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Acupuncture may improve dyspnea in COPD patients

According to a small clinical trial reported by investigators from Japan, acupuncture appears to be associated with improvement of dyspnea (labored breathing) on exertion, in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

14 May 2012

Researchers barcode different strains of influenza virus and HRSV

Dr Julian Hiscox and Dr John Barr of the University's Faculty of Biological Sciences are working with the Health Protection Agency Porton (HPA) to build a bank of molecular signatures that will help identify the severity of virus infection from characteristic changes seen in cells. Currently the team is barcoding different strains of influenza virus and human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) - a virus associated with the onset of asthma in young children.

14 May 2012

DIBH can spare hearts and lungs of breast cancer patients from radiation

Respiratory movement during radiotherapy makes it difficult to hit the right treatment target and this in turn can lead to an under-dose of radiation to the tumour, or a potentially toxic over-dose to the surrounding healthy tissue. Getting this right is a real challenge for the radiotherapist, but new techniques are helping to deliver the correct dose to the right place, the 31st conference of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO 31) will hear today.

14 May 2012

FDA ADAC recommends approval of Quad for HIV-1 infection

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that the Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has voted 13 to 1 in support of approval of the Quad, a complete single tablet regimen of elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in treatment-naïve adults.

14 May 2012

Killer coating destroys bacteria and fungi on contact

Better than antibiotics, it is being used in contact lenses to prevent infections and biomedical products are the next stage

11 May 2012

Threshold for when to choose surgery over medical therapy for recurrent acute rhinosinusitis

A study in the May 2012 issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery suggests a threshold for when to choose surgery over medical therapy for recurrent acute rhinosinusitis (RARS) based on the patients' lost productivity in response to RARS and each treatment strategy.

11 May 2012

Top-line results from Takeda vedolizumab phase 3 trial on Crohn's disease

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited today announced top-line results from the international, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind GEMINI II pivotal phase 3 trial. The trial evaluated vedolizumab in 1,115 patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease who have failed at least one conventional therapy, including TNFα antagonists.

11 May 2012

Interim results from Seattle Genetics’ ADCETRIS phase II trial on CTCL

Seattle Genetics, Inc. today announced that interim results from an investigator-sponsored phase II clinical trial of ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) in patients with relapsed cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) were presented at the Society for Investigative Dermatology annual meeting being held May 9-12, 2012 in Raleigh, NC.

11 May 2012

Combination of Chartis system and Zephyr EBV treatment effective in treating emphysema

Pulmonx, an emerging leader in interventional pulmonology, announced today that the European Respiratory Journal has published the results of the Chartis Multi-Centre study. The study is the first to combine the Chartis Pulmonary Assessment System and Zephyr EBV treatment for patients with advanced emphysema.

11 May 2012

Review finds 74% decline in annual ICU admissions for asthma

A review of 30 years of life-threatening asthma cases in a San Antonio intensive care unit found that annual ICU admissions for the condition have dropped 74 percent. The study, by UT Medicine San Antonio physicians who reviewed cases at University Hospital between 1980 and 2010, also showed intubation in the emergency department to help patients breathe did not result in longer hospital stays.

11 May 2012

Glial cells pass on metabolites to neurons

Around 100 billion neurons in the human brain enable us to think, feel and act. They transmit electrical impulses to remote parts of the brain and body via long nerve fibres known as axons. This communication requires enormous amounts of energy, which the neurons are thought to generate from sugar. Axons are closely associated with glial cells which, on the one hand, surround them with an electrically insulating myelin sheath and, on the other hand support their long-term function.

11 May 2012

Study: C5ORF42 gene contributes to Joubert Syndrome

History, science and discovery come together to help family members affected by this syndrome make informed family planning choices. C5ORF42 was identified as the gene that causes Joubert Syndrome in a number of families in the Lower St. Lawrence region of Quebec where the causal gene had remained unknown since the initial description of the syndrome in 1969. This is what a study in the April issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics reveals.

11 May 2012

Prototype device would help obese patients breathe during medical procedures

The best doctors strive to relieve their patients' burdens. A physician in Houston asked Rice University students to help him do so in the most literal way. A team of bioengineering seniors built a prototype device to literally lift the weight from obese patients who, while undergoing surgical procedures, might otherwise have trouble breathing.

10 May 2012

Discovery Labs reports data from SURFAXIN preclinical study on RDS

Discovery Laboratories, Inc., a specialty biotechnology company dedicated to advancing a new standard in respiratory critical care, reported that data from a preclinical study of SURFAXIN LS (lyophilized KL4 surfactant) was recently published in the May issue of Pediatric Research.

10 May 2012

Dehaier Medical first quarter revenues increase 12.3% to $3.3 million

Dehaier Medical Systems Ltd., an emerging leader in the development, assembly, marketing and sale of medical devices and homecare medical products, today announced its financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2012.

10 May 2012

ArcDia completes € 2.7 million funding round

ArcDia Ltd, the manufacturer of world's only multianalyte point-of-care diagnostic system for respiratory tract infections, completed today € 2.7 million funding round to expand its mariPOC diagnostics system.

9 May 2012

Teva first quarter net revenues increase 25% to $5.1 billion

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today reported results for the quarter ended March 31, 2012.

9 May 2012

Long-term exposure to roadways linked with increased risk of death in patients with heart attack

Living close to a major highway poses a significant risk to heart attack survivors, reinforcing the need to isolate housing developments from heavy traffic areas, a Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center study concludes.

8 May 2012

WellNow Urgent Care opens two new Middle Tennessee clinics

WellNow Urgent Care, based in Nashville, continues its growth trajectory for 2012 with two new Middle Tennessee clinics. WellNow Dickson is now open following the acquisition and renovation of the former Walk-In Quick Care, according to J. Scott Jordan, M.D., WellNow's Chief Medical Officer. WellNow Dickson is located at 199 Henslee Drive. WellNow Springfield is slated for its opening this summer and is located at 2660 Memorial Boulevard.

8 May 2012

Galleon GAL-021 safe and well-tolerated in Phase I respiratory depression clinical study

Galleon Pharmaceuticals, a leader in the development of novel medicines to treat breathing disorders, today announced that its investigational drug GAL-021 appeared to be safe and well-tolerated and demonstrated dose-proportional pharmacokinetic effects on respiration in a Phase I clinical study of 30 healthy adults.

7 May 2012