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InvivoSciences, WUSTL to construct artificial tissue models for heart failure

The National Institutes of Health has awarded more than $2 million to a team of scientists from Washington University in St. Louis and InvivoSciences, a biotechnology startup with WUSTL roots, to construct artificial tissue models that will allow the rapid testing of new drugs for heart failure.

17 Jul 2012

Roundup: Some troubled N.Y. hospitals don't carry malpractice insurance; Lobbying may dilute Mass. health care cost bill

Several of the city's most troubled hospitals are partially or completely uninsured for malpractice, state records show, forgoing what is considered a standard safeguard across the country.

17 Jul 2012

WTG to launch ‘Early Drug Development Summit’ in Berlin

With its 15 years conference production and management experience, WTG introduces a leading pharma event: "Early Drug Development Summit" in December 3rd-4th 2012 in Berlin, Germany.

16 Jul 2012

IDH mutation drives aggressive form of acute myeloid leukemia

Many patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) share a mutation in a gene called IDH. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published this week in the journal Leukemia & Lymphoma shows that this IDH mutation may be the first domino in a chain that leads to a more aggressive form of the disease.

16 Jul 2012

Alzheimer's Association honors Gladstone researcher with Lifetime Achievement Award

Lennart Mucke, MD, who directs neurological research at the Gladstone Institutes, has received the Khalid Iqbal Lifetime Achievement Award for his exceptional contributions to Alzheimer's disease research. The Alzheimer's Association presented the award to Dr. Mucke today at the 2012 Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) in Vancouver, Canada.

16 Jul 2012

Cleveland Clinic receives NHLBI grant to identify new pathways linked with cardiovascular diseases

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has awarded a $4.78 million grant to researchers at Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute to use metabolomics - a new approach that focuses on the small-molecule byproducts of metabolism - for discovery of novel pathways linked to the development of cardiovascular diseases.

14 Jul 2012

Five recent Science and Nature papers shed light on elusive 'GPCRs'

Readers of the top-ranked scientific journals Science and Nature might have noticed a recent wave of articles, most recently in the July 13, 2012 issue of Science, with deep importance for biology and medicine.

14 Jul 2012

Ariz. abortion law challenged in lawsuit; Mo. Gov. vetoes contraception bill

News outlets look at these developments in states and also assess overall efforts this year by state legislatures to restrict abortions as some states to continue to press against the Obama administration's contraceptive coverage mandate.

14 Jul 2012

Health risks of egg donation for young females

News is just breaking in India about Sushma Pandey, a 17-year-old young woman who died in 2010, two days after her third "egg donation." Her death is being attributed to the procedures used to extract eggs from healthy, desirable young females like Ms. Pandey. These eggs are often resold to affluent westerners for use in commercial production of their children. Her post-mortem report states she had "one abrasion, four contusions and a blood clot in the head, plus six injection marks" as well as "congestion in the ovaries and uterus."

14 Jul 2012

Trade agreements could harm access to antiretroviral drugs in Asia, Pacific, experts and activists warn

"Pressure on developing countries to adopt clauses affecting intellectual property rights could limit access to generic antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in Asia and the Pacific, experts and activists warn," PlusNews reports.

14 Jul 2012

Scientists investigate new ingredients to produce food with less energy, more taste

Our attraction to foods bloated with energy has made excess body weight increasingly common, particularly in the West. Hence, people's health has been affected. Scientists are now investigating new ingredients to satisfy our taste buds without impacting our health

14 Jul 2012

Research roundup: Medication adherence, performance at community health centers

For people diagnosed with depression, it's important that they adhere to their medication regimen so that they avoid recurrent episodes. But because of Medicare's Part D coverage gap, financially burdened seniors might not take their prescriptions as recommended. This study looked at Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with depression in 2007.

14 Jul 2012

Donor governments need to conduct more post-market oversight of generic medicines

The WHO and FDA approve drugs to treat malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases in low- and middle-income countries, but "some of the manufacturers, predominantly Chinese and Indian firms, may be knowingly producing" poor quality medicines, according to "the conclusion of my research teams' studies, published this week in the journal Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine," Roger Bate, resident scholar with the American Enterprise Institute and lead author of the studies, writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.

14 Jul 2012

EU-funded researchers develop new antimicrobial resistance monitoring solution

Every year hundreds of thousands of people die because of infections that have become resistant to treatment. A new data-mining, clinical monitoring and decision-support system, developed by EU-funded researchers, offers a powerful new weapon in the war on resistance to antibiotics.

14 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Wis. Gov. calls Obamacare 'bad policy;' 'Do the math' before deciding on Medicaid expansion

Since the Supreme Court upheld President Obama's health-care mandate, there has been exhaustive discussion about the philosophical basis of this federal law. As Election Day approaches, debate will surely grow about the proper role of our federal government. But while much attention has focused on Congress's intention to repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act, too few are studying the law's practical impact.

14 Jul 2012

Call for more restricted opioid use

US experts call for more selective and cautious opioid prescribing for chronic noncancer pain in primary care, because of concerns over misuse of the drugs and continued uncertainty over when and for how long they should be prescribed.

13 Jul 2012

Caution advised with succinylcholine in critically ill

The risk for hyperkalemia after succinylcholine use for urgent tracheal intubation increases the longer patients remain in the intensive care unit, research shows.

13 Jul 2012

Antipsychotic use in pregnancy should be closely monitored

Use of any type of antipsychotic during pregnancy increases the risk for women developing gestational diabetes, show Swedish study results that also indicate a link between antipsychotics and a risk for giving birth to a small for gestational age infant.

13 Jul 2012

Identification of IL-9 antitumor activity in melanoma

High expression of interleukin -9 in immune cells inhibits growth of melanoma, show study findings suggesting a role for this T-cell cytokine in tumor suppression.

13 Jul 2012

The changing dynamics of doctors' offices

The New York Times reports on how some physicians are dispensing drugs in their offices. Meanwhile, CNN Money explores the "demise" of the solo practitioner.

13 Jul 2012