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Antidepressants do work in depression while evidence for cognitive behavioural yherapy is poorer say experts

A new revision of clinical guidelines to help doctors manage patients with depression has challenged the rationale behind the UK government's policy of rolling out of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for milder depression.

7 May 2008

Russia should increase HIV prevention efforts targeted at IDUs, UNAIDS Executive Director Piot says

Russia should increase efforts to address HIV/AIDS among injection drug users to slow the spread of the disease, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot said on Saturday during a conference on HIV/AIDS in the former Soviet Union, Reuters reports. According to Reuters, the former Soviet Union has the third-highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide.

6 May 2008

Geron Corporation awarded UK grant funding for human embryonic stem cell research

Geron Corporation announced today two grant awards to the University of Edinburgh from the UK Stem Cell Foundation, with funding from the Medical Research Council and Scottish Enterprise.

6 May 2008

New saliva-based HIV test gives results in 20 minutes!

The usual waiting period for the results of a HIV test can seem like an eternity, especially in emergency situations where results are needed immediately. Also it requires a blood sample, which is invasive and often painful. Recognizing the urgent need for a faster and less invasive diagnostic method, Dr. Nitika Pant Pai, from Marina Klein's research team at the MUHC has just finished testing a new saliva-based test that gives results in approximately 20 minutes! She describes her findings in an article that will appear in the May 6th, 2008 issue of PLoS Medicine.

6 May 2008

Rate of voluntary HIV testing unchanged in Singapore despite expanded access to rapid HIV tests

The number of people who voluntarily took HIV tests in Singapore in 2007 did not improve despite increased access of rapid HIV testing kits to more than 60 clinics, Singapore's Today reports.

5 May 2008

Drug candidate to treat smallpox scaled up by new partnership

Two American companies are teaming up for second-round test-phase production of a FDA-designated "fast track" drug candidate to treat smallpox, a deadly virus that is feared to be able to reach people through acts of bio-warfare or bio-terrorism.

5 May 2008

Anti-HIV NanoViricide drug candidate shows promise in animal trials

NanoViricides, Inc said that its anti-HIV drug candidates demonstrated significant therapeutic efficacy in the recently completed preliminary animal studies.

5 May 2008

High-fat diet for severe childhood epilepsy prevents seizures

According to experts in Britain a high-fat diet for children with severe epilepsy can dramatically reduce or prevent seizures; seizures are caused by bursts of electrical activity in the brain.

5 May 2008

Fat grafting for breast enhancement

It is the cosmetic treatment many women have dreamed of -- taking the fat from their hips and thighs and redistributing it to their breasts. But many people question whether this procedure is safe or effective.

2 May 2008

Alendronate may improve successful implantation of maxillary bone

A new study has established that estrogen deficiency negatively affects implant osseointegration in rats' maxillary bone.

1 May 2008

ImmunoVaccine Technologies patents DepoVax vaccine platform

ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. (IVT), a vaccine development company, unveiled today its DepoVax platform, a novel depot vaccine delivery system used to increase the efficacy and strength of vaccines. IVT has filed additional patents to protect the DepoVax concept.

30 Apr 2008

AstraZeneca submits sNDA for SYMBICORT in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

AstraZeneca today announced that it submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of a new indication for SYMBICORT (budesonide/formoterol fumarate dihydrate) Inhalation Aerosol for the treatment of patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). SYMBICORT is currently approved for the long-term maintenance treatment of asthma in patients 12 years and older.

30 Apr 2008

FDA begins multi-year hiring initiative

Biologists, chemists, medical officers, mathematical statisticians and investigators are among the experts in demand as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration begins a multi-year hiring initiative.

30 Apr 2008

FDA approves Amitiza for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Amitiza (lubiprostone) for the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation (IBS-C) in adult women aged 18 and over.

29 Apr 2008

Ranibizumab therapy for diabetic eye disease shows promise

A JDRF collaboration between Johns Hopkins researchers and Genentech has shown that a drug for the treatment of diabetic eye disease has performed better in clinical trials than the current standard treatment using laser surgery.

29 Apr 2008

Gastric bypass surgery and effect on lower back pain

The prevalence of both obesity and back pain in developing nations has reached alarming levels. According to recent statistics, more than one-third of U.S. adults - over 72 million people were obese in 2005-2006. Of these, 33.3 percent were men and 35.3 percent were women. Especially alarming is that obesity has not decreased among teenagers - the rates remain essentially unchanged in 2005-2006 from the 2003-2004 estimates, at 17 percent.

29 Apr 2008

Deep brain stimulation may help people with treatment resistant major depression

Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic, Brown University, and Massachusetts General Hospital will present results of a long-term outcome study that builds on previous promising research, which has shown that deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a potentially effective treatment option for people with treatment resistant major depression.

29 Apr 2008

CDC says one in four children are out of compliance with U.S. vaccination guidelines

Your toddler might be improperly vaccinated, even if she's had every immunization the government recommends, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

29 Apr 2008

Cell-based therapy shows promise in patients with Parkinson's disease

Rush University Medical Center neurosurgeon Dr. Roy A. E. Bakay and colleagues from Emory University, Atlanta found the therapy Spheramine was well-tolerated and patients experienced improvement in Parkinsonian symptoms (tremor, rigidity, slowness of movements, and impaired balance and coordination.)

28 Apr 2008

Latona acquires patent rights and orphan drug status to drug compound for rheumatoid arthritis

Latona Life Sciences Inc. announced today that it has entered into two agreements for the acquisition of patent rights and orphan drug status to a novel late-stage drug, trademarked "Oralgam," for the treatment of Juvenile and Adult Rheumatoid Arthritis.

24 Apr 2008