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Endocrine Society Unveils First-Ever Scientific Statement
Endocrine Society Unveils First-Ever Scientific Statement: Inaugural Statement Identifies Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals as a Significant Concern to Public Health
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Potential Medical Applications For Interactive Data Eyeglasses
For car designers, secret agents in the movies and jet fighter pilots, data eyeglasses - also called head-mounted displays, or HMDs for short - are everyday objects. They transport the wearer into virtual worlds or provide the user with data from the real environment. At present these devices can only display information. "We want to make the eyeglasses bidirectional and interactive so that new areas of application can be opened up," says Dr. Michael Scholles, business unit manager at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden. A group of scientists at IPMS is working on a device which incorporates eye tracking - users can influence the content presented by moving their eyes or fixing on certain points in the image. Without having to use any other devices to enter instructions, the wearer can display new content, scroll through the menu or shift picture elements. Scholles believes that the bidirectional data eyeglasses will yield advantages wherever people need to consult additional information but do not have their hands free to operate a keyboard or mouse. The Dresden-based researchers have integrated their system"s eye tracker and image reproduction on a CMOS chip. This makes the HMDs small, light, easy to manufacture and inexpensive.
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Nevada Assembly Passes Bill To Protect Physicians On J-1 Visas
The Nevada Assembly last week voted to approve a bill (SB 229) that would authorize the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services to stop the exploitation of foreign physicians who have come to the state to provide care to residents in underserved areas, the Las Vegas Sun reports. The measure now goes to Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) for his approval (Allen, Las Vegas Sun, 5/28). A September 2007 Sun investigation of the J-1 visa program found that some foreign physicians were forced by their sponsors to work up to 100 hours per week, and were being "cheated out of their salaries" and "diverted from the patients" in underserved areas whom they were supposed to help (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 8/6/08).The legislation would make violations of the J-1 program more clearly punishable under state law and prosecutable by the attorney general"s office; charge J-1 physician sponsors a fee to cover the cost of enforcing the law; and protect whistle-blowers (Las Vegas Sun, 5/28).
Nutrition

New Data Confirm That Diovan(R) And Valsartan-Based Combinations Offer Patients Sustained, 24-hr BP-lowering Efficacy

Data presented at the 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) confirm that Diovan® (valsartan) and valsartan-based combinations deliver sustained, 24-hr blood pressure (BP)-lowering efficacy2-6. Studies have suggested that the relative risks of acute myocardial infarction, stroke and sudden cardiac death are 40%, 49% and 29% higher, respectively, when the period between 6 a.m. and noon is compared to the rest of the day1. Increases in heart rate and BP are known to occur as a person awakens from sleep; the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is also activated, possibly contributing to the morning BP rise1. "Blood pressure evaluation over 24 hours, as measured by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, is an accurate and important way to assess the effectiveness of an antihypertensive therapy," said Professor Rainer DÃÜsing, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Bonn, Germany. "If we can reduce and control blood pressure, and minimize the early-morning blood pressure surge in patients at high cardiovascular risk, we may have a better chance of improving patient outcomes." Results from five separate studies presented at ESH (EVALUATE2, VITAE3, EXPERT4, VALOROUS5 and "Study 2302"6) confirm that Diovan®, Co-Diovan® (valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide [HCT]), Exforge® (valsartan/amlodipine) and Exforge HCT® (valsartan/amlodipine/HCT) effectively reduce BP over the full 24-hour period. In addition, valsartan-based triple therapy was associated with greater reductions in ambulatory BP throughout the 24-hour period, when compared to respective dual combinations6. Exforge HCT was approved in the United States in April 2009 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for second-line treatment of hypertension7, and is currently undergoing regulatory review in the European Union. Study Highlights: - Results from the EVALUATE2 study, involving 482 patients with Stage 2 hypertension (JNC 7), demonstrated that Co-Diovan provided significantly greater reductions at the end of the study in both daytime and night-time mean ambulatory BP (ABP) than the combination of amlodipine/HCT (pð‰¤0.05). In addition, significantly more patients achieved ABP goal (125/80 mmHg over 30-hour ABPM reading), whether it was administered in the morning or in the evening (-11.5 ± 10 and -10.2 ± 9 mmHg, respectively; both pReferences 1. White WB. Importance of blood pressure control over a 24-hour period. J Manag Care Pharm 2007;13(8 Suppl B):34-9. 2. Black HR, et al. Comparison of 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure response with combination of valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide and amlodipine/hydrochlorothiazide in patients with stage 2 hypertension. 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension, June 14, 2009; Abstract No. 1168. Updated information presented at meeting. 3. Raij L, et al. Combination of valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide provides improved 24-hour blood pressure response compared with amlodipine/hydrochlorothiazide in prediabetic, obese, hypertensive patients. 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension, June 14, 2009; Abstract No. 1170. Updated information presented at meeting. 4. Asmar R, et al. Efficacy on blood pressure control, in essential hypertensive patients uncontrolled with amlodipine 5 mg of an amlodipine / valsartan combination: ExPERT Study. 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension, June 13, 2009; Abstract No. 714. 5. Palatini P, et al. The 24 hour blood pressure lowering efficacy of morning versus evening administration of valsartan compared to lisinopril based therapy in patients with hypertension. 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension, June 14, 2009; Abstract No. 907. Updated information presented at meeting. 6. Lacourciere Y, et al. Twenty-four hour ambulatory BP control of therapy with amlodipine/valsartan/HCTZ triple combination compared to dual therapy in patients with moderate to severe hypertension. 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension, June 14, 2009; Abstract No. 1412. Updated information presented at meeting. 7. IMS MIDAS sales data, May 2009. Novartis


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