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Guided care reduces cost of health care for seniors with chronic conditions

The nation's sickest and most expensive patients need fewer health care resources and cost insurers less when they are closely supported by a nurse-physician primary care team that tracks their health and offers regular support, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

7 Aug 2009

Community insurance co-ops, medical homes offer models for reform

Communities with nonprofit health insurance co-ops or a system of patients having "medical homes' could be useful models in a national health care overhaul.

7 Aug 2009

Scientists find key to strengthening immune response to chronic infection

A team of researchers from The Wistar Institute has identified a protein that could serve as a target for reprogramming immune system cells exhausted by exposure to chronic viral infection into more effective "soldiers" against certain viruses like HIV, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B, as well as some cancers, such as melanoma.

6 Aug 2009

Proteomics helps find key to keeping cells in shape

Yale University researchers have discovered how a protein within most cell membranes helps maintain normal cell size, a breakthrough in basic biology that has implications for a variety of diseases such as sickle cell anemia and disorders of the nervous system.

6 Aug 2009

Botanicals do not have an effect on hot flashes or on cognitive function in menopausal women

Two studies conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern University have found that commonly used botanicals do not have an effect on hot flashes or on cognitive function in menopausal women.

6 Aug 2009

Discovery of possible mechanisms to protect against genetic alterations, diseases

Peering into the DNA of tiny yeast, researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego and the San Diego Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research have pinpointed a large number of genes that can prevent a type of genetic rearrangement that may lead to cancer and other diseases.

6 Aug 2009

Discovery of common trigger in cancer and normal stem cell reproduction

Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered, for the first time, a common molecular pathway that is used by both normal stem cells and cancer stem cells when they reproduce themselves.

6 Aug 2009

Thermogenesis expands collaboration with Celling Technologies

ThermoGenesis has announced an expanded collaboration with Celling Technologies, a subsidiary of SpineSmith, LLC, related to the Company's bone marrow products, MXP(TM) MarrowXpress(TM) and Res-Q(TM) 60 BMC. Celling is a leading distributor of orthopedic products, based in Texas.

6 Aug 2009

Psoriasis sufferers at risk for other medical conditions

Emerging research reveals that people with psoriasis are at risk for developing other serious medical conditions including heart disease, diabetes and obesity. According to a new study by the National Psoriasis Foundation, of 5,000 people with psoriasis, nearly two-thirds report having at least one other critical health problem.

6 Aug 2009

Percutaneous vertebroplasty exposed as ineffective

A world-first study involving Monash University and the Cabrini Research Institute in Melbourne has revealed the injection of bone cement into broken vertebrae is not an effective treatment for patients suffering painful osteoporotic fractures.

6 Aug 2009

Physician practices help Michigan become a leading adopter of e-prescribing

Hundreds of physician practices in Michigan have teamed with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to help a movement that has made the state one of the national leaders of e-prescribing.

6 Aug 2009

Comparative effectiveness studies raise questions about vertebroplasty back pain treatment

New studies on treating back pain from a fractured spine could call more attention to the type of comparative effectiveness research health policy experts and President Barack Obama have embraced in their quest to increase quality of care while lowering costs.

6 Aug 2009

Discovery of cells responsible for bladder cancer spread

Johns Hopkins scientists have tracked down a powerful set of cells in bladder tumors that seem to be primarily responsible for the cancer's growth and spread using a technique that takes advantage of similarities between tumor and organ growth. The findings, reported in the July Stem Cells, could help scientists develop new ways of finding and attacking similar cells in other types of cancer.

6 Aug 2009

Protein unfolding key to understanding blood clot mechanics

Fibrin, the chief ingredient of blood clots, is a remarkably versatile polymer. On one hand, it forms a network of fibers -- a blood clot -- that stems the loss of blood at an injury site while remaining pliable and flexible. On the other hand, fibrin provides a scaffold for thrombi, clots that block blood vessels and cause tissue damage, leading to myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. How does fibrin manage to be so strong and yet so extensible under the stresses of healing and blood flow?

6 Aug 2009

Distinctive gene expression in brains of relapsing heroin-addicted rats

A group of genes whose expression is significantly altered following exposure to drug paraphernalia after an enforced 'cold-turkey' period have been identified. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience studied gene expression in the brains of heroin-addicted rats, identifying those genes that may be involved in precipitating a relapse.

6 Aug 2009

Scientists create stem cells from developing sperm

The promise of stem cell therapy may lie in uncovering how adult cells revert back into a primordial, stem cell state, whose fate is yet to be determined. Now, cell scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have identified key molecular players responsible for this reversion in fruit fly sperm cells.

6 Aug 2009

Discovery of 'tell-tale' viral signature in blood that identifies underlying viral infection

Scientists have identified a genomic "signature" in circulating blood that reveals exposure to common upper respiratory viruses, like the cold or flu, even before symptoms appear.

6 Aug 2009

Pattern of gene expression in blood provides clues to etiology of respiratory infections

Scientists have shown that they can identify and characterize an individual's response to a respiratory viral infection by examining the pattern of gene expression in their blood.

6 Aug 2009

Celera and Aurora to collaborate on cardiovascular genetics

Aurora Health Care, Wisconsin's largest health care provider, and Celera Corporation announced today that they have entered into an agreement to collaborate on the integration of genetic testing aimed at optimizing heart care for Aurora patients

6 Aug 2009

Experts on vertebroplasty contend recent vertebroplasty studies are misleading

Two studies released today in the New England Journal of Medicine claim to demonstrate that vertebroplasty, a procedure to treat some painful spine fractures, is not effective. This is incorrect, as both studies actually demonstrate a significant improvement in patients' pain and ability to function normally.

6 Aug 2009