May 28, 2010
- Health: Cutting-Edge Advancements in the Cancer Vaccine Industry
- Health: Health Care Facilities Need Correctly Trained Support Staff
- Health: Impact of a Presumed-Consent Law on Organ Donation
- Health: Kids Avoid Baseball Injuries with Pitch Counts
- Health: Lyme Disease Co-Infections
- Health: Treating Eczema with Natural Ingredients and Herbs
- Home: Adaptive Reuse as a Way to Make Your New House Feel Like Home
- Living: Three Reasons to Drink Rose Wine During National Rose Month
- Safety: If Google and Apple Won't Protect Your Children's Privacy Online, Who Will?
- Veterinary: What You Need to Do to Become a Veterinary Technician
**1. HEALTH: CUTTING-EDGE ADVANCEMENTS IN THE CANCER VACCINE INDUSTRY. Dr. Randal Chase has over 30 years of experience in vaccines and is available to provide insights on a number of vaccine-related topics, including the recent FDA approval of Dendreon's Provenge: "Immunovaccine is encouraged by the recent advancements made in the vaccine space, including the FDA's recent approval of Provenge. I believe the field of cancer vaccines has the potential to mirror the growth we've seen in the monoclonal antibody cancer drug market. This advancement illustrates how therapeutic cancer vaccines are rapidly improving, with better antigens and more sophisticated delivery systems." Chase served as president and CEO of Pasteur Merieux Connaught (PMC) in Canada and chairman of PMC in Mexico. While at the helm of the company, Chase drove the development of the first pentavalent vaccine with acellular pertussis (whooping cough) in 1997. In 2001, he was appointed global president for Shire Biologics, and during his time with the company negotiated a $350 million pandemic-flu contract with the U.S. government and a meningitis C vaccine distribution agreement with Baxter Healthcare Corporation. During this period, he also established an alliance with Berna Biotech for the sale of the hepatitis B vaccine in Europe and Fluviral vaccine in Asia. He is now helping Immunovaccine advance its lead vaccine candidate for breast, ovarian and prostate cancer through clinical trials. News Contact: Andrew W. Mielach, [email protected] Phone: +1-212-827-0020
**2. HEALTH: HEALTH CARE FACILITIES NEED CORRECTLY TRAINED SUPPORT STAFF. Micki Holliday, director of career services at Brown Mackie College - Kansas City and an expert in career placement: "While scientists and doctors are in demand, it is critical that health care facilities hire correctly trained support staff so that others can do what they do best -- doctors need others to provide care. Entry-level employment opportunities arise at hospitals, doctor and dentist offices, rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, and home health care companies, and advancements in science have also spawned new opportunities. But the industry can't move forward without trained professionals. These facilities want to hire workers with education, knowledge and certifications. Health care positions in growing demand include all types of medical and lab technicians, as well as those in other related professions." News Contact: Steve Dobbins, [email protected] Phone: +1-513-830-2005
**3. HEALTH: IMPACT OF A PRESUMED-CONSENT LAW ON ORGAN DONATION. Luca Cicalese, M.D., FACS, chair and director of the Texas Transplant Center and professor of surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas, is available to discuss the potential impact of New York's proposed presumed-consent organ donation law, in which everyone would be considered an organ donor unless they specifically opted out. Cicalese says that this kind of law would subtly change how the organ donation question is framed for families: "Right now families are told, 'Your loved one just died and he might be a donor. Will you donate organs on his behalf?' The family often doesn't know their loved one's wishes and may just say no. Under presumed consent, the conversation is different because by law, everyone is a presumed donor. It makes it more likely that the family says yes." Cicalese speaks Italian. News Contact: Brianne O'Donnell, [email protected] Phone: +1-212-220-4444
**4. HEALTH: KIDS AVOID BASEBALL INJURIES WITH PITCH COUNTS. Kevin D. Plancher, M.D., is a leading NYC and Connecticut orthopedic and sports medicine expert: "Nobody likes a pushy parent, especially when it comes to kids' sports. A child's bones and muscles are still growing, so they can't take as much stress as an adult's. While grown-ups and older kids are usually good at pacing themselves and telling an over-eager coach or observer to back off, younger children typically are not. Kids often don't know what a particular activity is supposed to feel like, so they might not recognize something as painful. A classic example of this is the child who plays baseball -- particularly, the child who plays pitcher. Today's coaches and school administrators, and the Little League Baseball organization, enforce strict pitch counts, which dictate the maximum number of pitches that a child can throw in any game or practice session. Some parents might scoff at the idea of pitch counts, which have been the subject of heated debate. Pitch counts (and other measures designed to spare young shoulders from injury) are critical. Research shows that pitch counts work to minimize injuries in younger players." News Contact: Melissa Chefec, [email protected] Phone: +1-203-968-6625 Website: http://www.mcprpublicrelations.com
**5. HEALTH: LYME DISEASE CO-INFECTIONS. Dr. Harriet Kotsoris, medical director at Time for Lyme, a Greenwich, Conn.-based Lyme disease research, advocacy and education group: "An early spring with summery temperatures lures more people into the great outdoors. Yet the downside is that it can also mean a heavy tick season. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there were 35,198 reported cases of Lyme disease in 2008, a 28 percent increase over the 2007 statistics. With a spike in Lyme disease cases there is also a spike in Lyme disease co-infections. Ticks that transmit the bacteria that cause Lyme disease also carry numerous other pathogens that cause infection and can complicate treatment, compromise the immune system, and result in a more devastating illness. Tragically, some of these co-infections can be fatal. Patients infected with Lyme disease are at risk of developing one or more co-infections -- tick-borne illnesses that can worsen the severity and/or the duration of Lyme symptoms. These co-infections must be independently diagnosed and, in some cases, treated with entirely different medications and protocols than the primary Lyme infection." News Contact: Melissa Chefec, [email protected] Phone: +1-203-968-6625 Website: http://www.mcprpublicrelations.com
**6. HEALTH: TREATING ECZEMA WITH NATURAL INGREDIENTS AND HERBS. Steve Frank, nationally renowned herbalist who specializes in the treatment of eczema and other skin rashes: "There is some research that suggests eczema is caused by a symbiotic relationship between a virus and either a common fungus or bacteria. The objective for an herbalist is to find natural ingredients that will stop the fungus, virus or bacteria, and combine them with herbs that relieve inflammation. Relieving the symptoms is certainly important, but it is equally important to help the body rebuild the skin so that it can keep out the invading virus and bacteria." Frank can discuss what facilitates eczema, and how remedies with herbs and oils can relieve it. News Contact: Caitlin Gallagher, [email protected] Phone: +1-720-213-4141
**7. HOME: ADAPTIVE REUSE AS A WAY TO MAKE YOUR NEW HOUSE FEEL LIKE HOME. Annette Lawrence, academic director of the interior design program at The Art Institute of Ohio - Cincinnati: "Incorporating items with personal meaning, such as memorabilia or a special collection, can make your new place feel less like a stranger's house and more like your home. Adaptive reuse involves bringing items from your previous residence to your new home, but with the twist of adapting them for a different or new use. This is an easy, inexpensive way to create a 'sense of place' -- in other words, making your new house the place in which you feel most comfortable: home." News Contact: Wendy Raymond Hacker, [email protected] Phone: +1-513-833-2430 Website: http://www.artinstitutes.edu/cincinnati
**8. LIVING: THREE REASONS TO DRINK ROSE WINE DURING NATIONAL ROSE MONTH. Marisa D'Vari, DWS, CWE, is a fine-wine writer who writes about rose wine for her complimentary online magazine, AWineStory.com: "Drink rose wine during June, National Rose Month, for three key reasons: First, chilled, dry rose wine is refreshing on its own or when paired with early summer dishes like poached salmon; second, its gorgeous color evokes the very persona of summer fun and romance; finally, rose wine has resveratrol, which improves health (and is certainly more fun than popping a vitamin)." D'Vari: [email protected]
**9. SAFETY: IF GOOGLE AND APPLE WON'T PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN'S PRIVACY ONLINE, WHO WILL? Suren Ramasubbu, mobile Internet safety expert and CEO of Mobicip.com, the leader in Internet filtering and parental controls for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad: "While Apple and Google provide some of the most innovative tools for improving education and communication, they recently declined to participate in the congressional hearing on children's Web privacy. With these two major players showing a lack of interest in protecting children's privacy online, it's more important than ever for parents and educators to be proactive and have the tools necessary to enable children to surf the Web safely. As the Web quickly becomes more mobile and accessible with the iPhone and iPod Touch, and now the iPad, parents will surely need help protecting their children from the new wave of Internet hazards stemming from mobility. Both parents and educators must take advantage of mobile Internet safety solutions that allow them to track usage, filter content, and ensure kids and teens can use the Internet safely and securely while on the go." News Contact: Nicki Gauthier, [email protected] Phone: +1-805-380-5687 Website: http://www.mobicip.com n
**10. VETERINARY: WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO BECOME A VETERINARY TECHNICIAN. Joshua Peterson, doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) and veterinary technology department chair at Brown Mackie College - Kansas City: "If you have ever thought of working with animals as a career, you can follow a well-defined professional path. Individuals interested in the veterinary profession may want to enroll in a two-year veterinary technician associate-degree program, which prepares candidates to test for professional credentialing to enter the field. All states require a credentialing exam following completion of a veterinary technician program. Depending on individual state regulations, candidates may become registered, licensed or certified. The difference between veterinarians and veterinary technicians (vet techs) is that veterinary technicians work as support staff, similar to nurses working with doctors. Technicians monitor patients and follow protocol procedures to administer vet-prescribed anesthesia during surgery. Vet techs also take X-rays, draw lab samples and run tests. X-ray and test results are then interpreted by the veterinarian." News Contact: Steve Dobbins, [email protected] Phone: +1-513-830-2005
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/PRNewswire -- May 28/
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