Posts Tagged ‘MEDICARE’
A free, nationwide service was launched today to help primary care providers seeking to identify and advise substance-abusing patients. The service, Physician Clinical Support System for Primary Care (PCSS-P), offers peer-to-peer mentorship and resources on incorporating screening and follow-up into regular patient care. PCSS-P is a project of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).
A new study found that coronary artery bypass surgery added to medical therapy for selected chronic heart failure patients offered benefits over medical therapy alone. The combination of the two treatment approaches reduced the combined rate of deaths and heart-related hospital stays by 15 percent, although the total number of deaths between the two groups of patients was not significantly different, according to the National Institutes of Health-funded research.
Scientists supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), one of the National Institutes of Health, will be presenting their latest research findings at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS).
As treatments for HIV/AIDS improve and patients are living longer, the distribution of cancers in this population has undergone a dramatic shift in the United States. While cases of the types of cancer that have been associated with AIDS progression have decreased, cases of other types of cancer are on the rise. These results, reported by scientists from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were published online April 11, 2011, in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
A preliminary study conducted by a team at the National Institutes of Health has identified a promising new treatment in children for the most common periodic fever disease in children. The syndrome is called periodic fever associated with aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and cervical adenitis — or PFAPA — and is characterized by monthly flare-ups of fever, accompanied by sore throat, swollen glands and mouth lesions.
Results of an intermediate stage clinical trial of several dozen people provides evidence that a method that has worked for treating patients with metastatic melanoma can also work for patients with metastatic synovial cell sarcoma, one of the most common soft tissue tumors in adolescents and young adults. This study is the first to use genetically modified immune cells, in a technique known as adoptive therapy, to cause cancer regression in patients with a solid cancer as opposed to melanoma. This approach represents a method for obtaining immune cells from any cancer patient and converting them into ones that can recognize cancer cells expressing the target antigen, NY-ESO-1, according to researchers at the National Cancer Institute.
Scientists have discovered that molecules called reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by the energy factories, or mitochondria, in cells, may play a role in a rare inherited disorder in which uncontrolled inflammation damages the body’s tissues. Their research in human and mouse cells suggests that blocking these molecules could reduce inflammation in TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS) and possibly other inflammatory diseases.
Do you file your federal taxes electronically, or are you still using the paper forms? The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) says that almost 100 million taxpayers e-filed their taxes last year. Even I’m surprised that many of us e-file. There are three ways to e-file: Free File – You can go to IRS.gov and use the Free File program if your income was $58,000 or less. If you’re the type of person that prefers to fill in the forms yourself, you can do that online too with the Free File Fillable Forms program. With fillable forms, you choose the forms you need, fill them in, sign electronically and e-file your return. e-file – You can do it yourself and buy tax preparation software, prepare your own return, and press “send to e-file.” Find a tax preparer that is an authorized IRS e-file provider and have your tax preparer e-file for you. Nearly all tax preparers use e-file, and many are now required by law to e-file. E-filing can even help you avoid the processing delay caused by the tax legislation enacted late last year. If you’re somebody who claims itemized deductions on Schedule A, the higher education tuition and fees deduction on Form 8917, or the educator expenses deduction, you can e-file and get a head start because many major software providers have announced they will accept these impacted returns immediately. The software providers will hold onto the returns and then electronically submit them after the IRS systems open on Feb. 14. This year you can even track your refund with your smartphone! The free IRS2Go app is available in the Apple App Store and the Android Marketplace.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health and the University of Hong Kong have discovered that high levels of a particular protein in cancer cells are a reliable indicator that a cancer will spread.
Members of the media are invited to attend a National Institutes of Health conference focused on transforming computed tomography (CT) technology and its use to achieve minimal public health risks from radiation exposure. A specific goal of this conference is to identify the technological steps and associated research required to reduce the radiation dose from routine CT exams to less than 1 mSv (millisievert, the unit used to measure the amount of ionizing radiation absorbed by human tissues). Additional goals in the near-term are improving our understanding and management of radiation exposure, and defining steps to achieve best technical and clinical practices.
Clinical researchers at the National Institutes of Health’s Undiagnosed Diseases Program (UDP) have identified the genetic cause of a rare and debilitating vascular disorder not previously explained in the medical literature. The adult-onset condition is associated with progressive and painful arterial calcification affecting the lower extremities, yet spares patients’ coronary arteries. The new disease finding was published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
How often do you receive offers in the mail for a credit card or insurance that you’ve been pre-approved for? If you just end up throwing the envelopes into the trash unopened, you might be interested in learning you can opt out of receiving mail like this. You have two opt-out options: A five-year opt-out period or permanent opt-out. If you aren’t currently in the market for a new credit card or insurance policy, but know you might be in the future, the five-year opt-out period would probably work for you. If you don’t want to see offers like this in your mailbox at all, you could consider the permanent option. To opt out you can call 1-888-5-OPTOUT or visit optoutprescreen.com. The phone number and website are operated by the major credit reporting companies and will stop all pre-approval solicitations based on lists organizations receive from the credit reporting companies. Opting out will not prevent you from receiving solicitations from local merchants, membership organizations and and other groups that don’t get their mailing lists from the major credit reporting companies. Have you ever opted out of pre-approval offers or do you like getting the offers in the mail so you can learn about what options you have?
February 4th was National Wear Red Day. Since 2002, the first Friday in February, Americans have worn red to show their support for women’s heart disease awareness. The Heart Truth, a national awareness campaign introduced the symbol of the Red Dress as a reminder that women need to protect their heart health and takes steps to prevent heart disease. On Wednesday, February 9, 2011, The Heart Truth campaign will bring the Red Dress to the runway at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, at the Lincoln Center, in New York City. They will debut the 2011 Red Dress Collection. A selection of dresses worn by celebrities in the Red Dress Collection fashion shows will be available for the public to bid on at The Clothes Off Our Back foundation. Proceeds will benefit the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and will be used to further efforts related to women’s heart health awareness and research. National Wear Red Day isn’t just for women. Men can show their support too by wearing a red shirt or tie. To learn more about heart disease, check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Women’s Health Topics – Heart Disease and Stroke page. I am getting together with some of my female friends for dinner on February 4th. You can be sure that we will be wearing our red dresses. What about you?
An early education program for children from low-income families is estimated to generate $4 to $11 of economic benefits over a child*’s lifetime for every dollar spent initially on the program, according to a cost-benefit analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Rates of death in the United States from all cancers for men and women continued to decline between 2003 and 2007, the most recent reporting period available, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. The report also finds that the overall rate of new cancer diagnoses for men and women combined decreased an average of slightly less than 1 percent per year for the same period.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is seeking input from the public as well as researchers for its new strategic plan. To get involved, submit an idea for research or nominate a workshop participant.
Among the smallest preterm infants, those born as triplets are at greater risk than single born infants or twins of dying or developing a disability before their second birthday, according a study by a research network of the National Institutes of Health.