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Treatment with aromatase inhibitors enables some women to have lumpectomy

Preoperative treatment with aromatase inhibitors increases the likelihood that postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer will be able to have breast-conserving surgery rather than a mastectomy, according to the results of a national clinical trial presented today at the Society of Surgical Oncology annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

23 Mar 2012

MSF warns MDR-TB is more widespread than previously thought

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says the spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) -- "a form of tuberculosis that does not respond to standard treatment and can kill in a matter of months" -- "is much greater than previously thought," VOA News reports.

23 Mar 2012

First Edition: March 23, 2012

Today's health policy headlines are full of previews of next week's health law action at the Supreme Court.

23 Mar 2012

No added benefit of aliskiren-amlodipine fixed drug combination for hypertension

The fixed drug combination of aliskiren and amlodipine (trade name: Rasilamlo-) was approved in April 2011 for the treatment of people with hypertension in whom aliskiren or amlodipine alone has an insufficient effect.

23 Mar 2012

Longer looks: Health literacy's effect on costs

In many families, women are the health care decision makers. When children go for their checkups, we are often the ones who make the appointment and sit in the room holding their hand. When elderly parents see a new specialist, we are the ones carrying the folder with all their health information. ... In the past, this also meant that many women would take care of their own health last. By the time they got around to it, women found a system stacked against them. But thanks to the health care law, that's changed.

23 Mar 2012

Only few OB-GYNs routinely inquire about patients' sexual issues

How often does your doctor ask about your sexual life? Unfortunately, the answer may be: not often enough. Leaving the subject off the check-up checklist could mean missing an important link to overall wellness.

23 Mar 2012

CBT, PE can ameliorate treatment-induced menopausal symptoms in breast cancer patients

Researchers from The Netherlands have found that the menopausal symptoms caused by giving chemotherapy or hormonal therapy to younger women with breast cancer can be ameliorated considerably through the use of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and physical exercise.

23 Mar 2012

BUMC to open first dedicated cancer hospital in North Texas

Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas is opening Baylor Cancer Hospital, the region's first dedicated cancer hospital beginning in early 2012. The cancer hospital will provide inpatient cancer care services, a 24-hour oncology evaluation and treatment center, as well as an array of support services to cancer patients, their families and caregivers.

23 Mar 2012

Lawmakers allege some drug companies inflate cost of scarce drugs with 'fake pharmacies'

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., is leading a congressional investigation accusing some drug distributors of opening "fake pharmacies" to drive up the cost of some pharmacueticals that are in short supply.

23 Mar 2012

Scientists artificially derive brain stem cells from connective tissue of mice

These stem cells can reproduce and be converted into various types of brain cells. To date, only reprogramming in brain cells that were already fully developed or which had only a limited ability to divide was possible. The new reprogramming method presented by the Bonn scientists and submitted for publication in July 2011 now enables derivation of brain stem cells that are still immature and able to undergo practically unlimited division to be extracted from conventional body cells.

23 Mar 2012

Blocking PFKFB4 enzyme could prevent growth of prostate cancer cells

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered how blocking a key enzyme, which helps convert glucose into energy, could provide a new way to kill prostate cancer cells, according to a study published in the journal Cancer Discovery.

23 Mar 2012

UI receives three grants to hasten discovery of new TB therapeutics

Forty-five years. That's how long it's been since the last drug - rifampin - hit the market to treat tuberculosis, an infection that affects nearly one third of the world's population and causes 1.8 million deaths annually. The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy has received three new federally-funded grants to hasten the discovery of new therapeutic treatments.

23 Mar 2012

tAI could predict sensitivity to chemotherapy in patients with triple-negative breast cancer

Scientists have uncovered a marker of DNA damage that could predict who will respond to platinum-based chemotherapy drugs like cisplatin or carboplatin.

23 Mar 2012

Study provides important clue in type 1 diabetes

In type 1 diabetes (T1D), pancreatic beta cells die from a misguided autoimmune attack, but how and why that happens is still unclear. Now, JDRF-funded scientists from the Indiana University School of Medicine have found that a specific type of cellular stress takes place in pancreatic beta cells before the onset of T1D, and that this stress response in the beta cell may in fact help ignite the autoimmune attack.

23 Mar 2012

Verapamil drug may reverse diabetes-related death of pancreatic beta cells

A common high-blood-pressure medication appears to reverse the diabetes-related death of pancreatic beta cells, according to a University of Alabama at Birmingham study published today in the journal Diabetes.

23 Mar 2012

FMBFarma granted exclusive rights to market Ampio's Zertane for PE in Brazil

Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company that discovers and develops new uses for previously approved drugs and new molecular entities, and FBM Industria Farmaceutica Ltda, a member of the HOSPFAR Group that manufactures, imports and distributes pharmaceuticals in Brazil, today announced a license and distribution agreement providing FMBFarma exclusive rights to market Zertane in Brazil for the treatment of premature ejaculation.

22 Mar 2012

First Edition: March 22, 2012

Today's headlines include examinations of the health law as it approaches its two-year anniversary and its review by the Supreme Court, as well as reports about what's next for the Ryan budget plan.

22 Mar 2012

Study demonstrates molecular mechanisms of cadmium-induced prostate cancer

A recent study conducted at Marshall University may eventually help scientists develop new treatments for prostate cancer, the most common malignancy in American men.

22 Mar 2012

Working together to fight TB

In this post in USAID's "IMPACTblog," guest blogger Joanna Breitstein, director of communications for the TB Alliance, describes an event organized by the Critical Paths to TB Drug Regimens that took place on Monday, "heralding the launch of a new clinical trial that tests tuberculosis drugs in combination."

22 Mar 2012

CINJ clinical trials leader receives 2012 Award of Excellence from HOPA

Susan Goodin, PharmD, FCCP, BCOP, associate director of clinical trials and therapeutics at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) has received the 2012 Award of Excellence from the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association.

22 Mar 2012