Medical News

RSS

Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals performs 500th Whipple procedure

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital continues to be the leader in the region in fighting the deadliest of cancers—pancreatic cancer. In August, Charles J. Yeo, MD, FACS, the Samuel D. Gross Professor and Chair of Surgery, and a co-director of the Jefferson Pancreas, Biliary and Related Cancer Center, performed his 500th Whipple procedure at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, a life-saving surgery for those suffering with the disease.

6 Sep 2012

Ways and Means panel to review IRS mission in health law

A prominent House committee will continue its case against the healthcare law just one day after the conclusion of August recess. On Sept. 11, the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight will look at how the law's implementation could strain the Internal Revenue Service.

6 Sep 2012

Book on basic stereology for biologists and neuroscientists

Stereological techniques allow biologists to create quantitative, three-dimensional descriptions of biological structures from two-dimensional images of tissue viewed under the microscope. For example, they can accurately estimate the size of a particular subcellular compartment, the total length of a mass of blood vessels, or the number of neurons or synapses in a particular region of the brain.

6 Sep 2012

Democrats focus on women's health issues, abortion rights

Pointing to both the health law and GOP policy positions, Democrats were steady in making their case to women voters.

6 Sep 2012

All kids are susceptible to concussions

The gridiron is back in action. From little leagues to professional teams, football frenzy has begun, and with it, concerns about concussions. But it's not just jarring tackles that can lead to concussions in kids. According to Dr. Ryan Coates, pediatric neurologist at Loyola University Health System, there are many ways kids are exposed to concussion risks.

6 Sep 2012

Party platforms reveal two very different visions for the nation

The Democratic platform, which was released Tuesday, includes many health care policy references, but it is light on specifics about what health initiatives would come during a second Obama term.

6 Sep 2012

Exposure to phthalates increases risk of asthma-related airway inflammation in children

Children exposed to diethyl phthalate (DEP) and butylbenzyl phthalate (BBzP)-phthalate chemicals commonly found in personal care and plastic products-have elevated risk of asthma-related airway inflammation, according to researchers at Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health.

6 Sep 2012

Latest round of health IT regs will be topic of Capitol Hill hearing

The House hearing is planned in order to give lawmakers a chance to review a proposed rulemaking regarding incentives for so-called "meaningful use" of health information technology.

6 Sep 2012

Prenatal exposure to piperonyl butoxide increases risk of noninfectious cough in children

Children exposed in the womb to the widely used pesticide additive piperonyl butoxide (PBO) have heightened risk of noninfectious cough at ages 5 and 6, according to researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health and of Columbia University Medical Center.

6 Sep 2012

Heavy rainfall worsening cholera outbreaks in Sierra Leone, Guinea

"Heavy rainfall is accelerating the spread of cholera in Sierra Leone and Guinea, where existing health risks such as poor hygiene practices, unsafe water sources and improper waste management are believed to have triggered the disease which has killed 327 people and infected more than 17,400 in both countries since February," IRIN reports.

6 Sep 2012

Telaprevir offers advantages in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection of genotype 1

The drug telaprevir has been available for treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection of genotype 1 since autumn 2011. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the "Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products" (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether telaprevir offers an added benefit compared with the present standard therapy.

6 Sep 2012

'Obamacare' plays starring role in first night of convention (video)

This collection of Kaiser Health News video excerpts show clips in which several speakers cited the 2010 health law as a signature achievement of the Obama administration Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

6 Sep 2012

Teenage brains being changed by the digital revolution

The digital revolution appears to be changing the adolescent brain to enable it to cope with constant technological stimulation, says visiting U.S. adolescent brain researcher Dr Jay Giedd.

6 Sep 2012

New cell screening method can identify potential anti-influenza drugs

Medical Systems Virology group at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) at the University of Helsinki, together with its national and international collaborators, developed a new cell screening method that can be used to identify potential anti-influenza drugs.

6 Sep 2012

Cholera vaccine offers herd immunity, study from Zanzibar shows

"Cholera vaccine gives indirect protection to unvaccinated people in communities where a substantial fraction of the population gets the vaccine," according to a study from the island of Zanzibar in East Africa, published in the Lancet on Tuesday, NPR's "Shots" blog reports.

6 Sep 2012

Janssen, ImmuNext partner to develop novel cancer therapeutics

ImmuNext, Inc., today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc., focused on the development of novel therapeutics that modulate the immune system for the treatment of cancer.

6 Sep 2012

Blog examines results of independent AMFm evaluation draft report

"In mid-July, ... the near-final draft of the independent evaluation of the Affordable Medicines Facility -- Malaria (AMFm) was released," Victoria Fan, a research fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD), and Heather Lanthorn, a doctoral candidate at Harvard School of Public Health, write in this post in the center's "Global Health Policy" blog.

6 Sep 2012

UC Davis plans to open West Coast Metabolomics Center

With a $9.3 million startup grant from the National Institutes of Health, the University of California, Davis, has announced plans to open the West Coast Metabolomics Center, a high-tech consortium of research and service laboratories that will help scientists better understand and develop more effective treatments for complex diseases like diabetes, cancer and atherosclerosis.

6 Sep 2012

Antibiotics: facts and fictions: an interview with Dr Philippa Binns, clinical adviser at NPS MedicineWise

Antibiotics are medicines used to treat infections or diseases caused by bacteria, such as some respiratory tract infections (including pneumonia and whooping cough), urinary tract infections, skin infections and infected wounds.

6 Sep 2012

Kenya to investigate allegations of forced sterilizations among HIV-positive women

"Kenya has launched an investigation after researchers claimed HIV-positive women were being routinely sterilized without their consent in government hospitals," the Guardian reports.

6 Sep 2012