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JGH researchers identify 13 new genes associated with osteoporosis, bone weakness

A team of international researchers has identified 20 genes associated with osteoporosis and bone weakness, including 13 genes never previously associated with the disease. Osteoporosis is a highly heritable trait, but this marks the largest international effort to conclusively identify genes linked to the often-devastating bone disorder.

4 May 2010

Rush Center for Urban Health Equity to focus on disparities in heart and lung disease

Rush University Medical Center has been awarded a $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish the Rush Center for Urban Health Equity. The aim of the Center is to find ways to promote changes to eliminate the disparities in heart and lung disease affecting inner city residents, in particular those who are low-income persons of color.

4 May 2010

Opinions: Malaria bed net concerns; Catholic Church's humanitarian work; Abortion, global health; Foreign aid reform; Canada's G8 initiative

"To date, millions of dollars from international agencies, NGOs and USAID have been spent to get treated nets into the hands of impoverished, sub-Saharan Africans [to prevent malaria]. ... But, as even the staunchest advocate will admit, the treated nets were not designed with the cultural preferences of the rural African villager in mind," Sonia Shah, author of upcoming book about malaria, writes in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece.

4 May 2010

Depressive symptoms after ACS associated with vascular brain changes

A new study published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosmatics has examined brain activity after a heart attack.This study provides the first evidence that persistent depressive symptoms after acute coronary syndrome are associated with vascular brain changes.

4 May 2010

PlusNews/IRIN examines HIV/AIDS elements of new adult mortality data

PlusNews/IRIN examines what the global adult mortality data, released Friday in the journal Lancet, suggests about HIV/AIDS. According to the news service, the study, based on an analysis of adult mortality rates between 1970 and 2010 in 187 countries, revealed: "HIV was key to reversing the worldwide decline in mortality from 1970 to 1990. Even though worldwide mortality is still about 26 percent lower than it was 40 years ago, there are regional imbalances.

3 May 2010

Calif. doctors say e-health saved lives; in Mich., doctors visit patients online

Reuters/The Washington Post: An electronic medical system first introduced in 2007 has shown a 20 percent drop in hospital deaths -- the equivalent of about 36 lives saved -- over 18-months at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto California, doctors there have found. The system, a computerized physician order entry, or CPOE, allows "doctors to relay prescriptions to pharmacists without delay, and without the need for the pharmacist to decipher doctors' scrawl."

3 May 2010

Decrease in hospital-wide mortality rates associated with CPOE system: Researchers

Researchers at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and Stanford University School of Medicine have shown for the first time that a significant decrease in hospital-wide mortality rates can be associated with implementation of a computerized physician order entry system.

3 May 2010

Researcher finds evidence of how human behavior can influence emergence of infectious disease

After studying the interactions of human and animal populations in Africa, Kathleen Alexander, associate professor of wildlife science in Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources, found powerful evidence of how human behavior can influence the emergence of infectious disease in humans and animals.

3 May 2010

Extended hepatitis C treatment increases sustained virological response after liver transplant

Extending hepatitis C treatment for liver transplant patients beyond current standards results in high clearance rates of the hepatitis C virus from the blood, and a low relapse rate, according to a study by Henry Ford Hospital.

3 May 2010

While global adult mortality rates drop, gaps between countries grow, Lancet study finds

"The global mortality rate for adults [ages 15-59] has fallen by about 1 percent a year for the past 40 years, with women making greater gains than men and huge differences opening up between countries and regions over that period, according to a new study" published online Friday in the journal Lancet, the Washington Post reports, noting the study offers "the most detailed nation-by-nation trends in adult mortality" to date.

3 May 2010

EHR with controlled interventions can produce optimal BP control, reduce mortality

Electronic health records with controlled interventions can produce optimal blood pressure control and reduce mortality, according to data presented at the American Society of Hypertension Inc.'s 25th Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition (ASH 2010).

3 May 2010

Health outcomes explored at DDW 2010

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which may soon be the leading indication for liver transplant, is found to be significantly associated with worse transplant outcomes. In addition, a new tool for diagnosing NAFLD represents an alternative to liver biopsy, which is more expensive and prone to complications, and ultrasound and alfafeprotein blood test screening are an effective alternative to CT scan and MRI for patients with cirrhosis at high risk for hepatocellular cancer.

3 May 2010

Study reveals wide disparities in global adult mortality rates

The most comprehensive assessment to date of global adult mortality appears today, April 30, in The Lancet . The study, "Worldwide mortality in men and women aged 15-59 years from 1970 to 2010: a systematic analysis", shows that across countries, inequality in adult mortality has grown to the point where adult men in Swaziland -- the country with the worst mortality rate -- now have a probability of premature death that is nine times the mortality rate of the best country, Cyprus.

3 May 2010

Liver transplant recipients develop premature immune senescence: Researchers

Researchers at the University of Cambridge found that liver transplant recipients develop premature immune senescence, the normal process by which the immune system ages and becomes less effective. Full details appear in the May issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

30 Apr 2010

Genworth Financial reports first-quarter 2010 net income of $212M against loss last year

Genworth Financial, Inc. today reported results for the first quarter of 2010. Net income, before provision for noncontrolling interests, was $212 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $469 million, or $1.08 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2009.

30 Apr 2010

Communities with active participants demonstrate lower levels of crime, death rates

In a set of papers just published in two leading scholarly journals, LSU sociology professor Matthew Lee reports that both violent crime and all-cause mortality rates are on average substantially lower in communities with a vibrant civic climate.

30 Apr 2010

Sierra Leone launching free health care program for mothers, children; Challenges remain

Sierra Leone is launching a program to provide free health care for mothers and children in an effort to reduce high maternal and child mortality rates, Ernest Bai Koroma, the country's president, said on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports (4/27).

29 Apr 2010

New report evaluating use of SBRT in lung cancer treatment released

The American Society for Radiation Oncology has released its Emerging Technology Committee's report evaluating the use of stereotactic body radiotherapy in lung cancer treatment.

29 Apr 2010

Endovascular repair and surveillance appear to be safe alternatives for patients with small aneurysms

While repair of large abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA's) is well accepted, randomized clinical trials have failed to demonstrate benefit for early surgical repair of small aneurysms over surveillance, according to researchers from New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York.

29 Apr 2010

Study examines lifestyle-related causes of death in AIDS patients

The study, by researchers from the University of Bristol and a large group of international collaborators, examined data from the Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration (ART-CC) which involved nearly 40,000 patients who started ART between 1996 and 2006 in Europe and North America.

29 Apr 2010

Mortality News and Research

JGH researchers identify 13 new genes associated with osteoporosis, bone weakness

Rush Center for Urban Health Equity to focus on disparities in heart and lung disease

Opinions: Malaria bed net concerns; Catholic Church's humanitarian work; Abortion, global health; Foreign aid reform; Canada's G8 initiative

Depressive symptoms after ACS associated with vascular brain changes

PlusNews/IRIN examines HIV/AIDS elements of new adult mortality data

Calif. doctors say e-health saved lives; in Mich., doctors visit patients online

Decrease in hospital-wide mortality rates associated with CPOE system: Researchers

Researcher finds evidence of how human behavior can influence emergence of infectious disease

Extended hepatitis C treatment increases sustained virological response after liver transplant

While global adult mortality rates drop, gaps between countries grow, Lancet study finds

EHR with controlled interventions can produce optimal BP control, reduce mortality

Health outcomes explored at DDW 2010

Study reveals wide disparities in global adult mortality rates

Liver transplant recipients develop premature immune senescence: Researchers

Genworth Financial reports first-quarter 2010 net income of $212M against loss last year

Communities with active participants demonstrate lower levels of crime, death rates

Sierra Leone launching free health care program for mothers, children; Challenges remain

New report evaluating use of SBRT in lung cancer treatment released

Endovascular repair and surveillance appear to be safe alternatives for patients with small aneurysms

Study examines lifestyle-related causes of death in AIDS patients

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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