Illness Walks The Runway by Tim Murphy. The New York Times. January 30, 2013.
Fashion Week come to New York on February 7 accompanied by the flu and norovirus. The Editor at large for Harper's Bazaar said it well: "Fashion Week season is a nonstop assault on the immune system." Coping strategies among the runway set.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
State Efforts May Restrain Competition In Biological Drugs
Biotech Firms, Billions At Risk, Lobby States To Limit Generics by Andrew Pollack. The New York Times. January 28, 2013.
The 2010 Affordable Care Act called for competition for biotechnological drugs. However actions in the states legislatures may have significant impact on the degree of competition and the amount of savings to be realized under ACA from prescribing biosimilars.
How biological drugs are made is outlined here.
The 2010 Affordable Care Act called for competition for biotechnological drugs. However actions in the states legislatures may have significant impact on the degree of competition and the amount of savings to be realized under ACA from prescribing biosimilars.
How biological drugs are made is outlined here.
Orphan Drugs No Longer Unloved
Drug Makers See Profit Potential In Rare Diseases by Jonathan D. Rockoff. The Wall Street Journal. January 30, 2013.
Drugs designed to treat rare diseases were once neglected as unprofitable by pharmaceutical companies. This article presents several drugs that show that this is no longer the case. Incentives from the FDA include quicker approval, tax benefits, and protection from competition make this class of products quite attractive. Also, the narrow genetic focus of these drugs also makes unnecessary, large-scale and expensive clinical trials. This drugs also often have astronomical prices--often covered by insurance-- making them a very profitable contributor to pharmaceutical companies revenue.
Drugs designed to treat rare diseases were once neglected as unprofitable by pharmaceutical companies. This article presents several drugs that show that this is no longer the case. Incentives from the FDA include quicker approval, tax benefits, and protection from competition make this class of products quite attractive. Also, the narrow genetic focus of these drugs also makes unnecessary, large-scale and expensive clinical trials. This drugs also often have astronomical prices--often covered by insurance-- making them a very profitable contributor to pharmaceutical companies revenue.
In A Post-Antibiotic Era New Infection Controls Needed
When Hospitals Become Killers by Betsey McCaughey. Opinion--The Wall Street Journal. January 30, 2013.
Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella, CRK, is emerging as a major threat to public health and hospitals. This infection has spread even with strict implementation of CDC infection-control precautions. Powerful antibiotics are increasingly proving ineffective to deal with CRK. New standards to deal with CRK have been implemented in an infection at an NIH facility and include screening all patients for CRK and more rigorous cleaning (double cleaning with bleach + a hydrogen peroxide sprayer as well as reporting requirements for CRK.
Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella, CRK, is emerging as a major threat to public health and hospitals. This infection has spread even with strict implementation of CDC infection-control precautions. Powerful antibiotics are increasingly proving ineffective to deal with CRK. New standards to deal with CRK have been implemented in an infection at an NIH facility and include screening all patients for CRK and more rigorous cleaning (double cleaning with bleach + a hydrogen peroxide sprayer as well as reporting requirements for CRK.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Neuronal Source of The Pleasant Sensations From Massage Identified
Sorting Out Stroking Sensations: Biologists Find Individual Neurons In Skin That React To Massage. Science Daily. January 30, 2013.
Scientists hope that this research will lead to further efforts to identify different types of neurons associated with various types of skin stimuli. With a unique research methodology which incorporated genetic tags, the use of light to identify firing neurons, advanced microscopy, and behavioral testing to measure the reaction to the firing of pleasure-related neurons, there is potential to do just that.
Scientists hope that this research will lead to further efforts to identify different types of neurons associated with various types of skin stimuli. With a unique research methodology which incorporated genetic tags, the use of light to identify firing neurons, advanced microscopy, and behavioral testing to measure the reaction to the firing of pleasure-related neurons, there is potential to do just that.
Go Red For Women Illustrates Persistent Problem of Heart Disease In Women
Go Red Campaign Gets To The Heart of Women's Health by Grace Bonds Staples. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. January 28, 2013.
This article recounts the story of a woman who suffered heart attacks resulting from SCAD, spontaneous coronary artery dissection, after giving birth to quadruplets. This personal story is combined with the story of her support for Go Red for Women, a awareness campaign for women's heart health. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women. Since 1984 more women than men have died of heart disease each year.
This article recounts the story of a woman who suffered heart attacks resulting from SCAD, spontaneous coronary artery dissection, after giving birth to quadruplets. This personal story is combined with the story of her support for Go Red for Women, a awareness campaign for women's heart health. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women. Since 1984 more women than men have died of heart disease each year.
Georgia Physician/Novelist Dies at 90 From Complications Of Being "Slap-Clean Wore Out"
Dr. Ferrol Sams Jr., 90: Classic Author, Southern Humorist, Fayetteville Physician by Michelle E. Shaw. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. January 29, 2013.
Sams practiced medicine for four decades before he acted on the inspiration provided by a Mercer University english professor and began his writing career in the 70's. Former Atlanta Journal-Constitution editor and a friend called him a "damn good doctor. But he was also a very, very good writer."
Sams practiced medicine for four decades before he acted on the inspiration provided by a Mercer University english professor and began his writing career in the 70's. Former Atlanta Journal-Constitution editor and a friend called him a "damn good doctor. But he was also a very, very good writer."
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