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UMHS selects Epic Systems for medical information technology overhaul

The University of Michigan Health System has just embarked on a multi-year journey to completely transform the way its physicians, nurses, other care providers and administrators use information technology in every U-M hospital, clinic and office.

22 Jul 2010

Prototype ring with sensors helps to detect, prevent preterm labor

The birth of a baby is usually a joyous event, but when a child is born too early, worrisome complications can occur, including serious health problems for the baby and steep medical bills for the family. To address this, Johns Hopkins graduate students and their faculty adviser have invented a new system to pick up very early signs that a woman is going into labor too soon.

22 Jul 2010

Harvard cracks down on doctors' ties to industry

In the face of increased scrutiny of ties between industry and medical school faculty, Harvard is tightening its conflict-of-interest policies, The Boston Globe reports.

22 Jul 2010

Valproic acid halts vision loss in patients with retinitis pigmentosa

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School believe they may have found a new treatment for retinitis pigmentosa, a severe neurodegenerative disease of the retina that ultimately results in blindness. One of the more common retinal degenerative diseases, RP is caused by the death of photoreceptor cells and affects 1 in 4,000 people in the United States. RP typically manifests in young adulthood as night blindness or a loss of peripheral vision and in many cases progresses to legal blindness by age 40.

22 Jul 2010

Buffer among metbolism pathways induces cancer suppressing gene mutation: Research

Eighty years ago, the medical establishment believed cancer was caused by a dysfunction of metabolism, but the idea went out of vogue. Now, scientists are again looking at metabolism and its role in cancer and other common diseases. Metabolism is a highly connected network of reactions that are arranged in parallel and interacting pathways. Such parallelism can mask how genes are linked with disease traits and make it difficult to treat conditions.

22 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 21, 2010

Today's headlines include news regarding specific examples of what could happen at the state level if Congress doesn't extend enhanced federal Medicaid funding.

21 Jul 2010

Harvard Apparatus/ Hugo Sachs Elektronik business collaborates to develop lung regeneration bioreactor

Harvard Bioscience, Inc., a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of specialized products used to advance life science research and regenerative medicine, announces that its Harvard Apparatus / Hugo Sachs Elektronik business collaborated with Dr. Harald Ott and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to design and manufacture a novel bioreactor that was used to grow a functional lung. The lung was subsequently transplanted into a rat.

21 Jul 2010

UMDNJ identifies direct link between phthalates in plastics and inflammation in newborns

Researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) have identified a direct link between phthalates, the substances that make plastics more pliable and durable, and inflammation in newborns - and are encouraging more limited use of the plasticizers. Their paper, "Inflammatory Effects of Phthalates in Neonatal Neutrophils," appears in the August 2010 edition of the journal Pediatric Research.

21 Jul 2010

Obama resubmits Berwick nomination to Senate, Kagan responds to health law concerns

President Obama on Monday submitted his nomination of Dr. Donald Berwick to head Medicare and Medicaid — "a move that comes two weeks after Obama bypassed Congress to put his stalled nominee in the post until the end of 2011," Roll Call reports. If Berwick is approved, he would have the job indefinitely instead of merely through 2011, a rule that is imposed when a recess appointment is used.

21 Jul 2010

University of Texas scientist creates promising HIV vaccine candidate

The Abzyme Research Foundation announces today that Dr. Sudhir Paul, a scientist at University of Texas Houston Medical School, has identified an important immunological deficiency in HIV-infected patients and has created a promising HIV vaccine candidate that rectifies the deficiency. The discoveries were presented on July 19th and 20th, 2010 at the XVII International AIDS Society Conference in Vienna, Austria.

21 Jul 2010

Doctor, nurse roles considered as shortages take hold

"The private doctor's practice — long considered a mainstay of American medicine — could be going the way of the independent bookstore and locally owned pharmacy," The Detroit News reports. "Crushed by mounting economic pressures, more midcareer physicians in Michigan and across the country are giving up their solo practices and joining large and better-financed hospital systems as salaried employees.

21 Jul 2010

World-first dialysis study set to reduce health costs

The results of a world-first controlled trial of dialysis start-time in patients with Stage V chronic kidney disease is set to have major impact on the cost and infrastructure of chronic kidney disease (CKD) treatment and dialysis services.

20 Jul 2010

More than half of parents interested in using at-home personal genetic testing for their children: Poll

The latest results from the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health show more than half of parents are interested in having their children checked for disease risks using at-home personal genetic testing kits.

20 Jul 2010

Researchers reveal findings on restricted lineage of iPS cells

Adult cells that have been reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) do not completely let go of their past, perhaps limiting their ability to function as a less controversial alternative to embryonic stem cells for basic research and cell replacement therapies, according to researchers at Children's Hospital Boston, John Hopkins University and their colleagues

20 Jul 2010

Researchers discover genetic explanation for non-diabetic kidney disease in African-Americans

Kidney disease is a growing public health problem, with approximately half a million individuals in the United States requiring dialysis treatments to replace the function of their failed kidneys. The problem is particularly acute among African-Americans, whose rates of kidney disease are four times higher than those of European Americans.

20 Jul 2010

ViroStatics to present VS411 Phase II dose-ranging trial data at International AIDS Conference in Vienna

ViroStatics, a US/Italian biopharmaceutical company developing innovative immunotherapies for HIV/AIDS and other chronic diseases, is releasing Phase II data from a randomized, dose-ranging trial of VS411, the Company's novel combination product for treating HIV/AIDS, during the XVII International AIDS Conference this week in Vienna, Austria.

19 Jul 2010

CCTP focuses on identifying, testing drugs for cancer stem cell treatment

Cancer and stem cell biology researchers at the University of Colorado are launching the nation's first program focused on identifying and testing drugs that target and destroy cells thought to be at the root of cancer-cancer stem cells (CSCs).The Cancer Stem Cell-Directed Clinical Trials Program (CCTP) is a collaboration between the University of Colorado Cancer Center and the Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology, both located at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

17 Jul 2010

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center ranks first: U.S. News & World Report survey

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center ranks as one of the top five American hospitals -- and the best hospital in the western United States for the 21st consecutive year -- according to a U.S. News & World Report survey that reviewed patient-outcomes data, reputation among physicians and other care-

17 Jul 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

As part of a series in advance of AIDS 2010, the "Science Speaks" blog features an interview with U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby "about his expectations for the conference, what was behind the Uganda problem with shortages of AIDS medicine, and whether The New York Times was right when it reported in May that the Ugandan drug shortfall was 'the first example … of how the war on AIDS is falling apart.'"

16 Jul 2010

Study results to help researchers better understand cancer genetics, improve treatment regimens

The largest study to correlate genetics with response to cancer drugs releases its first results today. The researchers behind the study, based at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, describe in this initial dataset the responses of 350 cancer samples to 18 anticancer therapeutics.

16 Jul 2010

Medical School News and Research

UMHS selects Epic Systems for medical information technology overhaul

Prototype ring with sensors helps to detect, prevent preterm labor

Harvard cracks down on doctors' ties to industry

Valproic acid halts vision loss in patients with retinitis pigmentosa

Buffer among metbolism pathways induces cancer suppressing gene mutation: Research

First Edition: July 21, 2010

Harvard Apparatus/ Hugo Sachs Elektronik business collaborates to develop lung regeneration bioreactor

UMDNJ identifies direct link between phthalates in plastics and inflammation in newborns

Obama resubmits Berwick nomination to Senate, Kagan responds to health law concerns

University of Texas scientist creates promising HIV vaccine candidate

Doctor, nurse roles considered as shortages take hold

World-first dialysis study set to reduce health costs

More than half of parents interested in using at-home personal genetic testing for their children: Poll

Researchers reveal findings on restricted lineage of iPS cells

Researchers discover genetic explanation for non-diabetic kidney disease in African-Americans

ViroStatics to present VS411 Phase II dose-ranging trial data at International AIDS Conference in Vienna

CCTP focuses on identifying, testing drugs for cancer stem cell treatment

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center ranks first: U.S. News & World Report survey

Recent releases in Global Health

Study results to help researchers better understand cancer genetics, improve treatment regimens

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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