Selected by hardinlibrary

• 
  New England Journal of Medicine

• The American Public and the Next Phase of the Health Care Reform Debate

  Blendon, R. J., Benson, J. M.

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  (No abstract is available for this citation)

• Mandatory Vaccination of Health Care Workers

  Stewart, A. M.

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  (No abstract is available for this citation)

• Compromises and Controversies -- Moving Forward on Reform

  Iglehart, J. K.

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  (No abstract is available for this citation)

• Not "Socialized Medicine" -- An Israeli View of Health Care Reform

  Chernichovsky, D.

  4 Nov 2009 | 1:59 pm

  (No abstract is available for this citation)

• Cost Expansion versus Cost Control -- Lessons from the Canadian System

  Liao, J., Choi, K.

  4 Nov 2009 | 1:59 pm

  (No abstract is available for this citation)

• 
  JAMA current issue

• Rhabdomyolysis Associated With 2009 Influenza A(H1N1) [Research Letters]

  Ayala, E., Kagawa, F. T., Wehner, J. H., Tam, J., Upadhyay, D.

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:57 pm

• Building Healthy Communities Through Medical-Religious Partnerships [Book and Media Reviews]

  Fosarelli, P.

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:57 pm

• About This Journal [About This Journal]

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:57 pm

• Surveillance for Pediatric Deaths Associated With 2009 Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infection--United States, April-August 2009 [From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:57 pm

• This Week in JAMA [This Week in JAMA]

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:57 pm

• 
  Archives of Internal Medicine current issue

• When History Really Is Not Applicable or Relevant [Editor's Correspondence]

  Misra, A., Misra, S.

  26 Oct 2009 | 12:51 pm

• Giving Patients Their Results Online Might Be the Answer--Reply [Editor's Correspondence]

  Casalino, L. P., Dunham, D. P., Chin, M. H., Bieland, R., Kistner, E. O., Karrison, T. G., Ong, M. K., Sarkar, U., McLaughlin, M. A., Meltzer, D. O.

  26 Oct 2009 | 12:51 pm

• The 300-Year-Old Health Care Solution [Editor's Correspondence]

  Beyer, H. S.

  26 Oct 2009 | 12:51 pm

• The 300-Year-Old Health Care Solution--Reply [Editor's Correspondence]

  Diamond, G. A., Kaul, S.

  26 Oct 2009 | 12:51 pm

• Giving Patients Their Results Online Might Be the Answer [Editor's Correspondence]

  Christensen, K., Oldenburg, J.

  26 Oct 2009 | 12:51 pm

• 
  Annals of Internal Medicine recent issues

• Hormonal Testing and Pharmacologic Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction

  2 Nov 2009 | 2:06 pm

• Home Health Education and Physician Training to Improve Care for Patients With High Blood Pressure in a Developing Country

  2 Nov 2009 | 2:06 pm

• A National Survey of Doctors About Screening for Cervical Cancer

  2 Nov 2009 | 2:06 pm

• Influenza

  Hessen, M. T.

  2 Nov 2009 | 2:06 pm

  This issue provides a clinical overview of influenza focusing on prevention, diagnosis, treatment, practice improvement, and patient information. Readers can complete the accompanying CME quiz for 1.5 credits. Only ACP members and individual subscribers can access the electronic features of In the Clinic. Non-subscribers who wish to access this issue of In the Clinic can elect "Pay for View." Subscribers can receive 1.5 category 1 CME credits by completing the CME quiz that accompanies this issue of In the Clinic. The content of In the Clinic is drawn from the clinical information and…

• Hormonal Testing and Pharmacologic Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American College of Physicians

  Qaseem, A., Snow, V., Denberg, T. D., Casey, D. E., Forciea, M. A., Owens, D. K., Shekelle, P., for the Clinical Efficacy Assessment Subcommittee of the American College of Physicians

  2 Nov 2009 | 2:06 pm

  Description: The American College of Physicians developed this guideline to present the available evidence on hormonal testing in and pharmacologic management of erectile dysfunction. Current pharmacologic therapies include phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors, such as sildenafil, vardenafil, tadalafil, mirodenafil, and udenafil, and hormonal treatment. Methods: Published literature on this topic was identified by using MEDLINE (1966 to May 2007), EMBASE (1980 to week 22 of 2007), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (second quarter of 2007), PsycINFO (1985 to June 2007), AMED…

• 
  European Journal of Internal Medicine

• Contents

  30 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

• Editorial Board

  30 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

• Clinical outcomes in medical outliers admitted to hospital with heart failure

  César Alameda, Carmen Suárez

  22 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Abstract: Background: Due to the lack of beds in medical wards, many patients are placed in other departments' wards (usually in surgical wards). These patients are called “medical outliers”. This is a common problem in countries with public national health services. We determined whether location influences progress and prognosis of patients.Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study in a public university hospital in Madrid, Spain. 243 patients discharged from the Department of Internal Medicine during 2006 with the same diagnosis-related group (DRG) (congestive heart failure and…

• Do PubMed and Google searches help medical students and young doctors reach the correct diagnosis? A pilot study

  Matthew E. Falagas, Fotinie Ntziora, Gregory C. Makris, George A. Malietzis, Petros I. Rafailidis

  18 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Abstract: Background: In the era of the World Wide Web we sought to examine whether the use of PubMed and Google can help physicians to improve their diagnostic skills.Methods: Twenty-six diagnostic cases presented in the case records of the New England Journal of Medicine during 2005 were used for our analysis. Three investigators (one trainee doctor and two final year medical students), tried determining the diagnosis, initially without and afterwards with the use of PubMed and Google.Results: A slight increase in the proportion of correct diagnoses obtained was seen following the…

• Cryoglobulins not HCV-related and solid tumors: Retrospective analysis from a series of 493 patients

  P. Rullier, A. Le Quellec, C. Cognot

  14 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Solid cancers observed in the course of cryoglobulinemia are generally considered as a consequence of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated infection. The question remains as to any real paraneoplastic association between cryoglobulins and solid tumors, a relationship that is hinted at by certain isolated publications .

• 
  MayoClinic.com

• Infant formula: Is tap or bottled water better?

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Infant formula — Using fluoridated tap water to prepare formula can cause tooth discoloration. Sponsored by:Chemotherapy.com - http://www.chemotherapy.com

• Molar pregnancy

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Molar pregnancy — Comprehensive overview covers symptoms, treatment of this tumor in the uterus. Sponsored by:Chemotherapy.com - http://www.chemotherapy.com

• Antibiotics and pregnancy: What's safe?

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Antibiotics and pregnancy — Some antibiotics are considered safe during pregnancy, while others are not. Sponsored by:Chemotherapy.com - http://www.chemotherapy.com

• Lipitor and Zocor: Are they equally effective?

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Lipitor and Zocor belong to a group of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins. Sponsored by:Chemotherapy.com - http://www.chemotherapy.com

• Orchitis: Painful inflammation of the testicles

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Orchitis — Comprehensive overview covers symptoms, causes, treatment of this painful testicular inflammation. Sponsored by:Chemotherapy.com - http://www.chemotherapy.com

• 
  The American Journal of Medicine

• Back to the Future: Medical Students Can Matter Again

  Joseph S. Alpert, Brian F. Mandell

  31 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Over the last 5 years, we have spent considerable time directly teaching students and housestaff and have been involved in numerous meetings of academic physicians concerned about the apparent erosion in quantity and quality of medical student and resident teaching at our medical schools and teaching hospitals.

• Should We Maintain an Open Mind about Homeopathy?

  Michael Baum, Edzard Ernst

  31 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Once upon a time, doctors had little patience with the claims made for alternative medicines. In recent years the climate has changed dramatically. It is now politically correct to have an open mind about such matters; “the patient knows best” and “it worked for me” seem to be the new mantras. Although this may be a reasonable approach to some of the more plausible aspects of alternative medicine, such as herbal medicine or physical therapies that require manipulation, we believe it cannot apply across the board. Some of these alternatives are based on obsolete or metaphysical…

• Bayesian Meta-analysis of Hormone Therapy and Mortality in Younger Postmenopausal Women

  Shelley R. Salpeter, Ji Cheng, Lehana Thabane, Nicholas S. Buckley, Edwin E. Salpeter

  31 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Abstract: Background: There is uncertainty over the risks and benefits of hormone therapy. We performed a Bayesian meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of hormone therapy on total mortality in younger postmenopausal women. This analysis synthesizes evidence from different sources, taking into account varying views on the issue.Methods: A comprehensive search from 1966 through January 2008 identified randomized controlled trials of at least 6 month's duration that evaluated hormone therapy in women with mean age <60 years and reported at least one death, and prospective observational cohort…

• Medicare's New Regulations for Deep Vein Thrombosis as a “Never Event”: Wise or Worrisome?

  Juwono L. Sutedjo, Roger K. Ng, Gregory Piazza, Samuel Z. Goldhaber

  31 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism estimates that more than 100,000 deaths occur annually from pulmonary embolism in the US alone. Many of these deaths are preventable by prescribing proved prophylactic measures during hospitalization. In addition, venous thromboembolism and its complications place a substantial burden on the US health care system. The sequelae of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism—post-thrombotic syndrome and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension—respectively, are sources of morbidity, diminished…

• Clues to a Life-threatening Disease

  Pasquale Santangeli, Giuseppe Ferrante, Maurizio Pieroni, Filippo Crea

  31 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Syncope, with its multiple underlying causes, represents a challenging clinical problem. Identification of the etiology, which can range from benign to potentially life-threatening disease, might require a complex diagnostic pathway.

• 
  WebMD Health

• Oral Contraceptives May Help Treat Asthma

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:37 pm

  Treatment with oral contraceptives may benefit premenopausal women with asthma, even if their asthma symptoms are not strongly linked to their monthly menstrual cycles, early research suggests.

• First Impressions Surprisingly Accurate

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:52 pm

  A new study shows that we can accurately evaluate strangers' personalities based just on appearance.

• Expert Panel Rejects Abstinence-Only Sex Ed

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:38 pm

  There's no evidence that abstinence-only sexual education programs cut teens' risk of sexually transmitted disease, HIV, or pregnancy, a task force of public health experts finds.

• Early Morning Colon Cancer Tests Work Best

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:35 pm

  Colon cancer screening exams may be more effective if done very early in the day rather than later, yielding more polyps per patient, says a new study.

• Aspirin May Prevent Prostate Cancer Recurrence

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:51 am

  The use of anti-clotting drugs, including aspirin, appears to lower the odds that cancer will recur in men undergoing radiation treatment for prostate cancer, researchers report.

• 
  Smartbrief: The American College of Gastroenterology

• More fussy babies diagnosed with acid reflux diagnosis

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  More doctors are diagnosing some fussy infants with gastroesophageal reflux disease, which experts say may be driven in part  -More- 

• Malnutrition risk higher for adults, children with IBD

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  A study presented at the ACG Annual Scientific Meeting showed adults and children with inflammatory bowel disease are at high -More- 

• ACG note

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  The 2009 Colorectal Cancer Screening Legislation Report Card rates 21 states and Washington, D.C., with an A grade for suppor -More- 

• Study hints at "dark side of hope" with illness

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  A study found that patients told their colostomies were permanent got on with their lives and actually were happier than thos -More- 

• Rep. Boehner: GOP to introduce health reform plan soon

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Sunday that Republican lawmakers are preparing to introduce their own health -More- 

• 
  New York Times: Health

• Official Endorses Workplace Clinics for Vaccine Distribution

  By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:20 pm

  The official said swine flu vaccine should be distributed through many outlets, to get it to high-risk people quickly.

• Political Memo: On Health Care, Democrats Play Down Election Results

  By ADAM NAGOURNEY

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:11 pm

  Even politically vulnerable Democrats in Congress said the party’s losses in two governor’s races this week were not big influences on their decision on health care.

• Pelosi Faces Competing Pressures on Health Care

  By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:09 pm

  Speaker Nancy Pelosi raises funds in part to help re-elect her most vulnerable members, many from Republican-leaning districts leery of liberal health care proposals.

• Truck Carrying Flu Vaccine Supply Is Stolen

  By MONICA DAVEY

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:06 pm

  The vaccine was recovered, and the thieves may not have even known it was in the truck, but is no longer considered usable.

• Regarding Tamiflu, Doctors and Patients Face a Question of When to Act

  By SHAILA DEWAN

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:06 pm

  There has been some confusion among doctors about whether to prescribe the antiviral drug Tamiflu for less severe cases.

• 
  CNN: Health

• House Democrats resolve abortion impasse

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:56 am

  Anti-abortion Democrats will be allowed to offer an amendment during the House health-care debate Saturday that would ban most abortion coverage from the public option and other insurance providers in the new so-called "exchange" the legislation would create, three Democratic sources told CNN.

• Treating trauma victims may cause its own trauma

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:24 pm

  As they listen to tales of life's worst moments, they may absorb some of their patients' suffering. Who protects the mental health of our mental health professionals?

• Respirator or face mask? Best shield still debated

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:16 pm

  A preliminary report suggesting that N95 respirators -- filtering devices worn over the mouth and nose -- protect against swine flu better than surgical face masks seems to be incorrect, researchers revealed during a meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

• How to squash worry and grab more happiness

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:36 pm

  These days it can feel like the age of anxiety is winning over the pursuit of happiness. But you don't have to live on the dark side. Here's your recipe for a more joyful life.

• The artificial hand that can 'feel'

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:33 am

  Researchers are working on a breakthrough in artificial limb technology -- a prosthetic hand that can actually feel.

• 
  Washington Post

• Book Review: 'The World Has Curves' by Julia Savacool

  Post

  7 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  When journalist Julia Savacool asked women from around the world to describe their ideal body, diverging portraits emerged, but universally, she found , women's bodies are economic and social indicators.

• Of the 40 percent of parents who sought H1N1 flu vaccine for their children, only one-third found it, according to a Harvard School of Public Health survey

  David Brown

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  About 40 percent of parents in the United States have tried to get their children vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus, but only one in three has been successful, according to a survey released Friday. High-risk adults seeking the vaccine for themselves were just as unlucky finding it.

• Panel says evidence is insufficient to know effectiveness of abstinence programs

  Rob Stein

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  Sex-education programs that encourage teens to delay sexual activity and teach them about contraception cut risky sexual behavior, increase condom use and lower the chances of getting the AIDS virus and other infections, a panel of independent experts concluded in a report released Friday.

• Slowed funding imperils global gains against AIDS, Doctors Without Borders says

  Karin Brulliard

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  JOHANNESBURG -- Slowed funding from international donors, including the United States, is imperiling recent dramatic gains in treating AIDS patients in the developing world, according to a new report.

• Fall sports include surfing, biking, hiking, rock climbing

  Kathleen Hom

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  With vivid colors on the trees and cooling temperatures, fall is a spectacular season for being active outdoors. "No one should feel intimidated by the changing weather," says Barbara Klieforth, president of the board of directors of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (http://www.waba.org)...

• 
  Fox News

• Sex Toy Study at Duke Raises Some Eyebrows

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:34 am

  A campus religious leader is unhappy about a study at Duke University that invites female students to attend parties where they can buy sex toys.

• 5 Ways To Reform Your Needy Girlfriend

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:44 am

  Is your girlfriend needy and clingy? We have 5 simple tips to remedy the problem

• End of Court Ordered Cancer Treatment in Sight for Teenager

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:26 am

  The end of cancer treatment and court hearings could be in sight for Sleepy Eye teen Daniel Hauser.

• Cross Country Runner, 14, Died From Rare Genetic Disorder

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:50 am

  An autopsy has found a genetic disorder in the 14-year-old D.C. Everest Junior High student who died in September during cross country practice.

• Gene Therapy Helps 2 Kids Suffering From Rare Brain Disease

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:21 am

  French scientists mixed gene therapy and bone marrow transplants in two boys to seemingly halt a brain disease that can kill by adolescence.

• 
  medLine Plus

• Working in Retirement

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:32 am

  Source: HealthDay Related MedlinePlus Topic: Seniors' Health

• Cooling May Reduce Brain Lesions in Newborns

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  Treatment after oxygen deprivation accounts for better motor skills later, study suggests Source: HealthDay Related MedlinePlus Topics: Brain Diseases, Cerebral Palsy, Infant and Newborn Care

• Breast Feeding May Not Alter Older Kids' Health

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  Exclusive breast feeding for up to 6 months, though beneficial for an infants' immunity and mothers' weight, may not alter children's health risks over the long term, study findings hint. Source: Reuters Health Related MedlinePlus Topics: Breast Feeding, Children's Health

• Genes Linked To 'Pot' Belly

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  And excess consumption of saturated fats raises obesity risk, researchers find Source: HealthDay Related MedlinePlus Topics: Genes and Gene Therapy, Obesity

• Phosphorus Levels May Predict Heart Disease

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  Even a slight elevation was linked to coronary artery calcification in study Source: HealthDay Related MedlinePlus Topics: Coronary Artery Disease, Kidney Diseases, Minerals

• 
  WHO news

• Reducing child deaths from pneumonia

  1 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  2 November 2009 -- Up to 5.3 million children can be saved from dying of pneumonia by implementing recommendations set out in the joint WHO/UNICEF Global action plan for the prevention and control of pneumonia. "This action plan provides the strategy to prevent and control pneumonia, which today kills more children than any other illness," said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO.

• Tackling global health risks prevents premature deaths

  26 Oct 2009 | 6:01 pm

  27 October 2009 -- Global life expectancy could be increased by nearly five years by addressing five factors affecting health – childhood underweight, unsafe sex, alcohol use, lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and high blood pressure, according to a report published by WHO today.

• Childhood vaccines at all-time high, but access not yet equitable

  20 Oct 2009 | 6:01 pm

  21 October 2009 -- Reversing a downward trend, the State of the world’s vaccines and immunization reports that more infants are being immunized today than ever before - a record 106 million in 2008 - according to new data. At the same time, the report, released today by WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank, shows there is a funding gap that leaves millions of children at risk.

• Hospitals must be protected during natural disasters

  13 Oct 2009 | 6:01 pm

  14 October 2009 -- Dozens of hospitals and heath facilities each year are themselves impacted by floods, hurricanes, cyclones, earthquakes and other natural hazards because safety measures were not integrated in their design, location or construction. Today, the International Day for Disaster Reduction showcases progress made in making hospitals safer from disasters and underscores the work still to be done.

• Reducing childhood deaths from diarrhoea

  13 Oct 2009 | 6:01 pm

  14 October 2009 -- About 1.5 million children die from diarrhoea every year. Yet simple inexpensive and life-saving treatment with ORS and zinc tablets decreases the severity and duration of attack of diarrhoea. These and other prevention strategies are highlighted in a new UNICEF and WHO report on the disease.

• 
  Medpagetoday

• CHEST: Drug Brings Wake-Up Call in Depression and OSA (CME/CE)

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:10 pm

  SAN DIEGO (MedPage Today) -- Armodafinil (Nuvigil) may bring relief of residual excessive sleepiness to patients with depression and obstructive sleep apnea, a multicenter, randomized trial showed.

• Week 21: House Gears Up for Floor Vote on Healthcare Bill

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:44 pm

  WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- The House of Representatives is just a day away from taking a crucial vote on whether to pass its healthcare reform bill, and key players are standing up and choosing sides.

• AASLD: High SVR Rates Seen with Telaprevir for Hepatitis C (CME/CE)

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:10 pm

  BOSTON (MedPage Today) -- Availability of direct antiviral drugs for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection moved another step closer to realization, with favorable results reported here for telaprevir in two Phase II studies.

• ASTRO: Breast Brachytherapy Use Outpaces Evidence (CME/CE)

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:21 pm

  CHICAGO (MedPage Today) -- Use of brachytherapy to treat breast cancer continues to increase despite unresolved questions about long-term outcomes, according to data presented here.

• AASLD: Liver Reserve Measured in Breath Test (CME/CE)

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:12 am

  BOSTON (MedPage Today) -- A simple breath test gives a good overall measure of liver function in patients with chronic viral hepatitis and could help in evaluating potential liver transplant candidates, a researcher said here.

• 
  Reuters Health eLine

• Moderate exercise may lower prostate cancer risk

  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who regularly get moderate exercise may have a lower risk of developing prostate cancer -- including aggressive, fast-growing tumors, a new study finds.

• What kids drink at 5 could affect weight at 15

  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Parents may be setting their daughters up for weight problems simply by allowing them to drink two or more sweetened drinks daily while young, study findings hint.

• Chantix helps people with emphysema stop smoking

  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Varenicline - marketed by Pfizer as Chantix -- is a safe, well-tolerated and effective way for people with emphysema - also known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD - to stop smoking, according to study findings presented this week at the CHEST 2009 meeting in San Diego, California.

• Passive work means less activity off the job, too

  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Do you have an unchallenging job with little control over what you do? You may be more likely to be a couch potato in your leisure time, a new study shows.

• Some countries "ambushed" by H1N1

  STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Some countries have been "ambushed" by sudden severe outbreaks of disease and death from the H1N1 flu pandemic, and have gone over the top in their response, a European flu specialist said on Friday.

• 
  Yahoo! News: Health News

• House Dems struggle for final votes on health care (AP)

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:20 pm

  AP - Amid intense lobbying by the Obama administration, House Democratic leaders struggled Friday for the final votes needed to pass sweeping health care legislation, working to ease concerns among Hispanic holdouts and abortion foes.

• Obesity causes 100,000 US cancers every year: study (AFP)

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:17 pm

  AFP - Obesity causes more than 100,000 incidents of cancer in the US every year, the American Institute for Cancer Research said in estimates published Friday.

• Health Tip: Follow Directions When Taking Medication (HealthDay)

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:03 pm

  HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- A number of adverse effects can result if you don't take a medication as directed.

• Singing in Pregnancy May Be Harder Work (HealthDay)

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:03 pm

  HealthDay - FRIDAY, Nov. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Hormonal fluctuations make it harder for women to sing during pregnancy, a new study finds.

• Another reason to cover your cough: pets at risk (Reuters)

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:56 pm

  Reuters - People who think they may have H1N1 flu need to stay away from work, avoid sneezing on their spouses and children and now, they have someone else to worry about infecting too -- their pets.

• 
  Clinical Cases and Images - Blog

• Cure for obstructive sleep apnea: didgeridoo?

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:03 am

  The didgeridoo has been used for over 1500 years in the Kakadu region of Australia’s Northern Territory. Apparently, it is now investigated as a treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in Switzerland:Cure for obstructive sleep apnea: didgeridoo?Link via Life in the Fast Line. Posted at Clinical Cases and Images. Stay updated and subscribe, or follow me on Twitter.

• Google Dashboard shows the data associated with your Google account

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:29 am

  From the official Google blog:"Have you ever wondered what data is stored with your Google Account? The Google Dashboard offers a simple view into the data associated with your account — easily and concisely in one location." See the video below:"Designed to be simple and useful, the Dashboard summarizes data for each product that you use (when signed in to your account) and provides you direct links to control your personal settings. Dashboard covers more than 20 products and services, including Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Web History, Orkut, YouTube, Picasa, Talk, Reader, Alerts, Latitude and…

• Health News of the Day

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:51 am

  Health News of the Day is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in a bullet points format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day:Eating slowly increases anorexigenic gut peptide which leads to appetite reduction http://bit.ly/2AUx6S23% of people may have restless leg syndrome - much higher than previously reported rates of 3-10% http://bit.ly/2AhpEVOutcomes for people who had CABG "off-pump" (without heart-lung machine) were worse than conventional procedure http://bit.ly/JVK63 -- CABG “pump”…

• BMJ video: The man who stopped smoking

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:07 am

  BMJ video: Richard Doll: The man who stopped smoking."Richard Doll was a luminary of clinical research whose case control study, published in the BMJ in 1950, first identified smoking as an important cause of cancer and other diseases.He carried his research out on doctors in the UK who smoked, and tracked their mortality over the course of 50 years. The latest paper being published in the BMJ in 2004." Posted at Clinical Cases and Images. Stay updated and subscribe, or follow me on Twitter.

• Social Media Related Tweets and Insights

  4 Nov 2009 | 3:05 am

  From my Twitter account:List Browser: browse to see what people are doing with the new Twitter lists feature http://bit.ly/sZxbbMedical resident life: @drscottgberg "Dark when I leave for work, dark when I come home from work."@googlereader: Quick access to newly-added "Explore" and "Popular items" views via g-e and g-p keyboard shortcuts http://bit.ly/147g68"Why I think I am a patient and not a consumer" by @amcunningham http://bit.ly/1iD5p4Tweets are not research articles - they are 140-character messages - please always go to the original source, links, etc. Tweets and links do not…

• 
  KevinMD.com - Medical Weblog

• Op-ed: Injured patients deserve medical malpractice reform

  Kevin

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  A version of this op-ed was published on October 26th, 2009 in the USA Today President Obama has acknowledged that changes in the medical malpractice system must be considered with other health reforms, and recently ordered that pilot projects to improve the way we compensate injured patients be implemented. Reforming medical liability has historically been a source of major contention. Physicians argue that the system is expensive, promotes multi-million dollar awards disproportionate to the injuries suffered, and encourages “defensive medicine” – the practice of ordering…

• Support for the patient centered medical home in the House health reform bill

  Kevin

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:00 am

  by Thomas C. Bent, MD As the House of Representatives prepares to vote on its historic health care reform bill on Saturday, family physicians are heartened to see the support it gives to the emerging new model of care, the patient centered medical home. The House bill is good news on many fronts. It would provide health insurance coverage for some 96 percent of Americans and would reduce the federal deficit by $30 billion. The Congressional Budget Office estimates this bill would lower health care costs in part by improving health care delivery and relying on the medical home model with its…

• What is the best insulin regimen for patients with diabetes?

  Kevin

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

  Originally published in Insidermedicine The best method for taking insulin among individuals with type 2 diabetes has been identified in research published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Here is some information about type 2 diabetes: • It is a condition in which your body does not produce enough insulin and/or does not use available insulin properly • Insulin is needed to convert sugar in the blood into energy; without it , sugar builds up in the blood • Treatments include antidiabetic medicines that help the body produce and use insulin as well insulin…

• Vaccines do not cause autism in children, whether or not they have inborn errors of metabolism

  Kevin

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am

  Originally published in MedPage Today by Michael Smith, MedPage Today North American Correspondent Vaccination does not appear to cause autism or other health problems in children with inborn errors of metabolism, a researcher said here. In a retrospective analysis, children with such conditions were not more likely than normal children to visit emergency rooms or need hospital care after vaccination, according to Nicola Klein, MD, PhD, of the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center in Oakland, Calif. While the data are preliminary and the sample size is small, Klein said at the annual meeting…

• Did Nidal Malik Hasan suffer from compassion fatigue or vicarious traumatization?

  Kevin

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:54 pm

  There are many tragic questions emerging from today’s massacre at Fort Hood.  The one I’m interested in is why a reportedly mild-mannered psychiatrist, a specialist in disaster and preventive psychiatry no less, would make the decision to open fire on his fellow soldiers. One reason may be so-called compassion fatigue, also known as vicarious traumatization or secondary traumatization. According to the Psychiatric Times, the condition is defined as “indirect exposure to trauma through a firsthand account or narrative of a traumatic event. The vivid recounting of trauma by…

• 
  NHS Blog Doctor

• Sick certificates

  Dr John Crippen

  3 Nov 2009 | 2:15 pm

  King Andy's guide to faking a sickieIt has always suited governments to encourage the long-term unemployed to "discover" an illness and move on to incapacity benefit. The move is easily made, as GPs are a "soft touch" for a sick certificate. But while this move to incapacity benefit may please the government by providing a short-term "fix" for high unemployment figures, it creates an insidious long-term problem...The Guardian, Tuesday 3 November 2009

• Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) : science, quackery & mental illness

  Dr John Crippen

  21 Oct 2009 | 10:13 am

  The militant wing of the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) brigade broke out the champagne when a recent article in Science reported that a retrovirus had been found in 67% of ME patients compared to under 4% of the general population. Sadly, the study only involved just over 100 patients and is thus inconclusive...The Guardian, Tuesday 20 October 2009

• Public Stools

  Dr John Crippen

  5 Oct 2009 | 11:17 pm

  GarderobeA smartly dressed, middle-aged lady came in and sat down. Let's call her Angela. Angela was a child of the 60s, the decade of female emancipation. But, while other girls of her age were letting their hair down at Woodstock, Angela was still at school....6 October 2009 The Guardian

• The illusion of choice

  Dr John Crippen

  29 Sep 2009 | 6:21 am

  Last week, my ageing motorcar started making an odd noise. The service manager told me I needed a replacement camfleugal pin. He gave me a list of 10 suppliers. Which one did I want them to use? I don't know much about camfleugal pins. I told him to get it from where he normally gets them. The illusion of choice is important. Patients who need to go to hospital are now offered a "choice" under the government's much publicised "Choose and Book" (CAB) system. But how does CAB work in reality?cont...The Guardian 29 September 2009

• GP boundaries

  Dr John Crippen

  22 Sep 2009 | 7:53 am

  Last week GPs were mystified when the health secretary Andy Burnham announced plans to abolish practice boundaries, which will leave patients free to register with any GP of their choice, regardless of where they live. But has the government thought this through? GPs are morally and contractually obliged, when medically necessary, to visit sick patients in their own homes: the elderly; the infirm; the terminally ill. It is the government that has previously insisted on predefined areas. It might be frustrating for a patient to find he cannot register with a particular doctor because he lives…

• 
  Running a hospital

• Great dance

  Paul Levy

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:55 pm

  A new auction item has just come in, a dance performance by the Trey McIntyre Project at the ICA theatre on Friday, November 20. It is courtesy of World Music/CRASHarts and is available here at my auction to benefit Bowdoin Street Health Center.

• Cooley-Dickinson vanquishes VAP

  Paul Levy

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:20 pm

  About a year ago, I wrote about the great progress made by Cooley-Dickinson Hospital in Northhampton, MA with regard to eliminating ventilator associated pneumonia. I now hear from Daniel J. Barrieau, RRT, CPFT, Director of Respiratory Care Service, that "we are now counting our time between incidences of Ventilator Associated Pneumonia in YEARS instead of days. This week we passed the 2 year mark and took a moment to celebrate the milestone. Here is a pic of the cake. . ."Congratulations!

• Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah

  Paul Levy

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:23 am

  Find custom made jewelry made from zippers! Really. Courtesy of ZipBling's owner and designer, Louise Loewenstein. Check out my auction to benefit Bowdoin Street Health Center.

• Working with a family advisory council

  Paul Levy

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:41 am

  The concept of patient and family advisory boards to hospitals is gaining currency. The idea is to integrate the perspective of patients and families into decisions about clinical practices, space, priorities, and the like. We have had a Family Advisory Board for our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for some time. Here is its mission statement:The mission of the BIDMC NICU Advisory Board is to touch the lives of each NICU family in a positive and lasting way. Our goal is to complement the NICU's outstanding clinical care and embrace the hospital's commitment to Family-Centered Care with…

• Feeling the need to wine?

  Paul Levy

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:51 pm

  A limited edition, new California wine from Je Suis is available at my auction to benefit Bowdoin Street Health Center.

• 
  USA TODAY: Health

• How do you deal with food allergies when eating out?

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:58 pm

  USA TODAY is looking for readers with food allergies who are willing to share their unusual challenges with eating out at restaurants, ...

• Flu shots for workers hit sticking point

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:37 am

  Efforts to require flu shots for health workers in order to protect vulnerable patients are being abandoned by some major health ...

• Gay couples: A close look at this modern family, parenting

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:47 pm

  So many gay couples have kids that it has become a cultural phenomenon. But numbers are just part of a new comprehensive look ...

• NYC giving swine flu vaccine to employers for at-risk employees

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:24 pm

  Some of New York City's largest employers including Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs and big universities have started ...

• A glimpse of the future: Robots aid Japan's elderly residents

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:56 am

  Japan's government and gadget-makers are pioneering a wave of products aimed at improving the lives of senior citizens around ...

• 
  Wall St Journal: Health Blog

• Boosting Medical Students’ Training in Drug Abuse

  Shirley S. Wang

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:11 pm

  There’s lot of action these days aimed at curbing the abuse of prescription drugs. The FDA is working on a plan to make it harder for people to get access to unauthorized prescription painkillers, pain specialists have come out with guidelines to help doctors manage pain-drug-abusing patients and drug companies have been developing abuse-resistant drugs. Today, the National Institute on Drug Abuse jumped into the fray, announcing new teaching tools designed to help doctors-in-training — medical students and residents — learn about assessing and treating patients with abuse…

• Boston Scientific Sets $296 Million Settlement on Devices

  James A. White

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:30 am

  Now you see it. Now you don’t. So it goes with Boston Scientific’s third-quarter profit as a result of a settlement agreement with the Justice Department that the company announced today. Boston Scientific agreed to pay $296 million because of faulty reports made in 2005 to the FDA by its Guidant heart-device unit. The settlement will be charged against its third-quarters results, so Boston Scientific now says it had posted a loss for the period of $94 million rather than a profit of $200 million, as it had reported last month. As part of the deal, Guidant will plead to two misdemeanor…

• Looking for a Job? Health Care Is Still a Good Bet

  Shirley S. Wang

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:14 am

  The pharmaceutical industry is undergoing big cuts and the U.S. unemployment rate hit its highest mark since April 1983, but the health-care services sector continues to grow, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The health-care industry added an additional 29,000 jobs in October, nearly the same amount it grew in September. In total, since the start of the recession, the industry has added 597,000 jobs, according to the BLS. The biggest month-to-month jump came in the category of health care and social assistance, which added approximately 3,400 positions. And like in September,…

• South Korean FDA Probes Roche for Aiding Tamiflu Stockpiling

  Shirley S. Wang

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:29 am

  Should companies be allowed to buy large quantities of medicine like Tamiflu to have on hand in case their employees develop the H1N1 flu virus? Not according to the law in South Korea, where it’s illegal for non-medical professionals to purchase big lots of drugs. Punishment is up to five years in prison. The law is at the center of a probe of Tamiflu maker Roche, which is being investigated by the Korean Food and Drug Adminstration for allegedly helping companies like HSBC and fellow drug maker Novartis get the stuff, according to Bloomberg. The Korean FDA launched the probe because…

• When Doctors Create Their Own Evidence-Based Medicine

  Jacob Goldstein

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:58 pm

  Evidence-based medicine sounds straightforward enough, but (like everything else in health care) it’s become pretty contentious. The argument against evidence-based care says, more or less, that no two patients are alike, so doctors must be flexible in their use of evidence and can’t be bound by rigid protocols based on large studies. But Intermountain Healthcare, a network of hospitals and clinics in Utah and Idaho, has been pushing for more evidence-based care at its facilities for a while now, with some pretty interesting results. After Intermountain figured out that about a…

• 
  CBS News: Health

• Feed Your Family on $10 a Day!

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:15 am

  Cooking Light Magazine Shares "Delicious, Nutritious, Affordable" Recipes, on "The Early Show Saturday Edition"

• H1N1 Can Lead to Encephalitis in Kids

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pm

  Doctors Have Begun Reporting Cases of H1N1 Leading to Seizures, Personality Changes

• Video: H1N1's Potentially Deadly Combination

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:27 pm

  Children are among those hit hard in the H1N1 outbreak. And now, health officials are keeping an eye on a potentially deadly complication. Karen Brown shows us how scary it can be when a child comes down with H1N1 and encephalitis.

• Poll: One-Third Who Seek Vaccine, Get It

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:30 pm

  People at Severe Risk for Flu Having Hard Time Obtaining Shot, Harvard School of Public Health Finds

• Duke Sex Toy Study Panned by Priest

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:30 am

  University Religious Leader Says Study on Female Sexual Attitudes Doesn't Promote Relationships

• 
  ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

• Magnetic Nanoparticles To Simultaneously Diagnose, Monitor And Treat

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  The future for magentic nanoparticles (mNPs) appears bright With the design of "theranostic" molecules. Magentic nanoparticles could play a crucial role in developing one-stop tools to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat a wide range of common diseases and injuries.

• 1930s Drug Slows Tumor Growth: Gonorrhea Medication Might Help Fight Cancer

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  Drugs sometimes have beneficial side effects. A glaucoma treatment causes luscious eyelashes. A blood pressure drug also aids those with a rare genetic disease. The newest surprise discovered by researchers is a gonorrhea medication that might help battle cancer.

• New Way To Attack Inflammation In Graves' Eye Disease

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  A small group of patients with severe Graves' eye disease experienced rapid improvement of their symptoms -- and improved vision -- following treatment with the drug rituximab. Inflammation around their eyes and damage to the optic nerve were significantly reduced. The same patients had not previously responded to steroids, a common treatment for Graves' eye disease.

• New Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Clinic Offers Noninvasive Treatment For Major Depression

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  Rush University Medical Center has opened the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Clinic to offer patients suffering from major depression a safe, effective, non-drug treatment. TMS therapy is the first FDA-approved, non-invasive antidepressant device-based treatment clinically proven for treatment of depression. Psychiatrists at Rush University Medical Center were among the first to test the technique and Dr. Philip Janicak, professor of psychiatry and lead investigator at Rush for the clinical trials of TMS, helped to develop this therapy.

• Drunken Fruit Flies Help Scientists Find Potential Drug Target For Alcoholism

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  Drunken fruit flies have helped researchers identify networks of genes -- also present in humans -- that play a key role in alcohol drinking behavior. This discovery provides an indication of why some people seem to tolerate alcohol better than others, and points toward a potential target for drugs aimed at preventing or eliminating alcoholism.

• 
  BBC News: Health

• Ski accident

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:02 pm

  How teenager Chas recovered from devastating injuries

• Babies 'cry in mother's tongue'

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:38 am

  German researchers say babies begin to pick up the nuances of their parents' accents while still in the womb.

• A medic's tale

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:53 pm

  Losses lead to "sombre mood" at Camp Bastion

• Experts map the body's bacteria

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:46 pm

  Scientists have developed an atlas of the bacteria that live in different regions of the human body.

• Foetal heart rate monitor warning

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:35 pm

  Doctors are warning expectant parents that at-home foetal heart rate monitors can give false reassurance.

• 
  Forbes: Health

• Most Who Want Swine Flu Shot Can't Get It

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

  CDC says 38 million doses now available, with 8 million more due next week

• Stem Cells May Offer Alternative to Lung Transplants

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

  Novel protocol could provide new lung tissue for certain patients, researchers say

• Early Relapse of MS May Mean Fewer Issues Later

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

  Short-term limitations seem to wane as years go by, researcher says

• Istodax Approved for Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:32 pm

  It's a disfiguring cancer affecting the skin

• Wood Fires Can Harm the Youngest Lungs

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:00 am

  Exposed infants more susceptible to bronchiolitis, study finds

• 
  Medical News Today: Public Health

• Human Health To Benefit From The Unveling Of The Genome Sequence For The Domestic Horse

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  The whole genome sequence of the domestic horse has been completed by the genome-sequencing center of The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, in collaboration with an international team of researchers that includes scientists at the University of California, Davis. Findings from the genome sequence have important implications for improved breeding of horses, which constitute a $39 billion industry in the United States alone, and for studies of human health.

• Lives Saved In Sept. 29 Samoan Tsunami By Community Education And Evacuation Planning

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Community-based education and awareness programs minimized the death toll from the recent Samoan tsunami, though there are still ways to improve the warning and evacuation process, according to a team of researchers that traveled to Samoa last month. The team, funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, collected data Oct. 4 through Oct. 11 to document the impacts of the 8.1 earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that occurred on Sept. 29.

• The First Casualty Of War

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Researchers reporting in BioMed Central's open access journal Conflict and Health found that the discrepancy in media reporting of casualty numbers in the Iraq conflict can potentially misinform the public and contribute to distorted perceptions and gross underestimates of the number of civilians killed in the armed conflict. In February of 2007 Associated Press conducted a survey of 1,002 adults across the United States about their perceptions of the war in Iraq.

• The Role Of Parental Control In Western And East Asian Countries

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Many parents like to meddle in their children's lives. Sometimes this can be beneficial, if the meddling is in the form of parental guidance or setting rules. However, numerous studies have found that in Western countries, when parents are very controlling and dominating over their children, the children suffer psychologically.

• HHS Orders Intravenous Antiviral Flu Medication To Help Patients Hospitalized With 2009 H1N1

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced contract awards for up to 120,000 treatment courses of intravenous (IV) antiviral drugs to help treat hospitalized 2009 H1N1 influenza patients. Patients hospitalized with 2009 H1N1 influenza are evaluated to determine if antiviral drugs will be useful; some patients are not able to take the drugs that are currently available as pills or liquid and may benefit from intravenous antiviral medications.

• 
  MSNBC: More Health

• Calif. medical pot shops abound, despite order

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:06 pm

  A surge in medical marijuana in California has left communities trying to regulate or ban the drug. This wine country town has welcomed a dispensary as a strong source of tax revenue during the recession.

• Scientists halt brain disease with gene therapy

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:38 am

  Scientists have managed to halt a rare and fatal brain disease with an experimental gene therapy technique using a deactivated version of the AIDS virus, a study published on Thursday showed.

• FDA launches plan to curb accidental overdoses

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  The Food and Drug Administration is launching a program to try and prevent millions of accidental drug overdoses that occur each year due to medication errors, misuse and other problems.

• Maryland will monitor doctors’ hand washing

  3 Nov 2009 | 10:56 am

  Maryland is starting to keep tabs on how often doctors and nurses wash their hands at hospitals.

• Hospital fined $150,000 in wrong-site surgery

  2 Nov 2009 | 4:37 pm

  Rhode Island health officials have fined a hospital $150,000 and ordered it to install video cameras in its operating rooms after it had its fifth wrong-site surgery since 2007.

• 
  Reuters: Health News

• House set to open healthcare debate

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:05 am

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With a close vote looming, the U.S. House of Representatives was expected to open debate on Saturday on a sweeping reform bill that would spark the biggest healthcare changes in four decades.

• Another reason to cover your cough: pets at risk

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:56 pm

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People who think they may have H1N1 flu need to stay away from work, avoid sneezing on their spouses and children and now, they have someone else to worry about infecting too -- their pets.

• What kids drink at 5 could affect weight at 15

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:24 pm

  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Parents may be setting their daughters up for weight problems simply by allowing them to drink two or more sweetened drinks daily while young, study findings hint.

• CDC says U.S. making progress on swine flu vaccine

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:49 pm

  CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. health officials said on Friday they are making progress in improving the supply of H1N1 vaccine to state health departments and urged people frustrated by long lines and scarce supply not to give up.

• Moderate exercise may lower prostate cancer risk

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:25 pm

  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who regularly get moderate exercise may have a lower risk of developing prostate cancer -- including aggressive, fast-growing tumors, a new study finds.

• 
  Iowa Avenue

• Combat Holiday Weight Gain with a Battle Plan

  Lisa Nelson

  The holidays can be a big hurdle in a weight loss/health plan. Holidays don't mean you can't enjoy the good food and desserts. Here are 5 tips for a healthier holiday: 1. Plan Ahead - It will help if you have a plan in place ahead of time. Decide if you are going to have seconds in advance and what you are going to have seconds of. For example, mashed potatoes and gravy can be loaded with calories and fat, so opt for seconds of a healthier salad or other side dish. Be sure to plan out the desserts, too. If pecan pie is a weakness, put in place a realistic plan. One slice and a cookie. . .? 2.

• 4 Tips to Get Back the Slimmer You

  Lisa Nelson

  Overeating is an epidemic problem the past 3-4 decades. Since the 1970’s dietary changes have lead to an average of 18.9 additional pounds per adult. To return to slimmer times, everyone would need to cut ~500 calories everyday. As always, this is easier said than done; however, here are four tips to help you get on track: 1. Don’t rely on will power. If you know the oreos in your cupboard will “call your name” until they are gone, don’t buy them. Keep them out of reach. 2. Set rules for yourself. If you enjoy pop and popcorn with a movie, limit yourself to small serving sizes and…

• Which Foods to Buy Organic?

  Lynn

  We are now hearing daily about organic foods and why we should purchasing and eating them. For years, our food has been sprayed and fertilized with syntheic chemicals. According to the USDA, Organic farming has become one of the fastest growing areas over the past decade. Between 1990 and 2002, certified organic farms doubled in acreage and doubled again between 2002 and 2005. Even with this many acres in organic farm production, organic foods are sometimes hard to find at your local grocers. There a few ways to find what you want by shopping at local farmer's markets. This is a great way to…

• Swine Flu Vaccine: What To Do?

  Susana

  Summer is over and the question I am being asked most frequently in my practice is, “what do I do about Swine flu?” My patients are wondering whether or not they should get vaccinated and the simple answer I give most of the time is ..NO! From what you may have read, you might think that the swine flu vaccine is the answer to swine flu. Unfortunately this is not true and until we know that the vaccine is safe, I cannot in good conscience recommend it to most of my patients. From the outset, let me say, I am not anti all vaccinations, rather I am pro vaccine safety and freedom of choice.

• Announcing FOCUS Friday!

  Brian, the old man

  This past Friday on my blog, Oldman's Inspirational Thoughts, I began hosting a new segment called FOCUS Friday. FOCUS Friday will include motivational, inspirational, informational, and/or educational articles on an individual subject. Authors and bloggers like yourself, are encouraged to submit articles which either are inspirational or educational in a subject which helps others. This can include articles on Health, Writing, Environment, Conservation, Arts, Sciences, Christianity, Education, Poetry, Inspiration, or just ask and I can tell you if I believe it would be appropriate. For…

• 
  AP Top Health News At 11:42 a.m. EDT

• Democrats clear impasse blocking health care vote

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:17 am

  House Democrats have cleared an impasse over abortion that has been holding up a vote on sweeping health care legislation.

• Island village hit by suspected swine flu

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:13 am

  Suspected swine flu is sweeping a traditional Eskimo whaling village on a remote Alaska island _ prompting an urgent medical mission to deliver help.

• In Europe, most swine flu shots by invitation only

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:52 pm

  In Britain, there are no long lines of people seeking swine flu vaccine. Doctor's offices aren't swamped with desperate calls. And there are no cries of injustice that the vaccine is going to wealthy corporations or healthy people who don't really need it.

• Poll: One-third able to get swine flu vaccine

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:40 pm

  Only about a third of adults who have tried to get a swine flu vaccine have been able to get it, according to a new national poll released Friday.

• FDA warns Web companies not to sell flavored cigs

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:12 am

  The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it has warned several companies to stop selling banned flavored cigarettes to U.S. consumers online.

• 
  Hospital Impact

• Hospital CEO on reform: 'There's plenty of money...we just aren't spending it correctly'

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:15 am

  by Wendy Johnson The CEO of a Cambridge, Mass.-based hospital recently wrote a great blog post about how his own health issues have impacted his views of healthcare reform. "The true promise of health care reform is a transformation to a system that prevents disease more than it treats it," Dennis D. Keefe, CEO of Cambridge Health Alliance, writes for WBUR, a Boston-based National Public Radio affiliate. "There's plenty of money in the system, we just aren't spending it correctly, or aiming it at the programs that produce the best results." Noting how the proactive steps he has taken to…

• How to convince leaders that social media is good for your hospital

  1 Nov 2009 | 6:25 am

  by Nancy Cawley Jean If you work at a hospital, you know these institutions are pretty traditional when it comes to modes of communications. And now there's the brave new world of social media thrown into the mix. If you've already dipped your toes into the water, bravo! If your organization is still on the fence, you'll likely meet up with a few nervous naysayers who, understandably, have concerns. Here are a few ways to alleviate their apprehension: [More:] We could be sued! Your legal and risk management folks very likely can tick off a lengthy list of potential liabilities that exist in…

• Internal controls will be a necessity of meaningful use compliance

  1 Nov 2009 | 5:59 am

  by Joe Ingemi In my last post for Hospital Impact, I spoke of the possibility of standards-based meaningful use criteria, and performance-based meaningful use, such as recording the number of smokers enrolled in cessation. Hidden beneath these regulations are a whole other set of compliance standards that are yet to be discussed: internal controls. [More:] When you hear the term 'internal controls,' you may think of them in terms of the financial industry's Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance. However, internal controls have also manifested within the healthcare and life sciences industries.

• 'Take the RAC program very seriously,' Florida hospitals warn

  29 Oct 2009 | 7:21 am

  Florida hospitals had a front-row seat to the genesis of the Recovery Audit Contractor program due to the Sunshine State's participation in the three-year RAC demonstration project. FierceHealthFinance recently spoke with Bruce Rueben, CEO of the Florida Hospital Association, to find out what his member hospitals have learned from the RAC program so far. FierceHealthFinance: Based on the experiences of your member hospitals, what is your global forecast for hospitals nationwide in 2010 as the national RAC program ramps up? Rueben: Florida, like New York and California, served as the initial…

• Hospital CEO weighs in: U.S. Healthcare coverage should be privatized

  28 Oct 2009 | 8:31 am

  In Part II of our Q&A interview with the CEO of Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Paul Levy shares how Massachusetts' mandatory insurance coverage law has impacted his institution, and his thoughts on how healthcare reform should play out at the national level. FierceHealthcare: Do you have a prediction, or even a personal preference, as to what type of insurance model is going to work? Paul Levy: The approach we're using in Massachusetts which, I think works pretty well, basically requires people to have insurance--in other words, there's a personal mandate that you have to…

• 
  Cancer Research UK - Cancer news

• Two-fifths of breast cancers 'change form' when they spread

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:08 pm

  Nearly two-fifths of breast cancers change form when they spread to the lymph nodes in the armpit, UK scientists have found.

• IARC finds more cancers linked to tobacco and alcohol

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:15 am

  The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has updated its assessments of several cancer-causing substances and behaviours, which are published in the latest issue of the Lancet Oncology.

• Nicotine patch and lozenge 'best' for giving up smoking

  3 Nov 2009 | 4:23 pm

  Smokers who are determined to quit may want to consider using both nicotine patches and lozenges, after a new study found this to be the most effective combination of treatments for stopping smoking.

• Lung cancer experts call for improvements in NHS care

  3 Nov 2009 | 11:57 am

  A new report suggests that while improvements have been made in the prevention of lung cancer in the UK, as well as in areas such as disease awareness and screening, certain aspects of care require urgent attention.

• 'Helper' white blood cells trigger cancer-killing immune response

  2 Nov 2009 | 2:23 pm

  US scientists have discovered that a specific form of a white blood cell, called a T helper cell, can set off a chain of events that produce custom-made immune cells designed to destroy cancer cells.

• 
  James Hubbard's My Family Doctor Blog

• Healthy, Fun Pumpkin Recipes for Halloween

  lhubbard

  26 Oct 2009 | 11:09 am

  by Leigh Ann Otte, managing editor Impending kiddie sugar high scaring the heck out of you? How ’bout enticing them away with a steaming bowl of boiled jack o’ lantern guts (i.e. pumpkin...

• Weekly Health Tip: Fiber to help you lose weight (from our current issue)

  lhubbard

  30 Aug 2009 | 11:00 pm

  “Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that your body cannot digest; therefore it adds volume to fill you up without adding extra calories.  Weight loss genius!  A common complaint often expressed by...

• Weekly Health Tip: How to stick to your decisions (from our current issue)

  lhubbard

  23 Aug 2009 | 11:00 pm

  “Once you announce that you plan to do something, the prospect of doing it becomes more real. At that point someone other than you is expecting something.  Even if that person doesn’t have a...

• Weekly Health Tip: Simple lower-calorie dessert (from our current issue)

  lhubbard

  16 Aug 2009 | 11:00 pm

  IF YOU LIKE … dessert … TRY … angel food cake topped with unsweetened frozen berries and fat-free whipped topping. (Let the berries defrost and get nice and juicy; add some fresh...

• Is there a “death panel” in Obama’s health-care bill?

  jhubbard

  11 Aug 2009 | 1:53 pm

  by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H. Of course not, you say.  Ridiculous.  But could a report by ABCNews.com about 64-year-old Oregon woman Barbara Wagner suggests otherwise?  When she was dying of lung...

• 
  QJM - current issue

• The Regent Park's three royal medical colleges

  James, D. G.

  23 Oct 2009 | 4:10 am

• Profound hypokalaemia mimicking acute myocardial infarction

  Dalzell, J.R., Jackson, C.E., Petrie, M.C.

  23 Oct 2009 | 4:10 am

• Oh no--it's Donald Hunter!

  Seaton, A.

  23 Oct 2009 | 4:10 am

• Embolic complication of Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathy

  Figueredo, V.M., Gupta, S.

  23 Oct 2009 | 4:10 am

• Severe back pain in a hemodialysis patient

  Hsiao, P.-J., Diang, L.-K., Lin, S.-H., Wang, C.-W.

  23 Oct 2009 | 4:10 am

• 
  AAFP News Now

• AAFP Offers Guidance on FDA Tobacco Regulation

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:20 pm

  The AAFP has weighed in with numerous suggestions to a July request from the FDA for public input on how the agency should implement its newfound authority to regulate tobacco.

• FDA Working to Revise Prescribing Information for Diabetes Medications

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:55 pm

  The FDA is revising the prescribing information for the injectable diabetes medication exenatide and the oral diabetes drug sitagliptin phosphate following reports of renal problems associated with exenatide use, as well as reports linking sitagliptin use with pancreatitis.

• News Briefs: Week of Nov. 2-6

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:50 pm

  This roundup includes the following news briefs: Senate Approves Family Physician Benjamin as Next Surgeon General; NHSC Loan Repayment Application Process Just Got Easier; ACCME Adds Multimedia Education and Training Section to Its Web Site; and Online Videos Educate Consumers About Food, Medication Safety.

• One Dose of H1N1 Vaccine Immunogenic in High Percentage of Pregnant Women

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:25 pm

  Pregnant women, who have been among the most vulnerable to serious health problems associated with the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus, can take some comfort in the protection offered by the H1N1 vaccine. Initial results from an ongoing clinical trial sponsored by the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID, showed that healthy pregnant women mount a robust immune response after a single dose of the vaccine.

• AAFP Letter to House Speaker Expresses Support for Reform Legislation

  4 Nov 2009 | 1:30 pm

  In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the AAFP has expressed its support for two health care reform bills pending in the House, but the Academy also noted that there are improvements that could be made in the bills to support tort reform and improve payment for primary care physicians.

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  DoctorWorld.NET: Upcoming stories

• Lives Saved In Sept. 29 Samoan Tsunami By Community Education And Evacuation Planning

  doctorworld

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:42 am

  Community-based education and awareness programs minimized the death toll from the recent Samoan tsunami, though there are still ways to improve the warning and evacuation process, according to a team of researchers that traveled to Samoa last month. The team, funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, collected data Oct. 4 through Oct. 11 to document the impacts of t... Read more... | Original Medical News | Votes so far: 1 / 0

• Decision day for health care in the House (AP)

  doctorworld

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:42 am

  AP - President Barack Obama is traveling to Capitol Hill on Saturday to try to close the sale on his signature health care overhaul, facing a make-or-break vote in the House certain to be seen as a test of his presidency. Read more... | Original Medical News | Votes so far: 1 / 0

• Health Care Nears Major Vote

  doctorworld

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:42 am

  The House of Representatives headed toward a historic vote on a bill overhauling the health-care system after House Democrats late Friday cleared an abortion-related impasse that had threatened to block the vote. Read more... | Original Medical News | Votes so far: 1 / 0

• Excessive Antibiotic Prescription Caused By Perceived Parent-Pressure

  doctorworld

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:42 am

  Antibiotic over-prescription is promoted by pediatricians' perception of parents' expectations. Research published in the open access journal BMC Pediatrics shows that pediatricians are more likely to inappropriately prescribe antibiotics for respiratory tract infections if they perceived parents were expecting a prescription. Read more... | Original Medical News | Votes so far: 1 / 0

• Swine-flu vaccines still limited to high-risk patients - Daily Comet

  doctorworld

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:42 am

  WHDH-TVSwine-flu vaccines still limited to high-risk patientsDaily CometHOUMA — More H1N1 flu vaccines are arriving to area hospitals and clinics every week, but supplies of the vaccine are still limited in Terrebonne and Lafourche. Most providers are setting them aside for children, pregnant women and the ...In Europe, most swine flu shots by invitation... Read more... | Original Medical News | Votes so far: 1 / 0

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  Everyone's Blog Posts - DoctorsHangout.com

• FDA To (Finally!) Fight Misleading Food Labeling

  Joanna Dolgoff

  Stroll down any grocery aisle and you are bound to see a bevy of foods with labels proclaiming products “Healthy” or a “Smart Choice”. But are all these foods really good for you? According to Reuters, the FDA is now looking into whether these claims are a misleading marketing scheme or a true measure of a food’s nutritional value. The FDA needs a full investigation to determine this? Even my 6-year old son could tell you that Cookie Crisp Cereal, despite the “Smart Choice” label on the front of the box, is not a healthy breakfast option. Nor is Froot Loops Cereal, another…

• Using Your Child’s Fitness Personality to Create a Fun Exercise Regimen!

  Joanna Dolgoff

  Personality traits, genetics, and athletic ability combine to influence kids’ attitudes toward participation in sports and other physical activities. Help your kids figure out their fitness personality based on their overall personality to ensure a lifelong love of exercise! If your child is very social, encourage team sports, dance classes, biking, or skateboarding with a friend. These activities will keep your child active and entertained for hours. For the introspective child, try exercises such as yoga, swimming, jump rope, jogging, or working out with an exercise video. Team sports…

• Genetics is Next

  Yasmine

  I have finally completed my first review of Behavioral. So much to learn. Sometimes I wonder when studying, how in the universe am I going to remember all this stuff. Forget about all of it, how am I going to remember even a majority of it? It's seriously scary to think about so all I have to do is focus on repetition and making sure I understand not just material, but concepts. Concepts are key. I am the type of person that asks, "Why?" a lot. Call it my curious tendency, or whatever, but I like to know how or why things happen or work. I suppose that's one reason I feel this field is for…

• The other day

  Yasmine

  The other day that I was at the library resulted in a not so wonderful experience. As I just got in the restroom, I accidently dropped something in the toilet bowl and the water splashed on my face. It was HORRIBLE. Because I have been reading Microbiology, I was thinking about the various bacteria that could have landed on my face. I seriously wanted to barf right then and there. The most agonizing part was having to wait at the library to eventually be picked up. Needless to say, next time its best not to take extra items in the stall. Anyway, I am almost done with Behavioral, which means…

• MBA or MDS

  Dr. Madaan

  MBA seems to be the most sought after post graduation option nowadays. So, if you are a doctor you must have contemplated this choice while thinking of MD S or MS. There are many management specializations for medical students. If you are confused whether to change your profession as a doctor and become a manager then you should follow your aptitude. If you are very good as a doctor then you should pursue a MDS or MS in the area of your interest. Or else, if you have good managerial skills then very well go for MBA where there is a lot of scope for you. Doctors who go into management can find…

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  HarvardScience

• Quantum gas microscope offers glimpse of quirky ultracold atoms

  404132862

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:39 am

  Harvard physicists have created a quantum gas microscope that can be used to observe single atoms at temperatures so low the particles follow the rules of quantum mechanics, behaving in bizarre ways. The work, published this week in the journal Nature, represents the first time scientists have detected single atoms in a crystalline structure made solely of light, called a Bose Hubbard optical lattice. It's part of scientists' efforts to use ultracold quantum gases to understand and develop novel quantum materials.read more

• Materials scientists find better model for glass creation

  404132862

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:09 am

  Harvard materials scientists have come up with what they believe is a new way to model the formation of glasses, a type of amorphous solid that includes common window glass.Glasses form through the process of vitrification, in which a glass-forming liquid cools and slowly becomes a solid whose molecules, though they’ve stopped moving, are not permanently locked into a crystal structure. Instead, they’re more like a liquid that has merely stopped flowing, though they can continue to move over long stretches of time.read more

• Orphan army ants join nearby colonies

  404132862

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pm

• Face it:

  404132862

  30 Oct 2009 | 12:53 pm

  Gay men are most attracted to the most masculine-faced men, while straight men prefer the most feminine-faced women, according to the results of a new study by a Harvard researcher.The findings suggest that regardless of sexual orientation, men’s brains are wired for attraction to sexually dimorphic faces — those with facial features that are most synonymous with gender.read more

• To tell the truth

  404132862

  29 Oct 2009 | 12:25 pm

  The rationale behind systemic torture is that pain will make the guilty confess, but a new study by Harvard researchers finds that the pain of torture can make even the innocent appear guilty. In the study, participants met a woman suspected of cheating to win money.  The woman was then “tortured” by having her hand immersed in ice water while study participants listened to the session over an intercom.  She never confessed to anything, but the more she suffered, the guiltier she was perceived to be.read more

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  Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review

• AMA Supports the House Democratic Health Care Bill--Take Another Look

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:14 pm

  The AMA came out in support of the House Democratic health care bill this afternoon—sort of. From their press release:“The American Medical Association (AMA) today announced support for concurrent passage of H.R. 3962 and H.R. 3961, U.S. House of Representatives health system reform bills."I would suggest the operative word is "concurrent."HR 3962 is the big House health care bill. HR 3961 is the

• The House Bill Should Be Defeated on Saturday

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:47 am

  Here's the email I just sent my Congressman, freshman "Blue Dog" Frank Kratovil of Maryland:Please vote no this weekend on the House bill.This is not health care reform.This is at least a $1 trillion entitlement expansion paid for half with only modest provider cuts and $500 billion in taxes.Real cost containment would bend the curve and produce the savings needed to accomplish universal

• The Neutered Public Option—Where’s the Rage?

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:16 am

  The public option contained in the House Democratic health care bill is hardly more than a neutered version of the “robust” public option one House Democrat after another said was a minimum requirement to keep their vote on health care reform. After threatening for months to fall on their swords if they didn’t get the “robust Medicare-like” version, there was nothing but enthusiastic support for

• Saving Health Care--Saving America

  30 Oct 2009 | 1:58 pm

  Saving Health Care--Saving AmericaBy BRIAN KLEPPER, DAVID C. KIBBE, ROBERT LASZEWSKI and ALAIN ENTHOVENSo far, Congress' response to the health care crisis has been alarmingly disappointing in three ways. First, by willingly accepting enormous sums from health care special interests, our representatives have obligated themselves to their benefactors' interests rather than to those of the American

• The Health Care Bills, the Fine Print, and a Troubling List of Budget Gimmicks

  29 Oct 2009 | 6:36 am

  Julie Appleby has an important article today at Kaiser Health News.She has identified an important and before unreported issue in the Senate Finance health care bill.In order to keep the cost of the plan down, the Senate Finance bill literally locks in the erosion of insurance subsidies for middle class families.From her report:"The first year the legislation would take effect, people getting

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  Scientific American

• Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite: Pest Management Proves More Effective than Pesticides

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:04 am

  In a large apartment building, it’s impossible to avoid the neighbors. You can hear the Bruce Springsteen that the tenant in 7B cranks while vacuuming, the kids in 8A directly above tromping around, and if someone decides to paint, the fumes reach everyone on the floor. So when a building supervisor notified owners in a sixty-unit co-op building in Brooklyn that one of the apartments had a bedbug infestation, Eddie Rosenthal feared that it was only a matter of time until the bugs spread to his home. [More]

• Hot Spot Hot Rod: The Internet Invades the Automobile

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am

  With U.S. commuters spending an estimated 500 million hours per week in their vehicles , carmakers, software companies and content providers are trying to figure out how to take advantage of new high-speed wireless network technologies to help drivers have better Internet access during this often idle time. [More]

• Can Closing the Ozone Hole Also Help Combat Climate Change?

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:31 pm

  Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse culprit in human-generated global warming , most scientists agree, but CO 2 itself, and a handful of other substances, are now being promoted as good alternatives to commonly used refrigerants that threaten Earth's atmosphere and climate. [More]

• Being Green: 10 Earth-Friendly Habits You Can Adopt

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:27 am

  A Bus with Legs Remember the good ol’ days when kids walked to school? Those treks weren’t as rough as some people recall them--five miles through the snow, uphill both ways!--but they did burn calories instead of fossil fuels. Today kids need more opportunities for exercise, but many parents feel it’s not safe for them to walk alone. One simple solution is to organize a “walking school bus” or “bicycle train” for your neighborhood, with one or more adults supervising a group of children traveling together. It’s a good way to build muscles and…

• Tweak Gravity: What If There Is No Dark Matter?

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:01 am

  Theorists and observational astronomers are hot on the trail of dark matter , the invisible material thought to account for puzzling mass disparities in large-scale astronomical structures. For instance, galaxies and galactic clusters behave as if they were far more massive than would be expected if they comprised only atoms and molecules, spinning faster than their observable mass would explain. What is more, the very presence of assemblages such as our Milky Way Galaxy speaks to the influence of more mass than we can see. If the mass of the universe were confined to atoms, the clumping of…

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  HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog

• HIPAA and your social media strategy - Webinar November 18, 2009

  David Harlow

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:28 pm

  Physicians, practice managers and other health care providers and managers considering a foray into social media, you are invited to join The Harlow Group and (e)Merge for a webinar discussing this timely and important topic.  Here is the (e)Merge announcement:HIPAA and Your Social Media Strategy Health care has taken notice of social media as a way to connect and interact with patients. With the escalating use by physicians, medical professionals, hospitals and clinics, concerns are growing as to how HIPAA regulations affect your online presence. Join Jamie Verkamp of (e)Merge as we sort…

• FDA and social media: The regulated community's current obsession overlooks off-label promotions by the advocacy community

  David Harlow

  2 Nov 2009 | 11:56 am

  This morning I received a tweet exhorting me to learn about Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) for autoimmune diseases.  (Naltrexone, by the way, is approved by the FDA only to treat alcoholism.)  Within a few clicks, I found claims that LDN would be a good drug to take for dozens of conditions: everything from neuroblastoma to HIV to celiac disease, and learned of a network of tweeps promoting LDN.  The above tweet linked to a blog promoting LDN which is part of the Health Central community. All this got me thinking about a bunch of issues; for instance: Does the promotion of off-label uses by a…

• Health Law Basics Plus: Two-day seminar in Boston this week

  David Harlow

  2 Nov 2009 | 8:20 am

  Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education puts on its annual two-day extravaganza introduction to health law this week (November 4-5).  I'll be speaking on post-acute care, and there is an all-star panel of speakers filling out the entire two days.  If you are -- as they used to say  -- within the sound of my voice and have an interest, please come on down.  Bring your friends and neighbors.  You can find more information on topics, speakers and and registration on the MCLE Health Law Basics Plus page.  David HarlowThe Harlow Group LLCHealth Care Law and Consulting

• Connected Health Symposium 2009 Wrap-up

  David Harlow

  26 Oct 2009 | 5:48 am

  I attended the Connected Health Symposium last week in Boston and got a healthy dose of the past, present and future in health care connectivity, connectedness and connections.  As always, I enjoyed connecting in person with a whole host of folks I know online -- including those who know my twitter handle, @healthblawg, better than my name. The conference was kicked off by Stuart Altman, who regaled us with tales of his days with the Nixon Administration, and made a couple of key points: The health care spending crisis is cased by rising prices, not rising utilization Any federal health…

• PHR Panel at Connected Health Symposium 2009

  David Harlow

  22 Oct 2009 | 4:23 pm

  Another very interesting panel at Connected Health Symposium 2009 - this one on PHRs, with Peter Neupert from Microsoft, Roni Zeiger from Google Health and Phil Marshall from WebMD, moderated by John Moore of Chilmark Research (post linked to is relevant to this panel discussion).  Have a listen: Listen/Download.  (Warning: this is almost an hour long. Content is better than sound quality ... It was pretty muddy in person, too.)Please be sure to have a listen to an earlier panel discussion on EHRs, incentives and more and check out the archived Connected Health Symposium 2009…

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  Disease Management Care Blog

• Getting In Line For the Swine Flu Shot: A Physician's Story

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:08 pm

  The Disease Management Care Blog has a primary care physician buddy that has offered up his insights from time to time, and he's done it again. When he and another physician were unable to secure any of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine for themselves or their clinics, they decided to personally access the local public health system. For those of us with decent health insurance and an established relationship with a physician, the scenario below is surreal - and eye opening. The photo is from the clinic and even with the alterations to anonymize things, the expressions speak volumes.Draw your own…

• New Cavalcade of Risk Is Up!

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:23 am

  How assured can you be that you know everything you need to know about insurance? Find out at Debbie Dragon's WiseBread Blog - where folks learn about about living large on a small budget. Debbie has assembled the best of the bloggery on risk and finance, with some good links about health reform.

• The Obama Administration's 'Top Ten' Answers to the Swine Flu Vaccine Shortage

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:39 pm

  With apologies to the David Letterman Show's Top Ten List........10. Those long lines are only being shown on Fox News.9. Um, hellooo... joblessness, global warming, health care reform, Afghanistan, Republican resurgence, Olympic city competition, Noble Prize winning. We'll get to it.8. It's not a shortage. It's a temporarily prolonged lag time in vaccine availability compounding a public health emergency.7. We said 'Yes We Can,' not 'Yes We Will.'6. Maybe, but this also means that persons in my Administration have a personal excuse to avoid getting vaccinated.5. There is obviously not enough…

• Health Care's Actual Costs Versus Their Reasonable Costs: Insights From the New England Journal

  3 Nov 2009 | 2:43 pm

  You can't fight City Hall, the State Capital or Washington. Not when it's not 'reasonable.' Right after an embarrassingly self-promoting and one-sided political treatise by Senator Max Baucus (the link is undeserved, that's how awful this is), there is a far more telling November 5 New England Journal of Medicine article by Wendy Parmet titled 'Litigation Amidst Reform - The Boston Medical Center Case.' It reviews how BMC elected to go to court even as Massachusetts' ballyhooed health reforms were being implemented. BMC, unlike its more profitable neighbor hospitals, has a mission of treating…

• The Affordable Health Care For America Act and the Patient Centered Medical Home: the Disease Management Care Blog Takes a Look

  2 Nov 2009 | 4:22 pm

  The Disease Management Care Blog finally got around to opening the online version of House Resolution 3962, otherwise known as the House of Representative’s Affordable Health Care for America Act, pejoratively named PelosiCare by detractors, a Defining Moment by Nobel Prize Laureates or just AHCAA for acronymically inclined.Good thing Adobe has a word search function available for this 1990 page behemoth. The DMCB used it to hunt for our U.S. House of Representatives’ leadership plans for the ‘medical home.’ It figures many DMCB readers may appreciate a one-pager CliffsNotes summary.

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  InsureBlog

• Perspective...

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

  Quick - Let's put these rocket surgeons in charge of our health care!

• On the Record with Joe Wilson

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:28 am

  This morning, I was privileged to participate in a blogger teleconference with Rep Joe "You Lie!" Wilson (R-SC) about health care and the War on Terror. We'll focus primarily on the former, but I learned something very interesting about the latter which I'll share at the end of this post.Rep Wilson began by acknowledging the terrible events at Ft Hood yesterday, and expressing his concern about the victims and their families. He then spoke about yesterday's demonstration in Obamington, and segued into his support of HR 3400 (a Republican version of health care "reform"). He spoke about…

• A Tale of Two Bills: Show Me the Money

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

  Let's put aside for a moment whether ObamaCare (that is, the Senate version -such as it is - and PelosiCare) includes coverage for abortions (it does) or Death Panels (it does), and focus instead on actual costs. According to the Congressional Budget Office, "in their true first 10 years, the House bill would cost $1.8 trillion, and the Senate bill would cost $1.7 trillion." [emphasis in original]And just to drive home the point that Granny's been thrown unceremoniously under the bus, PelosiCare includes some $800 billion in Medicare cuts, which is trumped only by the Senate version's $900…

• Not Dead Yet

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:39 pm

  Late for your own funeral? Almost . . .MSNBC reports a bricklayer showed up at his own funeral . . . but was very much alive.A Brazilian bricklayer reportedly killed in a car crash shocked his mourning family by showing up alive at his funeral.What family members didn't know was that Goncalves had spent the night at a truck stop talking with friends over drinks of a sugarcane liquor known as cachaca, his niece Rosa Sampaio told the O Globo newspaper. He did not get word about his own funeral until it was already happening Monday morning.If he doesn't have life insurance, maybe now is a good…

• AARP Throws Seniors Under The Bus: Turnabout Fair Play?

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:45 am

  After several false starts, AARP has pulled the trigger on its endorsement of PelosiCare, and the draconian Medicare cuts which will result. Any organization that seeks to put its own members at risk is, of course, free to do so, but it seems reasonable that there should be consequences for such a betrayal.Since I've never been a member, I can't tear up my AARP membership card, enclose it with a letter expressing my disgust and disdain, and then mail that to AARP's headquarters.But if you are, then I would encourage you to do so as soon as possible, and then head over to the American Seniors…

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  Reuters: Science News

• Another reason to cover your cough: pets at risk

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:56 pm

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People who think they may have H1N1 flu need to stay away from work, avoid sneezing on their spouses and children and now, they have someone else to worry about infecting too -- their pets.

• Study suggests peat CO2 credits more valuable

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:03 am

  JAKARTA (Reuters) - An Indonesia-based study shows carbon-rich tropical peat lands trap more greenhouse gases than first thought, driving up their potential value on the carbon market and strengthening a case for their protection.

• WHO says pandemic flu on rise in China, Japan

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:07 am

  GENEVA (Reuters) - H1N1 swine flu is on the rise in China and Japan after triggering an unusually early start to the winter influenza season in Europe, Central Asia and North America, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

• Hu says China seeks peaceful use of airspace

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:57 am

  BEIJING (Reuters) - China supports the peaceful exploration and use of space, President Hu Jintao said on Friday, days after its top air force officials sparked concerns with talk of a "Great Wall of steel in the blue sky."

• Canada to investigate disappearing Pacific salmon

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:23 pm

  VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canada will launch an investigation into why far fewer sockeye salmon than scientists had predicted returned to the Fraser River on the Pacific Coast this summer.

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  ABC News: Technology & Science

• Great Whites May Mate at the 'Shark Cafe'

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:33 am

  Great white sharks have their own hang out in the Pacific Ocean, scientists say.

• The Day the Droid Drops

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:02 pm

  Verizon's first smartphone to run on Google software goes on sale.

• EBay Settles Suit With Skype Founders

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:43 am

  EBay: Investors buying majority of Skype settle suit with Skype's founders.

• iPhone App Translates Baby's Crying

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:40 am

  Application claims to identify why a baby is crying within 10 seconds.

• 'FarmVille' Fanatics Bet the Farm on Facebook

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:36 am

  Millions are tending to, and paying for, their virtual farms online.

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  Healthcare Economist

• Goldin and Katz: The Ten Most Important Rules of Writing

  Jason Shafrin

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:33 am

  Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz have a nice list of the Ten Most Important Rules of Writing Your Job Market Paper.  However, these tips can be used for almost any type of non-fiction writing.  Some of my favorites include: Rule #1: You will probably not have a Nobel Prize winning idea. Theorem #1: It is always possible to transform a good idea into a great paper and a superb presentation. Theorem #2: Even if your idea is Nobel-worthy, you can always make it into a poorly written paper and a lousy presentation. This theorem will probably never be needed; see Rule #1. Rule #3: Your paper is…

• Empirical Model of Insurance Markets

  Jason Shafrin

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:06 am

  Most economists begin to learn about health insurance market with the classic models developed by Rothschild and Stiglitz. In these models, individual risk and characteristics are measured along a single dimension. Insurance contracts pay a lump sum amount in the case of a loss. In the real world of health insurance, however, things are more complicated. Einav, Findelstein and Levin (2009) review empirical studies to study insurance market in a more sophisticated manner.  For instance, adverse selection is a common problem in insurance markets.  Adverse selection occurs when individuals…

• CoR: How Much Assurance Does Your Insurance Offer?

  Jason Shafrin

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:13 am

  The latest edition of the Cavalcade of Risk is up at Wise Bread.

• Federal Health Care Regulation: Taxation

  Jason Shafrin

  4 Nov 2009 | 7:17 am

  Today we will discuss how the tax code affects health care. Tax exemption of employer-provided health insurance. “In 1943, the Internal Revenue Service (ruled) that employees could exclude the value of employer-paid health insurance premiums from their taxable income. In 1954, Congress excluded by statute the value of employer-purchase health insurance from gross income.” To this day, employees essentially receive a subsidy to buy health insurance from their employers; this is because they can use pre-tax dollars to purchase employer-provided health insurance benefits. Tax-deductibility…

• Links: Money and Medical Care

  Jason Shafrin

  3 Nov 2009 | 2:45 pm

  Cost of Health Reform: $894 billion or 1.3 trillion? Why is health care so expensive? Prices. Should urban or rural hospitals get Medicare funds? The efficiency of replacing earnings-related contributions by per-capita health premia in Germany. Start-up costs for health insurance co-operatives: $1.7 billion to $45.6 billion.

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  Medical Humanities Blog

• On Medicine & Classicism from a Comparative Perspective

  Daniel Goldberg

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:01 am

  David Arnold and Peter Pormann (University of Warwick) have recorded a wonderful podcast to accompany their upcoming conference (program available here as a PDF) at the Warburg Institute.  Here is the description of the podcast: Medical systems often resorted to constructing a classical past in order to shape and legitimise current medical theory and practice. This wish to forge a classical tradition appears to be a truly global and diachronic phenomenon.  Greek doctors in particular served as a model of reference for many variegated cultures and societies. In…

• On Normative Priorities in HIV/AIDS

  Daniel Goldberg

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:48 am

  Dan Brock and Dan Wikler (Harvard), both of whom have recommended in recent years a shift to what they term "population-based bioethics," have a new article out in Health Affairs entitled Ethical Challenges In Long-Term Funding For HIV/AIDS.  Here is the Abstract: The global response to the AIDS pandemic aims for universal access to treatment and for pursuing every possible avenue to prevention. Skeptics, doubting that the huge increases in current funding levels needed for universal treatment will ever happen, would scale back antiretroviral treatment in favor of more…

• Lapham's Quarterly, Vol. II, no. 4 (Fall 2009): Medicine

  Daniel Goldberg

  3 Nov 2009 | 7:58 am

  The publishers of Lapham's Quarterlywere kind enough to send me a review copy (gratis) of the Fall 2009 issue, which is on the theme of medicine.  Founded by Lewis Lapham, editor emeritus of Harper's Magazine, the magazine's editorial board features a who's who of fascinating scholars and writers, including but not limited to Noga Arikha, Anthony Grafton, Theodore Rabb, and Simon Winchester. Clocking in at a robust 221 pages, the full issue has taken me some time to read and digest, but it is truly a treasure trove for the medical humanist.  In the first…

• On Mental Health of Indigenous Peoples in Latin America

  Daniel Goldberg

  31 Oct 2009 | 11:50 am

  From the open text BMC family of journals comes a terrible but compelling article published in BMC International Health & Human Rights.  The article is authored by Mario Incayawar and Sioui Maldonado-Bouchard, and is entitled The Forsaken Mental Health of the Indigenous Peoples - A Moral Case of Outrageous Exclusion in Latin America. Here is the Abstract: Background Mental health is neglected in most parts of the world. For the Indigenous Peoples of Latin America, the plight is even more severe as there are no specific mental health services designed for them altogether.

• On the Painless Brain

  Daniel Goldberg

  27 Oct 2009 | 8:16 pm

  One of my favorite journals, Perspectives on Biology & Medicine, has published its autumn issue, TOC available here.  Among several interesting articles, my attention was immediately drawn to Mical Raz's The Painless Brain: Lobotomy, Psychiatry, and the Treatment of Chronic Pain and Terminal Illness.  Raz does fascinating work in the history of psychiatry and psychosurgery, and it is particularly exciting to see her turn her attention to pain, my dissertation topic (although I am somewhat surprised to see it linked to terminal illness, because the vast majority of…

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  Better Hospitals

• Helping Your Board Ensure Patient Safety

  Ruth Elzer

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:31 am

  Your quality team has studied the new standard changes, updated policies, and conducted tracers to monitor compliance. What else can you do as an executive to help your hospital prepare for more rigorous regulatory surveys? Communicate with your board!Currently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) require hospitals to have a governing body (the board) that is legally responsible for the conduct of the hospital as an institution. The board of a hospital must hire the CEO, establish a competent medical staff, and oversee key aspects of the organization, such as the strategic…

• Regulatory Surveys: How Small Problems Can Quickly Become Big Problems

  Ruth Elzer

  4 Nov 2009 | 12:47 pm

  Across the country, hospitals are finding themselves on the receiving end of unannounced regulatory surveys. Failure to be prepared for such surveys can, in the worst cases, lead to Preliminary Denial of Accreditation by The Joint Commission (TJC) or findings of Immediate Jeopardy by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). But, hospital leaders can avoid adverse survey findings and ensure patient safety by paying attention to seemingly small issues before they become big problems. So, how do small problems grow? We have found that small problems become big problems for two…

• What Is a Hospital Near-Death Experience?

  Calissa Kummer

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:26 am

  Can a hospital have a near-death experience? If so, what would that look like? For Haywood Regional Medical Center, “near-death” took the form of involuntary termination from Medicare. This traumatic event caused the hospital to lose physicians, morale, and its previously good reputation, not to mention significant amounts of money. But, with quick corrective action and strong leadership, the medical center regained its Medicare certification and received a second chance to thrive. “Hospital Near-Death Experience: How Medicare Termination Can Push Your Hospital to the Brink of…

• Health Care Reform and The Elephant in the Room

  Cary Gutbezahl

  25 Oct 2009 | 2:07 pm

  By Cary Gutbezahl, MD When an organization has a performance problem, managers seek information to identify and assess the causes of the performance failure. Similarly, an analysis of a social problem should require policy analysts to identify and assess all significant contributors to the social problem. Our public discussion on health care reform has failed to meet this expectation. The debate about health care reform has focused on several significant issues, such as getting financial coverage for the uninsured’s medical needs, building incentives for hospitals and physicians to provide…

• Sitting Ducks Get Shot … Especially While Waiting for the Inevitability of Healthcare Reform

  Kate Fenner

  15 Oct 2009 | 12:20 pm

  By Kate Fenner, RN, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Compass Clinical Consulting Everyone is waiting for the shoe to drop – the impact of Healthcare Reform on hospitals. The details change daily depending upon which government plan is getting attention by various Congressional committees. No one yet knows what shape reform may take but the predictable is being prognosticated by the pundits; we will most probably be asked to do more with fewer resources. One CEO of a for-profit system acknowledged to us recently that reform is one of the issues that is robbing him of sleep. Another CEO of a…

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  msnbc.com: Fitness

• Get fit, faster, with short-burst training

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:38 am

  Short-burst interval training has long been a part of the regimen for elite athletes. And now, fitness professionals say, it’s gaining popularity with recreational exercisers.

• Sponsored By:

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:38 am

• Move that muffin top to your chest?

  28 Oct 2009 | 5:25 am

  A new study suggests an inventive use for your muffin top: In Miami, a plastic surgeon is liposuctioning that excess fat and injecting it somewhere many women actually want a little more pudge — their breasts.

• Hula hooping it up for health, first lady swivels

  21 Oct 2009 | 3:58 pm

  First lady Michelle Obama hooped it up for health — hula hooped, that is — managing to get in an impressive 142 swivels before her hula hoop hit the ground. Jumping rope double dutch? Not so much.

• Why music makes exercise easier

  21 Oct 2009 | 1:27 pm

  Several recent studies have tried to chase down the connection between our ears and our feet.

• 
  NYT > Fitness & Nutrition

• Recipes for Health: Puree of Chickpea Soup

  By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:58 pm

  This delicate, velvety soup is a surprising departure from the hearty stews in which chickpeas often appear.

• How Posted Calories Affect Food Orders

  By RONI CARYN RABIN

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:29 am

  One study said an effort had no effect on residents in poor neighborhoods, while another saw modest changes citywide.

• Personal Health: A Breathing Technique Offers Help for People With Asthma

  By JANE E. BRODY

  3 Nov 2009 | 10:55 pm

  An alternative technique developed by a Russian doctor more than a half-century ago has been found effective in some trials.

• Really?: The Claim: A Person Can Pay Off a Sleep Debt by Sleeping Late on Weekends

  By ANAHAD O’CONNOR

  2 Nov 2009 | 10:27 pm

  Studies have found that, even after increasing sleep, it can take a week or more for the cognitive and physiological consequences of too little rest to wear off.

• Well: A Marathon Run in the Slow Lane

  By TARA PARKER-POPE

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:55 pm

  Marathons around the country are getting slower as more charity runners and run-walkers take part.

• 
  FITNESS NEWS - Google News

• NYC man charged in $365K fitness Web site scam - The Associated Press

  Google Inc.

  NYC man charged in $365K fitness Web site scamThe Associated PressMark Andrew Moore lured people from at least six states into putting up a total of $365000 to launch an online personal fitness forum but created only a NYC man charged in $365K fitness Web site scamWCAXall 98 news articles »

• Fitness trainer uses her own lessons - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

  Google Inc.

  St. Louis Post-DispatchFitness trainer uses her own lessonsSt. Louis Post-Dispatch(By Christian Gooden/PD) By Amy Bertrand Lindsay Brin has spent years telling new moms how to get back into shape with her Moms Into Fitness videos and and more »

• Injured Hearts stars aim to regain fitness during break - Edinburgh Evening News

  Google Inc.

  Injured Hearts stars aim to regain fitness during breakEdinburgh Evening NewsBy BARRY ANDERSON HEARTS intend to use the two-week international break to hone the fitness of returning forwards Calum Elliot and David Templeton, and more »

• EUGENIE JONES: Fall Fitness — Indoors and Out - Kitsap Sun

  Google Inc.

  EUGENIE JONES: Fall Fitness — Indoors and OutKitsap SunFind some indoor fitness alternatives sooner than later to keep yourself fit and your weight down. Fitness walking at the local mall, skating at the roller and more »

• Principal wins award from fitness council - San Diego Union Tribune

  Google Inc.

  Principal wins award from fitness councilSan Diego Union TribuneLEMON GROVE: The California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports chose Rick Oser, principal of the Lemon Grove School District's Golden Avenue

• 
  Dentistry News From Medical News Today

• What Is A Dental Abscess? What Causes Dental Abscesses?

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  A dental abscess, or tooth abscess, is an accumulation of pus that forms inside the teeth or gums. The abscess typically originates from a bacterial infection, often one that has accumulated in the soft pulp of the tooth. Bacteria exist in plaque, a by-product of food, saliva and bacteria in the mouth which sticks to the teeth and damages them, as well as the gums.

• Grand Opportunity Grant Funds Rapid Saliva Test Using Lab-On-A-Chip

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded researchers in Rice University's new BioScience Research Collaborative (BRC) a $2 million Grand Opportunity (GO) grant to develop a fast, inexpensive test for oral cancer that a dentist could perform simply by using a brush to collect a small sample of cells from a patient's mouth.

• Study Suggests Dentists Can Identify Patients At Risk For Fatal Cardiovascular Event

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:00 am

  A new study indicates dentists can play a potentially life-saving role in health care by identifying patients at risk of fatal heart attacks and referring them to physicians for further evaluation.

• Hybrid Composite For Root Canal Treatment

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Unrelenting toothache means a visit to the dentist is inevitable, and if the tooth decay is really bad root canal treatment is often the only option. The dentist first removes the nerve completely and then closes the ensuing canal with a filler. This must be airtight to prevent bacteria from entering and causing renewed inflammation. On the other hand, the material must also be removable.

• IDF Guideline On Oral Health For People With Diabetes Supported By AAP

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  New clinical guidelines released by the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) emphasize the importance of periodontal health for people with diabetes. Diabetes affects approximately 246 million people worldwide, and this number is only expected to increase. The IDF is an organization of 200 national diabetes associations from 160 countries.

• 
  DentistLinx News

• Tooth Loss in 776 Treated Periodontal Patients

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Journal of Periodontology

• Association of Gingival Crevicular Fluid Biomarkers During Periodontal Maintenance With Subsequent Progressive Periodontitis

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Journal of Periodontology

• Effect of adhesive system type and root region on the push-out bond strength of glass–fibre posts to radicular dentine

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  International Endodontic Journal

• Volumetric analysis of root fillings using spiral computed tomography: an in vitro study

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  International Endodontic Journal

• Ketoprofen 2% Oral Gel

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  U.S. Pharmacist

• 
  ADA News Today

• Evidence indicates sealants improve children's oral health

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:44 am

  School-based sealant programs are an effective public health approach to preventing caries, according to a November article in The Journal of the American Dental Association that reinforces the evidence that such programs help improve the oral health of children, especially those from vulnerable populations.

• ADA champions oral health issues in health care reform debate

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:44 am

  Washington--As the U.S. House of Representatives debated health care reform legislation Nov. 3, the Association urged support for amendments "that will help provide enhanced value for dental patients."

• Seward voters OK fluoridation

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:44 am

  Seward, Alaska--With a vote of 279 to 234, voters in this small town on Resurrection Bay Oct. 6 approved an advisory proposition calling for the city council to initiate water fluoridation.

• New clinical licensure exam under possible development

  7 Nov 2009 | 6:44 am

  Honolulu--Having a single national dental licensure examination that does not include human subjects for testing has been a goal for many in the profession, but it's still not a reality.

• 
  ScienceDaily: Dentistry News

• Hybrid Composite For Root Canal Treatment

  7 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am

  A dentist carrying out root canal treatment will need to use a variety of compounds. These do not always bond together properly and sometimes expensive follow-up treatment has to be performed. But a new class of material meets the requirements, and solves the problem.

• Teeth Grinding Linked To Sleep Apnea; Bruxism Prevalent In Caucasians With Sleep Disorders

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  New research has found that nearly 1 in 4 patients with OSA suffers from nighttime teeth grinding. This seems to be especially more prevalent in men and in Caucasians compared with other ethnic groups.

• Dentists Can Identify Patients At Risk For Fatal Cardiovascular Event, Study Suggests

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  A new study indicates dentists can play a potentially life-saving role in health care by identifying patients at risk of fatal heart attacks and referring them to physicians for further evaluation.

• Exposure To Alkaline Substances Can Result In Damaged Teeth

  27 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  It has long been known that acids can erode tooth enamel but a new Swedish study shows that strong alkaline substances can damage teeth too -- substances with high pH values can destroy parts of the organic content of the tooth, leaving the enamel more vulnerable.

• Body's Immune System Response To Dental Plaque Varies By Gender And Race

  28 Sep 2009 | 5:00 pm

  In a study of healthy men and women, dentistry researchers found that dental plaque accumulation did not result in a change in total white blood count, a known risk factor for adverse cardiac events. However, in black males the researchers noted a significant increase in the activity of neutrophils, the most common type of white blood cell and an essential part of the immune system.

• 
  Latest Dental News

• After Acids, Now Even Alkaline Substances Eat Away At Your Teeth

  While acids are known to erode tooth enamel, alkalis too can have a damaging effect on our pearly whites, researchers from Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg have shown.

• Best Method to Clean Dentures is to Brush Them

  A new review has revealed that brushing removable dentures with a paste product might be the best way to keep them clean, better than soaking in effervescent or enzyme cleaning solutions.

• Gender and Race Influence Immune Response to Dental Plaque

  Recent research has indicated that brushing and keeping teeth free of plaque may do more than just beautify smiles. However consumers still have some

• Lack of Access Triggering DIY Dentistry in Oz

  Many people in Australia are resorting to do-it-yourself dentistry because of lack of access to public health services. This is a sad state of affairs

• Periodontitis Must be Prevented to Cut Head and Neck Cancer Risk

  There is an urgent need for increased efforts to prevent and treat chronic periodontitis, a form of gum disease, to reduce the risk for head and neck

• 
  The Endo Blog

• Endodontic Retreatment & MTA Preserve the Tooth

  30 Oct 2009 | 12:11 am

  Here's a tooth that had endodontic treatment over 10 years ago. While the clinician had difficulty finding all the canals, the tooth has been functional for quite some time. A large furcal defect raises suspicion of a root fracture or perforation.DX: Prior RCT w/ Symptomatic Apical Periodontitis.There are many who would consider this hopeless and recommend extraction.Let us consider the cause of this treatment failure:1. Missed Canals2. Furcal Perforation or Root Fracture?Can these issues be addressed to preserve the natural tooth?In my consultation with the patient, I explain these issues…

• Dens in Dente

  13 Oct 2009 | 5:48 pm

  Dens in Dente literally means "a tooth within a tooth". It is a developmental anomaly caused by an epithelial invagination during the development of the tooth. Enamel is laid down on the internal surface of the tooth. This is most frequently seen in maxillary lateral incisors.A thin layer of enamel can be seen internally. An amalgam restoration was previously placed at some point to try and seal off the development groove into the dens in dente.Access for endodontic treatment reveals the internal layer of enamel.Endodontic treatment is completed.This peg lateral incisor also shows the…

• Apexification with Calcium Hydroxide & MTA Fill

  8 Sep 2009 | 10:11 am

  This 15 year old patient has a history of trauma to #8. Trauma occurred at an age before apical closure occurred. Tooth was diagnosed with necrotic pulp and symptomatic apical periodontitis. Note the large periapical lesion.Traditional apexification using Ca(OH)2 was used.Tooth debrided to the apex, NaOCl irrigation.Ca(OH)2 placed.3 month check shows resorption of Ca(OH)2, but apex still open. Apical lesion almost completely healed.Ca(OH)2 placed again.10 month re-evaluation. Apical barrier present, so it was time to obturate. This is a great view of the apical barrier that has formed.Tooth…

• Removing a Broken Endodontic File

  31 Jul 2009 | 11:59 pm

  Anyone performing endodontics occasionally has a separated instrument. This case was referred for removal of a separated instrument. The file is in the MB#2 canal. Since it is in the upper third of the canal, good visualization with a microscope and proper ultrasonic technique will make this file removal possible.After finding the file, careful ultrasonic instrumention is used to remove dentin around the file - opening up the MB groove. This is done carefully without touching the file itself. We want to expose 2-3 mm of the file before we begin vibrating the file itself.Too much contact with…

• Lichen Planus - A Review

  26 Jun 2009 | 4:40 pm

  Lichen planus is a fairly common condition that affects the oral mucosa. This idiopathic condition is believed to be an immunologically mediated.The name likely comes from the appearance of the lesion which resembles that of a lichen. A lichen is a symbiotic organism composed of an algae and fungi.There are medications that may induce a reaction in the oral mucosa that appears like the idiopathic form of lichen planus. The medication induced form of the this condition is referred to as "lichenoid mucositis" or "lichenoid dermatitis".Lichen planus can cause skin lesions as well as oral…

• 
  The Blogodontist

• Xylitol Chewing Gums Reduces Cavities

  Dr. Russell

  20 Oct 2009 | 5:44 pm

  Tooth decay is transimitted from moms to kids. You can break the chain of transmission by chewing Xylitol chewing gum.  

• Hidden Tooth Decay

  Dr. Russell

  18 Oct 2009 | 5:58 pm

• Draft Rob for Mayor of Yellow Springs Ohio!

  Dr. Russell

  15 Oct 2009 | 5:20 am

  Rob Nangle, Yellow Spring’s popular UPS Deliveryman has been drafted by Popular Demand to run as Write-In Candidate for Mayor of Yellow Springs. No One interfaces with more village residents on a regular basis than our UPS Guy.  And what a pleasure it is to see him because he is always bringing something to us. Villagers have made their issues clear: A Bail-Out for Yellow Springs Sustainable Energy Re-Dedication to a Green Yellow Springs Affordable Housing No Sprawl Sanctuary for Illegal Aliens No Development Preservation of the GreenSpace   Rob’s response on all the…

• Anti-Cocaine Vaccination?

  Dr. Russell

  11 Oct 2009 | 7:30 am

  A vaccine against cocaine was effective in nearly 40% of users of the drug, researchers said. In a randomized, placebo-controlled study, volunteers who reached a high level of antibodies after vaccination used less cocaine than those whose response was lower, according to Thomas Kosten, MD, of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and colleagues. But as the effect of the vaccine wore off, antibody levels fell and many volunteers returned to abusing the drug, Kosten and colleagues said in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry "We didn't expect to cure them in six months,"…

• Swine Flu Vaccination Revisited

  Dr. Russell

  8 Oct 2009 | 3:40 pm

    My dental practice has served Xenia, Fairborn, Cedarville, and Dayton for over twenty years.   I chose to receive the original Swine Flu vaccination for members of the Armed Forces in 1976, a month before the vaccination program was suspended.  I hope that the pharmaceutical processes have advanced in the interim to yield a vaccine that will not have the side effects that caused the abrupt cessation thirty years ago. The physician in this video feels that the risk of the vaccine is greater than contracting the H1N1 flu itself, and has decided not to administer it to his…

• 
  Smartbrief: American Nurses Association

• HHS taps Defense, VA systems for H1N1 flu vaccine monitoring

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  The HHS has enlisted the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs systems and databases to be used for its H1N1 flu vaccine -More- 

• Whirlpool offers appliance discounts through ANA for Members Only

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Save time and money shopping for home appliances with ANA and the VIPLINK program from Whirlpool Corporation.  -More- 

• Less regular sleep for ICU nurses may lead to errors

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  U.S.  -More- 

• Most U.S. adults aware of COPD, fewer know of treatments

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  A government survey of 4,172 U.S.  -More- 

• Acetaminophen tied to higher asthma risks, analysis shows

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Acetaminophen is linked to a higher risk of asthma in children and adults, according to Canadian researchers who analyzed res -More- 

• 
  Smartbrief: American Academy of Nurse Practitioners

• CDC urges officials to review distribution of H1N1 vaccine

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  The CDC notified state and major city health departments to prioritize vaccinating pregnant women, children and other groups  -More- 

• Nominations for 2010 AANP election now open

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  The Call for Nominations for 2010 AANP election is now open. The deadline for nominations to be received by AANP is Jan.  -More- 

• Smoking while pregnant raises behavior problem risks

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  A British study of more than 13,000 toddlers found those whose mothers smoked during pregnancy had a higher risk of behavior  -More- 

• HHS taps Defense, VA systems for H1N1 flu vaccine monitoring

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  The HHS has enlisted the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs systems and databases to be used for its H1N1 flu vaccine -More- 

• Exclusive breast-feeding doesn't impact long-term health risks

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Exclusive breast-feeding for the first six months offers infants immediate health benefits but doesn't appear to affect their -More- 

• 
  Nursing News

• RNs File Department Of Public Health Complaints Against UC Davis Medical Center

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:36 am

  Nurses Charge Public Endangered as Hospital Management Unlawfully Rations Nursing Care to Patients Registered Nurses at multiple units within the University of California Davis Hospital have filed a series of Department of Public Health charges against the facility, alerting the state to what risk of public endangerment.

• FDA aims to fight avoidable harm from medicines

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:07 am

  U.S. health officials unveiled plans to fight avoidable injuries from medication errors or misuse, a problem that harms hundreds of thousands of people each year and can be deadly.

• 'No need to rush' for shots, parents told

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:37 pm

  Parents and their children under five years old line up for H1N1 vaccinations at a flu clinic inside Millbourne Mall in Edmonton, AB, on Nov.

• Doctor fined, suspended for sex misconduct

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:15 pm

  A Spartanburg plastic surgeon has had his license suspended and has been fined $25,000 by the state board of medical examiners for the inappropriate touching of patients and other medical misconduct.

• NHS: More nurses for newborns

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:45 am

  The NHS will be told today to improve its care of tens of thousands of babies born every year who need specialist medical help amid concern that too many have received substandard treatment.

• 
  nurses - Google News

• Florida Hospital Dials Up iphones For Nurses - InformationWeek

  7 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Florida Hospital Dials Up iphones For NursesInformationWeekiphones are helping a Sarasota hospital connect its nursing staff via text messaging, and soon, voip telephony. By Mitch Wagner Sarasota Memorial Healthcare

• Nurses again hope bill will set staff-patient ratios - Worcester Telegram

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:19 am

  WKTVNurses again hope bill will set staff-patient ratiosWorcester TelegramBy Aaron Nicodemus TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF For every legislative session in the past 12 years, a bill setting a nurse-to-patient ratio in the state's St. E's nurses approve new contractWKTVNurses group files complaint over UC Davis Medical Center staffingSacramento Beerns File Department Of Public Health Complaints Against UC Davis Medical CenterMedical News Today (press release)all 5 news articles »

• Nursing home aide charged in sex abuse - Tulsa World

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:32 am

  Nursing home aide charged in sex abuseTulsa WorldFranklin D. Hughes Jr.: He is accused of harming patients at a Bartlesville nursing home where he worked as a certified nurse's assistant. Local man accused of abuse at nursing homeBartlesville Examiner Enterpriseall 5 news articles »

• People line up to give blood for wounded victims - Austin American-Statesman

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:59 pm

  Washington PostPeople line up to give blood for wounded victimsAustin American-StatesmanThe soldiers, nurses and civilians who gave blood at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple on Friday had the same Heroes were at every turn during Fort Hood shootingsDallas Morning NewsWays to get usPittsburgh Tribune-ReviewCombat StressCNSNews.comHouston Chronicle -BBC News -American Thinkerall 16,172 news articles »

• Nurses slam Labor over policy shift - Sydney Morning Herald

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:40 pm

  Nurses slam Labor over policy shiftSydney Morning HeraldNurses have accused the Rudd government of caving in to doctors' demands over a plan to give nurse practitioners and midwives greater power to prescribe Roxon on new nursing lawsSky News Australiaall 7 news articles »

• 
  Nursing / Midwifery News From Medical News Today

• Collaborative Arrangements To Have Central Role In New Nurse Practitioner And Midwife Legislation, Australia

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  RACGP welcomes news that the Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon MP, has support the introduction of collaborative arrangements between nurse practitioners, midwives and medical practitioners. The amendments proposed to the Midwives and Nurse Practitioners Bill 2009 incorporate a requirement that, in order to access the MBS and PBS schemes, nurse practitioners and midwives will need to enter into a collaborative arrangement with one or more medical practitioners.

• RNs File Department Of Public Health Complaints Against UC Davis Medical Center

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  Nurses Charge Public Endangered as Hospital Management Unlawfully Rations Nursing Care to Patients Registered Nurses at multiple units within the University of California Davis Hospital have filed a series of Department of Public Health charges against the facility, alerting the state to what risk of public endangerment.

• NCEPOD Highlights Importance Of Training And Safe Staffing Levels - Royal College Of Nursing, UK

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  Responding to today's publication of the National Confidential Enquiry Into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) study, Dr Peter Carter of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) stressed the importance of ensuring safe staffing levels and giving nurses the opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills, so they are able to provide quality end-of-life care.

• NMC Launches First Annual Devolved Dialogue In Scotland

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  We launched our devolved dialogue programme in Scotland this week; members of the NMC will meet with Scottish politicians, public and patient groups, regional trade union representatives, nurse directors and other partners, to discuss the core priorities for nursing and midwifery regulation in Scotland, examining how these differ from the rest of the UK and how we can address them as a four-country regulator.

• Nurses And Midwives To Receive Whistleblowing Guidance From Regulator, UK

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Nurses and midwives are to have guidance to help them raise and escalate concerns in a way that won't get them into trouble with their regulator. Since the summer we have been working with key professional and patient groups to develop information that will support nurses and midwives to raise and escalate concerns they may have that people could be at risk of harm.

• 
  Nursing Informatics Online

• Reminder systems to reduce the duration of indwelling urinary catheters: a narrative review.

  Forum: Nursing Informatics Journal Articles Posted By: Nursing Informatics News Post Time: 10-30-2009 at 05:24 AM

• Orthopaedic Nursing's enhanced online presence!

  Forum: Nursing Informatics Journal Articles Posted By: Nursing Informatics News Post Time: 10-27-2009 at 05:01 AM

• What to look for when evaluating web sites.

  Forum: Nursing Informatics Journal Articles Posted By: Nursing Informatics News Post Time: 10-27-2009 at 05:01 AM

• [Improving access to nursing knowledge from the contents of the Journal of the Japan Academy of Nurs

  Forum: Nursing Informatics Journal Articles Posted By: Nursing Informatics News Post Time: 10-23-2009 at 05:11 AM

• Utilization Review training for nurses.

  Forum: Special Interest Group News & Announcements Posted By: mikmshak Post Time: 10-15-2009 at 08:06 PM

• 
  Nurse.com News

• Six U.S. Nurses Take Home Top Honors in 2009

  Nurses spend their careers helping others, rarely reaping widespread recognition for a job well done. But the spotlight is shining on six nurses named 2009 Nursing Spectrum and NurseWeek Nursing Excellence Awards National Nurse of the Year winners.

• Daily News: Cocaine Vaccine Studied

  Immunization with an anti-cocaine vaccine results in a significant reduction in cocaine use, according to a clinical trial reported in the October 2009 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

• SPECIAL COVERAGE: H1N1 Influenza News

  Visit us here periodically for summaries of H1N1 flu news.

• Depression in LTC Often Goes Untreated

  Older adults living in long-term care face a sad state of affairs. As many as 50% of residents of LTC have depression, and only about 25% of them are identified and receive treatment, according to Neva L. Crogan, RN, PhD, GCNS-BC, GNP-BC, FNGNA, secretary of the National Gerontological Nursing Association and research associate professor, University of Arizona in Tucson.

• RN Organizes Husband?s Recovery Process

  I pictured the progress of my husband?s illness as a gathering of dark clouds that closed off any avenue of light, clusters of heavy, tentative drops, a downpour held in suspension for months.

• 
  New Scientist

• Malcolm Gladwell's miscellany of myths

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am

  Superstar writer Malcolm Gladwell teases out complexities behind the obvious and fun in the mundane in his collection of essays, What the Dog Saw

• The music of Life on Earth

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  Edward Williams's music for Life on Earth is as atmospheric and innovative as the classic 1979 David Attenborough TV series it was composed for

• 'Space elevator' wins $900,000 NASA prize

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:37 pm

  A laser-powered robot climbed 900 metres up a cable suspended from a helicopter, winning a prize that had gone unclaimed since 2005

• Innovation: Can technology persuade us to save energy?

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:17 am

  Gadgets and systems designed to steer us towards greener behaviour are under development, and they work – if we'll let them

• Today on New Scientist: 6 November 2009

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  Today's stories on newscientist.com, at a glance, including: how to end the epidemic of short-sightedness, the future of computer graphics, and why human microbes are total NIMBYs

• 
  NPR Topics: Health & Science

• Babies May Pick Up Language Cues In Womb

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:45 am

  A new study reveals that the melody of a newborn's cries seems to be influenced by the sound of the parents' native tongue. The findings suggest that crying infants may be imitating the patterns of the language they heard before they were born.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• Can Oceans Survive The Human Appetite For Seafood?

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  Faced with declining fish stocks, many nations are looking for sustainable ways to have their fish — and eat it too. But how much fishing is too much? Oceanographer Sylvia Earle discusses this and other topics in her book The World is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean's Are One.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• Building A Better Lightbulb

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  The U.S. Department of Energy is offering $10 million to the first individual or company to develop an energy-efficient LED replacement for the standard 60-watt incandescent bulb. DOE lighting program manager James Brodrick discusses the L Prize, and what makes a better bulb.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• Students Build Living Microbial Machines

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  At the 2009 International Genetically Engineered Machine competition, undergraduates from all over the world unveiled the living machines they'd created with snippets of DNA, from bacteria that change color when they detect pollutants to ones that secrete non-toxic superglue.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• Health Issues Follow Natural Gas Drilling In Texas

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:30 am

  Vast new natural gas fields have opened up thanks to an advanced drilling technique. While natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel than coal or petroleum, extracting it is still hard, dirty work. Some people who live near the massive Barnett Shale gas deposit in north Texas, have complaints. Health and environmental concerns are prompting state regulators to take a closer look.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• 
  PLoS Biology

• An aPKC-Exocyst Complex Controls Paxillin Phosphorylation and Migration through Localised JNK1 Activation

  Carine Rosse et al.

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  The exocyst/aPKC complex controls the spatiotemporal activation of the kinases JNK and ERK at the leading edge of migrating cells and thereby controls the dynamic behaviour of the adhesion protein paxillin during cell migration.

• Identification and Functional Characterization of N-Terminally Acetylated Proteins in Drosophila melanogaster

  Sandra Goetze et al.

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  A new study reveals a functional rule for N-terminal acetylation in higher eukaryotes called the (X)PX rule and describes a generic method that prevents this modification to allow the study of N-terminal acetylation in any given protein.

• A Simple Rule for Proteins to Follow

  By Caitlin Sedwick

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

• Species-Specific Heterochromatin Prevents Mitotic Chromosome Segregation to Cause Hybrid Lethality in Drosophila

  Patrick M. Ferree et al.

  27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am

  Early embryonic lethality of interspecies hybrids in Drosophila can be caused by defects in mitotic segregation of paternal X chromatids carrying a critical domain of heterochromatic DNA.

• Transient Neuronal Populations Are Required to Guide Callosal Axons: A Role for Semaphorin 3C

  Mathieu Niquille et al.

  27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am

  Neurons, glia, and callosal axons operate as a “ménage à trois” in the development of the corpus callosum.

• 
  NYT > Science

• Observatory: North American Origins for the Falklands Wolf

  By HENRY FOUNTAIN

  7 Nov 2009 | 12:05 am

  A genetic analysis helped solve some of the mystery about the origins of a species that was once found on islands off the Argentinian coast.

• National Briefing | West: California: Sewers for Malibu

  By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:16 pm

  Officials have banned septic tanks in parts of Malibu, ending years of wrangling among surfers, environmentalists and residents in the celebrity-filled community.

• Paul C. Zamecnik, Biologist Who Helped Discover an RNA Molecule, Dies at 96

  By VICKI GLASER

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:06 pm

  Dr. Zamecnik also revealed a method for blocking individual genes that pointed the way to a new class of drugs.

• Creationism, Minus a Young Earth, Emerges in the Islamic World

  By KENNETH CHANG

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:44 pm

  A growing number of Muslims seem to accept the idea of a very old planet but reject human evolution, international academics said at a recent conference.

• Giving Sight by Therapy With Genes

  By PAM BELLUCK

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:40 pm

  Once clinging to his mother and father, now playing Little League and riding go-carts, an 8-year-old benefited from a new technique.

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  PLoS Genetics

• Localized Plasticity in the Streamlined Genomes of Vinyl Chloride Respiring Dehalococcoides

  Paul J. McMurdie et al.

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Author Summary Dehalococcoides are free-living sediment and subsurface bacteria with remarkably small, streamlined genomes and an unusual degree of niche specialization. These strictly anaerobic bacteria gain metabolic energy exclusively through a novel type of respiration that results in reductive elimination of chlorides from organochlorines, many of which are priority pollutants. In this article, we compare the first complete genome sequences of Dehalococcoides strains that grow via respiration of vinyl chloride (VC), a human carcinogen and abundant groundwater pollutant. Our work provides…

• The Germ Cell Nuclear Proteins hnRNP G-T and RBMY Activate a Testis-Specific Exon

  Yilei Liu et al.

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Author Summary This study investigates tissue-specific alternative splicing, which plays a key role in generating diversity in animal cells. We found a new testis-specific exon in a human homologue of the important Drosophila developmental regulator Groucho, which is activated by germ cell RNA binding proteins. By analyzing splicing control of this exon, we elucidated how variations in the activity and expression of splicing regulators together counterbalance splicing activation, and achieve more tightly regulated physiological splicing patterns. We find that although this new human…

• Mutations in the Caenorhabditis elegans U2AF Large Subunit UAF-1 Alter the Choice of a 3′ Splice Site In Vivo

  Long Ma et al.

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Author Summary Eukaryotic genes contain intervening intronic sequences that must be removed from pre-mRNA transcripts by RNA splicing to generate functional messenger RNAs. While studying genes that encode and control a presumptive muscle potassium channel complex in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, we found that mutations in two splicing factors, the U2AF large subunit and SF1/BBP suppress the rubberband Unc phenotype caused by a rare missense mutation in the gene unc-93. Mutations affecting the U2AF large subunit caused the recognition of a cryptic 3′ splice site generated by the…

• The Sir2-Sum1 Complex Represses Transcription Using Both Promoter-Specific and Long-Range Mechanisms to Regulate Cell Identity and Sexual Cycle in the Yeast Kluyveromyces lactis

  Meleah A. Hickman et al.

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Author Summary Sir2 deacetylases are found in organisms ranging from bacteria to mammals. Sir2 from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae deacetylates histones and is part of the SIR complex that spreads across chromatin to repress gene expression. A related histone deacetylase, Hst1, interacts with a DNA–binding protein, Sum1, to repress genes in a promoter-specific manner. Hst1 and Sir2 are paralogs, arising from a duplication about 100 million years ago. To understand how Sir2 and Hst1 have diverged, as well as to investigate the evolutionary relationship between spreading and non-spreading…

• Functional Evolution of cis-Regulatory Modules at a Homeotic Gene in Drosophila

  Margaret C. W. Ho et al.

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Author Summary The fertilized animal embryo is a mass of uniform cells that becomes a complex, segmented, and highly organized structure of differentiated cells through the process of development. This vital process is controlled by networks of developmental genes interacting with each other on the molecular level. Because these genes are crucial for animal development, they are conserved both in function and at the DNA sequence level in related species. We have examined critical DNA sequence modules which regulate genes that pattern the early embryo in different species of the fruit fly. We…

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  PLoS Pathogens

• A Neutralizing Human Monoclonal Antibody Protects against Lethal Disease in a New Ferret Model of Acute Nipah Virus Infection

  Katharine N. Bossart et al.

  30 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am

  Author Summary Nipah virus and Hendra virus are closely related and highly pathogenic zoonoses whose primary natural reservoirs are several species of Pteropus fruit bats. Both Nipah and Hendra viruses can cause severe and often fatal disease in a variety of mammalian hosts, including humans. The henipaviruses are categorized as biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) agents, which has limited the development of animal models and the testing of potential therapeutics and vaccine countermeasures. We show here a new ferret model of Nipah virus pathogenesis in which the underlying pathology closely mirrors…

• Autocrine Production of β-Chemokines Protects CMV-Specific CD4+ T Cells from HIV Infection

  Joseph P. Casazza et al.

  30 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am

  Author Summary HIV infection results in a significant loss of CD4 T cells, particularly HIV-specific CD4 T cells. In contrast to this, CMV-specific CD4 T cells persist in large numbers, even in individuals with AIDS. We compared the functional profile of HIV-specific and CMV-specific CD4 T cells and found that unlike HIV-specific CD4 T cells, CMV-specific CD4 T cells rapidly produce MIP-1β when stimulated with cognate antigen. CMV specific CD4 T cells also produce another β chemokine when stimulated with cognate antigen, MIP-1α. Addition of both of these chemokines to in vitro incubations…

• Systematic Genetic Nomenclature for Type VII Secretion Systems

  Wilbert Bitter et al.

  30 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am

• Comparative Transcriptional and Genomic Analysis of Plasmodium falciparum Field Isolates

  Margaret J. Mackinnon et al.

  30 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am

  Author Summary Malaria parasites are particularly good at adapting to the variable environments they encounter during their life cycle. This property helps explain their widespread prevalence and persistence despite massive malaria control campaigns. The genes responsible for this adaptability are largely unknown. In this study we analyzed gene expression profiles of P. falciparum parasites recently taken from the field and compared them to those from laboratory-adapted parasites. Many of the genes that were up-regulated in field isolates coded for proteins which are exported, or involved in…

• Malaria Vaccines: Where Next?

  Anthony A. Holder

  30 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am

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  PLoS ONE Alerts

• Egg Eviction Imposes a Recoverable Cost of Virulence in Chicks of a Brood Parasite

  Michael G. Anderson et al.

  11 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Background Chicks of virulent brood parasitic birds eliminate their nestmates and avoid costly competition for foster parental care. Yet, efforts to evict nest contents by the blind and naked common cuckoo Cuculus canorus hatchling are counterintuitive as both adult parasites and large older cuckoo chicks appear to be better suited to tossing the eggs and young of the foster parents. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we show experimentally that egg tossing imposed a recoverable growth cost of mass gain in common cuckoo chicks during the nestling period in nests of great reed warbler…

• New Policies, New Technologies: Modelling the Potential for Improved Smear Microscopy Services in Malawi

  Andrew Ramsay et al.

  10 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Background To quantify the likely impact of recent WHO policy recommendations regarding smear microscopy and the introduction of appropriate low-cost fluorescence microscopy on a) case detection and b) laboratory workload. Methodology/Principal Findings An audit of the laboratory register in an urban hospital, Lilongwe, Malawi, and the application of a simple modelling framework. The adoption of the new definition of a smear-positive case could directly increase case detection by up to 28%. Examining Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) sputum smears for up to 10 minutes before declaring them negative has…

• The Prevalence of Depression in White-European and South-Asian People with Impaired Glucose Regulation and Screen-Detected Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

  Navneet Aujla et al.

  9 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Background There is a clear relationship between depression and diabetes. However, the directionality of the relationship remains unclear and very little research has considered a multi-ethnic population. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of depression in a White-European (WE) and South-Asian (SA) population attending a community diabetes screening programme, and to explore the association of depression with screen-detected Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and impaired glucose regulation (IGR). Methodology/Principal Findings Participants were recruited from general…

• Dynamics of the Leaf-Litter Arthropod Fauna Following Fire in a Neotropical Woodland Savanna

  Heraldo L. Vasconcelos et al.

  9 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Fire is an important agent of disturbance in tropical savannas, but relatively few studies have analyzed how soil-and-litter dwelling arthropods respond to fire disturbance despite the critical role these organisms play in nutrient cycling and other biogeochemical processes. Following the incursion of a fire into a woodland savanna ecological reserve in Central Brazil, we monitored the dynamics of litter-arthropod populations for nearly two years in one burned and one unburned area of the reserve. We also performed a reciprocal transplant experiment to determine the effects of fire and litter…

• Inverse Symmetry in Complete Genomes and Whole-Genome Inverse Duplication

  Sing-Guan Kong et al.

  9 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  The cause of symmetry is usually subtle, and its study often leads to a deeper understanding of the bearer of the symmetry. To gain insight into the dynamics driving the growth and evolution of genomes, we conducted a comprehensive study of textual symmetries in 786 complete chromosomes. We focused on symmetry based on our belief that, in spite of their extreme diversity, genomes must share common dynamical principles and mechanisms that drive their growth and evolution, and that the most robust footprints of such dynamics are symmetry related. We found that while complement and reverse…

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  PLoS Computational Biology

• A Hidden Markov Model for Single Particle Tracks Quantifies Dynamic Interactions between LFA-1 and the Actin Cytoskeleton

  Raibatak Das et al.

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Author Summary Many important biological processes begin when a target molecule binds to a cell surface receptor protein. This event leads to a series of biochemical reactions involving the receptor and signalling molecules, and ultimately a cellular response. Surface receptors are mobile on the cell surface and their mobility is influenced by their interaction with intracellular proteins. We wish to understand the details of these interactions and how they are affected by cellular activation. An experimental technique called single particle tracking (SPT) uses optical microscopy to study the…

• Optimal Experimental Design for Parameter Estimation of a Cell Signaling Model

  Samuel Bandara et al.

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Author Summary Differential equation models of signaling processes are useful to gain a molecular and quantitative understanding of cellular information flow. Although these models are typically based on simple kinetic rules, they can often qualitatively describe the behavior of biological systems. However, in the quest to transform biomedical research into an engineering discipline, biologists face the challenge of estimating important parameters of such models from laboratory data. Measurement noise as well as the robust architecture of biological circuits are causes for large uncertainty…

• Robust Models for Optic Flow Coding in Natural Scenes Inspired by Insect Biology

  Russell S. A. Brinkworth et al.

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Author Summary Building artificial vision systems that work robustly in a variety of environments has been difficult, with systems often only performing well under restricted conditions. In contrast, animal vision operates effectively under extremely variable situations. Many attempts to emulate biological vision have met with limited success, often because multiple seemingly appropriate approximations to neural coding resulted in a compromised system. We have constructed a full model for motion processing in the insect visual pathway incorporating known or suspected elements in as much…

• Evolution of Resistance to Targeted Anti-Cancer Therapies during Continuous and Pulsed Administration Strategies

  Jasmine Foo et al.

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Author Summary Recently, the field of anti-cancer therapy has witnessed a revolution by the discovery of targeted therapy, which refers to compounds targeting specific pathways causing abnormal growth of cancer cells. The clinical success of such drugs has been limited by the evolution of acquired resistance to these compounds, which leads to a relapse after initial response to therapy. Current dosing procedures are not designed to optimally delay the emergence of resistance; the identification of such optimal dosing schedules represents an important challenge in clinical cancer research.

• Looking at Cerebellar Malformations through Text-Mined Interactomes of Mice and Humans

  Ivan Iossifov et al.

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Author Summary We described and made publicly available the largest existing set of text-mined statements; we also presented its application to an important biological problem. We have extracted and purified two large molecular networks, one for humans and one for mouse. We characterized the data sets, described the methods we used to generate them, and presented a novel biological application of the networks to study the etiology of five cerebellum phenotypes. We demonstrated quantitatively that the development-related malformations differ in their system-level properties from…

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  PLoS Medicine

• Impact Monitoring of the National Scale Up of Zinc Treatment for Childhood Diarrhea in Bangladesh: Repeat Ecologic Surveys

  Charles P. Larson et al.

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  Charles Larson and colleagues find that 23 months into a national campaign to scale up zinc treatment for diarrhea in children under age 5 years, only 10% of children with diarrhea in rural areas and 20%–25% in urban/municipal areas were getting the treatment.

• Packages of Care for Dementia in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

  Martin J. Prince et al.

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  In the fifth in a series of six articles on packages of care for mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries, Martin Prince and colleagues discuss the treatment of dementia.

• Mandatory Disclosure of Pharmaceutical Industry-Funded Events for Health Professionals

  Jane Robertson et al.

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am

  David Henry and colleagues examine compliance with new disclosure requirements of Medicines Australia, the pharmaceutical industry representative body, and argue that they fall short and instead more comprehensive reporting standards are needed.

• Packages of Care for Alcohol Use Disorders in Low- And Middle-Income Countries

  Vivek Benegal et al.

  27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am

  In the fourth in a series of six articles on packages of care for mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries, Vivek Benegal and colleagues discuss the treatment of alcohol use disorders.

• Efficacy of Short-Course AZT Plus 3TC to Reduce Nevirapine Resistance in the Prevention of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission: A Randomized Clinical Trial

  James A. McIntyre et al.

  27 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am

  Neil Martinson and colleagues report a randomized trial of adding short-course zidovudine+lamivudine to reduce drug resistance from single-dose nevirapine used to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

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  Drugs.com - New Drug Approvals

• FDA Approves Labeling Update for Reyataz (atazanavir sulfate) Capsules to Include 96-Week Data for Previously Untreated HIV-1 Infected Adult Patients

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:46 am

  PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 5, 2009 - Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a labeling update for Reyataz to include long-term data from the CASTLE Study. The CASTLE...

• FDA Approves Gloucester Pharmaceuticals' Istodax for Patients with Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:46 am

  CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 5, 2009 - Gloucester Pharmaceuticals announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Istodax (romidepsin) for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) in patients who have...

• FDA Approves Pennsaid Topical Solution

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:35 am

  ST. LOUIS & MISSISSAUGA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 5, 2009 - Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, and Nuvo Research Inc., a Canadian drug development company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...

• Byetta Approved for Expanded Use as First-Line Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes

  2 Nov 2009 | 6:37 am

  SAN DIEGO and INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 30, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an expanded indication for Byetta (exenatide)...

• FDA Approves Arzerra (ofatumumab) for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

  26 Oct 2009 | 5:45 pm

  SILVER SPRING. Md., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Arzerra (ofatumumab) for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a slowly progressing cancer of the blood and bone...

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  Drugs.com: FDA Med Watch Alerts

• Stiff Nights - product contains undeclared drug ingredient

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  Audience: Consumers, Pharmacists FDA notified consumers that Stiff Nights, a product sold as a dietary supplement, contains sulfoaildenafil, a chemical similar to sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra. Sulfoaildenafil may interact with...

• Ketorolac Tromethamine Injection, USP 30 mg/mL; 1mL and 2mL Single Dose Vials -- Recall

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  Audience: Hospital risk managers, surgical center staff, pharmacists [UPDATED 11/03/2009] Recall expanded to include all lots of product. [Posted 10/21/2009] American Regent and FDA notified healthcare professionals of a voluntary recall of all...

• Bodybuilding.com Brand Dietary Supplements - Sold on Internet

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  Audience: Consumers Bodybuilding.com and FDA notified healthcare professionals and patients of a nationwide and international recall of all lots and expiration dates of 65 dietary supplement products that were sold through the Company's website,...

• Byetta (exenatide) - Renal Failure

  1 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  Audience: Endocrine and nephrology healthcare professionals FDA notified healthcare professionals of revisions to the prescribing information for Byetta (exenatide) to include information on post-marketing reports of altered kidney function,...

• Accusure Insulin Syringes (Qualitest Pharmaceuticals) - Recall

  26 Oct 2009 | 9:00 pm

  Audience: Diabetes healthcare professionals and patients Qualitest Pharmaceuticals and FDA notified healthcare professionals of a nationwide recall of Accusure Insulin Syringes. All syringes, regardless of lot number, are subject to this recall....

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  Drugs.com - Clinical Trials

• Chimerix Updates the World Health Organization and the Global Health Security Initiative on Development of CMX001 as a Broad-Spectrum Therapeutic for Smallpox

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:02 pm

  RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Chimerix, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company advancing orally-available antiviral therapeutics to address life-threatening diseases, presented updates on the development of the company's...

• NexBio Publishes Two Articles Showing DAS181 (Fludase) Potently Inhibits Pandemic Influenza A(H1N1) and NAI-Resistant Influenza Viruses

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:58 am

  SAN DIEGO, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- NexBio Inc., in collaboration with scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), St. Louis University, and the University of Hong Kong, announced today the publication of two articles in...

• Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. Presents Positive Results from Two Studies of ITCA 650 for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes at the Ninth Annual Diabetes Technology Meeting

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:58 am

  ITCA 650 induces potent reductions of HbA1c and body weight after 4 week treatment; ITCA 650 delivers up to 12 months of exenatide therapy from a single DUROS device HAYWARD, Calif., Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. delivered two...

• Oncolytics Biotech Inc. Collaborators Present Positive Phase II Sarcoma Trial Results at CTOS Annual Meeting

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:38 am

  Oncolytics Biotech® Inc. Collaborators Present Positive Phase II Sarcoma Trial Results at CTOS Annual Meeting CALGARY, AB, November 6, 2009 - Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (TSX:ONC, NASDAQ:ONCY) (“Oncolytics” or the “Company”)...

• ZIOPHARM Presents Positive Palifosfamide Sarcoma Randomized Phase II Interim Data at Annual Meeting of the Connective Tissue Oncology Society

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:27 am

  -- Palifosfamide prolongs progression-free survival by at least 50% -- NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 6, 2009 - ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZIOP) presented today at the 15th Annual Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) Meeting, positive...

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  ScienceDaily: Biotechnology News

• Bacteria Expect The Unexpected

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Organisms ensure the survival of their species by genetically adapting to the environment. If environmental conditions change too rapidly, the extinction of a species may be the consequence. A strategy to successfully cope with such a challenge is the generation of variable offspring that can survive in different environments. For the first time scientists have now observed the evolution of such a strategy under lab conditions in an experiment with the bacterial species Pseudomonas fluorescens.

• Genomes Of Biofuel Yeasts Reveal Clues That Could Boost Fuel Ethanol Production Worldwide

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm

  As global temperatures and energy costs continue to soar, renewable sources of energy will be key to a sustainable future. An attractive replacement for gasoline is biofuel, and in two new studies, scientists have analyzed the genome structures of bioethanol-producing microorganisms, uncovering genetic clues that will be critical in developing new technologies needed to implement production on a global scale.

• Map Of Human Bacterial Diversity Shows Wide Interpersonal Differences

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am

  Scientists have developed the first atlas of bacterial diversity across the human body, charting wide variations in microbe populations that live in different regions of the human body and which aid us in physiological functions that contribute to our health.

• New Technique For Specifying Location Of Sugars On Proteins Paves Way For Medical Discoveries

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  Researchers have previously been able to analyse which sugar structures are to be found on certain proteins, but not exactly where on the protein they are positioned.

• Scientists Reveal A New Mechanism That Increases Atherosclerosis In Mice

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  A shot of espresso may rev you up in the morning, but the downside is that it may also ramp up levels of bad cholesterol due to its effects on a unique liver protein called PXR. New research now shows that when chronically activated, the protein rejiggers how cholesterol is broken down in and cleared from the liver, a disturbance that can lead to high levels of the waxy substance or worse, full-blown atherosclerosis.

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  Biology News Net - Biotechnology

• First use of antibody and stem cell transplantation to successfully treat advanced leukemia

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:25 pm

  For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have reported the use of a radiolabeled antibody to deliver targeted doses of radiation, followed by a stem cell transplant, to successfully treat a group of leukemia and pre-leukemia patients for whom there previously had been no other curative treatment options.

• Next-generation microcapsules deliver 'chemicals on demand'

  28 Oct 2009 | 6:09 pm

  Scientists in California are reporting development of a new generation of the microcapsules used in carbon-free copy paper, in which capsules burst and release ink with pressure from a pen. The new microcapsules burst when exposed to light, releasing their contents in ways that could have wide-ranging commercial uses from home and personal care to medicine. Their study appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a weekly publication.

• Modified crops reveal hidden cost of resistance

  26 Oct 2009 | 8:13 pm

  Genetically modified squash plants that are resistant to a debilitating viral disease become more vulnerable to a fatal bacterial infection, according to biologists.

• Seeing previously invisible molecules for the first time

  25 Oct 2009 | 12:28 am

  A team of Harvard chemists led by X. Sunney Xie has developed a new microscopic technique for seeing, in color, molecules with undetectable fluorescence. The room-temperature technique allows researchers to identify previously unseen molecules in living organisms and offers broad applications in biomedical imaging and research.

• Biochemical 'on-switch' could solve protein purification challenge

  22 Oct 2009 | 9:49 pm

  Drugs based on engineered proteins represent a new frontier for pharmaceutical makers. Even after they discover a protein that may form the basis of the next wonder drug, however, they have to confront a long-standing problem: how to produce large quantities of the protein in a highly pure state. Now, a multi-institutional research team including a biochemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may have found* a new solution in an enzymatic "food processor" they can activate at will.

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  BMC Biotechnology - Latest articles

• Genetic load and transgenic mitigating genes in transgenic Brassica rapa (field mustard) x Brassica napus (oilseed rape) hybrid populations

  Christy Rose

  30 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Background: One theoretical explanation for the relatively poor performance of Brassica rapa (weed) Brassica napus (crop) transgenic hybrids suggests that hybridization imparts a negative genetic load. Consequently, in hybrids genetic load could overshadow any benefits of fitness enhancing transgenes and become the limiting factor in transgenic hybrid persistence. Two types of genetic load were analyzed in this study: random/linkage-derived genetic load, and directly incorporated genetic load using a transgenic mitigation (TM) strategy. In order to measure the effects of random genetic load,…

• Affinity maturation generates greatly improved xyloglucan-specific carbohydrate binding modules

  Laura von Schantz

  30 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Background: Molecular evolution of carbohydrate binding modules (CBM) is a new approach for the generation of glycan-specific molecular probes. To date, the possibility of performing affinity maturation on CBM has not been investigated. In this study we show that binding characteristics such as affinity can be improved for CBM generated from the CBM4-2 scaffold by using random mutagenesis in combination with phage display technology. Results: Two modified proteins with greatly improved affinity for xyloglucan, a key polysaccharide abundant in the plant kingdom crucial for providing plant…

• Authentication scheme for routine verification of genetically similar laboratory colonies: a trial with Anopheles gambiae

  Elien Wilkins

  21 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Background: When rearing morphologically indistinguishable laboratory strains concurrently, the threat of unintentional genetic contamination is constant. Avoidance of accidental mixing of strains is difficult due to the use of common equipment, technician error, or the possibility of self relocation by adult mosquitoes ("free fliers"). In many cases, laboratory strains are difficult to distinguish because of morphological and genetic similarity, especially when laboratory colonies are isolates of certain traits from the same parental strain, such as eye color mutants, individuals…

• Using a water-immiscible ionic liquid to improve asymmetric reduction of 4-(trimethylsilyl)-3-butyn-2-one catalyzed by immobilized Candida parapsilosis CCTCC M203011 cells

  Wen-Yong Lou

  21 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Background: Whole cells are usually employed for biocatalytic reduction reactions to ensure efficient coenzyme regeneration and to avoid problems with enzyme purification and stability. The efficiency of whole cell-catalyzed bioreduction is frequently restricted by pronounced toxicity of substrate and/or product to the microbial cells and in many instances the use of two-phase reaction systems can solve such problems. Therefore, we developed new, biphasic reaction systems with biocompatible water-immiscible ionic liquids (ILs) as alternatives to conventional organic solvents, in order to…

• Novel immortalized human fetal liver cell line, cBAL111, has the potential to differentiate into functional hepatocytes

  Tanja Deurholt

  20 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Background: A clonal cell line that combines both stable hepatic function and proliferation capacity is desirable for in vitro applications that depend on hepatic function, such as pharmacological or toxicological assays and bioartificial liver systems. Here we describe the generation and characterization of a clonal human cell line for in vitro hepatocyte applications. Results: Cell clones derived from human fetal liver cells were immortalized by over-expression of telomerase reverse transcriptase. The resulting cell line, cBAL111, displayed hepatic functionality similar to the parental…

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  Nature.com: Biotechnology News

• Brain disease treated by gene therapy

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  A treatment based on HIV finds first success in humans.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/news/rss/news_s1/~4/lzdz0poWSxw" height="1" width="1"/>

• Gene-makers put forward security standards

  4 Nov 2009 | 3:42 pm

  But few companies are willing to sign up yet.

• Initiative targets malaria eradication

  3 Nov 2009 | 3:18 pm

  Focus shifts to blocking parasite transmission.

• California stem-cell grants awarded

  2 Nov 2009 | 3:54 pm

  First major round of research targeted at therapies takes off.

• Jury still out on HIV vaccine results

  28 Oct 2009 | 12:25 pm

  Some experts see hope in trial findings, but others say that the data do not back up such optimism.