HHS Announces New International Programs to Enhance Drug and Food Safety
Joint Inspections with European Union and Australian Regulators; Third-Party Certification Program Are Latest Steps toward Implementing New Import StrategyU.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced two groundbreaking programs designed to enhance the safety of food and medical products exported to the United States.
New Bariatric Technique Using Gastric Tube Retains Duodenal Function, Avoids Dumping
A new surgical procedure for the treatment of morbid obesity produces better results than sleeve gastrectomy alone, and resolves many comorbidities. The new technique, called sleeve gastrectomy with enteral bypass (SGEBP), was described here at the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery 25th Annual Meeting.
Perspective: Carotid Stenting and the History of Disruptive Technology in Vascular Surgery
Introduction A disruptive technology can be defined as one that displaces a standard old method for performing certain functions because the new one is so clearly better. Examples of disruptive technologies would be the electric light displacing candle light, steam power displacing sail power for ships, jet engines displacing piston engines for long distance aircraft, […]
Brazil Launches Cheap New Malaria Pill
Brazil launched a new treatment for malaria on Thursday, marking the latest step in a global programme to make cheap two-in-one pills available to millions at risk for the disease. The country's state-run drugmaker Farmanguinhos is working with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), a non-profit group based in Geneva, to bring the medicine […]
New Lifetime Risk Estimates Suggest 1 in 8 Baby Boomers Will Develop Alzheimer’s Disease
A new report released by the Alzheimer's Association includes new estimates that show the lifetime risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is 17% in women and 9% in men who live to age 55 years. The figures mean that 10 million of the 78 million baby boomers alive today can expect to develop AD in their […]
Guidelines for Perioperative Cardiovascular Evaluation for Patients Considering Noncardiac Surgery
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) have issued a new guideline (last published in 2002) on the perioperative cardiovascular evaluation for patients considering noncardiac surgery. The new algorithm is simpler and gives clinicians more latitude in individualizing decisions, but does not apply to patients who require emergency surgery or who […]
Updated Warfarin (Coumadin) labeling includes new genetic information
FDA – MedWatch – Updated Warfarin (Coumadin) labeling includes new genetic information that may help providers improve initial dosing estimates of anticoagulant for individual patients
International Health Regulations enter into force
New opportunity to respond to international public health threats 14 JUNE 2007 | GENEVA — The revised International Health Regulations (IHR) enter into force on Friday, 15 June. The Regulations consist of a comprehensive and tested set of rules and procedures which will help to make the world more secure from threats to global health. […]
Is acupuncture safe?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved acupuncture needles for use by licensed practitioners in 1996. The FDA requires that sterile, nontoxic needles be used and that they be labeled for single use by qualified practitioners only. Relatively few complications from the use of acupuncture have been reported to the FDA in light of […]
National Acupuncture Organizations Reunite
After three days of negotiations in Dallas, the AAOM and the AOM Alliance have entered into an historic agreement to reunite and form a new organization, the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM). By taking the name of the organization that split 14 years ago, the directors of the new organization hope to […]
