Thursday, December 9, 2010

Hepatitis C News: Coffee And Medical Blogs

MedPage Medical Blogs

Daily Dose
By: Greg Laub December 07, 2010
I have no idea if taking my daily multivitamin pills every morning does anything for me. It’s not like I feel better after I take them. In fact, if I don’t eat enough food with them, I get an upset stomach that makes me wonder, "What’s the point?" Yet, every morning I’m right back at it, mapping out which bite of breakfast will be joined by these horse pills of wonder. Is it even worth it? In the past few years, several high-quality studies have failed to show that extra vitamins, at least in pill form, help prevent chronic disease or prolong life. Experts are starting to really debunk the original findings that supplements like these help us live healthier lives.

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From : Celebrity Diagnosis

Aretha Franklin gets no Respect from Cancer
As readers of this site know, cancer does not respect fame or fortune, even for someone who demands R-E-S-P-E-C-T as Aretha does in her familiar, iconic rendition of the 1965 Otis Reading song. We have written far too many stories about the “sad bonanza” of pancreatic cancer among public figures over the past two years and now the Queen of Soul, 68, appears to be its latest victim.

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MedPage Today Bloggers

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In OtherWords
: The MedPage Today staff blog gives our writers a chance to break out of their dispassionate observer role and offer comments and observations on the medical scene they cover as professionals and are part of as patients. It also gives the behind-the-scenes staff -- from editors to production crew to the CEO, all of whom are as involved and committed to medical news as our writers -- a chance to offer their insights. Look for an interesting mix of news and perspective gleaned from the convention floor to the pediatrician's waiting room.
All blog posts by InOtherWords »


Celebrity Diagnosis: Michele Berman and her physician husband, Mark Boguski, co-founded Celebrity Diagnosis with a dual mission: to report on common diseases affecting uncommon people and to provide the medical facts behind the headlines. From 1988 to 2000, Dr. Berman had a pediatric practice in Washington, D.C., where she authored a monthly column for Washington Parent magazine. She is also a medical Internet pioneer, having established one of the first medical practice websites in 1997. She and her husband have trained and taught at some of the top medical schools in the country including Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Washington University in St. Louis.
All blog posts by Celebrity Diagnosis »


Gary Schwitzer : Gary Schwitzer is publisher of HealthNewsReview.org, a website dedicated to improving the accuracy, balance, and completeness of medical reporting and helping consumers evaluate the evidence for and against new ideas in health care. Schwitzer has spent more than 30 years in journalism -- including stints at CNN and MayoClinic.com He has written about the state of health journalism in such publications as JAMA, BMJ, the American Journal of Bioethics, and PLoS Medicine.His blog - which is embedded within HealthNewsReview.org - was voted 2009 Best Medical Blog in competition hosted by Medgadget.com. From 2001-2010, he was a tenured professor on the faculty of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota, teaching health journalism and media ethics. He left that position to devote fulltime to his online publishing work.
All blog posts by Gary Schwitzer »


Kevin, M.D.Kevin Pho, MD, is a board-certified internal medicine physician based in Nashua, NH. In his blog Kevin, M.D., you will find opinion and commentary on current medical issues by a practicing primary care physician. "People not involved in healthcare have no idea what goes on 'behind the curtain'. The death of primary care, defensive medicine, malpractice, reimbursement, Big Pharma, and healthcare reform are a small sample of issues that doctors face daily." Kevin, M.D. has been featured or mentioned in The Wall Street Journal, British Medical Journal, The Detroit Free Press, and American Medical News. Dr. Pho also was interviewed recently in a segment on defensive medicine on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
All blog posts by Kevin, M.D. »


Dr. Rob: is a primary care physician in the Southeastern U.S. He likes to talk about himself in the third-person. He has not been to North Dakota. A married father of four, Dr. Rob is a gadget guy and loves playing the guitar. His passions include healthcare reform and computerizing the medical office, and blogging. "I firmly believe that life is always full of happy things and hard things. The key is to grab both of them at the same time and understand that both of them are important parts of life. I work as a physician and so face some very hard situations regularly."
All blog posts by Dr. Rob »


SHADOWFAX: Shadowfax, as he is known, works in a busy, high-acuity emergency department in the Pacific Northwest as an emergency physician and administrator. He is also interested in health policy and progressive politics. His various hobbies include shorin-ryu karate, violin (Irish fiddle, mostly), general aviation, Apple computers, craftbrewed beer, and skiing. "My kids do their best to ensure I have little time in which to pursue these hobbies."
All blog posts by SHADOWFAX »


Dr. WesWestby : G. Fisher, MD, FACC, is a board-certified internist, cardiologist, and cardiac electrophysiologist practicing at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, Evanston, IL, and is an associate professor of medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. He entered the blog-o-sphere in November 2005.
All blog posts by Dr. Wes »

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Iltifat Husain; Iltifat Husain is a 4th year MD/MPH student at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He has a passion for mobile medical technology and public health and is the founder and editor of iMedicalApps.com, a blog dedicated to providing information and reviews of medical technology, especially related to the iPhone. With the proliferation of innovative smart phones, Iltifat feels mobile medical technology has huge implications for how medical care will be administered and taught. He is especially interested in how this technology can be utilized to improve the physician-patient relationship. He is currently planning on going into Emergency Medicine after the completion of medical school.
All blog posts by Iltifat Husain »

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HCV : Morning News

Local man on waiting list for liver transplant
Local News
By MELISSA DI COSTANZO
Updated 6 minutes ago
NEWINGTON -- Sheldon Ouderkirk has worked hard all of his life. But for the past five months, the most he is capable of doing is going outside to shovel snow.
Ouderkirk is in line for a liver transplant. He has been on the list for four weeks. His liver hasn't been functioning properly for the past two years, and his condition has worsened over the past five months, separating him from his regular routine and the job he knows and loves.

(ADPnews) - Dec 9, 2010 -
Swiss drug maker Roche (VTX:ROG) announced today that it has the potential to apply for regulatory approvals of 10 new molecular entities until the end of 2013.Some of the molecules, Roche said, are designed to move the standard care of treating and improve the chances of longer survival or even cure for several serious illnesses.
These are T-DM1 and Pertuzumab in breast cancer as well as GA101/RG7159 in Non-Hodkin's lymphoma (NHL) and Chronic ymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), or the BRAF inhibitor RG7204 in melanoma.Others have the potential to improve outcomes in diseases such as schizophrenia or multiple sclerosis where new therapies are urgently needed. Such molecules are glycine reuptake inhibitor RG1678 and ocrelizumab RG1594molecular entities in ongoing or planned late-stage studies

HCV polymerase inhibitor RG7128 Hepatitis CLIP decision made, phase III decision pending


Dec 08, 2010
This year there has been an increase in food-borne illness in the state of Virginia. Every year there are millions of cases of gastrointestinal (GI) infections in the U.S. Most of these are viral infections (“stomach flu”). However, 2010 saw a 100-percent rise in Vibrio bacterial infections in the commonwealth.



This is a guest post from Felice J. Freyer, a medical writer at The Providence (R.I.) Journal. Freyer, an AHCJ board member, is one of 11 AHCJ-CDC Health Journalism Fellows visiting the CDC this week.
Felice J. Freyer
One in 30 people born between 1945 and 1965 – the Baby Boom generation – suffer from hepatitis C, a viral infection that can lead to liver cancer.
But the majority of infected people don’t know they have it.
That may change soon, and journalists should keep their ears perked for developments that will lead to good stories about hepatitis, Dr. John Ward, director of the Viral Hepatitis Program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the AHCJ-CDC Health Journalism Fellows this morning.

The CDC is in the process of developing screening guidelines in the hope of encouraging more people to get tested for hepatitis C. Current guidelines call for asking people about risk factors, such as intravenous drug use, that many may not want to disclose or consider part of their distant past, Ward said. The new guidelines may be based on age and other factors rather than just behaviors, he said.

Additionally, the FDA is considering approval of a new, more effective drug against hepatitis C. “We are on the cusp of a revolution in hepatitis C treatment,” Ward said.
The 11 AHCJ-CDC fellows today completed the third of four days at the CDC, where they have met with CDC experts on food-borne illness, diabetes, influenza, health care-acquired infections and other topics, as well as touring the CDC emergency operations center and laboratories in Atlanta.
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Today, I look at Inhibitex(INHX_), a small-cap biotech firm that has possibilities in the Hepatitis C drug market. It is also pursuing a shingles drug product. Both are in clinical trials, so buyers beware.
The problem, as you know, with biotech companies is that they are volatile and the risk of adverse FDA rulings is always present. Note * HCV is pretty volatile;as are the adverse effects . The only way I have ever been successful in trading them is to spread the money around to those with good charts and to not let any of the positions grow too large as compared to the overall portfolio.

Stem Cells

Public Release: 9-Dec-2010
Nature Biotechnology
States, not the federal government, now fund the majority of human embryonic stem cell research conducted in the United States, according to a recent study in the journal Nature Biotechnology. In addition, much of the research performed in the states could likely have been funded by the National Institutes of Health under federal guidelines established by President Bush in 2001. Kauffman Foundation, Georgia Research Alliance, Georgia Tech

FDA
12/2/2010WASHINGTON --
An FDA advisory panel decided that the benefits of the investigational cancer drug vandetanib (Zactima) appear to outweigh the drug's considerable risks, but did not weigh in on whether it should be approved.


In Case You Missed It
12/2/2010

WASHINGTON -- Johnson & Johnson-Merck Pharmaceuticals is recalling 12 Mylanta products and 12-oz AlternaGEL because the product label does not list the alcohol content of flavoring agents.

Other Health News
Vital Health Report Finds Americans Fear the Quality of Their Healthcare is on the Decline
Americans fear the quality of their healthcare is at risk, according to the Vital Health Report, a survey released today by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).
View

Public Release: 8-Dec-2010 Clinical Infectious Diseases
Drinking cranberry juice has been recommended to decrease the incidence of urinary tract infections, based on observational studies and a few small clinical trials. However, a new study published in the Jan. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases suggests otherwise.
Contact: John Heys
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Mixed Picture for Vitamin D Status in Frail Elderly
Both high and low levels of vitamin D were associated with frailty in elderly study participants, suggesting a more complex relationship between vitamin D and health status than has been commonly thought, researchers said.

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