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FDA-approved drug eliminates immune cells that destroys hair follicles in people with alopecia areata

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified the immune cells responsible for destroying hair follicles in people with alopecia areata, a common autoimmune disease that causes hair loss, and have tested an FDA-approved drug that eliminated these immune cells and restored hair growth in a small number of patients.

18 Aug 2014

Researchers reveal how early changes in DNA methylation involved in Alzheimer's disease

A new study led by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Rush University Medical Center, reveals how early changes in brain DNA methylation are involved in Alzheimer's disease.

18 Aug 2014

Ebola virus outbreak: Equatorial Guinea temporarily suspends visas, regional flights

The government of Equatorial Guinea has temporarily suspended the issuance of visas from neighboring countries and cancelled regionals flights by its national air carrier, Ceiba International, as measures to protect the country against the spread of the Ebola virus.

16 Aug 2014

Scientists create computer algorithm for cell and tissue engineering

In a boon to stem cell research and regenerative medicine, scientists at Boston Children's Hospital, the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Boston University have created a computer algorithm called CellNet as a "roadmap" for cell and tissue engineering, to ensure that cells engineered in the lab have the same favorable properties as cells in our own bodies.

16 Aug 2014

Study reports rising prevalence of chronic opioid use by SSDI recipients

More than 40 percent of Social Security Disability Insurance recipients take opioid pain relievers, while the prevalence of chronic opioid use is over 20 percent and rising, reports a study in the September issue of Medical Care.

16 Aug 2014

Study sheds new light on how carbon monoxide could help protect hearts against arrhythmias

A study, funded by the British Heart Foundation and Medical Research Council, has shed new light on how carbon monoxide could be used to protect against life-threatening arrhythmias after a heart attack.

16 Aug 2014

Research roundup: Benefits of smaller practices; Rx price growth; fixing Medicare claims reviews

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services within the Department of Health and Human Services has taken steps to prevent its contractors from conducting certain duplicative postpayment claims reviews - reviews of the same claims that are not permitted by the agency - but CMS neither has reliable data nor provides sufficient oversight and guidance to measure and fully prevent duplication.

16 Aug 2014

Physician disclosure website back on track

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announces it has fixed the glitch that took down the website where doctors and hospitals can review information about payments from drug and device makers. Meanwhile, The New York Times looks at how costly compounded medicines are drawing the ire of health insurers, and a U.K. agency recommends the government pay for a costly new hepatitis treatment.

16 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 15, 2014

Today's headlines include a variety of updates regarding health policy and the health care marketplace.

15 Aug 2014

State highlights: Mass. hospitals see 70% jump in mistakes; changes coming to Md.'s state employee health plan

Massachusetts acute-care hospitals reported 753 serious medical errors and other patient injuries last year, a 70 percent annual jump that health officials attributed mostly to expanded definitions of what constitutes medical harm. So-called serious reportable events in other types of hospitals, including those that provide psychiatric or rehabilitative care, rose 60 percent from 2012, to 206.

15 Aug 2014

Researchers develop new lung-on-chip model for laboratory studies of respiratory challenges

Researchers at RTI International, in collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, have developed a new lung-on-chip microdevice for laboratory studies of respiratory challenges and therapeutics. The microdevice includes multiple vertically stacked cellular layers that mimic the structure of the airway tissue.

15 Aug 2014

NTU research could lead to better treatment options for children suffering from leukaemia

A research team led by Nanyang Technological University scientists have made a key finding which is expected to open up improved treatment possibilities for children suffering from leukaemia.

15 Aug 2014

HDAC inhibitors may also be effective against kidney stones

Anyone who has suffered from kidney stones is keenly aware of the lack of drugs to treat the condition, which often causes excruciating pain.

15 Aug 2014

FDA approves BELSOMRA® (suvorexant) for the treatment of insomnia

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved BELSOMRA® (suvorexant) for adults with insomnia who have difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep. BELSOMRA (pronounced bell-SOM-rah) is a highly selective antagonist for orexin receptors.

15 Aug 2014

Modified C. novyi-NT bacterium produces precisely targeted anti-tumor response

A modified version of the Clostridium novyi (C. novyi-NT) bacterium can produce a strong and precisely targeted anti-tumor response in rats, dogs and now humans, according to a new report from Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers.

14 Aug 2014

Cerilliant offers nine new stable isotope-labeled internal standards of 2C amines

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation is pleased to announce that the Cerilliant® brand within its Applied Diagnostics and Testing business segment now offers nine new stable isotope-labeled internal standards of 2C amines including deuterium and 13C labeling.

14 Aug 2014

Clinical trial tests COXEN model in bladder cancer to find promising treatment

Imagine being able to match a cancer's genes to the best treatment. That's the promise of COXEN (CO eXpression ExtrapolatioN) - a computer program that looks at a panel of cancer genes in a patient's tumor to predict whether it will respond to chemotherapy.

14 Aug 2014

Ebola virus defeats attempts by interferon to block viral reproduction in infected cells

One of the human body's first responses to a viral infection is to make and release signaling proteins called interferons, which amplify the immune system response to viruses.

14 Aug 2014

Recurrence of breast cancer cut by ½ in overweight women who regularly use NSAIDs

Recurrence of hormone-related breast cancer was cut by half in overweight and obese women who regularly used aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), according to data published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

14 Aug 2014

Combination of NASBA and real-time qPCR detects aspergillosis with 100% accuracy

The fungal infection invasive aspergillosis (IA) can be life threatening, especially in patients whose immune systems are weakened by chemotherapy or immunosuppressive drugs. Despite the critical need for early detection, IA remains difficult to diagnose.

14 Aug 2014

Drugs News and Research

FDA-approved drug eliminates immune cells that destroys hair follicles in people with alopecia areata

Researchers reveal how early changes in DNA methylation involved in Alzheimer's disease

Ebola virus outbreak: Equatorial Guinea temporarily suspends visas, regional flights

Scientists create computer algorithm for cell and tissue engineering

Study reports rising prevalence of chronic opioid use by SSDI recipients

Study sheds new light on how carbon monoxide could help protect hearts against arrhythmias

Research roundup: Benefits of smaller practices; Rx price growth; fixing Medicare claims reviews

Physician disclosure website back on track

First Edition: August 15, 2014

State highlights: Mass. hospitals see 70% jump in mistakes; changes coming to Md.'s state employee health plan

Researchers develop new lung-on-chip model for laboratory studies of respiratory challenges

NTU research could lead to better treatment options for children suffering from leukaemia

HDAC inhibitors may also be effective against kidney stones

FDA approves BELSOMRA® (suvorexant) for the treatment of insomnia

Modified C. novyi-NT bacterium produces precisely targeted anti-tumor response

Cerilliant offers nine new stable isotope-labeled internal standards of 2C amines

Clinical trial tests COXEN model in bladder cancer to find promising treatment

Ebola virus defeats attempts by interferon to block viral reproduction in infected cells

Recurrence of breast cancer cut by ½ in overweight women who regularly use NSAIDs

Combination of NASBA and real-time qPCR detects aspergillosis with 100% accuracy

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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