Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/297911471?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Shingles vaccine is associated with reduction in both postherpetic neuralgia and herpes zoster
Apr. 9, 2013 ? Shingles vaccine is associated with reduction in both postherpetic neuralgia and herpes zoster, but uptake in the US is low.
A vaccine to prevent shingles may reduce by half the occurrence of this painful skin and nerve infection in older people (aged over 65 years) and may also reduce the rate of a painful complication of shingles, post-herpetic neuralgia, but has a very low uptake (only 4%) in older adults in the United States, according to a study by UK and US researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine.
The researchers, led by Sin?ad Langan from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, reached these conclusions by examining the records of 766,330 Medicare beneficiaries* aged 65 years or more between 2007 and 2009.
They found that shingles vaccine uptake was extremely low -- only 3.9% of participants were vaccinated -- but was particularly low among black people (0.3%) and among people with a low income (0.6%).
Over the study period, almost 13,000 participants developed shingles and the vaccine reduced the rate of shingles by 48% (that is, approximately half as many vaccinated individuals developed shingles as those who were not vaccinated). However, the vaccine was less effective in older adults with impaired immune systems. The authors also found that vaccine effectiveness against post-herpetic neuralgia was 59%.
The authors say: "Herpes zoster vaccination was associated with a significant reduction in incident herpes zoster and [post-herpetic neuralgia] in routine clinical use."
They continue: "Despite strong evidence supporting its effectiveness, clinical use remains disappointingly low with particularly low vaccination rates in particular patient groups."
The authors add: " The findings are relevant beyond US medical practice, being of major importance to the many countries, including the UK, that are actively considering introducing the zoster vaccine into routine practice in the near future."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Public Library of Science.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Sin?ad M. Langan, Liam Smeeth, David J. Margolis, Sara L. Thomas. Herpes Zoster Vaccine Effectiveness against Incident Herpes Zoster and Post-herpetic Neuralgia in an Older US Population: A Cohort Study. PLoS Medicine, 2013; 10 (4): e1001420 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001420
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/QybIeyvGhYg/130409173504.htm
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Competitors who aren't Apple lodge antitrust complaint against Google in Europe
Google competitors -- no, not including Apple -- have lodged an antitrust complaint against the company with the European Union. Microsoft, Nokia, Oracle, and others, all under the name Fairsearch Europe, have alleged that Google is using Android?s dominant market position to provide an advantage for Google apps. According to the New York Times, Fairsearch is alleging that Google is muscling their OEM partners into giving Google?s apps prominent placement:
For example, phone makers that agree to use Android ? and that also want Google applications like YouTube ? face contractual requirements to place those applications and other Google-branded applications in prominent positions on the mobile device?s desktop, Mr. Vinje said.
Fairsearch, which probably shouldn't be confused with something actually fair -- calls Google?s free distribution of Android ?predatory? because companies like Microsoft, which sells licenses to OEMs, have a hard time making their money back when they?re competing with Google. Essentially they're accusing Google of dumping, but with software instead of hardware.
The prominence of Google?s apps on Android phones puts others at a disadvantage. It?s a bit funny for Microsoft to be complaining about this, seeing as they were penelized for essentially this same practice with regards to web browsers on Windows. What a difference a half a decade makes.
Google is already under investigation by the European Commission for similar potential antitrust violations, using its dominant position in web search to push its web app ecosystem. Android itself is facing scrutiny as well, separately from either the web search or Fairsearch complaints.
We've seen what happened to Microsoft post-anti-trust. iOS users remain huge Google services users, even as iPhones and iPads compete with Android devices. What's you take? Is Google crossing any lines? And would this help Apple or just set them up as the next potential target?
Source: The New York Times, via Android Central
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/fGE6yThy7iM/story01.htm
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Stephen Hawking visits LA stem cell lab where his disease is studied
Eric Reed / AP
In this photo provided by Cedars-Sinai, Stephen Hawking gives a talk to workers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, on Tuesday, April 9, 2013.
By Alicia Chang, The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES ??Stephen Hawking toured a stem cell laboratory Tuesday where scientists are studying ways to slow the progression of Lou Gehrig's disease, a neurological disorder that has left the British cosmologist almost completely paralyzed.
After the visit, the 71-year-old Hawking urged doctors, nurses and staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to support the research.?
Hawking recalled how he became depressed when he was diagnosed with the disease 50 years ago and initially didn't see a point in finishing his doctorate. But his attitude changed when his condition didn't progress quickly and he was able to concentrate on his studies.
"Every new day became a bonus," he told a packed room.
Cedars-Sinai received nearly $18 million last year from California's taxpayer-funded stem cell institute to study the debilitating disease also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ALS attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control the muscles. People gradually have more and more trouble breathing and moving as muscles weaken and waste away.?
There's no cure and no way to reverse the disease's progression. Few people with ALS live longer than a decade.
Diagnosed at age 21 while a student at Cambridge University, Hawking has survived longer than most. He receives around-the-clock care, can only communicate by twitching his cheek, and relies on a computer mounted to his wheelchair to convey his thoughts in a distinctive robotic monotone.
A Cedars-Sinai patient who was Hawking's former student spurred doctors to invite the physicist to glimpse their stem cell work.?"We decided it was a great opportunity for him to see the labs and for us to speak to one of the preeminent scientists in the world," said Dr. Robert Baloh, who heads the hospital's ALS program.
During the tour, Hawking viewed microscopic stem cells through a projector screen and asked questions about the research, Baloh said.
Cedar-Sinai scientists have focused on engineering stem cells to make a protein in hopes of preventing nerve cells from dying. The experiment so far has been done in rats. Baloh said he hopes to get governmental approval to test it in humans, which would be needed before any therapy can be approved.
Eric Reed / AP
In this photo provided by Cedars-Sinai, Clive Svendsen, left, director of the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute, leads Stephen Hawking, third from left, on a tour of the Regenerative Medicine Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday, April 9, 2013.
Renowned for his work on black holes and the origins of the universe, Hawking is famous for bringing esoteric physics concepts to the masses through his best-selling books including "A Brief History of Time," which sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. Hawking titled his speech to Cedars-Sinai employees "A Brief History of Mine."
Despite his diagnosis, Hawking has remained active. In 2007, he floated like an astronaut on an aircraft that creates weightlessness by making parabolic dives.
Space exploration is important "for the future of humanity," he told the audience.
Hawking said he did not think Earthlings would survive "without escaping beyond your fragile planet."
And he gave some advice: Look up at the stars. Stay curious.
"However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at," he said.
Doctors don't know why some people with Lou Gehrig's disease fare better than others. Baloh said he has treated patients who lived for 10 years or more.?"But 50 years is unusual, to say the least," he said.
More about Stephen Hawking:
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
This story was originally published on Tue Apr 9, 2013 9:45 PM EDT
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Heart surgery increases death risk for cancer survivors who had ...
April 08, 2013
Study Highlights:
- Cancer survivors who had chest radiation therapy are nearly twice as likely to die in the years following major heart surgery than patients with similar heart problems but no radiation.
- Scientists call for research to explore alternatives to open heart surgery for cancer survivors.
EMBARGOED UNTIL 3 p.m. CT/4 p.m. ET, Monday, April 8, 2013
DALLAS, April 8, 2013 ? Cancer survivors who had chest radiation are nearly twice as likely to die in the years after having major heart surgery as similar patients who didn?t have radiation, according to research in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
Chest radiation to kill or shrink breast cancer, Hodgkin?s lymphoma and other cancers increases survivors? risk for major heart disease years ? even decades ? after radiation therapy.
?While radiation treatments done on children and adults in the late 1960s, ?70s and ?80s played an important role in cancer survival, the treatment often takes a toll on the heart,? said study author Milind Desai, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. ?Survivors are at greater risk than people who do not have radiation to develop progressive coronary artery disease, aggressive valvular disease, as well as pericardial diseases, which affect the heart?s surrounding structures. These conditions often require major cardiac surgery.?
The study is the largest on how prior radiation affects long-term results from major heart surgery.
Researchers reviewed 173 patients who had radiation treatment for cancer an average 18 years before needing heart surgery. They followed the heart surgery patients an average 7.6 years and compared them to 305 patients undergoing similar heart surgeries who didn?t have radiation therapy.
?These are major open-heart procedures, including valve or bypass procedures, and a vast majority had multiple simultaneous procedures, eg., multiple valve surgeries or valve plus bypass,? Desai said. ?About a quarter of the patients had redo surgeries, which puts them at even higher risk than those having the initial procedures.?
Radiation patients had similar pre-surgical risk scores as non-radiated patients. Typically, preoperative risk scores help determine how patients will fare after surgery.
Patients had similar results in the first 30 days after major cardiac surgery regardless of their prior radiation status. However, during an average 7.6 years of follow-up, 55 percent of patients in the radiation group died, compared to 28 percent in the non-radiation group.
?These findings tell us that if you had radiation, your likelihood of dying after major cardiac surgery is high,? Desai said. ?That?s despite going into the surgery with a relatively low risk score. In patients who have had prior thoracic radiation, we need to develop better strategies of identifying appropriate patients that would benefit from surgical intervention. Alternatively, some patients might be better suited for percutaneous procedures.?
Co-authors are: Willis Wu, M.D.; Ahmad Masri, M.D.; Zoran B. Popovic, M.D., Ph.D.; Nicholas G. Smedira, M.D.; Bruce W. Lytle, M.D.; Thomas H. Marwick, M.D., Ph.D.; and Brian P. Griffin, M.D. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.
Visit heart.org for an overview of Cardiac Procedures and Surgeries.
For the latest heart and stroke news, follow us on Twitter: @HeartNews.
For updates and new science in Circulation, follow: @CircAHA.
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Statements and conclusions of study authors published in American Heart Association scientific journals are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the association?s policy or position. The association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content.? Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations are available at www.heart.org/corporatefunding.
Additional resources, including multimedia, are available in the right column of this link: http://newsroom.heart.org/news/heart-surgery-increases-death-risk-for-cancer-survivors-who-had-radiation?preview=fe85690c5a2554efd7c21cee7605a389
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