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Mri Data Showing Tysabri® Promoted Remyelination Presented At The 61st Annual Meeting Of The American Academy Of Neurology
Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) and Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) announced results of a study demonstrating that TYSABRI® (natalizumab) promoted regeneration and stabilization of damage done to the myelin sheath, as measured by advanced MRI technology. Damage to the myelin sheath causes the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Additional posters will also be presented during the Congress highlighting the ability of TYSABRI, in some patients, to improve physical function and patient reported outcomes on cognition, quality of life, and fatigue. TYSABRI is the first approved MS therapy with reported data suggesting that some of the signs of disease progression can be stopped. The strong efficacy profile demonstrated in clinical trials is enhanced further from these data and may help redefine success in MS.

Caucasians Are At Higher Risk Of Developing Ewing's Sarcoma Than Other Races
The largest analysis of its kind has found that Caucasians are much more likely than people in other racial/ethnic groups to develop a rare bone and soft tissue cancer called Ewing"s sarcoma. In addition, among Caucasians with this cancer, men are more likely to die than women. Published in the August 1, 2009 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that examining the gender and racial differences related to Ewing"s sarcoma could provide a better understanding of the disease and could lead to improved treatments for patients.
News of the day
What Are Cataracts? What Causes Cataracts?
Cataracts are cloudy areas in the lens inside the eye - which is normally clear. Cataracts can develop in one or both eyes. If they develop in both eyes, one will be more severely affected than the other. A normally clear lens allows light to pass through to the back of the eye, so that the patient can see well-defined images. If a part of the lens becomes opaque light does not pass through easily and the patient"s vision becomes blurry - like looking through cloudy water or a fogged-up window. The more opaque (cloudier) the lens becomes, the worse the person"s vision will be.
Mental Health

Total Knee Replacement Appears Cost-Effective In Older Adults

Total knee replacement (arthroplasty) appears to be a cost-effective procedure for older adults with advanced osteoarthritis, according to a report in the June 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The procedure appears to be cost-effective across all patient risk groups, and appeared more costly and less effective in low-volume centers than in high-volume centers. Approximately 12 percent of adults older than 60 have symptoms of knee osteoarthritis, and their direct medical costs are estimated to range from $1,000 to $4,100 per person per year, according to background information in the article. "Total knee arthroplasty is a frequently performed and effective procedure that relieves pain and improves functional status in patients with end-stage knee osteoarthritis," the authors write. "Almost 500,000 total knee arthroplasties were performed in the United States in 2005 at a cost exceeding $11 billion. Projections indicate dramatic growth in the use of total knee arthroplasty over the next two decades." Elena Losina, Ph.D., of Brigham and Women"s Hospital and the Boston University School of Public Health, and colleagues developed a computer simulation model and populated it with Medicare claims data and cost and outcomes data from national and multinational s. They then projected lifetime costs and quality-adjusted life expectancy-or the number of years remaining of good health-for patients at different levels of risk and receiving total knee arthroplasty at high-volume or low-volume facilities. Overall, having a total knee arthroplasty increased quality-adjusted life expectancy of the Medicare population (average age 74) from 6.822 to 7.957 quality-adjusted life years (years of life in perfect health). Total costs increased from $37,100 among individuals not receiving total knee arthroplasty to $57,900 per person undergoing total knee arthroplasty, resulting in a cost-effectiveness ratio of $18,300 per quality-adjusted life year. Therefore, total knee arthroplasty is a highly cost-effective procedure for the management of end-stage knee osteoarthritis compared with non-surgical treatments and is within the range of accepted cost-effectiveness for other musculoskeletal procedures, the authors note. "This result is robust across a broad range of assumptions regarding both patient risk and hospital volume," they write. "For patients who choose to undergo total knee arthroplasty, hospital volume plays an important role: regardless of patient risk level, higher-volume centers consistently deliver better outcomes. But the additional survival benefits associated with high-volume centers provide limited cost-effectiveness benefits for high-risk patients deliberating between medium- and high-volume centers." Even procedures performed in low-volume centers were more cost-effective than not having total knee arthroplasty, regardless of the patient"s risk of complications. "Clinicians, patients and policy makers should consider the relative cost-effectiveness of total knee arthroplasty in making decisions about who should undergo total knee arthroplasty, where and when," the authors conclude. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169[12]:1113-1121 Archives of Internal Medicine


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