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New research: 10-minute frailty test can predict surgical outcomes in older patients

A simple, 10-minute "frailty" test administered to older patients before they undergo surgery can predict with great certainty their risk for complications, how long they will stay in the hospital and - most strikingly - whether they are likely to end up in a nursing home afterward, new research from Johns Hopkins suggests.

13 May 2010

Two LSU researchers tackle incidence of malnutrition-related deaths among older adults in the U.S.

In a paper published in the May 2010 issue of the scholarly journal Annals of Epidemiology, two LSU researchers tackle a problem seldom acknowledged in the United States - the incidence of malnutrition-related deaths among older adults

13 May 2010

Additional benefits of LAIAs over long-acting human insulin not been proven

It has so far not been proven that the long-acting insulin analogues (LAIAs) insulin detemir (trade name: Levemir) and insulin glargine (trade name: Lantus), which are approved for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, offer patients an additional benefit versus long-acting human insulin. This applies to adults as well as to children and adolescents. This is the result of the final report published by the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) on 19 April 2010.

13 May 2010

Two-thirds of child deaths in 2008 due to infectious diseases, report finds

Pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and other infectious diseases accounted for two-thirds of the 8.8 million deaths in 2008 among children under age 5 around the world, according to a Lancet study published on Wednesday, HealthDay News/Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports. The highest numbers of childhood deaths were in Africa (4.2 million) and Southeast Asia (2.39 million), according to the news service (5/11).

13 May 2010

New case report addresses diagnostic significance of CT and MRI for DCF

Duodenocaval fistula is an uncommon but lethal clinical entity. The high mortality has been attributed to the difficulty of diagnosis before attempts at definitive therapy.

13 May 2010

Tracking genes in infant's intestine helps compare early development of breast-fed and formula-fed babies

Is breast milk so different from infant formula? The ability to track which genes are operating in an infant's intestine has allowed University of Illinois scientists to compare the early development of breast-fed and formula-fed babies. They say the difference is very real.

13 May 2010

Scientists discover link between offspring lung function and maternal vitamin A supplementation

Vitamin A is critical to maternal health and child survival, yet in most developing countries Vitamin A deficiency is a leading cause of blindness and increased child mortality. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has long been a leader in vitamin A research, and scientists at the School recently discovered a link between offspring lung function and maternal vitamin A supplementation.

13 May 2010

Marriage raises life expectancy

Marriage is more beneficial for men than for women - at least for those who want a long life. Previous studies have shown that men with younger wives live longer. While it had long been assumed that women with younger husbands also live longer, in a new study Sven Drefahl from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock, Germany, has shown that this is not the case. Instead, the greater the age difference from the husband, the lower the wife's life expectancy.

12 May 2010

Health leaders from sub-Saharan Africa gather for three-day conference on family planning in Kenya

A three-day conference exploring ways to increase access to family planning services in Africa kicked off in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday, Capital FM reports. The meeting, which is hosted by USAID, will bring together "USAID's partners in sub-Saharan Africa who include Angola, Burundi, [Democratic Republic of Congo], Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan and Tanzania," to work to identify gaps in reproductive and family planning services and address ways to reach out to populations in need, the news service writes (Karong'o, 5/11).

12 May 2010

Opinions: Abortion in Canada's G8 initiative; Security of Afghan women; U.S. global development strategy; Mother's Day; U.S. food security initiative; Polio eradication

National Post columnist Jonathan Kay examines the ongoing debate over whether Canada's G8 child and maternal health initiative should include abortions, which according to a 2006 Oxford University Press-World Bank report, are "one small chunk of a bigger puzzle. A much larger problem, in terms of the number of female lives affected, is the decidedly less headline-grabbing subject of hemorrhages - which include antepartun hemorrhages … and primary postpartum hemorrhages.

12 May 2010

CHD mortality rate in Ontario decreased by 35%: Study

From 1994 to 2005 in Ontario, Canada, there was a 35 percent decrease in the rate of deaths from coronary heart disease, with about half of this reduction associated with improvements in traditional CHD risk factors such as total cholesterol levels and systolic blood pressure, according to a study in the May 12 issue of JAMA.

12 May 2010

Sanofi-aventis commences multinational Phase IIIb PALLAS trial of Multaq in permanent AF patients

Sanofi-aventis announced today the initiation of a multinational, randomized double-blind Phase IIIb trial, PALLAS, to assess the potential clinical benefit of Multaq(R) (dronedarone) in over 10, 000 patients with permanent atrial fibrillation (AF) to reduce major adverse cardiovascular events. The announcement was made during Heart Rhythm 2010, the Heart Rhythm Society's 31st Annual Scientific Sessions.

12 May 2010

Preterm birth rates drop for most states and ethnic and gestational-age groups: March of Dimes

For the first time in three decades, the nation - and most states - saw a two-year decline in preterm birth rates, indicating that strategies implemented over the past seven years have begun to pay off, according to the March of Dimes.

12 May 2010

Limiting fat intake to below 20% can reduce risk of breast cancer recurrence by 24%

When one of the country's foremost physicians—people like Dr. Andrew Weil—need someone to care for their friends and family dealing with cancer, the man they turn to is Keith Block, M.D. "I believe in Keith's program and would head to the Block Center if I were facing a diagnosis of cancer. It is where I have and will continue to send my friends and family," said Dr. Weil.

11 May 2010

Globe and Mail special issue examines Africa, includes look ahead at G20 meeting, interview with Pres. Obama

The Globe and Mail examines Ethiopia and Malawi's role in next month's G20 talks in Toronto, Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has invited both countries to participate in the meeting, which could significantly affect Africa because it has become the "premier forum for confronting global economic problems and for co-ordinating solutions," according to the Globe and Mail.

11 May 2010

Exposure to fine particulate matter can trigger cardiovascular deaths, heart attacks

The scientific evidence linking air pollution to heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular death has "substantially strengthened," and people, particularly those at high cardiovascular risk, should limit their exposure, according to an updated American Heart Association scientific statement.

11 May 2010

Improving newborn care in first month of life essential for reducing child mortality

Improving newborn care in the first month of life is essential for reducing child deaths in developing countries, according to a global update on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) released today in the World Health Statistics 2010.

11 May 2010

'Striking improvements' toward MDG targets, progress is unequal, WHO report says

The WHO's annual health statistics report, released Monday, found that global efforts aimed at achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets have led to "striking improvements" among goals related to child health, maternal mortality, malaria and HIV/AIDS, Reuters reports.

11 May 2010

Positive results from Cytori's Celution-based ADRC trial for treatment of no-option chronic heart disease patients

The first clinical trial of adipose (fat) tissue-derived stem and regenerative cells (ADRCs) for the treatment of no-option chronic heart disease patients showed the following: the procedure was safe and feasible; it demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in maximum oxygen consumption and patients' aerobic capacity measured as metabolic equivalents

10 May 2010

Depression, hostile behavior increase risk of mortality

This study conducted on a sample of 20,625 employees of the French national gas and electricity companies demonstrates that being depressed and hostile increases the mortality risk.

10 May 2010

Mortality News and Research

New research: 10-minute frailty test can predict surgical outcomes in older patients

Two LSU researchers tackle incidence of malnutrition-related deaths among older adults in the U.S.

Additional benefits of LAIAs over long-acting human insulin not been proven

Two-thirds of child deaths in 2008 due to infectious diseases, report finds

New case report addresses diagnostic significance of CT and MRI for DCF

Tracking genes in infant's intestine helps compare early development of breast-fed and formula-fed babies

Scientists discover link between offspring lung function and maternal vitamin A supplementation

Marriage raises life expectancy

Health leaders from sub-Saharan Africa gather for three-day conference on family planning in Kenya

Opinions: Abortion in Canada's G8 initiative; Security of Afghan women; U.S. global development strategy; Mother's Day; U.S. food security initiative; Polio eradication

CHD mortality rate in Ontario decreased by 35%: Study

Sanofi-aventis commences multinational Phase IIIb PALLAS trial of Multaq in permanent AF patients

Preterm birth rates drop for most states and ethnic and gestational-age groups: March of Dimes

Limiting fat intake to below 20% can reduce risk of breast cancer recurrence by 24%

Globe and Mail special issue examines Africa, includes look ahead at G20 meeting, interview with Pres. Obama

Exposure to fine particulate matter can trigger cardiovascular deaths, heart attacks

Improving newborn care in first month of life essential for reducing child mortality

'Striking improvements' toward MDG targets, progress is unequal, WHO report says

Positive results from Cytori's Celution-based ADRC trial for treatment of no-option chronic heart disease patients

Depression, hostile behavior increase risk of mortality

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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