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Potential new COPD drug

A study led by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) has shown that a compound used in some skin creams may halt the progression of emphysema and reverse some of the damage caused by the disease. When the compound Gly-His-Lys (GHK) was applied to lung cells from patients with emphysema, normal gene activity in altered cells was restored and damaged aspects of cellular function were repaired.

1 Sep 2012

Unique approaches to improve pain management in hospitals and clinical practices

Five recent Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing DNP graduates have taken different and unique approaches in working to improve the implementation of pain management in hospitals and clinical practices.

1 Sep 2012

Some smaller clots may not require potentially risky treatment

Men and women who undergo joint replacement procedures, as well as those who have significant fractures, tend to be at an increased risk of developing pulmonary emboli (PE), blood clots that travel to the lungs where they may cause serious complications and even death.

1 Sep 2012

IOF publishes practical guidelines to help doctors assess patient response to osteoporosis treatment

The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) has published practical guidelines to assist clinicians in assessing treatment efficacy in patients who experience a fracture while on medication for osteoporosis.

1 Sep 2012

Study shows how NCAN gene results in manic symptoms of bipolar disorder

Flying high, or down in the dumps - individuals suffering from bipolar disorder alternate between depressive and manic episodes. Researchers from the University of Bonn and the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim have now discovered, based on patient data and animal models, how the NCAN gene results in the manic symptoms of bipolar disorder. The results have been published in the current issue of "The American Journal of Psychiatry."

1 Sep 2012

Boosting immune system can help reduce asthma attacks due to viral infections

Details of a treatment that could help asthmatics fight infections that trigger 80% of asthma attacks, developed by University of Southampton spin-out company Synairgen, will be presented to European respiratory experts on Sunday 2 September.

1 Sep 2012

New intriguing knowledge on blood haemoglobin

Scientists at the research centre MEMBRANES at Aarhus University, Denmark, have completed an old puzzle, which since the 60s from many sides has been regarded as impossible to complete. The challenge was to solve the structure of the protecting protein complex that forms when haemoglobin is released from red cells and becomes toxic. This toxic release of haemoglobin occurs in many diseases affecting red cell stability, e.g. malaria.

1 Sep 2012

Astellas Pharma receives FDA approval for Xtandi to treat metastatic CRPC

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Xtandi (enzalutamide) to treat men with late-stage (metastatic) castration-resistant prostate cancer that has spread or recurred, even with medical or surgical therapy to minimize testosterone.

1 Sep 2012

GenSpera plans to initiate G-202 Phase II trial in prostate cancer

GenSpera, Inc. announced that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) of the United Kingdom (UK) has cleared for initiation a Phase II human clinical trial of its lead compound, G-202, in the treatment of prostate cancer patients who have failed prior hormonal therapy.

1 Sep 2012

Scientists show how pluripotent stem cells mobilize in wounded planarian worms

The skin, the blood, and the lining of the gut-adult stem cells replenish them daily. But stem cells really show off their healing powers in planarians, humble flatworms fabled for their ability to rebuild any missing body part. Just how adult stem cells build the right tissues at the right times and places has remained largely unanswered.

1 Sep 2012

Dysfunctional RyRs play a role in stress-induced cognitive dysfunction

ARMGO Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative small molecule drugs known as "Rycals™," which act on the ryanodine receptor calcium-release channel (RyR), announced that a study published today in the prestigious scientific journal Cell reveals the underlying role of calcium leak through the RyR as an important contributor to stress-induced cognitive dysfunction.

1 Sep 2012

Researchers define new treatment for potentially fatal lung disease in patients with CVID

A team of researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Research Institute defined a new treatment for a potentially fatal lung disease in patients with a primary immunodeficiency known as common variable immunodeficiency (CVID).

1 Sep 2012

Roundup: Flurry of health bills as Calif. legislature winds down; Kansas City health data exchange opens up

The window to save the Healthy Families program is narrowing to a small slit, with just a single day left to pass bills. ... Today -- until midnight tonight -- is the last day for legislation to be passed this year. The governor has until the end of September to veto or approve bills.

1 Sep 2012

Research roundup: Readmission risks after surgery; Assessing Medicaid applicants' eligibility; Satisfaction among health plan types

General Surgeons Identify Postoperative Complications Posing Strongest Readmission Risks -- Researchers found that about 11 percent of patients in a study of 1,442 individuals who underwent general surgery were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days.

31 Aug 2012

Study reports flaws in design, analysis, and interpretation of Lyme disease

Most doctors treat Lyme disease with antibiotics for two to four weeks after diagnosis, but if symptoms persist after that, medical guidelines recommend against antibiotic retreatment. That recommendation may not be warranted. A newly published statistical review of the four studies upon which those guidelines are based reports flaws in design, analysis, and interpretation that call into question the strength of the evidence against retreatment.

31 Aug 2012

VLST, Pfizer enter in-licensing agreement for anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody

VLST Corporation, a Seattle-based biotechnology company focused on the development of therapeutics for cancer and autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, today announced an in-licensing agreement with Pfizer Inc. for an anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody.

31 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 31, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations examine Mitt Romney's speech last night and the messages on health care at the Republican convention.

31 Aug 2012

Doubt cast on LABA withdrawal in combination asthma therapy

Researchers have urged doctors to be cautious over withdrawal of long-acting beta-2 agonist therapy in patients with asthma controlled by this type of bronchodilator in combination with an inhaled corticosteroid, after finding the approach often results in destabilization of their condition.

31 Aug 2012

Mammographic density 'unrelated to breast cancer death risk'

Although high-density breast cancer high breast density on mammography is an established risk factor for developing breast cancer, it is not associated with an increased risk for death, say US investigators who suggest different factors may affect risk at different times.

31 Aug 2012

French data highlight women under 60 at risk for heart disease

An analysis of four French registries has shown a dramatic drop in ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction mortality from 1995 to 2010, accompanied by a significant change in patient characteristics.

31 Aug 2012