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CellCept linked to reduced cancer incidence

A study presented today at an international transplant meeting showed that heart transplant patients treated with the immunosuppressant CellCeptÒ (mycophenolate mofetil) in standard immunosuppressive regimens had a significantly lower risk of developing cancer compared to those receiving non-CellCept-based treatment regimens.

23 Apr 2004

The April 2004 issue of Otolaryngology focuses on head and neck surgery

The efficacy of a new cancer-fighting virus is tested in the study, “Treatment of Solid Sarcomas in Immunocompetent Mice with Novel Oncolytic Herpes Simplex Viruses.” A team of multi-disciplinary Japanese researchers found that a weakened version of herpes simplex virus (HSV) effectively eradicated neck and flank tumors in mice.

23 Apr 2004

Focusing on soft drinks is the next logical step in the war against pediatric obesity

According to a year-long study of 644 children aged between 7 and 11 in six primary schools in Christchurch, England – outlined this week on the website of the British Medical Journal – a one-year campaign to curb soft drink intake led to a decrease in the percentage of those children who were overweight or obese.

23 Apr 2004

Certain cells from a mother can cause immunity illness in children

Certain cells from a mother persist in their children’s bodies and can provoke an immune response in which the child’s body attacks itself, according to Mayo Clinic research published in the current issue of the Journal of Immunology (http://www.jimmunol.org).

23 Apr 2004

Japanese scientists have created a viable mouse derived from two genetic mothers with no contribution by a male animal

Japanese scientists have created a viable mouse derived from two genetic mothers with no contribution by a male animal.

23 Apr 2004

Schools failing to support teens who are pregnant or new mothers

But another group of girls, also guaranteed educational equality through Title IX, have seen little benefit, says Wanda Pillow, a professor of educational policy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

23 Apr 2004

Idebenone continues to show promise in treating Friedreich’s ataxia (FA)

Idebenone, a compound similar to coenzyme Q10, continues to show promise in treating the heart complications of Friedreich's ataxia (FA), notes correspondence published in the Feb. 10 issue of Neurology.

23 Apr 2004

Palliative care improvements needed in Australia

While Australian expertise in palliative care to ease the suffering of dying people has developed rapidly over the past 20 years, there is still a long way to go, writes Professor Margaret O'Connor, who holds the inaugural Vivian Bullwinkel chair in palliative care nursing at Monash.

23 Apr 2004

IVAX announces intention to revise offer for Polfa Kutno

IVAX Corporation announced today a revised offer to acquire the shares of Kutnowskie Zaklady Farmaceutyczne Polfa SA (“Polfa Kutno”). IVAX intends to acquire, in exchange for IVAX stock, up to 100%, but not less than 75% of the shares of Polfa Kutno for a price of 340 PLN per share.

23 Apr 2004

Researchers make millions upon millions of drug-like peptides quickly and efficiently

Two Johns Hopkins scientists have figured out a simple way to make millions upon millions of drug-like peptides quickly and efficiently, overcoming a major hurdle to creating and screening huge "libraries" of these super-short proteins for use in drug development.

23 Apr 2004

Nitric oxide, a chemical messenger involved in bodily functions shuts down a protein involved in Parkinson's disease

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that nitric oxide, a chemical messenger involved in bodily functions from erection to nerves' communication, also shuts down a protein involved in Parkinson's disease.

23 Apr 2004

GSK and WHO collaborate to fight malaria

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the World Health Organisation's Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (WHO-TDR) and the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) today announced the signing of a collaborative agreement, to develop a new-fixed dose artemisinin combination therapy drug (ACT), combining chlorproguanil, dapsone and artesunate (CDA) for the treatment of malaria.

23 Apr 2004

Improving eye care with telemedicine

Computer scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have teamed up with a group of medical professionals to advance the use of telemedicine.

23 Apr 2004

New steps to prevent drug card fraud

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D. today announced efforts that CMS is undertaking to strengthen oversight of the Medicare-approved Discount Drug Card Program.

23 Apr 2004

First Chinese case of case of SARS since January 2004

On April 22, 2004, the Chinese Ministry of Health reported a possible case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in a 20-year-old woman who works as a nurse in a hospital in Beijing. If confirmed, this will be the first case of SARS since January 2004, when Chinese health authorities confirmed SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infection in three persons in Guangdong Province.

23 Apr 2004

The Alzheimer's Society launch lesbian and gay network

The Alzheimer's Society Lesbian and Gay Network was officially launched at a special reception in central London on Thursday 22 April 2004.

23 Apr 2004

Research may offer potent vaccines for viruses such as HIV and West Nile

Researchers at La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI) have identified two molecules (TL and CD8aa) that cooperate to trigger immune cells to develop into long-lived memory cells to fight recurring infections. This finding may have important implications for the future development of longer lasting and more potent vaccines for viruses such as HIV and West Nile.

23 Apr 2004

Hepatitis B vaccination for inmates

rrectional settings provide a unique opportunity to offer hepatitis B vaccination to a substantial number of high-risk adults who are willing to be vaccinated and who would not otherwise have access to the preventive medicine, according to a new Brown University study of inmates within the Rhode Island Department of Corrections.

23 Apr 2004

Public-health experts caution that the widening of the EU could have adverse effects on public health

Public-health experts writing in this week's issue of THE LANCET caution that the widening of the European Union (EU) to the east could have potentially adverse effects on public health-both for the new member countries, many of whom have poor health-care infrastructure, and for existing EU members.

23 Apr 2004

Prominent ASTRO member appointed to APC panel

The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology would like to congratulate Louis Potters, M.D., a prominent radiation oncologist and a devoted ASTRO member, on his recent appointment to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Advisory Panel on Ambulatory Payment Classification Groups, also known as the APC Panel.

23 Apr 2004