Shingles News and Research

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Shingles (herpes zoster) is an outbreak of rash or blisters on the skin that is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox — the varicella-zoster virus. The first sign of shingles is often burning or tingling pain, or sometimes numbness or itch, in one particular location on only one side of the body.

Loyola physician sheds light on common and painful viral infection, shingles

Shingles is a painful viral infection that affects almost one million people worldwide and 30 percent of Americans every year.

4 Mar 2014

Research roundup: Examining readmissions; easing doctor burnout

Despite massive early IT problems, exchange enrollment is accelerating rapidly. While enrollment may not reach 7 million by the end of March, we expect at least 5 million to have enrolled by the close of the initial open-enrollment period. If enrollment falls far short, HHS could extend open enrollment for a fixed period to reach its 7 million target. ... We project that 5 million new beneficiaries will be covered by Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program by the end of 2014. Medicaid managed-care enrollment of non-dual beneficiaries will increase by 20 percent from 2013 to 2014 and by 38 percent from 2013 to 2016. We expect that 75 percent of non-dual Medicaid beneficiaries will be covered by Managed Care Organizations starting in 2015, up from 63 percent in 2012 (Feb. 2014).

14 Feb 2014

Viewpoints: CBO report on health law: Damaging the labor market or freeing workers from 'insurance trap'?

There are 7.8 million Americans working part-time who want full-time work, including a fry cook whose restaurant cut his hours to avoid Affordable Care Act mandates and confronted President Obama in an online Google Q&A last week: "We can't survive. It's not a living." Mr. Obama changed the subject to raising the minimum wage. But he can't dodge reality forever as the evidence piles up that ObamaCare is harming the labor market.

6 Feb 2014

Spinifex announces results of Phase 2 clinical trial of EMA401 in postherpetic neuralgia

Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, an Australian pain drug development company, today announces that The Lancet has published the results of its Phase 2 clinical trial of its lead candidate, EMA401, in postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).

5 Feb 2014

95% of adults die annually from vaccine preventable diseases

While adults make up 95 percent of those who die annually from vaccine preventable diseases, a new study from the University of Colorado School of Medicine shows their vaccination rates remain stubbornly low, representing a growing public health concern.

5 Feb 2014

New drug treatment effective against chronic pain caused by nerve damage post shingles

A new drug treatment has been found to be effective against chronic pain caused by nerve damage, also known as neuropathic pain, in patients who have had shingles.

5 Feb 2014

Patient's EMR coupled with pharmacist intervention improves preventative care of shingles

While people over the age of 60 account for more than half of all shingles cases, less than 15% get the vaccination that helps prevent the blistering skin rash, which can cause lingering nerve pain.

17 Jan 2014

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and herpesvirus saimiri: an interview with Elazar Rabbani, Chief Executive Officer of Enzo

Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition where fibrotic or scarred tissue progressively develops in the lungs. In some cases the particular cause is known but in others it remains unknown and is given the term “idiopathic”.

14 Jan 2014

Study sheds light on the biological underpinnings of obesity

A new neuroscience study sheds light on the biological underpinnings of obesity. The in vivo study, published in the January 8 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, reveals how a protein in the brain helps regulate food intake and body weight. The findings reveal a potential new avenue for the treatment of obesity and may help explain why medications that are prescribed for epilepsy and other conditions that interfere with this protein, such as gabapentin and pregabalin, can cause weight gain.

7 Jan 2014

Shingles may increase risk of stroke in later life, study finds

Having shingles may increase the risk of having a stroke years later, according to research published in the January 2, 2014, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

2 Jan 2014

Research roundup: 'Substantial' Medicare savings from avoiding ERs; new ways for primary care; trends in kids' fast food consumption

Some Medicare beneficiaries who place 911 calls to request an ambulance might safely be cared for in settings other than the emergency department at lower cost. Using 2005–09 Medicare claims data and a validated algorithm, we estimated that 12.9–16.2 percent of Medicare-covered 911 emergency medical services transports involved conditions that were probably nonemergent or primary care treatable.

9 Dec 2013

Health law fails to bring competition to rural areas but spurs changes in mental health care

The New York Times examines the effects of the law on prices of coverage in rural areas while KHN details how therapists' may be forced to move away from their solo practices.

25 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 24, 2013

Today's headlines include reports that the Obama administration plans to tweak the tax-penalty deadline for signing up for health insurance as well as previews of what might happen when the contractors who built the health law's online insurance marketplace testify today on Capitol Hill.

24 Oct 2013

Pfizer announces top-line results from phase 3b studies with Lyrica Capsules

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) announced top-line results from two phase 3b, placebo-controlled studies with Lyrica® (pregabalin) Capsules CV in patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), respectively.

19 Oct 2013

Discovery paves way for development of new medicines to combat herpes infections

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden and Carnegie Mellon University have for the first time managed to measure the internal pressure that enables the herpes virus to infect cells in the human body. The discovery paves the way for the development of new medicines to combat viral infections. The results indicate good chances to stop herpes infections in the future.

3 Oct 2013

Inherited human herpesvirus 6 affects telomere stability and reactivates

Up to half a million people in Britain today may not know it, but in their genetic material they carry a particular form of herpesvirus 6 inherited from a parent.

21 Sep 2013

Pain, itching associated with shingles may be due to virus causing "short circuit" in nerve cells

The pain and itching associated with shingles and herpes may be due to the virus causing a "short circuit" in the nerve cells that reach the skin, Princeton researchers have found.

11 Sep 2013

Apoptosis can reactivate latent herpesviruses in dying cell

Researchers have found that apoptosis, a natural process of programmed cell death, can reactivate latent herpesviruses in the dying cell. The results of their research, which could have broad clinical significance since many cancer chemotherapies cause apoptosis, was published ahead of print in the Journal of Virology.

6 Sep 2013

Summer sun rays is one of the best treatments for psoriasis

Sun exposure is usually discouraged due to harmful rays causing skin cancer and premature aging but for the 7.5 million Americans suffering from psoriasis, the sun is a natural medication.

7 Aug 2013

Discovery of pressure-driven infection mechanism opens door to new treatments for viral infections

The virus that causes those painful lip blisters known as cold sores has an internal pressure eight times higher than a car tire, and uses it to literally blast its infectious DNA into human cells, scientists are reporting in a new study.

25 Jul 2013

Shingles News and Research

Further Reading

Loyola physician sheds light on common and painful viral infection, shingles

Research roundup: Examining readmissions; easing doctor burnout

Viewpoints: CBO report on health law: Damaging the labor market or freeing workers from 'insurance trap'?

Spinifex announces results of Phase 2 clinical trial of EMA401 in postherpetic neuralgia

95% of adults die annually from vaccine preventable diseases

New drug treatment effective against chronic pain caused by nerve damage post shingles

Patient's EMR coupled with pharmacist intervention improves preventative care of shingles

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and herpesvirus saimiri: an interview with Elazar Rabbani, Chief Executive Officer of Enzo

Study sheds light on the biological underpinnings of obesity

Shingles may increase risk of stroke in later life, study finds

Research roundup: 'Substantial' Medicare savings from avoiding ERs; new ways for primary care; trends in kids' fast food consumption

Health law fails to bring competition to rural areas but spurs changes in mental health care

First Edition: October 24, 2013

Pfizer announces top-line results from phase 3b studies with Lyrica Capsules

Discovery paves way for development of new medicines to combat herpes infections

Inherited human herpesvirus 6 affects telomere stability and reactivates

Pain, itching associated with shingles may be due to virus causing "short circuit" in nerve cells

Apoptosis can reactivate latent herpesviruses in dying cell

Summer sun rays is one of the best treatments for psoriasis

Discovery of pressure-driven infection mechanism opens door to new treatments for viral infections

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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