October 15, 2007, 4:58 PM CT

Risks of NSAIDs injury

Patients underreported their use of common but potentially dangerous over-the-counter pain medications known as NSAIDs, as per research presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology. This is a serious issue given what we know about the significant risk of injury and bleeding in the GI tract in patients using NSAIDs, said David Johnson, M.D., FACG, one of the scientists and President of the America College of Gastroenterology.

Serious gastrointestinal complications such as bleeding, ulceration and perforation can occur with or without warning symptoms in people who take NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.) Ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding are serious health problems in the United States. With millions taking NSAID pain medications every day, it is estimated that more than 100,000 Americans are hospitalized each year and between 15,000 and 20,000 Americans die each year from ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding associated with NSAID use.

Of particular concern are patients with arthritic conditions. More than 14 million such patients consume NSAIDs regularly. Up to 60 percent will have gastrointestinal side effects correlation to these drugs and more than 10 percent will cease recommended medications because of troublesome gastrointestinal symptoms......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

October 11, 2007, 10:49 PM CT

Key to lower drug development costs

Improvements to the technology infrastructure for researching and developing new biopharmaceuticals would be expected to save the industry hundreds of millions of dollars annually, as per a new economic study* sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Prepared by RTI International for NIST, the studys authors observed that over the last two decades emphasis in new drug development has shifted from small-molecule chemicals to large-molecule proteins and other biopharmaceuticals such as human insulin, gene therapies and specialized antibiotic therapys. The report notes that the biopharmaceutical industry currently spends about $21 billion annually on research and development and has commercialized over 400 products.

Producing and maintaining the infrastructure that supports R&D, manufacturing and postmarket surveillance, including core data, methods, and standards used to determine the quality and efficacy of biopharmaceuticals, costs the industry a total of $1.2 billion annually, as per the report. The study focused on expenditures for four major categories of technical infrastructure: bioimaging, biomarkers, bioinformatics, and gene expression, as well as expenditures for infrastructure supporting processing and quality control for commercial manufacturing and activities involved with postmarket surveilliance. (See chart.)......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

October 10, 2007, 7:11 PM CT

Tooth loss, dementia may be linked

Tooth loss may predict the development of dementia late in life, as per research reported in the recent issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA).

Numerous past studies have shown that patients with dementia are more likely than patients without the condition to have poor oral health. Few researchers, however, have examined the relationship from the opposite direction, to determine whether poor oral health actually may contribute to the development of dementia.

To that end, scientists from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and College of Dentistry, Lexington, studied data from 144 participants in the Nun Study, a study of aging and Alzheimers disease among Catholic sisters of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. The scientists used dental records and results of annual cognitive examinations to study participants from the orders Milwaukee province who were 75 to 98 years old.

Of the participants who did not have dementia at the first examination, those with few teeth (zero to nine) had an increased risk of developing dementia during the study compared with those who had 10 or more teeth, the authors write.

They propose several possible reasons for the association between tooth loss and dementia: not only periodontal disease but also early-life nutritional deficiencies, infections or chronic diseases that may result simultaneously in tooth loss and damage to the brain......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

October 10, 2007, 4:52 AM CT

Substance Abuse and Violence

Approximately 50 percent of Americans over the age of 12 currently drink alcohol, as per a 2003 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. While the majority of people who drink alcohol do not become violent, overwhelming evidence implicates alcohol in the expression of violence.

"By far the greatest support for a link between substance use and violent behavior involves alcohol," says Dr. Jeff Kretschmar, a project director at Kent State University's Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence (ISPV).

In the newly published The Cambridge Handbook of Violent Behavior and Aggression, Dr. Daniel Flannery, co-editor of the book, Kent State professor of justice studies and ISPV director, and Kretschmar examine published research to determine general trends in substance use and characteristics of users. They also investigate the association between substance abuse of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and amphetamines, and violent behavior......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

October 10, 2007, 4:50 AM CT

Positive results for airway bypass

Mountain View, CA, October 9, 2007 - Broncus Technologies, Inc., a medical device company investigating the airway bypass procedure for the therapy of emphysema, today announced that the results of its open-label Exhale Drug-Eluting Stent feasibility study have been reported in the recent issue of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Positive results include a statistically significant reduction in the amount of air trapped in the lungs and an improvement in breathing for patients at six months after the airway bypass procedure.

Airway bypass is a catheter-based bronchoscopic procedure designed to reduce lung hyperinflation and improve breathlessness (the clinical hallmarks of emphysema/COPD) by making new pathways for trapped air to exit the lungs. During the minimally invasive procedure, new openings are created in the airway wall connecting the damaged lung tissue to the natural airway. These pathways are supported and kept open by Exhale Drug-Eluting Stents. The hope is to improve quality of life by relieving severe symptoms including shortness of breath and hyperinflation of the chest.

Emphysema, a component of COPD, is a chronic, progressive, and irreversible lung disease characterized by the destruction of lung tissue. The loss of the lungs' natural elasticity and the collapse of airways in the lung combine to make exhalation ineffective, leaving emphysema sufferers with hyperinflation because they are unable to get air out of their lungs. Breathing becomes inefficient and patients have to work very hard just to breathe making normal activities, like walking, eating or even bathing, difficult. Treatment options for most patients with emphysema are currently limited and generally result in anguished patients and frustrated physicians......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

October 10, 2007, 4:38 AM CT

Model to study age-related macular degeneration

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have created the first animal model of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) caused by a mutation known to produce disease in people, an important first step in developing therapys. The study appears in the recent issue of Human Molecular Genetics.

Age-related macular degeneration is the most common cause of vision loss in elderly people, affecting more than 10 million people in the U.S. and about 50 million world-wide. Eventhough it is a common and debilitating condition, prevention and therapy options are limited because AMD is a difficult condition to study.

To better develop therapys for preventing the progression of AMD, we need to understand the real biochemical details of how AMD occurs, says lead author Eric A. Pierce, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Penns K.M Kirby Center for Molecular Ophthalmology. To do that, we need a model, and now we have one.

AMD is a difficult condition to investigate because it develops late in life patients typically show symptoms of AMD after 60, and the only samples scientists could use for study were from people who died while they had the early stages of AMD, and at that point, the tissue is not useful to study the conditions progression......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

October 8, 2007, 11:05 AM CT

How To Reverse The Memory Problems?

Irvine researchers have discovered how to reverse the learning and memory problems inherent in the most common form of mental impairment.

Neurobiologist Julie Lauterborn and her colleagues identified how a mutated gene associated with fragile X syndrome blocks brain cells from locking new memories into lasting ones. The gene - called fragile X mental retardation 1 (Fmr1) - is turned off in people with fragile X syndrome. This genetic mutation disrupts cellular processes that are needed for memory formation.

The scientists observed that by adding brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BNDF) proteins to the hippocampus region of fragile X syndrome test mice, memory-forming capacities of the brain cells were completely restored. The findings, which are published in the Journal of Neuroscience, suggest the possibility of fragile X syndrome therapies that allow for increased learning and memory.

"While this discovery doesn't identify a cure for fragile X syndrome, it provides the scientific foundation for methods to treat its learning and memory deficits," Lauterborn said.

In their study, the scientists reported how the loss of a functional Fmr1 gene impaired a process called long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus region of the brain where memories are created and stored. LTP describes a chemical process that literally strengthens a synapse. Synapses are the connection points between neurons where single cells are functionally coupled to other cells......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

October 4, 2007, 9:50 PM CT

Nurses play a key role in police custody suites

Nurses are now playing a valuable role in assessing people held in police custody, complementing the traditional role of the police doctor and improving response times, as per research reported in the latest Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Scientists from the University of Wolverhampton, UK, analysed just under 9,000 calls for medical assistance from five police stations and interviewed 31 custody nurses, custody officers and Forensic Medical Examiners (FMEs).

FMEs - specially trained family doctors - have traditionally provided on-call forensic and custodial medical services to UK police stations, in addition to their main primary care role explains lead author Dr Patricia Bond from the Research Institute for Healthcare Sciences at the University of Wolverhampton.

A number of UK police authorities are also starting to use dedicated custody nurses as well as FMEs to ease pressure on the healthcare system.

Our research showed that the nurses who were specifically employed to provide on-call custody support - demonstrated faster response times and similar consultation times to the doctors. Police custody staff also found them extremely approachable when it came to providing information.

Using nurses as part of a multi-disciplinary team is a practical response to the challenges faced by an overburdened health service and our research suggests that it has been very successful......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

October 4, 2007, 4:59 AM CT

New York City's infant mortality rate declined in 2006

New York Citys infant mortality rate widely regarded as a barometer of a populations general health fell slightly in 2006, the Health Department reported today. The rate in 2006 was 5.9 infant deaths for every 1,000 births, down from 6.0 the prior year. The City has made major progress in reducing infant deaths since the early part of 1990s, when the rate was double what it is today, but the decline has leveled off in recent years. The Health Department also reported that in poorer sectors of the city, infant mortality rates are still double the citywide rate.

In 2006, there were 740 infant deaths (defined as deaths of infants less than a year old) out of 125,506 New York City births. The citys infant mortality rate is still lower than the national rate, which was 6.8 per 1,000 births in 2004, the most recent year on record. The leading causes of infant death both in New York City and nationally are birth defects, premature birth, and low birth weight.

We are making progress, but not enough, and not everywhere, said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, Health Commissioner for New York City. There is no single solution to high rates of infant death we see in poor neighborhoods. We need targeted efforts to improve the health of women and children, but we also need to reduce poverty and improve womens access to health care, healthy food, smoke-free environments, and opportunities for physical activity before, during, and after pregnancy......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source

October 2, 2007, 9:18 PM CT

New Treatment Guidelines For Low Back Pain

A summary of evidence on the diagnosis and therapy of low-back pain has prompted the American Pain Society (ASP) and the American College of Physicians (ACP) to issue a new therapy guideline. The guideline is based on a thorough analysis of published research conducted by researchers at the Oregon Evidence-Based Practice Center at Oregon Health & Science University.

Among the recommendations issued by a panel of experts convened by the ACP and ASP are: Clinicians should rely less on X-rays and expensive diagnostic imaging and reports and more on therapies support by the evidence, including some medications and some alternative therapies. The guideline and two background papers are reported in the recent issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

"There is strong evidence that clinicians should not order X-rays or other imaging tests for patients with nonspecific low-back pain. They are not helpful and could result in excessive radiation exposure or unnecessary procedures," said Roger Chou, M.D., co-author of the new guidelines, senior author of both background papers, and associate professor of medicine (general internal medicine and geriatrics) and medical informatics and clinical epidemiology in the OHSU School of Medicine, Oregon Evidence-Based Practice Center at OHSU......... Posted by: Emily      Read more         Source