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Promising updates in quest for early detection and treatments for lung cancer

LUNGevity Foundation, the nation's largest lung cancer-focused nonprofit, is pleased to note promising updates in researchers' quest for early detection and treatments for lung cancer during May, Lung Cancer Hope Month.

18 May 2012

Ventac and GIBH announce creation of CASiGEN Pharma

Ventac Partners and the Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences (GIBH) today announced the creation of CASiGEN Pharma Ltd. (CASiGEN) to bring new treatments for diabetes and other metabolic disorders to the global market.

18 May 2012

Scientists map how XIAP protein activates vital component of immune defence system

Defects in the gene that encodes the XIAP protein result in a serious immune malfunction. Scientists used biochemical analyses to map the protein's ability to activate vital components of the immune system. Their results have recently been published in Molecular Cell, a journal of international scientific repute.

18 May 2012

Two major reasons to monitor medication use in older patients with chronic pain

Ameritox, the nation's leader in pain medication monitoring, announced today the presentation of a peer-reviewed scientific poster titled "Patterns of Drug Use in the Older Chronic Pain Population" at the American Pain Society Annual Meeting.

18 May 2012

Migraine is a neurological, not vascular, disorder

The latest genetic and biological research shows that migraine is a neurological, not vascular, disorder and both acute and preventive treatments being developed target peripheral and central nervous systems, according to a prominent migraine expert addressing the American Pain Society (APS)today.

18 May 2012

Breast cancer vaccine that elicits powerful immune response also improves recurrence rates

A breast cancer vaccine already shown to elicit a powerful immune response in women with varying levels of HER2 expression has the ability to improve recurrence rates and is well tolerated in an adjuvant setting, according to new research from a clinical trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

18 May 2012

First Edition: May 18, 2012

Today's headlines include a report that congressional conservatives are fighting amongst themselves over health law strategies.

18 May 2012

Health Canada approves Osiris’ Prochymal to treat acute GvHD in children

Osiris Therapeutics Inc. announced today it has received market authorization from Health Canada to market its stem cell therapy Prochymal (remestemcel-L), for the treatment of acute graft-vs-host disease (GvHD) in children.

18 May 2012

Potential public-private partnership aims to bring TB vaccine trials to mines of Southern Africa

GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog reports on a potential public-private partnership that aims to bring tuberculosis (TB) vaccine trials to the gold mines of Southern Africa, where, "for every 100,000 workers ..., 3,000 have tuberculosis, and many have often-fatal, drug-resistant strains of TB."

18 May 2012

Examining key findings of Policy Innovation Memorandum on safety of world drug, vaccine supply

In her blog, "The Garrett Update," Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), provides a detailed overview of the key findings from the council's Policy Innovation Memorandum No. 21, a six-point policy recommendation for the G8/20 that she authored, titled "Ensuring the Safety and Integrity of the World's Drug, Vaccine, and Medicines Supply."

18 May 2012

Maternal deaths drop by nearly half worldwide over 20 years; Greater progress still needed, U.N. reports

"The number of women dying of pregnancy- and childbirth-related complications has almost halved in 20 years, according to new estimates released [on Wednesday] by the United Nations, which stressed that greater progress is still needed in significantly reducing maternal deaths," the U.N. News Centre reports.

18 May 2012

Dabrafenib drug shrinks tumors in patients with melanoma brain metastases

An experimental drug targeting a common mutation in melanoma successfully shrank tumors that spread to the brain in nine out of 10 patients in part of an international phase I clinical trial report in the May 18 issue of The Lancet.

18 May 2012

Renal denervation can effectively reduce blood pressure in CKD patients with hypertension

Disrupting certain nerves in the kidneys can safely and effectively lower blood pressure in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hypertension, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

18 May 2012

RAL proteins linked with aggressive cancer characteristics in human tumors

We have known for years that when the proteins RalA and RalB are present, cells in dishes copy toward aggressive forms of cancer. However, until this week, no study had explored the effects of RAL proteins in human cancers - an essential step on the path to developing drugs to target these proteins.

18 May 2012

Multiple companies receive FDA approval to sell generic Plavix

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved generic versions of the blood thinning drug Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate), which helps reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by making it less likely that platelets in the blood will clump and form clots in the arteries.

18 May 2012

For a family of 4, health care costs can top $20,000

A study by the benefits consultant group Milliman notes the average annual health care costs for a family of four are $20,728 -- a 7 percent increase from last year.

17 May 2012

CHOP researcher leads trial of ALK inhibitor in neuroblastoma, lymphoma

A pill designed to zero in on abnormal genes that drive specific cancers has produced encouraging early results in children with an uncommon but aggressive type of lymphoma, as well as in children with a rare form of neuroblastoma.

17 May 2012

Abiraterone acetate can help eliminate prostate tumors

A hormone-depleting drug approved last year for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer can help eliminate or nearly eliminate tumors in many patients with aggressive cancers that have yet to spread beyond the prostate, according to a clinical study to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), June 1-5, in Chicago.

17 May 2012

Study reveals pathway that may help slow development of multiple myeloma

Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have identified a target for slowing the progression of multiple myeloma by using currently available drugs.

17 May 2012

Apigenin effective against human breast cancer

Apigenin, a natural substance found in grocery store produce aisles, shows promise as a non-toxic treatment for an aggressive form of human breast cancer, following a new study at the University of Missouri.

17 May 2012