NEW from Benefit: Rockateur Box o' Powder.

Benefit Cosmetics just expanded its' Box o' Powder line with this new Rockateur Cheek Powder. Well, they are calling it "Famously Provocative Cheek Powder" and I sort of like that name, don't you?

Rockateur is a silky powder blush that is like a blush/highlighter in one product. It is a pretty brown based pink shade with a very satiny, subtly gold finish. It is like rose gold! On first swipe, I could barely tell where it was applied, but with a few strokes of the brush, the pigment really came through.

The formula is unique. It is actually a combination of powder, baked, cream and fluid textures that makes it have such a strong color payoff. It feels and applies like a baked powder. I think that may be why I like it as a highlighter so much. While I am wary of many highlighters because of their ability to highlight lines and pores, Rockateur does not. It highlights in a way that it softens. It really is beautiful.

I have to mention that this is one product in which I really like the brush too. The stocky brush is full of natural feeling hairs that make it easy to sweep the powder onto the apples of cheeks and then blend up the cheekbone.

Benefit Rockateur Box o' Powder is available now at Benefit Cosmetics and Sephora for $28.00.

A press sample of the product featured may have been provided by brand or brand representative for editorial consideration. All opinions are my own. Affiliate links may have also been used in the post. Please see disclosure policy for complete information.

For all the latest beauty buzz, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Copyright © 2001 - 2013 Beautiful Makeup Search.

View the original article here

HIV-infected children benefit from Improved caregiver training

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Caregivers / Homecare
Article Date: 19 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
HIV-infected children benefit from Improved caregiver training

Children born with HIV can live longer and richer lives if their caregivers receive training in ways to enhance the children's development, according to research led by Michigan State University.

The program also reduces depression in the caregivers which, in most cases, are the children's HIV-infected mothers, MSU researcher Michael Boivin and colleagues report in The Journal of Pediatrics.

An HIV diagnosis once all but guaranteed an African child would die within a few years, but more effective and widely available drugs have made it commonplace for children there to live with the disease into or beyond adolescence.

Still, with gravely ill caregivers - many of whom must also work long hours in the fields to provide food - these kids miss out on the affection and regular interaction that are crucial for their physical, social and cognitive development in early childhood, said Boivin, professor in the departments of Psychiatry and of Neurology and Ophthalmology.

"Better access to treatment has clinically stabilized these children and extended their lives, but their quality of life is still very much at risk," Boivin said. "The effects of the disease on their development and the compromised caregiving available to them compound the public health challenges already faced by African children in resource-poor settings."

Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the study involved a training program called Mediational Intervention for Sensitizing Caregivers, or MISC, which uses day-to-day interaction at home to enhance children's social skills, language and cognitive ability.

"MISC is about training mothers or other caregivers on ways they can be sensitive to their child's natural tendencies to learn, and to direct those tendencies in everyday life to enrich the child's development," said Boivin.

The study involved 120 preschool-aged children with HIV living in rural Uganda. Their primary caregivers were randomly assigned to receive childcare training through MISC or through an education program focused on improving children's health and nutrition.

After a year, the children whose caregivers received the MISC training showed significantly more developmental progress than the others, with particularly strong gains in memory and learning skills.

Somewhat surprisingly, there were significantly fewer deaths from diseases that take advantage of the patient's compromised immune system in the MISC group than among other children, suggesting the training may help pediatric HIV patients live longer.

Boivin said it could be that MISC-trained caregivers "became more attuned to their children's health needs and were more likely to seek medical help in a timely manner when the children are fighting an opportunistic illness."

Caregivers in the MISC group also were significantly less depressed six months into the study than those in the other group, perhaps because of the social support they received during MISC training.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our hiv / aids section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

University, Michigan State. "HIV-infected children benefit from Improved caregiver training." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 19 Aug. 2013. Web.
19 Aug. 2013. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'HIV-infected children benefit from Improved caregiver training'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam). We reserve the right to amend opinions where we deem necessary.

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here

Children with high-risk neuroblastoma benefit from new, precise proton therapy cancer treatment

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 15 Aug 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Children with high-risk neuroblastoma benefit from new, precise proton therapy cancer treatment

Proton therapy, using high-energy subatomic particles, may offer a precise, organ-sparing treatment option for children with high-risk forms of neuroblastoma. For patients in a new study of advanced radiation treatment, proton therapy spared the liver and kidneys from unwanted radiation, while zeroing in on its target.

"As survival rates improve for children with neuroblastoma, we need to reduce treatment-related long-term toxicities," said study leader Christine Hill-Kayser, MD, a radiation oncologist in The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's (CHOP) Cancer Center. "Proton beam therapy offers precise targeting with less radiation exposure to healthy tissue."

Hill-Kayser and colleagues published their study online recently in Pediatric Blood & Cancer.

Owing to collaboration between Children's Hospital and radiation oncologists at Penn Medicine, the Roberts Proton Therapy Center, where the study was conducted, is the first proton therapy facility in the U.S. conceived with pediatric patients in mind from the earliest planning stages.

Proton therapy for high-risk neuroblastoma

Protons, the positively charged particles in an atom's nucleus, are used in therapy to destroy DNA in tumors and prevent cancer cells from multiplying. In children, this therapy is often used against spinal tumors. CHOP has recently been directing protons at neuroblastoma, long a special focus of the Hospital's clinical and research programs.

Neuroblastoma, the most common solid tumor of early childhood, strikes the peripheral nervous system, usually appearing as a solid tumor in a young child's chest or abdomen.

Pediatric oncologists have an arsenal of weapons against neuroblastoma, but high-risk forms of this cancer present a particular challenge, often frustrating conventional treatment from the start or recurring in a resistant form.

The current study, said Hill-Kayser, included 13 children with a median age of 3 years who responded well to initial chemotherapy, followed by surgery, more chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant, and in some cases, immunotherapy. The advanced radiation treatment aimed to destroy remaining microscopic areas of cancer cells while minimizing toxicity to healthy tissue. Importance of tailoring treatment for each child

In planning radiation treatment for each child, the study team determined that 11 patients should receive proton therapy, and that two other patients, because of their specific anatomy and the location of their tumors, should receive intensity-modulated X-ray therapy (IMXT). In IMXT, radiologists sculpt the radiation emitted from 7 different angles to modify radiation dosages in and around the targeted area.

None of the 13 patients had local disease recurrence or acute organ toxicity. For 11 of them, proton therapy provided the best combination of target coverage and organ sparing. "Protons are heavier than the particles in X-rays and have more stopping power," said Hill-Kayser. "They deposit 90 percent of their energy precisely at the tumor site, with nearly zero radiation away from the tumor. That protects healthy organs - which, as growing tissues, are especially vulnerable to radiation damage in young children."

The fact that individual characteristics made IMXT preferable to proton therapy in two children, said Hill-Kayser, underscores the need to meticulously customize radiation treatment to each patient. Overall, the current study shows that proton therapy should be considered for children with high-risk neuroblastoma. She added, "To better assess the use of proton therapy against high-risk neuroblastoma, we'll need to study larger numbers of patients and do long-term follow-up. However, this represents a great start."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our cancer / oncology section for the latest news on this subject.

Co-authors of this study were Robert Lustig, MD, Zelig Tochner, MD, and Stefan Both, PhD; like Hill-Kayser, all are from the Department of Radiation Oncology of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Co-authors Anne Reilly, MD, Naomi Balamuth, MD, Richard Womer, MD, John Maris, MD, Stephan Grupp, MD, PhD, and Rochelle Bagatell, MD, are from the Cancer Center for Children at CHOP.

Hill-Kayser et al, “Proton versus photon radiation therapy for patients with high-risk neuroblastoma: The need for a customized approach,” Pediatric Blood & Cancer, published online, June 4, 2013. DOI: 10.1002/pbc.24606

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

Children\'s Hospital of Philadelphia. "Children with high-risk neuroblastoma benefit from new, precise proton therapy cancer treatment." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 15 Aug. 2013. Web.
15 Aug. 2013. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Children with high-risk neuroblastoma benefit from new, precise proton therapy cancer treatment'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam). We reserve the right to amend opinions where we deem necessary.

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here

Gene expression may reveal who will benefit from vitamin D

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Genetics
Article Date: 15 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Gene expression may reveal who will benefit from vitamin D

Studying the expression of genes that are dependent on vitamin D makes it possible to identify individuals who will benefit from vitamin D supplementation, shows a University of Eastern Finland study published recently in PLoS One.

Population-based studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk for chronic diseases and weaken the body's immune system. In the present study carried out at the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, the study participants were given a daily dose of either 40 or 80 micrograms of vitamin D, or a placebo, over a course of 5 months during Finnish winter. The results showed that the expression of vitamin D dependent genes in adipose tissue and monocytes, i.e. white blood cells, correlated only in half of the study participants with their vitamin D concentrations in the blood.

The researchers concluded that persons whose expression of the CD14 and thrombomodulin genes was not altered as a result of vitamin D supplementation already had a sufficiently high serum vitamin D concentration or their utilization of vitamin D was disturbed, which calls for further study. The researchers believe that studying the expression of vitamin D dependent genes in tissues is a novel way to identify individuals who might benefit from long-term vitamin D supplementation. This observation is further supported by the fact that studying alterations in the expression of genes also made it possible to identify persons whose levels of interleukin 6, an inflammation marker, were reduced as their serum vitamin D levels increased.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our nutrition / diet section for the latest news on this subject.

Research article: Carlberg C, Seuter S, de Mello VDF, Schwab U, Voutilainen S, et al. (2013) Primary Vitamin D Target Genes Allow a Categorization of Possible Benefits of Vitamin D3 Supplementation . PLoS ONE 8(7): e71042. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071042

University of Eastern Finland

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

University of Eastern Finland. "Gene expression may reveal who will benefit from vitamin D." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 15 Aug. 2013. Web.
15 Aug. 2013. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Gene expression may reveal who will benefit from vitamin D'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam). We reserve the right to amend opinions where we deem necessary.

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here

Patients suffering from potentially fatal forms of vasculitis could benefit from first ever licensed treatment, UK

Main Category: Immune System / Vaccines
Also Included In: Regulatory Affairs / Drug Approvals
Article Date: 15 Aug 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Patients suffering from potentially fatal forms of vasculitis could benefit from first ever licensed treatment, UK

MabThera (rituximab) is now licensed as the first and only treatment for two potentially life-threatening auto-immune diseases, GPA and MPA, which result in the inflammation and damage of small blood vessels and frequently involve multiple organs. The two diseases affect over 13,000 people in the UK and are characterised by the decaying inflammation of specific areas of tissue in the body that, if not treated, can lead to organ damage, organ failure and even death.[1]

MabThera, which selectively targets CD20, a cell surface marker that is expressed on certain B cells and leads to B cell depletion, has been shown to offer similar efficacy to the chemotherapy agent cyclophosphamide.[2] In a subset of patients with relapsing disease, it has been shown to offer greater efficacy.[2]

MabThera is licensed in combination with glucocorticoids, a type of steroid, to induce remission in adult patients with severe, active GPA or MPA. The licence is based on data, which compared MabThera versus cyclophosphamide and found that treatment with MabThera provided effective induction of complete remission at 6-months in 64% of patients vs. 53% with cyclophosphamide (p=0.09).[2] Achieving complete remission is important for patients, as it means that their disease is kept at bay.

"This licence is much welcomed news for patients suffering from these rare diseases. GPA and MPA can strike suddenly and have a serious impact on a person's life and overall health, with the likelihood of relapse high," said Dr. David Jayne, Consultant in Nephrology and Vasculitis at Addenbrookes Hospital. "In the management of these two conditions, remission and keeping patients from relapsing is the goal of treatment. MabThera, as the first and only licensed treatment for these debilitating conditions, not only means that more patients will have an additional treatment option, but will also have a chance of achieving remission or getting patients back into remission when their disease has relapsed."

The rate of relapse is higher in patients with GPA compared to those with MPA, with up to 50% of GPA patients relapsing within 5 years and each episode carries a high risk of organ damage.[1] Data have shown that treatment with MabThera is more efficacious than a cyclophosphamide-based regimen to induce remission among those with relapsing disease, 67% vs. 42% respectively (p=0.01).[2]

MabThera has an established safety profile across a number of disease areas, as demonstrated in over 3.5 million patient exposures, 14,000 patient years, of up to ten years duration with up to 19 courses of treatment in clinical trials[3],[4] The most common adverse reactions reported in clinical studies were upper respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, infusion related reactions and headaches.[5]

GPA and MPA in the UK:
Facts and Figures
GPA and MPA affects over 13,000 people in the UK[1]GPA and MPA affects men and women equally[1]Average age of onset is between 60-70 years old[1]GPA and MPA are usually fatal if not treated[1]80% of patients with GPA and/or MPA who are treated will be alive after two years[1]
About GPA, MPA and ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (GPA) and Micoscopic Polyangiitis (MPA) are two diseases under the types of ANCA-associated vasculitis, a term given to a group of auto-immune inflammatory disorders associated with autoantibodies known as antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs). These abnormal antibodies interact with neutrophils, which then cause damage to the walls of small and medium blood vessels in various tissues and organs in the body, whereby the tissue necrotises and can cause failure to the kidney, ENT/respiratory tract and nervous system. Management of the GPA/MPA involves three phases: induction of remission, remission maintenance, treatment of flares and keeping patients from relapsing, which carries a risk of subsequent organ damage.[1]

RAVE study
The RAVE trial was a 6-month, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, double-dummy, non-inferiority trial to compare MabThera with cyclophosphamide (CYC) followed by azathioprine (AZA) for remission induction.

RAVE enrolled 197 ANCA positive GPA and MPA patients (newly diagnosed or relapsing), who were randomised to either MabThera 375mg/m2 of body surface area intravenously (IV) once weekly for 4 weeks plus daily cyclophosphamide-placebo, or MabThera-placebo IV plus daily cyclophosphamide 2mg/kg.[2] Those with severe renal disease or severe alveolar haemorrhage were excluded. The primary endpoint was remission, defined as BVAS/GPA of 0 and successful oral steroid withdrawal at month [6]. Groups were matched for disease severity, subtype, organ involvement and ANCA type and approximately 50% in each group had relapsing disease.[2] Remission rates were comparable in the two treatment arms, with 64% in the MabThera arm and 53% of the control arm reaching the primary endpoint (p=0.09). In a planned subgroup analysis, the MabThera-based regime (67%) was more efficacious than the cyclophosphamide-based regimen (42%) for inducing remission of relapsing disease (P=0.01).[2]

About MabThera
MabThera was first licensed by the FDA in 1997 and in 1998 in Europe to treat B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma resistant to other chemotherapy regimens and in 2006 for rheumatoid arthritis. It is a monoclonal antibody that targets CD20, a cell surface marker that is expressed on B cells, leading to B cell depletion. MabThera is the first and only B cell targeted therapy for rheumatoid arthritis and provides a different treatment approach compared with traditional anti-TNF and DMARD treatments. B cells play a key role in the development of RA and by selectively targeting and depleting a sub-set of these B cells, MabThera can prevent some of the effects that cause the disease symptoms and can lead to other long-term benefits for the patient.[5] MabThera is now licensed for the induction of remission of severe, active GPA and MPA in adult patients in the UK and is currently funded in certain circumstances by NHS England.[1] Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our immune system / vaccines section for the latest news on this subject.

[1] NHS Commissioning Board Clinical Commissioning Policy: Rituximab for Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis. Reference : NHSCB/ A13/P/a – April 2013

[2] Stone John H et al. Rituximab versus Cyclophosphamide for ANCA-Associated Vasculitis. The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol.363; 221-232, July 2010

[3] Van Vollenhoven RF, et al. Ann Rheum Dis 2012; 71(Suppl 3): 195 and poster number 459 at ACR 2012

[4] Roche data on file RXUKDONF00294, February 2013

[5] Summary of Product Characteristics. MabThera 100mg and 500mg concentrate for solution for infusion. http://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/2570/SPC/Mabthera+100mg+and+500mg+concentrate+for+solution+for+infusion [last accessed June 2013]

Roche Products Ltd

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

Roche. "Patients suffering from potentially fatal forms of vasculitis could benefit from first ever licensed treatment, UK." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 15 Aug. 2013. Web.
15 Aug. 2013. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Patients suffering from potentially fatal forms of vasculitis could benefit from first ever licensed treatment, UK'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam). We reserve the right to amend opinions where we deem necessary.

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here

Bowel cancer patients to benefit from metabolic 'fingerprinting' of tumors

Main Category: Colorectal Cancer
Also Included In: Genetics
Article Date: 14 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Bowel cancer patients to benefit from metabolic 'fingerprinting' of tumors

It is possible to see how advanced a bowel cancer is by looking at its metabolic 'fingerprint', according to new research.

Bowel cancer is the third most common type of cancer globally, with over one million new cases diagnosed every year. Accurately determining the stage that a tumour has reached is crucial for deciding which treatments to offer.

Metabolic fingerprinting looks at the levels of many different metabolites, which are the products of chemical reactions in the body's cells, in a sample of blood, urine or tissue. This mix of metabolites alters as cancer develops and grows. The researchers behind the new study, from Imperial College London, suggest that doctors could use metabolic fingerprinting alongside existing imaging technology to give them the most accurate possible analysis of a tumour. The work is published in the journal Annals of Surgery.

Doctors currently use a combination of CT, MRI and ultrasound scanning to evaluate how advanced a tumour is, but as these scans rely on visual estimations of a tumour's size and location, they are not always sufficiently sensitive or specific. Previous studies have shown that these techniques regularly suggest that a tumour is more advanced, or less advanced, than it really is.

Dr Reza Mirnezami, the lead author of the study from the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London, said: "Working out the stage of a tumour is critical for planning a patient's treatment. Increasingly, before we surgically remove a tumour, we will give therapies to try and shrink it down, but the kinds of therapies we offer depend on our assessment of how advanced that tumour is. The more accurate we can be, the better the patient's chances of survival.

"Our research suggests that using metabolic fingerprinting techniques in addition to scanning could give us the clearest possible picture of how the cancer is progressing."

For the new study, researchers analysed the metabolic fingerprint of 44 bowel tumour tissue samples, provided by patients at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, using high-resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (HR-MAS NMR). Their results were as accurate at determining the stage that the cancer had reached as existing radiological methods.

Lord Ara Darzi, the Paul Hamlyn Chair of Surgery at Imperial, and senior author of the study, said: "We know that even with the impressive scanning technology we have available at the moment, it's not always possible to correctly ascertain the local stage of a cancer. Our study suggests that used alongside medical imaging, metabolic fingerprinting could enable us to gain more accurate information. This would give us greater certainty about the right course of treatment to give to patients, sparing some patients from invasive treatment where they don't need it."

The research also suggests that tumours take on unique metabolic properties as they become more advanced, opening up new avenues for treatment. The researchers hope that ultimately, it may be possible to take out different metabolic targets when the cancer is at different stages, in order to disable or slow down the tumour.

Professor Jeremy Nicholson, Head of the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial and corresponding author for the study, said: "This study represents one part of our program of advanced technology development to improve patient safety in the surgical environment and shows the huge potential of using metabolic models to stratify patients and optimise therapy."

'Bowel cancer patients to benefit from metabolic 'fingerprinting' of tumors'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam). We reserve the right to amend opinions where we deem necessary.

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here

IBS patients benefit from eluxadoline

Main Category: Irritable-Bowel Syndrome
Article Date: 14 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
IBS patients benefit from eluxadoline

Patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS-D, treated with eluxadoline achieved better clinical response and experienced more symptom improvement than those using placebo, according to a recent study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. Eluxadoline, which is currently in phase 3 trials, is under development as a potential treatment for IBS-D.

"There is a critical need for a safe and effective treatment for IBS-D, a disorder affecting approximately 10 to 15 percent of the population in Western counties," said Anthony Lembo, co-study author from Harvard Medical School, Center for Clinical and Translational Research in Gastrointestinal Motility, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Division of Gastroenterology, Boston, MA. "The results of our study confirm the effectiveness of eluxadoline to decrease abdominal pain and improve stool consistency, without significant risk of constipation, for patients with IBS-D."

This phase 2 study evaluated the effectiveness, safety and tolerability of orally administrated eluxadoline. Researchers randomly assigned 807 adult patients with IBS-D to 5 mg, 25 mg, 100 mg or 200 mg eluxadoline or placebo twice a day for 12 weeks. Patients given eluxadoline had significant symptom improvement with a very low incidence of constipation. Symptom relief and quality of life scores increased with time of treatment.

"Based on these promising results, additional clinical development of eluxadoline is warranted to validate its clinical meaningfulness and to determine what baseline patient characteristics are predictive of clinical response with eluxadoline," added Lembo. "We look forward to seeing how eluxadoline fares in phase 3 trials and hope to end suffering for IBS-D patients searching for an effective treatment."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our irritable-bowel syndrome section for the latest news on this subject.

Funding for this study was provided by Furiex Pharmaceuticals.

Eluxadoline Benefits Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome With Diarrhea in a Phase 2 Study

Leonard S. Dovee, Anthony Lembo, Charles W. Randall, Ronald Fogel, David Andrae, J. Michael Davenport, Gail Mcintyre, June S. Almenoff, Paul S. Covington. Gastroenterology, Volume 145, Issue 2 , Pages 329-338.e1, August 2013, doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2013.04.006

American Gastroenterological Association

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

American Gastroenterological Association. "IBS patients benefit from eluxadoline." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 14 Aug. 2013. Web.
14 Aug. 2013. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'IBS patients benefit from eluxadoline'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam). We reserve the right to amend opinions where we deem necessary.

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here

Study identifies characteristics of heart failure patients more likely to benefit from implantation of cardiac resynchronization device

Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 13 Aug 2013 - 13:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Study identifies characteristics of heart failure patients more likely to benefit from implantation of cardiac resynchronization device

In a large population of Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure who underwent implantation of a cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator, patients who had the cardiac characteristics of left bundle-branch block and longer QRS duration had the lowest risks of death and all-cause, cardiovascular, and heart failure readmission, according to a study in the August 14 issue of JAMA.

"Clinical trials have shown that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) improves symptoms and reduces mortality and readmission among selected patients with heart failure and left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Following broad implementation of CRT, it was recognized that one-third to one-half of patients receiving the therapy for heart failure do not improve. Identification of patients likely to benefit from CRT is particularly important, because CRT defibrillator (CRT-D) implantation is expensive, invasive, and associated with important procedural risks. A primary question regarding optimal patient selection for CRT is whether patients with longer QRS duration or left bundle-branch block (LBBB) morphology derive greater benefit than others," according to background information in the article. QRS duration is a measurement of the electrical conducting time of the heart on an electrocardiogram. Left bundle-branch block is a cardiac conduction abnormality.

Pamela N. Peterson, M.D., M.S.P.H., of Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, and colleagues conducted a study to determine the long-term outcomes of patients undergoing CRT-D implantation and associations between combinations of QRS duration and presence of LBBB and outcomes, including all-cause mortality; all-cause, cardiovascular, and heart failure readmission; and complications. The study included Medicare beneficiaries in the National Cardiovascular Data Registry's ICD Registry between 2006 and 2009 who underwent CRT-D implantation. Patients were stratified according to whether they were admitted for CRT-D implantation or for another reason, then categorized as having either LBBB or no LBBB and QRS duration of either 150 ms or greater or 120 to 149 ms. Patients underwent follow-up for up to 3 years, through December 2011.

Mortality rates in the primary overall study cohort were 0.8 percent at 30 days, 9.2 percent at 1 year, and 25.9 percent at 3 years. Rates of all-cause readmission were 10.2 percent at 30 days and 43.3 percent at 1 year. The researchers found that after adjustment for demographic and clinical factors, compared with patients with LBBB and QRS duration of 150 ms or greater, the other 3 groups had significantly higher risks of mortality and all-cause, cardiovascular, and heart failure readmission. The adjusted risk of 3-year mortality was lowest among patients with LBBB and QRS duration of 150 ms or greater (20.9 percent), compared with LBBB and QRS duration of 120 to 149 ms (26.5 percent), no LBBB and QRS duration of 150 ms or greater (30.7 percent), and no LBBB and QRS duration of 120 to 149 ms (32.3 percent). The adjusted risk of l-year all-cause readmission were also lowest among patients with LBBB and QRS duration of 150 ms or greater (38.6 percent), compared with LBBB and QRS duration of 120 to 149 ms (44.8 percent), no LBBB and QRS duration of 150 ms or greater (45.7 percent), and no LBBB and QRS duration of 120 to 149 ms (49.6 percent).

There were no observed associations with complications.

"Although prior data regarding the effects of CRT as a function of QRS duration are largely limited to meta-analyses of clinical trials, this study provides an important perspective on the role of QRS duration in outcomes after CRT implantation in clinical practice," the authors write.

"These findings support the use of QRS morphology and duration to help identify patients who will have the greatest benefit from CRT-D implantation."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our cardiovascular / cardiology section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

JAMA. "Study identifies characteristics of heart failure patients more likely to benefit from implantation of cardiac resynchronization device." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 13 Aug. 2013. Web.
14 Aug. 2013. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Study identifies characteristics of heart failure patients more likely to benefit from implantation of cardiac resynchronization device'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam). We reserve the right to amend opinions where we deem necessary.

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here

Anti-herpesvirus drug treatment may benefit some chronic fatigue syndrome patients

Main Category: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Article Date: 30 Jul 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Anti-herpesvirus drug treatment may benefit some chronic fatigue syndrome patients

Many experts believe that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has several root causes including some viruses. Now, lead scientists Shara Pantry, Maria Medveczky and Peter Medveczky of the University of South Florida's Morsani College of Medicine, along with the help of several collaborating scientists and clinicians, have published an article in the Journal of Medical Virology suggesting that a common virus, Human Herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), is the possible cause of some CFS cases.

Over 95 percent of the population is infected with HHV-6 by age 3, but in those with normal immune systems the virus remains inactive. HHV-6 causes fever and rash (or roseola) in infants during early childhood, and is spread by saliva. In immunocompromised patients, it can reactivate to cause neurological dysfunction, encephalitis, pneumonia and organ failure.

"The good news reported in our study is that antiviral drugs improve the severe neurological symptoms, including chronic pain and long-term fatigue, suffered by a certain group of patients with CFS," said Medveczky, who is a professor of molecular medicine at USF Health and the study's principal investigator. "An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 patients with this CFS-like disease in the United States alone may ultimately benefit from the application of this research including antiviral drug therapy."

The link between HHV-6 infection and CFS is quite complex. After the first encounter, or "primary infection," all nine known human herpesviruses become silent, or "latent," but may reactivate and cause diseases upon immunosuppression or during aging. A previous study from the Medveczky laboratory showed that HHV-6 is unique among human herpesviruses; during latency, its DNA integrates into the structures at the end of chromosomes known as telomeres.

Furthermore, this integrated HHV-6 genome can be inherited from parent to child, a condition commonly referred to as "chromosomally integrated HHV-6," or CIHHV-6. By contrast, the "latent" genome of all other human herpesviruses converts to a circular form in the nucleus of the cell, not integrated into the chromosomes, and not inheritable by future generations.

Most studies suggest that around 0.8 percent of the U.S. and U.K. population is CIHHV6 positive, thus carrying a copy of HHV-6 in each cell. While most CIHHV-6 individuals appear healthy, they may be less able to defend themselves against other strains of HHV-6 that they might encounter. Medveczky reports that some of these individuals suffer from a CFS-like illness. In a cohort of CFS patients with serious neurological symptoms, the researchers found that the prevalence of CIHHV-6 was over 2 percent, or more than twice the level found in the general public. In light of this finding, the authors of the study suggest naming this sub-category of CFS "Inherited Human Herpesvirus 6 Syndrome," or IHS.

Medveczky's team discovered that untreated CIHHV-6 patients with CFS showed signs that the HHV-6 virus was actively replicating: determined by the presence of HHV-6 messenger RNA (mRNA), a substance produced only when the virus is active. The team followed these patients during treatment, and discovered that the HHV-6 mRNA disappeared by the sixth week of antiviral therapy with valganciclovir, a drug used to treat closely related cytomegalovirus (HHV-5). Of note, the group also found that short-term treatment regimens, even up to three weeks, had little or no impact on the HHV-6 mRNA level.

The investigators assumed that the integrated virus had become reactivated in these patients; however, to their surprise, they found that these IHS patients were infected by a second unrelated strain of HHV-6.

Further studies are needed to confirm that immune dysregulation, along with subsequent chronic persistence of the HHV-6 virus, is the root cause of the IHS patients' clinical symptoms, the researchers report.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our infectious diseases / bacteria / viruses section for the latest news on this subject.

The USF-led study was supported by the HHV-6 Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Article citation: “Persistent human herpesvirus-6 infection in patients with an inherited form of the virus; ” Shara N. Pantry, Maria M. Medveczky, Jesse H. Arbuckle, Janos Luka,Jose G. Montoya, Jianhong Hu, Rolf Renne, Daniel Peterson, Joshua C. Pritchett, Dharam V. Ablashi, andPeter G. Medveczky; Journal of Medical Virology; published online July 25, 2013; DOI: 10.1002/jmv.23685

University of South Florida (USF Health)

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

University of South Florida (USF Health). "Anti-herpesvirus drug treatment may benefit some chronic fatigue syndrome patients." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 30 Jul. 2013. Web.
30 Jul. 2013. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Anti-herpesvirus drug treatment may benefit some chronic fatigue syndrome patients'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam). We reserve the right to amend opinions where we deem necessary.

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here

Dry eye sufferers benefit from supplement with omega fatty acids

Main Category: Eye Health / Blindness
Also Included In: Menopause
Article Date: 29 Jul 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Dry eye sufferers benefit from supplement with omega fatty acids

Study findings published online, ahead of print, in Cornea show that daily dietary supplementation with a unique combination of omega fatty acids (GLA, EPA and DHA) for six months is effective in improving ocular irritation symptoms and halting the progression of inflammation that characterizes moderate to severe dry eye.

The multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted at Baylor College of Medicine and Virginia Eye Consultants evaluated 38 post-menopausal women with tear dysfunction in both eyes. Participants randomly received a proprietary blend of omega fatty acids, antioxidants and other nutrients (HydroEye®), or a placebo every day. Patients were assessed at baseline, four-, 12- and 24-week intervals using a variety of disease parameters including Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) symptom severity questionnaire, topographical indices (SAI and SRI), inflammatory biomarkers (HLA-DR and CD11c), Schirmer tear flow measurement, tear breakup time (TBUT), and conjunctival fluorescein and lissamine green staining. HydroEye was found to improve ocular irritation symptoms, suppress ocular surface inflammation, and maintain corneal surface smoothness. An irregular corneal surface contributes to both irritation and problematic visual symptoms.

"Prior to this study, clinical evidence showing that nutritional supplements were beneficial in treating dry eye was scarce. However, within three months, the group treated with HydroEye showed statistically significant improvements in irritation symptoms of dry eye, and no progression of ocular surface inflammation or corneal irregularity. The placebo group's dry eye symptoms actually worsened over the six-month testing period." said Stephen C. Pflugfelder, M.D., professor of ophthalmology, James and Margaret Elkins chair, director of The Ocular Surface Center, Baylor College of Medicine-Cullen Eye Institute and co-principal investigator of the trial. "HydroEye clearly had a positive impact on these patients with moderate to severe dry eye."

"Achieving statistical significance in a dry eye study is a remarkable accomplishment, especially given the extreme difficulty that many highly regarded pharmaceutical companies have had in bringing a prescription dry eye product to market," said John D. Sheppard, M.D., M.M.Sc., president, Virginia Eye Consultants, professor of ophthalmology, clinical director of the Lee Laboratory for Ocular Pharmacology at Eastern Virginia Medical School, and co-principal investigator who initiated this research project. "This was a prospective, randomized, multicenter, placebo-controlled trial as would be any U.S. Food & Drug Administration registration clinical study."

Dry eye is estimated to affect 30 million Americans, but the actual number of dry eye sufferers is thought to be much higher because cases of dry eye tend to be dramatically underreported. In the U.S. alone, the economic burden of dry eye totals $3.84 billion in direct annual health care costs. When including the indirect costs of lost productivity, the societal burden of dry eye rises to $55.4 billion annually in the U.S.

Moderate to severe dry eye can significantly deteriorate the quality of life for those who suffer from the condition. In fact, prior research concluded that the impact of dry eye on quality of life was rated as the equivalent to unstable angina (chest pain related to heart disease). Dry eye is associated with a number of risk factors including age, gender, computer use, smoking, exposure to dry environments, LASIK, contact lens wear, air pollution, many common medications, and diabetes mellitus. Ocular surface inflammation also contributes to the irritation symptoms and ocular surface disease that can develop in dry eye. Post-menopausal women are considered high risk for developing dry eye due to multiple risk factors.

"While this trial studied post-menopausal women, the largest group of dry eye sufferers, we think the benefits of HydroEye should apply to other populations suffering from dry eye since inflammation is believed to be a common thread in dry eye," said Dr. Pflugfelder.

A wide variety of dry eye treatments are available; however, many have disadvantages or side effects. Oral prescription dry eye therapies such as secretagogues have a host of systemic side effects, such as intestinal cramping. Oral antibiotics such as doxycycline can cause gastrointestinal upset, sunburn sensitivity and tooth discoloration in younger patients. Topical therapies often present compliance, toxicity and cost issues, while some eye drops may sting, burn or cause allergic reactions.

"Given these parameters, HydroEye is among the safest, best tolerated, efficacious, and most cost-effective of all dry eye therapies," said Dr. Sheppard. "I recommend HydroEye to all of my dry eye patients."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our eye health / blindness section for the latest news on this subject.

About HydroEye®: HydroEye is a patented nutritional formulation that works from the inside out to provide continuous dry eye relief. HydroEye delivers a proprietary blend of omega fatty acids [gamma linolenic acid (GLA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)], antioxidants and other key nutrients that work together to support a healthy tear film and dampen inflammation. Much more potent than flaxseed oil or fish oil alone, HydroEye includes omega-3 EPA and DHA from highly pure USP®-verified fish oil and also provides the unique omega fatty acid, GLA, from black currant seed oil. GLA has been found to play a key role in dampening dry eye symptoms in six other clinical studies. GLA is not found in flaxseed or fish oil and is not present at meaningful levels in the diet. HydroEye is recommended by thousands of ophthalmologists and optometrists nationwide, including leading eye institutions.

For more information about this clinical trial or HydroEye, visit: http://www.SBH.com/HydroEyeTrial.

Jitsu Public Relations

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

n.p. "Dry eye sufferers benefit from supplement with omega fatty acids." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 29 Jul. 2013. Web.
29 Jul. 2013. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Dry eye sufferers benefit from supplement with omega fatty acids'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam). We reserve the right to amend opinions where we deem necessary.

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here

Modern dentistry may benefit from discovery of an evolutionary compromise for long tooth preservation

Main Category: Dentistry
Article Date: 27 Jul 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Modern dentistry may benefit from discovery of an evolutionary compromise for long tooth preservation

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, have conducted stress analyses on gorilla teeth of differing wear stages. Their findings show that different features of the occlusal surface antagonize tensile stresses in the tooth to tooth contact during the chewing process. They further show that tooth wear with its loss of dental tissue and the reduction of the occlusal relief decreases tensile stresses in the tooth. The result, however, is that food processing becomes less effective. Thus, when the condition of the occlusal surface changes during an individual's lifetime due to tooth wear, the biomechanical requirements on the existing dental material change as well - an evolutionary compromise for longer tooth preservation.

First, the researchers created 3D digital models of three gorilla lower second molars differing in wear stages. In a second step they applied a Software tool (Occlusal Fingerprint Analyser) developed in the Senckenberg Research Institute to precisely determine tooth to tooth contacts. They then used an engineering approach, finite element analysis (FEA), to evaluate whether some dental traits usually found in hominin and extant great ape molars have important biomechanical implications.

The results show that in unworn and slightly worn molars (with a well-formed occlusal relief that is most effective for processing food) tensile stresses concentrate in the grooves of the occlusal surface. In such a condition, the different crests of a molar carry out important biomechanical functions, for example, by reinforcing the crown against stresses that occur during the chewing process. Due to a loss of tooth tissue and a reduction of the occlusal relief the functionality of these crests diminishes during an individual's lifetime. However, this reduced functionality of the crests in worn teeth is counterbalanced by an increase in contact areas during tooth to tooth contacts, which ultimately contributes to a dispersion of the forces that affect the occlusal surface.

This suggests that the wear process might have a crucial influence in the evolution and structural adaptation of molars enabling to endure bite forces and to reduce tooth failure throughout the lifetime of an individual. "It seems that we observe an evolutionary compromise for long tooth preservation. Even though worn teeth are not as efficient they still fulfill their task. This would not be the case if they were lost prematurely", says Stefano Benazzi of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. He adds: "Tooth evolution and dental biomechanics can only be understood, if we further investigate tooth function in respect to the dynamic changes of tooth structures during the lifespan of individuals".

"The results have strong implications for understanding the functional biomechanics of dental traits, for deciphering the evolutionary trend of our masticatory apparatus and might have important implications in modern dentistry for improving dental treatments", says Jean-Jacques Hublin, director of the Department of Human Evolution at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our dentistry section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. "Modern dentistry may benefit from discovery of an evolutionary compromise for long tooth preservation." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 27 Jul. 2013. Web.
29 Jul. 2013. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Modern dentistry may benefit from discovery of an evolutionary compromise for long tooth preservation'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam). We reserve the right to amend opinions where we deem necessary.

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here

Now proof of minor added benefit from Fidaxomicin in severe cases or recurrences of C. difficile infections

Main Category: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Article Date: 27 Jul 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Now proof of minor added benefit from Fidaxomicin in severe cases or recurrences of C. difficile infections

In the commenting procedure on early benefit assessment pursuant to the German Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG), under certain circumstances drug manufacturers may submit to the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) additional documents for dossiers. The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has now assessed such additional information for two studies comparing the antibiotic fidaxomicin, which is used for diarrhoea caused by Clostridium difficile infections, with vancomycin.

In contrast to the first dossier assessment, the Institute now sees proof of a minor added benefit of fidaxomicin versus the appropriate comparator therapy in patients with severe or recurrent disease. An added benefit is still not proven in patients with mild disease; the manufacturer provided no new data for this indication.

Manufacturer dossier did not allow an overall conclusion

The antibiotic fidaxomicin (trade name: Dificlir) has been approved in Germany since December 2011 for the treatment of adults with diarrhoea caused by Clostridium difficile. IQWiG already presented an assessment pursuant to AMNOG in April 2013.

On the basis of the dossier submitted by the manufacturer, an advantage of fidaxomicin for the outcome "global cure" could be inferred for severe cases and recurrences. However, the magnitude of this advantage could not be inferred from the data presented. In addition, it could not be excluded that more severe side effects occurred precisely in these cases, thus outweighing advantages with regard to global cure. An overall conclusion on added benefit was therefore not possible.

Greater harm not proven in patients with severe disease

In the commenting procedure the manufacturer subsequently provided study results in a form that allows the weighing of positive and negative effects. Whereas no statistically significant difference between fidaxomicin and vancomycin was shown for all-cause mortality, the data provide proof of an added benefit for the outcome "global cure" in patients with severe or recurrent disease. In addition, in these subpopulations there is no suggestion of greater harm from fidaxomicin than from vancomycin.

An overall conclusion is thus possible: an added benefit of fidaxomicin versus the appropriate comparator therapy (vancomycin) is now proven for the treatment of patients with severe or recurrent Clostridium difficile infections. IQWiG classifies the extent of added benefit as minor.

An added benefit in patients with mild disease was not claimed by the manufacturer.

G-BA decides on the extent of added benefit

The dossier assessment is part of the overall procedure for early benefit assessments supervised by the G-BA. After publication of the manufacturer's dossier and the IQWiG dossier assessment, the G-BA conducted a commenting procedure in which the manufacturer submitted additional information. The G-BA subsequently commissioned IQWiG on 28 May 2013 to undertake a new assessment including the additional data.

If, in the course of the discussions on a commission of the G-BA, a need for further revision arises, IQWiG presents its report in the form of an addendum. The Institute sent this addendum to the contracting agency (the G-BA) on 12 June 2013. The G-BA then decides on the extent of the added benefit in each case, thus completing the early benefit assessment.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our infectious diseases / bacteria / viruses section for the latest news on this subject.

The website gesundheitsinformation.de, published by IQWiG, provides easily understandable and brief German-language information on fidaxomicin (English-language information [addendum and health information] will also be available in the near future; if you would like to be informed when this is published, please send an email to info@iqwig.de).

The G-BA website contains both general English-language information on benefit assessments pursuant to §35a Social Code Book V and specific German-language information on the assessment of fidaxomicin.

Addendum

Benefit assessment (dossier assessment)

Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Car. "Now proof of minor added benefit from Fidaxomicin in severe cases or recurrences of C. difficile infections." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 27 Jul. 2013. Web.
29 Jul. 2013. APA
Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Car. (2013, July 27). "Now proof of minor added benefit from Fidaxomicin in severe cases or recurrences of C. difficile infections." Medical News Today. Retrieved from
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/263932.php.

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Now proof of minor added benefit from Fidaxomicin in severe cases or recurrences of C. difficile infections'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam). We reserve the right to amend opinions where we deem necessary.

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here

Obese kidney failure patients receive survival benefit from transplantation

Main Category: Transplants / Organ Donations
Also Included In: Urology / Nephrology;  Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 25 Jul 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Obese kidney failure patients receive survival benefit from transplantation

Most obese individuals with kidney failure can prolong their lives by receiving a kidney transplant, although this survival benefit is lower in severely obese individuals. That's the conclusion of a new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation. The findings will hopefully decrease differences in access to transplantation for obese patients.

Obesity is increasing in patients with kidney failure. In some studies, obese kidney failure patients who are on dialysis have a lower risk of dying prematurely than non-obese patients. In contrast, obese kidney transplant recipients have a higher risk of dying prematurely than non-obese recipients. Therefore determining the survival benefit of transplantation in obese transplant recipients is an important issue.

Using data from the United States between 1995 and 2007, John Gill, MD, MS, of the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, and his colleagues determined the risk of premature death in transplant recipients grouped by body mass index (BMI) compared with transplant candidates with the same BMI who were on the transplant waiting list. The analysis included 208,498 patients, and obesity was defined as a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or higher.

Among the major findings:

Obese patients with a BMI of 30 to 39 kg/m2 derived a similar survival advantage from transplantation as non-obese patients, which equated to more than a 66 percent reduced risk of dying within one year of transplantation.Obese patients with a BMI of 40 or higher derived a lower survival advantage from transplantation (a 48 percent reduced risk of dying within one year), and a survival advantage was uncertain in Black patients with a BMI of 40 or higher.Differences in obese compared with non-obese patients were not as profound with transplantations using kidneys from live donors.

The risk of dying early after transplantation was greater in obese compared with non-obese patients.

"Our study shows that obese patients derive a survival advantage from transplantation, and obesity should not exclude patients from consideration of transplantation," said Dr. Gill. "Also, improved early post-transplant care may help reduce the early risk of death in obese patients, and living donor transplantation may be a useful strategy to mitigate the risks of transplantation in obese transplant candidates."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our transplants / organ donations section for the latest news on this subject.

Gill et al. The Survival Benefit of Kidney Transplantation in Obese Patients, American Journal of Transplantation; Published Online: July 25, 2013 (DOI: 10.1111/ajt.12331).

Wiley

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

Wiley. "Obese kidney failure patients receive survival benefit from transplantation." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 25 Jul. 2013. Web.
26 Jul. 2013. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Obese kidney failure patients receive survival benefit from transplantation'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam). We reserve the right to amend opinions where we deem necessary.

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here