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Interson Launches The SeeMore™ USB Ultrasound Imaging Probe
Interson announces the launch of the SeeMore USB Ultrasound Imaging probe. Inexpensive and portable, SeeMore probes plug directly into the USB port of a laptop, netbook, or desktop computer. General purpose and specialty probes are available for a wide range of clinical applications including: abdominal, OB/GYN, bladder scanning, emergency, vascular access, small parts, musculo-skeletal, nerve blocks, endocavity (prostate, transvaginal) and more, and range in frequency from 3.5 MHz to 24 MHz.
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Overall Cardiovascular Safety Of Rosiglitazone Confirmed In 5 1/2-Year Study
Results of the long-awaited Rosiglitazone Evaluated for Cardiac Outcomes and Regulation of Glycaemia in Diabetes (RECORD) study were presented here in a symposium at the American Diabetes Association"s 69th Scientific Sessions. The results are being simultaneously published online in The Lancet.
News of the day
Editorial, Opinion Piece Respond To Closure Of Murdered Abortion Provider Tiller's Clinic
Two newspapers recently published an editorial and an opinion piece in reaction to the announcement that murdered Kansas abortion provider George Tiller"s Wichita clinic would be permanently closed. The clinic was one of a handful in the U.S. offering abortion procedures in the second and third trimesters. Summaries appear below.~ Kansas City Star: The closing of Tiller"s clinic is "a tragedy for American democracy," and the "irrational violence" of his death has "trumped public policy," a Star editorial states. "The basis of civilization is that we agree to submit to the rule of law in order for society to flourish," the editorial says, adding that Tiller"s murder is "antithetical to that principle. It is dismaying to see a killer achieve his objective." The editorial notes that Tiller provided abortion services in "tragic cases" involving women "at risk of infertility or death; fetuses with severe abnormalities; and victims of rape and incest." It continues that the "reduction or loss of that service will create hardships and may put women"s lives at risk." Hospitals and doctors who refer such cases to abortion providers "must reassess the circumstances under which they would perform late-term abortions," according to the editorial. In addition, the "medical profession must take a role in training and supporting doctors willing to provide abortions," and the government and local police "must do all they can to protect a legal medical practice," the editorial says. It concludes, "Democracy demands that we not allow murder to make de facto public policy" (Kansas City Star, 6/11).~ Eric Zorn, Chicago Tribune: The announcement that Tiller"s clinic will remain permanently closed "was simply more proof that violence and intimidation can get results where civil discourse and political process fail," Tribune columnist Zorn writes. "The question isn"t whether prominent foes of abortion rights are being honest with us when they decry Tiller"s violent death and express regret over the means used to achieve an end they"ve sought," Zorn writes, adding, "Some are, I"m sure." He continues that abortion-rights opponents "recognize that ... a movement calling itself "pro-life"can"t also be pro-murder" and "are politically savvy enough to know that the gains won by terrorist acts are grudging and difficult to sustain." He continues that to "make terrorism less effective, and thereby discourage it," abortion-rights advocates, the medical profession, politicians and law enforcement officials "need to reopen that clinic in Wichita and assure its safe operation ... to defy terrorism, if for no other reason." He concludes that "as long as abortion remains legal, this same coalition needs to strive to expand the number of facilities where it"s available" (Zorn, Chicago Tribune, 6/11).
Diagnostics

Weight Guidelines For Women Pregnant With Twins

Healthy, normal-weight women pregnant with twins should gain between 37 and 54 pounds, according to research from a Michigan State University professor who helped shape the recently released national guidelines on gestational weight gain. Barbara Luke, a professor in the College of Human Medicine"s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology and Department of Epidemiology, helped create the guidelines for the Institute of Medicine. Her research also found overweight women should gain between 31 and 50 pounds, while obese women should gain 25 to 42 pounds. The parameters are based on a woman"s prepregnancy body mass index. "This amount and pattern of weight gain has been shown to be associated with the best growth before birth and the healthiest mothers throughout pregnancy," Luke said. "By setting weight gain goals based on a woman"s prepregnancy BMI, it will be possible to maintain a trajectory of fetal growth for twins that results in more optimal birth weight with lower neonatal morbidity. "With twin pregnancies continuing to rise every year, these new guidelines will be very beneficial." The guidelines are important, Luke said, because while only 3 percent of live births involve twins, they do make up a disproportionate number of premature, low-birth-weight and growth-retarded births. Twins are seven times more likely to die before their first birthday. To develop the guidelines, Luke and her team analyzed data from more than 2,300 pregnancies with twins from four sites across the nation. Maternal weight gain and fetal growth then were measured at three different points to develop models of optimal weight gain. Luke"s research group took into account study site, maternal age, race and ethnicity, smoking and fertility treatments, among other factors. "Dr. Luke and her colleagues should be congratulated on this significant contribution to the health of mothers and their twin infants," said Richard Leach, chairperson of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology in MSU"s College of Human Medicine. "The inclusion of Dr. Luke"s career work into the prestigious Institute of Medicine"s guidelines speaks to her exceptional research." The Institute of Medicine developed the new guidelines, which last were revised 19 years ago, in response to several emerging factors: a higher proportion of women from racial/ethnic subgroups; the increase in prepregnancy BMI among all population groups; and women becoming pregnant at older ages and, as a result, being more likely to have chronic conditions before pregnancy. "The 1990 report had general weight gain guidelines for twin pregnancies," Luke said. "These newest guidelines are the first which are BMI-specific - they are the 25th to 75th percentile of BMI-specific weight gain associated with twin birth weights of 5 pounds 8 ounces or greater at full-term." The mean gain was 46 pounds, 42 pounds, and 35 pounds, respectively, for normal weight, overweight, and obese women. For more information on the guidelines, visit http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12584. Jason Cody Michigan State University


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