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15% strokes occur during sleep making treatment difficult: Study

According to a new study nearly 15 percent of people who have a stroke are not eligible for clot-busting treatment because the stroke happened while they slept. These clot breaking drugs can prevent permanent disability after a stroke - but the treatment must be given within a four-and-a-half-hour window after the stroke symptoms begin say experts. Since people who have a stroke while asleep can't know when it occurred, they can't get the treatment if they slept for more than four and a half hours, explained study author Dr. Jason Mackey at the University of Cincinnati. “They can't get the drug,” he said. “That's a big issue.”

10 May 2011

Genetic mutation linked to Kufs disease

According to a new study, a genetic mutation thought to be responsible for the rare hereditary brain disorder Kufs disease is finally identified. The research was carried out by Dr Melanie Bahlo and her team at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute's bioinformatics department in Parkville, Australia, in partnership with neurologist and epilepsy specialists Professor Sam Berkovic and Dr Todor Arsov from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

10 May 2011

Painkiller warning for heart patients: Study

According to the latest study, taking some commonly prescribed painkillers for even a short while might increase the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke. The study also reports that when heart attack survivors took the drugs for as little as a week, it appeared to boost their risk of another heart attack, stroke or sudden death. The results, published in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association, surprised even the researchers.

10 May 2011

Research finds 'no safe window' for painkiller use among heart attack survivors

Even short-term use of some painkillers could be dangerous for people who've had a heart attack, according to research published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

10 May 2011

Ecstasy use falls while synthetic versions grow in popularity

Where on one hand the use of ecstasy is falling in Australia, experts are warning that the use of dangerous designer synthetic drugs, which can be made legally, may begin to rise. Ecstasy, one of the most popular “recreational” drugs in Australia over the past two decades is becoming less popular with regular users, consistent with global trends, say the authors of a new report from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of NSW.

10 May 2011

When Government usurps responsibility, people are more likely to abdicate

We hear much talk about preventive care, but nobody has defined it. From the content of the discussions, I deduce that what the health bureaucrats actually refer to would be better characterized as “early detection.” Early detection is what occurs when a physician finds a disease in its early stages that might have been prevented by earlier measures. But who can take those measures? Not the physician, only the patient. There is only one person living the patient’s life; it is the patient. I cannot live his life for him.

9 May 2011

Uganda: First vaccination for GMZ2 malaria vaccine trial

Today, the EDCTP-funded GMZ2 consortium starts volunteer enrolment for the phase IIb clinical trial of the candidate malaria vaccine GMZ2 in Uganda. This is the third trial site to initiate volunteer recruitment for this multi-country study. Vaccination is already underway at trial sites in Gabon (November 2010) and Burkina Faso (April 2011). The Uganda site is in the peri-urban area of Iganga/Mayuge, at the Iganga Hospital. Akin to most areas in Uganda, malaria is one of the major health problems in this district. A team from Makerere University (Kampala) is conducting the trial.

9 May 2011

PTSD occurs with significant frequency in civilian patients after traumatic event involving physical injury

Although most commonly associated with military combat, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur in civilians, too - and with consequences that are just as serious, according to a new review article in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS). PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder that occurs after a person experiences a traumatic event involving physical injury, and occurs in 20 to 51 percent of patients with an orthopaedic injury.

9 May 2011

State roundup: Concerns about state employee retirement boom

Plummeting stock portfolios and home values prompted many Baby Boomers to keep working long after retirement age. ... "What was once a planned exit is no longer a planned exit," says Daniel Hackler, Indiana's state personnel director.

9 May 2011

Ideal psychotropic drug may cause physical dependence

A report in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics by a group of European investigators headed by Fabrizio Schifano has explored the potential for dependence of pregabalin using patients' online reports.

9 May 2011

Preliminary data from ST-DETECT Trial using EGM signals in ICDs presented at SCAI meeting

New data presented today at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions Scientific Sessions are the first to look at the use of highly specialized signals within implantable cardioverter defibrillators to detect restricted blood flow to the heart in high-risk cardiovascular disease patients outside the hospital setting.

9 May 2011

Elan Drug Technologies, Alkermes merge to form new company in Ireland

Alkermes, Inc. and Elan Corporation, plc today announced the execution of a definitive agreement under which Alkermes will merge with Elan Drug Technologies, the profitable, world-class drug formulation and manufacturing business unit of Elan, in a cash and stock transaction currently valued at approximately $960 million.

9 May 2011

Mithridion's MCD-386CR receives Orphan Drug designation from FDA for PSP treatment

Mithridion, Inc., a privately-owned clinical stage drug development company focusing on serious Central Nervous System disorders, announces that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has awarded Orphan Drug designation for MCD-386CR, its lead drug candidate, for the treatment of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.

9 May 2011

U.S. still needs to treat health care delivery as a science, says AHRQ director

Carolyn Clancy, MD, director of the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, says that although the U.S. "leads the way" in science to develop medical methods, the country still needs to treat health care delivery as a science.

7 May 2011

Study finds 4.5 million outpatient visits yearly due to adverse drug effects

Harmful effects of medication bring an estimated 4.5 million patients to doctors' offices and emergency rooms yearly, according to a new study, and people who take multiple medications are particularly vulnerable to unpleasant or dangerous side effects, allergic reactions and toxicity.

7 May 2011

Cancer researchers help unlock cellular-level function of telomerase enzyme

Cancer researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center are helping unlock the cellular-level function of the telomerase enzyme, which is linked to the disease's growth.

7 May 2011

Research roundup: Racial disparities in cancer screening and VA treatment

Racial And Ethnic Disparities In Colorectal Cancer Screening Persisted Despite Expansion Of Medicare's Screening Reimbursement. This study looked at the effect in minority groups of expanded reimbursements by Medicare for colorectal cancer screenings.

7 May 2011

SaveRxCanada.com reveals top reasons why U.S. customers select Canadian pharmacy

SaveRxCanada.com the premier Canadian pharmacy intermediary since 2002, reveals the top reasons why U.S. customers still purchase Canada drugs from a Canada pharmacy.

6 May 2011

Researchers identify eight main triggers that appear to increase risk of brain aneurysm

From drinking coffee to having sex to blowing your nose, you could temporarily raise your risk of rupturing a brain aneurysm — and suffering a stroke, according to a study published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

6 May 2011

SAS Health Care & Life Sciences Executive Conference to discuss clinical research best practices

Drug developers are challenged as never before to deliver innovative medicines through a business model that boosts the bottom line. Optimizing clinical trial design and portfolio management is paramount for managing outcomes and costs, and for rapidly advancing new drugs to the marketplace.

6 May 2011