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Kauffman Foundation sponsors National Conference on Value-driven Engineering

Researchers, health care engineers and medical device experts gathered this week for the inaugural National Conference on Value-driven Engineering to Improve Medical Innovation for U.S. Global Competitiveness assembled by the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron (ABIA) and sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

30 Apr 2012

U of U develops small implantable middle-ear microphone

Cochlear implants have restored basic hearing to some 220,000 deaf people, yet a microphone and related electronics must be worn outside the head, raising reliability issues, preventing patients from swimming and creating social stigma.

30 Apr 2012

Study links obesity in young people to familiarity with fast-food ads

There is a long-held concern that youths who eat a lot of fast food are at risk for becoming overweight. New research to be presented Sunday, April 29, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston shows that greater familiarity with fast-food restaurant advertising on television is associated with obesity in young people.

30 Apr 2012

Food-insecure mothers associated with childhood obesity

While eating too much food can cause obesity, the fear of not having enough food may lead to the same result, according to a study to be presented Saturday, April 28, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston.

30 Apr 2012

WVU Healthcare surgeon implants diaphragmatic pacemaker in young quadriplegic

A surgeon for WVU Healthcare has implanted a diaphragmatic pacemaker in a pediatric patient, making West Virginia University's medical center only the second in the country to use this device on a young patient, after Case-Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

30 Apr 2012

Breast-fed babies may have healthy gut microbial population

Early colonization of the gut by microbes in infants is critical for development of their intestinal tract and in immune development. A new study, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology, shows that differences in bacterial colonization of formula-fed and breast-fed babies leads to changes in the infant's expression of genes involved in the immune system, and in defense against pathogens.

30 Apr 2012

Link between recognition of television alcohol ads and underage drinking

Minors who were familiar with television alcohol advertisements were more likely to have tried alcoholic beverages and binge drink than those who could not recall seeing such ads, according to a study to be presented Sunday, April 29, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston.

30 Apr 2012

Symposium at PAS annual meeting to focus on pediatric obesity

One of the biggest health problems facing children today is pediatric obesity. Getting to the core of what is causing obesity - and how the U.S. can tackle this problem - is the focus of a topic symposium at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston.

30 Apr 2012

Ramson leaves can be confused with poisonous plants

The National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark has assessed the possible toxic effects of eating ramson, which in recent years has become a popular plant to gather and eat in Denmark. As such, ramson does not contain any substances that are toxic for humans, but they can be confused with poisonous plants. In particular, before flowering, ramson leaves can be confused with autumn crocus and lily of the valley. Several cases of poisoning have been reported in other European countries with fatal consequences as a result of this confusion.

30 Apr 2012

VIVUS receives FDA approval for Stendra to treat erectile dysfunction

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Stendra (avanafil), a new drug to treat erectile dysfunction.

30 Apr 2012

Five U.S. federal agencies provide significant contributions each year to global health R&D

A new report that the United States government is the largest funder of global health research and development (R&D) in the world, investing $12.7 billion over the past 10 years in the creation of new vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and other products for neglected diseases of the developing world. That funding, according to the report, helped lead to the development of more than half of the 45 new health products in the last decade that have been used to save lives around the world.

30 Apr 2012

FDA approves VIVUS’ STENDRA for treatment of erectile dysfunction

VIVUS, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved STENDRA (avanafil) tablets for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED), marking the first new prescription agent approved in nearly a decade for the condition that afflicts as many as 30 million men in the U.S.

30 Apr 2012

U.S. District Court rules in favor of Merck over ZETIA and VYTORIN patent litigation

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has ruled in Merck's favor in two jointly related patent infringement suits against Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.

30 Apr 2012

Devices to aid dementia sufferers suggested

Five novel ideas were shortlisted for further development in a competition run by the Design Council and the Department of Health, to help make the lives of hundreds of thousands of people with dementia easier and more enjoyable.

29 Apr 2012

U.S. government made 'strong progress' in fight against world hunger, but much remains to be done, report says

According to the 2012 Progress Report on U.S. Leadership in Global Agricultural Development (.pdf), released by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on Thursday, "[t]he U.S. government risks losing the gains it has made in fighting world hunger unless it maintains its effort of the last three years in improving global agricultural practices and food security," Reuters reports.

27 Apr 2012

Cameron Health's subcutaneous ICD for sudden cardiac arrest receives FDA advisory panel approval

Cameron Health, Inc., a pioneer in the development, manufacture and distribution of next generation implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Circulatory System Devices Panel voted 7-1 that sufficient data exists demonstrating the efficacy and safety of the S-ICD System for the treatment of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

27 Apr 2012

Feed the Future examines 'whole-of-government approach' to fighting global hunger

Tjada McKenna, deputy coordinator for development for Feed the Future, and Jonathan Shrier, acting special representative for global food security and deputy coordinator for diplomacy for Feed the Future, examine efforts to end global hunger through a "whole-of-government approach" in this article on the initiative's webpage.

27 Apr 2012

Global food prices increase in first quarter of 2012, World Bank report says

"Global food prices again rose in the first quarter of 2012 on the back of higher oil prices, putting millions of people at risk of not having enough to eat," according to a report released Wednesday by the World Bank, Agence France-Presse reports.

27 Apr 2012

USDA: Dairy cow in California tested positive for atypical BSE

This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed that a dairy cow in California tested positive for atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The USDA also confirmed the cow did not enter the animal feed or human food supply

27 Apr 2012

FDA ODAC to review Onyx’s NDA for carfilzomib

Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) will review the company's new drug application (NDA) for carfilzomib for the treatment of patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior therapies. ODAC will review carfilzomib at its meeting on June 20, 2012.

27 Apr 2012