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Forest Laboratories to acquire exclusive rights in the U.S. for Saphris sublingual tablets

Forest Laboratories Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Forest Laboratories, Inc. today announced that the company is acquiring exclusive rights in the United States for Saphris (asenapine) sublingual tablets, a treatment for adult patients with schizophrenia or acute bipolar mania, from Merck Sharp & Dohme B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.

3 Dec 2013

Newly identified protein could prove promising new drug target for AIDS

Researchers have identified a protein that causes loss of function in immune cells combatting HIV. The scientists report in a paper appearing online Dec. 2 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that the protein, Sprouty-2, is a promising target for future HIV drug development, since disabling it could help restore the cells' ability to combat the virus that causes AIDS.

2 Dec 2013

Soligenix initiates orBec Phase 2 study for GI manifestations of chronic GVHD

Soligenix, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products to treat serious inflammatory diseases where there remains an unmet medical need, as well as developing several biodefense vaccines and therapeutics, announced today that it has initiated a Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating orBec (oral beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate or BDP) as a treatment for the gastrointestinal manifestations of chronic Graft-versus-Host disease.

2 Dec 2013

MRI provides noninvasive way to measure iron levels in the brains of ADHD people

Magnetic resonance imaging provides a noninvasive way to measure iron levels in the brains of people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a study being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. Researchers said the method could help physicians and parents make better informed decisions about medication.

2 Dec 2013

Scientists transform human stem cells into functional lung and airway cells

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in transforming human stem cells into functional lung and airway cells. The advance, reported by Columbia University Medical Center researchers, has significant potential for modeling lung disease, screening drugs, studying human lung development, and, ultimately, generating lung tissue for transplantation.

2 Dec 2013

Garden-Gateway believes chronic sufferers can cope with holiday stress

The holidays are a time of high stress for all of us. This is especially true for the many Californians who suffer from chronic illness or disease. It's well documented that stress can aggravate a wide range of chronic ailments, both physical and psychological, such as back pain, cancer, PTSD or immune system deficiency.

30 Nov 2013

UC San Diego biophysicists discover how antibiotic resistance allows bacteria to multiply

Using quantitative models of bacterial growth, a team of UC San Diego biophysicists has discovered the bizarre way by which antibiotic resistance allows bacteria to multiply in the presence of antibiotics, a growing health problem in hospitals and nursing homes across the United States.

30 Nov 2013

New methods reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV from 23.9% to 2.4% in Gipuzkoa

Miren Apilánez, researcher in the Department of Paediatrics of the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country, has studied the evolution that took place between 1984 and 2011 in paediatric HIV infection in Gipuzkoa. The development of methods to diagnose the disease coupled with increasingly more effective treatments have made it possible to reduce mother-to-child transmission (vertical transmission) from 23.9% to 2.4%, thus virtually eradicating infection in children.

30 Nov 2013

Three Umeå University researchers selected as Wallenberg Academy Fellows

Jonathan Klaminder, Christian Hedberg and Sjoerd Wanrooij have been selected as Wallenberg Academy Fellows at Umeå University. They are awarded grants between SEK 5 and 9 million each spread over five years from the largest single private investment in supporting young researchers in Sweden.

29 Nov 2013

Study finds way to regulate sleep patterns of children with brain disorders

For parents of children with brain disorders or visual impairment, nights can be long and frustrating, leading to even more difficult days as exhaustion takes hold.

29 Nov 2013

Study brings effective hepatitis C cure closer to reality

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have determined the most detailed picture yet of a crucial part of the hepatitis C virus, which the virus uses to infect liver cells. The new data reveal unexpected structural features of this protein and should greatly speed efforts to make an effective hepatitis C vaccine.

29 Nov 2013

Researchers identify gene responsible for malfunctions in fear-related memory system

A study published recently in the Journal of Neuroscience points, for the first time, to the gene trkC as a factor in susceptibility to the disease. The researchers define the specific mechanism for the formation of fear memories which will help in the development of new pharmacological and cognitive treatments.

29 Nov 2013

Elevated cholesterol is associated with breast cancer risk

A byproduct of cholesterol functions like the hormone estrogen to fuel the growth and spread of the most common types of breast cancers, researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute report.

29 Nov 2013

Researchers analyze ethics of face transplantation

Once viewed as an "outlandish morally objectionable" concept with science-fiction overtones, face transplantation is now accepted as a "feasible and necessary treatment" for severely disfigured patients.

28 Nov 2013

$Study reveals non-hip, non-vertebral fractures may also increase risk of death$

Study reveals non-hip, non-vertebral fractures may also increase risk of death

It is well known that hip and vertebral fractures increase the risk of premature death. Until now, little has been known about the clinical impact of non-hip, non-vertebral fractures - so new Australian research showing that they may also increase the risk of death will better inform treatment.

28 Nov 2013

UK to fund over 70 new Centres for Doctoral Training

Details of how a -350 million fund will be used to train over 3,500 postgraduate students in engineering and physical sciences, will be announced today by Universities and Science Minister, David Willetts.

28 Nov 2013

Scientists identify new approach to fight malaria parasites

Using advanced methodologies that pit drug compounds against specific types of malaria parasite cells, an international team of scientists, including researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, have identified a potential new weapon and approach for attacking the parasites that cause malaria.

28 Nov 2013

Improving the quality of cancer care among aging population

As 10,000 baby boomers reach 65 each day, the incidence of cancer is increasing, estimated to increase by 67% between 2010 and 2030, bringing attention to the nation's response to cancer care. Cancer is diagnosed at a higher rate, accounts for more survivors, and results in more deaths than in younger patients.

28 Nov 2013

Screening for genetic mutations may help identify silent carriers of adrenal Cushing's syndrome

Genetic research that will be published tomorrow in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests to Dr. André Lacroix, professor at the University of Montreal, that clinicians' understanding and treatment of a form of Cushing's syndrome affecting both adrenal glands will be fundamentally changed, and that moreover, it might be appropriate to begin screening for the genetic mutations that cause this form of the disease.

28 Nov 2013

PLOS and DNDi to launch collection of neglected tropical diseases at 10-year anniversary of DNDi

As part of a collaborative initiative, PLOS and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) are delighted to be launching a special Collection-PLOS & DNDi: a decade of Open Access and Neglected Tropical Diseases R&D (Research and Development)-to coincide with a joint event at the Institut Pasteur in Paris celebrating the 10-year anniversary of DNDi.

28 Nov 2013