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NIH-funded study to evaluate rescue medications for victims of toxic gases

National Jewish Health researchers have received nearly $13 million from the National Institutes of Health to evaluate potential rescue medications for victims of terrorist attacks, wartime use of toxic gases, and/or inhalation disasters. The gases of greatest interest in these studies will be 'mustard gas' (sulfur mustard) and chlorine gas.

14 Oct 2011

Women to benefit from new TFRI ovarian cancer initiative

Women throughout the world will benefit from a new, pan-Canadian Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) initiative that aims to change the way in which ovarian cancer is diagnosed and managed.

14 Oct 2011

New dual drug combinations in development for various cancers

A rarely used—and as yet largely unproven—approach to drug development has emerged as a significant tool in the effort to create high-impact new cancer drugs.

14 Oct 2011

Manhattan Scientifics' nano-electromagnetic sensing technology can detect MRD in leukemia

Manhattan Scientifics announced today that the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has funded a grant for its Senior Scientific, LLC unit, for the use of its proprietary, highly precise magnetic cancer cell measurement in leukemia research for determining the progress of cancer treatment.

14 Oct 2011

New insight into how emphysema and COPD develop

By studying mice exposed to tobacco smoke for a period of months, researchers have new insight into how emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) develop.

14 Oct 2011

JCO publishes Keryx's KRX-0401 Phase 1 / 2 combination study on advanced MM

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that a manuscript entitled "Perifosine Plus Bortezomib and Dexamethasone in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma Patients Previously Treated with Bortezomib: Results of a Multicenter Phase l/2 Trial" reporting Phase 1 / 2 combination activity of KRX-0401 (perifosine) in the treatment of advanced multiple myeloma (MM) patients, was selected for publication in the October 11, 2011 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

14 Oct 2011

Entirely new platform to assist in developing antimalarial drugs

Malaria has been one of the world's biggest killers for as long as records have been kept. With resistance to existing antimalarial drugs on the rise, there is a renewed push to find different ways to fight it. Two University of Houston (UH) engineers have stepped up to the plate to answer the call.

14 Oct 2011

State roundup: Anti-abortion legislation campaign; services for disabled under scrutiny; what is a 'medical home'

A nationwide coalition of anti-abortion groups said Wednesday it is preparing to push legislation in all 50 states requiring that pregnant women see and hear the fetal heartbeat before having an abortion. The effort follows the introduction of similar legislation at the federal level by Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.

14 Oct 2011

Researchers control itch without dulling morphine's pain-killing effects

Itching is one of the most prevalent side effects of powerful, pain-killing drugs like morphine, oxycodone and other opioids. The opiate-associated itch is so common that even women who get epidurals for labor pain often complain of itching. For many years, scientists have scratched their own heads about why drugs that so effectively suppress pain also induce itch.

14 Oct 2011

Dual drug sneaks across the blood-brain barrier to fight HIV

In an advance toward eliminating pockets of infection in the brain that help make HIV disease incurable, scientists report the development of new substances that first plug the biological vacuum cleaner that prevents anti-HIV drugs from reaching the brain and then revert to an active drug to treat HIV.

14 Oct 2011

Cylene advances preclinical development of CX-5461 for treatment of cancer

Cylene Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has advanced its targeted, non-genotoxic, activator of p53 for the treatment of leukemias, lymphomas and multiple myeloma through formal preclinical development, the Company announced today.

14 Oct 2011

New technique stimulates stem cells after liver transplant to prevent rejection

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a way to stimulate a rat's stem cells after a liver transplant as a means of preventing rejection of the new organ without the need for lifelong immunosuppressant drugs.

14 Oct 2011

WuXi PharmaTech announces acquisition of Abgent

WuXi PharmaTech Inc., a leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device research and development services company with operations in China and the United States, today announced the acquisition of Abgent, Inc., a provider of biological research reagent products and services based in Suzhou, China, and San Diego, California.

14 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: 'Moneyball' and health care; Daschle on diabetes treatment; Elton John and Sen. Nelson on paying for AIDS drugs

Billy Beane's data-driven strategies made him the talk of baseball, the king of the current box office and a highly visible advocate for evidence-based medicine. But Beane's teams have faded since their "Moneyball" heyday - and evidence-based medicine might not be the home run that some reformers hope it will be.

14 Oct 2011

Hydromorphone can be as effective as diacetylmorphine in treating heroin addiction

A clinical trial to test better treatment options for chronic heroin addiction is expected to begin in Vancouver at the end of this year. Led by researchers from Providence Health Care and the University of British Columbia, it's the only clinical trial of its kind in North America.

13 Oct 2011

Scientists reprogram skin cells of patients with mental disorders into brain cells

For many poorly understood mental disorders, such as schizophrenia or autism, scientists have wished they could uncover what goes wrong inside the brain before damage ensues.

13 Oct 2011

SWHR hosts Capitol Hill briefing, The War Within: Women and Autoimmunity

50:1, 9:1, 2:1 these are just some ratios of autoimmune disease disparities between women and men. The Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) hosted the Capitol Hill briefing, The War Within: Women and Autoimmunity, on Tuesday, October 11 to address these concerns.

13 Oct 2011

Mass. Medicaid waiver hits roadblock; N.Y. enrollment reaches 5 million

Politico reports that despite its health reform efforts, Massachusetts is having trouble getting the federal government to issue a waiver for Medicaid programs. The Wall Street Journal reports on the growing needs in New York.

13 Oct 2011

SFDA approves China Medical Technologies' colorectal cancer assay

China Medical Technologies, Inc., a leading China-based advanced in-vitro diagnostic company, today announced that China's State Food and Drug Administration has approved the Company's real-time PCR-based V-Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog assay as a companion diagnostic test for the use of a targeted drug for the treatment of colorectal cancer patients.

13 Oct 2011

UA researchers to study immune response to implanted sensors

A University of Arkansas professor and her colleagues will receive $1.3 million over four years to study the immune response to implanted sensors, such as glucose sensors for diabetics, in hopes of prolonging the life of these important monitoring systems.

13 Oct 2011