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Cardiac arrest represents tremendous problem for hospitals in the U.S.

More than 200,000 people are treated for cardiac arrest in United States hospitals each year, a rate that may be on the rise. The findings are reported online this week in Critical Care Medicine in a University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine-led study.

27 Jun 2011

Diabetes more prevalent in every part of the world

A major international study collating and analyzing worldwide data on diabetes since 1980 has found that the number of adults with the disease reached 347 million in 2008, more than double the number in 1980. The research, published today in The Lancet, reveals that the prevalence of diabetes has risen or at best remained unchanged in virtually every part of the world over the last three decades.

27 Jun 2011

Why breakfast with a friend could be just what the doctor ordered

Spending too much time alone and regularly skipping breakfast might be pushing you closer to heart disease, warns the National Heart Foundation of Australia.

26 Jun 2011

State highlights: Calif. insurance regulatory system criticized

The two-headed beast that regulates health insurance in California is under fire. For the first time in a decade, healthcare leaders in Sacramento are publicly asking whether it's time to junk overlapping bureaucracies that police health insurers and HMOs (Helfand, 6/23).

24 Jun 2011

EMA CHMP recommends approval of linagliptin for type 2 diabetes

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company today received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) medicinal committee recommending approval of linagliptin, 5 mg, film-coated tablets (to be marketed under the trade name Trajenta® in Europe) for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes.

24 Jun 2011

Less than half of primary-care physicians refer all diabetes patients to education programs

While studies have shown that diabetes education programs are crucial in helping individuals living with the disease self-manage their condition, a new study led by Ryerson researchers has found that less than half of primary-care physicians surveyed refer all of their patients with diabetes to these programs.

24 Jun 2011

Epilepsy may arise from complex mixture of altered ion channels

Imagine two flat screen televisions tuned to the same channel and sitting side-by-side. From a distance, their pictures are virtually the same, however up close, you can see subtle variations in the pixels - one blurred here, another dropped out there.

24 Jun 2011

Protein globin E helps avian eyes 'breathe' and contributes to visual acuity

Say what you will about bird brains, but our feathered friends sure have us -- and all the other animals on the planet -- beat in the vision department, and that has a bit to do with how their brains develop.

24 Jun 2011

Stresses can change gene expression without DNA sequence change

None of us are strangers to stress of various kinds. It turns out the effects of all those stresses can change the fate of future generation, influencing our very DNA without any change to the underlying sequence of As, Gs, Ts and Cs. Now, researchers reporting in the June 24th issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication, have new evidence that helps to explain just how these epigenetic changes really happen.

24 Jun 2011

BIOTRONIK to introduce Lumax DX system for complete atrial arrhythmia diagnosis

BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG, a worldwide leader in manufacturing cardiac medical devices, announced today that the innovative new Lumax 540 VR-T DX single-chamber implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) and Linoxsmart S DX cardiac lead system will be launched this coming week at the EHRA EUROPACE electrophysiology congress in Madrid, Spain.

24 Jun 2011

Scientists develop new NO delivery system to fortify effects of Viagra in the body

Scientists are reporting development and successful initial tests of a potential new delivery system for the biological signaling agent responsible for the effects of Viagra.

24 Jun 2011

HDL in CAD patients different from HDL in healthy individuals

High levels of "good" cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) are associated with a decreased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) - a disease of the major arterial blood vessels that is one of the major causes of heart attack and stroke. This suggests that therapeutics that increase HDL levels could be clinically useful.

24 Jun 2011

New strategy to prevent amputations

Blood vessels and supporting cells appear to be pivotal partners in repairing nerves ravaged by diabetic neuropathy, and nurturing their partnership with nerve cells might make the difference between success and failure in experimental efforts to regrow damaged nerves, Johns Hopkins researchers report in a new study.

24 Jun 2011

NSBRI expands use of ultrasound during spaceflights and on Earth

The remoteness and resource limitations of spaceflight pose a serious challenge to astronaut health care. One solution is ultrasound.

24 Jun 2011

High salt consumption does not seem to increase risk of heart disease

A new eight year long European study concludes that salt consumption is not dangerous and may in fact be beneficial. This is certainly contrary to advice from American Medical Association, American Heart Association and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which says higher sodium consumption can increase the risk of heart disease.

24 Jun 2011

Hypertension variability during cardiac surgery may increase risk of death

For patients with hypertension undergoing heart surgery, large variations in blood pressure before, during, and after the operation are associated with an increased risk of death, reports the July issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

24 Jun 2011

Northwest Hospital wins Silver Plus Performance Achievement Award for stroke care

Northwest Hospital in Randallstown, Maryland, has earned a Silver Plus Performance Achievement Award from The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association.

24 Jun 2011

Anticholinergic drugs might increase risk of cognitive impairment, death in older people

A side effect of many commonly used drugs appears to increase the risks of both cognitive impairment and death in older people, according to new research led by the University of East Anglia.

24 Jun 2011

Some drug mixtures may be fatal for elderly: study

British scientists warn that well known brands of hay fever tablets, painkillers and sleeping pills pose a previously unknown threat to elderly people’s health when taken together. Many are available over the counter at pharmacies as well as being prescribed by GPs, nurses and chemists they said.

23 Jun 2011

Reductions in obesity-related medical costs offset cost of gastric banding surgery within 2.25 years

Allergan, Inc. today announced a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases that found the cost of a gastric banding weight-loss surgery procedure, such as Allergan's LAP-BAND Adjustable Gastric Banding System, was offset by reductions in obesity-related medical costs within 2.25 years for surgery eligible patients with diabetes, and within four years of the procedure for all surgery eligible patients.

23 Jun 2011