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CRN releases 'The Benefits of Nutritional Supplements'

The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the dietary supplement industry's leading trade association, today released its comprehensive report, The Benefits of Nutritional Supplements.

21 Jun 2012

Congress considers Medicare, FDA proposals

The Senate Finance Committee is once again talking deficit reduction and Medicare as both houses are "poised" to pass an FDA bill.

21 Jun 2012

Washington Post provides highlights from Food Security summit

The Washington Post provides highlights from the Washington Post Live "Future of Food: Food Security in the 21st Century" summit that was held on June 14 and "attracted many of the best minds devoted to solving the problem of feeding the world's ever-growing population."

21 Jun 2012

Largest study to examine impact of gastric sleeve surgery on pre-transplant obese patients

Morbidly obese patients with end-stage organ failure may improve their chances for successful organ transplantation after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, according to a new study presented here at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

21 Jun 2012

Foods fortified with folic acid can prevent neural tube defects

Wheat flour milled in Nigeria will soon be fortified with folic acid, a B vitamin known for preventing serious or fatal birth defects of the spine and brain. Women who may become pregnant are encouraged to daily choose foods fortified with this essential vitamin because it can prevent the majority of these devastating birth defects known as neural tube defects.

21 Jun 2012

Blocking Sigma-1 receptor can reduce binge eating

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have demonstrated in experimental models that blocking the Sigma-1 receptor, a cellular protein, reduced binge eating and caused binge eaters to eat more slowly.

21 Jun 2012

FDA grants Orphan Drug Designation to Medgenics’ INFRADURE Biopump

Medgenics, Inc., the developer of Biopump, a novel technology for the sustained production and delivery of therapeutic proteins in patients using their own tissue, today announced that its INFRADURE Biopump has received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Orphan Products Development (OOPD) for the treatment of hepatitis D.

21 Jun 2012

Spinach consumption can partially offset damaging effects of carcinogen

Researchers at Oregon State University for the first time have traced the actions of a known carcinogen in cooked meat to its complex biological effects on microRNA and cancer stem cells.

21 Jun 2012

FDA ODAC votes in favor of Onyx’s Kyprolis

Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) determined by a vote of 11-0 with 1 abstention that, in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior lines of therapy that included a proteasome inhibitor and an immunomodulatory agent (IMiD), the benefit-risk assessment is favorable for the use of Kyprolis.

21 Jun 2012

Concordia research helps develop first brain map of love and desire

Thanks to modern science, we know that love lives in the brain, not in the heart. But where in the brain is it - and is it in the same place as sexual desire? A recent international study is the first to draw an exact map of these intimately linked feelings.

21 Jun 2012

HMS physician publishes new nutrition book

In his new book, Food: You're the Boss, world-renowned Harvard Medical School physician Dr. Gary Epler has put his efforts toward teaching you how put food to work for you - the right food in the right amount at the right time will take care of you forever.

21 Jun 2012

Omega-3 fatty acid supplements can reduce inflammation in overweight older adults

New research shows that omega-3 fatty acid supplements can lower inflammation in healthy, but overweight, middle-aged and older adults, suggesting that regular use of these supplements could help protect against and treat certain illnesses.

21 Jun 2012

FDA approves CDC DENV-1-4 Real Time RT PCR Assay to treat dengue

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed a new diagnostic test to detect the presence of dengue virus in people with symptoms of dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever. The test, called the CDC DENV-1-4 Real Time RT PCR Assay, has been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States and can be performed using equipment and supplies many public health laboratories already use to diagnose influenza.

21 Jun 2012

U.N. food and agriculture agencies urge G20 to increase efforts to fight hunger; G20 launches AgResults initiative

As G20 leaders wrapped up their meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico, on Tuesday, the U.N. food and agriculture agencies -- the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) -- issued a joint statement "calling on them to redouble their efforts to fight hunger" and "welcoming the priority given to food and nutrition security at the summit," the U.N. News Centre reports.

21 Jun 2012

Sun exposure, vitamin D and pancreatic cancer risk

High levels of ultraviolet radiation at an individual's birth location, sun-sensitive skin type and a history of skin cancer each decreased risk for pancreatic cancer, according to study results presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Pancreatic Cancer: Progress and Challenges conference, held here June 18-21.

20 Jun 2012

Antimicrobial exposure may increase risk of allergies in children

Exposure to common antibacterial chemicals and preservatives found in soap, toothpaste, mouthwash and other personal-care products may make children more prone to a wide range of food and environmental allergies, according to new research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

20 Jun 2012

HCHD program educates entire family to tackle obesity in children

Obesity is a growing problem among children, but the Harris County Hospital District has put in place a program that educates entire families.

20 Jun 2012

Examining NGO priorities on food security, nutrition at G20 summit in Mexico

In this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, David Olson, a global development consultant, examines what non-governmental organizations (NGOs) "want to get out of the G20 Mexico on an issue that is a priority to NGOs as well as the Mexican presidency of the G20 -- 'enhancing food security and addressing commodity price volatility,' in the words of the Mexican government."

20 Jun 2012

European Commission announces 40M euro increase in aid to Africa's Sahel region

The European Commission (E.C.) on Monday "announced an increase in funding to the Sahel by 40 million euros [$50.5 million] as the food crisis is set to peak in the coming weeks putting 18 million people at risk from hunger," the Guardian reports, noting that the new money brings the total amount from the E.U. to 337 million euros, or $425 million.

20 Jun 2012

Bariatric procedure increases risk of alcohol use disorders two years after surgery

Adults who had a common bariatric surgery to lose weight had a significantly higher risk of alcohol use disorders (AUD) two years after surgery, according to a study by a National Institutes of Health research consortium.

20 Jun 2012