Efficacy News and Research

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Significant gaps in knowledge about mental disorders in the Asia-Pacific region

While ANZ mental health researchers have an outstanding record of collaboration and publishing internationally, most of this activity relates to rich countries in North America and Europe. "

4 Apr 2007

Targeted therapies improve colon cancer survival rates

People diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer that has spread to distant organs, such as White House spokesman Tony Snow, are much more likely to survive today than even just a few years ago, due to the recent and continued emergence of improved therapies, say cancer experts.

3 Apr 2007

Multimechanism-targeted therapy for migraine more effective than single medications

Combining two different types of treatment for migraine results in better symptom relief than taking either one of the medications, according to a study in the April 4 issue of JAMA.

3 Apr 2007

Risedronate versus Alendronate study

The largest retrospective, observational study comparing two osteoporosis therapies on the basis of fracture reduction was presented today at the Seventh European Congress on Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ECCEO) in Porto, Portugal.

3 Apr 2007

Philadelphia Inquirer examines efficacy of genetic testing to determine risk of breast cancer relapse

The Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday examined the efficacy of Genomic Health's Oncotype DX test and Amsterdam, Netherlands-based Agendia's MammaPrint, both of which measure a woman's odds of breast cancer relapse by testing her removed tumor for genes that can predict the likelihood of her cancer returning.

3 Apr 2007

Substantial need for mental health services in the general population

First large-scale assessment of the general population shows nearly 30 percent need mental health care and about one-third of them get it.

3 Apr 2007

Sodium Bicarbonate vs. Sodium Chloride in persons undergoing coronary angiography

In patients undergoing cardiac catheterization, contrast dye injection can sometimes cause contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN), otherwise known as acute renal failure.

3 Apr 2007

Preventive health examinations may provide opportunities for cancer screening

Health plan members who receive preventive health examinations, as opposed to going to a physician only when they are sick, appear more likely to undergo testing for colorectal, breast and prostate cancers, according to a report in the March 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

3 Apr 2007

New blood thinner thrombin-receptor antagonist may work without bleeding risk

When studying a new blood thinner, one of the first signs the drug is working is seeing a slight increase in minor bleeding, nose bleeds and bruising, an inconvenient side effect of preventing the blood clots that are the leading cause of heart attack and stroke.

3 Apr 2007

$Drug that mimics HDL does not reduce risk of death for heart attack patients with refractory shock$

Drug that mimics HDL does not reduce risk of death for heart attack patients with refractory shock

Patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), such as heart attack and recent-onset chest pain, remain at considerable risk of experiencing further serious cardiovascular problems despite improvements in care.

2 Apr 2007

Effect of Torcetrapib on the progression of coronary atherosclerosis

Investigators report that torcetrapib, a drug that substantially raises high-density lipoprotein cholesterol or HDL (the "good" cholesterol), did not slow the progression of plaque buildup in the coronary arteries as measured using an ultrasound probe (IVUS).

2 Apr 2007

Adding estradiol to a polymer-free rapamycin-eluting stent is not associated with any measurable benefit

Patients admitted to the hospital with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are often treated with a catheter-based procedure known as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), during which a stent is inserted into an occluded or narrowed coronary artery to restore blood flow to and from the heart.

2 Apr 2007

Major step forward for islet transplantation in diabetes patient

Living Cell Technologies Limited has announced it has published evidence outlining the survival and identification of live porcine islet cells and insulin production in a human patient 10 years after receiving a pig islet cell transplant.

2 Apr 2007

Reconstituted HDL may have some benefit in coronary atherosclerosis

Preliminary research suggests that use of reconstituted HDL may have some benefit in coronary atherosclerosis, according to a JAMA study published online March 26.

2 Apr 2007

More Ugandan men seeking circumcisions to lower HIV risk

An increasing number of Ugandan men are seeking circumcisions in response to increasing evidence that the procedure could reduce a man's risk of contracting HIV, the AP/Advocate reports

2 Apr 2007

Efficacy of Ugandan HIV prevention programs decreasing

The efficacy of Uganda's HIV prevention programs is decreasing because a new generation of young people are no longer receiving the messages of fidelity that helped curb the country's HIV epidemic in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Washington Post reports.

2 Apr 2007

Study results on bifeprunox in patients with schizophrenia

Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Lundbeck A/S presented clinical study results on bifeprunox at an international medical congress this week.

2 Apr 2007

Actigraphy helps assess and manage sleep disorders

Actigraphy, the use of a portable device that records movement over extended periods of time, and has been used extensively in the study of sleep and circadian rhythms, provides an acceptably accurate estimate of sleep patterns in normal, healthy adult populations and in-patients suspected of certain sleep disorders, according to practice parameters published in the April 1st issue of the journal SLEEP.

2 Apr 2007

GlaxoSmithKline submits Biologics License Application (BLA) for CERVARIX

If licensed, the vaccine will be indicated for the prevention of cervical cancer and precancerous lesions associated with the most common cancer-causing human papillomavirus types.

1 Apr 2007

GlaxoSmithKline files European meningococcal conjugate vaccine

GlaxoSmithKline has announced the submission of a regulatory file to European Medicines Agency (EMEA) under Article 58 for the combination vaccine candidate Globorix (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, Neisseria meningitides serogroups A and C).

1 Apr 2007