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Diflunisal drug reduces neurological decline in patients with familial transthyretin amyloidosis

A recent study led by researchers from the Amyloidosis Center at Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center demonstrates that diflunisal, a generic anti-inflammatory drug, successfully reduced neurological decline and preserved the quality of life in patients with familial transthyretin amyloidosis. Diflunisal is an inexpensive and safe medication marketed over the past 40 years for arthritis and pain.

25 Dec 2013

FDA extends PDUFA Priority Review action date for UC indication of Takeda's vedolizumab

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc., today announced that the United States Food & Drug Administration has extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act Priority Review action date for the ulcerative colitis indication of Takeda's investigational biologic, vedolizumab.

24 Dec 2013

Synergy Pharmaceuticals closes patient enrollment in plecanatide phase 2b clinical trial in IBS-C

Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced it has closed patient enrollment in its plecanatide phase 2b clinical trial in irritable bowel syndrome with constipation.

24 Dec 2013

Chinese experts publish consensus on spine and spinal cord injury

The early management of acute thoracolumbar spine and spinal cord injury is one of the most difficult tasks when treating trauma cases. To standardize the evaluation and treatment of acute thoracolumbar spinal injury, the Chinese Association of Spine and Spinal Cord Injury organized a group of Chinese experts to collectively discuss the draft of "An Expert Consensus on the Evaluation and Treatment of Acute Thoracolumbar Spine and Spinal Cord Injury".

24 Dec 2013

Hypoxic preconditioning has protective effects against acute cerebral infarction

Hypoxic preconditioning has been shown to have protective effects against acute cerebral infarction. To investigate the protective mechanisms of hypoxic preconditioning in relation to its effects on angiogenesis, Prof. Xunming Ji and team from Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University in China induced a photochemical model of cerebral infarction in an inbred line of mice (BALB/c) which were exposed to hypoxic preconditioning prior to model establishment.

24 Dec 2013

Study: Antidepressants not effective for bipolar disorder treatment

The use of antidepressants in the treatment of bipolar disorder remains controversial. Some studies and treatment guidelines suggest that antidepressant treatment for bipolar disorder may have the potential to increase the manic switch, while others recommend short-term antidepressant treatment and early discontinuation.

24 Dec 2013

Cell transplantation, gene therapy combination to open new therapeutic avenues for Alzheimer's disease

In a recent study published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No. 33, 2013), Prof. Feng Li and team from Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University in China, synthesized a 19-nt oligonucleotide targeting BACE1, the key enzyme in amyloid beta protein (Aβ) production, and introduced it into the pSilenCircle vector to construct a short hairpin (shRNA) expression plasmid against the BACE1 gene.

24 Dec 2013

Paired exchange and incompatible kidney transplant program launched by UAB

Ann Marie Reynolds, a 32-year-old who has been in and out of hospitals fighting chronic kidney disease since she was a teenager, had a less than 1 percent chance of receiving a kidney without the University of Alabama at Birmingham's groundbreaking organ donation system that helped her and two other hard-to-match patients get kidneys in a three-way, incompatible kidney exchange earlier this year.

24 Dec 2013

U.S. FDA grants Veloxis Orphan Drug status for Envarsus

Veloxis Pharmaceuticals A/S, today announced that Envarsus was granted Orphan Drug status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for prophylaxis of organ rejection in patients receiving allogenic kidney transplants.

24 Dec 2013

Transplanting self-donated Schwann cells aids hind limb functional recovery

A study carried out at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine for "The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis" has found that transplanting self-donated Schwann cells (SCs, the principal ensheathing cells of the nervous system) that are elongated so as to bridge scar tissue in the injured spinal cord, aids hind limb functional recovery in rats modeled with spinal cord injury.

24 Dec 2013

Changes to LZTR1 gene predispose people to develop schwannomas

Changes to a gene called LZTR1 predispose people to develop a rare disorder where multiple tumors called schwannomas form near nerve pathways, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Genetics and led by researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

24 Dec 2013

Researchers identify potential therapy for meibomian gland dysfunction

Meibomian gland dysfunction is the leading cause of dry eye disease, which affects tens of millions of Americans. However, there is no FDA-approved treatment for MGD. Researchers from the Schepens Eye Research Institute/Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School have just identified a potential therapy.

24 Dec 2013

Researchers report new gene delivery method that targets tumor blood vessels

Working in mice, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report developing a gene delivery method long sought in the field of gene therapy: a deactivated virus carrying a gene of interest that can be injected into the bloodstream and make its way to the right cells.

24 Dec 2013

Most frequent reasons for readmission often related to patients' underlying chronic medical conditions

Researchers cite identification and monitoring of known underlying chronic medical conditions as opportunities to reduce readmission rates and improve patient safety.

24 Dec 2013

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition beneficial to cardiac regeneration

Cell-based therapies have been shown to enhance cardiac regeneration, but autologous (patient self-donated) cells have produced only "modest results." In an effort to improve myocardial regeneration through cell transplantation, a research team from Germany has taken epithelial cells from placenta (amniotic epithelial cells, or AECs) and converted them into mesenchymal cells. After transplanting the transitioned cells into mice modelling a myocardial infarction, the researchers found that the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition was beneficial to cardiac regeneration by lowering infarct size.

24 Dec 2013

New CANHEART health index measures behaviours, health factors for optimal heart health

Fewer than 1 in 10 adult Canadians is in ideal cardiovascular health, according to the new CANHEART health index developed to measure heart health published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

24 Dec 2013

Research review examines effectiveness of treatments for chronic skin wounds

A systematic review of 66 research papers focused on the treatment of skin ulcers suggests that most are so technically flawed that their results are unreliable. And even of those that pass muster, there is only weak evidence that some treatments work better than standard compression therapy or special stockings.

24 Dec 2013

Research: Beatboxing may be gentler on injury-prone vocal cords

You might think that beatboxing, with its harsh, high-energy percussive sounds, would be harder on the voice than the sweet song of a soprano. But according to new research by voice expert Dr. H. Steven Sims of the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, beatboxing may actually be gentler on the injury-prone vocal cords. His findings were published Dec. 23 online in the Journal of Voice.

24 Dec 2013

Inosine drug raises blood and cerebrospinal fluid urate levels in Parkinson disease patients

The drug inosine appears to be a safe and effective way to raise blood and cerebrospinal fluid urate levels in patients with early Parkinson disease, suggesting it may be a potential strategy to slow the disability progression of the degenerative neurological disorder, according to a report published by JAMA Neurology, a JAMA Network publication.

23 Dec 2013

Reflux disease diagnosis: an interview with Professor Peter Dettmar, Managing Director of RD Biomed Limited

Generally speaking, reflux has been a major chronic issue for probably the last 40 or 50 years. When you look at the global population, depending on which country we're talking about, around 20% to 40% of individuals have reflux disease within their populations.

23 Dec 2013

Medical Condition News

Diflunisal drug reduces neurological decline in patients with familial transthyretin amyloidosis

FDA extends PDUFA Priority Review action date for UC indication of Takeda's vedolizumab

Synergy Pharmaceuticals closes patient enrollment in plecanatide phase 2b clinical trial in IBS-C

Chinese experts publish consensus on spine and spinal cord injury

Hypoxic preconditioning has protective effects against acute cerebral infarction

Study: Antidepressants not effective for bipolar disorder treatment

Cell transplantation, gene therapy combination to open new therapeutic avenues for Alzheimer's disease

Paired exchange and incompatible kidney transplant program launched by UAB

U.S. FDA grants Veloxis Orphan Drug status for Envarsus

Transplanting self-donated Schwann cells aids hind limb functional recovery

Changes to LZTR1 gene predispose people to develop schwannomas

Researchers identify potential therapy for meibomian gland dysfunction

Researchers report new gene delivery method that targets tumor blood vessels

Most frequent reasons for readmission often related to patients' underlying chronic medical conditions

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition beneficial to cardiac regeneration

New CANHEART health index measures behaviours, health factors for optimal heart health

Research review examines effectiveness of treatments for chronic skin wounds

Research: Beatboxing may be gentler on injury-prone vocal cords

Inosine drug raises blood and cerebrospinal fluid urate levels in Parkinson disease patients

Reflux disease diagnosis: an interview with Professor Peter Dettmar, Managing Director of RD Biomed Limited

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

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