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Most influential advances in cardiopulmonary imaging: High-resolution CT and CT pulmonary angiography

Advances in computed tomography providing high-resolution images of the lungs and a new approach to diagnosis of pulmonary embolism are "the most influential" changes in cardiopulmonary imaging over the past 25 years, according to a panel of experts surveyed in the February Journal of Thoracic Imaging official journal of the Society of Thoracic Radiology and the Japanese and Korean Societies of Thoracic Radiology.

16 Mar 2010

New cerebral protection device prevents stroke during treatment to clear blocked carotid arteries

An important interventional radiology advancement-the use of a new cerebral protection device in combination with FDA-approved carotid stents in high-surgical-risk patients-provides a minimally invasive, safe and effective way to prevent stroke from occurring during treatment to clear blocked carotid arteries, according to research released at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 35th Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, Fla.

16 Mar 2010

Children with chronic illness more likely to develop H1N1 influenza: Study

As critical care professionals develop a better understanding of the progression of H1N1, they are becoming better prepared to treat children with severe cases, according to a new study that will be published in the March issue of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine (PCCM).

12 Mar 2010

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals' ciprofloxacin DPI granted FDA orphan drug designation for CF treatment

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals announced today that an orphan drug designation has been granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for ciprofloxacin dry powder inhaler for management of pulmonary infection due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis patients. A similar designation has already been granted by the European Medicines Agency.

12 Mar 2010

Intel, Mayo Clinic and GE launch new initiative to study care and benefits of home-based telemedicine

Emerging Healthcare Solutions, Inc. was pleased on learning the news that Intel, The Mayo Clinic and GE Healthcare have launched a new initiative to study the care and cost benefits of home-based telemedicine for elderly patients with chronic illnesses.

11 Mar 2010

Whole genome sequencing of entire family beneficial

The Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) has analyzed the first whole genome sequences of a human family of four. The findings of a project funded through a partnership between ISB and the University of Luxembourg was published online today by Science on its Science Express website. It demonstrates the benefit of sequencing entire families, including lowering error rates, identifying rare genetic variants and identifying disease-linked genes.

11 Mar 2010

FDA's Advisory Committee votes 9-3 to recommend approval of Esbriet for treatment of patients with IPF

InterMune, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Pulmonary-Allergy Drugs Advisory Committee voted 9-3 to recommend approval of Esbriet® (pirfenidone) for the treatment of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) to reduce decline in lung function.

9 Mar 2010

UC researchers find CT scan screening of non-smoking women is cost-effective

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have found that it is cost-effective to do CT scan screening of non-smoking women, ages 25-54, who come to the emergency room for the first time with a collapsed lung in order to diagnose and treat those with lymphangioleiomyomatosis, or LAM.

5 Mar 2010

Using high-resolution CT-scans to screen for LAM is cost-effective in non-smoking women

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have found that using high-resolution CT-scans to screen for lymphangioleiomyomatosis, or LAM, is cost-effective in non-smoking women between 25 and 54 who come to the emergency room for the first time with a collapsed lung.

4 Mar 2010

Researchers receive grant to study how ILD appears in patients with autoimmune diseases

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati Interstitial Lung Disease Center have received a grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study ways ILD first appears in certain patient groups with autoimmune diseases and how to more efficiently diagnose and treat it.

24 Feb 2010

Mayo Clinic's first DCD lung transplantation performed in 59-year-old Illinois man

Lung transplantation is a well-known therapy for patients with end-stage lung disease, but, as with other patients waiting for organs for transplantation, there are more recipients waiting than donors available. A potential solution for patients with end-stage lung disease is donation after cardiac death (DCD). Mayo Clinic reports its - and Minnesota's - first lung transplantation from DCD in the February issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

19 Feb 2010

Walker's book focuses on deaths, genetic deformities and other health issues resulting from environmental pollution

Since the brain-injuring virus needs mosquitoes and pigs to spread, government officials should ban standing water in cemetery cisterns and urban drainage ditches. They should keep industrial "piggeries" away from cities and their populations.

19 Feb 2010

Norwegian government task force suggests formation of single company to commercialise biomaterial assets

Having studied the ethical, judicial and political arguments, the Norwegian government task force has suggested that a single nationwide company should be formed to commercialise biomaterials assets from the country’s various sources. The task force has also recommended HUNT Biosciences be a model for the national company.

18 Feb 2010

Even with new medical schools opening, shortages mar workforce

Nearly two dozen medical schools have recently opened or may open across America, "the most at any time since the 1960s and '70s," The New York Times reports. These new institutions "are seeking to address an imbalance in American medicine that has been growing for a quarter century. Many bright students were fleeing to offshore medical schools, or giving up hope entirely, when they could not get into domestic schools. Meanwhile, American hospitals were using foreign-trained and foreign-born physicians to fill medical residencies. During the 1980s and '90s only one new medical school was established."

17 Feb 2010

Pipe and cigar smoking linked to decreased lung function

Pipe and cigar smoke may be more harmful than once thought. While some believe pipes and cigars are healthier than cigarettes, a major known cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a new study directly links pipe and cigar smoking to decreased lung function.

16 Feb 2010

IPF added to Social Security's "Compassionate Allowances" program

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis is praising Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue's announcement this morning via press release that Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), also known as Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF), and a listing of 37 other diseases and life-threatening medical conditions are the latest additions to Social Security's "Compassionate Allowances" program.

12 Feb 2010

Report shows 3.4% of adult Minnesotans suffer from COPD

The nation's fourth leading cause of death, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is now being measured by the Minnesota Department of Health's Environmental Public Health Tracking Program. The program focuses on three major causes of hospitalizations in Minnesota that can be triggered or made worse by environmental factors such as secondhand smoke or outdoor air pollution — asthma, heart attacks and COPD.

10 Feb 2010

Personalized risk assessment tools can help improve smoking cessation

Giving smokers information about their own individual risk of serious illness helps motivate them to quit smoking, according to a paper published in the current issue of Postgraduate Medical Journal.

5 Feb 2010

Majority of rural hospital stays are covered by Medicare

Medicare patients accounted for almost half of all stays (45 percent) at rural hospitals in 2007, while the percentage of Medicare beneficiaries who were admitted to urban hospitals was considerably lower (35 percent) , according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.