August 19th, 2008

Missouri Republican Party Airs Campaign Ad Establishing Gov. Blunt’s Abortion-Rights Opposition
Missouri Republican Party Airs Campaign Ad Establishing Gov. Blunt’s Abortion-Rights Opposition
The Missouri Republican Party on Friday started airing a campaign advertisement for the state’s gubernatorial race in 2008 that says Gov. Matt Blunt (R) is a "courageous leader for protecting the innocent unborn," the AP/St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. [click link for full article]

August 19th, 2008

Gender Disparity In Anti-TNF Treatment For Rheumatoid Arthritis, New Study Reveals
Gender Disparity In Anti-TNF Treatment For Rheumatoid Arthritis, New Study Reveals
Findings reported at EULAR 2007, the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) in Barcelona, Spain, reveal a treatment disparity between female and male patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Data from a study at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, show that women receive anti-TNFs (very effective but expensive modern medications against this disease) at a higher perceived level of disease activity and when they are reporting more severe pain than their male counterparts. [click link for full article]

Late breaking news

August 18th, 2008

Helping Tumor Cells Not To Stick To The Wound During Surgical Removal

Sometimes during surgery to remove a tumor, cells become detached from the bulk of the tumor. In a small number of cases, these tumor cells stick to cells at the site of the surgical wound and go on to form a secondary tumor, having an enormous negative impact on the survival and quality of life of the patient. New data, generated by Marc Basson and colleagues, at the John D.

Beating Of The Heart: Differentially Regulated In The Upper And Lower Chambers

Rodolphe Fischmeister and colleagues, at INSERM UMR-S 769, France, have provided evidence that the contraction of the two regions of the heart, the atria and the ventricles, is differentially regulated. The contraction phase of the heart beat is controlled by several pathways, including one initiated by stimulation of cell surface proteins known as beta-adrenergic receptors.

Northwestern Chemists Take Gold, Mass-produce Beijing Olympic Logo

Northwestern University nanoscientist Chad A. Mirkin has mass-produced the 2008 Summer Olympics logo — 15,000 times. All the logos take up only one square centimeter of space.

Leishmaniasis Parasites Evade Death By Exploiting The Immune Response To Sand Fly Bites

Cutaneous leishmaniasis, a disease characterized by painful skin ulcers, occurs when the parasite Leishmania major, or a related species, is transmitted to a mammalian host by the bite of an infected sand fly. In a new study from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, scientists have discovered L.

Peers Versus Parents In Modern China

In metropolitan China, high school students’ self-esteem depends more on good relations with peers than parents, a new UC Davis study shows. But the opposite is true for younger adolescents and young adults: Both base their self-esteem more on good relations with parents.

URMC And NIH Partner To Expand, Accelerate Clinical Research In Neurological Diseases

The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke are hosting a week-long training session designed to create a new generation of researchers with the specialized skills necessary to conduct clinical trials in neurological disorders.

Self-Assembling Polymer Arrays Improve Data Storage Potential

A new manufacturing approach holds the potential to overcome the technological limitations currently facing the microelectronics and data-storage industries, paving the way to smaller electronic devices and higher-capacity hard drives.

Late breaking news

August 18th, 2008

Leishmaniasis Parasites Evade Death By Exploiting The Immune Response To Sand Fly Bites

Cutaneous leishmaniasis, a disease characterized by painful skin ulcers, occurs when the parasite Leishmania major, or a related species, is transmitted to a mammalian host by the bite of an infected sand fly. In a new study from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, scientists have discovered L.

‘Flu Vaccination’ Protects Bacteria Against Virus

Bacteria like people animals and plants can become infected by a virus. Researchers at Wageningen University, together with colleagues from England and the United States, have unravelled a mechanism with which bacteria can defend themselves for a longer period against threatening viruses. Over the long term, this research offers possibilities to protect bacteria used in industrial processes against viral infections by giving them a ‘flu vaccination’.

Scientists To Develop Rheumatoid Arthritis Vaccine

Scientists in the UK are hoping to develop a new vaccine using patients’ own blood cells to suppress the effects of rheumatoid arthritis; if successful the work will signal a major breakthrough in the treatment of the auto-immune disease. Newcastle University’s Musculoskeletal Research Group is to carry out the research, which is being funded by a 216,000 pound grant from the medical research charity the Arthritis Research Campaign.

DNA Vaccine Delivery Technology Shows Promise In Inducing Stronger Immune Responses

Inovio Biomedical Corporation (AMEX:INO), a leader in enabling the development of DNA vaccines using a proprietary electroporation-based DNA delivery platform, announced today it has expanded its research license with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), a leading organization dedicated to ensuring the development of safe and effective preventive HIV vaccines.

Protein Complementarity May Offer New Insights Into Autoimmune Diseases

The discovery of “complementary” antibodies against plasminogen in patients with blood vessel inflammation caused by anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCAs) may lead to new approaches to research, testing, and treatment of ANCA vasculitis and other autoimmune diseases, suggests a paper in the December Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

How Flesh Eating Bacteria Attack The Body’s Immune System

“Flesh-eating” or “Strep” bacteria are able to survive and spread in the body by degrading a key immune defense molecule, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The finding, which could aid in development of new treatments for serious infections in human patients, will be reported in the August 14 issue of the journal Cell Host & Microbe.

Isis Initiates Clinical Trial Of CRP Drug

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISIS) announced it has initiated a Phase 1 study of ISIS 353512, an antisense drug that inhibits the production of C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP levels are frequently elevated in patients with a variety of diseases including cardiovascular disease, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis and end-stage renal disease.

Nasal Hepatitis B Vaccine Elicits Robust Immunity With A Single Dose; Confers Major Advantages Over Traditional Vaccines

A new study has shown that a nasal hepatitis B vaccine elicits a dramatic immune response in animals without requiring three vaccinations, sterile syringes or refrigeration-three factors that impede the delivery of current hepatitis B vaccines. In the study, a single dose of the nasal vaccine triggered a protective response in animals roughly 450 times greater than that elicited by currently approved human vaccines.

August 17th, 2008

Remicade Data In Ankylosing Spondylitis Show Improvement In Spinal Mobility And Spinal Inflammation
Remicade Data In Ankylosing Spondylitis Show Improvement In Spinal Mobility And Spinal Inflammation
Data presented at the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Annual European Congress of Rheumatology showed that patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who received REMICADE (infliximab) over two years experienced significant improvement in spinal mobility. In addition, REMICADE-treated patients showed sustained reductions in spinal inflammation through two years as detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). [click link for full article]

August 16th, 2008

Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide 6th edition.

Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide 6th edition
by: Judith E Tintinalli
, Gabor D., Md. Kelen
, J. Stephan Stapczynski

publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional
, released: 14 October, 2003

price: $162.74 (new), $103.77 (used)

August 15th, 2008

Health Psychology: An Introduction to Behavior and Health (with InfoTrac), Fifth Edition.

Health Psychology: An Introduction to Behavior and Health (with InfoTrac), Fifth Edition
by: Linda Brannon
, Jess Feist

publisher: Wadsworth Publishing
, released: 24 July, 2003

price: $106.35 (new), $8.67 (used)

August 15th, 2008

Choking Hazard Of Some Gerber Babyfood, Products Recalled
Choking Hazard Of Some Gerber Babyfood, Products Recalled
Gerber organic rice and oatmeal cereals have been recalled because they may clump together and be a potential choking risk, said the Gerber Products Company. According to the company, reports have come in of babies choking, but no injuries. The problem, says the company, is that small quantities of rice or oatmeal might not dissolve in water or milk, and remain as lumps. [click link for full article]

Late breaking news

August 14th, 2008

Increased Sexual Education Among Black Community, Better Family Planning Policies Could Improve Reproductive Health Of Black Women, Opinion Piece

Recent opinion pieces and other statements that imply racism is behind higher numbers of black women having abortions miss “the point and distrac[t] from the real issue: the persistent health disparities faced by women, and men, in the African-American community,” Melissa Gilliam, an associate professor of ob-gyn at the

Many Black Girls Unaware Of Emergency Contraception Option, Study Finds

Many black girls living in urban areas appear to lack general knowledge about emergency contraception, according to a study published in the August issue of Pediatrics, Reuters Health reports. For the study, Cynthia Mollen of the

Tibolone Reduces Risk Of Fractures And Breast Cancer But Increases Risk Of Stroke In Older Women

Tibolone, a synthetic drug used in many countries mainly to treat menopausal symptoms, reduces the risk of fractures and breast cancer, but also increases the risk of stroke in older women. Those are the findings of a study published in the August 14th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine Researchers recruited 4,538 women, between the ages of 60 and 85 years, in 22 countries for this randomized, double-blind study. Half were given 1.

Opinion Piece Calls For Comprehensive Policies To Reduce Abortion Rates, Improve Health Among Black Women

Accusations in the media that black women have higher abortion rates than white women because abortion is “more aggressively marketed” toward blacks “mis[s] the point and distrac[t] from the real issue: the persistent health disparities faced by women, and men, in the African-American community,” Melissa Gilliam, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago and chair of the

Female Condom Skills Training Reduces Unprotected Sex Acts Among Women

Using a randomized trial with a sample of 409 U.S. women recruited from family planning clinics in northern California, researchers tested the hypothesis that female condom skills training would successfully lead to an increase in sustained use of female condoms and protected sex.

U.S. Women Significantly Increase Use Of Contraceptive Services

Using nationally representative survey data, researchers examined the patterns and trends in the use of sexual and reproductive health care services in U.S. women aged 15 to 44 between 1995 and 2002.

Late breaking news

August 14th, 2008

Nebraska To End Practice Of Offering Different Health Insurance Options To State Employees Based On ZIP Codes

The Nebraska government by Jan.1, 2009, will end the practice of offering state employees different health insurance plans based on the ZIP codes in which workers live, the AP/Sioux City Journal reports (AP/ Sioux City Journal, 8/10). A lawsuit was filed last year in the Lancaster County, Neb.

Yemen Times Examines HIV/AIDS Surveillance, Discrimination Related To Disease In Country

Although Yemen — which has recorded 2,431 HIV/AIDS cases — is considered one of the countries with the lowest number of people living with the disease worldwide, some organizations, including the country’s National AIDS Control Program, say that the numbers likely do not accurately reflect the true number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the country, the Yemen Times reports.

California, Health Insurers Reach Agreement To Reinstate Coverage For Some Former Members

About 3,400 California residents whose health insurance was canceled by Kaiser Permanente, Health Net and PacifiCare soon will be notified that they might be eligible for new coverage and compensation for medical bills incurred while they were uninsured, the Los Angeles Times reports.

TriCaucus Seeks Restoration Of SCHIP Provisions To Address Health Care Access For Immigrant Children

The TriCaucus — members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus — has sent House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) a letter urging that two provisions be restored to the SCHIP reauthorization bill to improve health care access for immigrant children, The Hill reports.