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UTHealth initiates enrollment in study on promising surgical procedure for management of type 2 diabetes

Physicians at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have begun enrollment for a pilot study on a promising surgical approach for the management of Type 2 diabetes.

1 Apr 2011

Merck's VICTRELIS phase III study results against HCV presented at EASL annual meeting

Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, announced results from several new data analyses from the pivotal Phase III studies evaluating the addition of its investigational oral protease inhibitor VICTRELIS to peginterferon alfa-2b and ribavirin in adult patients with chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1 infection.

1 Apr 2011

Stanford professor receives AFER Ludwig von Sallman Clinician-scientist Award

Karl Deisseroth, MD, PhD, has been named the first recipient of the Ludwig von Sallman Clinician-scientist Award, presented by the ARVO Foundation for Eye Research to a clinician-scientist under age 40.

30 Mar 2011

Metabolic Solutions initiates MSDC-0602 Phase 2a trial in patients with type 2 diabetes

Metabolic Solutions Development Company, a drug discovery and development company exploiting novel molecular targets to treat metabolic diseases, announced today that it has launched a Phase 2a trial for MSDC-0602, the company's second drug candidate for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

30 Mar 2011

Diopsys launches new Vision Testing System to detect optic nerve disease

Diopsys, Inc. has launched the new Diopsys NOVA-DN VEP Vision Testing System to help optometrists and ophthalmologists detect optic nerve disease, including glaucoma and other neuro-visual disorders.

29 Mar 2011

Viewpoints: 'Lesson' from R.I. on waivers; Wis. infant mortality rate disparities; diabetes and seniors

Medicaid is the major cost driver in state budgets these days, so several Governors have proposed a deal to the White House and Congress: They'll take less money in return for the flexibility to run the program with fewer federal strings. A case study in the potential benefits is coming from liberal Rhode Island.

29 Mar 2011

Genentech's Lucentis Phase III trials in DME meets primary endpoints

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced today that the second of two Phase III trials evaluating Lucentis in patients with diabetic macular edema met its primary endpoint.

28 Mar 2011

Food safety lawyer calls on Palmyra to pay medical expenses incurred by E. coli outbreak victims

Food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker is calling on Palmyra Bologna Company, Inc., maker of Seltzer's Lebanon bologna products, to pay medical expenses and other costs incurred by victims of a multistate E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in New Jersey, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

24 Mar 2011

Researchers create hiPS-RPE cells to treat age-related macular degeneration

The notion of transplanting adult stem cells to treat or even cure age-related macular degeneration has taken a significant step toward becoming a reality. In a study published today in Stem Cells, Georgetown University Medical Center researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, the ability to create retinal cells derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells that mimic the eye cells that die and cause loss of sight.

24 Mar 2011

NIH: Diabetic retinopathy leads to vision loss in working-age Americans

Diabetes is often called the "silent killer" because people who have it are often unaware they are affected. According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes affects 26 million people – including children – in the United States. Approximately one-quarter of those people do not know they're living with the disease.

23 Mar 2011

SMR, RTU enter license agreement for RESCULA eye drops

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Sucampo Manufacturing & Research AG, and R-Tech Ueno, Ltd., a pharmaceutical company founded in Japan in 1989, have entered into a license agreement for RESCULA eye drops, expanding Sucampo's rights beyond its previously agreed territory of the United States and Canada to all countries in Europe and the rest of the world except Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China.

23 Mar 2011

Anacor Pharma, MMV enter agreement to develop AN3661 for malaria treatment

Anacor Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has entered into a development agreement with Medicines for Malaria Venture to develop Anacor's compound AN3661 for the treatment of malaria.

18 Mar 2011

Eating fish protects from blindness: Study

According to latest study fish that is rich in omega 3 fatty acids significantly lowers the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration that leads to blindness. The study was published in the Archives of Ophthalmology.

17 Mar 2011

Eating fatty fish reduces blindness risk from AMD: Study

New research has shown that consuming omega-3 fatty acids that are most commonly found in oily fish such as tinned salmon and tuna, could prevent the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition that leads to the gradual loss of vision. The required amount may be as low as one to two portions of fish a week that can reduce the risk of sight loss by up to 42 per cent in older women, according to a new study. Earlier results have shown similar benefits in men. Omega 3, whose common form in food is Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) can also be taken as a supplement.

16 Mar 2011

New self-monitoring blood glucose sensor uses tear fluid as sample

People with diabetes could be helped by a new type of self-monitoring blood glucose sensor being developed by Arizona State University engineers and clinicians at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

16 Mar 2011

ACT's hESC-derived RPE cells receive EMA positive opinion for Orphan Drug Designation for Stargardt's disease

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today that the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has announced a positive opinion of ACT's human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells for designation as an orphan medicinal product for the treatment of Stargardt's disease.

11 Mar 2011

Genentech announces positive outcomes from Lucentis Phase III trial against DME

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced that two-year results from a pivotal Phase III trial showed patients with diabetic macular edema who received Lucentis experienced rapid and sustained improvement in vision compared to those who received a placebo injection.

11 Mar 2011

Study reveals flexibility of neuronal processes underlying conscious perception

Our brains process many more stimuli than we become aware of. Often images enter our brain without being noticed: visual information is being processed, but does not reach consciousness, that is, we do not have an impression of it. Then, what is the difference between conscious and unconscious perception, and can both forms of perception be changed through practice?

10 Mar 2011

Merck to present VICTRELIS phase III study data against HCV at EASL annual meeting

Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, announced that several new data analyses from Phase III studies of VICTRELIS, its investigational oral hepatitis C protease inhibitor, will be presented at The International Liver CongressTM / 46th European Association for the Study of the Liver annual meeting.

9 Mar 2011

Anacor and iOWH establish research agreement to identify new drugs for shigellosis

Anacor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ANAC) and the Institute for OneWorld Health (iOWH) today announced the establishment of a joint research agreement to discover antibacterial compounds for treating shigellosis.

8 Mar 2011