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Salix receives FDA approval for crofelemer to treat HIV-associated diarrhea

On New Year's Eve of 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its approval of crofelemer (Fulyzaq, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., Raleigh, North Carolina) — marking the second time a botanical, and the first time an orally administered botanical, has received drug approval from the Administration.

3 Jan 2013

Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer receive FDA approval for ELIQUIS to reduce risk of stroke and SE

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Pfizer Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ELIQUIS (apixaban) to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.

2 Jan 2013

Circulating endothelial cells hit the mark in primary central nervous system vasculitis

Circulating endothelial cells may be a promising, non-invasive means of diagnosing and monitoring primary central nervous system vasculitis, researchers report.

2 Jan 2013

Fibrinogen could bypass intraoperative transfusion needs

Giving fibrinogen as first-line treatment for intraoperative bleeding could reduce the need for blood transfusion, shows a small randomized controlled trial.

2 Jan 2013

Crofelemer receives FDA approval for treatment of HIV associated diarrhea

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration has provided Marketing approval to its partner in US, Salix Pharmaceuticals Limited, for Crofelemer 125 mg delayed-release tablets for the symptomatic relief of non-infectious diarrhea in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/ acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) on anti-retroviral therapy (ART).

2 Jan 2013

RaySearch and Siemens terminate development and licensing agreement

In May 2009 RaySearch Laboratories entered into a long-term development and licensing agreement with Siemens Healthcare. Under the agreement RaySearch provided a number of treatment planning modules for integration in Siemens' syngo Suite for Oncology, which is Siemens' integrated workflow solution for radiation therapy.

2 Jan 2013

Study highlights value of defibrillators in typical medical settings

Patients who received an implantable heart defibrillator in everyday practice had survival benefits on par with those who received the same devices in carefully controlled clinical trials, according to a new study that highlights the value of defibrillators in typical medical settings.

1 Jan 2013

Few hepatitis C patients receive complete treatment

Less than 10% of patients with hepatitis C receive the treatment they need to achieve a sustained virologic response, results from a systematic review show.

31 Dec 2012

Active surveillance of prostate cancer patients encouraged

Active surveillance is an effective way of monitoring patients with low-risk prostate cancer and is associated with a low risk for systemic progression, say researchers.

31 Dec 2012

Stent placement ‘effective alternative to IVT in stroke patients’

In stroke patients in whom intravenous thrombolysis is either contraindicated or has failed, intra-arterial revascularization with cerebral angioplasty and stent placement is an effective and well-tolerated treatment, say Czech researchers.

31 Dec 2012

Developer of Boron Neuron Capture Therapy bestowed National Medal of Science honor

President Barack Obama named University of Missouri researcher M. Frederick Hawthorne as recipient of the National Medal of Science, the highest honor bestowed by the country to scientists. Hawthorne is the director of the International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine at the University of Missouri, as well as Curators' Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Radiology.

29 Dec 2012

Common cholesterol-lowering drug may help protect against cerebral malaria

Researchers have discovered that adding lovastatin, a widely used cholesterol-lowering drug, to traditional antimalarial treatment decreases neuroinflammation and protects against cognitive impairment in a mouse model of cerebral malaria.

29 Dec 2012

Key regulator of energy metabolism in cancer cells may play a crucial role in restricting cancer cell growth

Researchers at McGill University have discovered that a key regulator of energy metabolism in cancer cells known as the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) may play a crucial role in restricting cancer cell growth. AMPK acts as a "fuel gauge" in cells; AMPK is turned on when it senses changes in energy levels, and helps to change metabolism when energy levels are low, such as during exercise or when fasting.

28 Dec 2012

Novel approach to sort out good or bad mutations associated with lymphoma

As anyone familiar with the X-Men knows, mutants can be either very good or very bad - or somewhere in between. The same appears true within cancer cells, which may harbor hundreds of mutations that set them apart from other cells in the body; the scientific challenge has been to figure out which mutations are culprits and which are innocent bystanders.

28 Dec 2012

Protein in human blood platelets points to a new weapon against malaria

One of the world's most devastating diseases is malaria, responsible for at least a million deaths annually, despite global efforts to combat it. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, working with collaborators from Drexel University, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Johns Hopkins University, have identified a protein in human blood platelets that points to a powerful new weapon against the disease. Their work was published in this months' issue of Cell Host and Microbe.

28 Dec 2012

Immune-promoting drugs may control recurrent disease

Nearly half of the 700,000 cancer patients who undergo surgical removal of a primary tumor each year suffer a recurrence of their disease at some point, and many of those patients will eventually die from their disease.

28 Dec 2012

Genetic differences in enzyme CYP2D6 play a key role in effectiveness of tamoxifen for breast cancer

For nearly a decade, breast cancer researchers studying the hormone therapy tamoxifen have been divided as to whether genetic differences in a liver enzyme affect the drug's effectiveness and the likelihood breast cancer will recur.

27 Dec 2012

SVR associated with prolonged overall survival in patients with chronic HCV infection

Among patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection and advanced hepatic fibrosis (development of excess fibrous connective tissue), sustained virological response (SVR) to interferon-based treatment was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality compared with patients without SVR, according to a study in the December 26 issue of JAMA.

26 Dec 2012

Survey reveals significant improvement in delivery of underused care

An analysis of nationally representative survey data found significant improvement in the delivery of underused care, but more limited changes in the reduction of inappropriate care in ambulatory health care settings between 1998 and 2009, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

25 Dec 2012

Cancer-associated inflammation boosts ADAR1 enzyme activity

An international team, headed by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has identified a key enzyme in the reprogramming process that promotes malignant stem cell cloning and the growth of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a cancer of the blood and marrow that experts say is increasing in prevalence.

25 Dec 2012