Life Expectancy News and Research RSS Feed - Life Expectancy News and Research

Life expectancy is the expected (in the statistical sense) number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by e''x'', which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged ''x'', according to a particular mortality experience.
Dr. Stefano Vanin investigates the Fardos mummies of pre-Columbian Peru

Dr. Stefano Vanin investigates the Fardos mummies of pre-Columbian Peru

The mummified bodies of Peruvians who died up to 1,000 years ago will yield up their secrets, thanks to a prestigious research project by the University of Huddersfield's Dr Stefano Vanin and two of his students in collaboration with the University of Pisa and the Ancient World Society. [More]
New combination therapies with anti-sickling capabilities needed for sickle cell disease

New combination therapies with anti-sickling capabilities needed for sickle cell disease

Pain is an undeniable focal point for patients with sickle cell disease but it's not the best focus for drug development, says one of the dying breed of physicians specializing in the condition. [More]
L-carnitine improves cardiac health in patients after heart attack, say researchers

L-carnitine improves cardiac health in patients after heart attack, say researchers

L-carnitine significantly improves cardiac health in patients after a heart attack, say a multicenter team of investigators in a study published today in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. [More]
Exposure to metabolic risks of cardiovascular disease increasing

Exposure to metabolic risks of cardiovascular disease increasing

Despite their greater life expectancy, the adults of today are less "metabolically" healthy than their counterparts of previous generations. [More]
Orthopaedic surgeons should recommend weight loss to patients prior to joint replacement

Orthopaedic surgeons should recommend weight loss to patients prior to joint replacement

The obesity epidemic in America and its impact on musculoskeletal health, as well as related treatment outcomes and costs, was discussed during the AAOS Now forum, "Obesity, Orthopaedics and Outcomes," at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons at McCormick Place in Chicago. [More]
Roche, Isis Pharmaceuticals to develop neurodegenerative therapeutics for Huntington's disease

Roche, Isis Pharmaceuticals to develop neurodegenerative therapeutics for Huntington's disease

Roche and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc today announced that they have formed an alliance to develop treatments for Huntington's disease based on Isis' antisense oligonucleotide technology. [More]
AstraZeneca reports fostamatinib Phase 3 study results for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

AstraZeneca reports fostamatinib Phase 3 study results for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

AstraZeneca today announced top-line results of OSKIRA-1, a Phase 3 study to assess the efficacy and safety of fostamatinib, the first oral spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor in development for rheumatoid arthritis. [More]
Researchers find regional disparities in treatment, control of hypertension

Researchers find regional disparities in treatment, control of hypertension

One in five Americans are completely unaware that they are at risk for the second leading cause of premature death: high blood pressure. In the first ever analysis of awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension for every county, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington revealed significant differences across the US. [More]

Model predicts earth’s population will stabilise around mid century

Global population data spanning the years from 1900 to 2010 have enabled a research team from the Autonomous University of Madrid to predict that the number of people on Earth will stabilise around the middle of the century. [More]
Viewpoints: Obama's brain initiative is 'modest but welcome start;' Disability insurance facing 'immediate crisis'

Viewpoints: Obama's brain initiative is 'modest but welcome start;' Disability insurance facing 'immediate crisis'

President Obama officially announced his new brain research initiative on Tuesday, with a pledge to put $100 million in his 2014 budget to support work at three federal agencies. [More]
Washington Post examines HIV, TB epidemics in Russia

Washington Post examines HIV, TB epidemics in Russia

The Washington Post examines how the HIV and tuberculosis epidemics are affecting Russia, where "HIV/AIDS was the third-largest cause of premature death," according to recently released data in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2012. [More]
Different metrics should be used in different settings to measure ARV program success

Different metrics should be used in different settings to measure ARV program success

Studies show "the profound impact of antiretroviral-therapy coverage at a population level" -- how wider coverage can increase life expectancy and reduce the risk of HIV infection. [More]

International support rising for adopting universal water security

Amid changing weather and water patterns worldwide and forecasts of more severe transformations to come, calls have been growing for the UN Security Council to include water issues on its agenda. [More]
Genetic testing services for rare neurological disorders launched by Athena Diagnostics

Genetic testing services for rare neurological disorders launched by Athena Diagnostics

Athena Diagnostics, a leader in neurological diagnostics, today announced the clinical availability of new genetic tests to aid the detection of several rare neurological disorders, including hereditary neuropathy, neuromuscular disease, epilepsy and certain movement disorders. The lab-developed tests are available through Athena Diagnostics, a business of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX), the world’s leading provider of diagnostic information services. [More]
Alnylam begins dosing in Phase I clinical trial with ALN-TTRsc for treatment of ATTR

Alnylam begins dosing in Phase I clinical trial with ALN-TTRsc for treatment of ATTR

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has initiated dosing in its Phase I clinical trial with ALN-TTRsc, an RNAi therapeutic targeting transthyretin (TTR) for the treatment of TTR-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR). [More]

Higher mortality rates among Americans younger than 50 linked to low life expectancy

Higher mortality rates among Americans younger than 50 are responsible for much of why life expectancy is lower in the United States than most of the world's most developed nations. [More]

New online system gives people more knowledge and control of health

Research to set up an online system enabling doctors to access patients' health records from all across the European Union, has been launched. [More]

Developing countries making gains in life expectancy, education, other markers, Human Development Index says

The U.N. Development Programme on Thursday in Mexico City launched the Human Development Index 2013, which "combines measures of life expectancy, literacy, school enrollment and gross domestic product per capita," the U.N. News Centre reports. [More]
Results from GTx's Phase 2 clinical trial of enobosarm published online

Results from GTx's Phase 2 clinical trial of enobosarm published online

GTx, Inc. today announced that the journal, The Lancet Oncology, has published online ahead of its April print edition the results from GTx's randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial of enobosarm to assess its effects on muscle wasting and physical function in patients with cancer. [More]

Dueling budget blueprints to be unveiled this week, will show partisan differences on size of government, Medicare and Medicaid

At the same time, President Barack Obama appears to be harboring hopes of reaching a big deficit-reduction deal that could include some of the money-saving changes that Republicans favor. The idea worries some congressional Democrats. [More]