Reno was sizzling with more than summer grass fires. AARC’s agenda was also smokin’ with a well-attended Summer Forum and Asthma course and the first-ever Respiratory Care journal conference with an audience.

Managers and educators gathered in their traditional Summer Forum groupings to study the issues that will help them do a better job. For educators that was hearing information on clinical precepting, evaluating competence, and problem-based learning. For managers, that was learning more about personnel situations, measuring quality, and using management technologies.

The AARC’s popular Asthma Educator Certification Preparation Course also attracted a number of attendees. One was Michael McPeck, RRT, FAARC, a seasoned respiratory care practitioner who attended the Reno course. “The course was eye-opening. It’s a shame that everybody who has to deal with asthmatics doesn’t have an opportunity
to go through this,” he said. “I know this might sound corny, but this course MOVED ME. It reminded me of all the things I originally got into the field for many years ago.”

The next Asthma Educator Certification Preparation course will be held in Charlotte, NC, August 25-26.

An exciting addition to the AARC’s summer meetings line-up was the opening of a Respiratory Care journal conference to observers. The program, “Mechanical Ventilation in Mass Casualty Scenarios,” was felt to be so important and timely that observers were allowed in the audience for the first time ever. This was the 40th Respiratory Care journal conference and the proceedings were chaired by Richard Branson MSc RRT FAARC and Lewis Rubinson MD PhD.

From chemical attacks to severe respiratory illness to mass critical care and the national stockpile of ventilators, each expert presented a paper on his or her individual area of expertise and then a discussion by all panel members ensued. The results of this program will be printed in an upcoming issue of Respiratory Care journal.

American Association for Respiratory Care Continue reading →

The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) will host its 2009 Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting February 22-25, 2008 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore, MD.

The purpose of this meeting is to bring together individuals who are carrying out research to defend against the threat of bioterrorism with decision makers shaping the future biodefense research agenda, recognizing that emerging infectious diseases serve as a paradigm for handling the public threat of bioterrorism.

This meeting is intended for scientists, public health researchers and policy makers who need to be informed about the latest scientific developments. The meeting will include a series of keynote addresses by leaders in the field of biodefense and poster sessions presenting up-to-the-minute cutting-edge research on biothreat agents, vaccines, detection and diagnostic procedures, animal and plant pathogens, global surveillance, and other vital topics.

The first day of the conference will be devoted concurrent sessions focusing on threat reduction, counter proliferation and microbial risk assessment. The focus sessions will be followed by a keynote address by Stuart Levy of Tufts University School of Medicine, entitled, “Studying Bacterial Transcription Factors Involved in Virulence and Antibiotic Resistance: Dual Use Research of Concern? ”

OF NOTE: A plenary session on the science behind the anthrax letter attack investigation will take place on the morning of Tuesday, February 24. This session will act as a forum for scientists directly involved in the investigation of the anthrax letter attacks of 2001 to present their analyses and conclusions. Innovative science was very important part of the investigation and yet has been widely mis-represented in the popular press due to secrecy requirements imposed by the FBI. This secrecy veil is now being lifted by allowing the investigative scientists to present their finds.

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Preliminary program and hotel information are available online at asmbiodefense.

Source: Jim Sliwa

American Society for Microbiology Continue reading →

Illegal food dye Sudan IV has been found in Jalal palm oil products. The Food Standards Agency (UK) has issued a Food
Alert for Action.

The following four products are known to be affected:

Jalal Zomi Pure Palm Oil from Ghana
Labelled as 455g
‘Best before’ 06/2005

Jalal Zomi Pure Palm Oil from Ghana
Labelled as 450g
‘Best before’ Dec/2007

Jalal Palm Oil from West Africa
1Litre
‘Best before’ Dec/2005

Jalal Palm Oil from Sierra Leone
720g
‘Best before’ Dec/2004

Jalal Zomi Pure Palm Oil is sold in plastic bottles weighing 455g and large glass jars weighing 450g. The West African palm
oil is also sold in 1 litre plastic bottles, and the Sierra Leone one in plastic bottles weighing 720g.

You can view the products at the links below.

The products are distributed by:
Jalal Ltd
Unit 1 Enterprise Row
Rangemoor Road
Tottenham
London
N15 4LU

This product appears to be distributed through direct van sales, where retailers who sell African or African-Caribbean food
products are the main clients.

Sudan dyes
Sudan IV is not a permitted colour under the Colours in Food Regulations 1995. It is considered to be a genotoxic carcinogen
and its presence, at any level, is not permitted in foodstuffs for any purpose.

Food Alerts
Food Alerts are the FSA’s way of letting local authorities and consumers know about problems associated with food and, in
some cases, providing details of specific action to be taken.

They are issued under two categories:

Contamination of Jalal palm oils
with Sudan IV dye

Jalal Pure Palm Oil from Sierra Leone
720g

Jalal Pure Palm Oil from West
Africa 1 litre

Jalal Zomi Pure Palm Oil from Ghana
labelled as 450g

food Continue reading →

A new study sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) outlines the conditions that physicians around the country reported treating with psychiatric drugs such as antipsychotics, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety drugs.

Psychiatric medications are one of the most widely prescribed categories of drugs in the nation; yet few studies have comprehensively examined the types of illnesses being treated with these medications. In particular, there has been a great deal of interest and some concern about how psychiatric drugs are being prescribed for medical conditions not included in their Food and Drug Administration-approved labeling – or “off-label” — use. In most instances it is legal and a common practice for physicians to prescribe drugs off-label, even though less may be known about a drug’s risks and benefits for an unapproved indication.

Although this study did not evaluate whether drugs were prescribed for on- or off-label use, the study reveals that in the vast majority of cases physicians are prescribing psychiatric medications for patients with psychiatric conditions. These medications are also sometimes prescribed to treat other conditions. This is particularly true in the case of anti-anxiety drugs.

“From this study it seems clear that psychiatric medications are for the most part being prescribed for treating people with psychiatric conditions,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. “Yet, as clinicians broaden their use of psychiatric medications to a variety of mental illnesses, research and education are needed to ensure that the uses are appropriate.”

The study looked at the prescription patterns for three major types of psychiatric drugs: antipsychotic drugs, antidepressant drugs, and anti-anxiety drugs, but did not evaluate clinical appropriateness per se.

The study found that antipsychotic drugs were prescribed for psychiatric conditions 99 percent of the time, including mood disorders (39 percent), schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders (35 percent), cognitive disorders such as dementia (7.4 percent), anxiety (6 percent), and attention-deficit/conduct-disruptive behavior disorders (6 percent).

In terms of antidepressant drugs, the study found that 93 percent of prescriptions were for psychiatric conditions, primarily mood disorders (65 percent), anxiety (16 percent), schizophrenia, and other psychotic disorders (2.6 percent). Other non-psychiatric diagnoses for which antidepressants were prescribed included headaches (1.1 percent), connective tissue disease (e.g., fibromyalgia) (1 percent), and back problems (0.7 percent).

Although the study found that the majority of prescriptions written for anti-anxiety medication were used to treat psychiatric conditions (72 percent), a significant percentage (28 percent) were used to for non-psychiatric diagnoses including anxiety related to medical interventions (6 percent), allergic reactions (4 percent), and back problems (2.5 percent).

The study, conducted by Tami L. Mark, Ph.D. at Thomson Reuters and published in the journal CNS Drugs analyzed data from the 2005 National Disease and Therapeutic Index, a nationally representative survey of about 4,000 U.S. office-based physicians conducted by IMS Health.

Source
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) Continue reading →

The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) announced today the results of a series of compliance checks conducted over the weekend to identify stores that would sell alcohol to persons under the legal age of 21.

“Our efforts identified three Wolcott stores and six stores in Stratford that failed our routine compliance check this weekend,” Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. said today. “These two towns will be included in our statewide training for alcohol retailers that is getting underway this summer.”

On Friday, May 25th, agents from the DCP Liquor Control Division and officers from the Wolcott Police Department checked all eight package stores and grocery stores that sell beer in Wolcott. The three stores that failed the compliance check and face possible administrative action before the Liquor Control Commission are:

– North End Liquor, 1496 Wolcott Road, Wolcott
– Pats IGA, 816 Wolcott Road, Wolcott
– Walsh’s Market, 1786 Meriden Road, Wolcott.

On Saturday, May 26th, a similar compliance check conducted on all 24 package stores and grocery stores that sell been in Stratford identified the following six stores that sold alcoholic liquor to a minor.

– Last Call Wines Liquors, 2524 Main Street, Stratford
– Lordship Wine and Liquor, 60 Access Road, Stratford
– Wines Unlimited, 2336 Broadbridge Avenue, Stratford
– 7-Eleven Store, 3621 Main Street, Stratford
– Cutspring Deli, 4314 Main Street, Stratford
– East Main Deli, 613 East Main Street, Stratford

“These ongoing alcohol compliance checks are designed to identify locations that would sell alcohol to minors; in no way are they an effort to trick or entice establishments into selling to underage patrons,” Farrell said. “Curbing youth access to alcohol is helping to prevent and reduce incidents of underage drinking and its negative consequences.”

The weekend’s compliance efforts were aided by youth volunteers who had been trained and provided by the Connecticut Coalition to Stop Underage Drinking.

The nine establishments are charged with selling liquor to a minor and will be brought before the Liquor Control Commission for an administrative hearing, at which time each will have the opportunity to address the charges.

ct/dcp Continue reading →

Data presented at the recent ACC conference suggest the need for more detailed imaging and diagnosis to optimize stent placement with technologies such as Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) and Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR), according to Volcano Corporation (NASDAQ: VOLC).

John McB. Hodgson, M.D., FSCAI, a Past President of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, and Chief of Academic Cardiology at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ, commented, “Non-invasive imaging modalities, like CT Angiography (CTA) and other screening tests, are very effective at guiding patients with coronary artery disease into the cath lab, and allowing interventional cardiologists to treat the patients that would clearly benefit from interventional therapy. However, these first pass screening tests also bring patients into the lab with less severe disease. These patients may also benefit from medical therapy alone and effective follow-up. In many cases, physicians are presented with the dilemma of balancing a positive CTA with a negative angiogram, then having to choose between intervention and medical therapy. Technologies like IVUS and FFR provide important objective measures of disease severity – essentially serving as the ‘tie breaker’ in these patients as the data supporting lesion significance related to IVUS and FFR measurements has been well studied.”

The COURAGE data showed that angioplasty and stenting did not reduce the risk of heart attack or death in the 2,300 patients who participated in the study with stable coronary disease vs. medical therapy and lifestyle changes alone. Although the design of the study has been vigorously debated, the COURAGE data highlights a lack of clarity as to which patients benefit from stenting, and that angiography alone may not adequately or reliably triage these target patients. Dr. Steven Nissen, president of the American College of Cardiology, noted in a national broadcast interview, “Most heart attacks do not occur because of a blood clot at the site with the worst narrowing in the coronary. Most heart attacks occur at a site with relatively minor blockage in the coronary, and so the very sites where you put a stent are not the ones likely to cause the next heart attack or sudden death. Putting a stent in the most narrowed area in the artery doesn’t really address the underlying problem,” he said.

Scott Huennekens, President and CEO of Volcano Corporation commented, “Angiography alone is severely limited in this regard as it can only diagnose vessel narrowing in 2-D, and delivers no detail as to atherosclerotic plaque present or state of the disease at the narrowed, or the visually “clear” parts of the artery. IVUS on the other hand provides a 3-D “slice” of the diseased artery so physicians can quickly and accurately measure minimum lumen diameter, remodeled vessel size, and cross sectional flow area. Volcano’s proprietary VH™ IVUS technology also provides a snapshot of the tissue type along the length of the artery, again providing more detail to supplement angiography. This technique – used as part of the PROSPECT trial – may deliver important insights into what a vulnerable lesion looks like before a heart attack.”

Dr. Hodgson continued, “We learned from the DEFER study that FFR can be an effective way to assess lesion severity. By measuring the pressure gradient across a questionable blockage, FFR provides a key objective benchmark from which to guide appropriate therapy. If the FFR is below 0.75, data suggest that the lesion will likely be associated with ischemia. In these cases, PCI should alleviate symptoms. If the FFR is above 0.75 data suggest the patient may benefit from medical therapy, follow-up and no stenting. FFR provides the physician an effective diagnostic tool to determine the appropriate treatment of the lesion and patient.”

An additional important observation of the COURAGE data was that 34% of patients in the stent group continued to experience angina 12 months after stent implantation. Huennekens noted, “This observation underlines the fact that in many cases we are either treating the wrong location because we didn’t use FFR to measure lesion severity, or we are placing the stent sub-optimally because we are not using IVUS to ensure full apposition and expansion post intervention. The data is starting to add up.”

Gregg W. Stone, M.D., of Columbia University Medical Center and the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, presented IVUS data from the Abbott SPIRIT III US Pivotal study where the Xience™ drug eluting stent was randomized against Taxus®. The data from the core lab showed that despite the importance of optimal stent placement as part of this key pivotal trial, of the 133 stents guided by angiography alone, stent mal-apposition was observed by IVUS in 34.4% in the Xience™ group and 25.6% in the Taxus® group.

Marco A. Costa, MD, PhD, FACC, FSCAI at the University of Florida, Shands Hospital in Jacksonville FL, commented, “The prevalence of sub optimal drug-eluting stent deployment in patients guided by angiography in today’s clinical practice is staggering. The STLLR study sponsored by Johnson & Johnson using angiography guided DES treatment in 1,419 patients showed that current DES deployment techniques lead to some form of geographic miss in 66.5% of patients. What is more alarming is that geographic miss has in turn negatively impacted patient outcomes, with significantly higher TLR, TVR, and myocardial infarction rates in patients where the stent was not placed properly. A re-examination of stent placement technique including the use of IVUS is certainly warranted.”

IVUS was used in live case broadcasts throughout the ACC to optimize stent placement.

About Volcano Corporation:

Volcano Corporation (NASDAQ: VOLC), offers a broad suite of devices designed to facilitate endovascular procedures, enhance the diagnosis of vascular and structural heart diseases and guide optimal therapies. The company’s intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) product line includes ultrasound consoles that can be integrated directly into virtually any modern cath lab and single-use phased array and rotational IVUS imaging catheters. Volcano also has unique advanced functionality options, such as VH™ IVUS tissue characterization.. Volcano also provides functional measurement (FM) consoles and single-use pressure and flow guide wires. Currently, more than 2,500 Volcano IVUS and FM systems are installed worldwide, with approximately half of its revenues coming from outside the United States. For more information, visit the company’s website at volcanocorp

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release regarding Volcano’s business that are not historical facts may be “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties. Specifically, among others, the statements regarding the potential benefits of the VH™ IVUS technology and Volcano’s role of advanced imaging and diagnosis with IVUS and FFR are forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are based on current, preliminary expectations of Volcano management and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ significantly from the statements contained herein. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Volcano undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward ???”looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date hereof, except as required by law. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are detailed in the risk factors contained in Volcano’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Continue reading →

New antibacterial strategies are needed because more and more bacteria are antibiotic resistant and because antibiotics are not effective at eradicating chronic bacterial infections. One approach to developing new antibacterial strategies, taken by researchers from the University of Washington, Seattle, is to limit the amount of iron (Fe), which is critical for bacterial growth, to which bacteria have access.

In the study, which appears online in advance of publication in the April print issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Pradeep Singh and colleagues show that Gallium (Ga), which is chemically similar to Fe and can disrupt biological systems by substituting for Fe, inhibits the in vitro growth of Pseudomonas aeruginonsa; even multidrug resistant strains of P. aeruginonsa isolated from individuals with cystic fibrosis. Ga also prevented P. aeruginonsa forming biofilms, the multi-cellular bacterial communities responsible for chronic bacterial infections, and killed both free-living bacteria and bacteria in biofilms. Furthermore, inhalation of Ga protected mice from both acute and chronic P. aeruginonsa lung infections. As Ga is already FDA approved for the treatment of hypercalcemia of malignancy, these data suggest that Ga might be a promising new therapeutic for the treatment of infection with P. aeruginonsa, a major cause of infection in individuals with cystic fibrosis and of infection acquired in hospital.

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TITLE: The transition metal gallium disrupts Pseudomonas aeruginonsa iron metabolism and has antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Pradeep K. Singh
University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA.

Contact: Karen Honey

Journal of Clinical Investigation Continue reading →

Children who were taught a curriculum that focused on self-control and awareness of their own and others’ emotions were found to exhibit greater social competence and fewer behavioral and emotional problems. According to a recent study in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, when teachers taught a particular curriculum to students for 20-30 minutes-per-day, three times-per-week over a six-month period, lower rates of aggression and anxiety/sadness were seen when evaluated a year later compared to children randomized to normal classroom procedures.

“Several complex cognitive processes, such as the ability to cope in stressful situations, are related to the development of the prefrontal areas of the brain starting in the preschool years,” says study author Mark Greenberg. “We know that deficiencies in the function of these lobes are linked to problems like aggression, depression and attention disorders.” Therefore, the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum, which stimulates cognitive and emotional skills, enhances the child’s ability to cope with stress and make good choices.

Greenberg offers an example of a simple PATHS skill that helps children understand and identify feelings in others. “Children use ‘feeling faces’ cards throughout the day to indicate clearly to others what emotions they are experiencing,” says Greenberg. “By labeling the emotions clearly, children learn to recognize them in themselves and others, which will aid them in managing those emotions.”

The main advantage of this curriculum is its preventive nature. Rather than focusing on treating negative behaviors after they have become stable and disruptive, PATHS provides children with coping strategies to prevent the development of behavioral and emotional difficulties.

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This study entitled “Promoting Resilience in Children and Youth. Preventative Interventions and Their Interface with Neuroscience” is published in volume 1094 of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences: Resilience in Children.

Mark Greenberg is the director of the Prevention Research Center of Pennsylvania State University. He also holds the Bennett Chair of Prevention Research.

The Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences is one of the oldest scientific journals in the United States and among the most cited of multidisciplinary scientific serials. Continuously published since 1823, the Annals is the premier publication of the Academy, offering the proceedings of conferences sponsored by the NYAS as well as those of other scientific organizations. For more information, please visit blackwellpublishing/nyas.

Wiley-Blackwell was formed in February 2007 as a result of the merger between Blackwell Publishing Ltd. and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.’s Scientific, Technical, and Medical business. Together, the companies have created a global publishing business with deep strength in every major academic and professional field. Wiley-Blackwell publishes approximately 1,250 scholarly peer-reviewed journals and an extensive collection of books with global appeal. For more information on Wiley-Blackwell, please visit blackwellpublishing/ or interscience.wiley/.

Contact: Sean Wagner

Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Continue reading →

Utah Gov Jon Huntsman (R) has given the state… Health Department approval to make policy changes to the state’s Medicaid program that could reduce prescription drug spending, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The first change will allow department officials to explore joining a multistate bulk prescription drug purchasing program, which is being organized by Maine. The program would allow the state to negotiate larger drug discounts with pharmaceutical companies for Utah’s 250,000 Medicaid beneficiaries. The second policy change will allow the health department with the input of state physicians to draft a Medicaid preferred drug list. The state will permit providers to prescribe nonpreferred medications if necessary. Health Department Director David Sundwall said the changes could save the state as much as $12 million to $14 million annually. Sundwall said he did not know when the changes take effect (Stewart, Salt Lake Tribune, 3/5).

“Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved. Continue reading →

Responding to the publication of NHS 2010-2015: From Good to Great, Janet Davies, Executive Director of Nursing at the Royal College of Nursing, said:

“There is much to welcome in today’s announcement on the future plans for the NHS. In today’s tough economic climate, it is absolutely right that we target resources at the frontline. We know that demand for healthcare is increasing and that is why we cannot afford to cut nursing numbers to meet efficiency savings. The need for people-centred, quality care depends upon the current and future supply of skilled healthcare workers.

“We welcome the partnership approach to developing both the staff passport and guaranteed employment and accept that in the future care will be provided in different ways and different settings. Nursing will need to be flexible to deliver personalised, preventative care close to people’s homes and communities. But this transformation in care can only happen if nursing numbers are not cut either in real terms or by stealth through recruitment freezes and failure to replace vacant posts.

“We are also encouraged by the positive steps in providing access to a dedicated one to one healthcare professional for all those with complex conditions. Ahead of the general election, the RCN is calling for people with long term conditions to have guaranteed access to specialist nurses who not only provide high quality care, valued by patients, but who are also proven to be highly cost effective.”

Source
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Continue reading →