Popular Articles

RCN Responds To NHS Confederation Warning On The Downturn, UK
Commenting on the publication of the NHS Confederation report Dealing with the downturn: the greatest ever leadership challenge for the NHS, Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said:

HIV Testing Can Save Thousands Of Lives, CDC Official Says
"Although HIV/AIDS continues to pose a serious threat to the nation"s health, HIV testing is a powerful weapon against the disease," Kevin Fenton, director of CDC"s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, writes in a CNN.com opinion piece. Fenton writes that every 9 1/2 minutes someone in the U.S. becomes infected with HIV. "That"s 56,000 people every year," Fenton writes, adding, "But there"s something we can all do to help protect ourselves and our partners from this disease - get tested for HIV." He continues, "By increasing the number of people who know their HIV status, we can decrease the number of new HIV infections, and help save thousands of lives" (Fenton, CNN.com, 6/26).
News of the day
Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc. Completes Enrollment Of CaRES Registry To Further Evaluate Definity(R) In Patients With Suboptimal Echocardiograms
Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., a worldwide leader in diagnostic imaging, announces that it has completed patient enrollment of CaRES (Contrast Echocardiography REgistry for Safety Surveillance), the first, multicenter Phase IV observational registry that evaluates the use of ultrasound imaging agents in routine clinical practice. The 1,060 patients who were enrolled at 15 sites in the U.S. were 18 years old or older and required DEFINITY® Vial for (Perflutren Lipid Microsphere) injectable suspension-enhanced echocardiography because of a previous suboptimal, unenhanced echocardiogram.
Nutrition

Study Suggests Vitamin D Screening And Appropriate Supplementation Indicated For All Cancer Patients

Vitamin D deficiency was found to be prevalent in cancer patients regardless of nutritional status, according to the results of a recent study conducted at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA). Based on these results, CTCA researchers determined that screening for vitamin D deficiency and aggressive vitamin D repletion should be considered for all people with cancer. "While emerging evidence suggests the protective role of vitamin D in cancer, vitamin D status is not routinely assessed in cancer patients despite the high prevalence of malnutrition in this population," said Carolyn Lammersfeld, national director of nutrition for CTCA and a principal investigator in the study. During the study, a consecutive case series of 737 cancer patients (302 male and 435 female) seen at CTCA between January - June 2008, were assessed for nutritional status and categorizes into three distinct classes of nutritional status: well nourished, moderately malnourished and severely malnourished. The mean age at presentation was 55.7 years (SD = 10.2) and the most common cancer types were lung (133, 18%), breast (131, 17.8%), colorectal (97, 13.2%), pancreatic (86, 11.7%), prostate (44, 6%) and ovarian (38, 5.2%). Before the study, the researchers hypothesized that malnutrition could contribute to vitamin D deficiency and therefore expected mean serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D [25(OH)D] levels to be significantly lower in malnourished oncology patients. However contrary to what they expected, vitamin D deficiency was found to be prevalent in cancer regardless of nutritional status. About Cancer Treatment Centers of America Founded in 1988, Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) is a national network of hospitals providing a comprehensive, fully integrative approach to cancer treatment. CTCA serves patients with advanced cancer from all 50 states at facilities located in suburban Chicago, Philadelphia, Tulsa and suburban Phoenix. Cancer Treatment Centers of America


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):