China to build special prisons for AIDS convicts
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China’s booming southern province of Guangdong is to build at least two prisons exclusively for HIV/AIDS-infected convicts to try to halt the disease’s spread, state media reported on Monday.
There were currently 20 AIDS sufferers and 518 HIV carriers serving jail terms in Guangdong, the China Daily said, adding that many provincial officials had urged the government to build the hospitals as soon as possible.
The Medicare Prescription Drug Law: Is Part D Right for You?
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The changes to Medicare prescription coverage can be confusing to those who are already dealing with the rising costs of prescription drugs. The “Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003,” will officially go into effect January 1, 2006. This gives precious little time to those that will be most affected by these changes.
Adam Welch, assistant professor of pharmacy at Wilkes University, says that the major part of the new law is the addition of a Part D component to Medicare. Part D is a voluntary prescription drug coverage that is run by private insurance companies that have to follow government regulations.
MRI Provides Better Diagnosis & Treatment for Uterine Fibroids
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Research of 100 women suffering from uterine fibroids showed that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) improves the patient selection for who should receive non-surgical uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) to kill their tumors. Uterine fibroids are very common benign (non-cancerous) growths that develop in the muscular wall of the uterus in up to 40 percent of women age 35 and older. Research also showed interventional radiologists can use MRIs to determine if a tumor can be embolized, detect alternate causes for the symptoms, identify pathology that could prevent a women from having UFE and avoid ineffective treatments.
Women typically undergo an ultrasound at their gynecologist’s office as part of the evaluation process to determine the presence of uterine fibroids. It is a rudimentary imaging tool for fibroids that often does not show other underlying diseases or all the existing fibroids. For this reason, MRI is the standard imaging tool used by interventional radiologists.
Bird flu claims rising toll among people
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Indonesia said on Monday a 20-year-old woman had died of bird flu while several countries reported new suspected human cases of the deadly virus.
The H5N1 bird flu virus has killed more than 60 people in Asia and is endemic in most poultry flocks in the region.
Exercise Test May Predict Death in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease
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Exercise capacity, as measured in terms of VO2max, is a powerful predictor of death in patients with coronary artery disease, not just patients with heart failure. That is the finding of Mayo Clinic research presented today at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2005 in Dallas.
VO2max is the maximum amount of oxygen a person can take in during exercise. In a VO2max study, a patient walks on a treadmill for about 5 to 15 minutes and breathes through a valve; the oxygen and carbon dioxide in the expired air are measured. Results are given in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min).
Stem Cell Therapy Improves Heart Function After MI
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Patients with impaired ventricular function following a myocardial infarction may be able to pump new life into damaged heart muscle with an infusion of their own bone marrow-derived progenitor cells.
In a placebo-controlled trial, patients who received an infusion of the recycled cells improved their global left ventricular function by 5.5%, versus a 3% improvement in patients who received placebo infusions (P=0.014), according to Andreas M. Zeiher, M.D., of J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany.
New respiratory synctial virus treatment for at-risk infants under study
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A new, enhanced-potency onoclonal antibody designed to keep the sniffles from turning into a devasting illness in at-risk babies is under study at the Medical College of Georgia Children’s Medical Center.
The international study compares MEDI-493, a monoclonal antibody already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat respiratory synctial virus, or RSV, to the more potent MEDI-524, says Dr. Jatinder Bhatia, chief of the MCG Section of Neonatology and a principal investigator.
Lighter Patients with Liver Cancer Fare Better
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Jot down liver cancer on the list of conditions exacerbated by excess poundage.
That’s the conclusion of Japanese researchers, who found that people who are obese and have hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma have significantly shorter survival than lean patients with liver cancer.
Meditation may slow down brain aging
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The regular practice of meditation appears to produce structural changes in areas of the brain associated with attention and sensory processing.
An imaging study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers showed that particular areas of the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain, were thicker in participants who were experienced practitioners of a type of meditation commonly practiced in the U.S. and other Western countries. The article appears in the Nov. 15 issue of NeuroReport, and the research also is being presented Nov. 14 at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington, DC.
Race may play a role in whether a patient accepts surgical treatment for lung cancer
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A study in the November issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), found that blacks with lung cancer declined surgery at a higher rate than whites, leading researchers to believe that blacks may be misinformed about the effects of lung cancer surgery.
“Surgery for early stage non-small cell lung cancer is standard treatment and is likely curative. Yet, fewer blacks than whites undergo surgery for the disease, leading to a higher mortality rate among blacks with lung cancer,” said Bruno DiGiovine MD, FCCP, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI. “Identifying and addressing the underlying reason for this discrepancy in surgical rates may, ultimately, lead to greater rates of surgical acceptance and decreased mortality rates among blacks with lung cancer.”
Diet, Exercise Linked to Heart Disease, Type 2 Diabetes Prevention
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Coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes may be preventable for most people, according to the results of a 25-year study to be presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 38th Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
More than 80% of coronary heart disease cases and 90% of type 2 diabetes cases could potentially be prevented with modest lifestyle changes, especially by becoming more aware of one’s diet, according to Dr. Walter Willett, Chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. The best diets are the ones that focus on types of carbohydrates and fats, rather than the amount of intake.
Cord Blood Cells May Widen Treatment Window for Stroke
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An experimental treatment that spares disability from acute stroke may be delivered much later than the current three-hour treatment standard – a potential advance needed to benefit more stroke victims.
Researchers at the University of South Florida found that human umbilical cord blood cells administered to rats two days following a stroke greatly curbed the brain’s inflammatory response, reducing the size of the stroke and resulting in greatly improved recovery. The rats’ inflammatory response to injury from stroke peaked 48 hours after the brain attack, which was when intravenous delivery of the cells appeared most beneficial.
Renal Week Debates on Drugs and the Kidney
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The kidney plays a key role in the metabolism and excretion of drugs and is quite vulnerable to damage from many classes of therapeutic agents. At the American Society of Nephrology’s Renal Week 2005, a two-day course has been developed to explore these issues. During this course, the renal interactions of acetaminophen (Tylenol®) and rosuvastatin (Crestor®) will be discussed and debated. Internationally renowned experts will review these drugs and their potential to compromise renal function.
Crestor®, rosuvastatin calcium, arrived on the U.S. market on August 13, 2003, after obtaining approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce LDL cholesterol. At that time, Crestor® joined five other statins on the market.
Test predicts effective brain cancer treatment
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California researchers say they can now identify the 800 to 2,000 people in the United States who will respond to treatment against an aggressive form of brain cancer, a study released on Wednesday showed.
The tumor, glioblastoma, typically kills its victims in less than a year and only 10 percent to 20 percent of sufferers respond to drugs that block a key protein called EGFR in the cancer cells.
Psychological distress tied to bullying
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Elementary school children who are psychologically distressed—they feel sad most days and feel as if they do not belong at school—are more likely to be involved in some form of bullying, investigators have found
Such children are prone to be a victim of bullying, a bully themselves, or a bully-victim—someone who is both victimized and bullied others.
