Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles
Natural Remedies

Blogs Comment On Women's Health Disparities, Sotomayor Nomination, Other Topics
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries. ~ "Report: Higher Rates of Unintended Pregnancy, Abortion Among Women of Color," Sharon Camp, RH Reality Check: A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation on health disparities between white women and women of color "provides further stronger evidence debunking claims" from antiabortion-rights advocates who "have long argued that high abortion rates among minorities are the result of supposed aggressive marketing by abortion providers to minority communities," Camp, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, writes. In addition to identifying disparities in conditions like heart disease and cancer, the report documents "widespread disparities in access to health insurance and health screenings" and explores growing evidence of the association between social factors and health behaviors, access and outcomes, according to Camp. She continues that research from Guttmacher has consistently demonstrated that "rates among racial and ethnic minorities -- especially blacks and Hispanics -- are directly linked to their higher rates of unintended pregnancy, which in turn reflect pervasive health disparities more generally." Camp writes that the "fundamental question policymakers should be asking is not why women of color have high abortion rates, but rather what can be done to help them have fewer unintended pregnancies and achieve better health outcomes more generally," such as improved access to affordable contraception. Women"s dissatisfaction with health care providers, quality of service and the contraceptive methods themselves also are factors in contraceptive use, as are "[u]nstable life situations," which can make consistent use a low priority for some women, according to Camp. She writes, "By continuing to label abortion providers as "racists" and refusing to support expanded access to contraceptive services, antiabortion-rights activists are by no means part of the solution -- to high rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion among racial and ethnic minorities or to persistent and tragic disparities in health care generally" (Camp, RH Reality Check, 6/15).~ "What"s Next for Women"s Legal Rights in the Supreme Court?" Amy Matsui, Womenstake: Matsui, senior counsel for the National Women"s Law Center, examines several women"s rights issues "that we see peeking around the corner" of the next Supreme Court session. Matsui writes that "increasingly draconian abortion restrictions have begun to work their way through state legislatures." These restrictions include giving personhood rights to fetuses, mandates on the information women are given prior to abortion procedures and "outright abortion bans," she writes. Challenges to laws that expand protections for providers who deny health care services also "are likely to come before the courts," Matsui writes. Challenges to health care reform proposals also are likely, "specifically, the interaction of the federal statute that governs employee health care and pension plans ... and any new requirements for employers to provide health care coverage," according to Matsui. The Supreme Court has "obviously considered the underlying legal doctrines in these cases (the constitutional right to privacy, federal anti-discrimination statutes, Equal Protection guarantees and federal benefits statutes) in the past; some might say that there is a clear roadmap of where the Court should go in some of these cases," Matsui writes, concluding, "But when every vote counts on the Supreme Court, women should be watching what cases come next" (Matsui, Womenstake, 6/12).~ "Antiabortion Groups" Case Against Sotomayor," Dan Gilgoff, U.S. News & World Report"s "God and Country": "With no clear evidence for a pro-abortion-rights position in her judicial decisions, antiabortion groups" case against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor can be summed up in eight words: the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund," Gilgoff writes. From 1980 to 1992, Sotomayor sat on the l
generic viagra online
Maryland Reports First H1N1 Flu-Related Death, USA
An elderly Baltimore metro area resident with serious underlying medical conditions and a novel H1N1 influenza virus infection has died, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH). Among other complications, H1N1 flu was a contributing factor, making this Maryland"s first death confirmed to be associated with the novel flu strain. Personal details about the case, including specific underlying health conditions, will not be released to protect the privacy of the resident and the resident"s family.
News of the day
Minnesota Clinics Serving Many More Thanks To Stimulus Dollars
As Minnesota braces for some cuts to public health programs, the state"s network of community health centers is being buoyed by money from the federal stimulus that will expand coverage to the un- and underinsured in that state, The Minnesota Post reports.
Public Health

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. "As the first, multicenter safety registry of its kind to be conducted in the U.S., the results from CaRES will provide important clinical information about the use of DEFINITY® in a range of patient types and clinical settings," said Mark Hibberd, M.D., senior medical director, Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc. "We are excited to complete enrollment of this important study and look forward to gaining new insights regarding the use of DEFINITY® in routine clinical practice. We expect these findings to reveal that DEFINITY® is being used in the settings recommended in the recent American Society of Echocardiography Consensus Statement[i], and that these uses are well tolerated. The use of DEFINITY® in appropriate settings, such as in-hospital and intensive care units, can assist physicians in making immediate point-of-care decisions, as recently shown by Kurt et al[ii] and in doing so, can help reduce the use of other more costly tests and direct medical therapy to meet patient needs." The CaRES registry was established following discussions with the FDA to further explore the clinical use of DEFINITY®. The prospective, open-label, non-randomized, Phase IV surveillance registry will gather and analyze data on: patient demographics and characteristics, reasons for using DEFINITY, results of safety monitoring, and the nature and frequency of any adverse events. "Since DEFINITY® received approval for use in the U.S., approximately two million doses have been administered to patients with suboptimal echocardiograms to see the borders of the heart more clearly. Recent articles published in the American Journal of Cardiology[iii] and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology[iv] have highlighted the clinical benefit of DEFINITY® in lowering the risk of short-term mortality and improving diagnostic evaluations for patients receiving contrast-enhanced echocardiograms," said Don Kiepert, president and CEO of Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc. "With the completion of enrollment of the CaRES registry, Lantheus continues our ongoing commitment to providing important clinical information on the use of DEFINITY® to the physician community." About Suboptimal Echocardiograms Up to 20 percent of resting echocardiography studies will result in suboptimal echocardiograms.[v],[vi],[vii] A suboptimal image is one in which at least 2 out of 6 myocardial segments of the left ventricle cannot be visualized appropriately, as defined by the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE).[viii],[ix] The use of contrast in suboptimal echocardiograms may help with clinical evaluation of the patient.[x],[xi] About DEFINITY® Since its launch in 2001, activated DEFINITY® Vial For (Perflutren Lipid Microsphere) Injectable Suspension has been administered to over two million patients.[xii] In patients with suboptimal echocardiograms, DEFINITY® enables physicians to visualize the borders of the heart more clearly.[xiii],[xiv] Indications Activated DEFINITY® (Perflutren Lipid Microsphere) Injectable Suspension is indicated for use in patients with suboptimal echocardiograms to opacify the left ventricular chamber and to improve the delineation of the left ventricular endocardial border. The safety and efficacy of DEFINITY® with exercise stress or pharmacologic stress testing have not been established. For full prescribing information, please visit www.lantheus.com. Important Safety Information About DEFINITY® Do not administer DEFINITY® to patients with known or suspected cardiac shunts (right-to-left, bi-directional or transient right-to-left), or hypersensitivity to perflutren. Do not administer DEFINITY® by intra-arterial injection. In postmarketing use, uncommon but serious reactions observed during or shortly following perflutren-containing microsphere administration included fatal cardiac or respiratory arrest, loss of consciousness, convulsions, symptomatic arrhythmias (atrial fibrillation, supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation), hypotension, respiratory distress or cardiac ischemia (see ADVERSE REACTIONS). The risk for these reactions may be increased among patients with pulmonary hypertension or unstable cardiopulmonary conditions (acute myocardial infarction, acute coronary artery syndromes, worsening or unstable congestive heart failure, serious ventricular arrhythmias or respiratory failure, including patients receiving mechanical ventilation). In the absence of these underlying conditions, observe patients closely during and following DEFINITY® administration. Always have cardiopulmonary resuscitation personnel and equipment readily available prior to DEFINITY® administration and monitor all patients for acute reactions. References [i] Mulvagh SL et al. American Society of Echocardiography consensus statement on the clinical applications of ultrasonic contrast agents in echocardiography. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2008; vol. 21 no. 11: 1179-1201 [ii] Kurt M et al. Impact of contrast echocardiography on evaluation of ventricular function and clinical management in a large prospect cohort. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009; 53: 802-810 [iii]Main ML et al. Acute mortality in hospitalized patients undergoing echocardiography with and without an ultrasound contrast agent (multicenter registry results in 4,300,966 consecutive patients). Am J Cardiol. 2008; vol. 102, issue 12: 1742-1746 [iv] Kurt M et al. Impact of contrast echocardiography on evaluation of ventricular function and clinical management in a large prospect cohort. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009; 53: 802-810 [v] Mulvagh SL et al. Contrast echocardiography: current and future applications. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2000; 13: 331-42 [vi] Waggoner AD et al. Guidelines for the cardiac sonographer in the performance of contrast echocardiography: recommendations of the American Society of Echocardiography Council on Cardiac Sonography. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2001; 14: 417-420 [vii] Solomon S, Essential echocardiography, a practical handbook with DVD. Humana Press; 2007: chapter 5: ventricular systolic function, p 113 [viii] Mulvagh SL et al. Contrast echocardiography: current and future applications. J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2000; 13: 331-42 [ix] Waggoner AD et al. Guidelines for the cardiac sonographer in the performance of contrast echocardiography: recommendations of the American Society of Echocardiography Council on Cardiac Sonography. J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2001; 14: 417-420 [x] Mulvagh SL et al. Contrast echocardiography: current and future applications. J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2000; 13: 331-42 [xi] Kitzman DW et al. Efficacy and safety of the novel ultrasound contrast agent perflutren (Definity) in patients with suboptimal baseline left ventricular echocardiographic images. Am J Cardiol. 2000; 86: 669-674 [xii] The Echocardiography Monthly Monitor: United States, October 2001-September 2007, Arlington Medical Res, Inc., Malvern, PA. [xiii] Kitzman DW et al. Efficacy and safety of the novel ultrasound contrast agent perflutren (Definity) in patients with suboptimal baseline left ventricular echocardiographic images. Am J Cardiol. 2000; 86: 669-674 [xiv] Data on file, Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc. Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc.


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

© Copyright 2009