Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited, lifelong chronic disorder affecting nearly 100,000 Americans and a growing global health problem that will touch nearly 30 percent more people globally in the next three decades. Though new approaches to managing SCD have led to improvements in diagnosis and supportive care, people living with the disease still have severe complications to overcome. Many are unable to access quality care and are limited by a lack of effective treatment options.
In an effort to identify unmet medical needs for people with SCD, the American Society of Hematology (ASH), along with other groups, issued the State of Sickle Cell Disease: 2016 Report, evaluating the disease in four priority areas — access to care, training and professional education, research and clinical trials, and global health. The report shows that significant improvements are needed across all areas and that, though patients are living longer, the system of care needs to change to ensure a better quality of life. To address these challenges, ASH launched the Sickle Cell Disease Coalition along with more than 20 other organizations who are issuing a call to action that will amplify the voice of the SCD community, promote SCD awareness, and transform SCD care both in the United States and around the globe.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7903251-american-society-hematology-sickle-cell-coalition/
LivaNova PLC (NASDAQ:LIVN; LSE: LIVN) (“LivaNova” or the “Company”), a market-leading medical technology and innovation company, today recognizes that more than one million people in the United States with drug-resistant epilepsy continue to be treated unsuccessfully with drugs, despite the proven effectiveness of non-drug treatment options. LivaNova’s VNS Therapy®, for example, is a medical device treatment specifically designed for people with drug-resistant epilepsy that is already used by more than 85,000 people around the world.
One in three people with epilepsy has the type that is not well controlled with drugs, called drug-resistant epilepsy. For those people, prescribing more medicine is usually not the most effective option. In fact, research shows that if you haven’t found seizure freedom after your first two drugs, there is a 95 percent chance that no drug or combination of drugs will result in seizure freedom.
“Despite what we know about drug-resistant epilepsy, the majority of people affected by this condition will continue to be prescribed additional medications instead of being evaluated for surgery or seen in a specialized epilepsy facility,” said Jason Richey, president of LivaNova’s U.S. Region and general manager of the Neuromodulation Business Franchise. “This treatment gap means over one million individuals in the U.S. with undertreated epilepsy remain at risk for dangerous side effects of continued seizures, including injury, depression, memory issues and death.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7966451-livanova-vns-therapy-epilepsy/
Today, WebMD released The Cutting Edge of Cancer a five-part investigative video series developed in partnership with Robin Roberts and her independent production company, Rock’n Robin Productions. Through compelling patient stories and insights from medical experts, The Cutting Edge of Cancer, supported by Cancer Treatment Centers of America®, highlights some of the most promising areas of medical innovation in cancer care, including early detection, immunotherapy, genomic research, and integrative medicine.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7579755-webmd-robin-roberts-cutting-edge-of-cancer/
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) today announced it has committed $40.3 million in new research investments to advance the most promising blood cancer science at leading academic and medical centers around the world, including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston; Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York; MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston; Fondazione Centro San Raffaele in Milan; and South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute in Adelaide.
This $40.3 million investment, comprised of 75 new research grants in LLS’s portfolio of 300 projects, will fund a diverse array of research to find better treatments and cures for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood cancers.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7554855-lls-invests-millions-new-research-treatment-cures/
HealthCare Partners, a division of DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA), a leading independent medical group in the United States, is encouraging Medicare beneficiaries to review their health care coverage during Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period.
From October 15 through December 7, Medicare holds its annual Open Enrollment Period. During this seven-week window, Medicare beneficiaries can make changes to their health and prescription drug plans for the following year.
If you are satisfied with your Medicare coverage, you may wonder how open enrollment applies to you. As the old adage goes, “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” right?
While this may certainly be the case for many things in life, it may not be true about your Medicare coverage. Choosing a Medicare plan is similar to shopping for other insurance; by comparing different plans and rates, you choose the coverage that’s best for you.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7920151-healthcare-partners-medicare-open-enrollment/
International Medical Group® (IMG®), a leader in global benefits and assistance services, today announced the company’s new corporate branding and logo.
“After more than 25 years as a leader in the industry, it was time to refresh our brand identity,” said IMG President and CEO Todd A. Hancock. “The new logo reflects IMG’s focus on providing a foundation of security, health and well-being for our members while they’re away from home.”
IMG’s constituents — members, intermediaries, partners and employees — are represented by the logo’s four inverted angles. These angles are symbolic of a flock of Arctic terns, birds whose annual migration is the longest of any animal in the world.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7950351-international-medical-group-rebrands/
HMR Weight Management Services Corp. (HMR), a subsidiary of Merck, held its position as a No. 1 “Best Fast Weight-Loss Diet” in the 2017 Best Diets rankings released today by U.S. News & World Report. It’s the second year in a row HMR earned the top spot in the category, which was added to the annual rankings list last year.
“HMR’s highly structured diet and lifestyle change program is designed to help people lose weight quickly while learning the skills they need to keep it off,” said Carol Addy, M.D. MMSc, Chief Medical Officer at HMR. “Fast weight loss without lifestyle change isn’t sustainable. HMR gets fast weight loss, but our true expertise is helping people learn realistic ways to incorporate new healthy behaviors into their everyday lives.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/8003751-hmr-best-fast-weight-loss-diet-2017/
WebMD and Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) today announced a new investigative study designed to improve researchers’ and health care professionals’ understanding of what contributes to healthy pregnancies and positive pregnancy outcomes. The Healthy Pregnancy Study will use WebMD’s newly redesigned and enhanced Pregnancy app for iPhone. Incorporation of the Apple ResearchKit software framework will enable survey participants to eConsent, easily and anonymously answer questions, and share connected device data about their pregnancies with researchers for analysis.
“Pregnant women are one of the least studied populations in medical research,” said Dr. Eric Topol, director of STSI and editor-in-chief of Medscape. “The results of our Healthy Pregnancy Study -- on the foundation of an exceptionally popular smartphone app -- will ultimately provide expectant mothers, researchers, and health care professionals with new medical insights to avoid complications during pregnancy.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/7579757-webmd-stsi-healthy-pregnancy-study-app/
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is naming the institution’s principal research tower after Donald Pinkel, M.D., whose legacy of driving progress toward advancing cures for pediatric catastrophic diseases continues at the institution today.
When St. Jude was established 55 years ago, Pinkel, the hospital’s first medical director, committed to finding cures for childhood cancer, leading to groundbreaking treatments that saved countless children’s lives. Many of these cancers were deemed incurable prior to Pinkel’s research, but his distinct approach to eradicating diseases established a model for how cancers could be treated.
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/7924752-st-jude-childrens-research-hospital-donald-pinkel-tower/
Living with type 1 diabetes comes with many unique challenges in all stages of life. For parents of children with the condition, financial, medical and emotional worries can be overwhelming. To help support people with diabetes and those who love them, Lilly Diabetes today announced it will donate $94,000 to the American Diabetes Association (Association) Campership program and $100,000 to the Diabetes Scholars Foundation (Foundation).
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/8004851-lilly-diabetes-scholarship-donations/
Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) today is introducing the Halcyon™ system, an entirely new device for cancer treatment. Engineered to revolutionize clinical workflow, Halcyon simplifies and enhances virtually every aspect of image-guided volumetric intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). This new treatment system is designed to expand the availability of high quality cancer care globally and help save the lives of millions more cancer patients.
“The global cancer challenge is enormous,” said Kolleen Kennedy, president of Varian's Oncology Systems business. “It is expected that there will be 24.6 million cancer cases diagnosed annually by 2030, and there is an acute shortage of equipment and trained clinicians. With the innovations in this new technology platform, the system will deliver high quality Halcyon treatments that empower clinicians to care for many more patients. At Varian we are very excited with the introduction of Halcyon to be taking another big step toward advancing cost-effective cancer care worldwide.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8065951-varian-medical-systems-halcyon-cancer-treatment/
Hunova, the first robotic gym for the rehabilitation and functional motor sense evaluation of lower limbs and trunk, has been officially launched in Genoa, Italy. The first 30 robots will be available from June in Europe and the USA. The technology was developed and patented at the IIT laboratories and has been launched on the market thanks to a 10 million euro investment from entrepreneur Sergio Dompè.
Hunova is a programmable robotic medical device that allows professionals in the geriatrics, neurology and sport rehabilitation field to cure and predict many neurological and orthopedic conditions. There are two main competitive advantages of this technology: Hunova is able to collect a significant amount of data on biomechanics, constantly monitoring the patient’s progress. Secondly, it provides direct support to the patient through a guiding robotic system, offering a wide range of rehabilitation protocols in the form of video games. It consists of two electromechanical platforms equipped with sensors, characterized by two degrees of freedom (feet and seat level). The device integrates the force sensors to adjust the interaction with the patient and a wireless sensor, which is placed on the patient’s trunk, allowing the physiotherapist to check the movement of the torso.
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8108951-iit-movendo-launch-robot-hunova/
