Highlight HEALTH is a new media news organization that promotes advances in biomedical research and new ideas in health and medicine.
Patients at a high risk for a second stroke who received intensive medical treatment had fewer strokes and deaths than patients who received a brain stent in addition to the medical treatment, a large nationwide clinical trial has shown. The investigators published the results in the online first edition of the New England Journal of […]
In a commentary this month in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Dr. Gregory Poland discusses the dangers associated with vaccine denialism, defined as the continued propagation of anti-vaccination sentiment and misinformation in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary [1]. Poland points out that the current anti-vaccination movement, which is by no means unique in […]
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
In the drug discovery pipeline, Phase I trials are first used to evaluate if a new drug is safe, then Phase II trials are done to assess the drug’s efficacy, and finally Phase III trials are performed to monitor side effects and compare the drug to similar compounds already on the market. Each consecutive phase […]
The National Institutes of Health has announced an agreement with two non-profit organizations to accelerate the development of potential clinical therapies for rare blood cancers. The cooperative research and development agreement has been established as a shared commitment to move therapies for rare blood cancers into clinical proof-of-concept studies so that promising treatments can eventually be […]
Antibiotic resistance is an ever-growing clinical problem. Four years ago, a study found that antibiotics are overprescribed for sinus infections. Compounding the issue is the fact that as bacteria are learning to tolerate and even circumvent existing classes of antibiotics, not enough work is being done to discover new ones. Combinations or cocktails of antibiotics […]
Researchers offer the first evidence that DNA damage can lead to the regulation of inflammatory responses, the body’s reaction to injury. The proteins involved in the regulation help protect the body from infection. The study, performed by scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), which is part of the National Institutes of […]
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
To combat the obesity epidemic, the National Institutes of Health is encouraging diverse scientific investigations through a new Strategic Plan for NIH Obesity Research. More than one-third of adults in the United States and nearly 17 percent of the nation’s children are now obese, which increases a person’s chance of developing many health problems, including […]
A new strategic plan to guide diabetes-related research over the next decade was announced recently by the National Institutes of Health. The plan, developed by a federal work group led by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), identifies research opportunities with the greatest potential to benefit the millions of Americans […]
Mental illness, memory, perception: they’re made of neurons and electric signals. Henry Markram claims these mysteries of the mind can be solved -- and soon. He is building a detailed, realistic computer model of the human brain and its one hundred trillion -- that’s 100,000,000,000,000 -- synapses. Markram is the director of the Blue Brain Project at Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne (EPFL), one of two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology located in Lausanne, Switzerland. Founded in 2005 by the Brain and Mind Institute at the EPFL, Blue Brain is a supercomputing project that to study the brain’s architectural and functional principles, and reverse engineer it in order to understand brain function and dysfunction.
The promise by Congressional Republicans to rein in federal spending for the 2012 fiscal year completely ignores the importance of investment in biomedical research and the jobs it creates, not to mention the fiscal and lifesaving benefits. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1 on February 19th. The bill now moves on to the Senate and could be voted on this week. H.R. 1 will cut NIH funding by $1.6 billion (5.2%) below the current 2010 level and reduce the budget for medical research to $29.4 billion -- back to 2008 levels, not accounting for inflation.
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Earlier this month, Indiana University announced a major commitment to research in one of healthcare’s most promising fields, personalized medicine. The Indiana Institute for Personalized Medicine will pursue genome-based and pharmacogenomics studies in cardiology, pediatrics, obstetrics and cancer, as well as other areas. The emergence of personalized medicine, which targets individualized treatment and care based on personal and genetic variation, is creating a thriving market. Indeed, the market for personalized medicine in the United States is $232 billion and is projected to grow 11% annually.
A new strategic plan from an arm of the National Institutes of Health envisions scientists being able to identify genetic bases of most single-gene disorders and gaining new insights into multi-gene disorders in the next decade. This should lead to more accurate diagnoses, new drug targets and the development of practical treatments for many who today lack therapeutic options, according to the plan from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI).
Diabetes testing will improve with men when you focuses on the downsides of not getting testing. However, that same approach to getting tested for diabetes won't work as well with him, according to a study.
Health literacy remains a challenge for the healthcare system and patients. Thirty-six percent of adults have just basic health literacy or below and 90 million people in the United States have a problem grasping and understanding health information. People who understand health instructions make fewer mistakes when taking medicine or preparing for a medical procedure.
A team of researchers in England recently identified a genetic link for the disorder. The study, published in The Lancet, found that children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were more likely to have small segments of their DNA duplicated or missing than other children that don’t have the disorder.