Health & Medicine Week articles from November 2002

Health & Medicine Week archives from November 2002

Fast-paced gene discovery changes clinical care of deaf patients.
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In 1997, researchers first identified a genetic cause of nonsyndromic deafness - hearing loss that is the patient's only abnormality. Since then, the number of genes known to cause nonsyndromic...

Experts call for increased research, prevention.(suicide)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Federal agency leaders and mental health experts have called for increased public action on suicide, an immense public health issue that they say is often and too easily overlooked. At a briefing...

Environmental tobacco smoke exposure during travel affects adults with asthma.
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure has been linked to many adverse health effects, ranging from asthma exacerbation to eye irritation to lung cancer. According to a new study by the...

Extract from Indian shrub has antidiabetic properties.
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - The root juice from Helicteres isora, an East Indian shrub, exhibited the ability to stimulate insulin secretion and lower lipid levels in a murine...

More extramural scientists needed to bolster information on CAM.(complementary and alternative medicine)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Lynn Yoffee, senior medical writer - Millions of Americans use alternative and complementary medicines but many of their physicians remain unsure about providing advice on such use. Lack of...

Doctor-patient communication found to be important to antidepressant therapy.
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Simple communication may be the key to treating depressed patients more effectively with antidepressant medication, according to Kaiser Permanente research published in the Journal of the American...

Maximize return to function with aggressive pain management.
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Lynn Yoffee, senior medical writer - Treating pain aggressively includes effective use of a variety of tools to facilitate rehabilitation and return to function, said Joseph J. Ruane, DO, director of...

Important to recognize that addiction, abuse in females is different.
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Lynn Yoffee, senior medical writer - Female patients who have addictive and substance abuse disorders are unique. Prevention efforts as well as treatment should be tailored to fit those specialized...

JAMA study reviewed by smoking cessation patch, gum maker.(Journal of the American Medical Association)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSK) has read with interest a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that questions the effectiveness of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT),...

Positive results reported from phase III trial of Memantine.
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Forest Laboratories, Inc., (FRX) announced that in a recently completed 6-month, placebo-controlled study in patients with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer disease, a significant benefit was observed when...

Additional phase III trials required by FDA for Cellegesic.
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cellegy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (CLGY) announced that the FDA will require the company to conduct an additional phase III clinical trial in order to obtain approval of Cellegesic (nitroglycerin ointment)...

Beacon names Robert Tatum new director of business operations.(Beacon Services L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Beacon Services, LLC, has named Robert Tatum as director of business operations. In this newly created role, Tatum is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of the Beacon family of companies as...

Competitive Intelligence: Analytical tools turn competitive information into strategy.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Global leaders are rediscovering the importance of transforming competitive intelligence (CI) information into actionable recommendations through the use of analytical tools, according to a new study...

Manufacturers should label PVC devices made with DEHP.(polyvinyl chloride, di-2- ethylhexyl-phthalate and health risks)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is recommending that manufacturers label medical devices made with di-2- ethylhexyl-phthalate (DEHP), a chemical linked to birth defects and other illnesses that is...

Boehringer, Pfizer to conduct long-term tiotropium study.(Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., Pfizer Inc.)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Boehringer Ingelheim and Pfizer, Inc., announced the launch of a large-scale, 4-year study to evaluate the potential long-term impact of tiotropium (marketed as Spiriva) on lung function in patients...

Spiriva gets recommendation for approval by FDA committee.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., said that an Advisory Committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended approval of Spiriva (tiotropium bromide inhalation powder) for the...

ACRO supports principles for clinical trials protections.(Association of Clinical Research Organizations)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) announced its support for a set of principles governing the conduct of clinical trials adopted recently by the Pharmaceutical Research and...

Workers need help learning to persevere in hard times.
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- While Americans continue to look inward as they commemorated the first anniversary of the horrific events of September 11, 2001, workers throughout the country still need considerable help coming to...

Study finds at least 1 in 100 U.S. babies involved in car crashes while in womb.
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- At least 1 out of 100 babies born in the United States will have been involved in a police-reported car crash while in the womb, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Injury...

High-risk tumors largely resist chemotherapy attack.(head and neck cancers)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Adding chemotherapy to radiation therapy and surgery failed to significantly improve control of high-risk, resected head and neck cancers, according to a new study presented at the October 2002 American...

P53 suppressor gene studied.(head and neck cancer)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Montefiore Medical Center researchers are studying a new drug that has the potential to fight recurrent and highly resistant head and neck cancer. Montefiore is the only medical center in New York City...

African Americans less likely than Caucasians to be vaccinated against flu.
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Fewer than half of African Americans over the age of 65 are vaccinated against influenza each year as compared with Caucasians, placing thousands of older African Americans at increased risk for...

FDA approves preservative-free flu vaccine for pediatric use.
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aventis Pasteur announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved licensure to market Fluzone Preservative-free: Pediatric Dose, Influenza Virus Vaccine. For the first time,...

ACS announces MIDAS+ license agreement with Baylor Health Care.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ACS (ACS), a provider of business process and information technology outsourcing solutions, announced a new MIDAS+ license agreement with the Baylor Health Care System (BHCS). Under the agreement,...

CNS inks agreement to test market Breathe Right nasal strips in China.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CNS, Inc. (CNXS), the Breathe Right company, announced that it has entered into an exclusive, 3-year agreement with China National Medical Equipment and Supplies Import and Export Corp., headquartered...

Prevalence continues to increase among U.S. adults.(obesity)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Obesity among U.S. adults has continued to increase and now affects 30% of the population, according to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Cynthia L. Ogden, PhD, and...

Breakthrough in bypassing blood-brain barrier uses intranasal delivery system.
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Many people who suffer from head trauma, stroke, Parkinson or Alzheimer disease may not be receiving the best medications. Unfortunately, many times, while less effective drugs have been able to...

Survey: African-American patients find consumer ads helpful.(prescription drug advertisements)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The first survey of African-American patients and their views on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs demonstrates that drug ads may empower patients by building awareness of...

Enhanced tamper-resistant packaging introduced by Bayer.(Bayer Biological Products)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bayer Biological Products (BP) has introduced enhanced tamper-resistant packaging in response to recent concerns about product tampering. The roll-out of seal tabs on all boxes containing Gamimune...

Amevive application on track for early 2003 approval.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Biogen, Inc., (BGEN) announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has committed to complete the review of its Amevive (alefacept) application within 6 months. After review of the...

Strong warning labels urged for ephedra.
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy G. Thompson has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to evaluate the best scientific evidence available and recommend the strongest...

Forward integration drives long-term growth in biotechnology industry.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... 2002 NOV 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, "U.S. Biotechnology Industry Overview and Growth Strategy Framework," reveals that the biotechnology therapeutics industry generated product revenues totaling $17.9...

Desperation drives patients to alternative remedies.(for cancer)
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Oncologists have been urged to be more responsive to cancer patients who want to try alternative medicines. Speaking October 18, 2002, at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in...

Visit to dentist may reveal bulimia, osteoporosis.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A person with bulimia may seem to have a regular smile, but look at the back of the patient's teeth with a dental mirror and a very different story emerges. The self-induced vomiting to prevent...

National outreach campaign encourages women to get mammograms.
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Recognizing that too many women forget to get their mammograms each year, hundreds of CIGNA HealthCare employees will make "house calls" to nearly 100,000 CIGNA HealthCare women members in need of a...

Task force issues caution on combined hormone therapy.(U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says that combined estrogen and progestin therapy should not be used to prevent cardiovascular disease in post menopausal women)
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended against the use of combined estrogen and progestin therapy for preventing cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions in postmenopausal...

Musculoskeletal disorders are often associated with HIV infection.
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- People infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) often experience a wide array of musculoskeletal symptoms secondary to the HIV infection. Some studies, for example, have shown that...

Researchers say timing is optimal to conquer tobacco epidemic in U.S.(University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention)
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), authors of a paper conclude that an optimal convergence of science, public opinion, and legislative policy makes the...

Foundation launches first nationwide public service announcement campaign.(Arthritis Foundation)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Arthritis Foundation in the United States has launched its first nationwide, multimedia public service announcement (PSA) campaign to raise awareness of the nation's number one cause of disability....

Oncologists evaluate Chinese herbal medicine.
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An innovative approach to test Chinese herbal medicine using Western research methods has been devised by oncologists in Hong Kong to evaluate the role of herbal medicine in a conventional treatment...

Irradiated meats may help protect immunosuppressed.(4WebMed now carries irradiated meats produced by I-Care Foods and marketed by Food Technology Service Inc. )(Brief Article)
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- 4WebMed, a company providing specialized nutritional products to patients suffering from chronic and acute illness, has added I-Care Foods irradiated meats to its product offerings. I-Care Foods...

Fund maintains health insurance coverage for indigent patients.(American Kidney Fund Health Insurance Premium Program )(Brief Article)
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The American Kidney Fund (AKF) has marked a milestone in helping low-income kidney patients maintain their health insurance coverage. AKF's Health Insurance Premium Program (HIPP) was established...

ISTA Pharmaceuticals submits CMC section of Vitrase NDA.(chemistry, manufacturing and controls section of new drug application)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (ISTA) announced that the chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) section of the new drug application (NDA) for Vitrase, a drug being developed by ISTA for the treatment...

Positive results reported from initial tests of laser treatment for presbyopia.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SurgiLight, Inc., (SRGL) , which develops ophthalmic laser systems primarily for presbyopia treatment and reversal, and Vancouver, B.C.-based EnVision Technologies, Inc., jointly announced positive...

Physical fields help mend slow-healing broken bones.
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An average of 6 million people in the United States per year experience bone fractures. Of these, about 300,000 are slow to heal or do not heal at all with traditional methods. For appropriate...

Surgical hemostat controls bleeding, decreases discomfort after sinus surgery.(CoStasis surgical hemostat from Cohesion Technologies Inc. )
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study conducted at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and Columbia University Health Sciences found that CoStasis surgical hemostat (CoStasis), manufactured by Cohesion Technologies, Inc., (CSON),...

New campaign helps prepare parents, caregivers for medical emergencies.("The Right Care When It Counts" pediatric emergency management information and education campaign from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced a new public information and education campaign to raise awareness about the...

Campaign aims to boost family awareness of preventing high cholesterol.(American Heart Association promotes The Cholesterol Low Down awareness campaign)
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- To drive home the message that heart disease can have devastating effects, not only on individuals but on families, the American Heart Association is expanding its hugely successful national awareness...

New series features feet soft enough for walking, yet stiff for running.(Freedom Series of prosthetic feet from Freedom Innovations Inc.)
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Freedom Innovations, Inc., (FI) recently debuted the Freedom Series of high-quality, affordable, and easy-to-buy artificial feet for lower limb amputees. The Freedom Series includes three new...

Doctors and patients should work together for prevention.(of medication errors)
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a new Commonwealth Fund 2001 Health Care Quality Survey released this past April, 22% of individuals asked stated that they or a family member experienced a mistake in a doctor's office or...

National performance measures endorsed.(National Quality Forum approves hospital care quality standards)
November 11, 2002... 2002 NOV 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The National Quality Forum (NQF) announced that it had approved the first portion of the first set of U.S. national voluntary consensus standards for measuring the quality of hospital care. These...

Do "cosmeceuticals" work?
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Each year, Americans trying to recapture their youth spend billions of dollars on skin care products claiming to rejuvenate the skin. Most of these over-the-counter skin care products are coined...

Grant helps establish national suicide prevention resource center.
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced that the Education Development Center in Newton, Massachusetts, will receive a grant to establish a national...

Laser technology tackles acne.
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- While it is estimated that more than 80% of the world's population is affected by acne at some point during their life, there is still no cure. Until recently, a combination of topical preparations...

Report: Georgia is 1 of 10 worst states in U.S. for people with disabilities.
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ADAPT (American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today) has announced its list of the top 10 "worst" states for community services, and Georgia is 10th on the list. ADAPT is active in advocating...

Pregabalin successfully addresses pain.
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Lynn Yoffee, senior medical writer - In the largest randomized, placebo-controlled trial of a monotherapy for fibromyalgia to date, investigators have found that a new agent, pregabalin,...

New interactive mannequin is hands-on educational tool.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Students from the Carnegie Mellon University Institute for Complex Engineered Systems (ICES) recently unveiled the latest asthma education tool of the American Respiratory Alliance of Western...

Study finds young women's knowledge, health practices lacking.
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, a private funding source in the U.S. for breast cancer research and community outreach programs, announced the results of its young women's needs...

Stretch mark reducer used as antiwrinkle, antiaging facial treatment.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a turn of events that is arguably one of the strangest in the history of cosmetics, American women reportedly have started putting a stretch mark reducing emulsion on their faces in hopes of looking...

AMA Foundation, Pfizer work together in health literacy campaign.(American Medical Association)
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ever feel a little confused after visiting your doctor? Or forget which pill you're supposed to take and when? You're not alone. Surveys reveal that 90 million Americans - half of the total adult...

FDA approves aldosterone blocker treatment.(Food and Drug Administration; Pharmacia Corp.'s Inspra)
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted marketing approval for Pharmacia Corporation's Inspra (eplerenone tablets), the first agent designed to selectively block aldosterone, for the...

Gastric banding improves mental health as well as physical health.
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - The psychological well being of patients, especially women, who underwent vertical banded gastroplasty for morbid obesity improved significantly...

Ignore flat feet and they might become your archenemy.
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Approximately 75% of Americans will experience foot pain at some time in their lives. One of the causes of this pain can be flat feet - a condition in which the foot doesn't have a normal arch. ...

Active seniors keep their bones strong.
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Activity level appears to be one of the major factors separating older adults with strong bones from those who have weaker bones, and therefore are more prone to developing osteoporosis and...

Childhood pedestrian injuries are preventable tragedies.
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pedestrian injury is second only to cancer as the leading cause of death of children between the ages of 5 and 9 years. According to a study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery,...

Study will use patients' autologous cells to facilitate tissue growth.
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Isolagen, Inc., (ISLG) announced that faculty at The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston are currently recruiting patients for a clinical study that will use the patients' own cells and...

Extended release amoxicillin/clavulanate potassium tablets approved.
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GlaxoSmithKline announced that Augmentin XR (amoxicillin/clavulanate potassium) Extended Release Tablets has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the treatment of adults with...

Costimulation blocker introduced as promising new treatment route.(rheumatoid arthritis)
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Lynn Yoffee, senior medical writer - A new biologic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis has been shown to improve response rate in patients when administered with methotrexate, one of the...

Southern 'stroke belt' study initiates nationwide study.
November 18, 2002... 2002 NOV 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A 5-year study that will examine possible causes for the higher incidence of stroke in southern states and in African Americans compared with whites will rely on cardiovascular risk factor specialists...

Less physical activity in obese adolescents contributes to continued obesity.
November 25, 2002... 2002 NOV 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An understanding of the contribution that physical activity makes to overweight and obesity is important, especially among adolescents, yet this contribution is difficult to quantify because of the...

Physicians' lack of rest negatively affects their work.
November 25, 2002... 2002 NOV 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Sleep-deprived physicians are negatively affected in terms of alertness, well-being, and thinking skills, according to the authors of a study published in Critical Care Medicine. The study was...

Silicone implants do not have FDA approval, contrary to recent reports.(Brief Article)
November 25, 2002... 2002 NOV 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Inaccurate news stories on breast implants have confused physicians and patients across the country, according the National Center for Policy Research (CPR) for Women & Families. The U.S. Food and...

Botox treatments best performed by medical professional.
November 25, 2002... 2002 NOV 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- While dermatologists have many ways to treat the telltale signs of facial aging, one of the most popular approaches is to temporarily "disable" the muscles that cause wrinkles by injecting botulinum...

New therapies being developed for conditions affecting nonwhite skin.
November 25, 2002... 2002 NOV 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Speaking at the American Academy of Dermatology's Derm Update 2002, dermatologist Susan C. Taylor, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia...

Childhood obesity expert recommends simple interventions.
November 25, 2002... 2002 NOV 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- With 1 in 4 children at risk for becoming overweight and 1 in 10 children already overweight, simple interventions that will have more kids standing in line at their school cafeterias and more...

Report calls for discussion on palliative care for infirm, elderly.
November 25, 2002... 2002 NOV 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- When doctors refer to elderly patients as frail, healthcare providers and families think they understand the description. But is "frail" a definition, a diagnosis, or a disease? Who decides what...

New studies address adverse drug reactions in patients.(Brief Article)
November 25, 2002... 2002 NOV 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A recent study shows the results of analyzing a hospital's adverse drug reaction (ADR) database to identify clinically significant preventable adverse drug events. The study appeared in the...

Delay in diagnosis can lead to permanent spinal damage.
November 25, 2002... 2002 NOV 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Although a majority (61%) of respondents with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) experience symptoms of AS by age 29, most have a delayed diagnosis, with many seeing multiple doctors in the process, according...

Appetite trigger leptin may be key.
November 25, 2002... 2002 NOV 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have spotted a likely new reason for bone loss that afflicts women and teenage girls who exercise so much or eat so little that they wind up starving themselves. The focus is on the...

PracticeWorks names J. Thomas Presby to board.(Brief Article)
November 25, 2002... 2002 NOV 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- PracticeWorks, Inc., (PRW) announced that J. Thomas Presby has been appointed to its board of directors. Until his recent retirement on June 1, 2002, Presby was a senior partner with Deloitte...

SurgiCare names Philip C. Scott as chief financial officer.(Brief Article)
November 25, 2002... 2002 NOV 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SurgiCare, Inc., (SRG), a Houston-based ambulatory surgery company, announced the appointment of Phillip C. Scott to the position of chief financial officer. Scott will assume these duties...

QVAR touted to patients who previously used Vanceril.(Brief Article)
November 25, 2002... 2002 NOV 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The half-million patients using Vanceril (beclomethasone dipropionate CFC) to control their asthma symptoms are learning that the product is no longer being manufactured. Schering-Plough...

Pharmaceutical metrics reveal new strategies for industry leaders.(Brief Article)
November 25, 2002... 2002 NOV 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pharmaceutical companies face a crisis of compliance: up to 20% of initial prescriptions go unfilled and patients abandon at least 30% of refills. According to a new report from business...

Enrollment completed for second oritavancin trial for bacterial skin infections.
November 25, 2002... 2002 NOV 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- InterMune, Inc. (ITMN) announced that the company has completed patient enrollment in a second multicenter, global, phase III, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial of oritavancin for the...