Epidemiology News and Research

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Improvement in mumps vaccine administration needed to prevent future outbreaks

Although immunity to mumps is high in the United States, mumps vaccine coverage must be maintained and improved to prevent future outbreaks, according to a new study, now available online (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/655394), in the September 1, 2010 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

25 Aug 2010

Researchers identify novel approach to decrease glioblastoma multiforme recurrence

Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School have identified a novel approach of combining chemotherapy with a targeted therapy to decrease the recurrence of glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and aggressive brain tumor.

25 Aug 2010

Baxter announces definitive agreement with Kamada for GLASSIA alpha1-proteinase inhibitor

Baxter International Inc. today announced a definitive agreement with Kamada Ltd. for exclusive commercial rights to GLASSIA™ [Alpha 1-Proteinase Inhibitor (Human)], the first and only liquid alpha1-proteinase inhibitor, in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

From Baxter International Inc. 24 Aug 2010

WHO calls on countries to prevent, control spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria

Amid the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, the WHO on Friday urged countries to take greater action to limit the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, CIDRAP News reports. "Calling such pathogens 'a growing and global public health problem,' the WHO said, 'Countries should be prepared to implement hospital infection control measures to limit the spread of multi-drug resistant strains and to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics, reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria,'" according to the news service (Roos, 8/20).

24 Aug 2010

Flu vaccine to be available at local pharmacies, doctor's offices

Flu vaccine will soon be available at local pharmacies and doctor's offices, and government officials are urging everyone over 6 months of age to receive it. This year's vaccine protects against H1N1 and two other strains of seasonal flu.

23 Aug 2010

Sledding-related injuries may result in traumatic brain injury: Study

A new study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that from 1997-2007, an estimated 229,023 children and adolescents younger than 19 years were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments for sledding-related injuries, an average of more than 20,000 cases each year.

23 Aug 2010

Study finds rectal cancer rates are increasing among young individuals

A new analysis has found that while colon cancer rates have remained steady over the past several decades among people under the age of 40, rectal cancer rates are increasing in this population across races and in both sexes.

23 Aug 2010

Scientific findings provide new information on prostate cancer care

A new analysis has found that short-term and long-term costs of prostate cancer care vary considerably based on which treatment strategy a man initially receives. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study finds that treatments that may be less expensive in the short-term may have higher long-term costs.

23 Aug 2010

GM-CSF protein reduces AD pathology, reverses memory loss: Study

A signaling protein released during rheumatoid arthritis dramatically reduced Alzheimer's disease pathology and reversed the memory impairment of mice bred to develop symptoms of the neurodegenerative disease, a new study by the University of South Florida reports. Researchers found that the protein, GM-CSF, likely stimulates the body's natural scavenger cells to attack and remove Alzheimer's amyloid deposits in the brain.

23 Aug 2010

'Yakult' effective in reducing acute diarrhea in young children: Study

YAKULT HONSHA CO., LTD. announced on August 20 that its collaborative study on the incidence of acute diarrhea with the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases in Kolkata, India, showed that daily intake of "Yakult" is efficacious in reducing the incidence of diarrhea in young children.

21 Aug 2010

University of California, Irvine launches new Clinical Research Certificate Program

University of California, Irvine today announced the launch of its new Clinical Research Certificate Program. In order to close the widening gap between the rapid expansion of biomedical discoveries and the application of those discoveries in a clinical environment, UC Irvine School of Medicine developed the program in partnership with UC Irvine Extension to equip medical industry professionals with the academic knowledge, technical skill and critical thinking ability necessary to understand and evaluate clinical studies...

20 Aug 2010

Renin test can predict appropriate drugs for BP patients: Study

Commonly prescribed drugs used to lower blood pressure can actually have the opposite effect-raising blood pressure in a statistically significant percentage of patients. A new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University suggests that doctors could avoid this problem-and select drugs most suitable for their patients-by measuring blood levels of the enzyme renin through a blood test that is becoming more widely available. The study appears in the online edition of the American Journal of Hypertension.

20 Aug 2010

Study reports uneven decline of colorectal cancer mortality rate

Black patients die from colorectal cancer at much higher rates than whites do and new research points to unequal health care as the cause. While deaths from colorectal cancer have declined over the past 40 years, the declines have been uneven, said lead author Samir Soneji, Ph.D., of the Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

20 Aug 2010

LIJ Medical Center achieves zero central-line infection rate in SICU

For one year and counting, Long Island Jewish Medical Center has achieved a zero central-line infection rate in its surgical intensive care unit, a significant accomplishment for hospitals.

19 Aug 2010

$Study finds link between osteoporosis, fracture$

Study finds link between osteoporosis, fracture

An international study of more than 60,000 women has drawn new light on the relationship between osteoporosis and fractures.Scientists call for more to be done to identify and treat patients at the highest risk of fractures.Osteoporosis is more common in women who have fractured bones when they were younger and they experience a similar loss in health-related quality of life as those with arthritis, lung disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases.

18 Aug 2010

AACR opens nominations for awards recognizing excellence in cancer research

The American Association for Cancer Research is currently accepting nominations for awards recognizing excellence in cancer research, to be presented at the 102nd AACR Annual Meeting 2011, held in Orlando, Fla., from April 2 to 6.

18 Aug 2010

Moderate wine consumption associated with better cognitive performance

A large prospective study of 5033 men and women in the Troms- Study in northern Norway has reported that moderate wine consumption is independently associated with better performance on cognitive tests. The subjects (average age 58 and free of stroke) were followed over 7 years during which they were tested with a range of cognitive function tests.

18 Aug 2010

Luminex donates new MAGPIX system to Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research

Luminex Corporation, the worldwide leader in multiplexed solutions, today announced it has donated the first commercial unit of its newly launched MAGPIX® instrument to Professor Peter Siba and his scientific team at the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research. The instrument will be used onsite in Papua New Guinea to progress malaria research led by Dr. Peter Zimmerman, Professor of International Health, Genetics and Biology at the Center for Global Health and Diseases at Case Western Reserve University.

From Luminex 18 Aug 2010

Moderate chocolate consumption lowers heart failure risk: Study

Middle-aged and elderly Swedish women who regularly ate a small amount of chocolate had lower risks of heart failure risks, in a study reported in Circulation: Heart Failure, a journal of the American Heart Association.

18 Aug 2010

Rice receives Defense Threat Reduction Agency grant to develop genomic test for cultivated pathogens

Researchers at Rice University have won federal support to develop a genomic test that can quickly determine whether a disease outbreak is caused by a natural pathogen or one that was grown in a lab by terrorists.

17 Aug 2010