Its small but packs a big punch. A medicine ball is a weighted ball used to whip your body into shape, without taking up much space. Its similar to standard weights, but with the medicine ball you only need one in order to get in a full workout.

If youre a fitness newbie, start with a 4-pounder (sold at most sports stores). Advanced fitness junkies may choose to use a 20-pound ball.

Dr. Rick Kattouf, author of Forever Fit, is a triathlon and conditioning coach based in South Carolina. Below, he shares his favorite medicine ball exercises. Do each exercise 10 times. Gradually work up to doing each one 25 times.

SQUAT TO SHOULDER PRESS: Beginning in a standing position, hold the medicine ball at chest level. Squat, trying to drop your buttocks as low as possible, keeping your heels on the ground. Then, stand up and raise the medicine ball directly over your heat. Bring the medicine ball back to your chest and repeat.

Muscles worked: Quadriceps, glutes, triceps and shoulders.

JUMP SQUATS: Stand and hold the medicine ball at chest level. Squat as low as possible while keeping your heels on the ground. Jump off the ground as high as you can. When you land, you want to immediately drop back into the squat position. This is designed to be a very fast-paced, rapid-fire exercise.

Muscles worked: Quadriceps and glutes.

STRAIGHT-LEG DEAD LIFT: In a standing position, lift the medicine ball above your head, keeping your arms extended. Bend forward from your waist as if you are trying to touch your toes. As you bend forward, keep your arms extended while holding the medicine ball and bringing the ball toward your feet. Keep your knees slightly bent the entire time. When the ball hits your feet or the floor, return to your original standing position, maintaining the full extension of your arms overhead.

Muscles worked: Hamstrings and shoulders.

SIT-UP CHEST PRESS: Lying on a mat or a rug on your back, knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hold the medicine ball on your chest. Perform a sit-up. As you get toward the top of your sit-up position, extend the medicine ball in front of you. Then, bring the ball back toward your chest and lower your upper body down to the starting position.

See the rest here:

Medicine balls offer variety of workouts

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - Oct 17, 2012) - The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), the international organization representing the interests of the regenerative medicine community, announced the publication today of an article on FDA communications to help companies developing cell-based therapies by clarifying the development pathway. The article, entitled "Communications with the FDA on the Development Pathway for a Cell-Based Therapy: Why, What, When, and How?" will be published in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine. It is co-authored by representatives from ARM, Janssen R&D, GE Healthcare and Life Technologies, with the lead author from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

"There are a number of ways cell-based therapy companies can communicate with FDA that will help them navigate the road from the bench to a regulatory submission," said Michael Werner, Executive Director of ARM. "We hope that our combined experience as co-authors, and our attempt to create a single source of guidance on the regulatory process, will help companies bring new cell-based therapies through clinical trials and the regulatory review process more quickly so they can reach patients faster," added Mr. Werner.

Lead author Ellen Feigal, MD, Senior Vice President for Research and Development at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) commented, "Cell-based therapies represent a fundamentally new way to treat or cure disease, but developing a new therapy is costly, time consuming and fraught with uncertainty. Our paper takes a practical approach to clarifying the path to market."

"Communications with the FDA on the Development Pathway for a Cell-Based Therapy: Why, What, When, and How?" provides detailed information on options for communicating with the FDA at different stages; the official communications tied to each stage of development; and the most common reasons regulatory applications are delayed. The article can be accessed at: http://stemcellstm.alphamedpress.org/content/early/recent

About CIRM: CIRM was established in November 2004 with the passage of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act. The statewide ballot measure, which provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions, was overwhelmingly approved by voters, and called for the establishment of an entity to make grants and provide loans for stem cell research, research facilities, and other vital research opportunities. A list of grants and loans awarded to date may be seen here: http://www.cirm.ca.gov/for-researchers/researchfunding.

About ARM: The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine is a Washington, DC-based multi-stakeholder advocacy organization that promotes legislative, regulatory and reimbursement initiatives necessary to facilitate access to life-giving advances in regenerative medicine. ARM also works to increase public understanding of the field and its potential to transform human healthcare, providing business development and investor outreach services to support the growth of its member companies and research organizations. Prior to the formation of ARM in 2009, there was no advocacy organization operating in Washington, DC to specifically represent the interests of the companies, research institutions, investors and patient groups that comprise the entire regenerative medicine community. Today ARM has more than 120 members and is the leading global advocacy organization in this field. In March 2012, ARM launched a sister organization in Europe -- the Alliance for Advanced Therapies. For more information go to http://www.alliancerm.org.

Read more:

Journal Stem Cell Translational Medicine to Publish Article on FDA Communications and the Regulatory Pathway for Cell ...

ATLANTA, Oct. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former U. S. Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA). Senator Specter was a consummate champion of justice and worked tirelessly throughout his career to reduce health and healthcare inequities. He also worked diligently to ensure that there were opportunities for individuals from minority communities and disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue a career in the health professions.

Morehouse School of Medicine President, John E. Maupin, Jr., D.D.S., said, "We very much appreciated Senator Specter's leadership in working with his Senate colleagues to support federal initiatives that enhanced health profession training opportunities for minority students and strengthened the research infrastructure of centers of emerging excellence like Morehouse School of Medicine. He will be sorely missed. The entire Morehouse School of Medicine family extends our deepest sympathy to his family."

During his time in the United States Senate, Specter played a key role in providing federal funding for Morehouse School of Medicine's National Center for Primary Care, a nationally renowned center advancing the value of primary care health services. As chairman of the Senate Health Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Specter was instrumental in bringing attention to identified shortfalls in the National Institute of Health's (NIH) efforts to investigate the causes and cures of ethnic based health disparities. His efforts led to the introduction and ultimate passage of legislation that created the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) at NIH.

About Morehouse School of MedicineMorehouse School of Medicine is one the nation's most widely recognized community-based medical schools. The institution's mission places special emphasis on primary care training; development of model community-based health services and the conduct of research and translation of discovery to benefit vulnerable populations and ultimately eliminate health inequities.

The School offers doctoral programs in medicine and biomedical research; and Master of Science degree programs in public health and clinical investigation. It also sponsors graduate training (residency) programs in family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, public health and preventive medicine, and general surgery.

Morehouse School of Medicine annually ranks as one of the top U.S. medical schools in the percentage of graduates practicing primary care specialties. The School ranks # 1 in the first-ever study of all U.S. medical schools in the area of social mission. Such recognition underscores the vital role that MSM plays in the nation's health care system.

Morehouse School of Medicine is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It is also a member of the Atlanta University Center Consortium, the world's oldest and largest association of historically black colleges and universities. For more information about Morehouse School of Medicine, visit us online at http://www.msm.edu.

View original post here:

Morehouse School of Medicine Mourns the Loss of Senator Arlen Specter

A conservationist seeks new approaches to exposing myths driving a wave of rhino poaching.

See the original post here:

Myths, More than Traditional Medicine, Driving Rhino Slaughter

Select honor recognizes leaders in fields of medicine and health for professional achievements and commitment to service

Newswise HOUSTON - Lynda Chin, M.D., professor and chair of Genomic Medicine and scientific director of the Institute for Applied Cancer Science at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies.

Membership recognizes physicians and scientists who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health. Fewer than 70 new members and 10 foreign associates are elected each year.

"I'm honored to be selected as an IOM member by such a prestigious scientific group of colleagues." Chin said. "I'm fortunate to be part of the genomic revolution that contributes to making personalized medicine a reality. I thank the talented trainees and researchers in my lab, and my many collaborators, for their creative thinking, persistence and hard work."

Current IOM members elect new members annually from candidates nominated for their professional achievements, expertise to contribute to IOM research and commitment to service. Election is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of medicine and health. Currently there are approximately 1,700 IOM members representing the health care professions, as well as the natural, social and behavioral sciences.

Chin is a leader in translational genomic medicine, serving on multiple high-profile scientific committees and often publishing her work in top-tier journals. Chin employs an integrated genomic, genetic and biological program framework to identify novel cancer genes and translate these discoveries into productive drug discovery efforts. Her research focuses on the genesis, progression and maintenance of cancer, specifically glioblastoma and melanoma. She has made high-impact scientific discoveries in multiple fields that span transcription, telomere biology, mouse models of human cancer, oncogenomics and personalized cancer medicine.

The goal of Dr. Chin's research program is to translate basic science discoveries into validated therapeutic targets and biomarkers as well as innovative combination strategies. Chin also serves in a leadership role for The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the International Cancer Genome Consortium. For the TCGA, she is both the principal investigator of a Genome Data Analysis Center working to develop novel tools to manage, integrate and process the wealth of the data that TCGA generates, as well as the co-PI of a Genome Characterization Center. She also leads both the GBM and melanoma analysis working groups in TCGA.

Established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, the IOM is recognized as a national resource for independent, scientifically informed analysis and recommendations on health and health care. IOM members volunteer their time to serve as experts on rigorous research studies to answer questions of national importance posed by political decision makers, such as Congress, as well as the public.

Chin joins a select group of colleagues at MD Anderson who are also IOM members: Ellen Gritz, Ph.D., chair of Behavioral Science (2007), Ronald DePinho, M.D., president (2004) and John Mendelsohn, M.D. professor in the Department of Experimental Therapeutics and co-director of MD Anderson's Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy (1997).

About MD Anderson The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. MD Anderson is one of only 41 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute. For eight of the past 10 years, including 2011, MD Anderson has ranked No. 1 in cancer care in "America's Best Hospitals," a survey published annually in U.S. News & World Report.

Read more from the original source:

Institute of Medicine Elects Lynda Chin to Membership

PHILADELPHIA Four professors from the Perelman School of Medicine have been elected members of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), one of the nation's highest honors in biomedicine, with a total of six representing four schools at the University of Pennsylvania.

The new members bring Penn Medicines total to 61. The newly elected members raise IOM's total active membership to 1,732 and the number of foreign associates to 112. With an additional 84 members holding emeritus status, IOM's total membership is 1,928.

Established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, IOM has become recognized as a national resource for independent, scientifically informed analysis and recommendations on health issues. With their election, members make a commitment to volunteer their service on IOM committees, boards, and other activities.

The new Penn IOM members:

Gustavo D. Aguirre, V.M.D., Ph.D., is a professor of Medical Genetics and Ophthalmology, School of Veterinary Medicine. He has led efforts to develop gene therapy to treat various forms of blindness. Modeling the visual disorders in dogs, he and colleagues have cured retinal degeneration in the animalsbreakthroughs that have laid the groundwork for human clinical trials. Aguirre earned his undergraduate, veterinary and doctoral degrees from Penn. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards for his work, including an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Gteborg, Sweden; the WSAVA/Waltham International Award for Scientific Achievement; the Foundation Fighting Blindness Trustee Award and Scientist of the Year Award; the O.N.C.E. International Prize for R&D in Biomedicine and New Technologies for the Blind; and the Paul Kayser International Award in Retina Research. He was recently elected a Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Shelley L. Berger, Ph.D., is a Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor and Daniel S. Och University Professor, in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, and in the Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences. She also serves as Director of the Epigenetics Program at the Perelman School. Berger earned her B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan; was a post-doctoral fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and was previously Hilary Koprowski Endowed Professor at Wistar Institute. Her work advanced understanding of eukaryotic gene regulation by helping to unify the fields of transcription and chromatin regulation. The major focus of her research is to define the mechanisms by which epigenetic modifications affect chromatin structure (the combination of DNA and proteins found in chromosomes) and gene expression in normal and diseased states, in particular, during chromatin remodeling in spermatogenesis, senescence and aging, and underlying organismal-level behavior. Her work has also elucidated modifications of the tumor suppressor p53 and whether its alterations are central to oncogenesis. Berger has organized numerous international meetings on chromatin; has served as Senior Editor of the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology; and participates on advisory committees for several research institutions and chromatin-focused pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. She has served on international committees to establish nomenclature for histone-modifying enzymes, and to create the NIH-sponsored Human Epigenome Project. She is also lead investigator on an NIH research award on Epigenetics and Aging and a recipient of the Ellison Foundation Senior Scholar Award in Aging.

Nancy M. Bonini, Ph.D., is the Florence R.C. Murray Professor of Biology in the Department of Biology, School of Arts and Sciences, and is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Her research uses the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to gain insight into neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimers, Parkinsons, Huntingtons, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. By recreating features of these diseases in flies, her team has helped identify disease mechanisms and potential targets for ameliorating some of the damage they cause. Bonini received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has earned multiple awards from the Huntingtons Disease Society of America and the Hereditary Disease Foundation, and in 2009 received an NIH EUREKA award for highly innovative research. Bonini is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was recently elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Carl H. June, M.D., is the Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, and the Program Director of Translational Research, Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute. His laboratory studies various mechanisms of lymphocyte activation relating to immune tolerance and adoptive immunotherapy. In 2011, his research team published findings detailing a new therapy in which patients with refractory and relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia were treated with genetically engineered versions of their own T cells. The treatment has now also been used with promising results to treat children with refractory acute leukemia. June is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and Baylor College of Medicine. He had graduate training in immunology and malaria at the World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, and post-doctoral training in transplantation biology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. June has received numerous awards and grants for his innovative work, including a Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Freedom to Discover Research Grant; the William B. Coley Award from the Cancer Research Institute; the Ernest Beutler Prize from the American Society of Hematology; and The Joan Miller and Linda Bernstein Gene Therapy Ovarian Cancer Award from the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy.

Mitchell D. Schnall, M.D., Ph.D., is the Eugene P. Pendergrass Professor of Radiology, and the Chair of the Radiology Department, Perelman School of Medicine. He received his undergraduate degree, medical degree, and Ph.D. from Penn. Schnall is an international leader in translational biomedical imaging research. His work has led to fundamental changes in the imaging approaches to breast and prostate cancer. In addition, he has had a significant influence on emerging technologies, such as optical imaging.Schnall has played a critical role in efforts to organize cancer clinical and translational imaging research in the U.S. and has been the principal investigator of numerous team-science initiatives.He served as Deputy Chair of the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) from 1999-2007, and in 2008 became ACRIN Chair.Under his leadership, ACRIN completed the landmark National Lung Cancer Screening trial that demonstrated the ability of low-dose CT lung cancer screening to reduce lung cancer mortality by 20% in high risk patients.Schnall was one of the architects of the merger of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) and ACRIN to form the new ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, which he now co-chairs. He is also a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians.

Kevin G.M. Volpp, M.D., Ph.D., is the founding Director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics at the Leonard Davis Institute; Co-Director of the Penn Medicine Center for Innovation, and a Professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine and Health Care Management at the Wharton School. He is also the Director of the NIH-funded Penn CMU Roybal P30 Center in Behavioral Economics and Health, one of two such NIH- funded centers in the U.S. Volpps research on the impact of financial and organizational incentives on health behavior and health outcomes has been recognized by numerous awards including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers; the Alice S. Hersh New Investigator Award from AcademyHealth; Time Magazines 2009 A-Z Advances in Health list for work on Incentives letter I; the British Medical Journal Group Award for translating Research into Practice, and the outstanding paper of the year from the Society of General Internal Medicine. He is a member of the editorial board of the Annals of Internal Medicine. He did his medical training at Penn and Brigham and Womens hospital, has a Ph.D. in Applied Economics and Managerial Science from the Wharton School, and is a staff physician at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

More:

Institute of Medicine Elects Four New Members from Penn Medicine

ScienceDaily (Oct. 15, 2012) Personalized genomic medicine is hailed as a revolution that will empower patients to take control of their own health care, but it could end up taking control away from patients and limiting their treatment choices, concludes an article in the Hastings Center Report. A commentary responding to the article, by the editorial director of Health and Family at Consumer Reports, also appears in the journal.

Genomic science provides two categories of data, the authors write: pharmacogenomic information and genomic susceptibility information. Pharmacogenomic information forecasts how an individual might respond to a particular therapy. Genomic susceptibility testing predicts a patient's chances of warding off or succumbing to an environmental threat or disease.

Genomic medicine's stakeholders -- including direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies, private research centers, and the National Institutes of Health -- are deeply invested in promoting how this information will benefit patients. The authors call this "empowerment rhetoric." And yet the added knowledge that comes from both pharmacogenomic information and genomic susceptibility information could have a negative impact on how much power a patient really has.

The results gleaned from pharmacogenomic information could pressure patients to comply with physicians' recommendations, the authors suggest, because molecular profiling would allow doctors to give orders with more authority. "In fact, because genomic medicine generates more risk information and makes that information the key lens for approaching health and disease, patients may actually find that they have less ability to influence health care decisions and treatments," the authors state.

The virtues of genomic susceptibility information could also go awry. First, because disease prevention relies heavily on lifestyle changes, responsibility is shifted from doctor to patient. Patients who don't make the "right" choices could be deemed irresponsible, the article says. Second, genomic information can for the time being only reveal the health risks of groups of people. Rather than provide individualized assessments, it classifies people into "genetic superfamilies." The authors argue that "population classification schemes based on racial and ethnic categories can be actively disempowering for individuals, by encouraging potentially prejudicial associations between their group affiliations and health care risks."

Patient empowerment is marketed as a paradigm shift because it puts medical data in the hands of the consumer, not just the doctor. But the authors conclude that the focus on empowerment could clash with the reality of what patients are willing or able to do with the information they receive. "The idea of patient empowerment may run up against not only the limits of patients' control over their health, but also the limits of patient control over health care systems," the article says.

The authors are Eric T. Juengst, director of the Center for Bioethics and professor in the Departments of Social Medicine and Genetics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Michael A. Flatt, a doctoral candidate in sociology at Case Western Reserve University; and Richard A. Settersten, Jr., professor of social and behavioral health sciences and endowed director of the Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University.

In a commentary on the article, Ronni Sandroff, editorial director of Health and Family at Consumer Reports, acknowledges that pharmacogenomics could take control away from a patient if a health insurance company opted not to cover a medicine that was shown to work infrequently in people with a particular genetic makeup. But even an increase in patient empowerment can have downsides if it shifts the responsibility for health care to patients and stigmatizes people who do not, or cannot, make the "right" health choices. Sandroff notes that the greatest challenge in preventive medicine is getting people to eat less, exercise more, and reduce stress. Whether or not genetic susceptibility information will actually empower patients by propelling them toward healthier lifestyles is unknown. "This is a question that needs more serious study," she writes.

Still, Sandroff says that consumer participation in genetic health research -- "a new and growing factor" -- could help advance scientific knowledge. "That makes it something that professionals should be wondering how to enhance and encourage, rather than fear," she writes.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

The rest is here:

Personalized genomic medicine: How much can it really empower patients?

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Oct. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey (http://www.rmanj.com) will be presenting 24 abstracts at the upcoming American Society for Reproductive Medicine Annual Meeting to be held October 20-24, 2012, in San Diego, California.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120402/NY80340LOGO )

"We are very proud of the outstanding research conducted by the team at RMANJ. This year, our research covers important topics in reproductive medicine ranging from the continued validation of genetic screening to the reality of single embryo transfer in IVF," said Richard T. Scott, Jr., M.D., F.A.C.O.G., H.C.L.D., founding partner of RMANJ. "We are particularly excited to present the findings from our BEST Trial, the first well-controlled clinical trial comparing IVF pregnancy rates in a group of women receiving a single embryo transfer with comprehensive chromosome screening compared to a group receiving traditional morphology-based double embryo transfer. These findings are poised to fundamentally change the way IVF is practiced."

2012 ASRM ABSTRACT LIST

Monday, October 22, 2012

Morphology plus ploidy: a prospective study comparing traditional morphology-based selection for single embryo transfer (SET) with comprehensive chromosome screening (CCS) results (O-57)Eric FormanOral Monday 5:15-5:30 p.m. Outcome Predictors-Lab: ART

Comparison of clinical outcomes between genetically similar groups of in vitro fertilization patients (O-83)Shefali ShastriOral Monday 5:45-6:00 p.m. Reproductive Endocrinology: Research

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Blastocyst euploid selective transfer (BEST): an RCT of comprehensive chromosome screening-single embryo transfer (CCS-SET) vs. double embryo transfer (DET) equivalent pregnancy rates, eliminates twins (O-161)Eric FormanOral Tuesday 4:15-4:30 p.m. Outcome Predictors-Clinical: ART

Trophectoderm is predictive of the inner cell mass and newborn mitochondrial DNA mutation load (O-194)Nathan TreffOral Tuesday 4:30-4:45 p.m. Reproductive Biology: Human Studies

Here is the original post:

RMANJ To Present 24 Abstracts At The American Society for Reproductive Medicine Annual Meeting

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Oct 16, 2012) - Infor, a leading provider of business application software serving more than 70,000 customers, today announced the Institute for Transfusion Medicine (ITxM), one of the nation's foremost providers of transfusion medicine and related services, has upgraded to the latest version of Infor Healthcare Revenue Management to integrate its outpatient records and core receivalbes systems into a single, unified solution.With the functionality to manage both client and patient billing, the application will help reduce manual entry requirements and automate billing to help the company completefinancial processes more efficiently.In addition, the upgrade will allow ITxM to benefit from the latest platform enhancements and facilitate enriched system support.

News Points

ITxM Quote "Prior to our Infor upgrade it was difficult to track and process payments because users had to access separate systems to obtain the necessary data," said Keir Josephson, director, IT Strategy & Delivery, ITxM. "Now our entire outpatient records system is integrated with our core receivable system, enabling us to manage our billing processes, whether patient or client, within a single, unified solution."

Infor Quote "Whether it be a multi-site hospital, reference laboratory or healthcare specialty provider, managing billing and revenue cycles is essential to financial performance," said Kevin Curry, senior vice president and general manager for Healthcare, Infor. "Infor Healthcare solutions have the flexibility to handle transactions from a variety of business models with the functionality to support all processes within one solution, helping healthcare organizations to proactively manage the revenue cycle for maximum efficiency and profitability."

Additional Resources Note: registration may be required to access online content

About ITxM The Institute for Transfusion Medicine(SM) (ITxM(SM)) is one of the nation's foremost organizations specializing in transfusion medicine and related services. Headquartered in Pittsburgh with offices in Chicagoland, ITxM provides patients and medical facilities with comprehensive transfusion support, including medical staff consultation and treatment plans, along with testing and delivery of blood products. ITxM business units work together to develop, deliver and influence the highest quality patient care in transfusion medicine and related services. For more information, visit http://www.itxm.org.

About Infor Infor is the world's third-largest supplier of enterprise applications and services, helping more than 70,000 large and mid-size companies improve operations and drive growth across numerous industry sectors.To learn more about Infor, please visit http://www.infor.com.

Read the rest here:

Infor Healthcare Applications to Unify Financials at the Institute for Transfusion Medicine

GERMANTOWN, MD--(Marketwire - Oct 16, 2012) - Sensors for Medicine and Science, Inc., a privately held medical device company focused on the development and commercialization of the first fully implantable, long-term continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system, today announced its new company name, Senseonics.

"The new Senseonics name really captures the essence of what we're about and what makes us unique," said Tim Goodnow, PhD., President and Chief Executive Officer."The name combines sense (to detect), eon (long time) and -ics (suffix to denote body of knowledge) to signal our unequivocal focus on continuous glucose sensors designed for accurate, long-term wear by people with diabetes.Our first generation sensor, currently in clinical studies, is targeted to last for up to six months of continuous wear."

Along with its new name, the company also announced it has submitted its pivotal clinical study protocol to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) of the U.K. and the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (Bundesinstitut fr Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte, BfArM) in Germany.

The pivotal study is titled PRECISE (Prospective, Multi-Center Evaluation of the Accuracy of a Novel Continuous Implanted Glucose Sensor), and its objective is to evaluate the accuracy of the Senseonics Continuous Glucose Monitoring system over 180 days.

The PRECISE study requires clinical participants with diabetes to use the glucose sensor in the arm and to wear the external receiver to obtain continuous glucose readings during the 180-day study duration. The study will also evaluate safety of the Senseonics CGM system usage during in-clinic and home wear.

"All the study investigators are very much looking forward to proceeding with this first large study of a long-term implantable glucose sensor," said primary investigator Dr. Roman Hovorka, University of Cambridge, UK."This has the potential to be an important technology to help our patients better manage their diabetes."

The PRECISE study will be conducted in three clinical sites in Germany and two in the U.K.Enrollment in the trial will include up to 50 subjects with diabetes. The trial builds upon previous clinical experience which demonstrated high accuracy performance for the first time for an implanted biosensor.

"The filing of the PRECISE pivotal study application represents an important milestone in the development of our glucose sensing system, and the study will allow us to gather clinical data for European regulatory approval," said Goodnow.A successful execution of the PRECISE study is expected to support an application for a CE mark in Europe.

About Senseonics Senseonics, Incorporated (formerly Sensors for Medicine and Science, Inc.) is developing the first fully implantable continuous glucose sensor designed for highly accurate, long-term sensor wear. The Senseonics Continuous Glucose Monitoring System includes a miniaturized sensor and receiver. Based on proprietary breakthrough fluorescence sensing technology, the sensor is inserted into the subcutaneous space under the skin and wirelessly transmits glucose levels to an external receiver.After insertion, the sensor functions noninvasively, automatically, and continuously. The system is intended to enable people with diabetes to confidently live their lives with ease.For more information on Senseonics, please visit http://www.senseonics.com.

About Diabetes Diabetes affects nearly 26 million people in the U.S. and an estimated 350 million worldwide. Monitoring of glucose levels is essential to managing the disease and avoiding its debilitating complications.Continuous glucose monitoring has the potential to further help diabetes patients examine how their glucose level reacts to insulin, exercise, food, and other factors. Studies have shown that CGM is effective at improving glucose control while minimizing severe hypoglycemia.Accurate continuous glucose monitors are also a key component of the promising artificial pancreas ongoing studies that could potentially offer additional freedom in the management of diabetes.

See the original post here:

Sensors for Medicine and Science Changes Company Name to Senseonics

Acclaimed author and medical expert T.S. Wiley joins Innovative Medicine to discuss Chronobiology and new effective treatments for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

New York, NY (PRWEB) October 14, 2012

Author of two hit books: "Sex, Lies, and Menopause" and "Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival", T.S. Wiley is an anthropologist and medical theorist with a background in investigative journalism. An ever-active medical researcher, she is an established expert in environmental endocrinology and evolutionary biology, has a professional affiliation with the New York Academy of Sciences, and speaks regularly at such venues as the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM), the International Hormone Society, and the World Conference on Breast Cancer.

We prove that major killers like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer are caused by short nights, working long hours, and the electricity that gives us the ability to do so, notes Wiley, calling out artificial light as the ultimate endocrine disruptor that shuts down proper hormone production and ruins our health unless, we take very specific actions

As many as 60 million Americans (20%) suffer from mild to severe cases of seasonal affective disorder and resulting depression during the changes of our seasons, and few are provided with effective treatments. As Dr. Thomas K. Szulc, Medical Director of Innovative Medicine states, understanding and restoring proper bodily rhythms on a cellular level, is the key to establishing successful treatments for patients suffering with SAD. In our medical clinic [Manhattan Advanced Medicine], we have introduced new integrative treatments and sophisticated biological medicines that effectively regulate and restore proper rhythmic action without suppressing or managing the patient through pharmaceutical intervention.

This special medical event is open to both practitioners and the public, and can be accessed through registering at http://www.innovativemedicineblog.com/rhythm

About Innovative Medicine - Based in New York, NY, Innovative Medicine is dedicated to changing the current medical paradigm and working with practitioners across the United States to provide sophisticated solutions and advanced medical techniques based in quantum physics and unconventional biological understanding of the human body. Focusing on complex 21st century conditions, Innovative Medicine is a pioneer in a new shift of mentality on how to approach disease and dysfunction for amazing results. Further information is available at http://www.innovativemedicine.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/innomedicine and Twitter at @InnoMedicine.

Benjamin Ahrens Innovative Medicine 800-605-1798 706 Email Information

See the article here:

Innovative Medicine Announces Effective New Therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder

A professional alternative medicine practitioner claims that homeopathy can be used to treat anxiety, aggression, and even domestic violence.

Homeopathy was invented around 1796 by a doctor named Samuel Hahnemann. He believed that a small dose of a substance will cure whatever symptoms it would cause in a high dose.

ANALYSIS: Homeopathy's Ineffectiveness Saves Lives

Hahnemann also invented a "law of infinitessimals," claiming that a substance becomes more potent the more it is diluted -- a premise which defies both common sense and the laws of physics.

Homeopathic solutions are often so literally watered-down that they don't contain a single molecule of the original medicine or substance: the patient is drinking nothing but water. Yet many homeopathic practitioners insist that it is safe and effective for a wide variety of problems -- including domestic violence.

The article, "Homeopathy for Domestic Violence and Abuse," was written by a woman named Binal Master, who lists her medical qualifications as having "a Bachelor of Homoeopathy Medicine and Surgery" from a homeopathic medical college in Mumbai, India. Her article appears on several homeopathic and alternative medicine web sites, including homeopathyplus.com, based in Australia.

HOWSTUFFWORKS: Alternative Treatments for Dogs

Master writes, "The seeds of violence and abuse arise from insecurities faced in day-to-day lives, in love, relationships and work, and from feelings of neglect and isolation. .... This can lead to feelings of grief, displeasure, guilt, inferiority, jealousy and anger, resulting in physical aggression.... After careful case taking and analyzing the case, the homeopathic physician decides on the remedy which suits the patients needs. Other therapies like yoga, meditation, music therapy, dance therapy, hypnotherapy, anger management, and family therapy are available as adjuncts. Some cases are due to psychiatric disorders such as antisocial personality, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Homeopathy has been found effective in such cases also, where it gives people a second chance to adapt to society and live within the community.... Homeopathy is a safe and effective way to treat the victims as well as the culprits of domestic violence."

Master is claiming that victims of domestic violence and their abusers can be effectively treated by drinking waterpossibly in conjunction with meditation or dance therapy.

Excerpt from:

Can Homeopathy Treat Domestic Violence?

New wave ... Dr. Alvin Rajkomar, a third-year resident in internal medicine, shows an app he uses during his practice. Photo: The New York Times

Dr Alvin Rajkomar was doing rounds with his team at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center when he came upon a puzzling case: a frail, elderly patient with a dangerously low sodium level.

As a third-year resident in internal medicine, Rajkomar was the senior member of the team, and the others looked to him for guidance. An infusion of saline was the answer, but the tricky part lay in the details. Concentration? Volume? Improper treatment could lead to brain swelling, seizures or even death.

Rajkomar had been on-call for 24 hours and was exhausted, but the clinical uncertainty was "like a shot of adrenaline", he said. He reached into a deep pocket of his white coat and produced not a well-thumbed handbook but his iPhone.

Illustration: Mirko Ilic/The New York Times

With a tap on an app called MedCalc, he had enough answers in a minute to start the saline at precisely the right rate.

Advertisement

The history of medicine is defined by advances born of bioscience. But never before has it been driven to this degree by digital technology.

The proliferation of gadgets, apps and web-based information has given clinicians especially young ones like Rajkomar, who is 28 a black bag of new tools: new ways to diagnose symptoms and treat patients, to obtain and share information, to think about what it means to be both a doctor and a patient.

And it has created something of a generational divide. Older doctors admire, even envy, their young colleagues' ease with new technology. But they worry that the human connections that lie at the core of medical practice are at risk of being lost.

Read the original post:

Redefining medicine with apps and iPads

Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Department of Emergency Medicine of the University of the Philippines Philippine General Hospital will be having its 12th Annual Postgraduate Course with the theme E.M. Out of the City on October 18-19 at Pan Pacific Hotel Manila.

Topics include ED Design, Travel Medicine, ENT Emergencies, Occupational Injuries, Challenges in Emergency Transport, Quality Management in the ED, Emergency Humanitarian Action, and Spine and Head Trauma Emergencies.

For inquiries and registration, contact (02)544-8400 loc. 2508 (EM resident) or 2500 (Lyn Lugtu) or (+63)9226844764. Also visit the Facebook events page: Emergency Medicine Out of the City or e-mail pghdemresidents@gmail.com.

Registration rates are as follows: For physicians, P2,000; nurses/EMTs/BHWs/Non-MDs, P1,700; and students, P1,000.

Follow Us

Recent Stories:

Tags: emergency medicine , medicine , Philippine General Hospital , postgraduate course , University of the Philippines

Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer's day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer's Reader's Advocate. Or write The Readers' Advocate:

Continue reading here:

UP-PGH emergency medicine course

Printing off a kidney or another human organ may sound like something out of a science fiction novel, but with the advancements in 3D printing technology, the idea may not be so far-fetched.

BioprintingWhile 3D printing has been successfully used in the health care sector to make prosthetic limbs, custom hearing aids and dental fixtures, the technology is now being used to create more complex structures - particularly human tissue.

Organovo (onvo), a San Diego-based company that focuses on regenerative medicine, is one company using 3D printers, called bioprinters, to print functional human tissue for medical research and regenerative therapies.

"This is disruptive technology," said Mike Renard, Organovo's vice president of commercial operations. "It's always interesting and fun, but never easy."

(More From CNBC: 15 Surprising Global Technology Cities)

Traditional 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital model. 3D printing is achieved using additive processes, in which an object is created by laying down successive layers of material such as plastic, ceramics, glass or metal to print an object. Companies including Boeing (ba), General Electric (ge) and Honeywell (hon) use this type of 3D printing to manufacture parts.

Bioprinters, though, use a "bio-ink" made of living cell mixtures to form human tissue. Basically, the bio-ink is used to build a 3D structure of cells, layer by layer, to form tissue.

Eventually, medical researchers hope to be able to use the printed tissue to make organs for organ replacement.

However, growing functional organs is still at least 10 years away, said Shaochen Chen, a professor of nano-engineering at the University of California, San Diego, who uses bioprinting in researching regenerative medicine.

But even though developing functional organs may still be a decade off, medical researchers and others are using bioprinting technology to make advancements in other ways.

Excerpt from:

How 3D Printers Are Reshaping Medicine

ALISO VIEJO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Metagenics, Inc., a nutrigenomics and lifestyle medicine company focused on improving health and reversing chronic disease, hosted the inaugural "Lifestyle Medicine Summit: Taking the Chronic Out of Illness on September 28-30 in Dana Point, Calif. Registration reached capacity a week before the event, and more than 500 healthcare practitioners left fortified with new clinically effective strategies to help transform the lives of their patients.

Metagenics is passionate about lifestyle medicine education, said Fred Howard, chief executive officer for Metagenics. Our first Lifestyle Medicine Summit was a catalyst for bringing together the leaders in this important field, and inspiring hundreds of dedicated practitioners with new, science-based information that they can use to help their patients to avoid or reverse chronic illness. We are incredibly pleased with the enthusiasm and the turnout at this years Summit, and we are looking forward to another groundbreaking conference next year.

Keynote speakers at the event included internationally known leaders in the field of lifestyle medicine, such as Jeffrey S. Bland, PhD, president of the new Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute and former CSO for Metagenics; Mark Hyman, MD, bestselling author, speaker and practitioner of lifestyle medicine; and John Gray, PhD, bestselling author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Eleven other experts also presented sessions on various areas of lifestyle medicine.

I am a physician educator, and I truly believe that functional medicine is the best way to care for people, commented Joel Evans, MD, who spoke on womens hormonal health and wellness. Metagenics has always been the leader in functional medicine education and nutraceutical interventions, and this Summit is yet another proof of their understanding and foresight into the future of medicine.

Metagenics has always done a great job of making sure that pioneering information is at the forefront of their educational events, highlighting the most contemporary, biochemical, nutritionally-based research and products available today, said Jeff Marsalese, DC, who traveled from Pittsburgh to attend the Summit. This event has been a first-class experience with great information and quality speakers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of two American adults has at least one chronic illness, and chronic diseases contribute to seven out of 10 deaths in the U.S. Many healthcare professionals and their patients are seeking solutionsbeyond taking an increasing number of prescription drugs that treat symptomsto address the systemic nature of most illnesses. In particular, breakthroughs in nutrigenomicsthe science of nutrients as modulators for wellnessoffer options that can address and help delay or reverse the onset of common lifestyle-related conditions, such as obesity, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and even cognitive disorders.

Vern Cherewatenko, MD, and attendee from Bellevue, WA added, The speakers and the subject matter at this conference were cutting-edge, and have far exceeded my expectations. I will definitely come next year!

Metagenics University's "2013 Lifestyle Medicine Summit: What Women Really Want will focus on Womens Health. To ensure a space at next years Summit, healthcare practitioners are advised to register early. The event will take place at the Fairmont Millennium Park Hotel in Chicago, Ill. on October 4-6, 2013. Register today at http://www.metagenics.com/2013summit.

About Metagenics, Inc.

See more here:

Metagenics’ Inaugural Lifestyle Medicine Summit: A Landmark Event

While trying to retrieve the URL: http://chronicle.augusta.com/life/people/2012-10-11/medicine-today-does-chocolate-prevent-stroke

The following error was encountered:

Go here to read the rest:

Medicine Today: Does chocolate prevent stroke?

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

Actifio, the radically simple copy data management company, today announced its presence at SNW Fall 2012, October 16-19th in Santa Clara, CA. The event will be highlighted by a presentation by Dr. John Meyers, assistant professor of medicine and director of technology in Boston University School of Medicines (BUSM) Department of Medicine on how the institution built a research storage and computing platform from the ground up based on Actifios Protection and Availability Storage (PAS) platform.

Dr. Meyers will be joined by Actifios Senior Director Andrew Gilman on Thursday, October 18, 3:10-3:55 pm PDT in the session, Combat the Consequences of Data Sprawl with PAS. Protection and Availability Storage (PAS) is a revolutionary new category of storage that enables a fundamentally new and radically simplified approach to data management. PAS is a provenvirtualized storagesolution transforming the economics of the industry through a purpose-built approach to addressing the root cause of todays data storage explosion:copy data. By focusing on smarter and more efficient copy data management, streamlining the typically 13-120 excess, redundant copies of production data, Actifio provides faster recovery and more reliable data protection for up to 90 percent less cost than traditional backup and recovery point tools.

Boston University School of Medicines Department of Medicine is the medical campus largest department, conducting extensive clinical and basic science research. The faculty collectively exceeds $80 million per year in research grant funding and actively researches pressing medical issues from autoimmunity to nearly all types of cancer. Historically there were no research-specific computing resources available to faculty, and irreplaceable data was stored on a patchwork of consumer NAS devices, workstations-turned-servers, portable media and other devices. Legacy enterprise-class data backup and recovery solutions in place at the time werent able to scale across their diverse and increasingly complex infrastructure. BUSM needed a radically new storage solution to address their copy data challenge.

Click here to view a short video of how Dr. Meyers uses PAS.

In our unique environment, not all data is the same, said Dr. Meyers. Actifio PAS supports the concept of an SLA that defines how often an object is snapped, deduped, replicated and retained. These SLAs can be applied to individual VMs, file systems and even types of NAS data regardless of underlying storage design. Im excited to share how Actifio PAS has saved us well over $1 million, which allows us to fund pilot grants and support novel research. Ill also share our vision for copy data management -- for example, how it allows us to parse scientific metadata and apply a PAS SLA based on that information.

In addition to being selected to present, Actifio will be exhibiting at SNW Fall 2012 at kiosk #P4 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. It is also participating in hands-on-lab sessions throughout the event, where end users will be able to setup, build application SLAs and manage data on the new Actifio PAS 20T solution. For more details about attending the hands-on-lab, please contact Andrew Gilman at Andrew@actifio.com.

Were very gratified to see the Actifio customer base climbing past the 200 mark, and grateful that industry organizations like SNIA are empowering our user community to share their stories and experiences with their industry peers, said Ash Ashutosh, Actifio CEO.

About Actifio

Actifio is radically simple copy data management. Our Protection and Availability Storage (PAS) lets businesses recover anything instantly, for up to 90 percent less. PAS eliminates siloed data protection applications, virtualizing data management to deliver an application-centric, SLA-driven solution that decouples the management of data from storage, network and server infrastructure. Actifio has helped liberate IT organizations and service providers of all sizes from vendor lock-in and the management challenges associated with exploding data growth. Actifio is headquartered in Waltham, Mass., with offices around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.actifio.com or email info@actifio.com.

See the original post here:

Actifio and Boston University School of Medicine Selected to Present on Consequences of Big Data Sprawl at SNW Fall 2012

NEW YORK, Oct. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Longtime partners Traditional Chinese Medicine World Foundation (www.tcmworld.org) and the School of Social Welfare at Stony Brook University, New York, will offer a one-day training workshop on Wu Ming Qigong movements for breast health at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly, Virginia, the location of the Foundation's 11th annual conference, Building Bridges of Integration for Traditional Chinese Medicine (www.tcmconference.org). The training session, which supports Breast Cancer Awareness Month, costs $99 and takes place Thursday, October 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The workshop is open to all healthcare practitioners and health-seekers interested in learning ancient Qigong forms that can then be taught to individuals, families, patients, clients and community groups. Participants receive three complimentary DVDs on "Wu Ming Qigong for Breast Health" featuring a real-time instructional session of these energy forms that support breast health.

"Wu Ming Qigong for Breast Health" is based on the work of Nan Lu, OMD, Qigong master, longtime TCM practitioner and best-selling author of Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Woman's Guide to Healing from Breast Cancer (HarperCollins) Dr. Lu is also an associate clinical professor at the School of Social Welfare, Stony Brook University, NY. Dr. Frances Brisbane, the School's dean, remarked, "This is the kind of innovative event our School is eager to support. It empowers women and can make a real difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities."

TCM World Foundation's Program Director Elaine Katen commented, "We are passionate in our belief that breast cancer prevention goes beyond early detection. Learning these powerful Qigong forms takes serious practice so this vital prevention technique can be properly demonstrated to others for maximum results. This gratifying effort has helped women nationwide understand how to care for their own bodies."

To learn more or to register, call TCM World Foundation at 212.274.1079, or visit http://www.tcmconference.org.

CONTACT: Ellen Schaplowsky. VP TCM World Foundation 212.274.1079 or 212.593.6316

Read more:

Traditional Chinese Medicine World Foundation and School of Social Welfare, Stony Brook University, NY, Partner On ...

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/wwk4qh/oral_medicine_a) has announced the addition of the "Oral Medicine - A Color Handbook, 2nd Edition" book to their offering.

This is a revised edition of a bestselling handbook. The authors have fully updated the text to include the most up to date treatment options, have added a section on head and neck imaging (CT/MRI), a series of self-test clinical cases, and 100 new photographs.

The book uses a symptom-based approach to assist the clinician in the diagnosis and management of those conditions that fall into the speciality of oral medicine. Dealing first with normal anatomy, physical examination and investigation - particularly lesional biopsy, haematological assessment and microbiological sampling - the authors cover all areas of those diseases, local and systemic, that manifest themselves in the lips and mouth. Conditions are grouped under their principal presenting sign - blistering, white patches, red patches, swelling, pigmentation, pain, dry mouth, altered tasted and halitosis.

This comprehensive handbook is of value to professionals and trainees in medicine, dentistry and pathology.

Key Features:

- Combines the advantages of a colour atlas with those of a short text/reference.

- Symptoms-based approach.

- New section on head and neck imaging (CT/MRI).

- New self-test clinical cases.

Follow this link:

Research and Markets: Oral Medicine - A Color Handbook, 2nd Edition