| FCC to Provide $400M for Rural Telemedicine Networks
CONCORD — Public and private partnerships across the Carolinas and Georgia will receive millions of dollars in federal funds to set up high-speed wireless networks designed for telemedicine and electronic health records.The Federal Communications Commission announced Monday that more than $400 million will be spent over three years to help create state-wide and regional healthcare networks in 42 states and three U.S. territories.Each of the networks are to be connected to national high-speed infrastructure such as Internet 2 and the National Lambda Rail."This is huge," said Jane Patterson, who runs the e-NC program which is tasked with helping spread broadband access across North Carolina. "This is critical. It will provide better quality of healthcare for people, especially in rural areas, and connect patients with doctors.
Summary Report Of New Asthma Guidelines
More than 22 million Americans have asthma. It is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood, affecting about 6 million children. With these statistics in mind, The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently released the 2007 asthma guidelines, Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR 3): Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma, a report in excess of 300 pages.
A summary of the guidelines will be published as a supplement to the November 2007 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI), the official journal of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI). The EPR 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma, Summary Report, 2007, will be available on the JACI's Web site, http://www.jacionline.org on November 8, 2007.
FORTEO(R) Increased Spine Bone Mineral Density in Patients with Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteoporosis
Glucocorticoid therapy is the most common cause of secondary osteoporosis,(2) leading to bone loss and an increased risk for fracture. Data indicate that glucocorticoids are used by up to three out of every 100 adults (3 percent) over age 50,(3) and up to 50 percent of individuals on chronic glucocorticoid therapy will eventually have an osteoporotic fracture.(4) Glucocorticoids are prescribed to treat many conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and inflammatory bowel disease.(4,5) "Currently, there is a lack of variety in treatment choices for patients receiving chronic glucocorticoid medication who are at high risk for fractures," said lead investigator Kenneth G. Saag, M.D., MSc, professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
Novel MRI Technique Shows Secondhand Smoke Damages Lungs
For the first time, researchers have identified structural damage to the lungs caused by secondhand cigarette smoke. The results of the study, conducted by researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). .
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