Culture | Science Codex

Palliative care improves outcomes for seniors

Seniors in long-term care experienced a significant reduction in emergency room visits and depression when receiving palliative care services, according to a recent collaborative study by researchers at Hebrew SeniorLife's Hebrew Rehabilitation Center (HRC) and Institute for Aging Research, both affiliated with Harvard Medical School (HMS).

The results of the study, published today in The Gerontologist, demonstrate the potential for improved end-of-life quality of care when palliative services are implemented in a long-term care setting.

Into adulthood, sickle cell patients rely on ER

Patients with sickle cell disease rely more on the emergency room as they move from pediatric to adult health care, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

An analysis of Medicaid data of more than 3,200 patients with sickle cell disease shows that emergency room visits tripled from age 15 to age 24. The research is reported Dec. 10 at the American Society of Hematology's annual meeting, in Atlanta.

New studies reveal critical insights to improve care of patients with sickle cell disease

(ATLANTA, December 10, 2012) – Research unveiling key gaps in continuity of care for sickle cell patients transitioning from pediatric to adult care will be presented this week during the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

Self-assembled monolayers create p-n junctions in graphene films

The electronic properties of graphene films are directly affected by the characteristics of the substrates on which they are grown or to which they are transferred. Researchers are taking advantage of this to create graphene p-n junctions by transferring films of the promising electronic material to substrates that have been patterned by compounds that are either strong electron donors or electron acceptors.

Hedge funds manipulate stock prices, new research shows

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Some hedge funds manipulate stock prices at the end of the month to improve the returns that they report to their investors, a new study suggests.

In a study of 10 years of hedge fund data, researchers found evidence that some funds run up prices on specific stocks they hold on the last day of the month and quarter – especially the last 20 minutes of trading – before they report their returns for the period. But the prices usually fall back the next day, after the abnormally large returns have already been reported to investors.

Maintaining weight loss as important as losing it for older women

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Dec. 10, 2012 – When you're postmenopausal and overweight, losing weight is a good thing, but gaining back just a few pounds may actually be detrimental to your cardiovascular health.

New research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found that gaining weight back after intentional weight loss is associated with negative long-term effects on some cardiometabolic (CM) risk factors in postmenopausal women.

Reduced intensity regimen prior to marrow transplant better for older leukemia patients

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) shows that preparing older acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients for bone marrow transplants with a reduced intensity conditioning regimen appears to be associated with higher rates of disease-free survival relative to the more typical treatments usually given to such patients. The study was presented at the 2012 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA.

New stem cell research, transplant strategies show promise to improve outcomes, reduce complications

(ATLANTA, December 9, 2012) – Studies of stem cell biology and transplant approaches presented today at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) illustrate how the use of advanced modeling techniques is optimizing stem cells to treat patients with blood disorders, as well as the potential of enhanced treatment strategies to improve the success rate of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation for these patients.

Novel therapeutic agents provide hope for patients with hard-to-treat blood disorders

(ATLANTA, December 9, 2012) – Encouraging safety and efficacy data on novel and emerging therapies presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) signal an important step forward in the development of treatment strategies for patients with hard-to-treat leukemia, myeloma, and myelofibrosis.

More than a third of high-risk leukemia patients respond to an experimental new drug

A new drug for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) marked by a specific type of genetic mutation has shown surprising promise in a Phase II clinical trial. In more than a third of participants, the leukemia was completely cleared from the bone marrow, and as a result, many of these patients were able to undergo potentially curative bone marrow transplants, according to investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and nine other academic medical centers around the world.

Studies challenge standards to improve treatment outcomes for patients with clotting disorders

(ATLANTA, December 8, 2012) – Studies presented today at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) examine current treatment standards for patients with clotting disorders in an effort to improve outcomes. The studies evaluate long-held treatment standards and whether modifications in intensity and duration of therapy may offer equally effective outcomes while reducing toxicities and relapse rates.

Investigational agent targets gene signaling pathways to improve response for patients with CLL

(ATLANTA, December 8, 2012) –The promising investigational targeted therapy ibrutinib and its mechanism of silencing gene communication pathways critical to the development of cancer may be an effective way to combat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to studies presented today at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

Updated Clinical Results Show Experimental Agent Ibrutinib as Highly Active in CLL Patients

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Updated results from a Phase Ib/II clinical trial indicates that a novel therapeutic agent for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is highly active and well tolerated in patients who have relapsed and are resistant to other therapy.

The agent, ibrutinib (PCI-32765), is the first drug designed to target Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK), a protein essential for CLL-cell survival and proliferation. CLL is the most common form of leukemia, with about 15,000 new cases annually in the U.S. About 4,400 Americans die of the disease each year.

2013 will be a good year, academic tells Chicago Fed Board

Economic growth will rise to 3 percent in 2013 and 2014, while unemployment will drop to 7.3 percent by December of 2013, says New Jersey Institute of Technology Professor William V. Rapp, PhD, who told economists and others the good news last week at the annual outlook symposium sponsored by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank.

Why believe him?

Rilpivirine for HIV: Added benefit for single agent proven

Since the start of 2012, a new drug called rilpivirine has been available for adult patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). It is marketed by two different pharmaceutical companies, by one as a single agent (trade name Edurant®) and by the other as a fixed combination with other HIV drugs (trade name Eviplera®).