NYT: Disease cause pinpointed with genome

March 11, 2010

Two research teams have independently decoded the entire genome of patients to find the exact genetic cause of their disease. Go to Source… Continue reading

In U.S. Imaging First, Prenatal MRI Detects Rare Genetic Disease In Newborn

March 11, 2010

In a case believed to be a United States first, the radiology team at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital has used prenatal magnetic resonance imaging to detect an often-misdiagnosed genetic disease. The disorder, congenital chloride diarrhea, can cause severe dehydration and serious metabolic disturbances in newborns if not treated quickly. “This is a disease where early diagnosis is the key to a good outcome,” said Richard Barth, MD, the physician who recognized the unusual case…

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New Insurance Plan To Link A Patient’s Cost To Effectiveness Of Treatments

March 11, 2010

Workers at a Portland, Ore., steel mill soon will be able to pick a new type of insurance that offers free care for some illnesses, such as diabetes or depression, but requires hefty extra fees for treatments deemed overused, including knee replacements, hysterectomies and heart bypass surgery. The insurance, which will be offered by five different insurers in Oregon, is the most far-reaching and potentially controversial step in an effort by employers nationally to rein in medical spending by redesigning health benefits. “We’re trying to make people better consumers,” says John Worcester, head of benefits at Evraz Oregon Steel, the… Continue reading

Public Reverse Mortgages and Long-Term Care: Can They Work Together?

March 11, 2010

Here’s the problem: By the time we need long-term care services we often don’t have readily available resources to pay for them. Only about seven million Americans have private long-term care insurance. And, on average, retirees have financial assets of less than $100,000—usually in the form of a 401(k) or other retirement plan. If a 65-year old turned that into steady monthly income, he’d get less than $600. That would pay for a home health aide for barely seven hours a week. But Americans do have a way to fund this care: their home. Last year, we had more than… Continue reading

New Data Presented At American Burn Association’s Annual Meeting Support Safety Profile Of RECOTHROM® Thrombin, Topical In Pediatric Patients

March 11, 2010

ZymoGenetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZGEN), today announced the presentation of safety and immunogenicity data among pediatric burn patients at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the American Burn Association in Boston, MA. The study marks the first dedicated look at the safety and immunogenicity of any stand-alone thrombin in pediatric surgical patients. The investigators concluded that RECOTHROM did not appear to be associated with any treatment-related adverse events when used as an aid to hemostasis in pediatric patients undergoing synchronous burn wound excision and skin grafting…

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Mayo Researchers Link Obesity To Worse Outcome In Patients Being Treated For Colon Cancer

March 11, 2010

It’s long been known that obesity is linked to increased risk of developing colon cancer, but now researchers at the Mayo Clinic campus in Minnesota have found that obesity is associated with worse outcomes in patients who have already been diagnosed and treated for the cancer. The authors found that obesity was significantly associated with a greater number of tumor-containing regional lymph nodes and worse survival rates, independent of other tumor features…

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ZenBio Licenses An Important Cell Line From Harvard To Drive Metabolic Disease Research

March 11, 2010

ZenBio announce that they will be a commercial source for the popular murine 3T3-L1 cell line, which has been fundamental in metabolic disease research for 30 years. Originally derived from Swiss mouse embryo tissue by Dr. Howard Green of the Department of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School, the 3T3-L1 system has been pivotal in advancing the understanding of basic cellular mechanisms associated with diabetes, obesity and other related disorders…

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