Following FDA approval of the AspireSR® generator for the VNS Therapy® system in June 2015, more than a thousand patients with drug-resistant epilepsy across the United States have received this new treatment option. Many of these patients are experiencing benefits which have positively impacted their lives – and are sharing their stories during Epilepsy Awareness Month with the hope of encouraging others to seek new treatments for drug-resistant epilepsy. Numerous hospitals nationwide have begun providing the AspireSR device to patients with drug-resistant epilepsy – a condition that affects as many as one-third of people with epilepsy, causing them to have seizures in spite of treatment with antiepileptic medications.
The VNS Therapy system is a minimally invasive option in which a medical device is placed under the skin in the upper chest area during an outpatient procedure. The device sends mild electrical pulses through the vagus nerve to areas of the brain known to be associated with seizures. The new AspireSR generator takes the VNS Therapy technology a step further – detecting relative heart-rate increases that are often associated with seizures in people with epilepsy and providing responsive stimulation in an attempt to stop and shorten seizures and improve recovery.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7651751-livanova-aspiresr-treatment/
AARP’s ‘Random Acts of Kindness for Caregivers’ contest is underway. The contest encourages people of all ages to recognize and reward family caregivers in their lives in small but meaningful ways, especially during National Family Caregivers Month in November.
Many family caregivers spend 18 hours per week or more providing care like bathing, dressing, preparing meals, administering medications, driving to doctor visits, or paying bills. Sixty percent of caregivers are helping care for a loved one while holding down a job at the same time. ‘Random Acts of Kindness for Caregivers’ might be something as simple as doing a caregiver’s grocery shopping, taking their dog for a walk, or even cutting the lawn.
“I’ve been a family caregiver my entire adult life and I know that unexpected kindness can go a long way for a caregiver,” says AARP Family and Caregiving Expert Amy Goyer, author of the new book Juggling Life, Work, and Caregiving. “If you are not one of the 40 million caregivers in the U.S. now, you either have been a caregiver or will be one in the future.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7607231-aarp-caregivers/
November is National Family Caregivers Month and AARP is launching a national campaign to bring awareness to the important role that family caregivers play in the lives of their loved ones. AARP's Random Acts of Kindness for Caregivers contest will begin on October 15 with the goal of encouraging people to recognize and reward caregivers - many of whom spend 18 hours per week providing care like bathing, dressing, preparing meals, administering medications, driving to doctor visits or paying bills - in small but meaningful ways.
“Caregiving may be one of the greatest expressions of love and it's woven into the lives of one in six adults,” says AARP Family and Caregiving Expert Amy Goyer, author of the new book Juggling Life, Work and Caregiving. “A staggering 40 million family caregivers provide support for loved ones and, as a caregiver myself, I know that the smallest acts of kindness - like holding a door for someone pushing a wheelchair, surprising them with flowers, or even taking a caregiver's dog for a walk - can be memorable moments in the life of a caregiver.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7607231-aarp-caregivers/
Millennium Health, a leading health solutions company, today announced the launch of the Drop Them Off campaign, in partnership with the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation and the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids’ Medicine Abuse Project. Designed to increase awareness of the problem of youth misuse and abuse of prescription medicine, the campaign intends to educate parents and youth on how to properly use, store, and dispose of prescription medications by dropping them off at appropriate collection sites among other methods, to reduce access and opportunity for misuse or abuse. Educational content will be available online (www.DropThemOff.com) and through curriculum delivered through the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation’s community-based partners. Millennium Health is a Silver Sponsor of the Medicine Abuse Project, a campaign that aims to prevent half a million teens from abusing medicine by 2017.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7071752-millennium-health-drop-them-off/
Nancy Lieberman, basketball hall of famer, coach and mom, has teamed up with Sanofi’s consumer healthcare division Chattem Inc. to introduce a new, more effective player on the over-the-counter (OTC) allergy medication roster, Nasacort Allergy 24HR Nasal Spray. Now available in stores nationwide, Nasacort Allergy 24HR is different than other currently available OTC allergy medications. It puts the “Full ‘Cort Press” on the full range of nasal allergy symptoms for 24 hours with a once daily dose. Nasacort Allergy 24HR is the first and only medicine in its class to be available at full prescription strength without the need for a prescription.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/7122351-basketball-hall-of-famer-nancy-lieberman-nasacort-allergy-24hr
The first comprehensive long-term study comparing different medications for type 2 diabetes is launching nationwide. The GRADE (Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness) Study will compare the long-term benefits and risks of four widely used diabetes drugs in combination with metformin, the most common first-line medication for treating type 2 diabetes.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/64578-grade-glycemia-reduction-approaches-in-diabetes-comparative-effectiveness
Janssen Healthcare Innovation, a team within Janssen Research & Development, LLC focusing on optimizing healthcare delivery, announced today the launch of Care4Today™ Mobile Health Manager 2.0 (mhm.care4today.com). This free mobile platform and website is designed to help people stay on schedule with their medications with special features such as Care4Family™ and Care4Charity™ to support and motivate users to take their medications regularly.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/62572-janssen-healthcare-innovation-launches-care4today-mobile-health-manager
For the millions who suffer from Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) provides clinical evidence of safety and effectiveness for a new, FDA-approved medical device. Torax Medical’s LINX® Reflux Management System was studied in a controlled, prospective, multicenter trial involving 14 U.S. and European medical centers as part of the FDA pre-market approval process. The patients were evaluated before and after treatment to determine the effect of the LINX System on their GERD using pre-defined success criteria, which included reduction of esophageal acid, improvement in quality of life and elimination of reflux medications.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/60077-torax-medical-linx-reflux-management-system-clinical-study-published
Each December, smokers across America decide to quit as one of their New Year’s resolutions. Out of the more than 45 million smokers in the United States, nearly 69 percent want to quit. Tobacco-related disease is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States; smokers, therefore, need to be armed with all of the available information to make the best, most informed choices about the smoking cessation medications and resources available. Successful quitters, like Cindy, spend the season supporting smokers who are ready to take a step towards quitting in the New Year.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/58843-legacy-quit-smoking-cigarettes-ex-free-online-program-new-years-resolution
Sanofi (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) today announced that data from two Phase 2 trials with SAR236553/REGN727, an investigational, high-affinity, subcutaneously administered, fully-human antibody targeting PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9), were presented at the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) 61st Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.
The data showed that treatment with SAR236553/REGN727 over 8 to 12 weeks significantly reduced mean low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C, or “bad” cholesterol) by 40% to 72% in patients with elevated LDL-C on stable dose of statins.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/55299-sanofi-regeneron-pharmaceuticals-lipid-lowering-medications-pcsk9-antibody
Today Safe Kids Worldwide released a new research report that found while the death rate among children from poisoning has been cut in half since the late 1970s, the percentage of all child poisoning deaths due to medications has nearly doubled, from 36 percent to 64 percent.
Safe Storage, Safe Dosing, Safe Kids: A Report to the Nation on Safe Medication examines trends in morbidity and mortality of medication poisoning among children ages 14 and under. The report underscores the challenge of medication-related poisoning among children and offers solutions that will reverse the trends. Safe Kids also proposes specific roles that parents and other caregivers, industry, governments, and the medical community can play in improving medication safety through safe storage and safe dosing.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/55155-safe-kids-worldwide-medication-safety-campaign-research-report
According to a recent national survey, 17.1 percent of Americans lack health insurance, and more than nine million of the nation’s uninsured rely on federally qualified health centers (FQHC), non-profit community clinics and free clinics each year for primary care. While these clinics serve the critical health care needs of the uninsured, patients oftentimes cannot afford the medications prescribed by the clinic’s physicians, or navigate a fragmented system that only offers partial solutions. This is a particularly growing problem for America’s working poor.
Today, Medco Foundation and Dispensary of Hope (DOH), a not-for-profit pharmacy-focused social venture for the uninsured, introduced a new, national initiative to substantially improve the supply, delivery and management of critical prescription drugs to thousands of uninsured Americans who are managing a chronic illness.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/54424-medco-dispensary-of-hope-prescription-drug-program-clinics-uninsured
