HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
Sepsis drug fights infection, decreases hospital care over two year study

A study in the July 15 issue of the journal "Clinical Infectious Diseases" shows that people 75 and older who were treated for severe sepsis with the drug drotrecogin alpha activated (DAA) had markedly higher survival rates, spent less time on ventilators and in intensive care units and had no more risk of side effects than their younger counterparts -- patients 65 to 74 -- treated with the same drug.

Unfortunately, the study author, Dr. Wes Ely of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, says the drug is highly underutilized. "Conservatively, I would say that fewer than one in four of the older patients who are candidates for this potentially life-saving drug actually receive it," said Ely, associate professor of allergy, pulmonary and critical care medicine and the director of research for the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) for the VA Tennessee Valley Health Care System.

The study raises concerns about an age bias in medicine. "The medical community as a whole hasn't fully embraced this type of medical therapy for severe sepsis because of concerns about resource use and safety in older patients and questions about their subsequent quality of life," Ely said. "On one hand some older patients receive overly aggressive life support without benefit, but in the case of this new drug, physicians seem to practice ageism and don't use the available therapy to patients' full advantage.

"When patients are relatively healthy and active, we should take age out of the medical equation. Older patients need research specific to their outcomes and they need advocates," he said.

More than 2,000 people are diagnosed with severe sepsis every day, and this disease kills as many people as heart attacks -- 750 each day in the United States.. The problem continues to grow as the population ages. More than half of all ICU days are occupied by people 65 and older; the number of days per year spent in an ICU are seven-times greater for people
'"/>

Contact: Clinton Colmenares
clinton.colmenares@vanderbilt.edu
615-322-4747
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
9-Jul-2003


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. UGA receives $6.7 M grant that will add knowledge in fights against cancer, Parkinsons disease
2. Protein that fights bacteria and viruses cloned by Scripps scientists
3. Study of monkey species that fights off AIDS may lead to new treatments for humans
4. Six-week, six-shot regimen fights hayfever for more than one season
5. New drug lead fights bacteria that can be lethal by disrupting quorum sensing and biofilms
6. Bacterias natural foe fights drug-resistant infections
7. Tea fights cavities, reduces plaque
8. Genetically engineered poliovirus fights brain tumors
9. Decoy molecule that fights food poisoning might help defeat other toxins
10. Fat switch fights flab at the cellular level, Science authors report
11. After natural disasters, the risk of infection, epidemics from dead bodies is negligible

Post Your Comments:
(Date:6/19/2013)... most perfectly spherical large objects in nature may have ... study. It appears in ACS, journal Langmuir , ... Cartwright, Antonio G. Checa and Marthe Rousseau point out ... perhaps the most perfectly spherical, or ball-like, shape among ... a microscope. Pearls develop as nacre (mother of pearl) ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... 2013 Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical ... announce the launch of a new open access journal, ... GeoResJ , Elsevier,s earth and planetary science journals ... journal aims to provide a forum for rapid publication ... The journal will be co-edited by six Executive Editors, ...
(Date:6/18/2013)... not a hacker lab. At Brandeis University, sophisticated ... are helping scientists understand the complex interplay between ... the virus, outer "shell" critical for replication. ... what we are finding will help researchers alter ... post-doctoral fellow Jason Perlmutter, first author of the ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Computer modeling technique goes viral at Brandeis 2
(Date:6/20/2013)... MA (PRWEB) June 20, 2013 Belatrix ... firm , today released news on its latest initiative ... BSIU initiative brings together leading thought leaders, and business ... webcasts and dynamic workshops. The goal of the initiative ... to gain fresh inspiration for their product innovation efforts. ...
(Date:6/20/2013)... June 20, 2013 Confluent is a ... of medical, software, manufacturing, safety, chemical, B2B, retail and ... Charlene Nagy, Confluent’s President and CEO, they had ... engage prospects and client via social media, and direct ... and converted to new clients. “What was missing was ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... (PRWEB) June 19, 2013 For an ... Waterless Bead Baths using metallic beads instead ... electricity, and do not require germicides. Yet, the bead ... because the bath is always ready unlike a water ... create a dry bath, which eliminates the contamination and ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... June 19, 2013  U.S. Secretary of State ... which distinguished Syngenta  scientist Mary-Dell Chilton , ... World Food Prize. The prize is the foremost international ... improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in ... laureates were recognized for "revolutionary biotechnology discoveries that unlocked ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Belatrix Software Kicks off Major Innovation Effort and Invites Innovation Expert to Share How Agile + Design Thinking Accelerate Product Innovation 2Confluent Translations Consolidates Marketing Efforts 2Cole-Parmer Introduces Eco-Friendly Waterless Bead Baths 2Syngenta's Mary-Dell Chilton named 2013 World Food Prize laureate 2
Cached News: