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Adapted version of Bailli-re's Nurses' Dictionary for Malaysian students

Elsevier, a leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services announced today that nursing students in Malaysia can look forward to better understanding medical terms with the adaptation of the popular Bailli-re's Nurses' Dictionary.

24 Aug 2011

Scientists generate stem cells from one of the most rapidly progressing forms of Parkinson's

Scientists have for the first time generated stem cells from one of the most rapidly progressing forms of Parkinson's disease.

24 Aug 2011

MicroRNA biomarkers provide guidance to develop specific gene therapies for glioblastoma

Patients suffering from an aggressive brain cancer will benefit from the results of a University of Illinois study that could advance the development of targeted gene therapies and improve prognosis.

23 Aug 2011

Researchers show that Sirt3 enzyme decreases in skeletal muscle of diabetes patients

Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have shown that an enzyme found in the mitochondria of cells is decreased in the skeletal muscle of those with diabetes, a finding that could lead to the development of drugs to boost the activity of this enzyme in an effort to fight the disease.

23 Aug 2011

KalVista raises £8 million in series A round of funding

KalVista Pharmaceuticals, a new ophthalmology company with a focus on diabetic macular edema (DME), has raised £8 million in a series A round from leading life sciences investors Novo A/S and SV Life Sciences.

23 Aug 2011

Prescription drug shortages forcing docs, pharmacists to scramble

Record shortages of prescription drugs in the United States are forcing pharmacists and doctors to scramble to find medications for their patients, suitable alternatives or to delay potentially lifesaving treatments.

23 Aug 2011

Nepstar second quarter revenue increases 7.3% to US$93.8 million

China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd., the largest retail drugstore chain in China based on the number of directly operated stores, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011.

23 Aug 2011

Radium-223 chloride granted FDA Fast Track designation for treatment of CRPC

Algeta ASA, a company focused on the development of novel targeted cancer therapeutics, today announced that radium-223 chloride has been granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of castration-resistant (hormone refractory) prostate cancer in patients with bone metastases.

23 Aug 2011

Gains against malaria recognized on World Mosquito Day

Sarah Kline, executive director of Malaria No More UK, writes in the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog" about World Mosquito Day, which is recognized annually on August 20 to commemorate the discovery 114 years ago that female mosquitoes transmit malaria among humans.

23 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: NY Times deconstructs health rulings; Issa on law & deficit; veterans' care needs boost

At a time when the nation's credit has been downgraded for the first time and our country is struggling to finance and reform existing entitlement programs, Obamacare's creation of new entitlements increases dependency on government and pushes our country deeper into a fiscal crisis of Greek proportion. As Congress and the president seek bipartisan ground to address the national debt, we must remember that the first step out of a hole is to stop digging.

23 Aug 2011

Nurse safety measures around highly toxic drugs needed

Nearly 17 percent of nurses who work in outpatient chemotherapy infusion centers reported being exposed on their skin or eyes to the toxic drugs they deliver, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

22 Aug 2011

Drug co. executive gives pharma a sunny forecast

Severin Schwan thinks the skeptics are wrong. Those who shun the pharmaceutical sector for its lack of prospects don't understand the potential created by a rapidly growing understanding of genetics and molecular biology, and the new drugs that will follow. ... the chief executive of Roche Holding AG, the world's seventh-largest drug firm by sales, is an informed optimist.

22 Aug 2011

No effective treatment yet for acute lung injury

Patients can essentially drown in their own fluids when trauma and infection prompt blood vessels to leak, flooding millions of air sacs in their lungs.

22 Aug 2011

Congress could reconsider FSA restrictions

Bills floating through Congress would lift some restrictions on flexible spending accounts and allow employees to set aside pre-tax earnings to pay for out-of-pocket health care expenses.

22 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 22, 2011

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Harris Meyer writes: "In the fourth year of a depressed real estate market, experts say thousands of seniors remain unable to move into senior housing because they can't sell their homes quickly enough or for the price they need. The upshot: Greater pressure on families to pay for parents' and grandparents' placements, or to care for them themselves"

22 Aug 2011

ATGL produces key signaling molecules essential for regulation of lipid, energy metabolism

Obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases are daunting modern-day epidemics. In Western Europe more than 50% of the population is overweight and approximately 15 million people die from cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and stroke every year. These conditions are often caused by disorders of fat metabolism, resulting in a massive accumulation of fat in various tissues and of cholesterol in the walls of arteries.

22 Aug 2011

Calcium scores and heart disease risk, experts debate

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22 Aug 2011

Modified Ecstasy could be effective against cancer: Study

Researchers from Birmingham University have designed a drug similar to the illicit drug Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) that could be used to treat leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma after making it 100 times more effective at suppressing growth.

22 Aug 2011

Cellular pathology of Lou Gehrig’s disease discovered

Researchers claim to have found a common cause behind the mysterious and deadly affliction of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The discovery could pave the way to new treatments for the devastating disorder whose victims include top physicist Professor Stephen Hawking.

22 Aug 2011

Tiny molecule could bind to B cell EB12 receptor and prevent cancer

Infection with Epstein Barr means that the B cells, which are the primary memory cells of the immune system, are hi-jacked. When the virus has penetrated, researchers observe an excess of a special bio-antenna, a receptor known as EB12, suddenly sprouting from the surface of the B cells. But why they do so remains a mystery.

22 Aug 2011