Life Expectancy News and Research

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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.

Clinical study to investigate effects of prenatal chromosomal abnormalities through microarray analysis

Reproductive genetics researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) are leading a multicenter prospective clinical study investigating the effects of chromosomal abnormalities (duplicative or missing material) found prenatally through microarray analysis.

22 Aug 2013

University of Adelaide wins $2.24M to establish new national Center of Research Excellence

The University of Adelaide has won US$2.24 million to establish a new national Center of Research Excellence, in partnership with the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization (NACCHO) and the University of Wollongong.

22 Aug 2013

Research roundup: The health of the U.S.; doctors aren't paid to talk; savings from high-deductible plans

Understanding the major health problems in the United States and how they are changing over time is critical for informing national health policy. ... From 1990 to 2010, the United States made substantial progress in improving health. Life expectancy at birth and [healthy life expectancy] increased, all-cause death rates at all ages decreased, and age-specific rates of years lived with disability remained stable.

17 Aug 2013

Study: Children born to obese mothers are more likely to die early as adults

Children born to obese mothers are more likely to die early as adults than those whose mothers were a normal weight, a study has found.

16 Aug 2013

Early surgery offers long-term survival, lowers risk of heart failure in mitral valve regurgitation patients

Patients with severe mitral valve regurgitation who are otherwise healthy should have mitral valve repair surgery sooner rather than later, even if they feel no symptoms, a Mayo Clinic-led study by U.S. and European researchers found.

14 Aug 2013

Research roundup: Use of high-deductible plans limits some E.R. visits; older folks not as sick as they used to be

One-third of US workers now have high-deductible health plans, and those numbers are expected to grow in 2014 as implementation of the Affordable Care Act continues. There is concern that high-deductible health plans might cause enrollees of low socioeconomic status to forgo emergency care as a result of burdensome out-of-pocket costs.

12 Aug 2013

Celiac disease patients with persistent intestine damage are at higher risk of lymphoma

Patients with celiac disease who had persistent intestine damage (identified with repeat biopsy) had a higher risk of lymphoma than patients whose intestines healed, according to findings published in the August 6, 2013, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

6 Aug 2013

Prospective health of the Hispanic/Latino population in the US: an interview with Dr. Martha Daviglus, University of Illinois at Chicago

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death among Hispanic/ Latino adults living in the US and this population is known to have high rates of obesity and diabetes.

5 Aug 2013

European authorisation of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals' Lojuxta brings hope for HoFH patients

Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialisation of novel, life-altering therapies for patients with debilitating, often fatal, rare diseases, announced today that the European Commission has authorised Lojuxta (lomitapide) hard capsules as an adjunct to a low-fat diet and other lipid-lowering medicinal products with or without low density lipoprotein apheresis in adult patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia.

3 Aug 2013

Keeping Alzheimer's disease in check

The future is looking good for drugs designed to combat Alzheimer's disease. EPFL scientists have unveiled how two classes of drug compounds currently in clinical trials work to fight the disease. Their research suggests that these compounds target the disease-causing peptides with high precision and with minimal side-effects.

2 Aug 2013

New survey commissioned by PhRMA identifies America's top health priorities

A new survey commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America shows 86 percent of Americans believe developing cures for more forms of cancer should be one of the top national health priorities, followed by developing effective treatments for heart disease (78 percent) and more intensive medical care for seniors (76 percent).

2 Aug 2013

Soaring rates of peripheral artery disease call for global attention

The number of people with peripheral artery disease worldwide has risen dramatically (by 23.5%) in just 10 years, from about 164 million in 2000 to 202 million in 2010, according to the first robust global estimates, published in The Lancet.

1 Aug 2013

Using the immune system to control cancer: an interview with Dr. Jedd Wolchok, MD, PhD, Ludwig Center at MSKCC

Cancer immunotherapy aims to recruit a patient’s immune system to recognize cancer as foreign and dangerous and to remove it from the body, as it would an infection.

1 Aug 2013

Research shows that people are remaining healthier later in life

A new study, conducted by David Cutler, the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics, shows that, even as life expectancy has increased over the past two decades, people have become increasingly healthier later in life.

29 Jul 2013

Gout, uric acid levels and risk of death: an interview with Professor Austin Stack, Graduate Entry Medical School, University of Limerick

Gout is a relatively common arthritic disease that affects about 4% (I in 25) of the population. It results from the deposition of uric acid in joints due to elevated blood levels and a resulting inflammation ensues which is very painful.

26 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: Indian health service takes big cuts; labor 'mutiny' over health law; Gov. Jindal says Medicaid expansion would have moved privately insured to Medicaid

It's an old American story: malign policies hatched in Washington leading to pain and death in Indian country. It was true in the 19th century. It is true now, at a time when Congress, heedless of its solemn treaty obligations to Indian tribes, is allowing the across-the-board budget cuts known as the sequester to threaten the health, safety and education of Indians across the nation.

25 Jul 2013

Research roundup: Eye care disparities; more complications for Medicaid patients after spine surgery; the cost to states opting against Medicaid expansion

After analyzing 2003-2004 data of patients who underwent spinal surgery at two medical institutions, they found that Medicaid beneficiaries were at much higher risk of experiencing any type of complication than patients who are privately insured. "The results of our study further support the growing body of literature that Medicaid patients have higher rates of complications," the authors write. When evaluating patients and considering the likelihood of complications, "Medicaid status should be considered as well," they concluded (Hacquebord et al., 7/15).

20 Jul 2013

IVAN study: Lucentis and Avastin effective in treating wet AMD

An anti-cancer drug has been proven to be equally as effective in treating the most common cause of blindness in older adults as a more expensive drug specifically formulated for this purpose.

20 Jul 2013

Viewpoints: GOP should focus on fixing health law; bishops refuse to accept victory

Los Angeles Times: It's Time To Focus On Fixing The Affordable Care Act, Not Gutting It Conservatives have married their political fortunes to the notion that Obamacare is a catastrophe and must be discarded in its entirety - even though some of the signature elements of the law, such as a requirement that most people be insured, are ideas that they originated.

15 Jul 2013

Aflibercept drug shows minor added benefit for overall survival in colorectal cancer patients

The drug aflibercept (trade name: Zaltrap) has been approved in Germany since February 2013 in combination with a certain chemotherapy for adults with metastatic colorectal cancer in whom chemotherapy with oxaliplatin could not stop the disease from progressing.

12 Jul 2013