Medical News

RSS

YoCream International announces grant to support Parkinson's awareness, education event

YoCream International, Inc., raised $8,000 for the Brian Grant Foundation at a fundraising event held at their Company Store in Portland Oregon. The Company and Foundation announced that all sales revenue generated on July 31st at the YoCream Frozen Yogurt Company Store would go to support Parkinson's awareness, education and research and Portlanders showed up in crowds to show their support. Grant was diagnosed with Early Onset Parkinson's at 36.

21 Aug 2010

EPO upholds European Patent for Verathon's GlideScope video laryngoscopes

The European Patent Office ("EPO") Board of Appeals has issued a formal written decision to uphold European Patent No. EP 1307131 for Verathon Inc.'s GlideScope video laryngoscopes.

21 Aug 2010

Study finds genetic change in chromosome 4 causes FSHD

The Muscular Dystrophy Association today heralds a landmark muscular dystrophy advance by an international study team of scientists and physicians from the Netherlands, United States, France and Spain. Led by MDA-grantee Silvère van der Maarel, Ph.D., at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, the collaborative study of more than 2,300 people found that two distinct genetic changes on chromosome 4 must be present to cause facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD).

21 Aug 2010

Palliative care prolongs metastatic lung cancer patient’s life: Study

A precedent-setting study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday, August 19 demonstrates definitively that early referrals to palliative care prolongs life for patients living with metastatic lung cancer.

21 Aug 2010

Research Roundup: Lowering malpractice costs; Advance care planning limitations; Consumers review their own health care

Annals of Internal Medicine: Liability Claims And Costs Before And After Implementation Of A Medical Error Disclosure Program - This study focused on a "disclosure-with-offer program" launched by the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) in 2001. "After full implementation of a disclosure-with-offer program, the average monthly rate of new claims decreased from 7.03 to 4.52 per 100,000 patient encounters.

21 Aug 2010

New squeeze test for screening potential drugs for Alzheimer's

Brain cells exposed to a form of the amyloid beta protein, the molecule linked to Alzheimer's disease, become stiffer and bend less under pressure, researchers at UC Davis have found. The results reveal one mechanism by which the amyloid protein damages the brain, a finding that could lead to new ways to screen drugs for Alzheimer's and similar diseases.

21 Aug 2010

Nine Canadian banks accept donations in support of Red Cross relief efforts in Pakistan

The Canadian Red Cross is pleased to announce that nine banks in Canada are accepting cash donations in support of Red Cross relief efforts in Pakistan. Over 20 million people have been left devastated as the worst disaster the world has seen in a decade wreaks havoc across the country.

21 Aug 2010

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware selects Highmark as affiliation partner

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware (BCBSD) announced today that it has signed an affiliation agreement with Pennsylvania-based Highmark Inc. (Highmark) that will position BCBSD to remain a strong local leader in the health care marketplace. This announcement is the culmination of a four-year corporate strategic planning process for BCBSD.

21 Aug 2010

ASIR can reduce radiation dose associated with abdominal CT scans: Study

A new low-dose abdominal computed tomography (CT) technique called adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) can reduce the radiation dose associated with abdominal CT scans by 23-66 percent, according to a study in the September issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

21 Aug 2010

California radio report examines end of life care

KQED's California Report/Health Dialogues reports on end-of-life care and the roles culture and insurance play. In considering end of life care, "sometimes there's disagreement within a family, and cultural and generational differences can complicate what is already an emotionally fraught situation.

21 Aug 2010

Research finds association between pain quality and patient functioning in carpal tunnel syndrome

For carpal tunnel syndrome sufferers, itching and throbbing are pain qualities most responsible for impaired functioning and sleep disruption, according to new research reported in The Journal of Pain.

21 Aug 2010

Combination of 2 FDA approved drugs eliminate HIV infection

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center have identified two drugs that, when combined, may serve as an effective treatment for HIV.

21 Aug 2010

Catalyst Health Solutions named on 2010 Fortune 100 Fastest-Growing Companies List

Catalyst Health Solutions, Inc., announced today that it was named to the 2010 Fortune 100 Fastest-Growing Companies List. Catalyst has achieved this recognition for three consecutive years and four times in six years. The Company was also named on Fortune's Fastest-Growing All-Stars List.

21 Aug 2010

Disability discrimination claims increase

USA Today, in a front page story: "More people with disabilities filed charges of discrimination against their employers last year than at any other time in the 20-year history of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Almost 21,500 ADA-related charges were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2009.

21 Aug 2010

USPTO to allow patent for Advaxis’s new vaccine technology

Advaxis, Inc., the live, attenuated Listeria monocytogenes (Listeria) immunotherapy company, has been notified that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will allow a patent issuance of its application No. 11/785,249 entitled "Antibiotic Resistance Free Vaccines and Methods for Constructing and Using Same."

21 Aug 2010

'Rotten eggs' gas inside knee joint protects against inflammation

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gas more commonly associated with the smell of 'rotten eggs' and blocked drains. However, it has now been shown to be present naturally in our bodies and reside in knee joint synovial fluid, the protective fluid found in the cavities of joints that reduces friction between the cartilage of joints during movement. Synovial fluid H2S may play a role in reducing inflammation in joints.

21 Aug 2010

FSH society applauds findings of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

This is what we have all been working towards and fighting for, says Daniel Paul Perez, co-founder, president and CEO of the FSH Society and a 48-year-old patient with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), applauding the researchers whose study on yesterday's ScienceXpress, the journal Science's online advanced edition, pinpoints for the first time the exact genetic mechanism triggering FSHD, the most common muscular dystrophy.

21 Aug 2010

CRC imaging technique identifies early extracolonic lesions of colorectal cancer

Although the medical community has already accepted that colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is cost effective and saves lives, researchers have found that computed tomography colonography (CTC or virtual colonoscopy) not only identifies CRC but also doubles the yield of identifying significant early extracolonic (outside the colon) lesions, resulting in lives saved.

21 Aug 2010

Female sexual offenders often unrecognised and underreported

Sexual offenses committed by women, while often unrecognised and underreported, have become the subject of a new book by a University of Montreal professor. Female Sexual Offenders: Theory, Assessment and Treatment (Wiley), is the first volume of its kind to provide an overview of female-perpetrated sexual abuse, statistics on the crime, as well as treatment options for offenders.

21 Aug 2010

Whole body MRI may help to diagnose suspected child abuse: Study

Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is highly accurate at detecting soft-tissue abnormalities, may serve a role in detecting suspected child abuse in infants, according to a study in the September issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

21 Aug 2010