Food News and Research

RSS

USAID warns humanitarian crisis in Yemen being 'overlooked,' pledges additional $6.5M in aid

"The U.S. government aid agency on Tuesday warned that a humanitarian crisis in conflict-ridden Yemen was being 'overlooked' despite escalating to levels seen in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel," Agence France-Presse reports.

7 Jun 2012

Study suggests link between fungi and ulcerative colitis

Cedars-Sinai researchers say their examination of the fungi in the intestines suggests an important link between these microbes and inflammatory diseases such as ulcerative colitis.

7 Jun 2012

DODAC to discuss ThromboGenics’ new BLA for ocriplasmin intravitreal injection

ThromboGenics NV, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative ophthalmic medicines, today announces that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has notified the Company that its new biologic license application (BLA) for ocriplasmin intravitreal injection will be discussed at the Dermatologic and Ophthalmic Drugs Advisory Committee scheduled for July 26, 2012.

7 Jun 2012

Economic Community of West African States launches urgent appeal for aid to Africa's Sahel region

"The Economic Community of West African States [ECOWAS] sent a distress call Tuesday to the international community declaring that more than six million people are at risk of hunger in the Sahel region of Africa, including more than a million children exposed to severe malnutrition," CNN reports.

7 Jun 2012

Study reviews role of gut microbes in nutrient absorption and energy regulation

Microorganisms in the human gastrointestinal tract form an intricate, living fabric made up of some 500 to 1000 distinct bacterial species, (in addition to other microbes). Recently, researchers have begun to untangle the subtle role these diverse life forms play in maintaining health and regulating weight.

7 Jun 2012

Dentists explore how psychological factors affect oral health

What does mental health have to do with dental health? Quite a bit, according to Richard Heyman, PhD, and Amy Smith Slep, PhD, psychologists who joined the New York University College of Dentistry (NYUCD) in July 2011.

7 Jun 2012

International community should focus on resilience, not just relief, in response to drought in Horn of Africa

"Over the past year, 13.3 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia were thrown into crisis as a result of drought in the Horn of Africa, the worst in 60 years," USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah writes in this Devex opinion piece.

7 Jun 2012

Viewpoints: Wis. vote cements walker plan to raise state workers' health costs; Treating addiction; Obama's silence on insurance mandate

Many of those voters also expect that, going forward, the dividends for Wisconsin residents, their school districts and other governments will continue to grow. As old labor contracts expire, public officials will write into the new contracts the other Walker-inspired personnel provisions - such as higher (but still relatively inexpensive) employees' contributions to their pension and health plans - that have lowered government expenses. New labor pacts, that is, should keep reducing government costs across Wisconsin.

7 Jun 2012

Boehringer Ingelheim updates U.S. prescribing information for Pradaxa with FDA

Boehringer Ingelheim has today announced that it has updated the US prescribing information for Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) in alignment with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to affirm that "Pradaxa 150mg twice daily was superior in reducing ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes relative to warfarin."

7 Jun 2012

Pioneering new test can quickly diagnose coeliac disease

Coeliac disease affects millions of people worldwide, but many sufferers are not aware they have the condition or may have been misdiagnosed with other illnesses. A pioneering new test developed with EU-funding should soon be available in hospitals, offering an accurate, quick, cost-effective diagnosis and monitoring solution.

6 Jun 2012

Iron and micronutrient-enriched foodstuffs can fight against anaemia

Iron deficiency and the anaemia it can cause are a major public health problem, affecting 2 billion people worldwide: mostly young children and pregnant women in developing countries. Despite decades of research into prevention and treatment, the situation is not improving, and is even deteriorating in some countries. Africa and India have the highest levels of anaemia, with more than 50% of women affected. In India, the illness is thought to cause up to 40% of maternal deaths.

6 Jun 2012

Growing obesity in developing countries a sign of historic global tipping point

In this Bloomberg Businessweek opinion piece, Charles Kenny, a fellow at the Center for Global Development and the New America Foundation, examines the global obesity epidemic, writing, "It may seem strange to be worried about too much food when the United Nations suggests that, as the planet's population continues to expand, about one billion people may still be undernourished," but "growing obesity in poorer countries is a sign of a historic global tipping point."

6 Jun 2012

Half of New Yorkers say soda ban proposal goes too far, but legal challenges could be hard to win

Half of New Yorkers say the proposal by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to limit the size of sugary drinks goes too far, but analysts say legal challenges to the limits might not be able to stop the policy.

6 Jun 2012

MBC receives $50,000 FABC grant to further research into blood donor safety

Memorial Blood Centers (MBC), a national leader in transfusion medicine, today announced the receipt of a $50,000 grant from The Foundation for America's Blood Centers (FABC) that will further research into blood donor safety.

6 Jun 2012

FDA issues complete response letter to Merck’s ridaforolimus NDA

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a complete response letter regarding the New Drug Application (NDA) for ridaforolimus.

6 Jun 2012

Research examines why we consume so much water

Our bodies need about two litres of fluids per day, not two litres of water specifically. In an Editorial in the June issue of Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Spero Tsindos from La Trobe University, examined why we consume so much water.

6 Jun 2012

FDA approves Lupin’s SUPRAX capsules

Pharma major, Lupin Ltd., announced today that its subsidiary, Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. has received approval for SUPRAX (Cefixime) Capsules 400 mg from the United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).

6 Jun 2012

T-DM1 better than standard therapy in controlling breast cancer

A new cancer treatment that links chemotherapy with an agent that homes in on specific breast cancer cells was significantly better than the current drug regimen at keeping patients' advanced tumors from progressing, according to results from a Phase III clinical trial led by Kimberly Blackwell, M.D., of the Duke Cancer Institute.

5 Jun 2012

Chicago psychological center serves as model for treatment of binge eating

As experts discuss major changes in binge eating, a Chicago psychological center serves as a model for treatment of the most common eating disorder.

5 Jun 2012

Bloomberg's proposed super-size soda ban is latest attack on portion size in war against obesity

New York City mayor seeks to limit the size of sugary beverages but the plan draws scorn from the soft drink industry and heightens the debate about how involved government should be in efforts to "steer individual behavior in the name of health."

5 Jun 2012