More than 15 percent of reproductive-aged women have filled a prescription for an antidepressant medication during the years 2008–2013, according to a new analysis published today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month and the CDC is working with the March of Dimes to raise awareness about the use of antidepressant medications by women of reproductive age, and what women should know and do for their own health and that of their babies. There is conflicting evidence about the potential link between some antidepressants and certain birth defects. Some commonly used antidepressants are sertraline (Zoloft), bupropion (Wellbutrin, Zyban), and citalopram (Celexa).
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7709851-march-of-dimes-antidepressant-pregnancy-study/
Nationally-recognized and long-standing sports announcer Jerry Punch, M.D., is teaming up with Men’s Health Network and Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of Endo International plc (NASDAQ: ENDP) (TSX: ENL), to launch “Ask About the Curve,” a new educational campaign designed to raise awareness of Peyronie’s disease. Peyronie’s disease is a little-known men’s health condition that can occur during midlife or later. And, while the disease is physical in nature, the impact may also be psychological and could possibly hold men back from talking about it.
Peyronie’s disease, or “PD,” is a condition that can cause curvature of the penis that could be painful during arousal and intimacy. It can affect as many as one in 10 men worldwide, but diagnosis rates remain low because men with PD may be too uncomfortable to speak up and get help. Together with Endo and Men’s Health Network, Dr. Punch is encouraging men who think they might have PD to face their challenge head on by starting the conversation with their doctor.
“As a sports commentator, I’ve witnessed thousands of men on the court, on the field and on the racetrack in their physical prime – cool, confident and thriving in the face of challenge. But, as a licensed physician, I’ve seen how this bravado can turn to embarrassment – even isolation – when that challenge becomes personal or intimate,” said Dr. Punch. “Often, men feel too awkward to talk about issues like Peyronie’s disease, even with a doctor. And while it may seem tough, it’s important that any man with PD see a doctor, and ask about the curve. Starting the conversation is the first step to getting help.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7752151-ask-about-the-curve-psa/
CVS Health (NYSE:CVS), the nation’s largest pharmacy innovation company, today announced Be The First, a five-year $50 million initiative to help deliver the nation’s first tobacco-free generation. Through this initiative, which is funded through CVS Health and the CVS Health Foundation, the company is extending its commitment to help people lead tobacco-free lives. Recognizing that tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the United States and that youth use of some tobacco products is on the rise, Be The First comprises comprehensive education, advocacy, tobacco control and healthy behavior programming in partnership with organizations uniquely positioned to tackle this public health challenge.
“We are at a critical moment in our nation’s efforts to end the epidemic of tobacco use that continues to kill more people than any other preventable cause of death, and threatens the health and well-being of our next generation,” said Troyen A. Brennan, M.D., M.P.H., and Chief Medical Officer for CVS Health. “Ensuring our youth stay tobacco-free requires increased education and awareness of healthy behaviors. We’re partnering with experts across the public health community who have established best practices to help prevent tobacco use. And, by establishing more public-private partnerships to implement these strategies more aggressively, we can help increase the number of people leading tobacco-free lives and move us one step closer to delivering the first tobacco-free generation.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7775151-cvs-health-be-the-first/
SC Johnson, the world's leading manufacturer of pest control products, is using its 60 years of insect expertise to educate consumers as the Zika virus continues to spread. Immediately following the initial outbreak in Brazil, the company assembled its experts and began developing educational resources for consumers to understand how to best protect themselves against mosquitoes that may carry disease.
For nearly 60 years, SC Johnson entomologists have studied insects at the Entomology Research Center in Racine, Wis., the world's largest private, urban entomology research center. In their research, they help SC Johnson create products that consumers can trust and to provide them with the right product for their pest control needs. SC Johnson is the world's largest manufacturer of insect repellent and household insecticides, including OFF!®, Raid®, Autan® and Baygon®.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7787731-sc-johnson-zika-mosquito-protection/#release
SC Johnson, the world’s leading manufacturer of pest control products, is using its 60 years of insect expertise to educate consumers as the Zika virus continues to spread. Immediately following the initial outbreak in Brazil, the company assembled its experts and began developing educational resources for consumers to understand how to best protect themselves against mosquitoes that may carry disease.
In addition to educating consumers, SC Johnson is actively working with organizations around the world to donate and distribute product to those in need. In coordination with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation, SC Johnson supported the Zika Action Plan Summit held by the White House and the CDC on April 1, and also donated to the CDC’s Zika Prevention Kits. Additional donations have been made to AmeriCares, the Rio de Janeiro-based Children’s Health Association and the County of Hawaii Civil Defense Agency.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7787731-sc-johnson-zika-mosquito-protection/
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) will commemorate its 140th anniversary today with activities at Lilly locations worldwide, including a ceremony to unveil a statue dedicated to founder Colonel Eli Lilly at global headquarters in Indianapolis.
Over 14 decades, the organization has contributed more than 100 medicines and significant medical advances, such as the first commercially available insulin, manufacturing and global distribution of the Salk polio vaccine and mental health breakthroughs such as anti-depressant Prozac® (fluoxetine). Today Lilly continues to progress its most robust pipeline in history with dozens of potential new medicines in mid- to late-stage development for cancer, diabetes, autoimmune disease, pain and Alzheimer’s disease.
“As Lilly celebrates 140 years, we’re keeping the vision of our founder alive – from our dedication in the lab to our impact in the community,” said John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D., Lilly chairman, president and chief executive officer, who began his career at Lilly as a chemist in 1979. “Colonel Eli Lilly started this company to put science to work fighting disease and encouraged his successors to ‘take what you find here and make it better and better.’ That vision pushes us daily to honor Colonel Lilly’s legacy and continue in our quest to discover new medicines to help make life better.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7809951-eli-lilly-and-company-140th-anniversary/
A new survey from the Gout & Uric Acid Education Society (GUAES) finds many Americans with gout may be placing too much emphasis on diet when it comes to managing the disease and controlling painful flares. Of all the steps taken to manage gout, respondents cited changing their diet by eliminating or reducing consumption of certain foods as their top step taken (50 percent)—even ahead of taking medications to lower their uric acid levels (40 percent) and maintaining an overall healthy fitness level (33 percent). Furthermore, nearly one in three with gout incorrectly believes that the disease can be completely avoided by eliminating certain foods; and more than one in four said they would not take medications if they were making dietary changes.
“Physicians all too often see patients who believe they can successfully manage their gout with diet alone,” said N. Lawrence Edwards, M.D., a rheumatologist and GUAES chairman. “But even with extremely rigid diet restrictions, most gout patients will only be able to lower their uric acid levels slightly—not nearly enough to achieve a healthy level to control flares and reduce risk for long-term damage.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7835451-guaes-diet-survey/
SC Johnson, the world's leading manufacturer of pest control products, is using its 60 years of insect expertise to educate consumers as the Zika virus continues to spread. Immediately following the initial outbreak in Brazil, the company assembled its experts and began developing educational resources for consumers to understand how to best protect themselves against mosquitoes that may carry disease.
In addition to educating consumers, SC Johnson is actively working with organizations around the world to donate and distribute product to those in need. In coordination with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation, SC Johnson supported the Zika Action Plan Summit held by the White House and the CDC on April 1, and also donated to the CDC's Zika Prevention Kits. Additional donations have been made to AmeriCares, the Rio de Janeiro-based Children’s Health Association and the County of Hawaii Civil Defense Agency.
For nearly 60 years, SC Johnson entomologists have studied insects at the Entomology Research Center in Racine, Wis., the world's largest private, urban entomology research center. In their research, they help SC Johnson create products that consumers can trust and to provide them with the right product for their pest control needs. SC Johnson is the world's largest manufacturer of insect repellent and household insecticides, including OFF!®, Raid®, Autan® and Baygon®.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7787731-sc-johnson-zika-mosquito-protection/
The website www.MyPerfectDish.eu aims to help people with Parkinson’s, their relatives and caregivers in taking care of their nutritional requirements in order to help them enjoy tasty food that meets their dietary needs.
The website is endorsed by the European Parkinson’s Disease Association (EPDA) and sponsored by Zambon, and has been designed as an easy-to-use scientific information tool so people living with Parkinson’s can be confident that what they are reading is reliable.
“As the only European Parkinson’s umbrella organisation, the EPDA is very proud to endorse this project, which is based on solid scientific and medical grounds,” explains EPDA president Knut-Johan Onarheim. “A balanced and varied diet is important for everyone but it is even more important for people living with Parkinson’s disease because the right food intake can improve their quality of life as well as the effects of therapeutic treatments”.
“Zambon is very proud of having supported this project, which will help people with Parkinson’s and all those involved in the management of the disease. We are strongly committed to drive research and develop solutions to help patients in all their needs“. states Elena Zambon, President of Zambon.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7864251-parkinsons-diet-online-resource/
Abbott announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the company’s Absorb bioresorbable heart stent, making the first-of-its-kind medical device commercially available to treat people with coronary artery disease in the United States.
Absorb is the only fully dissolving stent approved for the treatment of coronary artery disease, which affects 15 million people in the United States and remains a leading cause of death worldwide, despite decades of therapeutic advances. While stents are traditionally made of metal, Abbott’s Absorb stent is made of a naturally dissolving material, similar to dissolving sutures. Absorb disappears completely in approximately three years, after it has done its job of keeping a clogged artery open and promoting healing of the treated artery segment. By contrast, metal stents are permanent implants that restrict vessel motion for the life of the person treated.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7826651-abbott-fda-approval-stent/
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/
Ever since Donna and John met at work three decades ago, they've had the kind of smooth, comfortable relationship that comes when attraction is accompanied by compatible interests as well as strengths and weaknesses that balance each other. They pictured their senior years as an extension of what Donna Dean calls “this nice, easy life. We didn't see the calamity that was coming.”
Brookdale Senior Living, the nation's largest dementia care provider, has created new resources for care partners as part of National Alzheimer's Awareness Month in November. The candid discussion of many of the disease's most difficult challenges includes an up-close look at Donna's and John’s lives since he developed dementia.
The couple shares on video how following John's diagnosis, they adapted and sustained daily routines, emotional connection and affection. Donna speaks of her uncertainties about how to manage her reactions to behavioral expressions, the adjustment to John's move to a dementia care community and how keeping a journal helped her logistically and emotionally.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7722131-brookdale-alzheimers-awareness/