Curated News: Medical Meetings

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Many BRCA 1/2-negative patients choose to proceed with comprehensive testing for genetic mutations that increase cancer risk, and when presented with counseling before and after testing, most make informed decisions and experience decreased levels of anxiety, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Basser Center for BRCA in Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center. The study will be presented on Thursday, December 10, 2015 as part of the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract #P2-09-01).

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Combining the new breast cancer drug palbociclib with paclitaxel (Taxol) shrank tumors in nearly half of patient with estrogen-receptor (ER) positive breast cancer, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The results will be presented Saturday at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract P6-13-08). A second study (Abstract P4-13-04), to be presented Friday provides new clues to how breast cancer develops resistance to the palbociclib, a common occurrence among many patients who take the drug.

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Older women with early-stage, invasive breast cancer had better survival rates than what was estimated by a popular online tool for predicting survival, according to researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute.

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Opting for smaller rewards immediately instead of waiting for bigger payoffs later is associated with problems such as impulsive behavior and addiction to food, drugs and alcohol. Washington University School of Medicine researchers are reporting that such decision-making tendencies have a genetic link to brain pathways that underlie those disorders.

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Researchers Present Results at American Society of Hematology Meeting

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Gene therapy can safely rebuild the immune systems of older children and young adults with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID-X1), a rare inherited disorder that primarily affects males, scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have found. NIAID's Suk See De Ravin, M.D., Ph.D., is scheduled to describe the findings at the 57th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida.

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New data presented at this year’s American Society of Hematology shows the mechanism of action by which cell therapy derived from the human placenta treats radiation-induced bone marrow damage. The findings will be published online in the December 3, 2015 supplemental volume of Blood, a peer-reviewed medical journal published by ASH.

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Epstein-Barr virus and Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus can infect and replicate in cultured and primary neurons.

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Investigators at Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care (MECCC), Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s NCI–designated Albert Einstein Cancer Center and The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore will present their research findings at the American Society of Hematology’s (ASH) 57th Annual Meeting and Exposition. Presentations include the first report on a genetic risk factor for avascular necrosis associated with treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children along with new insights into the molecular basis for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and a novel approach to the treatment of this disease. ASH 2015 will take place December 5-8, 2015 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

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When associate professor of pharmacy practice Tadd Hellwig of South Dakota State University and three pharmacy colleagues at the Sanford USD Medical Center noticed that some hospital patients given two common antibiotics developed kidney failure, they decided to take a closer look. Their study led to closer monitoring of patients receiving vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam due to an increased risk of kidney damage.

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With the aim of producing high-quality X-rays with minimal radiation exposure, particularly in children, researchers have developed a new approach to imaging patients based on the Xbox gaming system.

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A new drug combination may be effective in treating men with metastatic prostate cancer. Preliminary results of this new approach are encouraging and have led to an ongoing international study being conducted in 196 hospitals worldwide.

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Researcher Christian Duval, PhD, and his team have developed a new, simple and non-invasive approach to create a biomechanical and cognitive profile of football players and more quickly and accurately detect concussions in these individuals.

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The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) 18th Annual European Congress recently concluded in Milan, Italy. Health ministries and government officials from more than 40 countries convened in Milan on 7-11 November, 2015 with over 5,000 ISPOR delegates.

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Preeclampsia is generally diagnosed later in pregnancy, but new research reports that the protein copeptin can predict the development of preeclampsia as early as six weeks of gestation. The findings could lead to diagnosis of the disorder in the first trimester, improving care and potentially leading to the development of preventative measures.

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Weight-loss surgery can boost fertility in women and reduce the risk of pregnancy complications that commonly occur in obese women. However, a new study in rats suggests that weight-loss surgery alters mothers’ hormone and chemical balance, which harms offspring during gestation and later in life.

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Transgender women may be at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes compared with men and women in the general population. New research finds that transgender women who received only hormone therapy had poorer metabolic health than transgender women who underwent sex reassignment surgery in addition to receiving hormone therapy, suggesting that sex reassignment surgery may be metabolically protective.

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The increasing use of testosterone replacement therapy to treat reduced testosterone level in older men has been accompanied by growing concerns over its long-term safety. Two studies examining the health risks of receiving testosterone will be presented at Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic Diseases: Physiology and Gender conference, supporting opposite conclusions regarding risks.

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Men are twice as likely as women to develop Parkinson’s disease. New research suggests that testosterone enhances the susceptibility of brain cells that control movement to damage from chemical imbalances, explaining the sex differences in the occurrence of Parkinson’s.

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A comprehensive care program that involves a team of specialists from multiple medical disciplines for treating injuries sustained from falls in older adults could help reduce hospital readmissions, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Under the program, the 30-day readmission rate for falls declined 10 percent from 2012-13 and remained unchanged in 2014. The 30-90 day readmission rate from 2012-13 also declined, before rising slightly in 2014.

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New drug found to heal eyes in two days after corneal surgery. Originally created in France for chronic diabetic skin wounds, the heparin sulfate mimetic Cacicol (or RGTA) helps eyes heal faster by stimulating collagen production.

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The fourth International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) will be rescheduled for January 25 – 28, 2016 in Nusa Dua, Indonesia. Conference organizers had postponed the November 2015 conference dates due to a volcanic eruption on the nearby island of Lombok.

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Data science continues to gain ground as an immensely powerful tool for medicine, accelerating physicians’ ability to identify new strategies to improve patient care.

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Fighting and assault caused nearly 8,000 eye injuries treated in hospitals from 2002-2011, while falling led causes of ocular trauma with more than 8,500 incidents reported.

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Programmable digital glasses for lazy eye work as well as eye patching, study shows, improving vision by about 2 lines on the reading chart after 3 months. First new effective lazy eye treatment in 50 years.

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ISPOR recognized its 2015 ISPOR Award recipients at the 18th Annual European Congress in Milan, Italy.

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ISPOR's 18th Annual European Congress third plenary session — Recommendations from the ISPOR Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Emerging Good Practice Task Force and Remaining Controversies — was held this morning at the MiCo – Milano Congressi in Milan, Italy.

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A drug approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis, tocilizumab, yielded favorable results as a potential new therapy for patients with polymyalgia rheumatica in an open-label, phase II study at Hospital for Special Surgery.

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New advances in nanopore technology could lead to the development of a surgically implantable, artificial kidney. The research, a collaboration between UCSF and Vanderbilt University, was presented at ASN Kidney Week 2015 November 3–8 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA.

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Heart patients who had undergone an angioplasty procedure that opened only some blocked arteries tended to have a resolution of their chest pain, making it unnecessary to add another medication to treat the symptom, according to a study led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

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ISPOR 18th Annual European Congress Workshop 12 focused on the issue of, “Optimizing Patient Involvement in Payer Health Care Decisions to Access New Therapies.”

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A condition known as “post hospital syndrome” (PHS) is a significant risk factor for patients who undergo elective outpatient surgery, a Loyola study has found.

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Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), which afflicts more than 26 million Americans, is a condition in which individuals experience a slow loss of kidney function over time. At the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2015, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania today presented findings from their analysis of the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) study to evaluate risk markers for adverse cardiac events in patients with CKD.

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ISPOR 18th Annual European Congress second plenary session — Outcomes Research: Are We Ready to Put Theory into Practice? — was held this morning at the MiCo – Milano Congressi in Milan, Italy.

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ISPOR outlined the organization’s updated strategic vision this morning during its member meeting at the 18th Annual European Congress in Milan, Italy.

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Principal Investigator Takes Questions and Demonstrates Procedure with Video and Animation via Virtual Press Conference Tuesday, November 10th at 1:00 p.m. ET

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New research shows that drinking one 16-ounce energy drink can increase blood pressure and stress hormone responses significantly. This raises the concern that these response changes could increase the risk of cardiovascular events.

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A group of researchers led by Mayo Clinic has discovered that disclosing genetic risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) results in lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), also known as bad cholesterol.

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Heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) — where the heart becomes stiff and cannot relax or fill properly — did not have increased exercise tolerance after taking isosorbide mononitrate, compared to a placebo.

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A lack of vitamin D can result in weak bones. Recent studies also show that vitamin D deficiency is linked to more serious health risks such as coronary artery disease, heart attacks, and strokes.

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A new study of generally healthy men who used testosterone replacement therapy to normalize testosterone levels has found that taking supplemental testosterone does not increase their risk of experiencing a heart attack or stroke.

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Jackson T. Wright Jr., MD, PhD, and researchers from University Hospitals Case Medical Center presented new results from the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) showing that in patients at high risk for cardiovascular events, targeting a systolic blood pressure of less than 120 mm Hg resulted in lower rates of fatal and non-fatal major events or death compared to targeting systolic blood pressure to the usually recommended target of less than 140 mm Hg.

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ISPOR 18th Annual European Congress Issue Panel 2 explored the issue of, “Possible Increased Synergy Between Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and Regulatory Agencies: Opportunity or Challenge for Medical Devices?.”

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A team of researchers from the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN) found that recipients of a mitral valve replacement for Ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) experienced a lower rate of heart failure and fewer cardiovascular-related hospital readmissions in the two years following surgery.

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A long-acting enzyme that rapidly and safely metabolizes cocaine in the blood stream is currently being investigated in animal models as a possible treatment for cocaine overdose. This research is being presented Oct. 29 at the 2015 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition, the world’s largest pharmaceutical sciences meeting in Orlando, Fla. Oct. 25–29.

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ISPOR 18th Annual European Congress Issue Panel 1 explored, “What Is the Role of Economic Evaluation in Pricing and Reimbursement of Medicines: A Comparison Between England, Germany, and France.”

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ISPOR's 18th Annual European Congress first plenary session — Strategy in Motion: The Current and Future Lifecycle Approach to Decision Making on Health Technologies — was held this morning at the MiCo – Milano Congressi in Milan, Italy.

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The blood-brain barrier has been non-invasively opened in a patient for the first time. A team at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto used focused ultrasound to enable temporary and targeted opening of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), allowing the more effective delivery of chemotherapy into a patient’s malignant brain tumor.

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Bryan Martin, DO, Columbus, Ohio, was installed as president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) at the ACAAI Annual Scientific Meeting in San Antonio on Nov. 9. Stephen A. Tilles, MD, Seattle WA, was elected ACAAI president-elect.

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Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery have identified multiple clinical and biologic markers that correlate with adverse pregnancies, including, most recently, the activation of complement, a series of proteins that protect us from invading microbes.