Life Expectancy News and Research

RSS

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.

Medicare, health law stay in the political spotlight

In a pair of stories, Politico addresses various ways these health issues continue to make political waves in the run up to the next election. Also, CNN reports the AARP members are worried about what a debt deal will do to Medicare, and an AP poll underscores baby boomers concerns about health care costs.

30 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 29, 2011

Today's headlines include speculation about how the debt-ceiling debate may have altered the discussion regarding changes to Medicare.

29 Jul 2011

Polaris initiates ADI-PEG 20 Phase 3 trial in hepatocellular carcinoma

Polaris Group today announced that it has dosed the first patient in a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating its lead cancer therapeutic, pegylated arginine deiminase (ADI-PEG 20), in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.

29 Jul 2011

All Canadian provinces except Quebec announce funding agreement for PNH drug, Soliris

L'Association Québécoise de l'HPN regrets that Quebec remains one of the only jurisdictions in the developed world to decline including the only effective life-saving treatment against an ultra-rare blood disease - paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) - on its public drug insurance plan drugs list.

28 Jul 2011

Swedish Orphan Biovitrum, Biogen Idec announce data of rFVIIIFc Phase 1/2a trial for hemophilia A

Biogen Idec and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum today announced Phase 1/2a trial data showing that the companies' long-lasting fully-recombinant factor VIII Fc fusion protein (rFVIIIFc) was well tolerated and demonstrated an approximately 1.7-fold increase in half-life compared with Advate, a commercially-available factor VIII product, in 16 previously-treated patients with severe hemophilia A.

26 Jul 2011

Waters receives CE mark for MassTrak Immunosuppressants XE Kit

Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) today announced that its MassTrak™ Immunosuppressants XE Kit is now CE-marked in accordance with the IVD Directive 98/79/EC, for the quantitative measurement of the immunosuppressive drugs tacrolimus in liver and kidney transplant patients and everolimus in adult kidney and cardiac transplant patients from human whole blood samples as an aid in the management of immunosuppressant drug therapy.

25 Jul 2011

PNH patients applaud pan-Canadian approach to providing equitable access to Soliris

The Canadian Association of PNH Patients applauds governments across Canada for their landmark agreement to provide public access to Soliris (eculizumab), a life-saving treatment for the ultra-rare blood disease known as paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria.

25 Jul 2011

Circumcision prevents HIV transmission & cocktail of anti-HIV drugs prolong life

Reports came in last Wednesday that circumcision reduces transmission of HIV, in regions where transmission is high. To researchers, this procedure proves to be a cost-effective way to handle the pandemic. In South Africa, a study reported that men with circumcisions reduced new HIV infections by 76%.

24 Jul 2011

Blue-collar workers with arthritis in much worse health than all other workers

While more Americans are working past age 65 by choice, a growing segment of the population must continue to work well into their sixties out of financial necessity. Research conducted by the Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine looked at aging, social class and labor force participation rates to illustrate the challenges that lower income workers face in the global marketplace.

22 Jul 2011

Channel Swim Relay event aims to raise money for JDRF

Six swimmers congregate along the Dover coastline today, to participate in a 17-hour relay swim across the English Channel to France. The relay event, sponsored by Animas,aims to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and celebrate people with diabetes performing at their best.

21 Jul 2011

IAS conference opens with push for treatment as prevention

The 6th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention taking place in Rome this week "started optimistically as the hype surrounding the use of antiretroviral treatment to prevent HIV infection gained momentum. But the focus of much discussion … will undoubtedly be on how to transform the recent promising research findings into workable policy," PlusNews reports.

20 Jul 2011

Improvement of body image can enhance effectiveness of weight loss programs

Almost a quarter of men and women in England and over a third of adults in America are obese. Obesity increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease and can significantly shorten a person's life expectancy. New research published by BioMed Central's open access journal International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity shows that improving body image can enhance the effectiveness of weight loss programs based on diet and exercise.

18 Jul 2011

Strength exercises boost bone density in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis

Women with osteoporosis - a skeletal disease that erodes bone density, weakens bone strength and increases the risk of fractures - might think taking it easy is the best way to prevent bone breaks.

13 Jul 2011

Arena reports APD811 Phase 1 trial results against pulmonary arterial hypertension

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today results from a Phase 1 clinical trial of APD811, an orally bioavailable agonist of the prostacyclin receptor which is intended for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH.

13 Jul 2011

Lab grown windpipe saves cancer patient

A team of doctors have replaced the cancer affected windpipe of a patient with an organ made in a lab. This is a medical breakthrough for regenerative medicine. The patient no longer has cancer and is expected to have a normal life expectancy, doctors said.

10 Jul 2011

Changes in individual sport performance linked to physiological laws

Geoffroy Berthelot and Stephane Len, both researchers at the IRMES, have published their findings in AGE, the official journal of the American Aging Association, describing the evolution of performances in elite athletes and chess grandmasters.

2 Jul 2011

Diabetes numbers on the rise: Experts worried

According a new international study more than 350 million in the world now have diabetes. The analysis, published online by the Lancet on Saturday, adds several tens of millions to the previous estimate of the number of diabetics and indicates that the disease has become a major global health problem.

27 Jun 2011

Study finds increase in life expectancy for people with type 1 diabetes

The life expectancy of people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes dramatically increased during the course of a 30-year, long-term prospective study, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study being presented at the 71st Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

27 Jun 2011

Ten global public health achievements

In its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC describes "global public health achievements … that occurred outside of the United States during 2001 - 2010."

24 Jun 2011

FDA grants fast track designation to Synageva for SBC-102 program for Lysosomal Acid Lipase Deficiency

Synageva BioPharma Corp., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic products for rare disorders, announced today that their lead program, SBC-102, an enzyme replacement therapy for Lysosomal Acid Lipase (LAL) Deficiency, currently in clinical trials, has been granted fast track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

23 Jun 2011