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Asian-Americans subgroups lack data on cardiovascular disease

Asians are the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the U.S., but data on cardiovascular disease is lacking. There are marked differences in heart disease risk and occurrence among Asian-American subgroups, but data on these subgroups is limited, prompting the American Heart Association to call for more research on this fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the U.S., according to a scientific statement published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

24 Aug 2010

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to drive consumption of health care services

While financial uncertainties drove many Americans to rein in their consumption of health care services during the recession, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will remove patient out-of-pocket costs for preventive care services under many plans beginning in 2011 and drive an increase in the use of these services, according to Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company.

24 Aug 2010

Polyphenols affect nutrient absorption: Study

Health benefits from polyphenol antioxidants - substances found in many fruits and vegetables - may come at a cost to some people. Penn State nutritional scientists found that eating certain polyphenols decreased the amount of iron the body absorbs, which can increase the risk of developing an iron deficiency.

24 Aug 2010

Berries help aging brain stay healthy

Scientists today reported the first evidence that eating blueberries, strawberries, and acai berries may help the aging brain stay healthy in a crucial but previously unrecognized way. Their study, presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), concluded that berries, and possibly walnuts, activate the brain's natural "housekeeper" mechanism, which cleans up and recycles toxic proteins linked to age-related memory loss and other mental decline.

24 Aug 2010

SEB opens new state-of-the-art laboratory operation, R&D facility

Cryo-Cell International, Inc., one of the largest and most established leaders in stem cell innovation today announced that S-Evans Biosciences, the Company's exclusive Célle menstrual stem cell technology license partner in China has opened a new state-of-the-art laboratory operation and research & development facility located in a Hi-Tech park designated to become an epicenter for stem cell and genomics R&D; cellular therapies and stem cell cryopreservation services.

23 Aug 2010

Fluid dynamics and mechanics to simulate stent design and coating

Suncica "Sunny" Canic was good at math in school, so that's what she pursued as a career. But she always liked medicine, too. When she moved to Houston, Texas, and met some cardiologists at a party, she started talking with them about what they do-and knew she could help them.

23 Aug 2010

NextGen Healthcare collaborates with clients for Primary Care Information Project

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. and a leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, today announced its successful collaboration with clients that received assistance through the Primary Care Information Project (PCIP), a bureau of the NYC Health Department.

23 Aug 2010

Scientists report global shortage of radioactive isotopes for medical scans

Twenty million medical scans and treatments are done each year that require radioactive isotopes and scientists today described a global shortage of these life-saving materials that could jeopardize patient care and drive-up health care costs.

23 Aug 2010

Bottled tea contains less antioxidants, high sugar content

The first measurements of healthful antioxidant levels in commercial bottled tea beverages has concluded that health-conscious consumers may not be getting what they pay for: healthful doses of those antioxidants, or "poylphenols," that may ward off a range of diseases.

23 Aug 2010

Noninvasive monitoring of cardiac allograft vasculopathy with fast MR imaging

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV), also known as chronicle rejection, is a leading cause of graft (foreign heart) loss and death in patients who survive the first year after heart transplantation. The typical pathological change of CAV is gradually thickening of coronary wall in "foreign" heart due to continuous immunological reaction between donated heart and the host. In some cases, undetected CAV may silently cause graft failure with global myocardial ischemia without any documented infarction signs. Thus, continually monitoring development of asymptomatic CAV is important for selecting prophylactic strategies to get better prognosis. However, most current examinations of detecting CAV are invasive and with certain risks.

22 Aug 2010

NBA player Alonzo Mourning uses celebrity fame to fight kidney disease

In October 2000, Mourning was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerular sclerosis (FSGS), a kidney disease that causes scarring in the glomeruli, the blood vessels in the kidneys that filter the blood to make urine.

21 Aug 2010

Perry Ellis International launches corporate "Healthy Heart" initiative

Perry Ellis International today unveiled the first in a full roster of community involvement efforts scheduled for this fall.

21 Aug 2010

Abt Associates to evaluate program to encourage healthier eating among lower-income Americans

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service has selected Abt Associates to lead a team evaluating a ground-breaking pilot program aimed at encouraging healthier eating among lower-income Americans. The Healthy Incentives Pilot (HIP) will enroll households in Hampden County, Massachusetts that participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program).

21 Aug 2010

Warner Bros recording artist to donate concert profits to BC Children's Hospital

Warner Bros. recording artist Michael Bublé announced during his August 20 concert in his hometown that all profits from the show would go to BC Children's Hospital Foundation's Campaign for BC Children, a $200-million initiative to support the construction of a new BC Children's Hospital and to enhance medical services for children throughout the province.

21 Aug 2010

Female sexual offenders often unrecognised and underreported

Sexual offenses committed by women, while often unrecognised and underreported, have become the subject of a new book by a University of Montreal professor. Female Sexual Offenders: Theory, Assessment and Treatment (Wiley), is the first volume of its kind to provide an overview of female-perpetrated sexual abuse, statistics on the crime, as well as treatment options for offenders.

21 Aug 2010

ASIR coronary CTA technique reduces radiation dose by 27%

A new low-dose coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) technique called adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) can reduce the radiation dose associated with coronary CTA by 27 percent, according to a study in the September issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org). Coronary CTA is a common heart imaging test that helps determine if fatty or calcium deposits have narrowed a patient's coronary arteries.

21 Aug 2010

Report says developing countries remain unprepared for cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment

"Developing countries will bear 60 percent of the world's cancer burden by 2020 and 70 percent by 2030," according to a report released Thursday during the World Cancer Congress in Shenzhen, China, Reuters reports. These countries also lack the necessary "infrastructure … to prevent cancer, diagnose it early or provide long-term treatment, according to CanTreat International, which comprises experts from leading international cancer organizations," the news service writes.

20 Aug 2010

HealthPartners receives grant to study primary care clinics' transformation to health care homes

The HealthPartners Research Foundation has received an US Department of Health & Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality grant to study the transformation of traditional primary care clinics in Minnesota to "health care homes," also known as "medical homes."

20 Aug 2010

NSF issues award to develop techniques for analyzing children's behavior

A team led by the Georgia Institute of Technology has received a $10 million "Expeditions in Computing" award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop novel computing techniques for measuring and analyzing the behavior of children.

20 Aug 2010

Cedars-Sinai opens Advanced Heart Failure Unit in California

The Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute has opened an innovative 30-bed in-patient unit dedicated to providing advanced heart failure patients with an intensive, multidisciplinary approach to inpatient care.

20 Aug 2010