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At the 30 year mark, AIDS epidemic still poses challenges

Thirty years after America started battling HIV/AIDS, deaths linked to the virus have plummeted. New HIV cases are down by three-quarters. Life expectancy has more than tripled. Many HIV-positive people lead active lives, often on a single pill a day. But there's a darker side: More than 1.2 million Americans still are living with HIV/AIDS, and 40,000 new infections and 16,000 deaths are expected this year.

1 Jun 2011

Ampio commences new anti-inflammatory agent Phase 1B trial in osteoarthritis

Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it received ethics board approval for a Phase 1B clinical trial in Australia of its biologic anti-inflammatory agent, Ampion.

1 Jun 2011

Chronic fatigue syndrome and mouse virus – no association

An earlier study published in 2009 had claimed that a mouse virus was the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome. New evidence suggests that this assumption is wrong. According to latest evidence the earlier study findings were likely based on contaminated lab samples, US researchers said Tuesday.

1 Jun 2011

AIDS epidemic turns 30

It is 30 years since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. It was fatal then but has now become a treatable, if still incurable, chronic illness. AIDS therapy now has tools that prolong the lives of people infected with the virus and prevent others from acquiring it. They range from antiretroviral therapy (ART), to circumcision and campaigns to reduce promiscuity. On the horizon are gels and pills that protect against infection during intercourse. Even the outlook for an AIDS vaccine is no longer as bleak as it used to be.

31 May 2011

First Edition: May 31, 2011

Today's headlines include articles on the federal efforts to improve hospital quality, the politics of Medicare and the move by some GOP governors to set up health exchanges.

31 May 2011

YM BioSciences' CYT387 receives European Commission positive opinion for Orphan Drug Designation

YM BioSciences Inc., today announced that it has received positive opinions from the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products of the European Commission to grant Orphan Medicinal Product Designation to its JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor, CYT387, for the treatment of primary myelofibrosis, post-polycythaemia vera myelofibrosis and post-essential thrombocythaemia myelofibrosis.

31 May 2011

Takeda, Affymax submit peginesatide NDA to FDA for treatment of anemia linked with chronic renal failure

Affymax, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited today announced the submission of a New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the investigational agent peginesatide for the treatment of anemia associated with chronic renal failure in adult patients on dialysis.

31 May 2011

People with unexplained symptoms can benefit from traditional acupuncture

Attending frequently with medically unexplained symptoms is distressing for both patient and doctor and effective treatment or management options are limited: one in five patients have symptoms that remain unexplained by conventional medicine.

30 May 2011

Vitamin D levels low in African Americans with multiple sclerosis

In the first major study exploring the connection between vitamin D and multiple sclerosis in African Americans, a team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco has discovered that vitamin D levels in the blood are lower in African Americans who have the disease, compared to African Americans who do not.

30 May 2011

Possible defense for community-acquired pneumonia among the elderly

Community-acquired pneumonia is the leading cause of infectious death among the elderly. Newly published research from The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio suggests why older people are vulnerable and offers a possible defense.

27 May 2011

Study: Cardiovascular disease may be under treated in rheumatoid arthritis patients

Results of a study, involving 98,454 patients demonstrated that at 30 days following their first heart attack, RA patients were approximately 20% less likely to be prescribed standard MI treatments, such as statins and betablockers, compared to healthy patients.

27 May 2011

IDF applauds Representatives for Medicare IVIG Access Act

The Immune Deficiency Foundation applauds Representatives Kevin Brady and Doris Matsui and Senators John Kerry and Lamar Alexander for introducing H.R. 1845 and S. 960, both entitled the Medicare IVIG Access Act.

27 May 2011

Lactate shuttle also exists in human tumors

Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have shed new light on the longstanding conundrum about what makes a tumor grow-and how to make it stop. Interestingly, cancer cells accelerate the aging of nearby connective tissue cells to cause inflammation, which ultimately provides "fuel" for the tumor to grow and even metastasize.

27 May 2011

Two new hepatitis C drugs effectively improve cure rates of African Americans

Two new drugs just approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat hepatitis C genotype 1 significantly improved the cure rates of patients. One of the drugs was extremely effective in treating African Americans.

27 May 2011

ViroPharma launches documentary film on hereditary angioedema

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced the launch of the documentary Swell, a twenty-five minute film that allows families dealing with the rare genetic swelling disease, hereditary angioedema, to share the challenges and triumphs of living with a chronic disorder.

27 May 2011

Long-term exposure to estrogen increases high blood pressure in women

For many years doctors believed the estrogen women consumed in the form of oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy pills was good for their patients' hearts. Recent studies however have shown that long-term exposure to estrogen can be a danger to women as it has been associated with high blood pressure, a key link to heart- and brain-attacks.

27 May 2011

Gout drug success for Novartis

Novartis AG's new gout therapy drug gives patients better pain relief and significantly cuts the risk of new attacks say two late stage studies. The studies show that more than 450 patients taking Ilaris, or ACZ885, had less pain and the risk of new attacks were reduced by up to 68 percent compared to those taking an injectable steroid to treat gouty arthritis attacks, which can last for a week or more.

26 May 2011