The effect of Facebook on organ donor registration
Recently, there has been a great deal in the press surrounding organ transplantation. Sarah Murnaghan, the courageous little girl with end stage cystic fibrosis, captured the nation’s attention as she waited for a life saving lung transplant. The organ transplantation and procurement system in the US today is not without flaws. Organs are at a premium and finding the best way to allocate them to matched patients who need them the most is a daunting task.
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Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - July 31, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: Social media Facebook Nephrology Source Type: blogs
Extra Chromosome Silenced in Down Syndrome Cells
Amazing news was announced in the field of gene therapy this week. Scientists in Massachusetts have taken the cells of a person with Down Syndrome and have silenced the extra 21st chromosome in those cells. The Guardian has the story:Scientists have corrected the genetic fault that causes Down's syndrome albeit in isolated cells raising the prospect of a radical therapy for the disorder.In an elegant series of experiments, US researchers took cells from people with DS and silenced the extra chromosome that causes the condition. A treatment based on the work remains a distant hope, but scientists in the field said the...
Source: Mary Meets Dolly - July 18, 2013 Category: Geneticists and Genetics Commentators Tags: Genetic Engineering Source Type: blogs
Is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation a Charity or a Venture Capital Firm?
This article deserves considerably more attention than it apparently initially received.Background The background was,What happens when a disease-fighting charity dives into venture capitalism?In the first case of its kind, the results include one of the planet's most expensive pills, huge sales projections for a drug company and windfalls for executives who sold stock in the glow of enthusiastic news releases about the drug.Kalydeco is a breakthrough drug designed from knowledge of the genetic roots of cystic fibrosis, a lung disease that kills most victims before they reach middle age. Developed by Vertex Pharmaceut...
Source: Health Care Renewal - June 10, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: Vertex Pharmaceutical executive compensation disease-specific organizations manipulating clinical research mission-hostile management guidelines Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Source Type: blogs
GIGO: Will the Benefits of EHRs Outweigh the Trash They (Might) Create?
GIGO.
I don’t hear that very often these days. It was a common refrain, though, when computer-enabled calculations became accessible to the “average” academic researcher for the first time. I was there. We were near giddy with enthusiasm. With more power to crunch more numbers came a sense of security – and even arrogance – that we could solve more problems with less effort, faster. At last, we thought, we’d find truth!
No doubt, sometimes we did. But critics warned us: GIGO – Garbage In Garbage Out. If the data we used were garbage, so were our conclusions.
I’ve already blogged in this space about an error...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - June 3, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: HIT/Health Gaming Innovation Policy Technology EHR Electronic health record GIGO Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, June 3, 2013
Brought to you by MedPage Today.
1. Online Program Boosts Mobility for MS Patients. A simple behavioral intervention delivered over the Internet helped multiple sclerosis (MS) patients increase their daily walking.
2. Vinegar Test May Reduce Cervical Ca Deaths. Vinegar has been used for everything from cleaning refrigerators to taming food odors, and now this common kitchen staple may reduce cervical cancer deaths.
3. Fosamax Benefits Bones in Young CF Patients. Young patients with cystic fibrosis and low bone mineral density (BMD) saw significant improvements in bone quality following a year on alendronate (Fosamax).
Your...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - June 3, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: News Cancer Endocrinology Neurology Source Type: blogs
Novel Nebulizer Technology Brings Seawater Therapy to Cystic Fibrosis Patients
Some years ago someone noticed that surfers with cystic fibrosis (CF) have improved lung function over their skateboarding peers, or really anyone else with CF that doesn’t get sprayed with saltwater on a regular basis. Turns out that while nature has created a good way to deliver hypertonic saline to the lungs, carrying an ocean around is not a practical way to receive therapy. Parion Sciences, a development-stage company working on commercializing these findings into a practical inhaler, has partnered with Cambridge Consultants to create technology that can deliver tiny droplets of saline deep into the lungs.Trad...
Source: Medgadget - May 22, 2013 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Editors Tags: Medicine Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
PhRMA Report: Over 5400 Medicines in Development and 70% are First in Class
According to report released by PhRMA, companies have more than 5,400 medicines in development globally, and more than 70% of therapies in the pipeline are potentially first-in-class and could offer patients new treatment options, and a notable number of potential therapies target diseases with limited treatment options such as ALS and rare diseases. A breakdown of their report offers insight into the various medicines in development for different diseases and populations.
Older Americans
America’s biopharmaceutical research companies are developing 465 new medicines that target the 10 leading chronic conditi...
Source: Policy and Medicine - April 24, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Partners for Healthy Dialogues: Offers Prescription for Healthy Physician-Industry Interactions
When it comes to our health, “collaboration between physicians and biopharmaceutical professionals is essential to improving the care we receive and developing new medicines. Whether it is collaborating on research for new medicines or learning about the latest treatment options, interactions between physicians and biopharmaceutical professionals lead to better health and better medicine.”
This simple motto underlies a critical new initiative launched by a wide range of organizations, known as the “Partners for Healthy Dialogues.” The partnership is a collaboration between health care provider organization...
Source: Policy and Medicine - April 9, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
I need to widen my interests
Yesterday I went to a luncheon sponsored by the New England Coalition for Cancer Survivorship with a friend. She has had breast cancer and remarked when we arrived that she wasn't used to seeing men at cancer events. Breast cancer events are mostly filled with pink clad women.The lunch was wonderful with recognition of many people who are helping people with cancer cope with life after treatment - a worthy cause. I knew several people there and made some new friends and connections.However I started thinking (a dangerous undertaking to say the least) and decided I need to get more involved with the worlds of fibromyalgia a...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - March 24, 2013 Category: Cancer Tags: support fibromyalgia pain cancer rheumatoid arthritis Source Type: blogs
#ePharma Day 2 : Mobile Healthcare
The second half of the ePharma morning session started with a panel on serving Mobile Healthcare Customers lead by Joe Shields. Panelists included:
Chris Crichton, Vice President, 5th Finger, A Merkle Company
Sharon DeBacco, senior Director, Customer Communications & Operations, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals
Scott Wolf, Chief sales Officer, Everyday Health. The panel covered topics such as – Is the mobile patient a moving target? What are the needs of the patient? Have these devices changed the pathway of a patient? The panel also covered the importance of educating the regulatory professionals, people who work on the...
Source: ePharma Summit - March 5, 2013 Category: Medical Marketing and PR Tags: 2013 epharma summit Digital Marketing for Pharma digital healthcare Source Type: blogs
Pharmalot… Pharmalittle… Good Morning
Good morning, folks, and how are you today? A spot of rain is falling on the Pharmalot corporate campus, where we are doing our best to energize the short people and tend to the usual early-in-the-day to-do list. Of course, the middle of the week only intensifies the need to move quickly. We trust you relate. So join us as we grab another cup of stimulation and dig in for another busy day. As always, here are some items of interest to help you along. Hope your day is smashing and do stay in touch…
FDA OKs Pill For Post-Menopausal Sex Problems (Los Angeles Times)
Allergan Settles Oklahoma Botox Case During Trial (Bloo...
Source: Pharmalot - February 27, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized Allergan AstraZeneca Biosimilars Botox Cystic Fibrosis Elan FDA Flu GlaxoSmithKline Hospira Influenza Menopause Merck Narcolepsy Osphena Pandemrix Royalty Pharma SFDA Shionogi Tredaptive Vertex Pharm Source Type: blogs
Reason for Hope? - Novartis Rescinds Vasella's Golden Parachute
Enormous compensation of hired health care executives, out of all proportion, if related at all to whether their work had any positive effect on patients' or the public's health, has long been a concern on Health Care Renewal. For example, back in 2006, we posted repeatedly (look here for links) about the billion dollar plus fortune amassed by the then CEO of UnitedHealthcare which vividly contrasted with the company's avowal to "make health care more affordable."We have posted many such stories. Yet maybe there is a whiff of change in the air. For the first time that I can recall, a gigantic pay package ...
Source: Health Care Renewal - February 25, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: executive compensation perverse incentives golden parachutes Switzerland Novartis Source Type: blogs
White House PCAST: Rival Countries Gaining on US Medical Research Spending
The Nation once led the world in investments in research and development (R&D) as a share of gross domestic product (GDP), but more recently, the United States has been investing less in R&D than other leading and emerging nations invest. Moreover, U.S. industry has been shifting its investments toward applied R&D, narrowing the support for basic and early-stage applied research, which is crucial to transforming innovation.
Without adequate support for such research, the United States risks losing its leadership in invention and discovery—the driving force behind the new industries and jobs that have p...
Source: Policy and Medicine - February 14, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
2012: Banner Year for New Drugs
Fueled by new cancer therapeutics, last year the annual new molecular and biological entity approval count from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) saw its highest year since 1997. One-third of the novel products approved by the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) are used to treat cancers of the blood, breast, colon, prostate, skin and thyroid.
As part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) promotes and protects the health of Americans by assuring that all prescription and over-the-counter drugs are safe and effective. The CDE...
Source: Highlight HEALTH - February 13, 2013 Category: Medical Scientists Authors: Walter Jessen, Ph.D. Source Type: blogs
Do We Really Know the Cause for Over 4500 Diseases?
Since I mentioned the NIH in the context of the Molecular Libraries business, I wanted to bring up something else that a reader sent along to me. There's a persistent figure that's floated whenever the agency talks about translational medicine: 4500 diseases. Here's an example:
Therapeutic development is a costly, complex and time-consuming process. In recent years, researchers have succeeded in identifying the causes of more than 4,500 diseases. But it has proven difficult to turn such knowledge into new therapies; effective treatments exist for only about 250 of these conditions.
It shows up again in this paper, just o...
Source: In the Pipeline - February 12, 2013 Category: Chemists Tags: Biological News Source Type: blogs
