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Poor ART adherence, understanding threatening to undermine gains against HIV/AIDS in Nepal

Though HIV prevalence in Nepal has dropped from 0.45 percent in 2005 to 0.3 percent in 2012, according to a new report (.pdf) from the government, "poor understanding of antiretroviral therapy (ART) amongst health officials, clinicians and patients in Nepal could undermine those gains ... and threaten future progress in lowering the number of new infections," PlusNews reports.

19 Apr 2012

Secondary Speckle Sensing Microscopy may rapidly and accurately diagnose malaria

Correctly and quickly diagnosing malaria is essential for effective and life-saving treatment. But rapid detection, particularly in remote areas, is not always possible because current methods are time-consuming and require precise instrumentation and highly skilled microscopic analysis. Now, a promising new optical imaging system, described in a paper published today in the Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal Biomedical Optics Express, may make the diagnosis of this deadly disease much easier, faster, and more accurate.

19 Apr 2012

Autologous BMMNCs reduce vascular growth in patients with diabetes

Autologous (self-donated) mononuclear cells derived from bone marrow (BMMNCs) have been found to significantly induce vascular growth when transplanted into patients with diabetes who are suffering from critical limb ischemia caused by peripheral artery disease (PAD), a complication of diabetes.

19 Apr 2012

Fluorescent fish shows oestrogenic chemicals’ impact on human body

Understanding the damage that pollution causes to both wildlife and human health is set to become much easier thanks to a new green-glowing zebrafish. Created by a team from the University of Exeter, the fish makes it easier than ever before to see where in the body environmental chemicals act and how they affect health.

19 Apr 2012

Myomatrix 2012 conference to take place from April 22-24

The nation's leading scientists and clinicians exploring treatment breakthroughs for congenital muscular dystrophy will convene April 22-24 on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno, where research by Dean Burkin has led to a potential therapy.

19 Apr 2012

Global summit on international breast health to take place from Oct. 3-5

Supportive care and quality-of-life issues should be considered essential elements of a multidisciplinary approach to breast cancer treatment at the point of breast cancer diagnosis. However, for women suffering from breast cancer in low- and middle-resource countries and other medically underserved areas around the world, this fundamental area of patient care generally is neglected and misunderstood.

19 Apr 2012

New genetic signature may predict NSCLC patients at risk of relapse

A new genetic signature identified by Spanish researchers may provide doctors with robust and objective information about which patients with early stage lung cancer are at low or high risk of relapse following surgery, investigators report at the 3rd European Lung Cancer Conference in Geneva. Their work also opens new avenues for immunotherapy for lung cancer.

19 Apr 2012

Researchers extract structural information from triple helix DNA in gas phase

A team of researchers at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) have managed for the first time to extract trustworthy structural information from a triple helix DNA in gas phase, that is to say in conditions in which DNA is practically in a vacuum.

19 Apr 2012

Testosterone may help heart failure patients: Study

The researchers used testosterone patches and injections that improved the breathing and exercise abilities of people with heart failure, a chronic inability of the heart to pump enough blood to the rest of the body. Although most of the study participants were men, the researchers said the results would likely apply to women as well, through much smaller doses of testosterone.

18 Apr 2012

New PBC tool for prioritizing laboratory-based CD-4 cell count testing

One of the major problems that has slowed progress toward universal access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART) to treat AIDS in developing nations has been limited availability of laboratories and trained medical staff to conduct blood tests of immune system CD-4 T-cell levels that indicate when to start ART.

18 Apr 2012

Abbott reports positive results from LCIG Phase 3 trial for advanced Parkinson's disease

Abbott announced today the results from a Phase 3 trial evaluating the company's investigational compound for advanced Parkinson's disease, levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG).

18 Apr 2012

Large study examines diagnostic yield of colonoscopy to investigate melena

A new study from researchers in Oregon reports that the diagnostic yield of colonoscopy to investigate melena after a nondiagnostic upper endoscopy is lower, 4.8 percent, than previously reported. The rate of therapeutic intervention in this population is very low; therefore, patients with melena and a nondiagnostic upper endoscopy who are stable and without evidence of ongoing bleeding may be able to safely undergo elective colonoscopy.

18 Apr 2012

Combined, complimentary therapies maximize NSC transplantation benefits for spinal cord repair

Combined, complimentary therapies have the ability to maximize the benefits of neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation for spinal cord repair in rat models, according to a study carried out by a team of Korean researchers who published in a recent issue of Cell Transplantation.

18 Apr 2012

Tai Chi designed for wheelchair users

An innovative 13-postures Tai Chi designed for wheelchair users is described in the current issue of Technology and Innovation- Proceedings of the National Academy of Inventors.

18 Apr 2012

Levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel better than standard oral form to treat advanced Parkinson's disease

A levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) works better than standard oral levodopa-carbidopa in reducing "off" time in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease.

18 Apr 2012

Early intervention of biologic therapies improves outcome for Crohn's disease

A large-scale study of medical claims data shows that introducing sophisticated biologic therapies early in the course of treatment for Crohn's disease improves response to medication and reduces the need for surgery.

18 Apr 2012

Medgenics seeks IND approval to initiate EPODURE Biopump Phase IIb anemia study in ESRD patients

Medgenics, Inc., the developer of a novel technology for the sustained production and delivery of therapeutic proteins in patients using their own tissue, today announced that it has filed an Investigational New Drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to initiate a Phase IIb multi-center, 100-patient clinical trial.

18 Apr 2012

NSCLC drug regimen approved in 2006 does not improve survival for older patients

Analysis of a drug regimen approved by the F.D.A. in 2006 for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (bevacizumab added to the standard chemotherapy regimen carboplatin and paclitaxel) finds Medicare insured patients age 65 years and older who received this regimen did not have improved survival compared to patients who received the standard treatment of carboplatin and paclitaxel alone, according to a study in the April 18 issue of JAMA.

18 Apr 2012

Excessive alcohol use associated with lower self-reporting of maturity

Tipping back one too many cocktails during an individual's early 20s doesn't correlate to a personal sense of immaturity; however if this habit doesn't stop as they reach age 30, young adults can feel psychologically underdeveloped, according to a University of Missouri study. Helping young adults acknowledge their mental impulse to "sober up" as they mature can improve substance abuse intervention programs.

18 Apr 2012

Autologous HSPPC-96 vaccine clinically beneficial for GBM patients

Study results from a Phase II multicenter clinical trial tracking the impact that autologous heat shock protein-peptide vaccine (HSPPC-96) has on recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients showed that such a vaccine may be clinically beneficial.

18 Apr 2012