ELIZABETHTOWN - Operation Medicine Drop is coming to the Dublin Peanut Festival on Saturday.

The Bladen County Sheriff's and Health departments will be set up to accept any out-of-date or unused prescription or over-the-counter drugs, said Capt. Rodney Hester.

It's a chance for residents to safely dispose of the drugs, Hester said.

Unintentional poisoning from prescription medication is on the rise in North Carolina, Hester said.

Nearly 4,500 people in North Carolina have died from overdoses of prescription drugs since 1999, he said.

Flushing unused medication only works to contaminate streams and rivers, harming wildlife, according to information provided by agencies including Safe Kids North Carolina that sponsor the initiative.

Residents can bring prescription drugs to the Operation Medicine Drop tent at the festival between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Hester said.

The 20th annual Peanut Festival will kick off at 10 a.m. with a parade and offer day-long events including a car show.

- Nancy McCleary

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Operation Medicine Drop at the Dublin Peanut Festival Saturday

U.S. Preventive Medicine Mission of Better Health through Preventive Care Is Reflected in New Institute of Medicine ReportJacksonville, FL (PRWEB) September 12, 2012 The recently released Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report, "Best Care at Lower Cost: The Path to Continuously Learning Health Care in America," highlights the possible health care savings through primary, secondary and tertiary ...

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U.S. Preventive Medicine Mission of Better Health through Preventive Care Is Reflected in New Institute of Medicine ...

Newswise LOS ANGELES Sept. 11, 2012 Paul W. Noble, MD, an international leader in pulmonary medicine, has been named chair of the Department of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Noble comes to Cedars-Sinai from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., where he has been professor and chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine since 2006.

"We are pleased to welcome an outstanding clinician, scientist and educator of Dr. Noble's caliber to Cedars-Sinai," said Shlomo Melmed, MD, senior vice president for Academic Affairs and dean of the medical faculty at Cedars-Sinai. "His commitment to scholarly research resulting in improved treatments for patients is an excellent fit for our medical center's mission. Our strong Department of Medicine has long been a source of pride for Cedars-Sinai, and we are confident that the leadership reins are being placed into very capable hands."

Noble's clinical expertise and research focuses on unraveling mechanisms underlying chronic lung inflammation and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and developing novel treatments for these disorders. His research is heavily supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health.

Noble succeeds Glenn Braunstein, MD, who is stepping down after 26 years as chair of the Department of Medicine to a new role as Vice President for Clinical Innovation, leading an institution-wide initiative at Cedars-Sinai to implement best practices for integrated, accountable, coordinated care. Under Braunsteins astute leadership, the Department of Medicine consistently has been recognized as a national leader in patient care, research discovery and education and has attracted prominent researchers and physicians from around the nation and the world to Cedars-Sinai.

Noble is a prolific author, with his original research appearing in the highest quality peer-reviewed publications, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Science and Nature Medicine. A deputy editor of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Noble has been a leading contributor to discovery in lung disease.

Noble, 54, who earned his bachelors degree at Haverford College and his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine, completed his residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at UC San Francisco and pulmonary and critical care fellowships at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine.

As an assistant professor of medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, he was founder and director of the Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic, before moving on to becoming professor of medicine and associate chief of pulmonary and critical care at Yale University School of Medicine, where he also formed an Interstitial Lung Disease Clinic. At Duke, he propelled his Division to the highest ranks in the nation for clinical care, research productivity and NIH funding.

An elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the American Association of Physicians, he has been a member of the editorial boards for the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology and the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. He also is a member of the scientific advisory board of the American Asthma Foundation.

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Noble Appointed Chair of Cedars-Sinai Department of Medicine

Theres a bizarre mindset that divides medicine into natural (made from plants; untainted by villainous pharmaceutical companies; delivered to your veins by forest animals) and everything else (man-made pills fashioned from profits and poisons). The reality, of course, is that many of the drugs used in our hospitals and pharmacies come from plants. Willow bark contains salicylic acid, the main ingredient in aspirin. Paclitaxel (taxol) was isolated from the bark of the Pacific yew tree; today, it is used to stop cancer cells from dividing. The rose periwinkle has given us vinblastine and vincristine, both used to treat leukaemia.

These examples scratch the surface of what the botanical world has given us, and what it might still offer. Of the tens of thousands of plants used in traditional medicine, a piddling proportion has been tested for chemicals with medical benefits. How do we find the rest? How do we go about the business of bioprospecting? One solution is to tap the knowledge of indigenous populations, who still rely on plants for traditional medicine. When they get sick, how do they heal themselves?

But this approach has problems. Traditional use doesnt always imply an actual medical benefit, and the chosen plants might not yield interesting chemicals any more readily than the species around them. Many attempts to follow such leads have ended in the drug-development cul-de-sac. To make matters worse, collating traditional knowledge involves fieldwork and training, and is both expensive and time-consuming.

Meanwhile, the tools of molecular biology have become faster and cheaper. Companies can afford to gather large collections of plants, and screen their constituent chemicals en masse. Why filter them any further when you can test thousands of samples at once? But Haris Saslis-Lagoudakis from Imperial College London thinks that this scattershot approach to bioprospecting is a mistake. To him, traditional knowledge still has great value in honing our search for tomorrows drugs.

He made his point by creating a family tree (a phylogeny) of over 20,000 plant species from New Zealand, Nepal, and the Cape of South Africa. Around 1,500 of these are used in traditional medicine and these, rather than being spread out throughout the family tree, are actually clustered in certain branches. The hottest branches contained 60 per cent more traditionally used plants that youd expect if they were distributed randomly.

As one example among many, rushfoil (Croton) and physic nut (Jatropha) are close relatives form the spurge family, and are both used to treat malaria in Nepal. We know that close relatives can share many of the chemical compounds they produce, says Saslis-Lagoudakis, so our results suggest thatthe use ofCrotonandJatrophato treat malaria is due tounderlying shared chemistry between them.

Saslis-Lagoudakis also found that people tend to use related plants from the three continents to treat medical conditions that afflict the same organs. For example, members from the soapberry family (Sapindaceae) are used to treat digestive problems in New Zealand (Alectryon), Nepal (heartseed and Ceylon oak) and South Africa (jacket plum). Since these places are so distant, and their native floras are so radically different, its likely the people there discovered the properties of their local plants independently.

To Saslis-Lagoudakis, these trends suggest that plants dont make their way into a healers repertoire through superstition or chance. Instead, its their medical properties their bioactivity that makes them useful. And since drug manufacturers search for those same properties, the evolutionary relationships between traditionally used plants could help to guide their search.

But Michael Heinrich from University College London cautions that there could be other explanations for the results. Saslis-Lagoudakis thinks that the close relationships between traditionally used plants reflect their chemistry. Heinrich wonders if it reflects their weediness. Weeds are more likely to be found and used, and families that are rich in weeds such as daisies and mints are a common part of traditional repertoires. If you have to search for something to treat your diarrhoea, would you walk up to the Welsh mountains and try to get a rare endemic species or just use what grows in your backyards? says Heinrich.

Still, it seems that bioprospectors are already on the path of using traditional knowledge, even if theyre not aware of it. When Saslis-Lagoudakis listed all the plants that have yielded chemicals either already in use, or going through trials, he found that theyre more likely to belong to groups being used in traditional medicine, and to the hot branches of his family tree.

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Evolutionary trees of traditional medicine plants provide hints for drug-makers | Not Exactly Rocket Science

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Crouse Hospital is launching a sports medicine program led by the team doctors for Syracuse University, the Syracuse Crunch and other orthopedic experts.

As part of the program, Crouse plans to open an after-hours walk-in clinic called SportsCare Express later this month for sports injuries and other orthopedic problems that do not require hospital emergency room care.

Crouse is entering a crowded playing field. Syracuses two biggest orthopedic groups Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists and Upstate Orthopedics have sports medicine specialists. Those groups also operate similar after-hours programs that opened last year.

There is a lot of competition locally, but we think we have a good product and great physicians affiliated with us, said Bob Allen, a Crouse vice president.

Crouses sports medicine team includes Dr. Irving Raphael, head team doctor for Syracuse University athletics, and his son, Dr. Bradley Raphael, assistant team doctor for SU. Also on the team are Dr. Daniel Christina, head team doctor for the Syracuse Crunch, and Dr. Michael Wiese, an orthopedic consultant to Christian Brothers Academy, Le Moyne College and the Crunch. Dr. Paul Klawitter, a concussion management expert from Ithaca, will join the group next month.

They are among the Syracuse areas few independent orthopedic doctors not part of Syracuse Orthopedic specialists or Upstate Orthopedics.

The independent doctors are partnering with Crouse. The SportsCare Express clinic will operate out of Raphaels office at 5823 Widewaters Parkway, DeWitt.

Allen said the sports medicine program will enhance its partnership with its neighboring institution, SU. Crouse is the official hospital of SU Athletics. Injured SU athletes get top priority when they seek care at Crouses urgent care center, PromptCare, which is across the street from the hospital.

Over time Crouses goal is to develop a comprehensive sports medicine program that will include cardiology, general surgery, pain management, physical therapy and other services.

The program will serve professional, college and high school athletes as well as weekend warriors who get injured hiking, jogging or performing some other activity, Allen said.

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Crouse Hospital steps up its sports medicine game

September 10, 2012

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports Your Universe Online

Men and women who have been wounded while serving in the US armed forces are being aided by cutting edge medicine made possible by taxpayer support and a four-year-old federal program designed to develop new treatments, according to recent wire service reports.

Scientists are growing ears, bone and skin in the lab, and doctors are planning more face transplants and other extreme plastic surgeries, Marilynn Marchione of the Associated Press (AP) wrote on Sunday. Around the country, the most advanced medical tools that exist are now being deployed to help Americas newest veterans and wounded troops.

According to Marchione, the AP interviewed more than a dozen people and analyzed recent medical research in order to evaluate the strides made in treating those injured in the service of their country. She said that the news organization uncovered some surprising feats of surgery and bioengineering which were linked to a 2008 initiative known as the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM).

The programs official website describes AFIRM as a multi-institutional and interdisciplinary network, managed and funded primarily through the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (MRMC) but also supported by the US Navy, the US Air Force, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and several other military and government organizations.

AFIRMs goal is to develop advanced treatment options for our severely wounded servicemen and women, and in her research, Marchione discovered several examples of that mission being fulfilled.

Among those were the case of Los Angeles doctors who were able to use part of a soldiers forehead to reconstruct his nose after it was damaged by a bomb explosion in Iraq; the case of Pittsburgh doctors who were able to regrow a portion of a soldiers thigh muscle using pig tissue; and the case of Boston researchers who are close to being able to implant laboratory-grown ears, among others.

In their 2011 Annual Report, AFIRM officials said that researchers sponsored by the organization had made substantial contributions to the scientific literature during the third year of the program, they published 152 articles in peer-reviewed journals and produced 250 presentations and non-peer-reviewed publications. AFIRM scientists have also been making novel patentable discoveries in the field of regenerative medicine during the third year of the program, they filed 20 invention disclosures and 14 government patent applications.

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online

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Cutting-Edge Regenerative Medicine Being Used To Help Injured Soldiers

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Merck (MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced new data for suvorexant, the investigational medicine Merck is developing for the treatment of insomnia. The new data are from one of the longest, continuously-dosed, placebo-controlled trials of a sleep medication ever conducted. This 12-month study was designed to assess the safety of suvorexant, while also evaluating its longer term efficacy. Merck presented new results from a two-month discontinuation phase that followed the 12-month study at the 21st Congress of the European Sleep Research Society (ESRS).

The methods used in this study allowed us to understand what happened when patients who had been taking suvorexant every night for a year were immediately switched to placebo, because what happens when patients stop taking a sleep medication is a key concern for both patients and healthcare professionals, said James K. Walsh, Ph.D., executive director and senior scientist, Sleep Medicine and Research Center, St. Luke's Hospital, and visiting professor, Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine. "We found that the patients who had been taking suvorexant for 12 months and were switched to placebo saw their insomnia return, but clinically meaningful withdrawal symptoms and rebound insomnia did not emerge. We also obtained efficacy data from patients who continued to take suvorexant through 14 months."

Specifically, results from the two-month discontinuation phase showed that, after daily use of a consistent dose of suvorexant for one year, patients who stopped taking the medicine experienced a return of their sleeping difficulties to levels similar to those reported by patients who received placebo over the course of the trial. Patients who continued to receive suvorexant for the additional two months experienced mean improvements in their ability to fall asleep and stay asleep that were consistent with those seen over the first 12 months compared to placebo. Adverse experiences reported in the two-month discontinuation phase were generally consistent with those reported during the 12-month study.

Merck researchers developed suvorexant to target and block orexins, chemical messengers that originate from the hypothalamus (an important sleep center in the brain) and help keep you awake. By blocking the actions of orexins, suvorexant helps facilitate sleep. Merck plans to file a New Drug Application (NDA) for suvorexant with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2012. If approved, suvorexant would be the first in a new class of medicines, called orexin receptor antagonists, for use in patients with difficulty falling or staying asleep. Merck anticipates that suvorexant will be evaluated by the Controlled Substance Staff of the FDA.

Suvorexant represents a new and different approach to treating insomnia, an area of significant unmet need, said Darryle D. Schoepp, Ph.D., senior vice president and head of Neuroscience and Ophthalmology franchise, Merck Research Laboratories. We are enthusiastic about the results of this long-term study, which provide important insights into suvorexant and the chronic nature of insomnia. Merck is continuing with plans to seek approval for suvorexant in the U.S. and in other countries around the world.

Study evaluated safety and efficacy of suvorexant in 12-month study and two-month discontinuation phase

In Mercks long-term, double-blind, Phase III trial, 781 patients with primary insomnia were randomized to receive a consistent dose of suvorexant (40 mg per night in patients 18-64 years of age or 30 mg per night in patients 65 years and older) (n=521) or placebo (n=258) over a 12-month treatment period. Patients who completed the entire 12-month study (n=484) continued into a two-month, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group discontinuation phase to evaluate both the effects of stopping suvorexant and switching to placebo (n=166), as well as the efficacy of continued suvorexant treatment at months 13 and 14 (n=156). Patients who took placebo during the initial 12-month study continued to take placebo (n=162).

There were no primary efficacy endpoints in the 12-month study, which had the main objective to evaluate the safety and tolerability of suvorexant for up to 12 months of treatment. Secondary efficacy endpoints in the 12-month study included mean change from baseline for suvorexant compared to placebo in patient-reported measures of time to fall asleep and total sleep time during the first month of treatment. Other efficacy endpoints measured at all other time points in the 12-month study and two-month discontinuation phase were exploratory, including assessment of time to return of sleeping difficulties.

Safety and tolerability were assessed by adverse event (AE) reports, laboratory values, electrocardiograms, physical exams, vital signs, withdrawal symptoms as evaluated by the Tyrer Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Questionnaire (a questionnaire used to record the symptoms patients experience when they stop taking medication) and patient-reported rebound insomnia (a worsening of sleep measures compared with pre-treatment levels). The primary time period for safety analyses in this study was the 12-month treatment phase. Safety endpoints in the discontinuation phase were secondary, with focus on evaluation of rebound and withdrawal effects.

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Merck Announces New Phase III Data for Suvorexant, an Investigational Insomnia Medicine

Public release date: 10-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kim Newman sciencenews@einstein.yu.edu 718-430-3101 Albert Einstein College of Medicine

September 10, 2012 (Bronx, NY) Social media is increasingly popular but engaging in its proper use can prove confusing and challenging especially in the medical and healthcare arenas. Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has been awarded a two-year grant to educate faculty members and medical students on using social media appropriately and effectively. Einstein is one of four medical schools in the United States to be selected for the 2012 Education and Training to Professionalism Initiative by the Institute on Medicine as a Profession (IMAP) and the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation.

According to the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, 66 percent of online adults use social networking sites. Yet a survey of U.S. medical schools deans found that 60 percent of schools reported incidents of unprofessional content posted on the Internet by their students.

"The next generation of doctors needs to understand how social media can be a double-edged sword," said principal investigator Elizabeth Kitsis, M.D., M.B.E., who is director of bioethics education and assistant professor of epidemiology & population health and of medicine at Einstein. "On the one hand, it can be a great way to provide personalized medical education for patients. However, great attention must be paid to maintaining the principles of professionalism, such as privacy and confidentiality of the physician-patient relationship." Accordingly, the title of the grant is "Social Media and Medical Professionalism: Perfect Match or Perfect Storm?"

"Since the current generation of medical educators may not share the same familiarity with social media as our students, our program first focuses on bridging that gap with a comprehensive faculty development program on social networking," explained Martha Grayson, M.D., co-investigator and Einstein's senior associate dean for medical education. "But our overarching goal is to teach medical students how they can use social media in a way that will benefit patient care while maintaining professional standards."

As part of the core student curriculum, first-year medical students will analyze their social media footprints, noting on-line postings that could be perceived as unprofessional, such as improper photos or the use of inappropriate language. Second-year medical students will repeat the process, highlighting changes in their social media presence. As part of a clinical skills course on patient interaction and taking patient histories, first- and second-year students will learn how to respond to possible social networking situations, such as a patient asking to become "Facebook friends."

Third- and fourth-year medical students will interview Bronx community members in order to assess how the local patient population uses social networks and how online communication might help improve patient health.

"Ultimately, the research into how our patients use these tools will help us develop a social media curriculum that can be integrated into Einstein's medical education program," said Dr. Grayson.

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Einstein faculty receive grant to teach social media professionalism in medicine

West Kendall Baptist Hospitals new Family Medicine Center is now open, providing area residents with high-quality primary and preventive care.West Kendall residents can now turn to the Baptist Health Medical Group Family Medicine Center for all routine care needs such as physical examinations, flu and allergy shots, non-emergency illnesses and injuries, chronic disease management and well-child visits. The opening of the Family Medicine Center is the next step toward our goal of creating a comprehensive health care community here, said Javier Hernndez-Lichtl, CEO ofWest Kendall Baptist Hospital. Residents already turn to us for inpatient care, surgeries, emergencies, and childbirth. Now we can serve their day-to-day care needs, as well.

Conveniently located on the first floor of the hospitals Medical Arts Building, the Family Medicine Center is designed to provide leading practices in education and compassionate care in a hightech and high-touch environment. The state-of-the-art facility includes six private exam rooms, an on-site laboratory, a group meeting room, a teleconference center and wireless computer tablets for patient registration. Current staff includes two physicians and a support team of medical assistants, patient representatives and care coordinators. More full-time physicians will join the center as the patient load increases. Beginning in 2013, four new physicians in training will join the staff each year for a three-year family medicine residency.

We invite West Kendall residents to call us to arrange a tour of our facility, said Dr. Agueda Hernndez, director of the Family Medicine Center. Our staff will be here to welcome you and assist in setting up your new care relationships and transferring records.

Dr. Hernndez and Dr. Manuel Torres, the staff physicians, have admitting privileges atWest Kendall Baptist Hospital as well as other facilities in the Baptist Health South Florida network. The Family Medicine Center will also function as the primary training ground for theWest Kendall Baptist Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program, which will launch in the summer of 2013 in affiliation with Florida International Universitys Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine.

There is a critical shortage of primary care physicians across the country, and South Florida is no exception, said Dr. David Brown, chair of Family Medicine atWest Kendall Baptist Hospital and chief of Family Medicine at FIUs medical school. Our vision for the residency program is to attract and train highly skilled physicians, and then retain them to serve the community.

The Family Medicine Center is locate-d in the Medical Arts Building adjacent to West Kendall Baptist Hospital, 15955 SW 96th Street. The center accepts most major forms of health insurance, including Aetna, Florida Blue, United Health Plan, and Neighborhood Health as well as Medicare and Medicaid. For more information or to make an appointment, call 786-467-3140.

Short URL: http://www.communitynewspapers.com/?p=45939

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Family Medicine Center Opens at West Kendall Baptist Hospital

Zimbabwes unsung hero in the field of sports medicine, Nicholas Munyonga, developed the love for the profession in the late 80s at Zengeza High 1 in Chitungwiza.

REPORT BY ALBERT MARUFU The long serving member of the Warriors technical team could not fit into the schools Under-14 soccer team, but his love for sporting activities saw him carrying the water bottle for boys.

I started off as a medic for the schools Under-14 team that had the likes of Alois Bunjira, among others, said Munyonga who is now the University of Zimbabwe-trained medical doctor.

I do not know where the interest was coming from but I think to a larger extent, it was more of just wanting to be involved, he told Standardsport.

However, that interest grew and the former Zengeza High 1 School flanker in the schools rugby team, went on to become a medic for teams at the University of Zimbabwe, where he was studying for a degree in medicine.

Today Munyonga is a distinguished medical commissioner for the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee; serves on the World anti-doping agency (Wada), the Fifa medical committee and was recently appointed to the Supreme Council for Sport in Africas Zone VI Games.

Munyonga, who works as a group executive co-ordinator Health Care at the Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS), was the sports medicine director for Zimbabwe at the Commonwealth Games in England in 2002, chief medical officer for Zimbabwe at the 2004 All-Africa Games in Nigeria, the team doctor for the Under-20 rugby team at the 2005 World Cup.

He was also the team doctor for the Warriors at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia.

In 2008, he was incorporated into Wada to educate athletes on the dangers of doping and was the team doctor for the 2007 and 2011 Zimbabwe teams at the Junior World Rugby Trophy.

Recently, Munyonga travelled as the doctor for Team Zimbabwe at the London 2012 Olympic Games, where he took care of athletes such as the seven-time Olympic medalist, Kirsty Coventry.

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Munyonga: sports medicine guru

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Luring Students Into Family Medicine

LAMBERTVILLE The Lambertville City Police Department has become the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs newest partner in the Project Medicine Drop program.

Under the program, both residents and non-residents may dispose of unused or expired medications anonymously, seven days a week, 365 days a year, at the new drop box in the lobby of Police Headquarters, 349 N. Main St., Lambertville.

Police Director Bruce Cocuzza said the drop box is accessible weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

At all other times, those wishing to dispose of medications will be provided access by reaching an officer via the call box located next to the entrance door to headquarters.

The importance of this resource cannot be overstated as prescription drug abuse is a growing epidemic that results in an estimated 15,000 deaths annually in this country, the director said.

The program provides a safe, secure and convenient way to dispose of prescription drugs. It also helps prevent addiction, harmful overdoses and accidental death.

Medicines that languish in home medicine cabinets are highly susceptible to theft and misuse. Even if we keep only a few pills from ending up at pill parties or in our waterways, this effort will have served a valuable purpose, said City Councilman Wardell Sanders.

The DEA has reported that prescription drugs, including opioids and antidepressants, account for more overdose deaths than illegal drugs, such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines.

The Project Medicine Drop program, introduced in 2011, is fashioned after the US Drug Enforcement Administrations National Take Back Initiative, an annual campaign that offers medication disposal to the public on selected dates each year.

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LAMBERTVILLE: Medicine drop at cityâs police headquarters

In what could be a defining moment for the practice of integrative medicine across the country, Dr. Rashid A. Buttar announces the launch of the Advanced Medicine Seminars beginning September 21st - 22nd in Philadelphia, PA.Cornelius, NC (PRWEB) September 07, 2012 In what could be a defining moment for the practice of integrative medicine across the country, Dr. Rashid A. Buttar announces the ...

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Dr. Rashid A. Buttar Announces Advanced Medicine Seminars

Medicine Hat police say they're hunting a killer who beat a 94-year-old woman to death then set her home ablaze.

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Police on the hunt for killer of 94-year-old Medicine Hat woman

CALGARY The city of Medicine Hat, Alta., has opened a new front in the war against a nest of rats that took hold of the border-towns landfill last month.

In a bid to recapture the provinces status as one of the few rat-free regions on Earth, the city launched Operation Haystack: A large roll of hay was baited with poison and placed downhill from the landfill. Gnawing signs near the stack, which are near-perfect homes for rats, indicated there had been activity, said Brandy Calvert, spokesperson for Medicine Hat. So far, although the battle has not yet been won, she said the city remained hopeful the rat population was dwindling.

The grand total is 111 [dead carcasses found] at the landfill. We have 18 in the county and in the city weve had 19, she said.

Promisingly, all of the rats found outside the landfill have been singletons, indicating no breeding pairs had established themselves.

We got them before they went anywhere else, she said.

City workers followed a trail of reports of rat sightings to the landfill in August. Since then, theyve left poisoned food and water in the hopes the population would die.

City staff have stopped finding rat bodies in the landfill a sharp improvement from several weeks ago when the bait would routinely kill as many as nine rats per day.

Not as much bait is being taken, were not finding as many bodies, she said.

Were not seeing as much evidence of activity. We have had many locations throughout the city checked, the city facilities have all been checked and theres been no sign of activity.

At the initiatives peak, as many as 60 people left poisoned bait or inspected nearby residences for signs of the vermin. Ten of those specialists kept a near round-the-clock vigil full time. The team has also been using cameras to spot the rats.

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Alberta’s rat battle: Medicine Hat in poison war with nest of rodents

palmER Worldwide today announced updates to their award winning point-of-care emergency medicine applications, palmEM: Emergency Medicine Essentials Quick Reference Guide and palmPEDI: Pediatric Emergency Medicine Tape.Wilmington, DE (PRWEB) September 06, 2012 palmER Worldwide today announced updates to their award winning point-of-care emergency medicine iOS and Android applications, palmEM and ...

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Emergency Medicine Apps palmEM and palmPEDi Are Updated

PHILADELPHIA Stanley Goldfarb, MD, professor of Medicine and associate dean for Curriculum at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has been named the 61st president of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

Founded in 1787, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia is the oldest private medical society in the United States. Throughout its 225 year history, the College has provided a place for both medical professionals and the general public to learn about medicine as both a science and as an art. During his two-year term as president, Dr. Goldfarb will serve as the volunteer Chairman of the Board of Trustees and oversee issues of governance for the society.

At the Perelman School of Medicine, he supervises all aspects of the medical student curriculum, chairs the curriculum committee, supervises the medical student scholarly pursuit program in clinical investigation, and serves on the Student Standards Committee and chairs the School of Medicine Teaching Awards Committee. As a professor of Medicine in the Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension Division at Penn Medicine, his research has primarily focused on the management of fluid and electrolyte, metabolism and diabetic nephropathy.

Goldfarb has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Laureate Award from the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American College of Physicians and the Christian and Mary Lindback award for distinguished teaching from Penn. He is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Rochester School of Medicine.

For more information, please see the College of Physicians of Philadelphia web site.

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Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine is currently ranked #2 in U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $479.3 million awarded in the 2011 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2011, Penn Medicine provided $854 million to benefit our community.

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Penn Medicine's Stanley Goldfarb, MD, Named President of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Sept. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey today announced the launch of its new egg donation program, Ovatures, to assist women who require donated oocytes (eggs) to become pregnant and have a family.

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

"At RMANJ, we understand that for some women the path to pregnancy and a positive fertility experience sometimes requires a little help. For many, the option of egg donation can help make the dreams of family come true," said Thomas J. Kim, MD, FACOG, medical director of Ovatures. "With donor egg success rates well above the national average, RMANJ's Ovatures Egg Donation Program anonymously provides potential donors the opportunity to help another woman. We invite women who are considering becoming egg donors to learn more about the process, and to find out if giving this priceless gift is right for them."

Women ages 21 to 31 may qualify to become anonymous egg donors following a comprehensive health assessment. Donors are compensated for their time and effort to complete a full cycle. Application materials, plus additional background information, are available at http://www.ovatures-eggdonation.com.

"Ovatures is unique because it is built on RMANJ's track record of successful live births, clinical excellence and innovation in fertility medicine, such as our pioneering single-embryo transfer techniques that reduce financial and health risks of multiple births," said Shefali Shastri, MD, FACOG, RMANJ. "For many of our donors, the gift of egg donation aligns well with their support for organizations that focus on women's issues. New donors will find comfort in RMANJ's commitment to providing world-class, patient-centered care."

Live birth rates for egg donor cycles at RMANJ were 68.8 percent in 2010 (fresh all ages), compared to the national average of 55.6 percent, according to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. Nationwide, there were more than 15,000 egg donor cycles in 2010.

M.S.'s StoryM.S. went to her regular annual gynecologist appointment, and her doctor just mentioned it that there are a lot of people in need, and that she was young and healthy. She said that RMANJ accepted egg donors, and that they had several locations. It seemed to M.S. that this was a valuable thing to do, a gift she could give someone.

So I looked them up, and saw that the staff was world-classand I wouldn't even have to take any bridges or tunnels to get there. I filled out a donor application, and spoke to them about it. There was absolutely never any pressure whatsoever, and their friendliness and expertise were outstanding. They answered every single question I had practically before I asked it, and their testing was very thorough, to make sure I was biologically and genetically suitable, checking my estrogen levels, everything. My whole actual donation time was two weeks. Most important to me, I was able to help a mom, well, get to be a mom! It is a simply amazing feeling."

- M.S., Donor

About Reproductive Medicine Associates of New JerseyReproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey have pioneered and successfully implemented a cutting-edge technology, known as Comprehensive Chromosome Screening (CCS) to more accurately detect healthy embryos that will lead to successful pregnancies and ultimately healthy babies. Other centers have attempted similar testing methods, but RMANJ is the only fertility center in the world to have developed a system of unprecedented accuracy, fully validated through years of rigorous clinical research. RMANJ's Comprehensive Chromosome Screening offers advanced embryo selection with extreme accuracy by detecting and avoiding use of embryos with chromosomal abnormalities prior to transfer and pregnancy.

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New Egg Donation Program, "Ovatures," Launched By Reproductive Medicine Associates Of New Jersey

DEERFIELD, Ill., Sept. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Results of a 10-week, phase 3 study published online in the American Journal of Medicine found the clinic systolic blood pressure (SBP) reductions of a fixed-dose combination of azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone were significantly greater at six and ten weeks than those of azilsartan medoxomil co-administered with hydrochlorothiazide. Data also showed that more patients achieved their target blood pressure levels at the end of six and 10 weeks (secondary endpoints) when taking the azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone fixed-dose combination.

"Hypertension management can be complex, and the use of combination therapy with a diuretic is a common treatment approach," said study co-author William C. Cushman, M.D., professor of preventive medicine at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, Tenn. "While hydrochlorothiazide is more commonly used in clinical practice, this study provides further support for the use of chlorthalidone in fixed-dose combination for patients with hypertension."

About the Study The 10-week, randomized, double-blind, titrate-to-target study compared blood pressure reductions of the fixed-dose combination of azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone to azilsartan medoxomil co-administered with hydrochlorothiazide among 609 patients with stage 2 hypertension. The average age of patients in the study was 56.4 years and the average baseline clinic blood pressure was 164.6/95.4 mm Hg. After two weeks of treatment with azilsartan medoxomil (40 mg) alone, patients received 12.5 mg of either diuretic for four weeks (up to week 6) and were then titrated to 25 mg for another four weeks (up to week 10) if they had not achieved their target blood pressure; otherwise, patients continued their initial dose.

Primary endpoint data showed that at week 6, the clinic SBP reductions of the fixed-dose combination of azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone were -35.1 mm Hg. These data were statistically significantly (P<0.001) greater than those of azilsartan medoxomil and hydrochlorothiazide (-29.5 mm Hg) with a mean difference of -5.6 mm Hg. At the end of 10 weeks, greater clinic SBP reductions were maintained in patients taking the fixed-dose combination of azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone (-37.8 mm Hg) versus those taking azilsartan medoxomil and hydrochlorothiazide (-32.8 mm Hg) with a mean difference of -5.0 mm Hg.

Additionally, secondary endpoint data showed that a greater proportion of patients taking the fixed-dose combination of azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone achieved their target blood pressure versus those taking azilsartan medoxomil and hydrochlorothiazide at the end of both six weeks (64.1 percent vs. 45.9 percent) and 10 weeks (71.5 percent vs. 62.3 percent).

Adverse events leading to permanent drug discontinuation occurred in 9.3 percent of patients taking the fixed-dose combination of azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone and 7.3 percent of patients taking azilsartan medoxomil co-administered with hydrochlorothiazide. The most common adverse events accounting for study drug discontinuation were dizziness (1.0 percent versus 1.7 percent) and increased serum creatinine (4.0 percent versus 2.0 percent) in the fixed-dose combination of azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone and azilsartan medoxomil and hydrochlorothiazide groups, respectively. The most common adverse events (greater or equal to five percent in either group) were increased blood creatinine, dizziness and headache. Serum potassium levels below 3.4 mmol/L were observed in 1.7 percent and 0.3 percent of patients in the fixed-dose combination of azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone and azilsartan medoxomil and hydrochlorothiazide groups, respectively.

Edarbyclor (azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 2011 for the treatment of hypertension to lower blood pressure in adults. It is the first and only hypertension medication to combine an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) with the diuretic chlorthalidone in a once-daily, single tablet.

About Hypertension Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a chronic medical condition in which blood pressure is elevated to levels of 140 mm Hg or greater systolic and/or 90 mm Hg or greater diastolic. Hypertension impacts approximately 76 million Americans, or nearly one in three adults. It is estimated that nearly one billion people are affected by hypertension worldwide, and this figure is predicted to increase to 1.5 billion by 2025. Hypertension typically has no symptoms. Adults of all ages and backgrounds can develop hypertension; however, the risk of developing the condition increases with age, with more than half of people over age 60 affected in the U.S.

Elevated systolic or diastolic pressure increases cardiovascular risk, and lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events, primarily strokes and heart attacks. The absolute risk increase per mm Hg is greater at higher blood pressures, so that even modest reductions of severe hypertension can provide substantial benefit.

Hypertension is also costly to the nation's health care system. The American Heart Association recently estimated that direct and indirect expenses associated with hypertension cost the nation more than $73 billion in 2009.

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American Journal of Medicine Publishes Hypertension Study Comparing the Fixed-Dose Combination of Azilsartan Medoxomil ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Roche Holding AG, the world's biggest maker of cancer drugs, said it would build on its drive into personalized medicine to hold onto its long-term growth momentum and said it would keep up spending on research and development. In a statement ahead of a presentation to investors in London on Wednesday, the Swiss drugmaker said it expected 19 late stage trials to read out over ...

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Roche looks to personalized medicine for growth