A new study on predicting outcomes of standard treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection found that a number of factors impacted responses, including the form of the interferon given. However, for some genotypes of the disease, few of these factors play a role.
The health care system in California could save nearly $1.3 million a year with few adverse public health effects if it discontinued universal tuberculosis skin testing of children entering kindergarten, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.
Acute mountain sickness affects almost half of those ascending to heights over 3,000 meters and may lead to life-threatening complications such as pulmonary or cerebral edema. A new study appearing in Journal of Travel Medicine details a prospective on-site study in the Himalayas between July and October 2004 in which the knowledge and practices concerning AMS were examined amongst trekkers.
Fibromyalgia, a chronic, widespread pain in muscles and soft tissues accompanied by fatigue, is a fairly common condition that does not manifest any structural damage in an organ. Twenty-five years ago, Muhammad B. Yunus, MD, and colleagues published the first controlled study of the clinical characteristics of fibromyalgia syndrome.
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY, TSX: SHQ) announced today that it has received an approvable letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for INTUNIV (guanfacine) extended release tablets (previously referred to as SPD503), a nonstimulant selective alpha-2A-receptor agonist that has been studied in children and adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
St. Louis researchers have identified common DNA variations that underlie susceptibility to fever after smallpox vaccination. Their finding is the first to link individual differences written into the genetic code with a vaccine-related complication ? albeit a mild one.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Letairis (ambrisentan) for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare, life-threatening condition characterized by continuous high blood pressure within the arteries of the lungs.
Results of the Option (TOcilizumab Pivotal Trial in Methotrexate Inadequate respONders) trial, the first multinational Phase III study outside of Japan, showed that patients treated with Actemra (either 4mg/kg or 8mg/kg) plus methotrexate achieved a significant and clinically important improvement in the signs and symptoms of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared to patients treated with placebo and methotrexate, a current standard of care.
Reported cases of Lyme disease have more than doubled since 1991, when Lyme became a nationally notifiable disease, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report also said 93 percent of reported cases were concentrated in 10 states.
The global obesity epidemic was issued with a further health warning today — that obesity exacerbates the quality of life of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. New data presented at EULAR 2007, the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Barcelona, Spain, shows that RA in obese patients is associated with worse quality of life outcomes on four key levels: pain, fatigue, physical function and overall utility scores.