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4SC Discovery enters exclusive research and license agreement with LEO Pharma

LEO Pharma A/S, a global pharmaceutical company specialising in dermatology, has entered into an exclusive research and license agreement with the German biotech company 4SC Discovery GmbH with the primary aim of jointly researching, developing and commercialising an oral treatment for inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis.

26 Feb 2013

Wnt-induced Lgr5 expression marks stem cell production in the liver

For decades scientists around the world have attempted to regenerate primary liver cells known as hepatocytes because of their numerous biomedical applications, including hepatitis research, drug metabolism and toxicity studies, as well as transplantation for cirrhosis and other chronic liver conditions. But no lab in the world has been successful in identifying and growing liver stem cells in culture -- using any available technique - until now.

26 Feb 2013

Research roundup: Patients hesitant to focus on costs; Increase in primary care demand is uneven

One way to contain health care spending is to get patients involved in weighing costs of treatment options with their doctors. Researchers recruited 211 medically insured participants to assess their willingness to consider costs when choosing treatments. The authors found that participants generally "preferred better care, even when the relative benefit it offered was marginal, and even when told that the second-best choice still met the threshold of 'good enough' care from a clinician's perspective.

26 Feb 2013

Insight into cellular operations that give extraordinary staying power to S. mansoni

From the point of view of its ultimate (human) host, the parasitic flatworm Schistosoma mansoni has a gruesome way of life. It hatches in feces-tainted water, grows into a larva in the body of a snail and then burrows through human skin to take up residence in the veins. Once there, it grows into an adult, mates and, if it's female, starts laying eggs. It can remain in the body for decades.

26 Feb 2013

HDAC-mediated mechanisms play critical role in regulating lung repair and regeneration

Lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are on the rise, according to the American Lung Association and the National Institutes of Health.

26 Feb 2013

LINX device may help relieve chronic heartburn symptoms

Clinical trial results published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week offer additional evidence that a new device may help relieve chronic heartburn symptoms that standard treatment cannot. The Keck Medical Center of USC was one of 14 U.S. and European medical centers to test the device prior to its March 2012 approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

26 Feb 2013

Avaxia initiates AVX-470 Phase 1b clinical study in ulcerative colitis

Avaxia Biologics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing gut-targeted therapeutics, announced today that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 1b clinical study of AVX-470, an oral anti-TNF antibody, for the treatment of ulcerative colitis.

25 Feb 2013

Opioids are main contributor to fatal overdoses

The number of deaths from drug overdoses in the United States in 2010 rose for the 11th consecutive year, show data from the National Center for Health Statistics.

25 Feb 2013

Gas transfer predicts survival in lung disease patients

Gas transfer is the best lung function predictor of survival in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, study results suggest.

25 Feb 2013

Non-tuberculous mycobacterial disease risk increased in COPD

Chronic respiratory disease is a significant risk factor for non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease, results from a French study show.

25 Feb 2013

COPD has negative prognostic impact in heart attack patients

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is associated with an increased risk for death and hospital readmission for cardiovascular causes in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, research shows.

25 Feb 2013

Harmful effects of stress may be key to managing chronic pain

For chronic pain sufferers, such as people who develop back pain after a car accident, avoiding the harmful effects of stress may be key to managing their condition.

25 Feb 2013

Omalizumab fast, safe and well-tolerated in teens and adults with chronic spontaneous urticaria

An international team of researchers has found that a once-a-month, high-dose injection of a commonly used asthma drug is highly effective in treating teens and adults chronically afflicted with hives and severe, itchy rash. The drug, omalizumab, was tested on 323 people at 55 medical centers for whom standard antihistamine therapy failed to quell their underlying, allergy-like reaction, known as chronic idiopathic urticaria or chronic spontaneous urticaria.

25 Feb 2013

Researchers map complex interactions of proteins that control inflammation

Inflammatory response plays a major role in both health protection and disease generation. While the symptoms of disease-related inflammatory response have been know, scientists have not understood the mechanisms that underlie it.

25 Feb 2013

WUSTL to develop 3-D computer models of brain biomechanics to better understand TBI

Washington University in St. Louis engineering researchers have received a five-year, $2.25 million grant to better understand traumatic brain injuries in efforts to improve methods for prevention and treatment.

25 Feb 2013

Duke researchers focus on deadly math behind mutated genes and damaged cells that drive cancer

Two Duke researchers are focusing on the deadly mathematics behind the mutated genes and damaged cells that drive cancer.

25 Feb 2013

Bayshore Community Hospital's Center for Bariatrics receives ASMBS designation

Bayshore Community Hospital is proud to announce that its Center for Bariatrics has earned the prestigious "Center of Excellence" designation by the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

24 Feb 2013

Schistosome stem cells could explain how the worms survive for so many years

The parasites that cause schistosomiasis, one of the most common parasitic infections in the world, are notoriously long-lived. Researchers have now found stem cells inside the parasite that can regenerate worn-down organs, which may help explain how they can live for years or even decades inside their host.

24 Feb 2013

Washington University creates new type of air-cleaning technology

Washington University engineering researchers have created a new type of air-cleaning technology that could better protect human lungs from allergens, airborne viruses and ultrafine particles in the air.

23 Feb 2013