TORONTO, Ont., June 3, 2011—Hospitals that provide quality care for young people do not always provide the same quality care for the elderly, a new study has found. As our population ages and requires more healthcare, hospitals need to measure the quality of care they provide for the over 65s and implement programs to meet their distinct needs, said the study's author, Dr. Avery Nathens, trauma director at St. Michael's Hospital. The study, published in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, evaluated the condition of elderly patients 30 ...

(Boston) - Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers have found that Gabapentin, (trade name Neurontin) a medication commonly used to treat neuropathic pain, seizures and biopolar disease in older and elderly patients, seems to have a higher incidence of anorgasmia, or failure to experience orgasm, than previously reported. This study appears in the current issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy. Anticonvulsants are the fastest growing prescribed medication in the baby boomer generation. In patients 44-82 years old, anticonvulsants are ...

Almost all bacteria owe their structure to an outer cell wall that interacts closely with the supporting MreB protein inside the cell. As scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry and at the French INRA now show, MreB molecules assemble into larger units, but not - as previously believed – into continuous helical structures. The circular movement of these units along the inside of the bacterial envelope is mediated by cell wall synthesis, which in turn requires the support of MreB. This mutual interaction may be a widespread phenomenon among bacteria and opens ...

INDIANAPOLIS – A new research study investigates the challenges that pen and paper workarounds or computerized communication breakdowns pose to the use of electronic health records. Understanding these challenges may lead to improved coordination of care supported by health IT. Focusing on referrals by primary care physicians to specialists and communications from the specialists back to the referring physician, "Paper Persistence, Workarounds, and Communication Breakdowns in Computerized Consultation Management" appears in the July 2011 issue of the International Journal ...

In data presented at The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, cancer researchers found that the brain tumor vaccine HSPPC-96 for treating recurrent gliobastoma (GBM) has a favorable safety profile and extends survival by two to three times more than the current median survival rate. Patients in the study, conducted at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, University of California, San Francisco and Columbia University, were found to have a median survival of 11 months compared to current three to five month survival. "The findings are very ...

Due to increasing international demand, MedWOW greatly expanded its operations by launching a Global Franchise Program. MedWOW's Franchise Program screens qualified medical equipment professionals throughout the world, in order to find the best representatives to join the MedWOW brand and offer the website's services in their defined territory. The franchise program offers reputable key-players in the medical equipment industry the opportunity to expand their existing business, by giving them the rights to market MedWOW to end-users in their territories, including: ...

Sexual pleasure among young adults (ages 18-26) is linked to healthy psychological and social development, according to a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study is the first to use a representative population sample of heterosexuals to find a relationship between key developmental assets and sexual pleasure. The findings are published in the June 2011 issue of The Journal of Adolescent Health. The research study examined data from 3,237 respondents ages 18 to 26 from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, ...

Scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have demonstrated why certain immune cells chronically exposed to HIV shut down, and how they can be reactivated. Healthy B cells have a balanced mix of surface proteins that the immune system can use, like the gas pedal and brake of a car, either to activate the cell or to damp down its activity. However, in people with long-term HIV infection who have not begun antiretroviral therapy, their B cells—responsible for producing anti-HIV antibodies—display ...

Los Angeles, Calif., June 2, 2011—Researchers in the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), together with scientists in Beijing, China, have discovered a chromosomal mutation responsible for a very rare condition in which people grow excess hair all over their bodies. Investigators hope the finding ultimately will lead to new treatments for this and less severe forms of excessive hair growth as well as baldness. The study, "X-linked congenital hypertrichosis syndrome is associated with interchromosomal insertions mediated by a human-specific ...

CHICAGO — Customizing targeted therapies to each tumor's molecular characteristics, instead of a one-size-fits-all approach by tumor type, may be more effective for some types of cancer, according to research conducted by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. MD Anderson's Phase I findings were presented today on the opening press program of the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Apostolia-Maria Tsimberidou, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in MD Anderson's Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics, and the study's principal ...

AURORA, Colo. (June 3, 2011) – A drug that targets a specific type of lung cancer shows a dramatic response in more than half of the people who take it. The drug, called crizotinib, has been in clinical trials since 2006, and the results from the largest group of patients to take it within the first of these clinical trials are being presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). The patients taking crizotinib have anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and the drug targets the gene ...

(CHICAGO) – For patients with advanced melanoma, which is the most lethal type of skin cancer, the results of a large clinical trial show that a vaccine combined with the immune-boosting drug Interleukin-2 can improve response rate and progression-free survival. The findings of the study were published in the June 2 issue of New England Journal of Medicine. This marks the first vaccine study in the disease and one of the first in all cancers to show clinical benefit in a randomized Phase III clinical trial. "This is the first time that a vaccine has shown benefit ...

CHICAGO --- When people finish treatment for cancer, they want to bounce back to their former vital selves as quickly as possible. But a new Northwestern Medicine study -- one of the largest survivor studies ever conducted – shows many survivors still suffer moderate to severe problems with pain, fatigue, sleep, memory and concentration three to five years after treatment has ended. "We were surprised to see how prevalent these symptoms still are," said study co-investigator Lynne Wagner, an associate professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg ...

The pristine state of unpolluted waterways may be their downfall, according to research results published in a paper this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. A species of freshwater algae that lives in streams and rivers, called Didymo for Didymosphenia geminata, is able to colonize and dominate the bottoms of some of the world's cleanest waterways--precisely because they are so clear. Didymo does so with a little help from its friends--in this case, bacteria--which allow it to make use of nutrients like phosphorus. Blooms of Didymo, also known as "rock ...

Malta - May 2011 - Celebrations are certainly underway in D. R.'s household today, because he has just won over $82,000 playing at Maple Online Casino. He won a few prizes while playing different games, which makes his winnings even more impressive. D. R. won $61,522.00 while playing Hitman; $12,050.00 on Multi-Hand European Blackjack; and $9,350.00 while playing Classic Blackjack. Thus, all his winnings for the day equal $82,922.00. Casino Manager, Charlotte Jackson, was available for comment. "Congratulations D. R. We are very proud of your accomplishments ...

CHICAGO -- ASCO Abstract #10504. Contrary to what many oncologists had thought, a tumor suppressor protein known as PTEN does not reduce the effectiveness of the breast cancer drug Herceptin, according to a study by Mayo Clinic and North Central Cancer Research Group (NCCTG) investigators. The study, which looked at tumors from 1,802 patients enrolled in the NCCTG N9831 clinical trial, found that patients with HER2-positive breast cancer and had either a loss of PTEN functioning or normal PTEN activity did equally well when Herceptin was added to chemotherapy to prevent ...

BOSTON--A duo of drugs, each targeting a prime survival strategy of tumors, can be safely administered and are potentially more effective than either drug alone for advanced, inoperable melanomas, according to a phase 1 clinical trial led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators. The findings (abstract 8511), will be presented in an oral session at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology on Saturday, June 4, 3 p.m. CT, Arie Crown Theater, McCormick Place. The drugs -- ipilimumab and bevacizumab -- are both monoclonal antibodies, intensified ...

There are two low pressure areas in the Caribbean Sea for future development into tropical cyclones, although the chances are near zero for one, and minimal for the other. The GOES-13 satellite has been following the life of System 93L, which is one of those systems. The second low pressure area may not develop over the weekend, but threatens heavy rain in Hispaniola, Cuba and Jamaica. The GOES-13 satellite provides images of the U.S. east coast, Atlantic and Caribbean Sea continually every day. In an image from 1731 UTC (1:31 p.m. EDT) today, June 3, the low pressure ...

Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C., is doing more to help New Yorkers by making a commitment to improve its environmental profile. The firm has long been the voice of those hurt by medical errors, but now it hopes to promote awareness of eco-friendly business practices for lawyers through the B2B Green Alliance. The B2B Green Alliance is sponsored by web marketing firm Page 1 Solutions, part of Page 1 Green Solutions, an environmental commitment program. Page 1 Solutions strives to become a positive force for change not only by following eco-conscious practices in ...

Sheridan Dental is making a commitment to clean up its Columbus, Ohio community by improving its environmental profile. Sheridan Dental seeks to do the best for its neighbors both in the chair and in the environment by promoting awareness of eco-friendly business practices for dentists through the B2B Green Alliance. The B2B Green Alliance is one branch of Page 1 Green Solutions, an environmental commitment program sponsored by Page 1 Solutions. Page 1 Solutions has long made a professional commitment to eco-friendly practices in its office, but now hopes to expand ...

Revealing another part of the story of muscle development, Johns Hopkins researchers have shown how the cytoskeleton from one muscle cell builds finger-like projections that invade into another muscle cell's territory, eventually forcing the cells to combine. Such muscle cell fusion, the researchers say, is not only important for understanding normal muscle growth, but also muscle regeneration after injury or disease. The work, they believe, could further development of therapies for muscular dystrophy or age-related muscle wasting. Their report on muscle cell cytoskeletons, ...

Moral responses change as people age says a new study from the University of Chicago. Both preschool children and adults distinguish between damage done either intentionally or accidently when assessing whether a perpetrator has done something wrong, said study author Jean Decety. But, adults are much less likely than children to think someone should be punished for damaging an object, for example, especially if the action was accidental. The study, which combined brain scanning, eye-tracking and behavioral measures to understand brain responses, was published in the ...

It's long been known that cancer cells eat a lot of sugar to stay alive. In fact, where normal, noncancerous cells generate energy from using some sugar and a lot of oxygen, cancerous cells use virtually no oxygen and a lot of sugar. Many genes have been implicated in this process and now, reporting in the May 27 issue of Cell, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered that this so-called Warburg effect is controlled. "It turns out to be a feed-forward mechanism, where protein A turns on B, which in turn goes back and helps A do more," ...

In criminal law, an expungement is the removal of all official records that can tie an individual to a given legal offense. Under certain limited circumstances, Pennsylvania residents with criminal records may file a petition for expungement. Of course, even though there are many advantages to having criminal records expunged, the wide availability of public information online often makes expungement an imperfect solution. The Expungement Process Only a few types of records are eligible for expungement in Pennsylvania. Records of non-convictions (such as not guilty ...

(NEW YORK, NY, June 4, 2011) – Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center are honing in on the development of what may be the first non-steroidal, oral contraceptive for men. Tests of low doses of a compound that interferes with retinoic acid receptors (RARs), whose ligands are metabolites of dietary vitamin A, showed that it caused sterility in male mice. Earlier results of the experiments using this RAR antagonist were published in the June 1st issue of Endocrinology, and an abstract extending the studies to longer drug delivery periods is scheduled for the Late ...