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Alzheimer's Cases to Triple by 2050

New estimates suggest that there were 4.7 million individuals aged 65 years or older with Alzheimer's disease dementia in the US in 2010 and that this number will triple to 13.8 million by 2050. These latest estimates,  published online  February 6 in Neurology , were devised by a team from the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, Chicago, Illinois. "These are staggering numbers," coauthor Jennifer Weuve, MPH, ScD, commented to  Medscape Medical News . "The ramifications for society and family caregivers in particular are huge." "This is not really a surprise," she added. "It's a bit like climate change. We've known about it for years but we haven't done much to stop it. Our data drum home the message that research into the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's must be a priority, as well as developing better ways of managing patients with the condition and helping caregivers." A Complicated Task Weuve explained th

Obama Renominates Tavenner to Be CMS Chief

President Barack Obama yesterday renominated Marilyn Tavenner, the acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), to serve in that post without the caveat of "acting" attached to it. If the Senate approves her nomination, Tavenner will be the first confirmed, full-fledged CMS administrator since Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, stepped down from that position in October 2006, during the George W. Bush administration. Dr. McClellan's successors either were acting administrators or, in the case of Donald Berwick, MD, who was Tavenner's immediate predecessor, a recess appointment. As illustrated by Dr. Berwick's  CMS history , Senate confirmation can be tough to get when one party has enough votes to filibuster and otherwise stymie a nomination by an opposing party's president. That was the case when Obama nominated Dr. Berwick, whom Senate Republicans portrayed as an advocate of healthcare rationing, a characterization denied by t

FDA approves Pomalyst for advanced multiple myelom‏

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Pomalyst (pomalidomide) to treat patients with multiple myeloma whose disease progressed after being treated with other cancer drugs. Multiple myeloma is a form of blood cancer that primarily affects older adults and arises from plasma cells in the bone marrow. According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 21,700 Americans are diagnosed with multiple myeloma and 10,710 die yearly from the disease. Pomalyst is a pill that modulates the body’s immune system to destroy cancerous cells and inhibit their growth. It is intended for patients who have received at least two prior therapies, including lenalidomide and bortezomib, and whose disease did not respond to treatment and progressed within 60 days of the last treatment (relapsed and refractory). For more information please visit:  Pomalyst