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Smoking rates among teenagers drop after illegalizing cigarette sales to under 18s

The number of 16 and 17 year old smokers has dropped since it became illegal to sell cigarettes to under 18s according to new research published in Addiction today (Wednesday).

18 Aug 2010

Physician recommends vaccination for Meningitis before children start school

Freshmen all across the nation have begun packing in preparation for college. Along with their laptops, notebooks, pens and binders, there is one more essential item they need - a meningitis vaccination. "If a student hasn't gotten a meningitis vaccination, they absolutely should get one before they start school," said Dr. Michael Koller, associate professor of medicine, division of general internal medicine, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood. "Meningitis is not a common disease but it can be tragic."

18 Aug 2010

Activists sue for documents detailing downfall of St. Vincent's Hospital

Community activists and former staffers of the now-shuttered St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City filed a lawsuit Monday saying the facility was brought down by mismanagement including things like golf outings that drew bills in excess of $250,000, The Associated Press reports. "The city's last Catholic-affiliated hospital filed for bankruptcy before closing in April, citing a debt topping $1 billion.

18 Aug 2010

Life Technologies, CEVEC Pharmaceuticals sign licensing agreement to supply CAP-T expression kits

CEVEC Pharmaceuticals, the developer of a novel human protein expression system derived from amniocytes, announced today the signing of a co-exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Life Technologies Corporation, a leading provider of innovative life science solutions based in Carlsbad, California. Under the terms of the agreement, Life Technologies and CEVEC will co-operate to offer optimized expression kits based on CEVEC's proprietary CAP-T cells to the global life science research community.

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

Study shows increase in IL-6 secretion can reduce Tarceva sensitivity to treat lung tumor cells

One of the most tantalizing developments in anti-cancer therapy over recent years has been the advent of targeted treatments, which have proven highly effective in holding aggressive cancers at bay in certain patients, although typically only for a limited period of time.

18 Aug 2010

Atrium responds to Bard's ePTFE prosthetic vascular graft patent lawsuit

Atrium Medical Corporation was recently named as a defendant, along with Endologix, Inc., of Irvine, CA, in a lawsuit brought by C.R. Bard in U.S. District Court in Arizona. The suit involves a patent, U.S. No. 6,436,135, issued to Bard in 2002 related to prosthetic vascular grafts made of ePTFE (expanded polytetrafluoroethylene). Atrium has been involved in discussions with Bard management regarding this patent for several years.

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

Study links child’s date of birth with ADHD diagnosis rate

Rising rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and large differences in diagnosis rates have led to fears that the condition is often being misdiagnosed. A new study from North Carolina State University demonstrates that these concerns are justified. The researchers found large discrepancies in diagnosis and treatment rates based on small differences in children's dates of birth.

18 Aug 2010

Study examines surgical procedures in low-resource settings

A new study shows "that surgery can be safely performed in areas with minimal resources and little or no sophisticated technology," the Los Angeles Times' "Booster Shots" blog reports. The study, published in the Archives of Surgery, examines "almost 20,000 surgical procedures completed in resource-limited areas from 2001 to 2008" by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) (Roan, 8/16).

18 Aug 2010

Hearing loss in adolescents on the rise

Hearing loss is now affecting nearly 20 percent of U.S. adolescents age 12-19, a rise of 5 percent over the last 15 years, according to a new Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study co-led by Ron Eavey, M.D., director of the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center and the Guy M. Maness Professor in Otolaryngology.

18 Aug 2010

Study deems gentamicin-collagen sponge ineffective in reducing sternal wound infections

Contradicting previous study results, insertion of a sponge that contains the antibiotic gentamicin at the time of surgical closure following cardiac surgery did not reduce the rate of sternal wound infections after 3 months, compared to patients who did not receive the intervention, according to a study in the August 18 issue of JAMA.

18 Aug 2010

Long-term entecavir therapy suppresses HBV DNA, normalizes ALT and improves liver histology

Researchers from this international study found that patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection who received at least 3 years of cumulative entecavir (antiviral) therapy achieved substantial histologic improvement and regression of fibrosis or cirrhosis. Full details of the study appear in the September issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

18 Aug 2010

Iyengar yoga program improves quality of life for breast cancer patients

University of Alberta research fellow Amy Speed-Andrews has examined how a specialized Iyengar yoga program for women currently in treatment for breast cancer, and who have completed treatment, makes a difference in their recovery.

18 Aug 2010

Sec. of State Clinton discusses Global Health Initiative

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke about President Barack Obama's $63 billion Global Health Initiative (GHI) during a speech on Monday at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Reuters' "Front Row Washington" blog reports (Ashburn, 8/16).

18 Aug 2010

Dysphagia impacts length of hospital stay and prognosis

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that hospitalized patients with dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, averaged a 40 percent longer hospital stay than patients without the condition. They also had a generally poorer prognosis. The research is published in the August issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

18 Aug 2010

NACTN receives grant to expand spinal cord injury research

The United States Department of Defense (DoD) awarded the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation a $5.4 million grant to support the expansion of translational research to find treatments for military men and women with spinal cord injuries.

18 Aug 2010

Scientist explains way to determine right size for breast implants

"Miami likes glitz",explains Christopher Craft, M.D., which is why women here tend to get larger breast implants in comparison to the rest of the country. Craft attended Georgetown University, graduated from the University of Tennessee Medical School, and completed his plastic surgery training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He's a trained general and plastic surgeon specializing in surgical procedures of the body, breasts and skin.

18 Aug 2010

Tips to maintain and improve brain health

While there are still mysteries surrounding the fundamental process of memory, research has revealed activities that may enhance memory and promote overall brain health. John H. Byrne, Ph.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, studies the neuronal and molecular mechanisms underlying learning and memory. Here are three tips he offers for maintaining and improving brain health.

18 Aug 2010

Virginia creates health law panel, groups prepare for overhaul changes

Virginia has created a task force to slow health costs and implement health care reform even as the state is suing to stop a key mandate in the law, The Washington Post reports. Gov. Bob McDonnell "introduced the 24-member panel, comprised of legislators, health professionals, doctors and insurers, at a news conference Monday afternoon at the Capitol.

18 Aug 2010