Monthly Archives: September 2013

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Do Great Damage and BioEnergy Medicine – Video

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Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Do Great Damage and BioEnergy Medicine
POPs are relatively unknown and everyone is still concentrating on diet and exercise whereas the evidence now shows that POPs are fundamental to the obesity ...

By: gregory ellis

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Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Do Great Damage and BioEnergy Medicine - Video

Flavell: Spring Seminar on Emergency Medicine 2013

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SPEECH Wednesday 25th September 2013 Spring Seminar on Emergency Medicine 2013 Skyline Redwoods Forest venue Tuesday 24 September 2013; 7pm Te Ururoa Flavell; Co-leader of the Mori Party

I want to thank Peter Freeman and Annabel Jeffery for inviting me to address your conference as the Co-leader of the Mori Party and the local member of parliament for this area of Waiariki.

At first glance, I wondered what the intimate connection would be between the Mori Party the first indigenous party in Government throughout the world and the Peripheral Hospitals Emergency Medicine Conference; the Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine, and the Australasian Society of Career Medical Officers.

So I browsed through your programme for a clue.

As I read, the reason for my invitation became even more of a mystery.

Haematology; orthopaedic injuries; wound care and sepsis appeared to have more in common with the after-match care following the exploits of the Parliamentary Rugby team than an average day in the House.

Although there were a couple of other plenary sessions that I could relate to such as ethical issues; what was I thinking or even places you can go with your probe.

As I was about to give up, I re-read the riding instructions I had been given to help me in preparing my krero to you tonight.

And thats when I hit rock bottom.

I was told that the Horizon lecture will be an inspiring family event with a strong Maori flavour.

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Flavell: Spring Seminar on Emergency Medicine 2013

ACT’s Dr. Robert Lanza to Receive the Il Leone di San Marco Award in Medicine

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MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. ("ACT"; OTCBB:ACTC), a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today that the companys Chief Scientific Officer, Robert Lanza, MD, has been nominated to receive the prestigious Il Leone di San Marco award in Medicine. For thirty-three years, the Italian Heritage and Culture Committee of the Bronx and Westchester has acknowledged outstanding Americans in fields such as the Performing Arts, Entertainment, Medicine, Journalism, Literature, Playwriting, Government, Science, Academia or Business. Past honorees have included Stanley Tucci, Paul Giamatti, Paul Sorvino, Danny Aiello, Armand Assante, Tony Danza, Susan Lucci, Dion DiMucci, Phil Ramone, Bart Giamatti, and Rudy Giuliani.

Dr. Lanza is one of only four people who will receive this years Il Leone di San Marco Award for their many talents and great accomplishments who represent the best in Italian-American culture. The other three honorees are Regis Philbin (Entertainment), Roma Torre (Theater Criticism), and Michael Gargiulo (Broadcast Journalism). The award in Medicine will be presented to Dr. Lanza on Sunday September 29th at the Davenport Club on Long Island Sound, New York. In addition to the award presentation, there will be musical performances by Giada Valenti, Eugene Ruffolo, and Luigi Moneta & Gayle Scott.

About Advanced Cell Technology, Inc.

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. is a biotechnology company applying cellular technology in the field of regenerative medicine. For more information, visit http://www.advancedcell.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this news release regarding future financial and operating results, the relevance and applicability of clinical trials in animals to studying the effect of products in humans, future growth in animal and human research and development programs, potential new applications of and expanded indications covering our technology, the effects of donorless sources of stem cells on potency and the risk of communicable diseases in the manufacturing context, the existence and size of potential or existing market opportunities for the company, the effect of the companys products on the medical needs and quality of life of pets, and any other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by management constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact (including statements containing the words will, believes, plans, anticipates, expects, estimates, and similar expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including: limited operating history, need for and limited sources of future capital, failures or delays in obtaining regulatory approval of products, risks inherent in the development and commercialization of potential products, reliance on new and unproven technology in the development of products, protection of our intellectual property, and economic conditions generally. Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in the companys periodic reports, including the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30, 2013. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions, and expectations of the companys management at the time they are made, and the company does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions, expectations, or other circumstances should change. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, opinions, and expectations of the companys management at the time they are made, and the company does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements if those beliefs, opinions, expectations, or other circumstances should change. There can be no assurance that the Companys clinical trials will be successful.

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ACT’s Dr. Robert Lanza to Receive the Il Leone di San Marco Award in Medicine

Penn Medicine study: Proton therapy cuts side effects for pediatric head and neck cancer patients

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Public release date: 24-Sep-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Holly Auer holly.auer@uphs.upenn.edu 215-200-2313 University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

ATLANTA -- The precise targeting and limited dosing of radiation via proton therapy is proving to be an advantage in ongoing efforts to reduce treatment side effects among head and neck cancer patients, according to a new study of pediatric patients from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The results were presented Monday at the 55th annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) conference.

"Children are especially susceptible to the side effects of radiation therapy, and treating them for head and neck cancers poses an additional challenge due to the risk of radiation to developing tissues," said the study's lead author, Christine Hill-Kayser, MD, an assistant professor of Radiation Oncology in Penn's Abramson Cancer Center. "Our findings using proton therapy for these patients, however, show that side effects are milder than those which are typically seen among children undergoing conventional radiation. We hope that this will translate to mean fewer late effects as they survive their cancer."

Although physicians have hypothesized about reduced toxicity and side effects with proton therapy because the modality spares most normal tissue from damage, clinical data on the new approach have not yet matured, particularly among pediatric cancer patients. The present study sought to shed more light on the issue by following a group of 25 patients, ranging in age from 1 to 21 years, all of whom received proton therapy at Penn Medicine's Roberts Proton Therapy as part of their treatment for various head and neck cancers, including rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, and salivary gland tumors, among others. Treatment toxicity was evaluated every week during proton treatment and every one to three months thereafter.

After a median of 13 months after treatment, 19 patients (76 percent) have no evidence of disease, 3 patients (12 percent) had developed local recurrence, and 5 (20 percent) had tumors that seemed to be stable. One patient died of their cancer. The authors note that these outcomes are generally equivalent to those that would be expected with more traditional x-ray therapy. More significant, however, were the greatly reduced side effects observed in the study, compared to the prevalence seen among head and neck cancer patients undergoing x-ray treatment. "The side effects profile was really very mild, with basically no high-grade toxicity," says Hill-Kayser, who conducted the study along with colleagues from both Penn Medicine and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

The most common side effects were fatigue and dermatitis. The researchers noted that while skin reactions are often seen during radiation treatment, this study seemed to indicate a somewhat greater reaction than expected when proton treatment was followed by certain chemotherapies, including actinomycin-d and doxorubicin, which can interact with radiation and cause radiation sensitivity. That finding helped the research team refine their approach to minimize that side effect. "If we started those drugs right away after proton therapy, it seemed the dermatitis was worse," Hill-Kayser said. "So we learned that after proton therapy, we wanted to hold those drugs and not give them for a month to six weeks, so the patient had time to recover from the skin toxicity before it got worse."

Another common side effect of radiation therapy -- especially among head and neck cancer patients -- can be weight loss and nutritional problems, but those were also only found to be a mild concern for the patients in the current study. "It's common to lose some weight during radiation treatment because the mouth and throat get inflamed, but we found that very few patients in our study lost more than 10 percent of their body weight during the course of treatment. We found that we could minimize that weight loss by using a gastrostomy tube to give tube feedings, but even when we didn't do that, the weight loss was manageable. This was likely the case because proton therapy allowed us to decrease the radiation dose to the mouth and throat compared to equivalent plans using x-ray therapy."

Over one to three months, all of the study patients fully recovered from any acute side effects from the proton treatment. Hill-Kayser expects that this study will help to reinforce the growing consensus that "pediatrics is one of the areas where proton therapy is going to provide a lot of benefit."

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Penn Medicine study: Proton therapy cuts side effects for pediatric head and neck cancer patients

Penn Medicine researchers harness the immune system to fight pancreatic cancer

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Public release date: 24-Sep-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Holly Auer holly.auer@uphs.upenn.edu 215-200-2313 University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

PHILADELPHIA -- Pancreatic cancer ranks as the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and is one of the most deadly forms of cancer, due to its resistance to standard treatments with chemotherapy and radiation therapy and frequently, its late stage at the time of diagnosis. A group of researchers led by the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine and Abramson Cancer Center, in collaboration with scientists from the University of Pittsburgh and University of Washington, published results of a clinical trial in which the standard chemotherapy drug for this disease, gemcitabine, was paired with an agonist CD40 antibody, resulting in substantial tumor regressions among some patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. By using a novel, real-time imaging approach to monitor tumor response to the immunotherapy, the team also found differences how primary and metastatic disease sites shrank. Their work appears online this month in Clinical Cancer Research.

"We're now using imaging to understand the treatment heterogeneity that one can see in immunotherapy not all tumors within a patient's body react the same way, even in the face of powerful treatments, and now we have a way to follow these unique treatment responses in patients in real-time," said lead author Gregory Beatty, MD, PhD, an assistant professor in the division of Hematology/Oncology in the Abramson Cancer Center.

The report builds on preliminary results of findings in both humans and mice published in Science in 2011. The new approach exploits an immune reaction in the microenvironment of the patient's primary tumor by targeting an immune cell surface molecule CD40 to turn a type of white blood cell known as macrophages against the tumor by causing them to attack the stroma, the fibrotic supporting tissue of the tumor that acts as a defensive barrier to standard therapies. The treatment ate away at this stroma, ultimately causing substantial shrinkage of some primary tumors, and affecting the metabolic activity of both primary and metastatic lesions. Of 21 patients treated with the drug combination, five patients who received at least one treatment course developed a partial response, defined as a decrease in tumor size of at least 30 percent.

The new study also measured the effectiveness of applying a new approach to FDG/PET-CT imaging, to reveal the metabolic responses of individual tumors. FDG/PET-CT uses a radioactive glucose tracer to pinpoint glucose uptake within tumors, revealing the places where cells are metabolically active. Typically physicians and radiologists report only the maximum uptake of glucose within a tumor using this imaging technique; however, the new study showed that glucose metabolism can be quantified within individual tumors or within organs, and throughout the entire body, to provide a measure of total tumor burden.

The team found that while primary tumors seemed to respond more or less uniformly with each treatment cycle, tumors varied in their reactions to treatment. "We incorporated imaging as early as two weeks after the first dose of treatment, and we're able to see changes and responses in terms of glucose metabolism even at this early time point in treatment, which predicted how well patients would respond two months later," Beatty says. The team hopes to apply the use of FDG/PET-CT to monitoring treatment responses during other immune-based therapies in pancreas cancer.

Determining the reasons for these varying responses will be an important next step in this work. The unique imaging approach, Beatty notes, is revealing new insight into the biology of pancreas cancer and its treatment resistance. This allows the research team to expedite progress through a unique model that moves quickly back and forth between the lab and the clinic: "We're taking it back to the bench and at the same time, applying it at the bedside with additional clinical trials."

The most commonly observed side effect of the treatment was cytokine release syndrome, typically manifested as chills and rigors. One patient with a previous history of vascular disease experienced a stroke shortly after starting therapy.

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Penn Medicine researchers harness the immune system to fight pancreatic cancer

South Jersey Family Medicine Switches to e-MDs for EHR, Practice Management and Patient Portal Solutions

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AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired - Sep 24, 2013) - e-MDs, a leading provider of electronic health records (EHRs) and practice management (PM) solutions, announced today that South Jersey Family Medicine is the latest healthcare provider to switch to e-MDs Solution Series Electronic Health Records, Practice Managementand Patient Portal solutions.

South Jersey Family Medicine, previously on the Alteer platform, is the latest in a series of providers to select e-MDs as a replacement for their legacy system.South Jersey Family Medicine, whose focus is family practice, has four practitioners who conduct more than 20,000 patient visits a year.

"After more than a dozen years on our previous system, we were looking for better customer support, speed, functionality, ease of use and reliability for our system," said Michael Rogers, MD, the owner of South Jersey Family Medicine for 23 years. "We wanted a solution that was affordable, yet ensured patient visits were completed in a timely manner. The fact that e-MDs consistently ranked high for physician satisfaction in both KLAS and the Family Practice Management EHR User Satisfaction Surveys was also a deciding factor."

e-MDs was able to accelerate the implementation and adoption of e-MDs Solution Series. The clinical staff and physicians at South Jersey Family Medicine underwent three days of training on the e-MDs EHR solutions, followed by three days of e-MDs PM training for the billing and reception staff. To support the clinic's go-live milestone, e-MDs provided a trainer on site to ensure success.

"All of the physicians in our practice had the opportunity to work with the e-MDs' software prior to our final decision, and the staff was also able to get a good feel for the product beforehand as well," said Dr. Rogers. "The training and launch went so well that by the fourth day I was up to a full schedule of patients. I even finished all of my documentation by the end of the day despite having to enter data from the legacy system."

e-MDs' integrated EHR and practice management system is designed by physicians specifically to help providers in independent, group and specialty practices deliver robust capabilities for electronic health, practice management, patient engagement and claims management.As demonstrated by Dr. Rogers' experience, it is widely recognized as the most user-friendly EHR available.This is a critical factor in ensuring a quick ramp up to full productivity and minimizing the potential for the long-term revenue impacts less well-designed systems can have on a practice.

"We are excited South Jersey Family Medicine selected the e-MDs Solution Series for its EHR, Practice Management, and patient portal needs," said David Winn, MD, FAAFP, CEO and Chairman of the Board, e-MDs. "South Jersey Family Medicine can now leverage the power of our integrated tools to transform clinical, financial and quality of life outcomes in today's quickly evolving and dynamic healthcare environment."

About e-MDs

e-MDs is a leading developer of integrated electronic health records and practice management software for physician practices and enterprises. Founded and actively managed by physicians, the company is an industry leader for usable, connected software that enables physician productivity and a superior clinical experience. e-MDs software has received continual top rankings in physician and industry surveys including those conducted by the American Academy of Family Physicians' Family Practice Management, KLAS, AmericanEHR Partners, MedScape, and Black Book.e-MDs has a proven track record of positioning clients for success as demonstrated by Meaningful Use attainment in 2011-2012. According to data provided by CMS, e-MDs clients are attesting in the top proportion of all major vendors. For more information, please visit http://www.e-mds.com, http://facebook.e-mds.com, and https://twitter.com/emds.

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South Jersey Family Medicine Switches to e-MDs for EHR, Practice Management and Patient Portal Solutions

USF medical school extends deal with Tampa General

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TAMPA The University of South Floridas medical school faculty and students have a long-term deal to remain at Tampa General Hospital, according to a three-year contract announced today.

The agreement with the University of South Floridas Morsani College of Medicine replaces a contract that was in its final year. It had become the victim of tensions partly involving former dean Stephen Klasko and his brokering of deals with other medical centers.

Since 1970, the hospital and USF have worked together and built a residency program that now numbers 300. USF Health also operates its South Tampa Center for Advanced Health Care adjacent to the downtown Tampa hospital.

Harry vanLoveren, interim dean of the USF Morsani College of Medicine, said both sides wanted an evergreen contract to avoid last-minute negotiations.

We will never again walk to the cliff, he said.

Coincidentally, Tuesdays statement came as Tampa General announced a partnership with the Florida Hospital Network. Since 2012, USF medical students and professors have practiced at Florida Hospital facilities, including the Pepin Heart Institute in Tampa.

David Straz, chairman of the Tampa General board, said leadership changes at the hospital and the College of Medicine allowed him to work directly with USF President Judy Genshaft, a longtime friend.

We were able to work things out in an amicable way, he said.

This announcement can eliminate the dynamic tension between USF and its partner hospitals, vanLoveren said. He said he can see USF playing a significant role in the partnership between the local hospitals, and in the areas future health care opportunities.

I think you are seeing the system emerge, he said. USF is the glue that is going to unify these players in the marketplace.

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USF medical school extends deal with Tampa General

The University of Massachusetts Medical School Selects Aircuity for Lazare Medical Research Building Energy Project

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NEWTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Aircuity, the safe, smart and efficient airside solutions company, announced today that it has been awarded an energy retrofit contract to provide its laboratory ventilation optimization solution for the Lazare Medical Research Facility on the University of Massachusetts Medical School campus in Worcester, MA. The project is expected to significantly lower the energy usage throughout the facility while maintaining a comfortable and productive workspace by continually monitoring the buildings indoor environmental quality.

We are thrilled to be working with UMass Medical School to improve the energy efficiency of their facilities, said Chuck McKinney, vice president of marketing at Aircuity. UMass Medical Schools commitment to Growing Green has made them a shining example of how to use less energy and reduce their carbon footprint, and we are both proud and honored to be a part of their sustainability effort.

We have a very robust sustainability program here on campus, stated John Baker, associate vice chancellor for facility management. We have collectively bought into the program, we live it every day, and we continue to strive to be one of the best sustainability programs in the area.

The Medical Schools energy strategy includes a focus on making existing buildings more energy efficient, building new facilities to be green and efficient, and utilizing more efficient power generation for the campus. The Lazare Medical Research facility is the second building to incorporate Aircuitys demand control ventilation (DCV) solution; the newly constructed Albert Sherman Center, which achieved LEED Gold certification, was the first Aircuity installation on campus.

The Lazare energy project will involve the installation of Aircuity in the lab areas on all floors of the facility, and is expected to be completed in approximately six months. Partial funding for the project is being provided through utility incentive programs from National Grid and NSTAR.

By continuously monitoring the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of laboratory spaces, Aircuity provides smart signals to a facilitys building management system to adjust the ventilation rates according to the actual conditions of the space, saving money while ensuring a safe, comfortable, and productive environment for researchers and lab occupants. The data collected is then analyzed to provide actionable information to facility & energy managers on overall building performance and to give Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) personnel better insight to lab operations.

Although saving energy is often the primary reason to install an Aircuity system, our customers quickly realize the benefit of having vital information about their facility at their fingertips, McKinney explained. Aircuity is a critical information partner for facilities personnel, helping them understand what is happening throughout their building, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

About Aircuity

Aircuity is the smart airside efficiency company providing building owners with sustained energy savings through its intelligent measurement solutions. By combining real-time sensing and continuous analysis of indoor environments, the company has helped commercial, institutional and lab building owners lower operating costs, improve safety and become more energy efficient. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Newton, MA, Aircuitys solutions have benefited organizations such as the University of Pennsylvania, Eli Lilly, North Carolina State University, LabCorp, the Bank of America Tower, Wake Forest University and the University of California-Irvine. For additional information on the company and its solutions, please visit: http://www.aircuity.com.

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The University of Massachusetts Medical School Selects Aircuity for Lazare Medical Research Building Energy Project