(WASHINGTON, January 27, 2016) - An article published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), suggests that pharmaceutical companies use several strategies to keep affordable generic drugs from the market, illustrating an emerging trend that authors say is becoming as harmful to consumers as high-cost brand-name drugs.
Culture
Diabetic neuropathy is a type of nerve damage associated with the development of foot ulcers in patients with diabetes. Resulting from anatomical deformation, excessive pressure and poor blood supply, it affects over 130 million individuals worldwide. It is also the leading cause of amputation, costing the United States economy alone more than $10 billion annually.
These materials, which include metals such as platinum or tantalum, are characterized for being capable of generating a spin current from an electrical current (and viceversa) by means of the so-called spin Hall effect. For this reason, these materials are of outmost importance in the field of spintronics -the branch of science that is devoted to explore the generation, transmission and detection of spin currents in materials and devices.
January 26, 2016 (Ottawa): Pharmacists who screened at-risk patients for chronic kidney disease (CKD) found previously unrecognized disease in 1 of every 6.4 patients tested, according to a study to be published in the January/February 2016 issue of the Canadian Pharmacists Journal.
As wind energy development blossoms in Canada and around the world, opposition at the community level is challenging the viability of the industry. A new study with research from the University of Waterloo, published in Nature Energy, identifies four major factors leading to disputes over wind farms, and offers recommendations on avoiding disagreements.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - Early diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea may reduce six-month readmissions for patients hospitalized with heart failure, according to research recently published online by the American Journal of Cardiology.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) filed a federal lawsuit today against Gilead Sciences Inc. seeking to invalidate patents on key AIDS drugs held by the Bay Area drug maker. The legal action was filed today in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, [Case # 3:16-cv-00443] and concerns Tenofovir, a key HIV/AIDS drug which was first synthesized over thirty years ago in the Czech Republic. Tenofovir is a component in Genvoya, Gilead’s four-in-one Fixed Dose Combination (FDC) to treat HIV/AIDS patients as well as Gilead’s similar predecessor FDC, Stribild.
Arlington, Va. - The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT), the official scientific journal of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), published an update to a previously issued evidence-based clinical practice guideline on chiropractic management of low-back pain (LBP). The update, which revised and combined three previous guidelines, supports that doctors of chiropractic (DCs) are well-suited to diagnose, treat, co-manage and manage the treatment of patients with low-back disorders.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is recommending screening for depression in the general adult population, including pregnant and postpartum women, and that screening should be implemented with adequate systems in place to ensure accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and appropriate follow-up. The report appears in the January 26 issue of JAMA.
This recommendation is a USPSTF grade B recommendation, meaning that there is high certainty that the net benefit is moderate, or there is moderate certainty that the net benefit is moderate to substantial.
New insights in hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR) improve the chances of diagnosing the genetic disease using ECG and ultrasound. In a new doctoral dissertation by Sandra Arvidsson at Umeå University in Sweden, an explanation to the varying symptoms in patients with ATTR is explored. Of particular interest is why the disease only affects the heart in some patients -- pinpointing age and gender as important explanations.
Women in states with higher rates of gun ownership are at greater risk of being killed by people they know than those in states where a smaller percentage of people own guns. And ownership rates alone explain 40 percent of the variation in women's homicide victimization rates, compared to only 1.5 percent of the variation in men's victimization rates, according to a new study by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researchers.
PORTLAND, Ore. - A recent study showed that medical provider training, new clinic policies and efforts to "taper" opioid use for pain treatment could significantly reduce the level of opioid medication that patients used -- a limited but positive step for a nation enmeshed in opioid use, abuse and overdose deaths.
Contrary to current clinical belief, regular caffeine consumption does not lead to extra heartbeats, which, while common, can lead in rare cases to heart-or stroke-related morbidity and mortality, according to UC San Francisco researchers.
The study, which measured the chronic consumption of caffeinated products over a 12-month period, rather than acute consumption, appears in the January 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association. It is the largest to date to have evaluated dietary patterns in relation to extra heartbeats.
Nurses faced with abusive managers are more likely to quit. But a recent study by McGill University and Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières researchers finds that the opposite is also true - transformational leadership - a style of management in which employees are encouraged to work towards a collective goal within a supportive milieu, is linked to nurses' well-being, and has positive impacts upon job retention.
Chicago - Jan. 25, 2016 - Nurse anesthetists often receive guidance from physician anesthesiologists, yet bill their time as if they are making decisions alone, according to a recent study(1) of more than 9,000 cases published online in Anesthesia & Analgesia. The study suggests a frequently used billing code - called the modifier QZ - gives a false impression that many nurse anesthetists practice without the supervision of physician anesthesiologists.