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ARIAD Pharmaceuticals commences ponatinib Phase 3 trial in newly diagnosed CML

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the initiation of the randomized Phase 3 trial of ponatinib, its investigational pan-BCR-ABL inhibitor, in adult patients with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

28 Jul 2012

Roundup: Mass. lawmakers struggle to reach agreement on cost controls; $100M grant for Calif. stem cell research; N.C. to move mentally ill from elderly homes

The House and Senate are under the gun to reach an agreement on how to lower health care costs while improving care. A conference committee aims to have a bill out on Sunday. Their deadline is Monday evening. In the meantime, several major issues are still unresolved, including what to do about hospitals that use their market clout to demand high prices that are not based on higher quality. Attorney General Martha Coakley, the state's top insurers and several consumer groups argue that price is a critical issue.

28 Jul 2012

NICE steps up physical activity efforts

NICE has launched a public health briefing for local governments on how to promote physical activity, warning that staging the Olympics may not be enough to get people up off their sofas and taking exercise.

27 Jul 2012

Altered default network connectivity in FEP patients

Patients with a first episode of psychosis show altered functional connectivity in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex default network subsystem, researchers report.

27 Jul 2012

Rehab benefit for meth abuse not crystal clear

Community-based residential rehabilitation significantly reduces methamphetamine use compared with detoxification, but the effect only lasts for up to a year, researchers report.

27 Jul 2012

PedBrain Tumor network publishes evaluation of first 125 genome analyses of medulloblastomas

Brain tumors are the primary cause of cancer mortality in children. Even if a cure is possible, young patients often suffer from the stressful treatment which can be harmful to the developing brain. The most common childhood brain tumors are medulloblastoma and pylocytic astrocytoma.

27 Jul 2012

Viral evolution and host protein levels predict rapid disease progression in hepatitis C patients

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have identified several factors in people infected with the hepatitis C virus that may predict whether the unusually rapid progression of disease from initial infection to severe liver conditions, such as cirrhosis, will occur. Knowing whether a patient's condition is likely to deteriorate quickly could help physicians decide on the best course of treatment.

27 Jul 2012

Fusion of FGFR and TACC gene leads to glioblastoma

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have discovered that some cases of glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of primary brain cancer, are caused by the fusion of two adjacent genes.

26 Jul 2012

FDA approves Horizon Pharma's RAYOS to treat key IL-6 mediated diseases

Horizon Pharma, Inc., announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved RAYOS (prednisone) delayed-release tablets (1 mg, 2 mg and 5 mg) to treat a broad range of diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

26 Jul 2012

Takeda, Sucampo file AMITIZA sNDA with FDA for treatment of opioid-induced constipation

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A. Inc. today announced the filing of a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval for a new indication for AMITIZA (lubiprostone) for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in patients with chronic, non-cancer pain.

26 Jul 2012

Gilead Sciences second quarter total revenues increase 13% to $2.41 billion

Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced today its results of operations for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

26 Jul 2012

Study supports sphincter-saving surgery

Fissurectomy results in high levels of healing and low rates of anal incontinence, show the results of the largest ever prospective study of the technique.

26 Jul 2012

Walking speeds the way to understanding elderly blood pressure

The first study to examine walking speed, mortality, and blood pressure has shown that frail, elderly adults who have high blood pressure may actually be at a decreased risk for mortality, write researchers in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

26 Jul 2012

China calls for additional reform of its national health-care system

"Chinese health officials on Tuesday called for additional reform of China's health-care system amid mounting costs, problems at public hospitals and a surge of patients with chronic diseases," the Wall Street Journal reports.

26 Jul 2012

New association found between basal cell carcinoma and eczema

In the powerful sunlight of July, newly published results from a large study of people at high risk for basal cell carcinoma support the emerging view of the nation's most common cancer as a chronic ailment that often repeatedly afflicts older people but for which the seeds may be planted in youth. The research also found a new association with eczema.

26 Jul 2012

Insomnia: an interview with Dr Darryle Schoepp

Insomnia is a very common disorder. In medical terms it can affect a third of people. It affects elderly as well as non-elderly people, and is more common in women.

26 Jul 2012

American Society of Hematology announces new grant program for biomedical research

The American Society of Hematology (ASH), the world's largest professional organization dedicated to the causes and treatment of blood disorders, today announced its commitment of $9 million over a three-year period to provide funding, in the form of bridge grants, for its hematologists whose vital research will not be accomplished due to the severe funding reductions for biomedical research.

26 Jul 2012

Vitamin B12 supplements and hepatitis C treatment: an interview with Gerardo Nardone and Alba Rocco

Since its discovery in 1989, hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been recognized as a major cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. The most recent WHO estimate of the prevalence of HCV infection is 2%, representing . about 150 million people. Every year, 3–4 million new people are infected with the hepatitis C virus, of those, approximately 60–80% develop chronic hepatitis, and 30% of them progress to cirrhosis and to end-stage liver disease.

26 Jul 2012

Study finds disparities in the assessment of patients for kidney transplant

Young black patients and patients without private health insurance are less likely to be assessed for a kidney transplant when they start dialysis, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

26 Jul 2012

Molecular explanation for increased susceptibility to intestinal inflammation in malnutrition

More than one billion people in poor countries are starving, and malnutrition remains a major problem even in rich countries, making it a leading cause of death in the world. For over a hundred years, doctors have known that a lack of protein in the diet or low levels of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, can lead to symptoms like diarrhoea, inflamed intestines and other immune system disorders, which weaken the body and can be fatal. However, the molecular mechanism which explains how malnutrition causes such severe symptoms has been largely unexplored.

26 Jul 2012