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Parents, Coaches and Trainers Have a Major Role in Education and Prevention

As high school and college wrestlers return to the mats in preparation for February tournaments and post-season championships, their risk for the skin infection Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) increases significantly. In fact, wrestlers that participate in tournaments and teammates of wrestlers who participate in tournaments are 16 times more likely to be exposed to MRSA(1).

An analysis by Molnlycke Health Care shows that based on a potential MRSA colonization rate of 25 percent(2), the average number of matches each wrestler participates in at a tournament (three) and the number of wrestlers exposed to the tournament wrestler when he or she returns to a practice room (six), the potential exposure rate of MRSA from the tournament increases by approximately 16. As an illustration, the 1,200 wrestlers who attended the recent wrestling national duals had as many as 16,200 MRSA exposures (see table 1 for further details).

With more than 250,000 high school wrestlers(3) and 6,000(4) collegiate wrestlers in the U.S., parents, coaches and trainers are an integral part of providing education, awareness and prevention support to help stop the spread of deadly skin infections such as MRSA.

“We understand the importance of keeping our coaches and their wrestlers educated and aware of skin infections, especially during this important championship season,” said Mike Moyer, executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). “Last week, we provided our members with simple, practical tips to help decrease their wrestlers’ chances of MRSA infection.”

Tips provided by the NWCA and Molnlycke Health Care include:

  • Wrestlers should shower with an antimicrobial antiseptic soap that contains chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) prior to the start of the tournament.
  • If a shower is not reasonable, at least have wrestlers wash hands, arms and face with an antimicrobial antiseptic soap that contains CHG prior to wrestling. This represents the primary areas of skin to skin contact during the match.*
  • Use wipes that contain CHG between or during the match when water is not available.

Molnlycke Health Care manufactures and distributes Hibiclens®, an antiseptic antimicrobial skin cleanser that contains four percent CHG. Hibiclens binds to the skin and continues to actively kill germs for up to six hours without leaving a residue. This is just one way to protect skin between and during competition.

“Hibiclens has become an integral part in our wrestling program at West Virginia University. It is the first line of defense for the prevention of skin-related diseases that are so common to our sport. Our wrestlers have seen first-hand the effectiveness of Hibiclens by showering with it on a daily basis after practice. We have seen a significant drop in the number of our practices and matches lost to skin diseases,” said Kevin Kotsko, assistant athletic trainer, West Virginia University.

Wrestlers are at higher risk for skin infections than other athletes due to the constant skin-to-skin contact and exposure to cuts, sores, bodily fluids and shared equipment, such as mats. MRSA is spread through direct skin contact or contact with shared items or surfaces that have come in contact with the bacteria. MRSA infections are usually manifested as skin infections, such as pimples and boils that are red, swollen and painful.

“We know through clinical testing and from wrestlers themselves that washing with a cleanser that contains CHG prior to a wrestling match can dramatically reduce MRSA infections(5),” said Jack Doornbos, executive director, Molnlycke Health Care.

While Hibiclens can be purchased in bulk through distributors nationwide, it is also now available over-the-counter at drug stores and pharmacies in the first aid section. Additionally, Hibistat® provides the same cleanser with alcohol in a wipe format for on-the-go needs. For more information about Hibiclens, Hibistat or CHG or to download free educational materials about MRSA and sports, visit hibiclens.com/athletes.html.

* Avoid contact with the eyes, ears, and mouth when using Hibiclens on the face.

(1) Molnlycke Health Care, Analysis of MRSA Exposure Rates, 2009

(2) Staph colonization rate in the general population is 30 percent and MRSA is typically 77 percent of staph infections; wrestlers have higher than average MRSA rates based on skin-to-skin contact (biomed.com and birdmd.com)

(3) National Federation of State High School Associations, 2007-08 High School Athletics Participation Survey. Accessed on January 25, 2010 through www.nwcaonline.com, National Wrestling Coaches Association Wrestling Facts

(4) NCAA® Sports Sponsorship and Participation Rates Report, 1981-82 through 2006-07, www.ncaa.org, April 2008. Accessed on January 25, 2010 through www.nwcaonline.com, National Wrestling Coaches Association Wrestling Facts

(5) MHC study #061123-150.01

Source: Molnlycke Health Care


Paul Wellstone, Pete Domenici Parity Act prohibits discrimination

The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury jointly issued new rules providing parity for consumers enrolled in group health plans who need treatment for mental health or substance use disorders.

“Today’s rules will bring needed relief to families faced with meeting the cost of obtaining mental health and substance abuse services,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “The benefits will give these Americans access to greatly needed medical treatment, which will better allow them to participate fully in society. That is not just sound policy, it’s the right thing to do.”

“The rules we are issuing today will, for the first time, help assure that those diagnosed with these debilitating and sometimes life-threatening disorders will not suffer needless or arbitrary limits on their care,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. “I applaud the longstanding and bipartisan effort that made these important new protections possible.”

“Workers covered by group health plans who need mental health and substance abuse care deserve fair treatment,” said Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin. “These rules expand on existing protections to ensure that people don’t face unnecessary barriers to the treatment they need.”

The new rules prohibit group health insurance plans — typically offered by employers — from restricting access to care by limiting benefits and requiring higher patient costs than those that apply to general medical or surgical benefits. The rules implement the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA).

MHPAEA greatly expands on an earlier law, the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996, which required parity only in aggregate lifetime and annual dollar limits between the categories of benefits and did not extend to substance use disorder benefits.

The new law requires that any group health plan that includes mental health and substance use disorder benefits along with standard medical and surgical coverage must treat them equally in terms of out-of-pocket costs, benefit limits and practices such as prior authorization and utilization review. These practices must be based on the same level of scientific evidence used by the insurer for medical and surgical benefits. For example, a plan may not apply separate deductibles for treatment related to mental health or substance use disorders and medical or surgical benefits. They must be calculated as one limit. MHPAEA applies to employers with 50 or more workers whose group health plans choose to offer mental health or substance use disorder benefits. The new rules are effective for plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2010.

The Wellstone-Domenici Act is named for two dominant figures in the quest for equal treatment of benefits. The late Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., who was a vocal advocate for parity throughout his Senate career, sponsored the ultimately successful full parity act. He was joined by former Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who first introduced legislation to require parity in 1992. Champions of the legislation also included the bipartisan team of Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., and former Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn.

The issue of parity dates back more than 40 years to President John F. Kennedy, and also was supported by President Clinton and the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

The interim final rules released today were developed based on the departments’ review of more than 400 public comments on how the parity rule should be written. Comments on the interim final rules are still being solicited. Sections where further comments are being specifically sought include so-called “non quantitative” treatment limits such as those that pertain to the scope and duration of covered benefits, how covered drugs are determined (formularies) and the coverage of step-therapies. Comments are also being specifically requested on the regulation’s section on “scope of benefits” or continuum of care.

Comments on the interim final regulation are due 90 days after the publication date. Comments may be emailed to the federal rulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov/. Comments directed to HHS should include the file code CMS-4140-IFC. Comments to the Department of Labor should be identified by RIN 1210-AB30. Comments to the Treasury’s Internal Revenue Service should be identified by REG-120692-09. Comments may be sent to any of the three departments and will be shared with the other departments. Please do not submit duplicates.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor


Despite initiatives, level of diversity among faculty, practitioners still remains markedly low when compared with U.S. population, U-M researchers say

The number of underrepresented minorities among U.S. medical school faculty remains low, even as the U.S. population becomes increasingly diverse.

And the level of underrepresented minorities currently being trained in medicine is unlikely to reverse those trends, according to a U-M analysis and commentary published this month in the journal Gastroenterology.

Underrepresented minorities that were primarily addressed include Black or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians, Alaskan or Hawaiian natives and other Pacific Islanders.

“The low representation and the stagnation of the numbers of Black and Hispanic faculty in U.S. medical schools is troubling,” said Juanita Merchant, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the departments of Internal Medicine and Molecular & Integrative Physiology at the University of Michigan.

“We need to plug the leaky pipeline that allows underrepresented minorities to escape before they can complete the process that allows them to go on to becoming medical or research faculty,” says Merchant, who co-authored the study with M. Bishr Omary, Ph.D., M.D., chair of the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology.

The underrepresented minority categories mentioned above only comprise about 7 percent of practicing physicians in the U.S., but those populations make up about 27 percent of the U.S. population. Similarly, in 2008, only 7.3% of all medical school faculty are underrepresented minorities.

A national effort led by the Association of American Medical Colleges sought to enroll 3,000 underrepresented minorities annually into U.S. medical schools by the year 2000. As of 2007, the number of admitted underrepresented minorities in medical schools was only 2,500. Of those, 6.4 percent were black, 7.2 percent were Hispanic and 0.5 percent were American Indians, Alaskan or Hawaiian natives and other Pacific Islanders.

“Academic medical faculty who are training the next generation of physicians as well as those delivering health care should reflect the diverse populations they will be serving,” Merchant says.

Another important point is that the percentage of male faculty outnumber female faculty dramatically. The percent of female faculty also declines from the instructor to professor rank, Merchant says.

“We have a huge number of women at the entry level, who just don’t make it up the ladder,” Merchant says.

Some of this is a preparation problem, Merchant says, and students in underrepresented communities need to be encouraged to study science and pursue biomedical fields. Once that pool has increased, strategies must be developed to retain trainees and potential faculty members.

“We know that Black physicians care for significantly more Black patients, and the same holds true for Hispanic physicians,” Merchant says. “We also know that minority populations may be more likely to have more serious health care problems, either because they delay care because of financial constraints or access to providers.

“So enhancing the pool of underrepresented minorities among faculty and physicians will likely help alleviate some of the disparities in the quality of care among those populations. Medical schools and government officials need to make this a priority.”

The article by Merchant and Omary provides detailed data from a variety of sources and also includes specific recommendations to both institutions and the underrepresented minorities themselves on how to reverse the current situation.

“We made a strong effort not only to highlight the problem but to also highlight specific recommendations that were assembled after consultation with several thought leaders nationally and locally,” Omary says.

Source: University of Michigan Health System


Bone marrow is a leading source of adult stem cells, which are increasingly used for research and therapeutic interventions, but extracting the cells is an arduous and often painful process. Now, researchers have found evidence that fat tissue, known as adipose tissue, may be a promising new source of valuable and easy-to-obtain regenerative cells called hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), according to a study prepublished online in Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology.

“It’s not outside the realm of possibility that a donor graft of adipose tissue-derived HSPCs might be able to partially replace the need for bone marrow transplantation within 10 years,” said lead study author Gou Young Koh, MD, PhD, of the Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daedeok Science Town, Daejeon, South Korea.

HSPCs are powerful cells that have the ability to regenerate and develop into many different kinds of cells. With advances in technologies and understanding of cell functions, HSPCs are now used to repair damaged tissue and are being studied for their potential to treat a vast array of chronic and degenerative conditions. HSPCs are found in high quantities in the bone marrow, but a certain portion known as extramedullary tissue, found outside of bone marrow, circulate between the marrow and the peripheral blood.

Previous research has found that adipose tissue contains many different types of adult stem cells. In this study, researchers hypothesized that the adipose tissue might be a valuable alternative source of HSPCs as an extramedullary tissue but questioned whether the tissue could provide a sufficient quantity of cells to be used for research and therapeutic purposes.

“We know that adipose tissue and bone marrow tissues share similar properties, so we suspected that valuable stem cells might be found in the adipose regions, offering a unique resource for stem cells that might be easier and less costly to extract,” said Dr. Koh.

Within the adipose tissue is a special cell population known as the stromal vascular fraction (SVF), which consists of other undefined stem cells as well as immune, endothelial (blood vessel lining), progenitor (undifferentiated or premature precursor cells), and stromal (connective tissue) cells. Cells in the SVF share similar properties to those in the bone marrow. Both contain a population of cells that have the ability to differentiate into several cell types. In addition, both adipose tissue and bone marrow offer similar environments for optimal stem cell growth and reproduction, including a smaller amount of circulating oxygen and specialized vascular systems as compared with other organs.

The research team characterized the HSPCs in the SVF of mouse adipose tissue with both in vitro and in vivo analyses. They studied the origin of the HSPCs to better predict their behavior and determine whether the quantity of cells could be increased by promoting more frequent HSPC movement between the bone marrow and peripheral blood using granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, or G-CSF, a growth hormone used to encourage development of stem cells. The team found that the more they could mobilize the HSPCs between the bone marrow and the peripheral blood, the more HSPCs they would find in the SVF.

The study results provide compelling evidence that the SVF derived from adipose tissue contains functional HSPCs capable of generating hematopoietic (blood-forming) cells. Importantly, researchers found that the cells were able to differentiate into a variety of hematopoietic cells when tracked for at least 16 weeks post-transplantation, which reflects long-term and permanent reconstitution of donor hematopoietic cells in recipients.

The frequency of HSPCs in the adipose tissue found in the study was significantly less than that found in bone marrow (approximately 0.2 percent of the HSPCs found in total bone marrow). Therefore, researchers wanted to determine whether the SVF might be used practically as an alternative source of HSPCs. Fortunately, according to the researchers, a vast amount of the SVF in adipose tissue can be easily obtained from patients using conventional liposuction and isolation methods that are safe and relatively pain-free.

“These study results suggest that more HSPCs might be obtained from the stromal vascular fraction through increased mobilization of these cells from the bone marrow using G-CSF,” said Dr. Koh. “So once a technology can be defined to purify HSPCs from the stromal vascular fraction, we believe adipose tissue may be a good alternative and novel resource for obtaining functional and transplantable HSPCs.”

The research team is actively extending their research in this area, including plans for a human clinical study. They also emphasize the need for a clinically safer and more efficient method for isolating the HSPCs from the adipose tissue.

Source: American Society of Hematology


U.S. Preventive Medicine offers free employee wellness guide

Five Key Factors Make the Difference Between Success and Failure in Employee Wellness

U.S. Preventive Medicine introduced a free guide to help employers understand workplace preventive health care and develop effective wellness programs. “The Importance of Prevention in 2010” is available for free download at www.MoreGoodYears.com.

“Understanding the issues and options for selecting a wellness program can be daunting. There are many programs to consider and several pitfalls to avoid. This brief guide helps managers understand the key issues in order to develop effective, affordable health management programs,” said Christopher Fey, chairman and CEO of U.S. Preventive Medicine.

U.S. Preventive Medicine recommends the following minimum criteria for employee wellness programs:

Accredited. Wellness providers should be certified by objective, third-party organizations such as the National Committee for Qualification Assurance (NCQA) and URAC, government-sanctioned accreditation entities that evaluate the soundness of a health care services provider.
Independent. Because sensitive personal information is required to assess an individual’s baseline health and, therefore, critical to developing an effective wellness program, ensuring privacy and independence from employers and insurance providers is essential.
Personalized. While first-generation wellness relied mainly on group weight loss and exercise programs, today’s employers should demand more comprehensive programs based on each employee’s unique health risks and wellness goals. Employers should look for one-on-one support such as personalized action plans, individual health coaching and 24/7 nurse lines.
Compliant. Wellness providers should maintain the legal capabilities to comply with local, state and federal regulations governing employer/employee interaction. They should also have a strong understanding of discrimination and privacy issues.
Accountable. A wellness provider should share responsibility for recruiting employees to participate in the program, persuading members to follow action plans, and achieving the projected return on investment. Program goals and measurement criteria should be outlined and agreed upon in writing before the onset of the program.

In addition to program evaluation criteria, “The Importance of Prevention in 2010″ provides prevention background and statistics as well as recommendations for recruiting and motivating members, measuring return on investment and increasing the potential for success. To download the free guide, visit www.MoreGoodYears.com/the-prevention-plan-for-employers.htm.

Source: U.S. Preventive Medicine


New Method Bypasses Need to Obtain Stem Cells From Embryos

The scientist who reprogrammed adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells has been chosen to receive the 2010 March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology.

Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, San Francisco, and Kyoto University, Japan, will be honored with the 2010 March of Dimes Prize for his pioneering work that has fundamentally altered the field of developmental biology and will aid research into the prevention of birth defects.

Dr. Yamanaka has reprogrammed human skin cells into embryonic-like stem cells, which are pluripotent, meaning that they have the ability to develop into any kind of cell. The Yamanaka method eliminates the need to obtain stem cells from human embryos, a process that results in the destruction of the embryo.

“Dr. Yamanaka’s remarkable achievement makes it possible to have virtually an unlimited number of pluripotent stem cells that have the potential to be used to correct or repair birth defects in children,” said Michael Katz, MD, senior vice president for Research and Global Programs at the March of Dimes.

The March of Dimes Prize is a $250,000 cash award and a silver medal in the design of the Roosevelt dime, in honor of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who founded the March of Dimes. The Prize will be awarded to Dr. Yamanaka at a gala black-tie dinner and ceremony on May 3rd, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, during the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies. Also on May 3, Dr. Yamanaka will deliver the Fifteenth Annual March of Dimes Prize Lectures at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Dr. Yamanaka is the L.K. Whittier Foundation Investigator in Stem Cell Biology at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease and Professor of Anatomy at the University of California, San Francisco. He also is the director of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences, and professor in the Department of Stem Cell Biology at the Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, both at Kyoto University in Japan.

The March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology has been awarded annually since 1996 to investigators whose research has profoundly advanced the science that underlies the understanding of birth defects. The March of Dimes Foundation created the Prize as a tribute to Dr. Jonas Salk, who received Foundation support for his work to create a polio vaccine.

Source: March of Dimes


African-american organ and tissue donors changing history

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Jan 26,2010

Black History Month Highlights Need for Donors of Color

As the accomplishments and sacrifices of African Americans in Pennsylvania are celebrated during Black History Month, more than 2,550 individuals from the African-American community in need of organ or tissue transplantation face an uncertain future.

A shortage of organ and tissue donors means nearly 60 percent of those needing a transplant will wait for more than a year. Many can expect to wait for more than five years. Waiting for matched organs may mean a recipient will be sicker at the time of transplant or, worse, die waiting.

African Americans in Pennsylvania can change the course of history by becoming organ and tissue donors. One organ and tissue donor can give more than 50 people a second chance at life.

“There is a critical need for registered donors from the African-American community in Pennsylvania,” says Janice P. Kopelman, Deputy Secretary of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention for the Pennsylvania Department of Health. “People of color suffer disproportionately from health conditions such as heart disease, hypertension and kidney failure. For many, a transplant is a viable medical option.”

While African Americans make up 11 percent of the state’s overall population, they represent 32 percent of Pennsylvanians waiting for organ or tissue transplants. The majority, more than 2,200 African Americans, are waiting for kidney transplants.

Organ and tissue donation is an extraordinary way to impact the lives of others, but many myths and misconceptions can interfere with the decision to sign up to become an organ donor. Organ donation is available to people of all ages and at no cost to their family. The process does not interfere with traditional funeral arrangements and is supported by all major religions. Organ donation takes place only after all efforts to save a life have been exhausted. In addition, organs are matched by factors such as blood and tissue types, organ size, medical urgency, waiting time and geographic location without consideration of wealth or social status.

The following is a list of Pennsylvanians whose lives have been impacted by organ donation:

– Diane Royster, of Pittsburgh, is celebrating her 20th year as a liver transplant recipient. Since that time she has worked hard to promote the importance of organ donation within the African-American community through her volunteer work with CORE.
– Michelle Smith, of Harrisburg, donated a kidney to her brother who developed health issues following his service in the Vietnam War. Smith has enjoyed watching her brother become an active grandparent.
– Philadelphia’s 4th District Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. amidst his work and commitment to the residents of Philadelphia became a liver and kidney donor to his younger brother. By giving this gift of life, the Councilman was able to aide in his brother’s speedy and healthy recovery.

Becoming an organ and tissue donor is as simple as adding the donor designation to your driver’s license, learner’s permit or state identification card. Sign up at your local Department of Motor Vehicles or by visiting www.donatelife-pa.org because Life Begins with You.

The Facts on Organ and Tissue Donation Among African Americans in Pennsylvania

While it is important for everyone to sign up to become an organ and tissue donor, Black History Month and National Donor Day on February 14th represent key opportunities to raise awareness about the importance of becoming designated as organ and tissue donors within the African American community.

The course of history can be changed by increasing the number of people who receive life saving transplants each year. In fact, one organ and tissue donor can give more than 50 people a second chance at life!

(Key facts from http://www.donatelife-pa.org/getthefacts_generalstats.asp, http://www.core.org/fast_facts.asp, and http://www.donors1.org/Become-a-donor-General/Fast-Facts.html)

– African Americans make up 11 percent of Pennsylvania’s overall population, but represent nearly 32 percent of Pennsylvanians waiting for organ donor transplants.
– Of the more than 2,550 African Americans waiting for transplants in Pennsylvania, 89 percent are waiting for kidney transplants.
– African Americans represent 16 percent of transplants performed in Pennsylvania to date.
– 24.4 percent of African Americans waiting for transplants are between the ages of 50 and 64, and 28.6 percent are between the ages of 35 and 49.

How long is the wait for African Americans?
– 59.8 percent of African Americans in Pennsylvania waiting for an organ transplant have been on the waiting list for over 1 year; 10.8 percent have been waiting for more than five years.
– African Americans represent 42.1 percent of all Pennsylvanians waiting more than five years for a kidney transplant.

Who’s donating?

In Pennsylvania, African Americans represent 11.4 percent of deceased donors and 12.8 percent of living donors to date.

In Pennsylvania
– Between September 2008 and September 2009, 1,424,924 Pennsylvanians said “yes” to organ and tissue donation and added the designation to their driver’s license.
– The organ transplant waiting list in Pennsylvania includes more than 7,900 people. Still thousands of others wait for a tissue transplant that will greatly enhance the quality of their lives.
– More than 5,900 people await transplants in the Gift of Life Donor Program service region, which includes the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware.
– At the five CORE-affiliated organ transplant hospitals, serving counties in western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and a portion of New York, approximately 2,000 people are awaiting organ
transplantation.
– Pennsylvanians can register as organ donors online anytime at www.donatelife-pa.org or they can sign up as an organ donor when receiving or renewing their drivers license at any one of Pennsylvania’s driver license centers.

One Donor…
– Can donate kidneys to free two people from the dialysis treatments needed to sustain life.
– Can save the lives of patients awaiting heart, liver, lung or pancreas transplants.
– Can give sight to two people through the donation of corneas.
– Can donate bone to help repair injured joints or to help save an arm or leg threatened by cancer or other illness.
– Can help burn victims heal more quickly through donation of skin, and provide healthy heart valves for someone whose life is threatened by malfunctioning or diseased valves.
– Can give more than 50 people a second chance at life!

Source: DonateLife-PA


Mayo Clinic and IBM advance early detection of Brain Aneurysms

Preventing deadly ruptures of the blood vessels in the brain is the aim of a new Mayo Clinic project to help radiologists detect aneurysms with far greater speed and accuracy. The new method uses analytics technology developed by the Mayo and IBM collaboration, Medical Imaging Informatics Innovation Center and has proven a 95 percent accuracy rate in detecting aneurysms, compared with 70 percent for manual interpretation. Project findings were reported in the Journal of Digital Imaging (published online Nov. 24, 2009).

Already saving patients’ lives, the project has examined more than 15 million images from thousands of patients since the project began in early July. It uses technology that combines advanced imaging with analytics to highlight likely aneurysms for faster detection. This helps radiologists identify them before they result in brain hemorrhage or neurological damage. In the future, Mayo Clinic expects to use the same approach for other radiology detection tests such as the diagnosis of cancer or vessel anomalies in other parts of the body.

“This fully automatic scheme is significant in helping radiologists detect aneurysms in magnetic resonance angiography exams,” says Mayo radiologist Bradley Erickson, M.D., senior author of the study and co-director of the Medical Imaging Informatics Innovation Center at Mayo Clinic.

One out of 50 people in the United States has an unruptured brain aneurysm — an abnormal outward bulging in the blood vessels in the brain — and about 40 percent of all people who have a ruptured brain aneurysm will die as a result.

Traditionally, a patient suspected of having a brain aneurysm due to a stroke, traumatic injury or family history would undergo an invasive test using a catheter that injects dye into the body, a technique with risks of neurologic complications. To improve the process of detection using noninvasive magnetic resonance angiography imaging technology, Mayo Clinic and IBM worked to create so-called “automatic reads” that run detection algorithms immediately following a scan.

Once images are acquired, they are automatically routed to servers in the Mayo and IBM Medical Imaging Informatics Innovation Center located on the Mayo campus in Rochester, a collaborative research facility that combines advanced computing and image processing to provide faster, more accurate image analysis. There algorithms align and analyze images to locate and mark potential aneurysms — even very small ones less than 5 mm — so specially trained radiologists can conduct a further and final analysis.

From the time an image is taken to the time it is ready to be read by a radiologist, there often is only a 10-minute window. In that 10 minutes, the new workflow is able to identify images coming off of the scanners and route those related to the head and brain through the special workflow which then conducts automated aneurysm detection. On average, this can be done in three to five minutes, improving efficiency and saving valuable radiologist’s time, leading to a quicker diagnosis which is especially important in the case of a serious aneurysm.

“Our joint work with Mayo Clinic on this project taps IBM’s deep expertise in high performance computing and applies it to health analytics, enabling us to remove some of the time and efficiency barriers and making imaging an even more valuable preventative screening tool. Enabling broad access to this capability via cloud delivery is the natural next step,” said Bill Rapp, IBM’s CTO of Healthcare and Life Sciences and co-director of the Medical Imaging Informatics Innovation Center.

The aneurysm detection system uses an algorithm developed by Mayo researchers that is executed on IBM WebSphere Process Server to model and orchestrate the automated workflow. Images are stored on IBM DB2 for Linux and Windows data service and workflow logic is run on IBM System x servers and IBM storage.

Source: Mayo Clinic


Should any vaccines be required for children?

ProCon.org, a nonpartisan 501(c)3 nonprofit public charity dedicated to promoting critical thinking, created the new website http://vaccines.procon.org/ to explore the core question “Should any vaccines be required for children?”

Although no federal vaccination laws exist, all 50 states require certain vaccinations for children entering public schools. Depending on the state, children must be vaccinated against some or all of the following diseases: mumps, measles, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and polio. All 50 states also issue medical exemptions to vaccinations; 48 states (excluding Mississippi and West Virginia) permit religious exemptions, and 20 states allow an exemption for philosophical reasons. As of 2009, the national average vaccination rate for required school entry vaccines was 95.41%.

Proponents of vaccination argue it is one of the greatest public health developments of the 20th century. They point out that diseases like rubella (German measles), diphtheria, and whooping cough once killed tens of thousands of infants every year in the U.S. and are now avoided by vaccination. They argue that, although vaccination is not without risks (including rare but serious side effects such as seizures, paralysis, and death), the public health benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks.

Opponents of vaccination argue that children’s immune systems can deal with most infections and that natural immunity should be allowed to develop. They argue that possible severe side effects from vaccination are a risk that children should not be subjected to when, in most cases, diseases that children are vaccinated against are not usually life threatening. They also argue that vaccines can cause adverse reactions including allergies, auto-immune disorders, autism, ADHD, multiple sclerosis, Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

As of 2009, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Physicians recommend that children be vaccinated against fifteen different common childhood illnesses. The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, the National Vaccine Information Center, and Generation Rescue say parents should not be required to vaccinate their children.

The latest ProCon.org website explores many pro and con arguments and includes sources, images, videos, reader comments, and a section of little known facts called “Did You Know?” The findings should help readers think critically, educate themselves, and make informed decisions about childhood vaccination.

Did You Know?
– According to a 2003 report by researchers at the Pediatric Academic Society, childhood vaccinations in the U.S. prevent about 10.5 million cases of infectious illness and 33,000 deaths per year.
– About 30,000 cases of adverse reactions to vaccines have been reported annually to the federal government since 1990, with 13% classified as serious, meaning associated with permanent disability, hospitalization, life-threatening illness, or death.
– Over 5,500 cases alleging a causal relationship between vaccinations and autism have been filed under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims between 2001 and 2009.


FDA approves Ampyra to improve walking in adults with Multiple Sclerosis

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Jan 24,2010

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Ampyra (dalfampridine) extended release tablets to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In clinical trials, patients treated with Ampyra had faster walking speeds than those treated with an inactive pill (placebo). This is the first drug approved for this use.

MS is a chronic, often disabling, disease that affects the central nervous system–the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. There are about 400,000 people in the United States and 2.5 million people world-wide with MS.

The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another. Symptoms can be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. About half of all people with MS experience cognitive impairments like difficulties in concentration, attention, memory, and judgment, although these symptoms are usually mild and are frequently overlooked. Depression also is common among MS patients.

“Trouble with walking is one of the most debilitating problems people with MS face,” said Russell Katz, M.D., director of the Division of Neurology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Ampyra, when given at doses greater than that recommended (10 milligrams twice a day), can cause seizures. The most common adverse reactions reported by patients taking Ampyra in clinical trials include urinary tract infection, insomnia, dizziness, headache, nausea, weakness, back pain, balance disorder, swelling in the nose or throat, constipation, diarrhea, indigestion, throat pain, and burning, tingling or itching of skin.

Ampyra should not be used in patients with moderate to severe kidney disease. In these patients, blood levels with the drug approach those associated with the occurrence of seizures.

Ampyra will be manufactured under licenses from Elan of Dublin, Ireland, and distributed by Acorda Therapeutics Inc. of Hawthorne, N.Y.

Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration


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