WASHINGTON -- Safety decisions concerning one-third of the more than 10,000 substances that may be added to human food were made by food manufacturers and a trade association without review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to an analysis spearheaded by the Pew Health Group. The report, published today in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety illustrates potential problems with the U.S. food additive regulatory program.
Culture
For the majority of students, cheating is out of the question because success can only be achieved through honest and hard work, i.e. academic integrity. Some cultures, like in China, have copying so ingrained that scientists don't consider plagiarism cheating at all, while some students do it just to have an easier time.
According to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), there are 1.2 million full- and part-time students enrolled at 95 institutions of higher learning across our nation. How many of them might cheat on their way to graduation isn't clear.
ITHACA, N.Y. - It was once the undisputed king of its clan, but most believe the imperial woodpecker faded unseen into the pages of history sometime in the late 20th century in the high mountains of Mexico. Thanks to some keen detective work, the largest woodpecker that ever lived can be seen by the world once more – and this 85-second flight through time offers us a lesson about its behavior, and ours.
A study shows that the medication etanercept reduces the frequency and severity of symptoms of TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS), a rare inherited condition characterized by recurrent fevers, abdominal pain and skin rashes. The study, published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, also points out the need for the development of additional therapies to more thoroughly ease symptoms and prevent long-term complications of the disease.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- In geriatric medicine, the adage that age is just a number holds true. New research from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center uses a simple assessment tool to determine how well older adults diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) can handle treatment.
Arlington, Va. — A novel study demonstrates that using nanoparticles to deliver osteoarthritis drugs to the knee joint could help increase the retention of the drug in the knee cavity, and therefore reduce the frequency of injections patients must receive. This research is being presented Oct. 23 – 27 at the 2011 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C.
Vancouver – New research has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF), a condition affecting a quarter of a million Canadians which is expected to strike even more in the coming years, as the Canadian population ages.
AF is the most common type of heart arrhythmia and puts those affected at a three to five times greater risk for stroke. Now, there is a new drug poised to battle the condition.
A study led by Benjamin Chi of the University of Alabama, Birmingham, USA and colleagues reports on the development of a standard definition for loss-to-follow-up (LTFU) that can be used by HIV antiretroviral programs worldwide. Based on their findings, which are published in this week's PLoS Medicine, the authors recommend that the standard definition for LTFU should be when 180 days or more have elapsed since the patient's last clinic visit.
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered several gene variants contributing to early stent thrombosis (ST), a devastating and often deadly complication after coronary stent implantation in people with coronary artery disease. The team found that three of these variants were associated with impaired sensitivity to the common blood thinner clopidogrel, and a fourth that affects a blood platelet receptor involved in platelet aggregation and clot formation.
SEATTLE, WA—You wouldn't brake your car while stepping on the gas—or wash down a sleeping pill with espresso. Yet many people taking common Alzheimer's disease medications—cholinesterase inhibitors—are given medications with anticholinergic properties, which oppose their effects. Group Health Research Institute scientists investigated how often that happens and reported on the consequences in an "Early View" study e-published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
A new study in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) found that patients with herniated lumbar disc symptoms were significantly worse if the patients had symptoms for more than six months prior to treatment, compared to those who had symptoms for six months or less. Symptoms included pain, function, general health, work status and patient satisfaction.
Most likely, you would be disgusted if confronted with a picture of a man eating a mouthful of writhing worms. Or a particularly bloody wound. Or a horribly emaciated but still living body. But just how much disgust you feel may lend important insight into your personal political proclivities.
Arlington, Va. -- An innovative delivery method for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) medications has been developed through use of a transdermal patch, the first of its kind to treat HIV. This research is being presented at the 2011 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., Oct. 23 – 27.
Boston, MA -- Patient satisfaction is increasingly recognized as an important component of quality of care. To achieve a high level of patient satisfaction, providers need to identify and address patients' expectations. However, a new international survey conducted by researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Harvard Medical School reveals that while clinicians think it is important to ask patients about their expectations, they often fail to do so and consequently may not respond adequately.