Health News

HIX Reloaded, November 14-15, Baltimore

Date: Aug-30-2013
Announcing the All-New HIX Reloaded - Brochure Now Available We know. Health insurance marketplaces offer numerous opportunities for all of the stakeholders, but the sense of uncertainty and lack of concrete information may also be a thorn in your side. As of now, you are preparing for HIX deadlines that are constantly changing, strategizing for marketplaces that haven't launched, and trying to move forward without clear regulatory guidance. Your job may seem unmanageable and your business goals unattainable. The good news is we just may have the solution to your problems...

Alcon receives positive recommendation from NICE Appraisal Committee for use of Jetrea® in patients with vitreomacular traction and macular hole

Date: Aug-30-2013
Alcon, the global leader in eye care, is pleased that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Appraisal Committee has delivered a positive Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) for Jetrea®, recommending its use to treat adults with vitreomacular traction including macular hole of less than or equal to 400 microns when an epiretinal membrane is absent, or adults with vitreomacular traction and severe symptoms when an epiretinal membrane and macular hole are both absent...

What exactly is metabolically healthy obesity?

Date: Aug-30-2013
Metabolically healthy obesity - where an individual has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of greater than 30 but does not appear to be at increased risk of the health complications usually associated with excess weight - has only been recently widely recognised by medical practitioners. As global levels of obesity continue to rise, identifying metabolically healthy obese patients could be critical for ensuring that patients are given appropriate and cost-effective treatment, say the authors of a Personal View published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology...

Nyack Hospital experimental study finds racial differences in optimal dosing of antibiotic used for critically ill patients

Date: Aug-30-2013
A new experimental study by Nyack Hospital's Clinical Pharmacy Manager finds racial differences in the optimal dosing of the antibiotic doripenem in critically ill patients. The study, led by Andras Farkas, PharmD., suggests the need for more aggressive dosing of the drug in patients of Hispanic descent.  The findings will be presented at the Infectious Disease Society of America Annual Meeting, held in San Francisco from October 2-6, 2013, by Nyack infectious disease specialist Dr. Kenneth Rowin...

Childhood arthritis: what remission really looks like

Date: Aug-30-2013
A molecular signature depicting remission from juvenile arthritis is described in the open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy. The findings boost our understanding of the molecular processes involved in the disease, and could be used to help develop strategies to enhance remission. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is an chronic inflammatory disease of unknown cause that affects around 1 in 1000 children. Remission can be achieved with the anti-rheumatic drug methotrexate and/or drugs that target immune and inflammatory processes; so-called TNF alpha blockers...

The New England Journal of Medicine publishes macitentan (Opsumit) morbidity and mortality study in pulmonary arterial hypertension

Date: Aug-30-2013
Actelion has announced that the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has published the results of SERAPHIN, the pivotal study with macitentan (Opsumit®) in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).  Dr Tomás Pulido, MD, Professor of Medicine and Head of the Cardiopulmonary Department, Ignacio Chávez National Heart Institute, Mexico City, primary author of the NEJM paper, commented: "I am very proud to be part of this exceptional study. The results published today in the NEJM show valuable long-term morbidity/mortality data from SERAPHIN, the largest-ever trial in PAH...

Veterinarian community can help recruit dogs for groundbreaking veterinary research

Date: Aug-30-2013
August 30 marks a milestone for Morris Animal Foundation and veterinarians to celebrate. It's the first anniversary of the largest and longest study ever undertaken to improve veterinary medicine for dogs. Through the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study, Morris Animal Foundation is recruiting 3,000 Golden Retrievers to participate in this monumental effort, and veterinarians can help.  Dedicated veterinarians and their Golden Retriever-owning clients are needed to make this study a success...

Potential new approach to prevent diabetes-induced birth defects

Date: Aug-30-2013
A research team at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has identified a cell signaling pathway which plays a significant role in causing developmental defects of the fetal spinal cord and brain in babies of women with diabetes. Using an animal model of disease, the team's results point to a potential new therapeutic target for preventing these defects in pregnant women having preexisting diabetes. The results of this study are published in Science Signaling...

A potential cause of autism discovered

Date: Aug-30-2013
Problems with a key group of enzymes called topoisomerases can have profound effects on the genetic machinery behind brain development and potentially lead to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to research announced in the journal Nature. Scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have described a finding that represents a significant advance in the hunt for environmental factors behind autism and lends new insights into the disorder's genetic causes...

Activating autophagy to help rid cells of stress granules offers new approach to neurodegenerative disease treatment

Date: Aug-30-2013
Researchers have tied mutations in a gene that causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative disorders to the toxic buildup of certain proteins and related molecules in cells, including neurons. The research, published recently in the scientific journal Cell, offers a new approach for developing treatments against these devastating diseases. Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the University of Colorado, Boulder, led the work...