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Karolinska Institutet to study fundamental causes of diabetes

The Swedish medical university, Karolinska Institutet, has received a grant of 1.6 million Euro from the Stichting af Jochnick Foundation for research into the fundamental causes of diabetes. The grant will make it possible to use unique methods to study how the release of insulin is regulated in living organisms - and this will create new opportunities for developing more effective drugs against diabetes.

7 Feb 2012

New blood-thinning drugs likely to replace Coumadin for patients with non-valvular AF

Within a few years, a new generation of easy-to-use blood-thinning drugs will likely replace Coumadin for patients with irregular heartbeats who are at risk for stroke, according to a journal article by Loyola University Medical Center physicians.

7 Feb 2012

First European CPGs for diagnosis and management of Wilson's disease

The first European Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) for the diagnosis and management of Wilson's disease are published today by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) on the EASL website.

7 Feb 2012

Epilepsy surgery improves QOL and long-term seizure control

While epilepsy surgery is a safe and effective intervention for seizure control, medical therapy remains the more prominent treatment option for those with epilepsy. However, a new 26-year study reveals that following epilepsy surgery, nearly half of participants were free of disabling seizures and 80% reported better quality of life than before surgery.

7 Feb 2012

BPS Annual Meeting to be held Feb. 25 - 29 in San Diego

The latest news and discoveries in medicine, physics, environmental science, and interdisciplinary fields will be featured at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society (BPS), held Feb. 25 - Feb. 29, 2012, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif. With more than 4,000 poster presentations, 200 exhibits, 20 symposia, and 6,000 research scientists in attendance each year, the BPS Annual Meeting is the largest meeting of biophysicists in the world.

7 Feb 2012

EpiCept seeks FDA Fast Track designation for AmiKet to treat CIPN

EpiCept Corporation today announced that it has filed for Fast Track designation for AmiKet(amitriptyline 4%, ketamine 2% cream) for the treatment for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

7 Feb 2012

Mylan acquires two dermatological drugs from Valeant

Mylan Inc. today announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of two dermatological products from Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

6 Feb 2012

Diabetic mothers and risk of birth defects in baby: Study

Anew study published in Diabetologica reveals that pregnant women with diabetes are almost four times more likely to have a baby with a birth defect.

6 Feb 2012

People seem to switch navigational strategies with age

A Wayne State University researcher believes studying people's ability to find their way around may help explain why loss of mental capacity occurs with age.

6 Feb 2012

Body's zinc control mechanisms may be key to aggressive breast cancer treatments

The body's control mechanisms for delivering zinc to cells could be key to improving treatment for some types of aggressive breast cancer.

6 Feb 2012

Comprehensive program to help reduce health risks of narcotics drugs on injured workers

Accident Fund Holdings, Inc. recently created a comprehensive narcotics program to help reduce the health risks of these drugs on injured workers and ultimately provide a mechanism for them to get back to work sooner.

6 Feb 2012

Dust-up continues over Obama administration's contraception rule

Although administration officials defend the rule and some political strategists see limited political damage, the Catholic Church continues a counterattack.

6 Feb 2012

Orexigen reaches SPA agreement for Contrave outcomes trial with FDA

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it has reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on a Special Protocol Assessment for the Contrave outcomes trial.

6 Feb 2012

NIH, USDA and research facilities need to protect captive great apes

The Bioethics of Great Ape Well-Being: Psychiatric Injury and Duty of Care, recently published in the Animals & Society Institute's (ASI) Public Policy series, asserts that historically and to date the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and research facilities have failed in their legal duty to protect captive great apes by not preventing foreseeable trauma of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and other psychological injuries.

6 Feb 2012

BioLineRx, Genoscience and RFS Pharma enter agreement for BL-8030 Hepatitis C treatment

BioLineRx, a biopharmaceutical development company, announced today it has signed a worldwide, exclusive license agreement with Genoscience and RFS Pharma to develop and commercialize BL-8030, an orally available treatment for Hepatitis C.

6 Feb 2012

HHS offers progress report on shrinking Medicare's doughnut hole

A provision in the health law was intended to help fill a gap in Medicare's prescription drug coverage. On Thursday, administration officials said 3.6 million beneficiaries saved $2.1 billion on prescription drugs in 2011.

6 Feb 2012

USCCB responds to Feb. 2 post on the White House blog

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued the following response to the February 2 post on the White House blog.

6 Feb 2012

Scientists identify genetic variant that increases risk of ischemic stroke

A genetic variant that increases the risk of a common type of stroke has been identified by scientists in a study published online in Nature Genetics today. This is one of the few genetic variants to date to be associated with risk of stroke and the discovery opens up new possibilities for treatment.

6 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Komen takes a lashing; Is the safety net really intact?; Romney assails HHS' rule on contraception

With its roster of corporate sponsors and the pink ribbons that lend a halo to almost any kind of product you can think of, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation has a longstanding reputation as a staunch protector of women's health. That reputation suffered a grievous, perhaps mortal, wound this week from the news that Komen, the world's largest breast cancer organization, decided to betray that mission.

5 Feb 2012

CT-guided catheters carry t-PA to shrink clots in patients with ICH

Johns Hopkins neurologists report success with a new means of getting rid of potentially lethal blood clots in the brain safely without cutting through easily damaged brain tissue or removing large pieces of skull. The minimally invasive treatment, they report, increased the number of patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) who could function independently by 10 to 15 percent six months following the procedure.

4 Feb 2012