December 17, 2007
Monthly Archives: December 2007
December 16, 2007
A New Issue of Journal of American Medical Association is Now Available
JAMA Vol. 298 No. 22 (December 12, 2007) is now available by subscription only Commentaries “Medical Professionalism in a Commercialized Health Care Market” by Arnold S. Relman, 2668-2670. “Health Care in the Age of Genetic Medicine” by James P. Evans, … Read More
December 16, 2007
Adult Stem Cells Appear to be Working as Treatment for Heart Disease
As I pointed out in an earlier post, the syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman recently castigated President Bush for “betting on the wrong horse,” e.g., adult stem cells, in the stem cell debate. This was ignorant and ridiculous, as even casual … Read More
December 16, 2007
Something is Going Very Wrong in Healthcare
I am regularly contacted by families who believe their loved ones have been terribly mistreated in hospitals. Sometimes, it is clearly a misunderstanding and I try to set their minds at ease. At other times, the story seems to be … Read More
December 15, 2007
Adult Stem Cell News Blockade Continues to Crumble
A promising new adult stem cell treatment for breast reconstruction of women who have had lump-ectomies to treat breast cancer has been reported in the Washington Post. From the story: For the first time, doctors have used stem cells from … Read More
December 14, 2007
Northwestern University is hosting two nanotechnology town hall meetings
There is a new industrial revolution under way, but it may be hard to see. It’s nanotechnology — science, technology and engineering that happens on the nanoscale. (A nanometer is one billionth of a meter — in other words, very … Read More
December 14, 2007
Mitchell report: Baseball slow to react to players’ steroid use
Seven MVPs and 31 All-Stars — one for every position — and that still wasn’t the worst of it for the long-awaited Mitchell report. That infamy belonged to Roger Clemens, the greatest pitcher of his era. The steroids era. (ESPN)
December 14, 2007
Life-support case a risky precedent, MDs warn
The Canadian Medical Association says the case of a Winnipeg man being kept on life support by a court injunction could set a dangerous precedent that would force physicians to provide futile or even potentially harmful medical care when a … Read More
December 14, 2007
kwmu NewsRoomStem cell debate continues in MO, despite breakthrough
Last month, two teams of researchers announced that they’ve been able to make ordinary skin cells act like embryonic stem cells. It’s a major breakthrough in the science world because it has the potential to remove the ethical and moral … Read More
December 14, 2007
Genetic test info added to epilepsy drugs, U.S. says
A genetic test can tell if patients of Asian ancestry are more likely to develop a life-threatening skin reaction to certain drugs that treat epilepsy and other conditions, U.S. health officials said on Wednesday. (Reuters)
December 14, 2007
Institutions Revealed in California Stem Cell Grant-Conflict Flap
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine revealed at a meeting here Wednesday the names of 10 research groups disqualified from receiving stem cell grants because of conflict-of-interest accusations. (Wired)
December 13, 2007
Not Futile Care but a Failure to Communicate
I am assuming that the descriptions in this story are accurate for purposes of analysis. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution: Alicia Fennell had just one hour to save her husband’s life. Doctors at Emory Eastside Medical Center in Snellville … Read More
December 13, 2007
The Birth of Biotech
In 1978, Ivor Royston, then a young assistant professor studying immunology at University of California, San Diego, drove four investors to the airport. He had given them a tour of his lab, shown them how he made monoclonal antibodies, and … Read More
December 13, 2007
Samuel Golubchuk’s Futile Care Case a Hard Sell With the Public
The current Futile Care Theory fuss in Canada, in which a hospital wants to remove Samuel Golubchuk’s respirator and feeding tube because he is diagnosed as unconscious, seems to be playing out in the polls as favoring the family that … Read More
December 13, 2007
Testing Drugs with Stem Cells
Researchers are using human embryonic stem cells to determine the toxicity of potential pharmaceuticals. (Technology Review)
December 13, 2007
India: Op-Ed: Selling stem cells
. . . there are pitfalls, in the form of false claims, unethical methods to get quick results or unregulated practices to harvest these miracle cells. Even as scientists and lay men alike remain divided on the hype, hope and … Read More
December 13, 2007
South Koreans Clone Cats that Glow in the Dark
South Korean scientists have cloned cats by manipulating a fluorescent protein gene, a procedure which could help develop treatments for human genetic diseases, officials said Wednesday. In a side-effect, the cloned cats glow in the dark when exposed to ultraviolet … Read More
December 13, 2007
Stem-cell patch may fix damaged hearts
Scientists have made two significant advances in developing a stem-cell patch to repair the damage caused to the heart after an attack. Sian Harding of London’s Imperial College said on Thursday her team had successfully matured beating heart cells in … Read More
December 13, 2007
Face-Transplant Patient ‘Satisfied’
A French woman who two years ago became the first person to receive a face transplant has recovered with remarkably good aesthetic results and has gradually regained normal skin sensation and control of her facial muscles, doctors reported yesterday in … Read More
December 13, 2007
Japan Scientists Develop Fearless Mouse
Japanese scientists say they’ve used genetic engineering to create mice that show no fear of felines, a development that may shed new light on mammal behavior and the nature of fear itself. (Wired)
December 13, 2007
Researchers Find Great Granddaddy of All Blood Cells
The “great-grandparent” of all human blood cells has been identified by Stanford University researchers, who said the finding could lead to new treatments for blood cancers and other blood diseases. (HealthDay)
December 13, 2007
Bush vetoes children’s health bill a second time
U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday vetoed a bill expanding a popular children’s health care program for the second time, angering Democrats who are locked in a fight with the administration over the budget and spending. (Reuters)
December 13, 2007
Stem Cells May Ease Muscular Dystrophy
Modified stem cells from muscular dystrophy patients eased symptoms of the disease in mice, says a small study that raises hopes for treating patients with tissue from their own bodies. (AP)
December 13, 2007
Op-Ed: In Yet Another Stem-Cell Miracle, Dems Have Dropped The Subject
John Edwards had a lot he wanted to say at the Democratic National Committee’s fall meeting on Nov. 30. In a fiery speech, he ran down a litany of issues such as Iraq, health care and workers’ rights, going well … Read More
December 12, 2007
Futile Care Case in Canada
When I was in Toronto recently at the international anti-euthanasia conference, I focused my speech on the looming threat of Futile Care Theory as the next big bioethical controversy. And already, I am proved prescient. A Canadian hospital is trying … Read More
