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Rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis

In an article recommended by Annelies Boonen of Faculty of 1000 Medicine, researchers look at the way rheumatoid arthritis is diagnosed by analysing the administrative databases used by physicians in Quebec.

4 Mar 2008

Gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric assay for the direct detection of cancerous cells

Early detection of tumors is one of the Holy Grails of cancer research, an achievement that would greatly improve cancer therapy and prognosis. Two new reports describe different but promising approaches to solving this problem.

3 Mar 2008

FDA approves PRISTIQ for the treatment of adult patients with major depressive disorder

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved PRISTIQ (desvenlafaxine), a structurally novel, once-daily serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), to treat adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

3 Mar 2008

New blood test for early stage ovarian cancer

Australian researchers say they have developed an accurate blood test to detect the first stages of ovarian cancer.

3 Mar 2008

Simple screening questionnaire for kidney disease outperforms current clinical practice guidelines

The general public is not sufficiently aware that chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious and progressive medical condition.

1 Mar 2008

Brain differences between women and men

What was once speculation is now being confirmed by scientists: the brains of women and men are different in more ways than one.

1 Mar 2008

Real-time imaging device may improve surgery for congenital colon disease

Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center are developing a spectral imaging system that could result in shorter operating times for infants undergoing surgery for Hirschsprung's disease, according to a mouse study reported in the Journal of Biophotonics.

1 Mar 2008

Abilify (aripiprazole) approved for acute treatment of bipolar I disorder in adolescents

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the supplemental New Drug Application for ABILIFY (aripiprazole) for the acute treatment of manic and mixed episodes associated with Bipolar I Disorder, with or without psychotic features in pediatric patients (10 to 17 years old).

1 Mar 2008

Research leading to tools for managing bovine respiratory disease complex

Bovine respiratory disease complex has multiple causes. It's sometimes hard to classify and predict. It also costs the beef industry more than any other disease -- an estimated $690 million in 2006, according to one report.

28 Feb 2008

Imaging Dynamics Company receives patent on dual energy imaging technology

Imaging Dynamics Company Ltd has announced that it was awarded the patent for a dual energy optically coupled digital radiography system.

28 Feb 2008

Decline in cystic fibrosis since introduction of prenatal carrier screening

A brief report in the February 28, 2008, New England Journal of Medicine, led by researchers at the New England Newborn Screening Program (NENSP) of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), indicates a declining incidence of a genetic disease, providing what may be the first demonstration of a link between two independent population-based screening programs.

28 Feb 2008

Other types of E. coli shouldn't be ignored

While many of us are worried about E. coli 0157 in our food supply, a pre-harvest food safety expert at Kansas State University cautions that other types of E. coli shouldn't go ignored.

27 Feb 2008

GeneSearch Breast Lymph Node Assay reduces recurrence of breast cancer

A new test that examines large sections of the sentinel lymph node for genes expressed by breast cancer could reduce the risk of recurrence and multiple surgeries, doctors say.

27 Feb 2008

Enzyme Cdk1 may lead to new cancer therapies

With a four-year, $707,000 grant from the American Cancer Society, Yanchang Wang, assistant professor of biomedical sciences in the Florida State University College of Medicine, hopes to learn how a particular enzyme could possibly help put the brakes on the runaway cell division process that occurs in many forms of cancer.

27 Feb 2008

PolyTherics and Celtic Pharma sign agreement to explore technologies for improved drug performance

PolyTherics Limited, a biopharmaceutical spin-out company from Imperial College London and the London School of Pharmacy, and Celtic Pharma Development Services Bermuda Ltd, a subsidiary of Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings LP, a global private equity investment fund focused on the biopharma industry, today announced that they have entered into a broad research collaboration agreement.

26 Feb 2008

Researchers isolate biomarkers in the blood that identify mood disorders

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have isolated biomarkers in the blood that identify mood disorders, a breakthrough that may change the way bipolar illness is diagnosed and treated.

26 Feb 2008

Hormone therapy increases frequency of abnormal mammograms, breast biopsies

Combined hormone therapy appears to increase the risk that women will have abnormal mammograms and breast biopsies, and it may decrease the effectiveness of both methods for detecting breast cancer, according to a report in the Feb. 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

26 Feb 2008

Higher prevalence of stroke in the United States compared to Europe

American adults have a higher prevalence of stroke than their European counterparts, due in part to a higher rate of stroke risk factors among Americans and barriers to care in the United States, according to a study presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2008.

26 Feb 2008

New chemical tool kit manipulates mitochondria, reveals insights into drug toxicity

Why do nearly 1 million people taking cholesterol-lowering statins often experience muscle cramps? Why is it that in the rare case when a diabetic takes medication for intestinal worms, his glucose levels improve? Is there any scientific basis for the purported health effects of green tea?

26 Feb 2008

New metabolic imaging instrument shows promise as screening device in diabetes and other major eye diseases

Scientists at the University of Michigan have shown that their new metabolic imaging instrument can accurately detect eye disease at a very early stage.

26 Feb 2008