Study: Women over 65 Still Need Cervical Cancer Screening
Women who are sexually active and are not married or living as married should continue to receive cervical cancer screening late in life, according to a new study. Researchers said as many as a quarter of all new cases of cervical cancer and 41 percent of deaths from the disease involve women over 65.
Source: Medscape (free registration required)
A Controversial Example of Conflict of Interest
New requirements for researchers to disclose ties to drug companies may not be enough to eliminate bias in studies, some observers say. Readers of scientific journals cannot know how much a conflict has skewered results, and disclosure even could unconsciously tempt researchers to exaggerate their findings.
Source: The Wall Street Journal (free content)
How do Patients know when Inhalers run out of Medicine?
Case managers who work with patients with asthma may be interested in a new survey that indicates that many asthma sufferers incorrectly equate inhaler puffs with level of medication, despite the fact that “most rescue inhalers . . . contain either 200 or 400 doses of medication” and will continue to expel puffs after medication has been fully depleted. Of 342 people surveyed, 36% said they were unaware that they should keep track of dose counts.
Source: Ivanhoe Newswire.
Scripps Research Scientists Test Anti-obesity Vaccine
Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute have developed a vaccine that allows rats to eat large quantities of food without getting fat. The vaccine reduces levels of ghrelin, a hormone that regulates the way mammals store fat. Ghrelin was discovered in 1999 and has since been the target of a number of research projects looking for ways to control obesity in humans. In the research project, rats in one group received the vaccine while a control group received an inactivated vaccine. Both groups ate the same amount of food but the vaccinated rats weighed 20 to 30 percent less at the conclusion of the study. The key surprise in the study was that ghrelin appeared to work by increasing the rats’ metabolism rather than regulating their appetite. Researchers attached a protein from a sea mollusk to ghrelin to produce the vaccine, which caused the immune system to attack the naturally produced ghrelin.
Source: Scripps Research Institute
Researchers Find On/Off “Switch” for Muscular Dystrophy
Researchers at the University of Virginia say that they have been able to reverse muscular dystrophy (MD) in mice using a therapy that could eventually be used in humans. The key was silencing toxic messenger RNA molecules — which are created by faulty DNA code — that create abnormalities which in turn causes a progressive weakening of muscles, wasting, and heart ailments. Those are all common symptoms of myotonic dystrophy, the most common form of MD. The researchers first developed mice with faulty DNA that could be turned “on” or “off” by adding or eliminating an antibiotic in their water supply. In the “off” phase normal muscle activity returned in many of the mice. The team of researchers was led by Dr. Mani Mahadevan.
“The results represent the first in vivo proof of principle for a therapeutic strategy for treatment of myotonic dystrophy by ablating or silencing expression of the toxic RNA molecules,” wrote the researchers. “The fact that the course of the disease can be reversed both overtly and at the molecular level suggests that the toxic RNA functions as a reversible metabolic toxin.”
Click here to learn more on the research being done and for additional information on Muscular Dystrophy.
Three-question Test Predicts When CPR Won’t Work
An ethical question has come up for Emergency Responders as a result of research from Canada where a study has been done regarding criteria that may accurately predict whether patients in cardiac arrest will benefit from continued cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and survive the event.
The findings suggest CPR should cease if a pulse can’t be restored, if the emergency worker didn’t witness the cardiac event and if the defibrillator indicated an electric shock should not be given. Adopting the criteria could reduce futile emergency room transports by about two-thirds, according to the researchers.
To read more, go to: The Washington Post /Associated Press (registration not required)
Five Fruits A Day . . . a Way to Eat More Yet Consume Fewer Calories
A study looking at the dietary information of 7,500 adults found that people who eat plenty of fruits and vegetables typically consume much more food per day than those who prefer richer foods, yet they consume several hundred fewer calories a day. Their diets contained many more nutrients and foods from the main food groups, compared to the study participants whose diets included sugary, fattier foods.
Two Important Press Releases from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of which Case Managers should be aware:
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announce payment reforms for inpatient hospital services in 2007. Reforms begin transition to more accurate payment systems to promote Quality Care for all Hospitalized Patients.Click here to read the press release.
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service announce payment policy changes for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities in Fiscal Year 2007. As part of the Press Release, there is also a Final Rule on Accreditation of Durable Medical Supplies.Click here to read the press release.
