Archive for March, 2008
Monday, March 3rd, 2008
House passes partial forgiveness for medical student loans
Monday, March 3rd, 2008Washington — Becoming a doctor isn’t cheap. The average debt for medical school graduates is approximately $140,000, according to the American Medical Association. But the burden could get a little lighter for some medical students under a bill passed last month by the House.
A provision inserted into legislation reauthorizing the federal government’s student loan programs would allow medical specialists with five or more years of graduate medical education to qualify for up to $2,000 in loan forgiveness annually for serving in areas of need. The maximum amount would be $10,000 for five years of service.
New Treatment for Heart Arrhythmias
Monday, March 3rd, 2008
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — One moment you feel fine. The next, your heart is racing at almost double the pace. Atrial fibrillation affects more than two million Americans. Although it is the most common arrhythmia, medicines for the condition only work about half the time. Now, researchers are testing a new tool that may help put a patientâs heart back on track.
Fifty-six year old Tom Calvaresi is the driving force behind his family winery. So when his heart started feeling funny, he didnât ignore it.
(more…)Meningococcal bug develops quinolone resistance
Monday, March 3rd, 2008In some areas of North Dakota and Minnesota, Neisseria meningitidis has developed resistance to quinolone antibiotics. Public health officials recommend that ciprofloxacin, the drug from this family commonly prescribed to reduce the risk of illness in healthy people who have been exposed to this bacterium, no longer be used for this purpose.
The officials also want physicians outside the region to be alert to the possibility that the medication may not have the desired effect, according to statements issued by health departments in those states and a report in the Feb. 22 (more…)
Hair Helps Police Track Criminals
Monday, March 3rd, 2008(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Water is not only good for your body — it’s good for the police! The general location a person drank water is recorded in their hair, showing where they have been in recent weeks and years. This could help police track the past movements of criminal suspects or unidentified murder victims.
âYou are what you eat and drink — and that is recorded in your hair,â co-author Thure Cerling, University of Utah, was quoted as saying.
(more…)Rules aim for better patient safety through confidential error reports
Monday, March 3rd, 2008Washington — Federal regulators have proposed sweeping patient safety rules to give physicians and others a confidential, voluntary way to report medical errors and near mistakes. Several health care organizations applauded the release of the long-awaited regulations but want a closer look before making a final judgment.
The rules, published Feb. 12 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, would implement the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005. The law, supported by the American Medical Association, authorizes creating patient safety organizations to which doctors, other health professionals, hospitals and other institutions could report mistakes.
Hair Texture Gene Discovered
Monday, March 3rd, 2008(Ivanhoe Newswire) — The next time you have a bad hair day, think twice before you point fingers at the weather ⦠your genes may be to blame!
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have uncovered a gene involved in determining hair texture in humans. Mutations in the P2RY5 gene cause hereditary âwoolyâ hair — hair that is coarse, dry, tightly curled and sparse.
Since wooly hair is most commonly found in Pakistani families, researchers performed a genetic analysis of six families of Pakistani origin with hereditary wooly hair. The mutated P2RY5 gene was clearly found mutated and deemed the cause for the familyâs hair texture.
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