Newly developed software will help to allay patients' fears about who has access to their confidential data. Research published in the open access journal BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making describes a computer program capable of deleting details from medical records which may identify patients, while leaving important medical information intact.
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Men who eat an average of half a serving of soy food a day have lower concentrations of sperm than men who do not eat soy foods, according to research published online in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal, Human Reproduction, today (Thursday 24 July). The association was particularly marked in men who were overweight or obese, the study found.
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Nanotechnology will significantly change virtually every facet of the way we live. The next president has the opportunity to shape these changes and to ensure that nanotechnology's benefits will be maximized and its risks identified and controlled. A new report by former EPA official J.
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A report by scientists from The Netherlands published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org/) identifies a compound in human saliva that greatly speeds wound healing. This research may offer hope to people suffering from chronic wounds related to diabetes and other disorders, as well as traumatic injuries and burns.
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Taboos about sex in Pakistan make it difficult to address HIV/AIDS and are hindering efforts to curb the spread of the disease, according to a study published recently in the Lancet Infectious Diseases, the New York Times reports.
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Amerigroup on Tuesday said it will enter a $225 million settlement agreement with Illinois and the federal government over allegations that it denied coverage to eligible pregnant women, the Baltimore Sun reports (Baltimore Sun, 7/23).
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One-hundred four House members on Monday sent a letter to President Bush calling on him to "halt all action" on a proposed regulation being developed by the Bush administration that allegedly seeks to allow medical providers to refuse patients access to commonly used contraceptive methods as a matter of conscience on the grounds that they are a form of abortion, ABC News reports.
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Picking up on innuendo and social cues is a central component of engaging in conversation, but people with autism often struggle to determine another person's intentions in a social interaction.
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Is Breast Reduction More Dangerous for Morbidly Obese Women? As the obese population increases, more overweight women are consulting plastic surgeons for breast reductions. In previous studies, this group of patients had been thought to have higher complication rates.
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Three years after Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of the Gulf Coast, a new survey conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health Project on the Public and Biological Security shows that one-third (34%) of those affected by the storm report they are very prepared if a major hurricane were to strike their communities in the next six months.
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It is common knowledge that regular exercise supports physical and mental well-being. Despite this and recommendations from health care providers, the majority of patients with chronic illnesses remain inactive.
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Two of the world's richest philanthropists, Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg pledged on Wednesday to spend 500 million dollars to make people all over the world stop smoking. They announced the news together at a press conference at the TheTimesCenter in Midtown Manhattan.
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A three-point plan to improve mental health services in England has been proposed today by Unite, the country's largest union. The template for action follows stinging criticism of the mental health system by the Healthcare Commission. One finding revealed that 45% of psychiatric nurses and 15% of patients had been physically attacked in the last year.
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Researchers have made a discovery which could lead the way for new treatments into a rare eye disorder which if not treated can result in permanent blindness in childhood. An eye disorder which leads to "lazy eye" (strabismus) first described in early 1900, and a gene known since 1990 to be widely expressed within the nervous system, have now been linked together.
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Scientists at the University of Aberdeen Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health are starting a new weight loss study to assess mechanisms associated with hunger during dieting. They are particularly interested in the role of diet composition in helping people comply with weight loss diets.
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For decades, researchers have dreamed of creating robots with human-like abilities. Now an interdisciplinary team of European researchers has developed a robotic arm and hand that moves and 'senses' like a human, and is controlled by a human-inspired electronic 'brain'.
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From understanding climate change to predicting infectious disease outbreaks to engineering solutions to address disability, scientific research is increasingly crossing the boundaries between disciplines.
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MedHelp announced today a collaboration with Johns Hopkins Medicine, where specialists from Johns Hopkins will personally answer questions on a number of health topics on the MedHelp website, starting immediately with two questions a day each on Brain Tumors and Trigeminal Neuralgia.
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Quitting is on the minds of young smokers well before full-blown addiction sets in, according to a new study from Canada. "Kids begin to think about quitting very soon after their first puffs," said lead author Jennifer O'Loughlin, a researcher with the department of social and preventive medicine at the University of Montreal.
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Absence may make the heart grow fonder, but endurance exercise seems to make it younger. According to a study conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, older people who did endurance exercise training for about a year ended up with metabolically much younger hearts. The researchers also showed that by one metabolic measure, women benefited more than men from the training.
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Drexel University's plasma medicine technologies were licensed to Plasma Technologies, Inc.(PTI), a Texas-based company that intends to design, patent and market medical devices related to wound healing and care, prevention of hospital borne infections, and other medical applications. The technology may have near term impact not only in civilian healthcare settings, but also on the U.S.
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A recent study shows that popular fish oil supplements have an effect on the healing process of small, acute wounds in human skin. But whether that effect is detrimental, as researchers initially suspected, remains a mystery.
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Papers delivered at three conferences in the US and Europe this summer report on new research at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering studying interactions of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) with bubble-blowing robots.
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For the first time, a consensus of diabetes and metabolic disorder experts have recommended a comprehensive treatment regimen for patients with pre-diabetes. The recommendations call for specific guidelines on both lifestyle, and pharmaceutical intervention where appropriate.
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A study led by Roy T. Steigbigel, M.D.
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Duska Therapeutics, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: DSKA) ("Duska") announced that it has submitted for comment a synopsis of a proposed Phase 3 clinical study for its lead drug, ATPace(TM), to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (the "FDA") Division of Cardiovascular and Renal Products.
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The Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission releases its 2008 report "Brain and Spinal Injuries in Georgia: A Needs Assessment and State Action Plan" which is in conjunction with the Trust Fund's 10th Anniversary that will be held at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.
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SpectraScience, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SCIE), a San Diego-based medical devices company, announced that it has placed its LUMA Cervical Imaging System to detect pre-cancers at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa under the direction of Dr. Colleen Kennedy. Dr.
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Marin Institute, the alcohol industry watchdog, held a news conference and town hall meeting in Los Angeles today to release the disturbing findings of its landmark report, The Annual Catastrophe of Alcohol in California. Such a comprehensive study has never been done in California.
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Dendreon Corporation (Nasdaq: DNDN) announced that it expects the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) to review in October 2008 the interim analysis of overall survival relating to the Company's Phase 3 IMPACT (IMmunotherapy for Prostate AdenoCarcinoma Treatment, also known as D9902B) clinical trial of PROVENGE(R) (sipuleucel-T).
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FluoroPharma Inc., a company developing breakthrough molecular imaging agents for the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) market, announced positive Phase I results for BFPET, its novel Fluorine-18 labeled tracer for myocardial perfusion imaging. BFPET is FluoroPharma's second cardiovascular product to complete Phase I clinical development.
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Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:GILD) today announced that it has begun enrolling patients in a Phase III clinical trial of its investigational antiretroviral agent elvitegravir (GS 9137), a novel oral integrase inhibitor that is being evaluated for the treatment of HIV-1 infection.
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Although no agreement has been signed, Amerigroup announced that a settlement was reached today stemming from the largest jury verdict ever awarded under the False Claims Act and the Illinois Whistleblower Reward and Protection Act, according to Goldberg Kohn. A jury had originally handed down a $48 million verdict against Amerigroup in 2006 that by law was tripled to $144 million.
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Dr. Michael Law, a board certified plastic surgeon in Raleigh, North Carolina, sees patients from all parts of the world seeking natural looking plastic surgery. "Fat grafting has changed the results of facial plastic surgery dramatically. Traditional facelifts simply do not provide the natural result of microfat grafting," says Dr. Law.
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Shire Limited (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it has launched VYVANSE? (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) for the treatment of adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This launch follows the recent FDA approval of VYVANSE to treat ADHD in the adult population. VYVANSE is now available in U.S.
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Taking a few precautionary steps can help Americans visiting China for the 2008 Olympic Games go for the gold by avoiding health woes associated with international travel, according to Joint Commission International (JCI). JCI is the international arm of The Joint Commission, and accredits more than 170 hospitals worldwide.
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Doctors at Melbourne Internal Medical Associates (MIMA) Cancer Center have become the first in Florida to treat cancer using RapidArc? radiotherapy technology from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR). They are also the first in the world to use this technology to deliver stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in the treatment of soft tissue carcinoma.
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A team of Scottish researchers have shown that cancer patients offered a depression care intervention - delivered by specially trained oncology nurses with no previous psychiatric experience - showed improvements in symptoms of depression compared to patients offered usual care. The beneficial effects of the "Depression Care for People with Cancer" package (DCPC) were found to be sustained at 12 months follow-up, to the surprise of the investigators.
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The Healthcare practice at Frost & Sullivan is pleased to announce its 2008 Quarterly Analyst Briefing Presentation on the North American cancer molecular diagnostics market to be held on Thursday July 24, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. PDT. The presentation will cover strategic insight into the U.S. cancer molecular diagnostics market and how the market correlates with growth in the world of personalized medicine.
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Plants could act as safe, speedy factories for growing antibodies for personalized treatments against a common form of cancer, according to new findings from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The findings came in the first human tests of an injectable vaccine grown in genetically engineered plants.
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For patients with head and neck cancer, accurately determining how advanced the cancer is and detecting secondary cancers usually means undergoing numerous tests - until now. New Saint Louis University research has found that the PET-CT scanner can be used as a stand-alone tool to detect secondary cancers, which occur in 5 to 10 percent of head and neck cancer patients.
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Unnecessary biopsies could be a thing of the past for patients undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer. New Saint Louis University research found that when nuclear medicine clinicians and treating physicians work together to interpret PET-CT scan results, the accuracy dramatically improves, sparring patients unnecessary pain and suffering.
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Researchers have found differences in hospitals giving care to patients with gastric or pancreatic cancer. The report, published in the July issue of Archives of Surgery, found that if patients are treated at hospitals that conduct relatively more cancer surgeries or at hospitals deemed comprehensive care centers, the patients have more lymph nodes examined by physicians who are investigating the spread and prognosis of their disease.
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New findings from research supported by NARSAD, the world's leading charity dedicated to mental health research, and conducted by Harvard-affiliated scientists are providing important clues into how genes work to impair various aspects of attention, memory and perception -- the behaviors associated with many psychiatric illnesses, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression.
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Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) announced that ABILIFY® (aripiprazole) received expanded indications in Bipolar I Disorder and Schizophrenia. ABILIFY is now indicated for maintenance treatment of manic and mixed episodes associated with Bipolar I Disorder with or without psychotic features in pediatric patients (aged 10-17) and maintenance treatment of Schizophrenia in adolescents (aged 13-17).
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AstraZeneca announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved SEROQUEL® (quetiapine fumarate) for the maintenance treatment of patients with bipolar I disorder, as adjunct to lithium or divalproex. SEROQUEL is approved by the FDA for the treatment of schizophrenia, and is also the only single agent approved by the FDA for the treatment of both depressive episodes in bipolar disorder and acute manic episodes associated with bipolar I disorder1,2.
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Most people believe that the way we see things is affected by how we feel emotionally. Does our mood really change what we see or do individuals with certain genetic traits always tend to see things differently, regardless of their mood? Earlier research suggested that people with bipolar mood disorder might alternate their perception more slowly when looking at ambiguous figures.
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Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) announced that an overview of asenapine clinical trials from the Olympia program was presented at the 161st Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in Washington, D.C., May 3-8. Data from the studies, involving patients with bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia, were presented in two oral presentations (Abstracts # 44 and # 80).
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A new study by Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University researchers reports that fewer than half the patients previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder based on a comprehensive, psychiatric diagnostic interview - -the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID).
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Despite intriguing findings that omega 3 fatty acid supplements could alleviate depression symptoms, there is still not enough evidence to say whether omega 3s are useful treatments for people with bipolar disorder, according to a review of recent studies.
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