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Cost
of Transplant Surgery Only Part of the Problem
What if the only thing standing in
your way of a kidney transplant was not the cost of the
surgery, but the cost of the medications to keep you alive
afterward? (WTOC TV) |
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Long-Term
Outcomes of Children with End-Stage Renal Disease
Editorial commentary from Pediatric
Nephrology. Among the long list of potential problems
these children face includes a risk of getting cancer
that is ten times higher than the general population;
skin cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphomas are most commonly
reported. |
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Amgen
Contributes $3.9 Million to California Drug Ballot Effort
California voters will choose between
two competing prescription-drug discount initiatives in
the Nov. 8 special election. (Sacromento Bee via Ventura
County Star - registration required) |
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Study
Finds Hemodialysis Patients Have 9 Physical and Emotional
Symptoms on Average
Abstract
from JASN Express. |
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Japanese
Scientists Cure Acute Renal Failure in Rats With Adult
Stem Cells
Article from LifeNews.com.
Also see the abstract
in the Journal of Cell Biology. |
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Stem
Cell Transplant Succeeds in Curing Kidney Failure in Rats
A research team led by the University
of Tokyo has succeeded in curing renal failure in rats
by transplanting somatic stem cells of kidneys from healthy
rats. Mainichi Daily News. |
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Breakthrough
Isolating Embryo-quality Stem Cells From Blood |
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New
York Times Examines Effort by Steve Case To Reform Health
Care System
News
summary from Kaiser Network. |
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Breakthrough
Study Finds Adult Stem Cells Show Same Ability to Self-Renew
as Embryonic
Press release
from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh |
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Improved
Diabetes Management Could Save $72 Billion in Next Decade |
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Whose
Kidney Is It, Anyway?
Commentary
from RealClear Politics. |
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Should
Society "Appropriate" Needed Kidneys for Transplantation?
Abstract of personal opinion piece
from Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation. |
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Hemodialysis
Treatments Tied to Increase in Endocarditis Infections
An international study in JAMA reveals
that infective endocarditis, infection and inflammation
involving the heart valves is commonly associated with
being hemodialysis-dependent and is increasingly due to
staphylococcal infection. |
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The
Other Stem Cells
Article
from Boston Globe. Although embryonic stem cells
dominate public discussion, a number of companies are
building treatments, and businesses, around adult stem
cells. |
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Doctors
Fight over Drug Firm Influence in Hypertension
Article from The Boston Globe.
''The lines separating marketing from education have been
fractured," said the editor of the prestigious American
Journal of Hypertension. Disagreements have flared
over industry money used to support the hypertension society's
educational programs, as well as the propriety of direct
industry payments to physicians who serve as lecturers
and consultants. |
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Two
Cardiologists Alert Medical Community to Kidney Damage
Caused by Heart-Failure Drug
Article
from Forbes.com. After taking heat for sticking
their necks out concerning data on Johnson & Johnson's
Natrecor, the two researchers are being backed up by some
of the biggest names in cardiology. |
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Epoetin
Label Change Coming in Europe for Maximum Hemoglobin Level
Due to Increased Mortality in Cancer Patient Studies
News article from CancerPage.com.
The label on epoetin medications is being updated with
a new maximum haemoglobin level following studies showing
increased mortality at high haemoglobin levels, a senior
Amgen official said on Thursday.
Mark Sampson, UK medical director, told Agence de Presse
Medicale that the label would set a therapeutic haemoglobin
objective of 12g/dL, coupled with a recommendation not
to exceed 13g/dL. |
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What
Is a Kidney Worth?
The Christian Science Monitor
is currently running a number of articles on organ
trafficking. These include:
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Cloning
Pioneer Envisions Stem Cell Bank
(AP via Yahoo) South Korean cloning
pioneer Hwang Woo-suk said he plans to open a stem cell
bank to help speed up the quest to grow
replacement tissue to treat diseases. To treat
a patient, researchers would look for a cell line that
provides a close match to a patient's immune system,
resembling the process now used in finding donors for
organ transplants.
"Our
ultimate goal is for those with incurable disease to
lead social lives, and to recover their humane right
to happiness."
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New
England Lawmakers Give Stem Cell Research a Push |
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China
To Ban Trade in Human Organs
Article
from AFP via Yahoo. The country has long been accused
by human rights groups of taking executed prisoners' organs
without their consent -- sometimes while they are still
alive -- to use for transplants. |
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Biotech
Drugs: Where Are The Generics?
Article
from BusinessWeek.com. "Without concerted
action in Washington, patients in the U.S. won't get their
hands on such products for years." |
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Vermont's
Disclosure Law Shows Drug Company Payments to Physicians
Article
from TimesArgus.com. Dr. Paul Unger received
nearly $75,000 from Amgen over a six-month period. |
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Switching
from Subcutaneous to Intravenous Erythropoietin in Haemodialysis
Patients Requires a Major Dose Increase
Advance
Access abstract from Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation. |
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Pharmaceutical
Companies Submit Ghostwritten Articles, Medical Journal
Editors Say
Catherine DeAngelis,
editor of The Journal of the American Medical Association,
says, "This has been going on forever." Before
she became an editor, DeAngelis says, she got a call a
month asking her to put her name on a paper she didn't
write, a practice she describes as "manipulation
by for-profits to alter what's in the (medical) literature
so they could sell their products." (USA Today) |
