Chronic News and Research

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Biologists discover how fruit flies can provide solutions to human pain, control insect-borne diseases

Studies of a protein that fruit flies use to sense heat and chemicals may someday provide solutions to human pain and the control of disease-spreading mosquitoes.

7 Dec 2011

INT-777 shows promise against metabolic syndrome

Heart disease is a major cause of death in industrialised countries, and is strongly associated with obesity and diabetes. Many scientists believe that what links these conditions is a chronic, low-grade inflammation.

7 Dec 2011

Inbreeding in bed bugs one key to massive increases in infestations

New research on the bed bug’s ability to withstand the genetic bottleneck of inbreeding, announced today at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) annual meeting, provides new clues to explain the rapidly growing problem of bed bugs across the United States and globally. After mostly disappearing in the US in the 1950s, the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) has reappeared with a vengeance over the past decade. These stubborn pests have developed a resistance to the insecticides, known as pyrethroids, commonly used against them.

6 Dec 2011

Therakos commences enrollment in photopheresis Phase IIb clinical study for chronic GvHD

Therakos, Inc., a pioneer in the innovative treatment of extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) for immune modulation therapy, today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in its Phase IIb clinical study evaluating the use of the company's photopheresis technology in the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease (GvHD).

6 Dec 2011

Experts to explore neuroethics of memory at SUNY Downstate symposium

Recent advances in understanding how memory functions and how memories could potentially be erased medically have raised numerous ethical questions. Scientists, ethicists, and legal scholars will explore the neuroethics of memory at a symposium organized by SUNY Downstate Medical Center on Friday, December 9, at the SUNY Global Center, 116 East 55th Street, New York, New York.

6 Dec 2011

AHRQ-funded study to monitor rural patients following hospital discharge

Medical errors during hospital stays make headlines, but far more common are problems that occur after patients — especially older ones — go home. Little research has focused on the critical weeks after discharge, and none has focused on rural patients — until now.

6 Dec 2011

Researchers reveal how podocytes may regenerate themselves during normal kidney function

Damage to podocytes -- a specialized type of epithelial cell in the kidney -- occurs in more than 90 percent of all chronic kidney disease. Now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have uncovered an unexpected pathway that reveals for the first time how these cells may regenerate and renew themselves during normal kidney function.

6 Dec 2011

Mental health system problems emerge in Calif.

The U.S. Department of Justice says Napa State Hospital and Norwalk's Metropolitan State Hospital have failed to comply with critical provisions of a sweeping consent judgment imposed in 2006. ... In a filing late Friday night, federal officials detailed key failings: ... preventable suicides, nursing errors leading to unnecessary suffering, improper use of some restraints and a failure to adequately analyze and prevent violence.

6 Dec 2011

Headaches after TBI more prevalent among adolescents, girls

More than half a million children in the U.S. sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year. Adults who suffer TBI often report headaches afterward, but little is known about how often children suffer headaches after similar injuries. In a significant new study, "Headache After Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: A Cohort Study," researchers analyzed the prevalence of headaches three and 12 months after mild, moderate or severe TBI in children ages 5 to 17, and discovered the risk of headache was higher in adolescents (ages 13 to 17) and in girls.

6 Dec 2011

Cameron says all NHS patients should share their medical data for research

According to British Prime Minister David Cameron, every NHS patient should be a “research patient” with their medical details “opened up” to private healthcare firms. The PM announced that all those who use the NHS in England will be helping in the fight against disease by helping advance research. He hopes the result will be that patients get faster access to new treatments and Britain's life sciences sector will become a world leader.

6 Dec 2011

Dust storms have adverse effect on hospital EDs for COPD

A new study published in the journal Respirology reveals that dust storms have an adverse effect on emergency hospital admission for chronic lung disease, often known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

6 Dec 2011

DFG to establish eight new CRCs as of 1 January 2012

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) will establish eight Collaborative Research Centres (CRC) as of 1 January 2012. This was agreed by the responsible Grants Committee at its autumn meeting in Bonn.

5 Dec 2011

Towards a national plan of action for rare diseases

"Rare diseases", by their very definition, occur in no more than 5 people out of every 10,000 inhabitants. Barely noticed by the general public, only around 1,000 of the currently 6,000 or so different rare diseases currently listed on the Internet platform Orphanet are treatable nowadays.

5 Dec 2011

Growth hormone PDGF-BB and blood protein EPO implicated in development of cancer

Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have demonstrated that a growth hormone, PDGF-BB, and the blood protein EPO are involved in the development of cancer tumours and that they combine to help the tumours proliferate in the body.

5 Dec 2011

The head plays key role in tiring endurance performances

Researchers from the University of Zurich have now studied in detail what sportsmen and women know from experience: The head plays a key role in tiring endurance performances.

5 Dec 2011

Spectrum seeks FDA IND approval for SPI-014 to treat hyperphosphatemia

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals today announced that it has submitted an investigational new drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for SPI-014 (previously referred to as RENAZORB), a second-generation lanthanum-based nanoparticle phosphate binding agent, that has the potential to treat hyperphosphatemia in patients with Stage 5 chronic kidney disease, or end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

5 Dec 2011

New HRSA report: 14 to 19% of U.S. children have special health care need

In the first national report that compares the health and well-being of children with special health care needs to those children without, findings revealed that 14 to 19 percent of children in the United States have a special health care need, representing more than one in five households with children.

5 Dec 2011

Novartis to showcase 160 presentations on breast cancer, hematological disease drugs at SABCS and ASH

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation will showcase more than one hundred and sixty presentations on data from its robust oncology portfolio at two key medical congresses this month, demonstrating significant advances for patients with cancers and hematological diseases.

3 Dec 2011

Mainz gastroenterologist awarded ERC Advanced Grant

The European Research Council (ERC) has earmarked about €2.5 mio. to fund the research being conducted by gastroenterologist and biochemist Professor Dr. Dr. Detlef Schuppan at Mainz University Medical Center.

3 Dec 2011

American Plasma Users Coalition awarded $40,000 advocacy grant from CSL Behring

CSL Behring announced today that it has awarded a $40,000 advocacy grant to the American Plasma Users Coalition (A-PLUS) through its Local Empowerment for Advocacy Development (LEAD) program. LEAD grants support the grassroots advocacy efforts of organizations that help people who use plasma-derived or recombinant therapies to manage rare and serious medical disorders.

3 Dec 2011