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Roundup: Virginia's abortion rules; Calif. rate regulation bill; Georgia's spending plans for disabled

Virginia health officials are planning to release draft emergency regulations for abortion clinics as soon as Friday that reproductive-health activists say could impose strict physical, staffing and equipment requirements and could force many of the state's clinics to close.

26 Aug 2011

RE Children's Project donates $111,000 to UCLA researchers for Rasmussen Encephalitis study

The Rasmussen Encephalitis (RE) Children's Project, a foundation that supports scientific research to find a cure for this devastating neurological disease, has donated $111,000 to researchers in the departments of neurosurgery and pathology/lab medicine (neuropathology) at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

26 Aug 2011

Scientists discover mutant hypertension gene in chickens similar to that of humans

Scientists from the University of Abertay Dundee have discovered that a gene which, when severely mutated, causes blindness and kidney abnormalities in chickens, is the same as one that predisposes humans to hypertension.

25 Aug 2011

Activus to receive NEDO grant for 'Development of Innovative Ophthalmic Solutions'

Sosei Group Corporation, announces that its wholly owned subsidiary Activus Pharma Co., Ltd. is to receive a grant for its "Development of Innovative Ophthalmic Solutions" from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), an Incorporated Administrative Agency under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) as a part of their FY2011 Innovation Promotion Programme.

22 Aug 2011

Disease mapping could help control and eliminate loiasis, other NTDs, study says

In this End the Neglect blog post, Linda Diep, communications and grassroots assistant with the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, discusses how "mapping of Loa Loa Filariasis could help in the innovation of new strategies to eliminate and control onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis (LF), according to a recently released article from the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases."

20 Aug 2011

Time-release corticosteroid implant effective in treating uveitis

A team of researchers comparing the two leading treatment approaches for the eye condition uveitis, which is the fifth leading cause of blindness in the US, have found that a time-release corticosteroid implant placed surgically in the eye is similarly effective in treating the disease as anti-inflammatory corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs taken orally. The report was published online this week in the journal Ophthalmology.

19 Aug 2011

Patients with diabetes, hypertension more likely to develop open-angle glaucoma

Many Americans suffer from diabetes and hypertension and, according to a study by researchers at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center, these individuals may have an increased risk of developing open-angle glaucoma.

18 Aug 2011

New role for harmonin protein in Usher syndrome

University of Iowa scientists have discovered a new role for a protein that is mutated in Usher syndrome, one of the most common forms of deaf-blindness in humans. The findings, which were published Aug. 8 in Nature Neuroscience, may help explain why this mutation causes the most severe form of the condition.

16 Aug 2011

La Jolla Institute's new RNAi Center to focus on genetics behind myriad diseases

A major Center that will propel scientific efforts to pinpoint the specific genes involved in causing immune diseases, cancer and other diseases will be opened today at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology.

12 Aug 2011

Single engineered protein blocks two related angiogenic receptors

Cancer needs blood. In fact, some cancer medications work solely to slow or prevent cancer cells from creating new capillaries, choking off their much-needed blood and nutrient supply to halt the growth of tumors.

12 Aug 2011

Scientist determines how nyctalopin gene makes night vision possible

A scientist from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute has determined how a particular gene makes night vision possible. The study, which was published in the August 10, 2011 edition of The Journal of Neuroscience, focuses on a gene called nyctalopin. Mutations in the gene result in inherited "night blindness," a loss of vision in low-light environments.

10 Aug 2011

New genetic cause of retinitis pigmentosa

Combining the expertise of several different labs, University of Iowa researchers have found a new genetic cause of the blinding eye disease retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and, in the process, discovered an entirely new version of the message that codes for the affected protein.

10 Aug 2011

Researchers team up to combat age-related macular degeneration

A professor at the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering has received a $100,000 grant to develop a new technique to fight a disease that gradually destroys vision.

8 Aug 2011

NSF awards WSU researcher CAREER grant to develop neural implants

Neural implants have the potential to treat disorders and diseases that typically require long-term treatment, such as blindness, deafness, epilepsy, spinal cord injury, and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. However, implantable devices have been problematic in clinical applications because of bodily reactions that limit device functioning time.

4 Aug 2011

Mobile health software effectively helps manage diabetes

An interactive computer software program appears to be effective in helping patients manage their Type 2 diabetes using their mobile phones, according to a new study by University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers.

1 Aug 2011

'NOT ME' diabetes initiative in Columbus and around Ohio

The City of Columbus is joining communities across the country to say "NOT ME" to diabetes, offering city workers access to programs proven to prevent and control type 2 diabetes.

1 Aug 2011

Mobile health technology may help patients manage Type 2 diabetes

1 Aug 2011

Patients with diabetes, depression more likely to develop serious eye disease

Patients with diabetes who also suffer from depression are more likely to develop a serious complication known as diabetic retinopathy, a disease that damages the eye's retina, a five-year study finds.

29 Jul 2011

Early detection critical in preventing vision loss among Baby Boomers

Probably the most worrisome health concern for Baby Boomers as they age is the increased possibility of visual impairment or vision loss. For this reason, early detection is critical in successfully preventing and treating eye conditions such as macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, before they lead to major visual changes.

27 Jul 2011

Inotek completes two stages of INO-8875 Phase 2b trial against glaucoma

Inotek Pharmaceuticals Corp., a leader in the development of innovative medicines to address significant diseases of the eye, today announced that the Company has successfully completed the first two of three stages of a multiple-dose Phase 2b clinical trial of its novel eye-drop candidate, INO-8875, in patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

22 Jul 2011