When actor John Ritter died suddenly in 2003 from a tear in his thoracic aorta – the large artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body – that tragedy brought attention to a rare but deadly condition that takes the lives of an estimated 10,000 Americans each year…
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The Cleveland Plain Dealer: A pilot project at the Cleveland Clinic that monitored 250 patients with chronic diseases showed patients were able to increase the number of days between visits. The study used a medical device that shared daily patient data online with doctors and nurses and found that patients better managed their care using the system. “The project found a significant change in the average number of days between doctor’s office visits for diabetic and hypertensive patients, who were able to increase the number of days between appointments by 71 percent and 26 percent, respectively … Doctors and nurses… Continue reading
A team of scientists from SLU in Uppsala and University of Cambridge have discovered a molecule that can prevent a toxic protein involved Alzheimer’s disease from building up in the brain. They found that in test tube studies the molecule not only prevents the protein from forming clumps but can also reverse this process. Then, using fruit flies with Alzheimer’s disease, they showed that the same molecule effectively “cures” the insects of the disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative disorder linked to protein misfolding and aggregation, or clumping…
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Research has shown that heart disease patients who make lifestyle improvements, take recommended medications and control risk factors such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure can prevent heart disease from worsening. A new review of studies looked at whether such patients would be more likely to reduce their risks if health care providers also made changes in appointment planning, patient education and monitoring of heart disease risk factors and medication use. “Well-organized care certainly does work,” said lead author Brian Buckley, Ph.D…
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Bone marrow stem cells suspended in X-ray-visible microbubbles dramatically improve the body’s ability to build new blood vessels in the upper leg — providing a potential future treatment for those with peripheral arterial disease or PAD, say researchers at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 35th Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, Fla. “Bone marrow stem cells, which have the ability to renew themselves, could unlock the door to treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD) with cell-based methods…
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Treatment with the anti-hypertensive drug valsartan (Diovan) led to a modest reduction in the development of type 2 diabetes but did not significantly reduce cardiovascular events in patients with impaired glucose tolerance, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center and the University of Oxford. They jointly reported results at the American College of Cardiology meeting from the world’s first study designed to find ways to control the progression to diabetes and cardiovascular disease in people at risk…
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Imaging epicardial adipose tissue, or the layer of fat around the heart, can provide extra information compared with standard diagnostic techniques such as coronary artery calcium scoring, according to research by cardiologists at Emory University School of Medicine. The size of the layer of fat around the heart can be measured by X-ray imaging techniques such as CT or MRI…
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Scientists from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa have identified a promising new approach for developing drugs to treat Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the leading inherited cause of death in infants and toddlers. Dr. Rashmi Kothary and his doctoral student Melissa Bowerman have found that an enzyme called RhoA is overly active in a mouse model of the disease and blocking this enzyme can greatly increase survival. The study is published in Human Molecular Genetics…
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The emergence of multiple new brain imaging technologies and the combined application of these new approaches is helping to create new insights into aging and Alzheimer’s disease. One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is the deposition of amyloid beta protein in clumps or “plaques” within the brain. These plaques can be measured in humans with PET scans that use a chemical marker or radiotracer called 11C-PIB. It was long thought that the formation of plaques injured and perhaps even caused the death of nerve cells in the brain…
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A family history of Alzheimer’s is one of the biggest risk factors for developing the memory-robbing disease, which affects more than 5 million Americans and is the most common form of senile dementia. Now an international collaboration led by NYU Langone Medical Center researchers has found the likely basis for this heightened familial risk – especially from the maternal side…
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Survivors of one melanoma appear approximately nine times as likely as the general population to develop a second melanoma. Porcia T. Bradford, M.D., and colleagues at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md., used nine cancer registries to identify 89,515 patients who survived at least two months after an initial melanoma diagnosis between 1973 and 2006. Of these, 10,857 (12.1 percent) developed one or more additional primary cancers, such that their overall risk of another cancer increased by 28 percent. One-fourth of these subsequent cancers were primary melanomas…
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Nothing quite dampens your cruise vacation like a little diarrhea or nausea, and that’s among the topics cruise line executives are discussing this week at the major Cruise Shipping Miami conference (formerly known as Seatrade).
Specifically, the issue is the dreaded norovirus, the fast-moving stomach bug that can quickly infect a ship (or, for that matter, a school, shopping mall or any other gathering of people). In fact, outbreaks occur in many places. So why do we hear about it so much in the news regarding cruise ships?
The reason cruise ships are watched so closely is because, as foreign-flagged vessels, they… Continue reading
Both new diagnoses and a history of non-melanoma skin cancer appear to have become increasingly common, and the disease affects more individuals than all other cancers combined, according to two reports in the March issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The article is one of several in the issue focusing on skin cancers, and is being published in conjunction with a JAMA theme issue on cancer…
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The Australian Nursing Federation has welcomed the decision to pass legislation giving nurse practitioners and eligible midwives access to MBS and PBS. ANF Federal Secretary Ged Kearney congratulated the senate on their decision to pass the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009 saying it was significant news and a major win for consumers. “The senate has passed long-awaited legislation that gives those who seek the services of nurse practitioners and eligible midwives access to benefits,” she said…
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The Government’s announcement of a substantial boost in GP training places, specialist training places and pre-vocational general practice placements for medical graduates is a welcome development, but other health professions need similar support, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia says. National President of the PSA, Warwick Plunkett, said that in moving to the Government’s preferred primary health-care team model, it was important the difficulties facing the other professions in the primary health-care team were also recognised and acted upon…
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The American Nurses Association (ANA), the largest nursing organization in the U.S., has approved two instructive and interpretive policy documents produced by its Congress on Nursing Practice and Economics (CNPE): a revised position statement entitled Nurses’ Role in Capital Punishment, and an initial position statement entitled Just Culture. “ANA takes very seriously its obligation to provide thought leadership and guidance to nurses everywhere on matters of significant professional and ethical consequence,” commented ANA President Rebecca M. Patton, RN, MSN, CNOR…
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today ordered Glenmark Generics of Mahwah, N.J., and Konec Inc. of Tucson, Ariz., to stop marketing unapproved nitroglycerin tablets. The tablets are placed under the tongue to relieve chest pain or to stop a heart attack and are marketed in 0.3 mg, 0.4 mg, and 0.6 mg dosages. The FDA does not anticipate a supply problem for these products. Pfizer Inc. markets FDA-approved sublingual nitroglycerin tablets in the same strengths and is able to supply the market with approved products…
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The Royal College of Nursing in Wales in partnership with a local nurse from Abertawe Bro Morganwg Local Health Board has organised an event for health care staff working within the NHS and independent sector at the Aberavon Hotel, Port Talbot on Monday, 1 March, 2010. This event was sponsored by the Welsh Union Learning Fund. The event is a motivational seminar for health care staff and in the spirit of partnership, invitations have been offered to other local union members. A selection of inspirational speakers will feature throughout the day…
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