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Hydrophobic proteins may serve as biomarkers for treating colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer, cancer of the colon and rectum, is a common cause of mortality worldwide. Statistical data showed that the number of deaths caused by colorectal cancer is increasing in both men and women.

25 Jun 2010

Cognitive behaviour therapy effective for treating anxiety disorders

Brief therapy at the GP's surgery can effectively treat anxiety and depression. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medicine found that cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) was effective for treating anxiety disorders, while CBT, problem solving therapy (PST) and counseling were all equally effective in treating depression and mixed anxiety and depression.

25 Jun 2010

Gene therapy holds promise in treating cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases

EUREKA project E! 3371 Gene Transfer Agents has made great advances in the development of novel non-viral carriers able to introduce genetic material into the target cells.

25 Jun 2010

Correlation exists between synaptic plasticity and drug addiction

Why is it that only some drug users become addicts? This is the question that has been addressed by the teams of Pier Vincenzo Piazza and Olivier Manzoni, at the Neurocentre Magendie in Bordeaux (Inserm unit 862). These researchers have just discovered that the transition to addiction could result from a persistent impairment of synaptic plasticity in a key structure of the brain.

25 Jun 2010

Nintendo DS helps cure lazy eye

For six year old Ben Michaels nothing could be more welcome than his recent therapy regime. He was detected with a problem in his eyesight by a school nurse from the age of four. On examination he was found to have a lazy right eye or amblyopia. Left untreated it would have lost him his vision completely.

24 Jun 2010

Cellonis' stem cells diabetes treatment helps reconstruct natural insulin production

Cellonis, a Beijing and HK-based biotech company, with its new personalized diabetes treatment concept has demonstrated an amazing improvement in their treated patients' conditions. The ongoing clinical study shows the treatment's best case could reconstruct a patient's natural insulin production and even reverse later complications like kidney failure. Treated patients may have the chance to return to the normal activities non-diabetes sufferers take for granted.

24 Jun 2010

AGTC, Icagen complete agreement for purchase and sale of patent rights

AGTC, a privately held company, and Icagen, Inc. today announced the completion of an agreement for the purchase and sale of certain patent rights between the companies. Icagen is transferring its rights to patents relating to the ion channel gene CNGB3, which has been linked to certain disorders of the eye. Under the terms of the agreement, Icagen has assigned ownership of the patents to AGTC, which intends to use the patented technology for gene therapy as a potential treatment for Achromatopsia, a severe form of daytime blindness.

24 Jun 2010

Infinity commences enrollment in IPI-493 Phase 1 clinical trial for advanced hematologic malignancies

Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an innovative drug discovery and development company, today announced that patients are being enrolled in a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating IPI-493 in patients with advanced hematologic malignancies. This multi-center study is the second clinical trial of IPI-493, Infinity's oral heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) chaperone inhibitor.

24 Jun 2010

Merck's DULERA Inhalation Aerosol for asthma receives FDA approval

Merck today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved DULERA® (mometasone furoate and formoterol fumarate dihydrate) Inhalation Aerosol, a new fixed-dose combination asthma treatment for patients 12 years of age and older. DULERA is not indicated for the relief of acute bronchospasm. DULERA combines an inhaled corticosteroid (mometasone furoate) with a long-acting beta2-agonist (formoterol fumarate).

24 Jun 2010

UNC team provides first example of successful radiomitigation in mammals

While radiation has therapeutic uses, too much radiation is damaging to cells. The most important acute side effect of radiation poisoning is damage to the bone marrow. The bone marrow produces all the normal blood cells, and therefore a high dose of radiation can lead to low blood counts of red cells, platelets and white blood cells.

24 Jun 2010

People with certain chitinase gene variants at increased risk of severe asthma attacks

Exposure to high levels of fungus may increase the risk of severe asthma attacks among people with certain chitinase gene variants, according to a study from Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

24 Jun 2010

USPTO confirms validity of DUSA's key Levulan PDT patent

DUSA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.®, a dermatology company that is developing and marketing Levulan® Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has completed its re-examination of US Patent No. 5,079,262, "Method of detection and treatment of malignant and non-malignant lesions utilizing 5-aminolevulinic acid."

24 Jun 2010

FDA grants t2cure orphan drug designation for t2c001 in Buerger's Disease

t2cure GmbH, a biopharmaceutical company developing and marketing stem cell-based regenerative therapies, announced today that the FDA has granted orphan drug designation to t2c001 for the treatment of Buerger's Disease. The Company also announced that in a concurrent application in Europe the EMA's Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products recently recommended t2c001 for orphan designation to the European Commission.

24 Jun 2010

Hoag Hospital launches IORT program for breast cancer treatment

Hoag Hospital announced the launch of its Intraoperative Radiation Therapy program as part of its progressive, comprehensive approach to breast cancer treatment. IORT is a radiation therapy technique in which a concentrated dose of radiation is delivered to a cancerous tumor site during surgery after the tumor is removed. Hoag Hospital is the first in Orange County to offer IORT brachytherapy for breast cancer as a component of a definitive treatment approach.

24 Jun 2010

AVEO receives EMA orphan medicinal product designation for tivozanib

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing cancer therapeutics, today announced it has received orphan medicinal product designation for tivozanib (N-{2-chloro-4-[(6,7-dimethoxy-4-quinolyl)oxy]phenyl}-N'-(5-methyl-3-isoxazolyl) urea hydrochloride monohydrate), its oral, triple VEGF receptor inhibitor, for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

24 Jun 2010

Risk, incidence of VTE differs between races

A new study of 1,960 White-Americans and 368 Black-Americans with objectively diagnosed venous thromboembolism (VTE) showed that, compared to Whites, Blacks had a significantly higher proportion with pulmonary embolism (PE), including idiopathic PE among Black women, and a significantly higher proportion of Blacks with VTE were women (71% vs 61% for Whites) The study is published today in the American Journal of Hematology.

24 Jun 2010

DMARDs should be used early and aggressively at the first sign of RA: Researchers

Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs should be used early and aggressively at the first sign of rheumatoid arthritis. The results of an 11-year trial, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy, demonstrate that active treatment from the very beginning pays off, even in the long run.

24 Jun 2010

Spherix to explore triglycerides for D-tagatose therapy

Spherix Incorporated, an innovator in biotechnology for diabetes therapy, and a provider of technical and regulatory consulting services to food, supplement, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, today announced that it will explore triglycerides as a potential therapeutic opportunity for its D-tagatose therapy, pending a review of data from a Phase 3 clinical trial the Company is conducting on the use of D-tagatose as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes.

24 Jun 2010

Debiotech, STMicroelectronics to showcase novel insulin "Jewel Pump" at ADA Congress

Debiotech and STMicroelectronics today announced that they will publicly showcase their novel insulin "Jewel Pump" at the Debiotech stand at the American Diabetes Association 70th Scientific Sessions (June 25-29) in Orlando, Florida.

24 Jun 2010

UK court finds Smith & Nephew's Renasys EZ and Go products infringe KCI patents

Kinetic Concepts, Inc. today announced that the High Court of Justice Chancery Division, Patents Court in the United Kingdom has found that Smith & Nephew plc's Renasys EZ and Go products infringe two KCI patents relating to negative pressure wound therapy.

24 Jun 2010