Americans Don`t Expect a Return to Pre-recession Spending Levels, Lifestyles Until Mid-2013, According to AlixPartners Survey

July 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Seven in 10 Feel the Same or Worse Economically Than a Year Ago
NEW YORK–(Business Wire)–
On average, Americans don`t expect their quality of life, including their
spending levels, to return to pre-recession levels until mid-2013, according to
the findings of a survey released today by AlixPartners LLP, the global
business-advisory firm. The poll also finds that seven in 10 Americans today
feel the same or worse about their personal economic situations than a year ago,
during the depths of the recession, and that 83% expect to spend the same or
less on non-essential purchases over the next 12 months, illustrating an ongoing
frugality that`s hampering prospects for a consumer-driven economic recovery.
The survey was conducted recently as a reprise of similar AlixPartners surveys
in 2009 — one in February and another in November.

According to the poll, Americans are also decidedly less optimistic about a
quick recovery in the economy at large than they were in 2009, another factor in
restrained spending. The majority of respondents, or 63%, now say that an
economic recovery won`t take place until 2012 or later, versus the 46% who felt
that way in November and 40% who picked that year or later in early 2009. The
proportion of Americans who now believe that a recovery will take place this
year or next: just 5% and 12%, respectively.

“When we polled Americans last November, they expected their personal spending
levels and lifestyles to be back to pre-recession levels by, on average,
November of 2012, but now they`re saying not till August of 2013,” said Fred
Crawford, CEO of AlixPartners. “Obviously, despite some modest movement forward
in the economy, individual Americans remain greatly concerned about their
personal economic situations. In the past, AlixPartners has talked about how
this could translate into a `new normal` environment for businesses of all types
that rely upon the American consumer: lower plateaus of consumer spending for
years to come, maybe for the foreseeable future. Today, it looks like this new
normal is already happening.”

Americans continue to say that their two top concerns are their own personal
debt levels and possible job loss. Some 20% of respondents in latest survey cite
the elimination of personal debt as their top concern, versus 13% who cite
potential job loss. The seven-percentage-point gap between the two top concerns
has widened since November, when 18% cited personal debt and 14% said job loss.

“The gap between the top two consumer concerns was just two percentage points in
February 2009, possibly illustrating some stabilization on the employment front
over the past 15 months,” said Crawford. “However, given the length of time that
most expect it will take before they see a personal economic recovery and the
urgency on the personal debt front, consumer spending likely will continue to
languish for some time.”

About the study

The AlixPartners survey was conducted May 24-26 among 1,000 U.S. adults. It was
a reprise of key questions asked in February 2009 and November 2009, in which
Americans said that, post-recession, they plan to save significantly more of
their total income and cut back on discretionary spending.

Americans were asked to provide feedback on current economic environment,
describe current spending patterns, and estimate how their saving/spending
habits will change post-recession.

The respondent group was representative of the U.S population across all key
demographics.

About AlixPartners

AlixPartners LLP is a global business-advisory firm offering comprehensive
services to improve corporate performance, execute corporate turnarounds, and
provide litigation consulting and forensic accounting services. The firm has
more than 900 professionals in 14 offices across North America, Europe and Asia.
The firm can be found on the Web at www.alixpartners.com.

AlixPartners LLP
Tim Yost, +1-248-204-8689
+1-248-227-1694 (m)
tyost@alixpartners.com

Copyright Business Wire 2010

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Gut bacteria offer new insights for people with celiac disease

April 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 30 (ANI): Striking a balance of intestinal microbiota could play a role in early stages of celiac disease-related immune responses, according to a new study.

The research has been published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.

Dietary changes that include probiotics and/or prebiotics (found in some foods) may help alleviate the severity of celiac disease for some patients.

According to the research, differing intestinal bacteria in celiac patients could influence inflammation to varying degrees. This suggests that manipulating the intestinal microbiota with dietary strategies such as probiotics and prebiotics, could improve the quality of life for celiac patients, as well as patients with associated diseases such as type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune disorders.

“We hope the study will ultimately add to the understanding of the mechanisms of action of the intestinal microbiota in immune-mediated diseases,” said Yolanda Sanz, one of the scientists involved in the research from the National Spanish Research Council in Valencia, Spain. “This study may also help to design novel strategies, which could improve the quality of life of celiac disease patients in the future.” (ANI)

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Proper intake of vitamin D improves quality of life for seniors

April 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, April 26 (ANI): A new study suggests that proper intake of vitamin D (the ‘sunshine’ vitamin) is related to better physical function in seniors.

Dr. Denise Houston from the Sticht Center on Aging at Wake Forest University and her colleagues studied the relationship between vitamin D status and physical function in a group of relatively healthy seniors living in Memphis, TN and Pittsburgh, PA.

This study was part of the Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) study initially designed to assess the associations among body composition, long-term health conditions, and mobility in older adults.

For Houston”s segment of the investigation, she studied 2788 seniors for 4 years. At the beginning of the study, they assessed vitamin D status by analyzing each person”s blood for 25-hydroxyvitamin D, a precursor for activated vitamin D.

At baseline and then 2 and 4 years later, the research team then determined whether circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D was related to the participants” physical function.

Specifically, they looked at how quickly each participant could walk a short distance (6 meters) and rise from a chair five times as well as maintain his or her balance in progressively more challenging positions.

Each participant was also put through a battery of tests assessing endurance and strength.

The researchers found that participants with the highest levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D had better physical function.

And, although physical function declined over the course of the study, it remained significantly higher among those with the highest vitamin D levels at the beginning of the study compared to those with the lowest vitamin D levels.

The scientists were not surprised to learn that, in general, vitamin D consumption was very low in this group of otherwise healthy seniors.

In fact, more than 90 percent of them consumed less vitamin D than currently recommended, and many were relying on dietary supplements.

The results of the study were presented on April 25 as part of the scientific program of the American Society for Nutrition, composed of the world”s leading nutrition researchers, at the Experimental Biology 2010 meeting in Anaheim. (ANI)

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S.Africa’s NUMSA will demand 20 pct wage hike

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

* Union represents over 200,000 steel, energy, auto workers

Basic Materials | Cyclical Consumer Goods | Energy | Utilities

* Wage demand above inflation

JOHANNESBURG, April 2 (Reuters) – A South African union plans is aiming for an above inflation 20 percent wage hike from employers that include power utility Eskom [ESCJ.UL] and ArcelorMittal’s South African unit (ACLJ.J)

The union, which represents 234,000 workers in auto, steel, engineering and energy sectors, would meet various employers later this year to table its demands.

“We believe that the 20 percent wage increase demand is modest and does not necessarily mean that the quality of life of workers will improve,” the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa said on Friday.

South Africa’s consumer inflation as expected slowed back into the central bank’s 3 to 6 percent target range in February. [ID:nLDE62N0BJ] (Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) (For more Africa cover visit: af.reuters.com/ — To comment on this story email: SouthAfrica.Newsroom@reuters.com)

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NZ woman starves herself to death

April 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A disabled New Zealand woman who sparked a debate over the right for people to commit suicide has died after refusing to eat for 16 days.

Margaret Page, a 60-year-old who used to love scuba diving, kayaking and teaching karate to children, had been severely disabled since suffering a brain haemorrhage in 1991.

Ms Page, who lived in the capital Wellington, needed help to eat and shower and had moved into a care centre in 2001.

She told the Dominion Post newspaper a week ago she no longer wanted to live and had refused food since the middle of the month, taking only occasional sips of water.

Ralph La Salle, chief executive of the St John of God Trust, which ran the centre where Page lived, said staff and residents were deeply saddened by her death on Tuesday.

The past weeks had been “exceptionally difficult and emotional for Mrs Page, her family, other residents, staff and everyone who knew her”, he said.

“Mrs Page maintained her resolve to refuse food until the very end of her life.”

People in New Zealand who are mentally sound have the right to refuse food or treatment but the case has revived the debate over euthanasia. It is illegal to help someone die under local law.

Ms Page’s estranged husband, Barry, had said last week his wife should be admitted to hospital and forced to eat, because she needed treatment for depression.

Australian euthanasia campaigner, Philip Nitschke, said Ms Page’s death was a tragedy.

“It is disgusting that the only option Margaret had left was to deny herself fluids and food and engage in a macabre process of slow torture and death,” he was quoted as saying by the New Zealand Press Association.

Mr Nitschke said people should have the right to end their lives in the least traumatic way.

“When their quality of life gets so bad that death is their chosen course, they need simply to go to the cupboard and legally take the drugs that will give them a peaceful and reliable death,” he said.

- AFP

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Having large number of supportive relatives increases fear of dying

March 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 30 (ANI): Fear of dying increases among the elderly when the person is surrounded by a large number of supportive relatives, new research claims.

The study has been published in Postgraduate Medical Journal.

This runs counter to the perception that a network of supportive informal family carers eases the fear of death, say the authors.

To reach the conclusion, the research team tested attitudes to death and dying in 1000 people aged 65 and older, made up of an ethnically diverse sample of the population and a sample of people virtually all of whom were White British and from similar social, educational, and economic backgrounds.

All the interviewees were drawn from Office for National Statistics (ONS) Omnibus Surveys (predominantly White British) and Ethnibus Surveys (ethnically diverse) in Britain.

They were asked directly how much they feared dying, the manner of death, losing control over their death, and suffering pain. Their responses were scored on a five point scale.

They also responded to 35 questions about older people”s quality of life, using a validated questionnaire (OPQOL).

Almost a third of Ethnibus respondents lived in households with four or more adults compared with just 1 percent of the ONS sample. And just one in 20 Ethnibus respondents lived alone compared with almost half of the ONS sample.

Two thirds of the Ethnibus sample had large family networks of four or more relatives who were prepared to help out practically compared with one in three among the ONS sample.

The analysis showed that more than half of the Ethnibus sample respondents had the worst scores for death and dying and quality of life.

Better quality of life reduced levels of fear in both sample groups, but those in the Ethnibus sample had significantly greater levels of fear than those in the ONS sample.

More than three out of four of the Ethnibus sample, which included people of Indian, Pakistani, Black Caribbean, and Chinese ethnicities, had up to four extreme fears around death. These included fear of the mode of death, fear of not being able to control their death, fear of dying itself, and fear of being in pain.

Having more relatives to help out with practical tasks, if needed, increased fears in three of these four domains.

Poor health, a longstanding illness, and difficulty walking 400 yards were also associated with an increased fear of death among this sample.

Older age reduced fears around death, but only in the ONS sample. (ANI)

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Cancer surgery leads to sexual dysfunction

March 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 13 (ANI): People who undergo cancer surgery are more likely to complain of sexual dysfunction, a study has found.

Christian Schmidt and colleagues have said that sexual problems are frequent after operations for carcinoma of the rectum.

In Germany, each year more than 70,000 people develop colorectal carcinoma.

The study was aimed at investigating the effects of tumor surgery on quality of life and sexual function.

Data from 368 patients were available to the authors.

The patients were asked the following two questions— “Has the operation resulted in an impairment of your sexuality?” and “How much does this disturb you?”

It was found that men complained increasingly of sexual dysfunction over time and the effects were more marked than in women.

Younger female patients had more difficulty in experiencing their sexuality than did older female patients.

The probability of loss of function increased with the size of the wound. Radiation and chemotherapy did not have any unfavourable effect on the sex lives of the patients in this study.

In spite of the clear results, the authors emphasize that sexual function was not recorded preoperatively, to avoid unsettling the patients.

The study has been published in the current issue of Deutsches Arzteblatt International. (ANI)

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Novel minimally invasive surgery for treating spinal cancer patients

September 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 8 (ANI): Doctors at Toronto Western Hospital have come up with a new minimally invasive, outpatient spine surgical procedure for treating cancer that has spread to the spine.

It is believed that almost 40-50 percent of metastic cancers end up in the spine and the most common primary cancers to spread to the bones of the spine are breast and lung cancer.

Spinal tumours can drastically affect a patient’s quality of life and result in pain and reduced mobility.

A spinal tumour or a growth of any kind can impinge on nerves, leading to pain, neurological problems and sometimes paralysis.

The new procedure involves a small incision in the back (the size of a loonie) in order to remove the tumour and stabilize the damaged spine.

Other than providing a shorter recovery time, its benefits also include allowing patients to receive radiation treatment shortly after surgery.

Traditional surgical methods involve a longer and more painful recovery process, thus making patients to wait weeks before resuming radiation treatment.

The combination of surgery and radiation leads to better outcomes and quality of life. (ANI)

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Oestrogen treatment safe for some metastatic breast cancer patients

August 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, August 19 (ANI): A study conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and collaborating institutions suggests that when oestrogen-lowering drugs no longer control metastatic breast cancer, the opposite strategy may work.

During the study, increasing oestrogen levels was found to benefit 30 percent of women whose metastatic breast cancer no longer responded to standard anti-oestrogen treatment.

Not only did oestrogen treatment often stop disease progression, in some patients metastatic tumours became resensitised and again responded to anti-oestrogen treatments.

“The women in the study had all experienced a relapse while on estrogen-lowering drugs, and their disease was progressing. So they were faced with undergoing chemotherapy. We found that estrogen treatment stopped disease progression in many patients and was much better tolerated than chemotherapy would have been,” says lead author Dr. Matthew J. Ellis, an oncologist with the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

The study involved 66 postmenopausal women with breast cancer that had spread beyond the breast. All participants were originally diagnosed with oestrogen receptor positive (ER ) breast tumours, meaning oestrogen stimulated tumour growth.

Seventy-five percent of breast cancer cases are ER. All participants had received aromatase inhibitor treatment, which severely lowers oestrogen levels, but their metastatic tumours had later reappeared or resumed growing.

The research team compared a high 30-milligram daily dose of oestrogen to a low 6-milligram daily dose, and evaluated how well the treatments controlled the women’s metastatic cancers, and how the treatments affected their quality of life.

Ellis said that 30 per cent of the participants were found to experience a clinical benefit-their tumours either shrank or stopped growing.

Interestingly, the researchers could even predict fairly accurately which patients would have the positive response.

Conducting standard positron emission tomography (PET) scans before oestrogen treatment and 24 hours later, they observed that metastatic tumors that glowed more brightly after oestrogen was started were much more likely to be affected by oestrogen therapy.

In 80 percent of women with PET flare reactions, tumours responded to oestrogen therapy, and in 87 percent of women without PET flares, tumours did not respond to oestrogen.

Questionnaires filled out by the participants showed that adverse reactions to oestrogen during the study included headaches, bloating, breast tenderness, fluid retention, nausea, and vomiting. Patients receiving the high oestrogen dose had more severe side effects.

“The older women in the study were, the fewer estrogen-related symptoms they had. But overall, we demonstrated clearly that the low dose was better tolerated than the high dose and was just as effective for controlling metastatic disease,” says Ellis also professor of medicine in the Division of Oncology.

In the 30 percent of participants who responded to oestrogen, tumours often began to grow again after a period of months or years. But in a third of the recurring cases, the researchers showed that the women’s tumours had become resensitised to anti-oestrogen therapy.

The tumours shrank or stopped growing when the patients went back on their original aromatase inhibitor treatment.

The study has been reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (ANI)

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The ‘miracle’ boy who died 18 times celebrates his first b’day

August 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Aug 13 (ANI): A Brit baby boy has defied all odds after he died 18 times and lived to celebrate his first birthday.

Baby Warwick had been born with extreme complications, and his parents Leigh Dumighan, 36, and David Newcombe were told that he would have an appalling life ahead of him if he survived.

His parents were also warned that if Warwick pulled through he would still be severely disabled, not be able to see, hear, move around, or even know who they were.

The Coventry couple were forced to make the hardest decision of their lives, choosing to take him out of his incubator, withdraw his treatment and allow him to die with dignity in their arms.

They stayed with him in a private hospital room for eight days, giving him the cuddles they had been unable to and waiting for him to pass away.

But Warwick fought to survive and, despite ceasing to breathe 18 times, he lived to celebrate his first birthday, which his parents thought they would never see.

While little Warwick has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, he is neither blind, deaf and has escaped other problems predicted for him.

“When we took the decision to let him pass away, it was the hardest thing we have ever had to do,” News.com.au quoted Leigh as saying.

“The prognosis was highly likely that he would be deaf, blind, bedridden and quadriplegic – the quality of life he would have had would have just been unbearable.

“That’s why we decided to take him off treatment, I knew he’d had enough. We wanted to give him all the cuddles and kisses every baby needs and deserves without all the wires and pain.

“The hospital gave us a private room to say goodbye in and told us to get him baptised as quickly as possible.

“He was on a do not resuscitate order but he seemed to start himself back up. Warwick brought himself back to life, they didn’t even expect him to last one night – he had no drugs or treatment, nothing.

“What happened to Warwick is a pure miracle, it’s as simple as that,” she said.

Doctors allowed Leigh and David to take tiny Warwick home to their house in Coventry when he weighed just 1.4kg on September 5.

And three months later he was given the all clear by medics, who said he was not going to die.

“We went to hospital on October 6 and saw a heart specialist and brain specialist,” Leigh, who is now involved with baby charity Bliss, said.

“That’s when we had the amazing news that the heart infection had completely cleared up and that he was going to survive.

“Now when people see him who don’t know he has the palsy they have no idea there is anything wrong with him at all.

“When he gets older I know he will be able to crawl and talk and the fact he is celebrating his birthday is amazing when you think about what has happened to him.

“A year ago we made the right decision – I know that because he survived. He is not meant to be here, but he is and I think it is a miracle.

“I hope his story just gives hope to other mums of premature babies,” she added. (ANI)

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Money helps people feel better, but doesn’t necessarily improve quality of life

August 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, August 9 (ANI): Money may help people feel better about their lives, but it may not necessarily improve their quality of life, say two of the world’s leading psychological experts on happiness.

Dr. Ed Diener, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener, of the Centre for Applied Positive Psychology in Milwaukee, said so while speaking at the 117th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association on Saturday.

“People should avoid the trap of over-emphasizing financial matters and consider a complete portfolio of resources. This will help them cope when hard times are imminent,” said Diener.

He also referred to a poll for which the Gallup Organization surveyed more than 136,000 people in 132 countries from 2005 to 2006.

The researcher revealed that the poll looked at several economic factors, such as income and the wealth of the respondents’ countries, in connection with each person’s psychological needs, such as respect, happiness, personal life evaluation and support from family and friends.

The poll showed that the average person was relatively happy and satisfied with his or her life, but a larger income was more directly related to a stronger sense of happiness than with any other factor.

The researchers observed that the people who thought they had a great life reported higher income, but larger salaries die not mean that such persons felt happier on a day-to-day basis.

According to Diener, this may surprise some people who have long heard that money can’t buy happiness.

“Money is an object that many or most people highly desire and pursue during most of their waking hours. It would be surprising if making more money had no influence whatsoever when people are asked to evaluate their lives,” said Diener.

The survey, however, also revealed that a larger income did not necessarily contribute to a person’s day-to-day feelings of happiness, stronger social relationships or feeling of respect.

“Essentially, we have two forms of prosperity: economic and psychological. I don’t know if one is better than the other. But what we’ve found is that while money may be able to make people lead more comfortable lives, it won’t necessarily contribute to life’s pleasant moments that come from engaging with people and activities rather than from material goods and luxuries,” said Diener.

Biswas-Diener said it’s this kind of “psychological wealth” that can help people get through the recent financial downturn.

Some scientifically proven coping methods include learning a new skill, meeting new people, using humour and prayer, and having supportive friends.

“Adaptation to both good and bad events is part of our psychological wealth because it helps us to move forward in life,” said Biswas-Diener. (ANI)

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1,650 immigrants per day wrecking the quality of life in UK: Poll

July 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, July 14(ANI): A major poll has found that almost half of all Brits consider the record 1,650 immigrants settling in every day are wrecking the quality of life in UK.

The YouGov poll, commissioned by Optimum Population Trust, also found that two-thirds of the 2,000 people demanded a limit imposed to stem the flow of immigrants to stop population explosion, The Daily Star reports.

Further, the poll revealed that almost 74 per cent blamed Britain’s open-door policies for clogged roads and crowded trains and buses.

Migrants were also blamed for the lack of affordable housing and were regarded as a strain on public services like school and hospitals.

“The poll demonstrates public unhappiness at the pressure on public services,” Shadow Immigration Minister Damian Green said.

“It shows why we badly need an annual limit on immigration,” he added.Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Phil Woolas has said that UK’s new points-based system would ensure that only the people Britain needs would be allowed to work and study. (ANI)

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Jordan ‘to launch own charity’

July 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, July 05 (ANI): Katie Price will soon start her own charity organization called Katie Price Foundation to improve her image after the negative publicity she received following her split with estranged husband Peter Andre, according to sources.

The charity will focus on helping sick and disabled children to enjoy a better quality of life.he 31-year-old’s own son Harvey was born part-blind and has had health and learning difficulties since birth which led her to think about the charity.

“Harvey’s condition has caused her years of pain and she understands the struggle parents go through with a disabled child. She wants to help other parents like her who are less fortunate,” the Mirror quoted a source as saying.

According to sources, the model felt emotionally flat for being tagged the “baddie” after she went to Ibiza for clubbing following her break-up with Andre. (ANI)

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Koraput Tribals launch sanitation drive

July 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Koraput (Orissa), July 4 (ANI): Tribals in Orissa’s Koraput District have launched a sanitation drive to keep their villages clean and hygienic.

‘Sanjog’, a government run programme, was organised jointly by Panchayat Raj department, women and child department, health department and education department at the block level.

Villagers themselves decided to take up the cause of maintaining cleanliness and building toilets.

“Earlier, tribals were not able to understand how to use toilets and how to clean hands with soap after using them. I tried explaining all these things to them. Now they have understood. Whatever government has done for them it is very good. I am very happy. Now they don’t go out in the open, they visit toilets only,” said Sabita Pujari, Village Sarpanch.

An awareness rally was organised to educate villagers how to use toilets built for their convenience.

Also, they were educated to wash their hands with soap after going to the toilet or before meals and children were taught to keep their school premises clean.

“The objective of the programme is to provide water and sanitation facilities to improve the quality of life of rural people of the Koraput district. We have done number of activities. The first was to provide individual toilets at the village level to all households and to cover all school toilets,” said Sankali Biswal, District Programme Coordinator.

Earlier, poor hygiene and lack of sanitation were causing diarrhoea among children and adults in the region. (ANI)

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Electricity lights up lives of Jharkhand villagers

May 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Koderma (Jharkhand), May 21 (ANI): Farmers in Jharkhand’s Koderma district are benefiting from the recent electrification of their villages.

40 villages in Chandwara subdivision of Koderma have been electrified under the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme.

The villagers are happy that darkness ends, the electricity lighting up their homes.

The biggest benefit has been to farming. The farmers can now use power-generated water pumps to irrigate their lands during dry summers.

“Our village got electricity in November 2008. Electrification of the village has really helped us. Our children can now study. It has also facilitated farming. We can use fans, watch television and charge our mobile phones. Moreover when there was no electricity, we were forced to live in the dark. But now things have changed,” said Rambriksha Ram, a farmer.

The final stage of the project is underway. The project is expected to be completed within a month.

“This is in the final stage. It will be completed within a month. It has a capacity of 33/11 KB. 40 villages will get electricity from this plant,” said Mohammed Hasib, Site Supervisor, Koderma Power Sub Station.

The Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme named after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was started by the government to facilitate availability of electricity for accelerated growth and enrichment of quality of life of rural population. By Girija Shankar Ojha (ANI)

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New drug-free treatment for patients with severe asthma

May 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 19 (ANI): A new drug-free treatment has been found to benefit patients with severe, uncontrolled asthma, say researchers.

Asthmatx Inc has developed a device called Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System, which has led to significant improvements in quality of life and reductions in asthma attacks and emergency room visits for patients who underwent the treatment.

The devices heat the walls of the lung’s air passages to reduce the amount of muscle tissue and potentially inhibit narrowing of the airways.

“One of the reasons I find this treatment exciting is that many patients with severe asthma are already taking the best drug therapy we have and are still experiencing debilitating symptoms,” says the study’s lead U.S. investigator, Dr Mario Castro, a Washington University pulmonary specialist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

“This device provides a meaningful new treatment for such patients,” he added.

During the study, the researchers compared bronchial thermoplasty to standard medical care for moderate to severe asthma.

The trail showed that the device reduced asthma exacerbations and provided more symptom-free days than standard care.

The treated group had an average 32 percent reduction in the rate of severe exacerbations and 84 percent fewer visits to the emergency department for respiratory symptoms compared to the sham group.

“It was clear that the treatment did benefit most patients who received it,” said Castro.

The findings were presented at the international conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego. (ANI)

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Air Chief F. H. Major lays foundation stone of Officers’ Mess in Leh

May 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Leh, May 18 (ANI): Air Chief Marshal F. H. Major on Monday laid the foundation stone of the Officers’ Mess during his visit to the highest operational airbase of the world in Leh.

During his visit, Air Chief Marshal Major also inspected various units at the base and addressed the station personnel and interacted with the key appointments.

The Air Chief, who is due to demit office on May 31, expressed satisfaction with the operational readiness of the units and stressed upon the need for continued improvement in the quality of life of the personnel posted at such high altitudes.

He further took stock of different welfare measures being undertaken by the station administration for the welfare of the station personnel.

The Air Chief Marshal commanded the airbase from September 20, 1999 to February 3, 2002. (ANI)

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Novel tool to predict Alzheimer’s risk in elderly developed

May 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 14 (ANI): Researchers from University of California, San Francisco have developed a new tool that may help predict whether people age 65 and older have a high risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

They have developed a new risk index that could be very important in determining Alzheimer’s risk in elderly.

“It could be used to identify people at high risk for dementia for studies on new drugs or prevention methods,” said Dr Deborah E. Barnes of the University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Centre and member of the American Academy of Neurology.

“The tool could also identify people who have no signs of dementia but should be monitored closely, allowing them to begin treatment as soon as possible, and potentially helping them maintain their thinking and memory skills and quality of life longer,” she added.

The risk index is a 15-point scale. People who score eight or more points on the scale are at high risk of developing dementia in the next six years.

To develop the index, researchers in the Cardiovascular Health Study examined 3,375 people with an average age of 76 and no evidence of dementia and followed them for six years.

During that time, 480 of the people, or 14 percent, developed dementia. The researchers then determined which factors best predicted who would develop dementia and created the point index.

A total of 56 percent of those with high scores on the index developed dementia, compared to 23 percent of those with moderate scores and four percent of those with low scores.

The study showed, overall the index correctly classified 88 percent of the participants.

The researchers are conducting further studies for evaluating whether a shorter, more simplified index could be as accurate as this index.

The study appears in journal of Neurology. (ANI)

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Home-based UVB therapy for psoriasis as safe as hospital treatment

May 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, May 08 (ANI): Treating psoriasis patients with ultraviolet B (UVB) at home is as effective and as safe as conventional hospital based phototherapy, a new study has found.

The findings also showed that patients find home UVB therapy less of a burden and are more satisfied with treatment.

Psoriasis is a common, chronic inflammatory skin condition that causes significant disability to sufferers and their families.

Most dermatologists believe that home phototherapy is inferior to hospital treatment and that it carries more risks, despite there being no evidence to support this.

So, a team of researchers in the Netherlands compared the safety and effectiveness of home phototherapy with standard hospital based phototherapy.

They identified 196 patients with psoriasis from 14 hospital dermatology departments. Patients were randomised to receive either home UVB phototherapy or hospital based phototherapy.

The home group used a phototherapy unit in their homes, while the hospital group received the treatment at their local hospital.

Both treatment at home and at the hospital were applied according to standard routine practice. Disease severity after treatment was measured using recognised scoring scales. Side effects and total cumulative dose of UVB were also recorded.

Both groups completed questionnaires to assess the burden of treatment, quality of life and patient satisfaction for the two treatment settings.

The results showed that home phototherapy is equally safe and equally effective as outpatient phototherapy, both clinically and in terms of quality of life.

Researchers also found that patients treated at home reported a significantly lower burden of treatment and greater satisfaction with treatment. And the majority of patients said they would prefer home UVB therapy to hospital-based therapy in the future.

The study appears on bmj.com. (ANI)

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McDonalds building 30 new restaurants in New Zealand

May 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment

McDonalds building 30 new restaurants in New ZealandMcDonalds is thriving despite the recession, announcing a plan today to spend $100 million to build 30 new restaurants in New Zealand by 2011.

Mark Hawthorne from McDonald’s management team says the expansion will mean more freestanding restaurants this year than a combination of the last eight years.

McDonalds has experienced a 10 percent increase in sales this year and with a declining property market, the foodchain is finding land easy to find for the restaurants.

David Bibby, business analyst from Auckland University of Technology, says the company is looking to increase its presence in New Zealand.

“They’ve looked overseas and they think the country can stand that number of increased outlets so good on them,” says Bibby.

McDonalds says it has one restaurant for every 30,000 New Zealanders, while Australia has one store for every 28,000 and American has one for every 22,000 people.

McDonalds says if they were as popular in New Zealand as they are in America they would be doubling the amount of restaurants.

New Zealand currently has 143 outlets across the country.

The expansion plans have alarmed some groups with residents from Auckland’s Balmoral suburb fighting a planned new restaurant.

Nathan Inkpen from Balmoral’s Community Group says the area is afraid the McDonalds store will create traffic chaos.

“They will impact on my quality of life. If it was a 24 hour falafel joint with 2000 cars I’d be just as opposed,” says Mr Inkpen.

McDonalds are also being criticised for encouraging unhealthy eating, an issue Mr Hawthorne says has been improved upon.

“McDonalds has made a lot of progress over the past five years with variety and improvement of our food,” says Hawthorne.

Despite criticisms, McDonalds say their expansion will be healthy for employment in New Zealand with six thousand more jobs created by 2011.

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