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Phadia's ImmunoCAP Rapid System receives FDA marketing clearance

Phadia, the world leader in allergy blood testing diagnostics, today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the ImmunoCAP® Rapid Reader II, a part of the ImmunoCAP Rapid System, used to aid in the diagnosis of allergy in the physician’s office.

27 Jan 2010

Low-cost ventilators for healthcare emergencies

A group of UK anaesthetists have designed and tested three prototype low-cost ventilators that could provide vital support during major healthcare emergencies involving large numbers of patients or casualties. The devices, detailed in a paper published online by Anaesthesia, could also be used where resources are limited, such as in developing countries, remote locations or by the military.

25 Jan 2010

Air pollution is associated with increased cardiac events

Even healthy people exposed to ultrafine particulate pollution associated with traffic and fossil-fuel combustion for just two hours show changes in heart rhythm and evidence of clot formation that may herald the potential for serious cardiac events, according to research from the Environmental Protection Agency.

23 Jan 2010

Current research suggests flu may predispose to secondary bacterial infections

Current research suggests that the flu may predispose to secondary bacterial infections, which account for a significant proportion of mortality during flu pandemics. The related report by Lee et al, "A mouse model of lethal synergism between influenza virus and Haemophilus influenzae," appears in the February 2010 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

22 Jan 2010

Ordinary face masks and hand hygiene can reduce transmission of influenza-like illness

Ordinary face masks and hand hygiene can effectively reduce the transmission of influenza-like illness during flu season. The finding comes from a new study, now available online (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/650396), published in the Feb. 15 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

22 Jan 2010

Elevation Pharmaceuticals closes $30M tranched Series A financing

Elevation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of new aerosol therapies for patients with respiratory diseases, announced today the closing of a $30 million tranched Series A financing.

21 Jan 2010

Meridian Bioscience announces record first-quarter net sales of $42.5M

Net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 were $42,457,000 as compared to $34,293,000 for the same period of the prior fiscal year, an increase of 24%. Net earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 were $8,921,000 or $0.22 per diluted share, both increases of 10% over the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Diluted common shares outstanding for fiscal 2010 and 2009 were 41,185,000 and 41,125,000, respectively.

21 Jan 2010

ETMC Athens effectively handles record number of H1N1 cases

Throughout the month of September, East Texas Medical Center Athens (ETMC Athens) has seen a 42% average increase in number of patients per day and is taking it in stride. Improved efficiencies in the Emergency Department facilitated by a process improvement firm, Compirion Healthcare, have allowed the hospital to absorb the volume and see an improvement in quality.

21 Jan 2010

Medical Care Technologies to include HVS as add-on to its Tele-Health Suite

Medical Care Technologies Inc. today announced that it has been developing its latest medical device technology -- Heart Vital Signs ("HVS") to be included as an add-on to its Tele-Health™ Suite. Remote cardiac monitoring technologies allow home electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring of patients with suspected cardiac arrhythmias or at risk for developing arrhythmias.

21 Jan 2010

FDA approves Thoratec's HeartMate II LVAS for DT

Thoratec Corporation, a world leader in device-based mechanical circulatory support therapies to save, support and restore failing hearts, said today that it has received FDA approval of its PMA (Pre-Market Approval) supplement, allowing the use of its HeartMate II LVAS (Left Ventricular Assist System) for Destination Therapy (DT).

21 Jan 2010

PTC Therapeutics initiates additional clinical trial of ataluren in boys and young men with nmDBMD

PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (PTC) today announced the initiation of an additional clinical trial of ataluren (PTC124®) in boys and young men with nonsense mutation Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy (nmDBMD) who have permanently lost the ability to walk independently.

20 Jan 2010

Cardiac RSR test can quickly and accurately detect the presence of S-CAD

Testing a patient's cardiac respiratory stress response (RSR) can quickly and accurately detect the presence of significant coronary artery disease (S-CAD), according to new research published in the current issue of Cardiovascular Revascularization Medicine.

20 Jan 2010

Statins may protect SCD children from pneumococcal infection

New research suggests a family of widely used cholesterol-lowering drugs might help protect individuals from serious illness following bacterial infection, including the pneumococcal infections that pose a deadly threat to those with sickle cell disease.

20 Jan 2010

Leafy green vegetables, folate and multivitamins can prevent lung cancer in smokers

Leafy green vegetables, folate, and some multivitamins could serve as protective factors against lung cancer in current and former smokers, according to a study that is a first step in understanding a complex association.

19 Jan 2010

WHO, CDC issue H1N1 updates

Though H1N1 (swine flu) activity worldwide has slowed, the potential of a new wave of infections in the northern hemisphere in late winter or early spring remains viable, Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's top flu expert, said Monday at the start of the WHO's weeklong executive board meeting, Reuters reports.

19 Jan 2010

Urgent aid shipment containing tents and family survival kits docked at Jacmel, Haiti

An urgent aid shipment containing 4,000 tents and more than 300 family survival kits has just docked at the Haitian coastal town of Jacmel.

19 Jan 2010

PAHO/WHO to assess the impact of earthquake on Haiti’s health facilities

The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is mobilizing health experts to assess the impact of yesterday's earthquake on the health situation in Haiti and working with other United Nations agencies, international partners, and local authorities to mobilize and coordinate relief and recovery efforts focused on the quake's survivors.

19 Jan 2010

FDA: Data from Spiriva HandiHaler do not support increased risks for stroke, heart attack or death

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that data from a recent review of the Spiriva HandiHaler, a long-acting respiratory treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), do not support an increased risk of stroke, heart attack, or death in patients using the medicine.

18 Jan 2010

OSA adversely affects glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) adversely affects glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago.

18 Jan 2010

Dartmouth researchers to develop and market a drug throughout Asia for treatment of CKD

Thanks in part to more than a decade of preclinical work by Dartmouth researchers, a Japanese biopharmaceutical firm is preparing to develop and market throughout Asia a drug for the treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

18 Jan 2010