Health News

GSK, Merck Cut Price Of HPV Vaccine In Poor Countries

Date: May-10-2013
A new all-time low price for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines will now help guarantee that millions of girls in poor countries are protected against cervical cancer. This will be made possible by the GAVI alliance (the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) - a public-private partnership that aims to save children's lives by funding vaccines in the world's 70 poorest nations. Now, these countries will have access to a large supply of HPV vaccines for a low as US $4.50 per dose. These same vaccines are often sold for more than $100 in developed countries...

Mutation Responsible For Port-Wine Birthmarks And Sturge-Weber Syndrome Identified

Date: May-10-2013
Researchers have identified the genetic mutation that occurs before birth responsible for the development of Sturge-Weber syndrome and port-wine birthmarks. Pinpointing the genetic cause behind this rare disorder and a common birthmark has been described by experts as "a major breakthrough". The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, explains the mutations responsible for Sturge-Weber syndrome and port-wine birthmarks, which could pave the way for future treatment options. Co-senior study author, Anne Comi, M.D...

Mosquito Survey Identifies Reservoir Of Disease

Date: May-10-2013
A large scale, five year study of mosquitoes from different ecological regions in Kenya, including savannah grassland, semi-arid Acacia thorn bushes, and mangrove swamps, found a reservoir of viruses carried by mosquitoes (arboviruses) that are responsible for human and animal diseases. This research, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Virology Journal, highlights the need for continued surveillance in order to monitor the risk of disease outbreaks...

Allergic Disease Worsens Respiratory Symptoms And Exacerbations In COPD

Date: May-10-2013
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who also have allergic disease have higher levels of respiratory symptoms and are at higher risk for COPD exacerbations, according to a new study from researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. "Although allergic sensitization and allergen exposure are known to be associated with impairments in lung function, the effects of allergic disease on respiratory symptoms in COPD patients has only recently been studied," said researcher Nadia N...

Choice Offered To The Obese - Higher Insurance Prices Or Exercise

Date: May-10-2013
It was a controversial move when a health insurer began requiring people who were obese to literally pay the price of not doing anything about their weight - but it worked, a new study finds. When people had to choose between paying up to 20 percent more for health insurance or exercising more, the majority of enrollees met fitness goals one step at a time via an Internet-tracked walking program, according to a joint study by the University of Michigan Health System and Stanford University...

Prostate Cancer Spread May Be Driven By Amplification Of A Stat5 Gene Which Produces Excess Oncogenic Protein

Date: May-10-2013
An international group of investigators, led by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University's Kimmel Cancer Center, have solved the mystery of why a substantial percentage of castrate-resistant metastatic prostate cancer cells contain abnormally high levels of the pro-growth protein Stat5. They discovered that the gene that makes the protein is amplified - duplicated many times over - in these cancer cells, which allows them to produce excess amounts of the oncogenic protein...

Successful Corneal Transplant With Pre-Loaded Donor Tissue: A First For Massachusetts Eye And Ear

Date: May-10-2013
The first successful cornea transplant with donor endothelial tissue preloaded by an eye bank has been performed at Massachusetts Eye and Ear in Boston, Mass. Roberto Pineda II, M.D., Director of the Refractive Surgery Service at Mass. Eye and Ear, and an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, recently performed the groundbreaking transplant. Dr. Pineda performed the surgery utilizing donor endothelial tissue that was prepared and pre-loaded into EndoGlide™ (Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc...

Bedtime Regularity Predicts CPAP Compliance

Date: May-10-2013
A new study suggests that regularity of bedtime prior to initiation of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is an important factor that may influence treatment compliance in adults with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Results show that bedtime variability was a significant predictor of CPAP adherence, which was defined as four or more hours of treatment use per night. The odds of one-month CPAP non-adherence were 3.7 times greater for every one unit increase in habitual, or pre-treatment, bedtime variability...

Natural Fibres Biologically Effective For Use In Stem Cell Cartilage Repair

Date: May-10-2013
Over 20 million people in Europe suffer from osteoarthritis which can lead to extensive damage to the knee and hip cartilage. Stem cells offer a promising way forward but a key challenge has been to design a 'smart material' that is biologically effective for cartilage tissue regeneration. Now researchers have identified a blend of naturally occurring fibres such as cellulose and silk that makes progress towards affordable and effective cell-based therapy for cartilage repair a step closer...

Potential Therapeutic Target Discovered For Cushing's Disease

Date: May-10-2013
Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified a protein that drives the formation of pituitary tumors in Cushing's disease, a development that may give clinicians a therapeutic target to treat this potentially life-threatening disorder. The protein, called TR4 (testicular orphan nuclear receptor 4), is one of the human body's 48 nuclear receptors, a class of proteins found in cells that are responsible for sensing hormones and, in response, regulating the expression of specific genes...