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Drug used in patients for cancer treatment has beneficial effects on diabetes

A pair of studies by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine has identified a molecular pathway - a series of interaction among proteins - involved in the development of diabetes. Furthermore, they have found that a drug already approved for use in humans can regulate the pathway.

16 Sep 2013

FDA Panel Urges Fast Approval Of Perjeta For Early-Stage Breast Cancer

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13 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 13, 2013

Today's headlines include stories highlighting how the health law factors into Capitol Hill's current political dynamics.

13 Sep 2013

Research findings bring scientists one step closer to preventing HIV infections

In a long-awaited finding, a team of Chinese and US scientists has determined the high-resolution atomic structure of a cell-surface receptor that most strains of HIV use to get into human immune cells. The researchers also showed where maraviroc, an HIV drug, attaches to cells and blocks HIV’s entry.

13 Sep 2013

Novel DiaRem scoring system can predict diabetes remission after gastric bypass surgery

US Scientists have developed a simple scoring system (DiaRem), based on four readily available preoperative patient characteristics, that can predict which candidates for gastric bypass surgery are likely to achieve diabetes remission within 5 years.

13 Sep 2013

Genetic deficiency in autism linked to specific molecular and cellular consequences

Brown University researchers have traced a genetic deficiency implicated in autism in humans to specific molecular and cellular consequences that cause clear deficits in mice in how well neurons can grow the intricate branches that allow them to connect to brain circuits. The researchers also show in their study (online Sep. 12, 2013, in Neuron) that they could restore proper neuronal growth by compensating for the errant molecular mechanisms they identified.

13 Sep 2013

Scientists discover promising potential drug target for cystic fibrosis

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and Regensburg University, both in Germany, and the University of Lisboa, in Portugal, have discovered a promising potential drug target for cystic fibrosis.

13 Sep 2013

Data can help scientists, physicians match precision drugs to cancer's genetic traits

More than 5,000 genetic profiles of tumor DNA have been completed in a large research study by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Boston Children's Hospital designed to speed the development of personalized cancer care with precision treatments.

13 Sep 2013

Four new pre-clinical drug development projects at NIH develop treatment for rare disease

Four new pre-clinical drug development projects at the National Institutes of Health will target a form of blindness and diseases characterized by cardiac problems. The projects were selected for their potential to treat specific rare diseases and to help scientists uncover new information that can be shared with other researchers.

13 Sep 2013

Data shows Americans are living longer, reporting fewer symptoms of disease

Thanks to medical advances, better treatments and new drugs not available a generation ago, the average American born today can expect to live 3.8 years longer than a person born two decades ago.

13 Sep 2013

Study: Higher rates of acute hepatitis C virus clearance are seen in women

A study of patients infected with acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection found that women had higher rates of spontaneous viral clearance—undetectable levels of the virus without initiating drug therapy.

13 Sep 2013

Simple method helps identify individuals who retain too much sodium

Getting a second urine sample and blood pressure measure as patients head out of the doctor's office appears an efficient way to identify those whose health may be in jeopardy because their bodies hold onto too much sodium, researchers report.

13 Sep 2013

Nanodiamonds deliver chemotherapy directly into brain tumors

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed an innovative drug-delivery system in which tiny particles called nanodiamonds are used to carry chemotherapy drugs directly into brain tumors.

13 Sep 2013

Using large doses of codeine may heighten sensitivity to pain

Using large and frequent doses of the pain-killer codeine may actually produce heightened sensitivity to pain, without the same level of relief offered by morphine, according to new research from the University of Adelaide.

13 Sep 2013

Wistar Institute receives $1.5M grant to prepare potential new prostate cancer drug for clinical use

To prepare a potential new prostate cancer drug, called Gamitrinib, for trial in humans, The Wistar Institute has received a $1.5 million grant from the US Department of Defense's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program.

13 Sep 2013

Helper T cells important for AIDS vaccine development

A major new finding that will significantly advance efforts to create the world's first antibody-based AIDS vaccine was published today by researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology.

13 Sep 2013

Consumer advocates, families harmed by dangerous doctors consider amending patient safety ballot measure

The California Medical Association blocked another bill aimed at improving patient safety yesterday, prompting consumer advocates and families harmed by dangerous doctors to consider amending a pending patient safety ballot measure to include those reforms the legislature fails to enact this year.

12 Sep 2013

New Tailored Activity Program to ease troublesome symptoms of dementia

A transformation in the treatment of patients with dementia is quietly taking place at the Lakeside Medical Unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. There, as part of a collaboration with researchers at the Hopkins School of Nursing (JHUSON), clinicians are putting into practice a protocol that can ease the most troublesome symptoms of dementia, not through drugs but with behavior therapy.

12 Sep 2013

NIH budget slashing may stall future pain research funding

Multi-faceted pain research discoveries within the last decade are bringing new hope for the estimated 100 million Americans with chronic pain. Unfortunately, translation of these scientific advances into clinical practice could be stalled without sufficient funding for both basic science and clinical pain research, according to the American Pain Society.

12 Sep 2013

Current criteria for ALK positive lung cancer needs to be redefined

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published today in the journal Cancer shows that the current criteria used to match lung cancers with the drug crizotinib may miss some patients who could benefit from the drug. The findings suggest that doctors should look closer at borderline or atypical ALK-negative cases, and could widen the population of lung cancer patients offered treatment with crizotinib or other ALK-inhibitor drugs.

12 Sep 2013