of patients will experience full remission with the first medication they use...

Molecules Involved In Touch And Other Mechanically Activated Systems Identified

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Scripps Research Institute scientists have identified two proteins with potential to be important targets for research into a wide range of health problems, including pain, deafness, and cardiac and kidney dysfunction. The study was published in Science Express, the advanced, online edition of the journal Science. In the study, the Scripps Research scientists identify two proteins, which they named Piezo1 and Piezo2 from the Greek meaning "pressure," involved in the cellular response to mechanical stimulation...

New Animal Model For Hemophilia A Developed By Yale

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have developed a new animal model for studying hemophilia A, with the goal of eventually treating people with the disorder. Hemophilia A, a hereditary defect that prevents blood from clotting normally, is caused by a variety of mutations in the factor VIII gene...

Stem Cell Ruling Halts Sight-Saving Research

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), a professional organization of member scientists, opposes the Federal District Court injunction that froze federal funding for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research. ARVO is troubled by this barrier to research that has the potential to restore sight and mitigate eye damage. ARVO members investigate hESC therapies for treating diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and corneal disease, along with studies related to eye tissue transplantation, regeneration and engineering...

How Bone-Marrow Stem Cells Hold Their 'Breath' In Low-Oxygen Environments

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified unique metabolic properties that allow a specific type of stem cell in the body to survive and replicate in low-oxygen environments. In a study published in the September issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, investigators found that the low-oxygen microenvironments that ordinarily deprive and starve other kinds of cells are tolerated by a type of stem cell used as the primary material for bone-marrow transplantation. These cells, called hematopoietic stem cells, are found in marrow and can replicate quickly...

Owl Monkeys Need Moonlight As Much As A Biological Clock For Nocturnal Activity

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

An international collaboration led by a University of Pennsylvania anthropologist has shown that environmental factors, like temperature and light, play as much of a role in the activity of traditionally nocturnal monkeys as the circadian rhythm that regulates periods of sleep and wakefulness. The study also indicates that when the senses relay information on these environmental factors, it can influence daily activity and, in the case of a particular monkey species, may have even produced evolutionary change...

Key To Origin Of Life Could Be Transition Metal Catalysts

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

One of the big, unsolved problems in explaining how life arose on Earth is a chicken-and-egg paradox: How could the basic biochemicals - such as amino acids and nucleotides - have arisen before the biological catalysts (proteins or ribozymes) existed to carry out their formation? In a paper appearing in the current issue of The Biological Bulletin, scientists propose that a third type of catalyst could have jumpstarted metabolism and life itself, deep in hydrothermal ocean vents...

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Retain An Inactivated X Chromosome

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Female induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, reprogrammed from human skin cells into cells that have the embryonic-like potential to become any cell in the body, retain an inactive X chromosome, stem cell researchers at UCLA have found. The finding could have implications for studying X chromosome-linked diseases such as Rett syndrome, caused by mutations in a gene located on the X chromosome...

Cognitive Impairment In People With Parkinson's Disease Exposed By Study

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Queen's researchers have found that people with Parkinson's disease can perform automated tasks better than people without the disease, but have significant difficulty switching from easy to hard tasks. The findings are a step towards understanding the aspects of the illness that affect the brain's ability to function on a cognitive level. "We often think of Parkinson's disease as being a disorder of motor function," says Douglas Munoz, director of the Queen's Centre for Neuroscience Studies and a Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience...

Long-Term Weight Loss An Uphill Struggle

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Only about one in every six Americans who have ever been overweight or obese loses weight and maintains that loss, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. While that number is larger than most weight-loss clinical trials report, the majority of Americans are still unable to lose weight and keep it off. Identifying those who lose weight and successfully maintain that loss may aid health professionals in developing approaches to help others maintain weight loss, the researchers say...

Stem-Cell Ruling: Reaction From American Society For Biochemistry And Molecular Biology

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology expressed its disapproval and disappointment this week in response to the Aug. 23 ruling in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that granted a preliminary injunction barring federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research. In a statement, the society said the decision, which came in response to a lawsuit filed by two adult stem-cell researchers, effectively halts human embryonic stem-cell research in the United States and "represents a crossroads in American scientific policy...

New Model May Simplify High-Dose Radiosurgery Planning

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

There is yet no straightforward way to determine the optimal dose level and treatment schedules for high-dose radiation therapies such as stereotactic radiation therapy, which is used to treat brain and lung cancer, or for high-dose brachytherapy for prostate and other cancers. Radiation oncologists at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC-James) may have solved the problem by developing a new mathematical model that encompasses all dose levels...

Model For Implantable Artificial Kidney To Replace Dialysis Unveiled By UCSF

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

UCSF researchers have unveiled a prototype model of the first implantable artificial kidney, in a development that one day could eliminate the need for dialysis. The device, which would include thousands of microscopic filters as well as a bioreactor to mimic the metabolic and water-balancing roles of a real kidney, is being developed in a collaborative effort by engineers, biologists and physicians nationwide, led by Shuvo Roy, PhD, in the UCSF Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences...

Insight Into Superstitious Behavior Offered By K-State Research Project

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

People who believe that fate and chance control their lives are more likely to be superstitious -- but when faced with death they are likely to abandon superstition altogether, according to a recent Kansas State University undergraduate research project. The project, led by Scott Fluke, a May 2010 K-State bachelor's graduate in psychology, Olathe, focuses on personality traits that lead to superstition. Fluke received a $500 Doreen Shanteau Undergraduate Research Fellowship in 2009 to work with the team of Russell Webster, graduate student in psychology, Shorewood, Ill...

Discovery Networks Hostage-Taking A Rare Terror Event

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

A new report by terrorism researchers at the University of Maryland concludes that the deadly hostage-taking incident at the Discovery Communications headquarters in suburban Washington, D.C. meets the criteria of a terrorist act - a rare one for media organizations and the nation's capital region. Hostage-taking, though, is a familiar pattern in capital-region terror, the researchers add...

Link Between Chronic Stress And Heart Attack: Hair Provides Proof

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Researchers at The University of Western Ontario have provided the first direct evidence using a biological marker, to show chronic stress plays an important role in heart attacks. Stressors such as job, marital and financial problems have been linked to the increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease including heart attack. But there hasn't been a biological marker to measure chronic stress. Drs...

Nanostructures Made From Edible Materials Could Be Used For Gas Storage, Food And Medical Technologies

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Sugar, salt, alcohol and a little serendipity led a Northwestern University research team to discover a new class of nanostructures that could be used for gas storage and food and medical technologies. And the compounds are edible. The porous crystals are the first known all-natural metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that are simple to make. Most other MOFs are made from petroleum-based ingredients, but the Northwestern MOFs you can pop into your mouth and eat, and the researchers have. "They taste kind of bitter, like a Saltine cracker, starchy and bland," said Ronald A...

Vended Foods And Beverages May Be Linked To Obesity, Diabetes And Coronary Artery Disease

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

School children who consume foods purchased in vending machines are more likely to develop poor diet quality - and that may be associated with being overweight, obese or at risk for chronic health problems such as diabetes and coronary artery disease, according to research from the University of Michigan Medical School. The study also looked at foods sold in school stores, snack bars and other related sales that compete with USDA lunch program offerings and found that these pose the same health and diet risks in school-aged children...

Pediatric Weight Expert Provides Obesity Trinity Answers

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

In a first person paper published in the August 27, 2010 issue of Childhood Obesity, Dr. Melinda Sothern, Director of Health Promotion and Professor of Public Health at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, provides three ways to de-program the 1950s obesity trinity underlying the current obesity epidemic in the United States and protect future generations from its health consequences. "The combination of prenatal tobacco use, infant formula, and frequent pregnancies - i.e...

Cigarette Smoke May Contribute To Lung Inflammation Through A New Chemical Pathway

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Cigarette smoke shuts off a key enzyme in airways that regulates the body's response to inflammation, according to findings from the University of Alabama at Birmingham published online at Science Express. The UAB researchers say smoke inhibits the enzyme, called Leukotriene A4 Hydrolase (LTA4H), causing it to fail in its job of shutting down white blood cells following a successful response to inflammation. The team says the research study identified a previously unknown substrate of LTA4H called proline-glycine-proline (PGP)...

Diabetes drug Avandia still being prescribed despite heart risk fears

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 01:52:50 -0500

A popular diabetes drug is still being prescribed two months after a safety body recommended its withdrawal amid concerns the drug can increase the risk of heart attacks.

Gum and heart link 'breakthrough'

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:42:13 -0500

Scientists say they have established one reason why gum disease may increase the risk of heart disease.

A Child Psychiatrist Responds

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:34:44 -0500

Dr. Mary Margaret Gleason answers some readers' questions.

Stay Vigilant, Bird Flu Could Spark Next Global Outbreak, Urges Expert

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 13:00:00 -0500

Robert Webster, an influenza expert, says health authorities worldwide need to remain watchful for possible influenza outbreaks, despite swine flu being much less deadly than people had originally feared. Webster, chairman of the virology and molecular biology department at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, says that bird flu remains a possible threat and could be the cause of the next global outbreak...

Children Who Eat Vended Foods Face Health Problems, Poor Diet

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0500

Merck's Cladribine Tablets For Multiple Sclerosis Approved In Australia

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0500

Merck KGaA announced that the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved Cladribine Tablets for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS)(1). Cladribine Tablets will be registered in Australia under the trade name Movectro®. "Approval of Cladribine Tablets in Australia is another step forward in our commitment to fight the devastating disease of multiple sclerosis by providing new therapeutic options meeting unmet needs," said Elmar Schnee, Member of the Executive Board and Head of the Merck Serono division...

Red Cross Responds To Hurricane Earl Along The Atlantic Coast

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0500

The American Red Cross is responding with help to people affected by the winds, rains and flooding of Hurricane Earl in North Carolina and is ready as the storm moves up the Atlantic Coast. A dozen Red Cross shelters were opened in North Carolina, giving more than 260 a safe place to ride out the storm last night as heavy rain and strong winds passed through the area. Today, after Earl moves out of the area, the Red Cross will be assessing damage left by the storm and helping people as they begin to cleanup...

Psychiatrists Call For Northern Ireland Executive To Follow Scottish Lead On Minimum Price For Alcohol

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0500

The Royal College of Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland has called on the Executive to take the advice of the Health and Social Development Ministers and follow Scotland's lead in proposing a minimum price for alcohol of 45 pence a unit. Both Health Minister Michael McGimpsey and Social Development Minister Alex Attwood have said in recent months that minimum pricing is needed to curb dangerous drinking habits that cost society up to Â£900 million a year...

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals Announces Publication Of New Preclinical Research Data For Novel Anticancer Compound RX-8243

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0500

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex: RNN), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics, announced the publication of a research article in Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters on the anti-tumor activity of RX-8243 and its analogues...

UPMC Agrees To Expand Access To Care After Closure Of UPMC Braddock

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0500

Under an agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) will provide support for primary and urgent care services in the borough of Braddock, Pennsylvania and neighboring communities through expanded hours and services at the Braddock Family Health Center...

Secretaries Sebelius And Duncan Announce National Coalition To Enroll Uninsured Kids In Health Care

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0500

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan highlighted the Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge to enroll five million children in Medicaid and CHIP within five years. Since Sebelius announced the Challenge last February, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have built an unprecedented coalition of partners, ranging from state governors to national advocacy organizations, who have stepped up to the challenge to enroll kids and educate families...

Lineagen, Inc. Selected To Present At The 2010 Genetic Risk Factors For Autism: Translating Discoveries Into Diagnostics Symposium In Toronto

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0500

Lineagen, Inc., a developer of innovative genomic tests and services for the screening, evaluation and diagnosis of complex disorders and diseases including autism spectrum disorders, announced today that Dr. Michael S. Paul, the Company's President & Chief Executive Officer, was selected to present at the "Genetic Risk Factors for Autism: Translating Discoveries into Diagnostics" symposium, being held September 1-2, 2010 at the Old Mill Inn and Spa in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Seeks European Marketing Authorization For Investigational Once-Daily HIV Treatment TMC278

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0500

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals announced its submission of a Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for TMC278 (rilpivirine, as hydrochloride), an investigational non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) for the treatment of HIV. The proposed indication would make TMC278 available for once-daily use with other antiretroviral agents in treatment-naÃ¯ve HIV-1-infected adults. It is estimated that 33.4 million people are living with HIV worlsudwide,[1] 2.3 million of which are in Europe...