Health News

The Lancet: UK government is treating NHS like a failing bank or business

Date: Aug-16-2013
An Editorial published in The Lancet today [Friday 16 August] examines recent turmoil in the NHS, accusing the UK government of appearing to treat the NHS as a failing bank or business, based on recent headlines about NHS 'bailouts' and cost-cutting. According to the journal Editors, "This stance is one of the most cynical, and at the same time cunning, ways by which the government abdicates all responsibilities for running a health-care system that has patient care and safety at its heart...

Expanded role of paramedics shows promise for closing California's health-care gaps

Date: Aug-16-2013
In a new report, the UC Davis Institute for Population Health Improvement (IPHI) recommends that the state launch pilot programs to test a new model of community-based health care that would expand the role of paramedics under certain circumstances. In "Community Paramedicine: A Promising Model for Integrating Emergency and Primary Care," Kenneth W...

International team reveals 21 'signatures' in 30 common cancers

Date: Aug-16-2013
An international team, including scientists from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research and The University of Queensland, has described the mutational processes that drive tumour development in 30 of the most common cancer types. The discovery, published in Nature, one of the world's leading scientific journals, could help to treat and prevent a wide range of cancers. The team analysed 7,042 tumours and identified 21 distinct mutational signatures and the cancer types in which they occur...

Trends in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis treatments

Date: Aug-16-2013
Many patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are not benefiting from the expanding array of treatments now available to combat these serious autoimmune disorders, researchers led by a UC Davis dermatologist report in a new study published online today by JAMA Dermatology. "The high proportion of patients who are not being treated, or are being inadequately treated, is a concern because psoriasis is much more than a cosmetic skin condition." said April W. Armstrong, lead author of the study and an associate professor of dermatology at UC Davis...

New study puts a price on drug-resistant TB cases in EU

Date: Aug-16-2013
A new study has calculated the average cost per case of TB in the EU. The findings suggest the economic burden of TB far outweighs the costs of investing in more effective vaccines. The research, published online today (16 August 2013), in the European Respiratory Journal, is the first study to estimate the costs of the disease in recent years. Researchers used a systematic review of literature and institutional websites for the 27 EU member states[1] to summarise economic data on the treatment cost of TB cases in 2011...

NICE does not recommend Xalkoriq (crizotinib) - a new advance in 'personalised medicine' for lung cancer patients

Date: Aug-16-2013
Pfizer Ltd has expressed concern and disappointment that the final appraisal determination (FAD) from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) does not recommend Xalkori (crizotinib) for previously treated, ALK positive advanced non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). [1] Whilst NICE has acknowledged that crizotinib may offer eligible patients better outcomes compared to standard chemotherapy, it has not been recommended for use within the NHS because NICE does not consider it to be cost- effective...

Malaria DNA vaccine demonstrates robust immune responses in animal models

Date: Aug-16-2013
Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. have announced that its SynCon® DNA vaccine containing multiple malaria antigens delivered via its CELLECTRA® electroporation device demonstrated strong and durable antibody and T-cell immune responses in small animals and non-human primates. With these strong preclinical results, Inovio plans to initiate a phase I/IIa clinical trial next year...

Portable eye clinic in a smartphone

Date: Aug-16-2013
A portable eye testing kit based on a smartphone that could revolutionize eye care in the world's poorest nations is  being tested in Africa by UK researchers. The kit is a mobile app, together with clip-on hardware, that transforms a smartphone into a low-cost portable eye clinic that can be operated by a non-expert to gather detailed clinical information, diagnose cataracts, check prescriptions for vision lenses, and even check the retina for signs of disease...

Purdue innovation could improve personalized cancer-care outcomes

Date: Aug-16-2013
An innovation created by Purdue University researchers could improve therapy selection for personalized cancer care by helping specialists better identify the most effective drug treatment combinations for patients. David D. Nolte, a professor in Purdue's Department of Physics, and his collaborators Ran An, a graduate student in physics, and John J. Turek in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences have created a technique called BioDynamic Imaging that measures the activity inside cancer biopsies, or samples of cells...

Study helps to explain why we lose our balance

Date: Aug-16-2013
It's always in front of a million people and feels like eternity. You're strolling along when suddenly you've stumbled - the brain realizes you're falling, but your muscles aren't doing anything to stop it. For a young person, a fall is usually just embarrassing. However, for the elderly, falling can be life threatening. Among the elderly who break a hip, 80 percent die within a year. University of Michigan researchers believe that the critical window of time between when the brain senses a fall and the muscles respond may help explain why so many older people suffer these serious falls...