Public release date: 23-Apr-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi jason.bardi@ucsf.edu 415-502-4608 University of California - San Francisco Ten years ago, a landmark clinical trial in Canada demonstrated the unequivocal effectiveness of brain surgeries for treating uncontrolled epilepsy, but since then the procedure has not been widely adoptedin fact, it is dramatically underutilized according to a new study from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The study, published this month in the journal Neurology, showed that the number of Americans having the surgery has not changed in the decade since release of the effectiveness study, though surgical treatment is now uniformly encouraged by neurology and neurosurgery professional societies. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 2 million Americans have epilepsy. Hundreds of thousands of these men, women and children suffer from uncontrolled seizures, but nationally only a few hundred are treated surgically each year with UCSF performing about 50 of the operations. Among people who do have the operation, the study found, there are significant disparities by race and insurance status. White patients were more likely to have surgery than racial minorities, and privately insured patients were more likely to undergo surgery … Continue reading →

COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire -04/23/12)- With recent research finding that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects one in 88 children in the U.S., Battelle scientists have identified a low-cost urine test that potentially predicts the presence of this complex developmental disorder at an early age. ASD, which is defined by behavioral characteristics, has been difficult for physicians to diagnose at an early age before these behaviors become more apparent (usually about two years of age or older). The Battelle team of Drs. Nicholas Heyer and Diana Echeverria joined with Professor James Woods at the University of Washington's School of Public Health to evaluate the levels of porphyrins in the urine of children with ASD to determine if certain levels of specific porphyrins could predict ASD. Identifying this link may have important clinical implications for diagnosis and treatment. The ability to detect porphyrins, a group of naturally occurring organic compounds, in a simple urine test allows for a rapid, low-cost and widely used screening test for identifying young children at a high risk for ASD. Woods is a world expert in porphyrins. He collected urine samples from a study group of children with ASD and age-matched controls. Woods published his initial results indicating higher … Continue reading →

Bayer Inc. welcomes support for public reimbursement of new treatment TORONTO, April 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Hundreds of thousands of Canadians living with atrial fibrillation (AF) are now one step closer to getting public reimbursement for a newstroke prevention therapy - news that was welcomed today by Bayer Inc. The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) through the Common Drug Review (CDR), has positively recommended to Canada's provincial and other publicly funded drug plans that they reimburse the Bayer Inc. once-daily oral anticoagulant Xarelto (rivaroxaban tablet), for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular AF, in whom warfarin is indicated, and who meet all of the following criteria: are unable to achieve adequate anticoagulation with warfarin and have a CHADS2 score of 2. This recommendation is based on a review of cost-effectiveness and clinical evidence supported by ROCKET AF, a randomized, double-blind global Phase III study that compared once-daily Xarelto with warfarin in more than 14,000 patients, including 750 from Canada. Xarelto is indicated for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with AF, in whom anticoagulation is appropriate. "This positive recommendation is great news for patients with AF," said Doug … Continue reading →