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Cabazitaxel with IMRT, androgen deprivation therapy may extend survival for prostate cancer patients

Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center has started a Phase I clinical trial investigating the latest prostate cancer chemotherapy drug to extend survival, Cabazitaxel, in combination with radiation and hormone therapy. This first-of-its-kind multimodality approach could improve disease control and eventually survival for locally advanced prostate cancer patients.

13 Jan 2012

Bangladesh works to vaccinate 500K children against polio in annual immunization drive

"Mobile health teams in Bangladesh are conducting 'child-to-child' searches to reach the remaining half million children not vaccinated during a nationwide polio immunization campaign launched on 7 January," IRIN reports.

13 Jan 2012

Cryo-electron microscopy can visualize structures within viruses

Since the discovery of the microscope, scientists have tried to visualize smaller and smaller structures to provide insights into the inner workings of human cells, bacteria and viruses. Now, researchers at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), part of the National Institutes of Health, have developed a new way to see structures within viruses that were not clearly seen before.

13 Jan 2012

WHO to convene meeting on yaws eradication efforts based on study of oral treatment

"Findings that a one-time oral treatment to cure yaws, a neglected tropical disease, is as effective as the currently recommended penicillin injection have prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to convene a meeting on how the disease may be wiped out," IRIN reports.

13 Jan 2012

AICAR might protect against heat stress in MH-susceptible individuals

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a life-threatening genetic muscle disorder, most commonly triggered in those at risk by certain types of drugs used during anesthesia. Heat stroke, on the other hand, most commonly occurs in individuals in response to physical exertion in hot/humid environments. While their common triggers may differ, the signs associated with MH and heat stroke are remarkably similar - uncontrolled muscle contractions, dangerous increases in body temperature, and muscle breakdown leading to the release of toxins in the blood which may cause cardiac arrhythmias and death. Immediate treatment for these conditions is crucial.

13 Jan 2012

Three Democratic Senators express concern over distribution of U.S. Haitian earthquake aid

"[O]n the eve of the two-year anniversary of the 7.0 quake in Haiti, three Senators wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Agency for International Development head Rajiv Shah urging them to better facilitate distribution of U.S. aid to the country," CQ HealthBeat reports.

13 Jan 2012

Non-toxin vaccine shows promise against lethal anthrax infection

Vaccination with the anthrax capsule-a naturally occurring component of the bacterium that causes the disease-protected monkeys from lethal anthrax infection, according to U.S. Army scientists. The study, which appears in the Jan. 20th print edition of the journal VACCINE, represents the first successful use of a non-toxin vaccine to protect monkeys from the disease.

13 Jan 2012

Longer looks: Politicians play Whac-A-Mole with Medicare

Seven years later Robert was still mentally impaired and his personality far different than before the accident, but he knew his family, knew he had had a brain injury that upended their lives, and asked lots of questions. He carried with him at all times a reporter's notebook, in which he had written the information most important to him: his daughters' ages - 9 and 11 - and that he has "known my honey" 18 years.

13 Jan 2012

BU, SUNY Upstate develop educational program on heart attack for women

Heart attacks in women go largely unrecognized 30 to 55 percent of the time and those who miss the warning signs and fail or delay getting help, run the risk of death or grave disability. But researchers at Binghamton University and SUNY Upstate Medical University have developed an educational program they believe will shorten the time to treatment and ultimately, save lives.

13 Jan 2012

SciDev.Net reports on international forum on development aid models to take place in April

SciDev.Net reports on Forum 2012, an international meeting to take place in Cape Town, South Africa, in April, which "aims to shake up donor-recipient relations in a quest for more enduring health gains." The meeting, themed "Beyond Aid," "will consider a funding model in which poor countries develop their own contracts and partnerships, and use their own resources, and how donors can support that model rather than just provide development aid," the news service writes.

13 Jan 2012

Tips to avoid snowboarding and ski injuries

Even black-diamond skiers and snowboarders enjoying a weekend on the slopes can have their season spoiled by an injury that happens on the last run of the day. But the end-of-the-day tweaks and spills are more common than you'd think, says physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist Ed Laskowski, M.D., of Mayo Clinic.

13 Jan 2012

Study: Medicare Advantage Plans with perks like gym memberships attract healthier seniors

A new study, which was published by the New England Journal of Medicine, found 35.3 percent of new enrollees in a fitness membership benefit plan reported "excellent" or "very good" health, compared with 29.1 percent in the group without the gym membership benefit.

13 Jan 2012

Heart bracelet system could prevent cases of sports-related sudden death

The use of heart bracelets connected via ICT to a system of tracking and monitoring could prevent cases of sudden death in sports activities.

13 Jan 2012

ACO news: Cigna, Weill Cornell docs join forces; Pediatric ACO concept falls through the cracks

Yet even as the latest accountable care organization effort is announced, it appears that plans have stalled to create a Medicaid children's version of ACOs.

13 Jan 2012

Gut bacteria may determine outcome of heart attack

New research published online in the FASEB Journal suggests that the types and levels of bacteria in the intestines may be used to predict a person's likelihood of having a heart attack, and that manipulating these organisms may help reduce heart attack risk.

13 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Recession's effect on health spending; The flaws in raising Medicare eligibility age

Health care spending in the United States increased at the slowest rate in half a century in 2009 and 2010. ... That looks like good news after decades of soaring health care spending that outpaced economic growth. The hitch: the main factor was the recession that left millions of Americans unemployed, uninsured, short of income, and unable or unwilling to spend money on health care.

13 Jan 2012

CrystalGenomics raises KRW 3 billion in private placement

CrystalGenomics, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Korea, has just announced that it has successfully raised KRW 3 Billion (USD 2.6 Million) in a private placement to the Korea Seoul Life Science Fund.

13 Jan 2012

India marking health achievement in polio-free year but cautious optimism remains among some experts

"On Friday, India marks a huge public health milestone -- a year since a case of polio was found in the country -- a critical step in being declared polio-free and an achievement that many experts long argued was impossible," the Globe and Mail reports.

13 Jan 2012

New lab test quickly identifies bacterium responsible for staph infections

Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed a new laboratory test that can rapidly identify the bacterium responsible for staph infections. This new test takes advantage of unique isotopic labeling combined with specific bacteriophage amplification to rapidly identify Staphylococcus aureus.

13 Jan 2012

Researchers identify human receptor that can taste fat

Why do we like fatty foods so much? We can blame our taste buds. Our tongues apparently recognize and have an affinity for fat, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They have found that variations in a gene can make people more or less sensitive to the taste of fat.

13 Jan 2012

Medical News

Cabazitaxel with IMRT, androgen deprivation therapy may extend survival for prostate cancer patients

Bangladesh works to vaccinate 500K children against polio in annual immunization drive

Cryo-electron microscopy can visualize structures within viruses

WHO to convene meeting on yaws eradication efforts based on study of oral treatment

AICAR might protect against heat stress in MH-susceptible individuals

Three Democratic Senators express concern over distribution of U.S. Haitian earthquake aid

Non-toxin vaccine shows promise against lethal anthrax infection

Longer looks: Politicians play Whac-A-Mole with Medicare

BU, SUNY Upstate develop educational program on heart attack for women

SciDev.Net reports on international forum on development aid models to take place in April

Tips to avoid snowboarding and ski injuries

Study: Medicare Advantage Plans with perks like gym memberships attract healthier seniors

Heart bracelet system could prevent cases of sports-related sudden death

ACO news: Cigna, Weill Cornell docs join forces; Pediatric ACO concept falls through the cracks

Gut bacteria may determine outcome of heart attack

Viewpoints: Recession's effect on health spending; The flaws in raising Medicare eligibility age

CrystalGenomics raises KRW 3 billion in private placement

India marking health achievement in polio-free year but cautious optimism remains among some experts

New lab test quickly identifies bacterium responsible for staph infections

Researchers identify human receptor that can taste fat

Advancing Menopause Care: Non-Hormonal Treatments for Vasomotor Symptoms

Building quality into drug development for safer, faster medicines

How Pulp Fixin Is Turning Paper into High-Performance Sustainable Labware

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