Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

First Edition: February 19, 2013

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jay Hancock, working in collaboration with The Philadelphia Inquirer, reports: "Computer mistakes like the one that produced incorrect prescriptions for thousands of Rhode Island patients are probably far more common and dangerous than the Obama administration wants you to believe, says Drexel University's Dr. Scot Silverstein."

19 Feb 2013

BioCryst fourth quarter revenues decrease to $4.1 million

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2012.

19 Feb 2013

Income inequality equals more hospital readmissions

Patients living in areas of uneven wealth-distribution are at an increased risk for hospital readmission, according to US research findings published in the BMJ.

19 Feb 2013

Vaccine prices and availability: an interview with Kate Elder, Vaccines Policy Advisor for Médecins Sans Frontières's Access Campaign

One of the key reasons why children are missed by immunization programs, particularly in developing countries where Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) works, is that the products that we currently have in their present formulation are not well-suited to the places that have the most un-immunized children. These are the most challenging contexts to work in.

19 Feb 2013

New lab at Diamond to help scientists delve into inner workings of pathogens

The UK's national synchrotron facility, Diamond Light Source, is now the first and only place in Europe where pathogens requiring Containment Level 3 - including serious viruses such as those responsible for AIDS, Hepatitis and some types of flu - can be analysed at atomic and molecular level using synchrotron light.

18 Feb 2013

MIR names Aetna as Health Insurer of the Year

Aetna a leading global diversified health care benefits company, has been named "Health Insurer of the Year" for 2013 by MENA Insurance Review (MIR), a leading magazine covering the insurance sector in the Middle East and North Africa.

18 Feb 2013

Research reveals how quickly the Achilles tendon can regenerate

The Achilles heel of the body - getting over damage to tendons can be a long and painful process. By combining the nuclear tests of the 1950s with tissue samples and modern technology, a research collaboration between the Aarhus University and University of Copenhagen now reveals why the healing process is so slow.

18 Feb 2013

Patients with untreated depression are poorly protected by shingles vaccination

Results from a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases suggest a link between untreated depression in older adults and decreased effectiveness of the herpes zoster, or shingles, vaccine.

16 Feb 2013

New approach could make gene therapy dramatically more effective for HIV patients

A research team from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has discovered an approach that could make gene therapy dramatically more effective for patients.

16 Feb 2013

Depression reduces efficacy of shingles vaccine

Research suggests that the varicella zoster, or shingles, vaccine is less effective in older people with untreated depression.

15 Feb 2013

New research focuses on rapid identification of disease outbreaks

EcoHealth Alliance, the nonprofit organization that focuses on local conservation and global health issues, announced new research focused on the rapid identification of disease outbreaks in the peer reviewed publication, Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

15 Feb 2013

SANA releases new video on Benefits of Soyfoods for Active Adults

The Soyfoods Association of North America today announced that it has released a video on the Benefits of Soyfoods for Active Adults demonstrating how soyfoods can help you stay fit and healthy. Americans who are trying to lead healthier lives will find that soyfoods boost their energy, improve heart health, and provide antioxidants.

15 Feb 2013

Hospital mortality performance not boosted by readmission failure

Researchers say they have found no evidence of a link between hospital performance as measured by 30-day mortality rates and that by 30-day readmission rates in US hospitals.

14 Feb 2013

Tianyin Pharmaceutical second quarter revenue decreases 3.3% to $17.6 million

Tianyin Pharmaceutical Inc., a pharmaceutical company that specializes in the patented biopharmaceutical, modernized traditional Chinese medicine (mTCM), branded generics and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) announced financial results for second quarter of the fiscal year 2013.

14 Feb 2013

Cambodia, China report cases of avian influenza H5N1

"Cambodia reported on Wednesday that another four-year-old girl has contracted avian influenza H5N1, becoming the seventh person who infected the virus in 2013," Xinhua reports.

14 Feb 2013

State roundup: Ore. considers rural doc loan repayment

Oregon would restore $4 million in the next biennium to fund a loan repayment program that assists primary health care providers willing to work in rural areas, under a bill being pushed by Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton. The program ran for nearly two decades before it was cut in 2009 in the depths of the recession.

14 Feb 2013

GSK1322322 targets gram-positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant strains of MRSA

An increasing number of bacteria is evolving antibiotic resistance. Much-feared representatives of this steadily growing group include Staphylococci strains. At this point, multi-resistant forms of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus - the "hospital germ" known commonly by its acronym, MRSA - can only be treated with a select subset of antibiotics as many drugs have simply stopped working. This is precisely why the field of medicine is in desperate need of new treatment options.

14 Feb 2013

Study finds human MPV as second most common cause of severe bronchiolitis in young children

New Vanderbilt-led research published in the Feb. 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine has identified the relatively unknown human metapneumovirus (MPV) as the second most common cause of severe bronchiolitis in young children.

14 Feb 2013

Updated Cochrane review on vitamin C and common cold

According to an updated Cochrane review on vitamin C and the common cold, vitamin C seems to be particularly beneficial for people under heavy physical stress. In five randomized trials of participants with heavy short-term physical stress, vitamin C halved the incidence of the common cold.

14 Feb 2013

CA-MRSA on the rise in nursing homes

While most infection control measures are focused on hospitals, a new study points to the need for more targeted interventions to prevent the spread of drug-resistant bugs in nursing homes as community-associated strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) are on the rise in these facilities. The study is published in the March issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

13 Feb 2013