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Researchers discover recycling mechanism of signaling receptors

An international team of researchers led by Carnegie Mellon University's Manojkumar Puthenveedu has discovered the mechanism by which signaling receptors recycle, a critical piece in understanding signaling receptor function. Writing in the journal Cell, the team for the first time describes how a signaling receptor travels back to the cell membrane after it has been activated and internalized.

23 Dec 2010

Dieting trends in 2011

As the hectic holiday season comes to a close and a new year approaches, many consumers are once again vowing to adopt weight loss goals to shed those unwanted pounds. But with obesity increasing at alarming levels across the globe, a number of health experts are urging a new approach to help fight the nation's burgeoning weight problem.

23 Dec 2010

Discovery highlights potential to combat HIV/AIDS

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered how HIV binds to and destroys a specific human antiviral protein called APOBEC3F. The results suggest that a simple chemical change can convert APOBEC3F to a more effective antiviral agent and that shielding of a common feature shared by related proteins may yield a similar outcome.

23 Dec 2010

Certain drugs may block tumor host interactions but do not destroy cancer cells

A class of drugs thought to kill cancer cells may in fact block "cross talk" between the cancer cell and normal immune cells, resulting in reduced cancer growth and spread-a discovery that could significantly alter the way cancer drugs are evaluated in the future.

23 Dec 2010

Patients with over expression of P-Rex1 protein are more likely to develop cancer metastasis

Overexpression or hyperactivation of ErbB cell-surface receptors drives the growth of many breast cancers. Drugs, like Herceptin, that block the receptors' signals halt tumor progression in some patients.

23 Dec 2010

New study reveals statin therapy linked to reduced postoperative mortality

Statin drugs were first introduced to lower blood cholesterol concentrations; however, research is now discovering other benefits. A new study from France, published in the January 2011 issue of Anesthesiology, is the first to analyze the impact of preoperative chronic statin therapy on postoperative adverse events in surgical patients. Findings from the study suggest that statin therapy is associated with reduced postoperative mortality.

23 Dec 2010

Medicare pays out big bucks for questionable treatments

News outlets report on various activities related to fraud and abuse in Medicare.

23 Dec 2010

Opinions: U.S. foreign aid; Malaria eradication; Moving Haiti forward; Health care financing

"At this critical time when we are concerned about our country's financial well being it is imperative that we curtail our charity to others," Bradley Blakeman, deputy assistant to former President George W. Bush and professor of politics and public policy at Georgetown University, writes in a Fox News opinion piece calling for the U.S., which he says "has done more than its fair share for others since our birth as a nation," to "curtail our foreign aid."

23 Dec 2010

Loyola researcher receives $1.3 million NIH grant to study key heart protein

Loyola University Health System researcher Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD, has been awarded a four-year, $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study a protein that is critical for the normal functioning of the heart.

23 Dec 2010

FDA approves Novartis' Amturnide for treatment of high blood pressure

Today Novartis announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Amturnide (aliskiren, amlodipine and hydrochlorothiazide) tablets for the treatment of high blood pressure. Amturnide combines the only approved direct renin inhibitor worldwide, Tekturna (aliskiren), with the widely used calcium channel blocker amlodipine and the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ).

23 Dec 2010

Immunomedics announces additional claim for RS7 antibodies patent family

Immunomedics, a biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the development of monoclonal antibody-based products for the targeted treatment of cancer, autoimmune and other serious diseases, today announced that additional claims for the patent family, "RS7 antibodies," were issued as Patent No. 1,002,443 in Korea.

23 Dec 2010

Today's Opinions: Congressional funding vote leaves out health law; Price controls on health; Tough choices in Washington State

The Senate passed the Continuing Resolution 79-16 this afternoon. Another way of saying that: The Senate voted to defund the implementation of both health-care reform and financial-regulation reform.

23 Dec 2010

Researchers identify class of drugs that can promote RBC formation in anemic patients

By determining how corticosteroids act to promote red blood cell progenitor formation, Whitehead Institute researchers have identified a class of drugs that may be beneficial in anemias, including those resulting from trauma, sepsis, malaria, kidney dialysis, and chemotherapy.

22 Dec 2010

New era for anticoagulant therapy

In a Guest Editorial published in the new publication Clinical Investigation, Dr Jeffrey Weitz and Dr John Eikelboom of McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada highlight the importance of the approval in October by the FDA of dabigatran etexilate (Pradaxa®; Boehringer Ingelheim). This new oral thrombin inhibitor provides an alternative to warfarin for long-term stroke prevention in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

22 Dec 2010

New cough suppressant from cocoa

People suffering from persistent cough may soon have a remedy that is derived from cocoa. At present researchers are carrying out the final stages of clinical trials of a drug that contains theobromine, an ingredient found in chocolate and cocoa. The drug could be in the market in another two years.

22 Dec 2010

Top ten advances in cardiovascular, stroke research in 2010

Research on reducing risks, improving medical treatment and improving lifestyle behaviors to fight the battle against heart disease and stroke are among the key scientific findings that make up this year's top cardiovascular and stroke research recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

22 Dec 2010

Therapies to target self-renewing population of chemotherapy-resistant cells needed

Leukemia patients whose cancers express higher levels of genes associated with cancer stem cells have a significantly poorer prognosis than patients with lower levels of the genes, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The finding is among the first to show that the cancer stem cell hypothesis - which posits that some cancers spring from and are replenished by a small, hardy population of self-renewing cells - can be used to predict outcomes in a large group of patients and one day to tailor treatments in the clinic.

22 Dec 2010

Poison centers raise concern over dangerous substance marketed as bath salts

Doctors and clinicians at U.S. poison centers are increasingly concerned about products marketed as bath salts that are causing increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, agitation, hallucinations, extreme paranoia and delusions.

22 Dec 2010

Ramius/RP Group extend tender offer to acquire Cypress Bioscience

Ramius V&O Acquisition LLC, affiliates of Ramius LLC (collectively, "Ramius") and affiliates of Royalty Pharma (together with Ramius and Purchaser, the "Ramius/RP Group") announced today that the Ramius/RP Group is extending its previously announced tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Cypress Bioscience, Inc., a pharmaceutical company engaged in the development of innovative drugs to treat central nervous system (CNS) disorders, until Midnight, January 5, 2011, unless the offer is otherwise extended.

22 Dec 2010

The Citizen examines potential impact of EU-India free trade agreement on HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries

The Citizen examines the potential impact a free-trade agreement between the EU and India currently under negotiation could have on patients living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries.

22 Dec 2010