Investigators have made a major advance in treating people with a severe form of vasculitis, anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, a rare but devastating disease of blood vessels. In a six-month study, a new treatment strategy provided the same benefits as the current standard of care used for more than 40 years but required less frequent treatments. Early results also suggest that patients with disease relapses — typically recurrences of fever, fatigue, kidney damage, or bleeding in the lungs — respond better to the new regimen.

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  1. Medicare Card: NIH-Supported Experimental Marburg Vaccine Prevents Disease Two Days after Infection An experimental vaccine developed to prevent outbreaks of Marburg hemorrhagic fever continues to show promise in monkeys as an emergency treatment for accidental exposures to the virus that causes the disease. There is no licensed treatment for Marburg infection, which has a high fatality rate....
  2. Scientists Identify Brain Circuits Related to the Initiation and Termination of Movement Sequences in NIH-Supported Study In humans, throwing a ball, typing on a keyboard, or engaging in most other physical activities involves the coordination of numerous discrete movements that are organized as action sequences. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health and the Gulbenkian Institute in Portugal have identified brain activity in mice that can signal the initiation and termination […]...
  3. Program to Enhance Communication of Life-sustaining Treatment Preferences Associated with Closer Adherence to a Person’s Wishes when Compared with Traditional Practices, Finds NIH-Supported Study A program in which individuals used a standardized form signed by a physician to communicate their end-of-life care preferences on issues such as levels of medical intervention and tube feeding lead to significantly better adherence to treatment preferences than more traditional methods of communication, according to a new study....
  4. Medicare Card: NIH Researchers Identify New Steps in Spread of Malaria Parasite Through Bloodstream Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have observed two previously unknown steps in the spread of the malaria parasite through the bloodstream. And in laboratory cultures, the researchers interfered with one of these steps, raising the possibility that new drug treatments could be developed to combat the disease....
  5. Medicare, NIH-Supported Study, Looks for Earliest Changes, in the Brain That May Lead to Alzheimer’s Disease Volunteers are being sought for a clinical study examining the subtle changes that may take place in the brains of older people many years before overt symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease appear. Researchers are looking for people with the very earliest complaints of memory problems that affect their daily activities. The study will follow participants over […]...
  6. HIV/AIDS Treatment Curbs Spread of HIV Among Drug Users, According to NIH Supported Study Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), currently known for its therapeutic benefits against HIV, also reduced the spread of the virus among people with a history of injection drug use, according to a population-based study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health. The study was published […]...
  7. MedicareCard.com Comparative-Effectiveness Study Confirms New Treatment for Diabetic Macular Edema Researchers have shown that ranibizumab (Lucentis) eye injections, often in combination with laser treatment, result in better vision than laser treatment alone for diabetes-associated swelling of the retina....
  8. Medicare, Novel Therapeutic Approach, Shows Promise Against Multiple Bacterial Pathogens A team of scientists from government, academia and private industry has developed a novel treatment that protects mice from infection with the bacterium that causes tularemia, a highly infectious disease of rodents, sometimes transmitted to people, and also known as rabbit fever. In additional experiments with human immune cells, the treatment also demonstrated protection against […]...
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  10. NIH-Supported ACCORD Eye Study Finds Two Therapies Slow Diabetic Eye Disease Progression In high-risk adults with type 2 diabetes, researchers have found that two therapies may slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy, an eye disease that is the leading cause of vision loss in working-age Americans....
  11. Medicare, Gene Pattern, May Identify Kidney Transplant Recipients, Who Don’t Need Life-long Anti-rejection Drugs Researchers have identified a distinct pattern of gene expression in the largest reported group of kidney transplant recipients who have not rejected the transplant kidneys even though they stopped taking anti-rejection drugs. This finding may help identify other transplant recipients who could safely reduce or end use of immunosuppressive therapy. In 2008, more than 80,000 […]...
  12. Medicare, Deep Brain Stimulation, Two Different Targets, Produces Similar Motor Improvements in Parkinson’s Disease In a major study, investigators have compared how individuals with Parkinson’s disease respond to deep brain stimulation (DBS) at two different sites in the brain. Contrary to current belief, patients who received DBS at either site in the brain experienced comparable benefits for the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s....
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  14. Medicare, Medicare Card, Statement by HHS, NIH Director Regarding the President’s Intent, Appoint Dr. Harold Varmus as Director of the National Institute of Cancer at the National Institutes of Health Dr. Harold Varmus brings a vast wealth of expertise to this key leadership position at the Department. Among his many professional distinctions, he is a Nobel laureate in cancer genetics; has been president of one of the premier cancer research and treatment institutions for the past decade; and previously has served the public as NIH […]...
  15. Medicare, Aiming for Near-Normal, Blood Sugar Did Not Delay Combined Risk of Diabetic Damage for People With Long-standing Diabetes, NIH-Sponsored Trial Finds In people with longstanding type 2 diabetes who are at high risk for heart attack and stroke, lowering blood sugar to near-normal levels did not delay the combined risk of diabetic damage to kidneys, eyes, or nerves, but did delay several other signs of diabetic damage, a study has found. The intensive glucose treatment was […]...