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Measures that are needed to curb humanity's most fatal diseases

Several of the world's most eminent health scientists and organizations today publish a landmark global consensus on the 20 foremost measures needed to curb humanity's most fatal diseases, their study featured in Nature magazine.

21 Nov 2007

Pregabalin decreases pain, speeds movement in knee replacement patients

The drug pregabalin administered before and after knee replacement surgery, significantly decreased patient pain while increasing and expediting mobility after surgery, according to a study by Asokumar Buvanendran, MD, director of Orthopedic Anesthesia and associate professor of Anesthesiology at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago.

21 Nov 2007

Third Annual Disability Status Report

There is a dramatic employment and poverty gap between working-age people with disabilities and those without disabilities, according to a new Cornell report.

21 Nov 2007

X-stop procedure helps relieve pain as a result of spinal stenosis

A new minimally invasive procedure is hitting its mark with certain types of low back and leg pain sufferers, significantly reducing their pain and disability.

20 Nov 2007

PET scans show gene therapy normalizes brain function in Parkinson's patients

Brain scans used to track changes in a dozen patients who received an experimental gene therapy show that the treatment normalizes brain function - and the effects are still present a year later.

20 Nov 2007

Physical therapy in intensive care reduce hospital stays

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) cites the results of the first study to show the effectiveness of early physical therapy for patients in a medical intensive care unit (ICU).

19 Nov 2007

Gene-transfer technique trial for childhood blindness under way

Three decades have passed since gene therapy pioneer William W. Hauswirth, Ph.D., and his colleagues at the University of Florida began work on a virus that could safely deliver corrective genes into living animals.

19 Nov 2007

Research confirms the importance of genetic factors in age-associated hearing loss

A new Brandeis University study of twins shows that genes play a significant role in the level of hearing loss that often appears in late middle age. The research, in the Journal of Gerontology Medical Sciences, examined genetic and environmental factors affecting hearing loss in the frequency range of speech recognition.

15 Nov 2007

La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology to perform study on allergy molecular causes

A major study that will provide a new window into understanding and potentially treating allergies will be conducted by the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI) under a $5 million federal contract.

14 Nov 2007

Risk of disability rises in states with income inequality

A massive survey conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto reveals Americans living in states with high rates of income inequality are significantly more likely to have a disability that limits the completion of daily tasks such as dressing, bathing and mobility at home.

13 Nov 2007

Potential new targeted treatments for Lupus

New research provides clues about the causes of lupus symptoms and suggests specific new targeted treatment strategies, according to Nilamadham Mishra, M.D., from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, in presentations this week at the American College of Rheumatology in Boston.

13 Nov 2007

Lexicon files investigational NDA for LX2931 in rheumatoid arthritis

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that it has submitted an investigational new drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for LX2931, an oral drug candidate for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune conditions.

13 Nov 2007

Fires and burns take devastating toll on nation's children

The approach of winter season brings with it an increase in burn-related injuries to our nation's children. Annually in the United States, fires and burns result in almost 4,000 deaths and more than 745,000 non-hospitalized injuries among all age groups.

13 Nov 2007

Smoking-prevention strategy targets fourth-graders in Georgia

A smoking-prevention strategy that targets black fourth-graders and their parents is under study in urban and rural Georgia.

13 Nov 2007

Managing asthma

The great majority of the nearly 23 million people with asthma, including 6.5 million children, can avoid serious symptoms and disability if they follow the latest guidelines to keep their disease under control.

13 Nov 2007

Bush asks Democrats to send military construction-VA appropriations B

President Bush on Saturday in his weekly radio address asked congressional Democrats to send him the fiscal year 2008 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs appropriations bill (HR 2642) in honor of Veterans Day, the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Riechmann, AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11/11).

12 Nov 2007

Risk of disability increasing in older obese population in the U.S.

The older obese population in the U.S. appear to be experiencing more impairments in functional abilities related to movement, although there have been improvements in the cardiovascular health of this population, according to a study in the November 7 issue of JAMA.

6 Nov 2007

New study looks at effects of obesity on disability over time

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine report that older adults today are much more likely to suffer from disability than those 10 years ago.

6 Nov 2007

Researchers identify gene behind rheumatoid arthritis

University of Manchester researchers have identified a genetic variant in a region on chromosome 6 that is associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the most common inflammatory arthritis affecting 387,000 people in the UK.

From The University of Manchester 5 Nov 2007

Type 2 diabetes increasing throughout U.S.-Mexico border area

Diabetes has become the leading cause of death in Mexico and the third-leading cause of death among those living along the U.S. side of the border, health officials from the United States and Mexico said today in presenting the results of a new study coordinated by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

2 Nov 2007