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First filing for zoledronic acid in metabolic bone disease

One 15-minute infusion of the intravenous bisphosphonate zolendronic acid more rapidly reduced the biochemical markers of bone turnover in patients with Paget's disease than was seen in a head-to-head comparison with the oral treatment risedronate (95% vs. 75% response rate).

17 May 2004

Scientists move closer toward treatment for degenerative diseases

Scientists at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine have discovered a key step that will provide new targets for treatments of many degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Cystic Fibrosis and Diabetes.

17 May 2004

Howard Hughes Medical Institute is awarding $49.7 million in science grants

Colleges face a number of tough challenges in teaching science today. New fields that blur the lines between disciplines are emerging, and biologists, chemists, physicists and mathematicians are forging interdisciplinary collaborations. Scientists trained to be outstanding researchers need to learn to be outstanding teachers. More minorities must be encouraged to pursue scientific careers.

17 May 2004

$1.4 million to investigate how strokes and other events that cut off blood flow to the brain disrupt the blood-brain barrier

The Cleveland Clinic has been awarded a four-year, $1.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate how strokes and other events that cut off blood flow to the brain disrupt the blood-brain barrier. Researchers hope to use their findings to develop new methods to limit the damage caused by such events.

17 May 2004

Research into sleeping disorder drug may help multiple sclerosis patients

A University of Nottingham academic is leading a research project looking at whether a drug produced for a sleeping disorder could improve the quality of life for thousands of multiple sclerosis patients.

17 May 2004

New joint UK-Slovak health collaboration

A new joint UK-Slovak programme to boost collaboration into a range of medical conditions was announced by Health Minister John Huttontoday.Mr Hutton signed a joint agreement between the UK and Slovak Republic covering medicine and public health.

17 May 2004

Study examines impact of cochlear implants

Cochlear implants are small electronic devices that are surgically implanted in the ear, aiding those deaf people not helped by traditional hearing aids. Approximately 90 percent of parents who have deaf children are not deaf, and generally have had little, if any, experience with deaf persons or understanding of deafness. However, perceptions may be changing, partially due to new research on the implants, the article states.

17 May 2004

Discovery of the gene for Cornelia de Lange syndrome

An international team of researchers has discovered the gene for Cornelia de Lange syndrome, a disabling, multisystem genetic disease that affects an estimated one in 10,000 children. The finding is expected to lead to a genetic test, enabling rapid and definitive diagnosis of the syndrome, as well as prenatal testing for families who already have one child with the disease.

17 May 2004

Pharmaceutical agreement involving novel obesity compound

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Solvay Pharmaceuticals today announced that the companies have entered into a worldwide agreement for the Solvay compound SLV319, which is currently in Phase I development with potential for use in treating obesity and other metabolic disorders.

17 May 2004

Managing large numbers of patients from mass casualty incidents

Today’s hospitals are challenged to become better prepared to manage large numbers of patients from mass casualty incidents (MCI), hazardous material incidents (HAZMAT), or in extreme cases, attacks using weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

17 May 2004

Research suggests that weanling pigs are susceptible to West Nile virus infection

Since the emergence of West Nile virus in the Western Hemisphere in 1999, health care personnel have been on the lookout for signs of infection in people and animals. Recent research suggests that food processing personnel should beware of the presence of the virus in swine and a potential health risk to employees in pork processing plants.

17 May 2004

Access to paid maternity leave in Australia is unequal within organisations and across industry sectors

Dr Susan Mayson, of the Department of Management in the Faculty of Business and Economics, said that of the approximately 30 per cent of Australian women who had access to paid maternity leave, most were well paid and highly valued workers.

17 May 2004

Speaking their language aids dementia patients

Elderly dementia patients from non-English speaking backgrounds communicate more with others and take fewer psychiatric medications when living in ethno-specific nursing homes, an Australian study at Monash University has revealed.

17 May 2004

GlaxoSmithKline and Boehringer Ingelheim agree to assess the development of important HIV medicines for the developing world

GlaxoSmithKline plc and Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that both companies welcome the United States' continued involvement in the global response to HIV/AIDS.

17 May 2004

Scientists have identified a compound that halts the activity of a deadly toxin called anthrax

University of Chicago scientists have identified a compound that halts the activity of a deadly toxin called anthrax lethal factor in laboratory tests. Nature Biotechnology will publish the findings online on May 16 and in the June issue of the journal's print edition.

17 May 2004

Inheriting the wrong version of a gene called CHEK2 doubles a woman's risk of developing breast cancer

Inheriting the wrong version of a gene called CHEK2 doubles a woman's risk of developing breast cancer, Cancer Research UK scientists confirm in a major new international study published in the June edition of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

17 May 2004

Want a new type of man? Maybe less brawn and more brains?

A new version of the human male is a distinct possibility, given the genetic erosion of the “junk” sex-determining chromosome that makes men male.

17 May 2004

Plans for once-daily, fixed-dose combination of three anti-HIV drugs

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. have announced that they are in discussions on the development of a once-daily, fixed-dose combination of three anti-HIV drugs and are also considering certain co-packaging options for the individual products.

16 May 2004

Higher rate of cardiac complications from smallpox vaccinations for US military

While adverse reactions from smallpox vaccinations given to military personnel in the wake of renewed threats of bioterrorism remain minimal, the rate of cardiac complications has been higher than expected, according to a clinical review presented at an American Medical Society media briefing on cardiology today.

16 May 2004

Facts about prevalence of arthritis in the U.S.A

Arthritis is the leading cause of physical disability in the United States. Arthritis comprises over 100 different disease and conditions. The most common are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and gout.

15 May 2004