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Adult stem cells associated with poor prognosis of cancer: Research

Adult stem cells that are vital for airway repair in the lung but that persist in areas where pre-cancerous lesions are found are associated with a poor prognosis in patients who develop cancer, even those with early stage disease, researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have found.These adult stem cells are found in repairing areas after injury and also are found in pre-cancerous areas, suggesting that these cells may mutate and become cancer causing stem cells, making them a potential cell-of-origin for lung cancer and a possible target for prevention strategies and new targeted therapies.

18 Aug 2010

NIH awards Brain Plasticity $3.65M to improve cognitive function in people with schizophrenia

Brain Plasticity Inc., a new technology incubator dedicated to the discovery and development of novel technologies that harness the basic principles of brain plasticity to improve the lives of people with neurological and psychiatric disorders, was recently awarded $3.65 million dollars in two separate grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

18 Aug 2010

Scientist suggests emodin can reduce impact of type 2 diabetes

Emodin, a natural product that can be extracted from various Chinese herbs including Rheum palmatum and Polygonum cuspidatum, shows promise as an agent that could reduce the impact of type 2 diabetes. Findings published in this month's edition of the British Journal of Pharmacology show that giving emodin to mice with diet-induced obesity lowered blood glucose and serum insulin, improved insulin resistance and lead to more healthy levels of lipid in the blood. It also decreased body weight and reduced central fat mass.

18 Aug 2010

Recession led to cuts in health system use

The New York Times: The recession is causing d people in the United States to cut their use of the health care system "much deeper than in countries with universal health care systems," a new report says. "The study, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, finds that 'Americans, who face higher out-of-pocket health care costs, have reduced their routine medical care' much more than people in Britain, Canada, France and Germany.

18 Aug 2010

Cryo-Cell International collaborates with MNSH to identify potential therapy for autoimmune diseases

Cryo-Cell International, Inc., one of the largest and most established leaders in stem cell innovation, today announced a research and development collaboration agreement with Monash University in Australia. The partnership will allow scientists from the University's Centre of Inflammatory Diseases to conduct pre-clinical studies using Cryo-Cell's proprietary C'elle menstrual stem cell technology (MenScs) to identify potential future therapies to treat autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

18 Aug 2010

HHS awards $1 million grants to state insurance regulators

The Los Angeles Times: "The Obama administration is sending $1-million grants to state insurance regulators to help increase oversight of rising health insurance premiums, a key step in implementing the new healthcare law. The grants announced Monday, which went to all but five states, will enable many to expand public access to information about rate hikes and to hire experts to review what insurers want to charge.

18 Aug 2010

NCI grants SBIR award to MabVax Therapeutics

MabVax Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of vaccine and antibody based therapies to address the unmet medical need of preventing recurrent cancer, announces that it has received a Small Business Innovation Research Grant (SBIR) from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the agency's Streamlined Non-competing Award Procedures (SNAP).

18 Aug 2010

BioMarin Pharmaceutical acquires ZyStor Therapeutics, furthers development of ZC-701 for Pompe disease

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. announced today that it has acquired ZyStor Therapeutics, Inc. (ZyStor), a privately-held biotechnology company developing enzyme replacement therapies (ERT) for the treatment of lysosomal storage disorders. ZyStor's lead product candidate is ZC-701, a novel fusion of insulin-like growth factor 2 and alpha glucosidase (IGF2-GAA) in development for Pompe disease.

18 Aug 2010

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics raises $6.5 million in second quarter 2010

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics today announced second quarter results for the period ended June 30, 2010. The Company utilized $1.13 million of cash in its operations during the quarter. The increase in net burn is reflective of increased personnel costs as well as increase in Research and Development costs associated with the planned phase II clinical trial for ICT-107.

18 Aug 2010

Cancer is the world's top 'economic killer,' report finds

The Associated Press: "Cancer is the world's top 'economic killer' as well as its likely leading cause of death, the American Cancer Society contends in a new report it will present at a global cancer conference in China this week. Cancer costs more in productivity and lost life than AIDS, malaria, the flu and other diseases that spread person-to-person, the report concludes.

18 Aug 2010

ChromaDex Corporation 2010 second quarter revenue increases

ChromaDex Corporation, a leader in phytochemical reference standards and contract research, today announced financial results for the second quarter of 2010. On a reported basis calculated in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP), ChromaDex announced a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $0.01 per share for the thirteen week period ended July 3, 2010.

18 Aug 2010

Aastrom Bioscience fourth quarter net loss decreases to $0.18 per share

Aastrom Biosciences, Inc., the leading developer of autologous cellular therapies for the treatment of severe cardiovascular diseases, today reported operating results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended June 30, 2010.

18 Aug 2010

Health on the Hill – August 16, 2010

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey talks with Bloomberg News' Drew Armstrong and KFF's Jackie Judd about recent developments, including the latest on the medical loss ratio calculation and how much power states have to enforce provisions of the health law (8/16).

18 Aug 2010

Burger, fries and a statin please!

British scientists have come up with a novel idea. They suggested that junk food counters should hand out free cholesterol-lowering statin drugs to their customers to “neutralize” the heart risks of eating fatty foods like burgers and fries. The idea is to project having high cholesterol fatty food as risky a behavior as driving or smoking that needs the user to go for seatbelts and filtered cigarettes respectively.

17 Aug 2010

New Superbug emphasises ill-preparedness across Europe to meet this emerging public health challenge

Research just published that identifies new highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria reinforces the frequency with which similar strains of so-called “superbugs” are being discovered across Europe, according to the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID).

17 Aug 2010

The importance of workplace relationships post- retirement

The influence of traditional social structures such as neighbourhoods and local organisations has declined. The workplace has become the “new neighbourhood” and has become increasingly important for maintaining social interaction and forming relationships.

17 Aug 2010

Acupuncture not superior to sham acupuncture in knee osteoarthritis

Researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center determined patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee who are treated with traditional Chinese acupuncture (TCA) do not experience any more benefit than those receiving sham acupuncture (placebo).

17 Aug 2010

Research confirms genetic link to advanced fatty liver disease

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital found that patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) who carry an allele of the PNPLA3 gene have an increased risk of developing advanced disease, including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, and cirrhosis. A second study supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) validates these findings and further concludes that in pediatric patients, the same allele is associated with earlier disease presentation. Both studies are available in the September issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

17 Aug 2010

Simple measure saves children’s lives: study

A new study has found that dozens of deaths and injuries of children in car crashes could be prevented with clearer size labelling on child safety seats.

17 Aug 2010

Gene variations likely to have important effects on gene function: Study

Everyone is special in their own unique way. From a genetic point of view, no two humans are genetically identical. This means that DNA for each individual contains variants that are more or less comm. on in the overall population.

17 Aug 2010