Chronic News and Research

RSS

Aid agencies express concern over child malnutrition in Nepal, AFP reports

In Nepal, "a child malnutrition epidemic described by humanitarian organizations as a 'silent emergency' is claiming the lives of thousands of infants each year," Agence France-Presse reports.

6 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Protecting home health workers; Minn. plans cuts in health safety net

President Obama is proposing an adjustment to laws governing working conditions for approximately 2 million workers whose job is helping elderly and disabled people with such basic tasks as eating, caring for their wounds and doing physical therapy. Under the Obama proposal, these workers would have to be paid at least a minimum wage and overtime, bringing them under the aegis of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Some Republicans are opposed to the measure, complaining that it will be expensive and may hurt the people it is intended to help.

6 Jan 2012

Celtaxsys announces acquisition of CTX-4430 from Estrellita

Celtaxsys, Inc. a privately held biotechnology company, announced today that it has acquired CTX-4430 (formerly EP-501), a clinical stage drug candidate that inhibits the pro-inflammatory enzyme Leukotriene A4 Hydrolase (LTA4H), from Estrellita Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

6 Jan 2012

Incidence of type 2 diabetes and hypertension increases with exposure to NOx

The incidence of type 2 diabetes and hypertension increases with cumulative levels of exposure to nitrogen oxides, according to a new study led by researchers from the Slone Epidemiology Center (SEC) at Boston University.

6 Jan 2012

New laboratory approach could aid brain recovery

In humans, active periods of the debilitating disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS) can last for mere minutes or extend to weeks at a time. They're caused by lesions in the brain that develop, partly heal, and then recur. Research into a cure has been difficult, because to date scientists have not been able to replicate these brain recurring symptoms in laboratory mice. That's frustrating because these lab animals, known as animal "models," are the primary tool for research into the mechanisms and potential treatments for MS.

6 Jan 2012

Boulder Diagnostics, RUNMC enter agreement to market Lyme disease diagnostic test

Boulder Diagnostics Inc. and the Department of Internal Medicine, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre announced today the entry into a license and collaboration agreement to market the innovative Lyme disease diagnostic test developed at RUNMC.

5 Jan 2012

HHS issues initial set of 26 Medicaid quality measures

HHS has issued a final notice containing an initial set of 26 quality measures for Medicaid-eligible adults. The measures, which cover areas such as prevention, care coordination and chronic disease management, will be used for quality reporting.

5 Jan 2012

Researchers estimate cost and impact of disabilities on finances of disabled people

A team of researchers have for the first time estimated the cost and impact of disabilities on the finances of disabled people. According to data, 90% of the population with a serious disability in Spain is in a state of moderate poverty and 56% lives in a state of extreme poverty.

5 Jan 2012

Weight loss surgery can improve blood sugar control in diabetes patients

Weight loss surgery is not a cure for type 2 diabetes, but it can improve blood sugar control, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Surgery. Whereas some previous studies have claimed that up to 80 per cent of diabetes patients have been cured following gastric bypass surgery, researchers at Imperial College London found that only 41 per cent of patients achieve remission using more stringent criteria.

5 Jan 2012

Arcion receives U.S. patent allowance for ARC-2022 to treat PHN

Arcion Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotechnology company developing topical therapies for chronic pain, today announced that it received notice of allowance for a US Patent for its high strength gel formulation of topical lidocaine, ARC-2022.

5 Jan 2012

Chronic missed naps could put toddlers at risk for mood-related problems

A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder could be a wake-up call for parents of toddlers: Daytime naps for your kids may be more important than you think.

4 Jan 2012

Losartan may help prevent smoking-related COPD

Working with mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins have successfully used a commonly prescribed blood pressure medicine, losartan (Cozaar), to prevent almost all of the lung damage caused from two months of exposure to cigarette smoke. The treatment specifically targeted lung tissue breakdown, airway wall thickening, inflammation and lung over-expansion.

4 Jan 2012

Bedside clinical tools can detect acute spatial neglect after stroke

Researchers at Kessler Foundation and Seton Hall University report findings in the early diagnosis of acute spatial neglect, a hidden disability that is a common complication of stroke. In the weeks after stroke, 30-50% of stroke survivors cannot reliably report or respond to external events that take place in the space opposite the side of their brain injury.

4 Jan 2012

State Department fact sheets examine cholera, food security, health progress in Haiti

The State Department has released a series of fact sheets examining the U.S. government's two-year progress in Haiti. One fact sheet examines government efforts to "lessen the severity of the cholera outbreak" in Haiti.

4 Jan 2012

Researchers show how modern science can unlock mysteries of the past

Two teams of Michigan State University researchers - one working at a medieval burial site in Albania, the other at a DNA lab in East Lansing - have shown how modern science can unlock the mysteries of the past.

4 Jan 2012

Quantitative CT can offer valuable prognostic information for COPD patients

National Jewish Health researchers and their colleagues in the COPDGene research consortium report that a computerized form of radiology, known as quantitative CT, can offer valuable prognostic information for patients and doctors beyond the standard breathing tests most commonly used to evaluate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

4 Jan 2012

MRC-funded study to explore pancreatic cancer

A promising line of attack against pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer is to be explored further at Cardiff University, thanks to substantial new funding from the Medical Research Council.

4 Jan 2012

Many obese people in denial mode: Survey

According to a new survey only six per cent of overweight people believe they should be described as obese. Three quarters of those with an obese body mass index underestimated their weight category, according to the Yougov poll of 2,065 people.

3 Jan 2012

Healthy eating at low prices this New Year from the Change4Life campaign

As a part of healthy living campaign four million recipe cards will be distributed to the public. More than a thousand supermarket stores across the country are offering discounts on healthy ingredients such as fruits and vegetables and low fat yoghurts as part of the Department of Health's “Change4Life” public health campaign.

3 Jan 2012

TrovaGene acquires license to mutations of SF3B1 splicing factor in CLL

TrovaGene, Inc., a developer of trans-renal molecular diagnostics, today announced that it has obtained an exclusive worldwide license to mutations of the SF3B1 splicing factor, which have been shown to be associated with disease progression and chemotherapy response in patients suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

3 Jan 2012