Category: Regulations
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Symbols and Calorie Labels Influence Restaurant Choices
Economists at University of Illinois in Urbana and Oklahoma State University in Stillwater found the combination of calorie counts and stoplight symbols had the most influence on choices made by restaurant diners. The team led by Illinois’s Brenna Ellison (pictured right) published its findings in a recent issue of the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition…
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Computer Model Identifies Concussion-Producing Conditions
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and University of Ottawa in Canada developed a technique that combines computer modeling and imaging to calcuate damage capable of causing head trauma and concussion. The team led by Johns Hopkins engineering professor K.T. Ramesh published its findings in a recent issue of the Journal of Neurotrauma (paid…
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Statistical Tool Helps Cut Heart Failure Readmissions
Medical researchers at Intermountain Heart Institute in Murray, Utah developed a statistical index that evaluates a cardiac patient’s condition and calculates the risk of readmission for the same disorder within 30 days. The team led by Benjamin Horne, director of cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology at the institute, a division of Intermountain Medical Center in Salt…
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Surgical Masks Shown to Cut Flu Transmission
Public health researchers at University of Maryland, with colleagues at Harvard, Boston University, and University of Hong Kong identified the main ways flu virus spreads through populations and specifically recommend flu sufferers wear surgical masks to stop the virus. The team led by Maryland and Harvard professor Donald Milton published their findings yesterday in the…
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Early Trial Shows Deep Brain Stimulation Effects on Anorexia
Researchers at the University Health Network in Toronto found deep brain stimulation to help some patients with severe anorexia increase their body mass index and reduce related obsessions and compulsions. Results of the small-scale clinical trial were published online in today’s issue of the journal The Lancet (paid subscription required). Anorexia nervosa is an eating…
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Bacterial Biofilms Found to Quickly Clog Medical Devices
Molecular biologists and engineers at Princeton University in New Jersey discovered that bacterial formations called biofilms can quickly tangle and trap other bacteria, disabling medical devices. The study by postdoctoral researcher Knut Drescher and colleagues appears online in a recent issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (paid subscription required). Drescher, working in…
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Roche Increasing Access to Clinical Trial Results
The pharmaceutical company Roche, based in Switzerland, will increase access to its clinical trial data for third-party researchers. The company also promises access to clinical data for its flu medication Tamiflu, after review by independent scientists, for which the British medical journal BMJ and evidence-based medicine organization Cochrane Collaboration have long-standing requests for access. In…
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Pharmas Recall Anemia Drug for Dialysis Patients
Affymax Inc. in Palo Alto, California and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company in Osaka, Japan are recalling its drug Omontys in the U.S. after reported cases of anaphylaxis, a serious and life-threatening allergic reaction. The recall is being coordinated with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Omontys, the branded form of the drug peginesatide, is a synthetic…
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Informatics Tools Underused to Fight Hospital Infections
Researchers at the Regenstrief Institute in Indianapolis report relatively few professionals responsible for controlling hospital-based infections are engaged in or even aware of automated systems designed to share data about these infections. The findings of the survey led by Regenstrief’s Brian Dixon, with colleagues from Indiana University medical school (affiliated with Regenstrief Institute), and the…
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Lozenges, Tobacco-Free Snuff Help Tobacco Chewers Quit
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota found nicotine lozenges and tobacco-free snuff could get smokeless tobacco users to quit their habits, even when some users started out with no intention of quitting. The team led by Mayo Clinic’s Jon Ebbert published its findings in this month’s issue of the journal Addictive Behaviors (paid…