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Black fly's blood-sucking tactics may be used for medical advancement

Black flies drink blood and spread disease such as river blindness-creating misery with their presence. A University of Georgia study, however, proves that the pesky insects can be useful.

9 Apr 2012

Stealth announces results from three Bendavia Phase I clinical trials for mitochondrial dysfunction

Stealth Peptides Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies for diseases with unmet medical needs, announced today the results from three Phase I clinical trials of Bendavia, a novel compound that targets the mitochondrion to treat mitochondrial dysfunction, including ischemia reperfusion and microvascular injury.

9 Apr 2012

Study shows causal effect of obesity on medical care costs

Obesity now accounts for almost 21 percent of U.S. health care costs - more than twice the previous estimates, reports a new Cornell University study.

9 Apr 2012

Researchers question wisdom of blocking DP1 in patients prone to cardiovascular disease

Niacin, or vitamin B3, is the one approved drug that elevates "good" cholesterol (high density lipoprotein, HDL) while depressing "bad" cholesterol (low density lipoprotein , LDL), and has thereby attracted much attention from patients and physicians. Niacin keeps fat from breaking down, and so obstructs the availability of LDL building blocks.

9 Apr 2012

Heart cells starved of nutrients less likely to be damaged during ischemia, reperfusion

Heart cells starved of nutrients are less likely to be damaged during periods of decreased blood flow and sudden influxes of blood, known as ischemia and reperfusion, and are also less likely to get out of synch with their cellular neighbors, the damaging phenomenon called arrhythmia.

9 Apr 2012

Researchers discover two molecules that control liver glucose production

In their extraordinary quest to decode human metabolism, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered a pair of molecules that regulates the liver's production of glucose---- the simple sugar that is the source of energy in human cells and the central player in diabetes.

9 Apr 2012

Nursing research news from Johns Hopkins

Two decades ago, the landmark Cruzan decision catalyzed individual thinking, policy discussions and lawmaking about advance care directives and choices.

7 Apr 2012

Heart Rhythm Journal manuscript by Dr. Hauser inaccurate and biased, says St. Jude Medical

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced it is seeking a retraction of the manuscript accepted for publication in the Heart Rhythm Journal by Dr. Robert Hauser, et al., titled, "Deaths Caused by the Failure of Riata and Riata ST Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Leads."

7 Apr 2012

Left ventriculography being routinely performed during coronary angiogram

An invasive heart test used routinely to measure heart function is being dramatically overused, especially among patients who recently underwent similar, more effective tests, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

7 Apr 2012

Research on how cells cope with stress could lead to more effective cancer treatment

Both radiation and many forms of chemotherapy try to kill tumors by causing oxidative stress in cancer cells. New research from USC on a protein that protects cancer and other cells from these stresses could one day help doctors to break down cancer cells' defenses, making them more susceptible to treatment.

7 Apr 2012

Research roundup: Effects of health exchanges; Improving provider performance; Governors' 2013 budgets and Medicaid

Authors analyzed the cost and coverage implications of various scenarios of the health insurance exchanges that are called for in the health law. They predicted that about 1 million uninsured people in the state would get insurance through the exchanges and said that premiums in the small group and individual market would be lower than if the health law was not in effect.

7 Apr 2012

Innate patient factors, overall morbidity affect neurodevelopment in infants with single-ventricle disease

In the largest multicenter clinical trial of children undergoing early-stage surgery for single-ventricle heart defects, differences in intraoperative management did not significantly affect neurodevelopmental outcomes at 14 months of age. Instead, the strongest influences were innate patient characteristics and general medical morbidity during the child's first year of life.

6 Apr 2012

Ohio AIDS advocates, patients protest against rationing of lifesaving HIV medicines

A group of Ohio AIDS advocates, patients and medical providers hosted a protest in Columbus today in conjunction with a public hearing held by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and its Director, Theodore E. Wymyslo, M.D., on proposed rule changes that would restrict access to lifesaving AIDS drugs for low-income Ohioans based on medical criteria.

6 Apr 2012

Obese men more likely to underestimate their weight than women

When University of Illinois researchers surveyed over 3,500 college applicants, more than a third couldn't report their weight accurately, and overweight and obese men were more likely to underestimate their weight than women.

6 Apr 2012

Race pits Obamacare against Romneycare

News outlets analyze how health policy positions taken by GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are playing on the campaign trail.

6 Apr 2012

Novel technology to grow new primordial lung progenitors

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have derived a population of pure lung and thyroid progenitor cells in vitro that successfully mimic the developmental milestones of lung and thyroid tissue formation.

6 Apr 2012

Three genes within human embryonic stem cells regulate development

Yale researchers show in detail how three genes within human embryonic stem cells regulate development, a finding that increases understanding of how to grow these cells for therapeutic purposes.

6 Apr 2012

State roundup: Advocates in Va. back shifting disability care from state institutions; New Vt. law overhauls mental health system; Aetna mistakenly tells thousands in Calif. their doctors were dropped

A state agency that looks out for the rights of people with disabilities is advocating for a proposed settlement that would shift the care of Virginians with intellectual disabilities from state-run institutions.

6 Apr 2012

Poor mental health can lead to heart problems and death in dialysis patients

Dialysis patients whose mental health deteriorates over time have an increased risk of developing heart problems and dying prematurely, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

6 Apr 2012

Researchers develop new technique to grow stem cells

Post-doctoral researcher David Fluri and Professor Peter Zandstra at the University of Toronto's Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) have developed a unique new technique for growing stem cells that may make possible cost-effective, large-scale stem cell manufacturing and research.

6 Apr 2012

Heart News and Research

Black fly's blood-sucking tactics may be used for medical advancement

Stealth announces results from three Bendavia Phase I clinical trials for mitochondrial dysfunction

Study shows causal effect of obesity on medical care costs

Researchers question wisdom of blocking DP1 in patients prone to cardiovascular disease

Heart cells starved of nutrients less likely to be damaged during ischemia, reperfusion

Researchers discover two molecules that control liver glucose production

Nursing research news from Johns Hopkins

Heart Rhythm Journal manuscript by Dr. Hauser inaccurate and biased, says St. Jude Medical

Left ventriculography being routinely performed during coronary angiogram

Research on how cells cope with stress could lead to more effective cancer treatment

Research roundup: Effects of health exchanges; Improving provider performance; Governors' 2013 budgets and Medicaid

Innate patient factors, overall morbidity affect neurodevelopment in infants with single-ventricle disease

Ohio AIDS advocates, patients protest against rationing of lifesaving HIV medicines

Obese men more likely to underestimate their weight than women

Race pits Obamacare against Romneycare

Novel technology to grow new primordial lung progenitors

Three genes within human embryonic stem cells regulate development

State roundup: Advocates in Va. back shifting disability care from state institutions; New Vt. law overhauls mental health system; Aetna mistakenly tells thousands in Calif. their doctors were dropped

Poor mental health can lead to heart problems and death in dialysis patients

Researchers develop new technique to grow stem cells

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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