Therapy News and Research

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What's to become of the 'doc fix?'

News outlets report about what the future could hold for Medicare physician reimbursements now that Congress has, so far, failed to take steps to avert a scheduled payment cut. Also, without congressional intervention, Medicare's rehab therapy caps will hit in 2012.

22 Dec 2011

Researchers map every apparent physical interaction of HIV virus with human cells

In perhaps the most comprehensive survey of the inner workings of HIV, an international team of scientists led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco has mapped every apparent physical interaction the virus makes with components of the human cells it infects—work that may reveal new ways to design future HIV/AIDS drugs.

22 Dec 2011

JAMA commentary argues that vitamin therapy still plays a role in reducing stroke

A commentary by Dr. David Spence of The University of Western Ontario and Dr. Meir Stampfer of the Harvard School of Public Health in today's Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) argues that vitamin therapy still has a role to play in reducing stroke.

22 Dec 2011

FDA approves Merck's Isentress to treat HIV-1 infection in children, adolescents

Isentress (raltegravir) was approved today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use with other antiretroviral drugs for the treatment of HIV-1 infection for children and adolescents ages 2-18.

22 Dec 2011

ACTF, Merck announce new HIV initiatives

Today, Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and the ADAP Crisis Task Force (ACTF) announced a number of new initiatives to help struggling state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) continue to provide access to medicines to people living with HIV.

22 Dec 2011

Researchers discover how normal cells in tumors can drive cancer growth

•A new study published in the journal Nature Cell Biology has discovered how normal cells in tumors can fuel tumor growth.

22 Dec 2011

NSU to create College of Nursing on Jan. 1., 2012

Nova Southeastern University will create the College of Nursing on Jan. 1., 2012. Formally a part of NSU's College of Allied Health and Nursing, the new college has emerged because of the nursing program's growth and success over the last five years.

21 Dec 2011

Chlorthalidone may reduce risk of death in patients with systolic hypertension

Patients with systolic hypertension who were treated with the diuretic chlorthalidone for 4.5 years as part of a clinical trial had a significantly lower rate of death and a gain in life expectancy free from cardiovascular death about 20 years later compared to patients who received placebo, according to a study in the December 21 issue of JAMA.

21 Dec 2011

Antihypertensive drug therapy associated with longer life expectancy

More than 68 percent of Americans 65 and older - 80 percent age 75 and over - have hypertension (high blood pressure), according to a 2010 report by the Centers for Disease Control. Left untreated, this chronic condition can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure or premature death. Researchers at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School have shown in a follow-up to the landmark clinical trial, Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program (SHEP), that the use of antihypertensive drug therapy is associated with longer life expectancy.

21 Dec 2011

State roundup: Ariz. high court to hear Medicaid funding challenge

The Arizona Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider a challenge to state Medicaid cuts. The court put the matter on its Feb. 15 agenda and will decide then whether to take the case and hear oral arguments. Three public-interest law groups challenged an enrollment freeze for childless adults in the state's Medicaid program, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. A lower-court judge and an Arizona appeals-court panel upheld the cuts.

21 Dec 2011

Women with breast cancer more likely to develop heart disease

Women who are at risk for breast cancer may also be at greater risk for heart disease, new research has found.

21 Dec 2011

Early aquatic therapy after TKA may improve quality of life

Despite increased use of total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA), there is a notable lack of consensus about optimal postoperative treatment. Aquatic therapy has been shown to have a beneficial effect, and it is typically begun two weeks after surgery, after the wound has healed.

21 Dec 2011

Takeda receives FDA approval for EDARBYCLOR to treat hypertension

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc., announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved EDARBYCLOR (azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone) for the treatment of hypertension to lower blood pressure in adults.

21 Dec 2011

Cutting cardiac sympathetic nerve may help control heart rhythms

What do sweaty palms and abnormal heart rhythms have in common? Both can be initiated by the nervous system during adrenaline-driven "flight or fight" stress reaction when the body senses danger.

20 Dec 2011

Mammography appears to detect women with low-risk breast cancer

As a woman ages, her chances of being diagnosed with a lower-risk breast tumor increase, according to a novel study led by UCSF which found that for women over 50, a substantial number of cancers detected by mammograms have good prognoses.

20 Dec 2011

Hebrew University student wins Kaye Innovation Award for anti-cancer therapy

A strategy for inhibiting a protein that is associated with the spread of cancer has won for a Hebrew University of Jerusalem Ph.D. student in chemistry one of this year's Kaye Innovation Awards at the university.

20 Dec 2011

Three-dose artesunate therapy effective in treating children with malaria

A shorter anti-malaria treatment is as effective in treating seriously ill children as the standard regimen, according to new research. Researchers have shown that three doses over two days of the drug artesunate are as effective in killing the malaria parasite in the blood as five doses over three days.

20 Dec 2011

Tips for sharing holidays in hospital

There are few holiday presents worse than a hospital stay. But if a loved one or friend must be hospitalized this season, University of Alabama at Birmingham experts say you can take steps to ensure their holiday is still merry and bright. "Being in the hospital can be distressing for anybody," says Joshua Klapow, Ph.D., a UAB clinical psychologist. "While the psychological impact may be short-lived, the bottom line is people would rather be well and home than sick and away.

20 Dec 2011

DHEA hormone may help a woman's menopausal symptoms, sex life

A new study has shown that the DHEA, a hormone mostly secreted by the adrenal glands, may be able to help a woman's menopausal symptoms, as well as giving her a better sex life.

20 Dec 2011

Study finds 44% increase in new hospital heart attack care programs since 2001

In a new study, researchers have found a 44 percent increase since 2001 in the number of hospitals that offer definitive emergency care to patients with heart attack, but only a 1 percent increase in access to that care.

20 Dec 2011