Neuroimaging is one of the most promising research areas for detection of the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Using neuroimaging together with proteomics, researchers report in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that a blood test may reflect the levels of beta amyloid protein in the brain — a hallmark of the disease [1]. The findings may eventually lead to a blood test that helps to predict the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Avastin, the FDA and Breast Cancer Patient Survival
December 14, 2010 | by
The impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will be front and center later this week when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decides whether to revoke marketing clearance of the cancer drug Avastin for breast malignancies.
On one side, you have critics of the FDA accusing them of rationing healthcare while on the other side, you have comparative effectiveness research showing that there’s no statistically meaningful difference in the survival of patients receiving Avastin plus chemotherapy compared to chemotherapy alone.
The Flu and Your Health
December 12, 2010 | by
It’s the gift-giving season. However, there’s one gift this time of year you don’t want to give or get: the flu virus. Flu season runs from November to April, with most cases occurring between late December and early March. About 10-20% of people get the flu every winter [1]. In children, the number is even higher with up to 40% of children becoming clinically ill due to the influenza virus.
Grand Rounds: the Impact of Healthcare Reform
December 7, 2010 | by
Welcome to Grand Rounds: the Impact of Healthcare Reform.
There’s a revolution occurring on the Web: those “authoritative” articles written on traditional, static websites are being replaced with blogs, wikis and online social networks. In the sphere of health, medicine and information technology, this “real-time Web” consists of many who are professionals in the field; their posts are listed below. In the digital age, these are the characteristics of new media: recent, relevant, reachable and reliable.
For this edition of Grand Rounds, Vol. 7 No. 11, we’re focusing on the impact of healthcare reform: what are the changes to healthcare delivery, utilization, quality, costs (either as a provider or a patient) and outcomes. After all, these changes affect everyone, whether you’re a patient, a healthcare provider or a biomedical researcher.
Health in 200 Countries Over 200 Years in 4 Minutes
December 5, 2010 | by
Hans Rosling is Professor of International Health at Karolinska Institute, one of Europe’s largest medical universities, and Director of the Gapminder Foundation, a non-profit venture that promotes sustainable global development and achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by the increased use and understanding of statistics and other information about social, economic and environmental development at local, national and global levels.
Rosling’s lectures combine huge quantities of public data with a sport commentator’s style to reveal the story of the world’s past, present and future development. Here, he tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers — in just four minutes.
Plotting life expectancy against income for every country since 1810, Rosling shows how the world we live in is radically different from the world most of us imagine.
References
- The Joy of Stats. BBC. Accessed 2010 Dec 4.
