Medical News

RSS

Tranquil living environments can positively affect human brain function: Research

Tranquil living environments can positively affect the human brain function, according to researchers at the University of Sheffield. The research, which was published in the journal NeuroImage, uses functional brain imaging to assess how the environment impacts upon our brain functions.

15 Sep 2010

Study to assess impact of radiation exposure on multiple cancer risk

It is well known that exposure to radiation has multiple harmful effects - including causing cancer - but until now, it has been unclear to what extent such exposure increases a person's risk of developing more than one cancer. The first large-scale study of the relationship between radiation dose and risk of multiple cancers among atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan reveals a similar risk in the development of first and second subsequent cancers.

15 Sep 2010

Some health insurance changes set to take effect next week

Kaiser Health News: On Sept. 23, a number of health law provisions will go into effect, including a ban on lifetime caps on health benefits, a practice some insurance plans use to restrain costs. For one family with two children with hemophilia whose treatments cost around $250,000 a year, that's a reassuring change that means "more freedom" for the kids.

15 Sep 2010

Bone marrow-derived mononuclear cell therapy benefits patients after severe heart attack

The first randomized, placebo-controlled U.S. clinical trial to assess the use of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BMC) in patients after a ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI; severe heart attack) demonstrated a strong safety profile for this cell therapy, based on phase 1 results published in the September issue of the American Heart Journal.

15 Sep 2010

Neurocrine Biosciences announces GSK561679 antagonist's efficacy in major depressive disorder

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. today announced top-line efficacy and safety results from a Phase II clinical trial utilizing Corticotropin Releasing Factor (CRF1) receptor antagonist GSK561679 in patients currently experiencing a major depressive episode.

15 Sep 2010

Ahead of MDG Summit, U.N. Secretary-General calls for additional funds, strategy for tackling women's and children's health issues

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday announced that "nearly 140" world leaders are planning to attend next week's U.N. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Summit in New York, where they will discuss ways to help countries reach the targets by 2015, the Canadian Press reports (Lederer, 9/13).

15 Sep 2010

RAB-1 monoclonal antibody study shows positive result for rabies

With the potential to save tens of thousands of lives each year, a new cost-effective rabies therapy developed by MassBiologics at the University of Massachusetts and the Serum Institute of India took an important step forward with positive results from a Phase 1 study. The recently completed study showed that a new monoclonal antibody (RAB-1) resulted in protective antibody levels in the serum of treated subjects equal to the current standard of treatment, which is often not available in the areas of the world hit hardest by rabies.

15 Sep 2010

Heart patients with Type D personality at higher risk of future cardiovascular problems

Heart patients with the "distressed" (Type D) personality profile may face a higher risk of future cardiovascular problems, according to a summary article published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

15 Sep 2010

20-20 Gene Systems launches L-IHC staining for biomarker identification in tumors

20/20 GeneSystems, Inc. announced today at ADAPT 2010, an industry meeting focusing on advancing personalized medicine, the commercial launch of their patented technology for biomarker identification in tumors and other tissue samples. 20/20 is currently offering the technology to industry and academic researchers under service contracts.

15 Sep 2010

Florida Judge signals he will likely allow some parts of states' health law challenge to proceed

Bloomberg: "U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson in Pensacola said today he will make a decision by Oct. 14 on whether the states have jurisdiction to sue. He told lawyers he would probably dismiss part of the suit, while allowing other claims to proceed." The states involved in the lawsuit maintain that the federal government's "requirement that people buy health insurance" goes beyond Congress' constitutional powers.

15 Sep 2010

Methodist surgeons perform multiple cardiac vessel bypasses through small single incision

Surgeons at the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center perform multiple cardiac vessel bypasses through a single, small incision in the patient's side, reducing pain, recovery time and risk for infection.

15 Sep 2010

FDA grants Arcion's ARC-4558 Fast Track designation for pain involved in Painful Diabetic Neuropathy

Arcion Therapeutics, a venture backed clinical stage biotechnology company developing topical therapies for chronic pain, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to ARC-4558 for the treatment of pain associated with Painful Diabetic Neuropathy (PDN).

15 Sep 2010

PLX-PAD therapy improves quality of life in CLI patients

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. today reported that data from clinical trials show the Company's placenta-derived cell therapy, PLX-PAD, is safe and improves quality of life as well as other efficacy measurements in patients with Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI), the end-stage of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD).

15 Sep 2010

Berwick breaks silence, calling on insurers to join pursuit of 'shared goals'

In his first big speech as President Barack Obama's top Medicare official Donald Berwick Monday called on insurers to join in a "full partnership" with his agency to achieve a health system with lower costs that doesn't withhold care from anyone or risk harming patients, The Associated Press/Washington Post report. The remarks were delivered to a conference hosted by America's Health Insurance Plans. "The choice of the insurance lobby for his speech was unusual since the administration continues to trade verbal potshots with the industry" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 9/13).

15 Sep 2010

UT Southwestern receives $8 million NIH grant to study influence of brain and liver on inflammation

An $8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will enable UT Southwestern Medical Center to investigate how fat tissue "talks" to the brain and the liver to promote inflammation-related disorders such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

15 Sep 2010

Wintherix announces WX04554 molecule can cause bone healing

Wintherix, LLC, a privately held biotechnology company focusing on bone healing and regenerative medicine, today announced that WX04554, a potent small molecule activator of the Wnt pathway, has been designated as a lead drug for clinical development in bone healing and repair indications.

15 Sep 2010

Researchers create artificial human ovary to yield infertility treatments for cancer patients

Researchers at Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital have invented the first artificial human ovary, an advance that provides a potentially powerful new means for conducting fertility research and could also yield infertility treatments for cancer patients. The team has already used the lab-grown organ to mature human eggs.

15 Sep 2010

Medicare, Social Security grow with baby boomer retirement, joblessness

The Washington Post: Rapid growth in the number of applicants for Social Security disability benefits has soared between 2008 and 2009, threatening the solvency of the program. With an increase of 21 percent in that timeframe, "growth is the sharpest in the 54-year history of the program. It threatens the program's fiscal stability and adds to an administrative backlog that is slowing the flow of benefits to those who need them most." Broad economic problems and a flood of jobless applicants have caused the spike (Fletcher, 9/14).

15 Sep 2010

Unsuccessful gum-disease treatment linked to preterm birth

A collaboration led by a periodontal researcher from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine has found a possible link between the success of gum-disease treatment and the likelihood of giving birth prematurely, according to a study published in the journal BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

15 Sep 2010

Guardian launches global development website

The Guardian on Tuesday launched a new website that will cover global development issues, such as hunger and infant mortality, according to an introductory note on the site (Bunting, 9/14).

15 Sep 2010

Medical News

Tranquil living environments can positively affect human brain function: Research

Study to assess impact of radiation exposure on multiple cancer risk

Some health insurance changes set to take effect next week

Bone marrow-derived mononuclear cell therapy benefits patients after severe heart attack

Neurocrine Biosciences announces GSK561679 antagonist's efficacy in major depressive disorder

Ahead of MDG Summit, U.N. Secretary-General calls for additional funds, strategy for tackling women's and children's health issues

RAB-1 monoclonal antibody study shows positive result for rabies

Heart patients with Type D personality at higher risk of future cardiovascular problems

20-20 Gene Systems launches L-IHC staining for biomarker identification in tumors

Florida Judge signals he will likely allow some parts of states' health law challenge to proceed

Methodist surgeons perform multiple cardiac vessel bypasses through small single incision

FDA grants Arcion's ARC-4558 Fast Track designation for pain involved in Painful Diabetic Neuropathy

PLX-PAD therapy improves quality of life in CLI patients

Berwick breaks silence, calling on insurers to join pursuit of 'shared goals'

UT Southwestern receives $8 million NIH grant to study influence of brain and liver on inflammation

Wintherix announces WX04554 molecule can cause bone healing

Researchers create artificial human ovary to yield infertility treatments for cancer patients

Medicare, Social Security grow with baby boomer retirement, joblessness

Unsuccessful gum-disease treatment linked to preterm birth

Guardian launches global development website

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

Latest News