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Children with low-risk retinoblastoma do not need postoperative chemotherapy

New results from a prospective clinical trial conducted in France show that children with low-risk retinoblastoma do not need postoperative (adjuvant) chemotherapy to prevent disease recurrence or metastasis; the results also suggest that certain patients with intermediate-risk disease can receive less aggressive adjuvant treatment, or perhaps forego it altogether. Avoiding chemotherapy spares patients from treatment side effects and long-term health risks, such as cardiovascular disease and development of a second cancer.

5 Mar 2013

Roundup: Mass. health costs may start accelerating again; Review questions Minn. HMO payment rates; Calif. lawmakers approve health care bills

After several years of moderating costs, there are signs the rate of increase in Massachusetts health care prices -- and insurance premiums -- may soon start accelerating again, exceeding a heralded cost cap set by the state last year.

5 Mar 2013

Study highlights long-term benefits of early antiretroviral therapy initiated in infants

A study led by University of Massachusetts Medical School professor and immunologist Katherine Luzuriaga, MD, and Johns Hopkins Children's Center virologist Deborah Persaud, MD, highlights the long-term benefits of early antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiated in infants.

5 Mar 2013

Express Scripts finds decline in 2012 U.S. spending on traditional prescription drugs

For the first time in more than 20 years, there was a decrease in 2012 U.S. spending on traditional prescription drugs — primarily pills people take to treat more common diseases such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure — according to new data released today by Express Scripts.

5 Mar 2013

New tool can accurately forecast malaria epidemics in northwestern India

Sea surface temperatures in the tropical South Atlantic Ocean can be used to accurately forecast, by up to four months, malaria epidemics thousands of miles away in northwestern India, a University of Michigan theoretical ecologist and her colleagues have found.

5 Mar 2013

Overall risk of infection associated with most neuroangiographic procedures is very low

Patients undergoing cerebral angiography and neurointerventional procedures on the brain are at very low risk of infection-even without preventive antibiotics, reports a study in the March issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

5 Mar 2013

Screening colonoscopy associated with reduced advanced colorectal cancer diagnoses

A new study led by a researcher at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania adds support to current medical recommendations stating that screening colonoscopy substantially reduces an average-risk adult's likelihood of being diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) in either the right or left side of the colon.

4 Mar 2013

OPKO Health acquires Cytochroma

OPKO Health, Inc. announced that it has completed the acquisition of Cytochroma Inc. Cytochroma's lead products include CTAP101 Capsules, a vitamin D prohormone to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) in patients with stage 3 or 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD) and vitamin D insufficiency, and Fermagate Tablets, a new and potent non-absorbed phosphate binder to treat hyperphosphatemia in CKD patients on chronic hemodialysis.

4 Mar 2013

Exercise during pregnancy can reduce rate of cesarean deliveries in healthy pregnant women

Researchers at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid have found that regular and supervised exercise by experts during pregnancy can reduce the rate of instrumental and cesarean deliveries in healthy pregnant women.

4 Mar 2013

HIV infection may increase risk of acute myocardial infarction

A study that analyzed data from more than 82,000 veterans suggests that infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was associated with an increased risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI, heart attack) beyond what is explained by recognized risk factors, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

4 Mar 2013

Heart disease signs in newborns of overweight and obese mothers

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4 Mar 2013

Positive results from NeuroDerm ND0612 Phase I trial on Parkinson's

NeuroDerm, Ltd. announced today the results of a Phase I safety and pharmacokinetic trial of ND0612, a novel drug formulation for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

4 Mar 2013

Electronic health records increase colorectal cancer screening rates

Researchers used electronic health records to identify Group Health patients who weren't screened regularly for cancer of the colon and rectum-and to encourage them to be screened. This centralized, automated approach doubled these patients' rates of on-time screening-and saved health costs-over two years.

4 Mar 2013

More than 60% of fire ant allergic patients do not adhere to treatment guidelines

Two million Americans are allergic to insect stings, an allergy which sends more than 500,000 people to the emergency room annually. Yet, according to a study published today in the March issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAA), while fire ant allergy sufferers know allergy shots can save their life, more than 60 percent do not adhere to treatment guidelines.

4 Mar 2013

Prompt antiretroviral therapy may help infants clear the HIV and achieve long-term remission

A team of researchers from Johns Hopkins Children's Center, the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the University of Massachusetts Medical School describe the first case of a so-called "functional cure" in an HIV-infected infant. The finding, the investigators say, may help pave the way to eliminating HIV infection in children.

4 Mar 2013

Poll shows compelling association between exercise and better sleep

Exercise can affect your sleep. The results of the National Sleep Foundation's 2013 Sleep in America poll show a compelling association between exercise and better sleep.

4 Mar 2013

Study instructs how to design new, more powerful vaccine formulas for cancer

Cancer vaccines that attempt to stimulate an immune system assault fail because the killer T cells aimed at tumors instead find the vaccination site a more inviting target, scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in Nature Medicine.

4 Mar 2013

Investigators identify seven new genetic regions associated with AMD

An international group of investigators has identified seven new genetic regions associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common cause of blindness in older individuals. The findings, reported online March 3 in Nature Genetics, could point to new biological pathways and therapeutic targets for AMD.

4 Mar 2013

RBCs stored longer than 3 weeks begin to lose the capacity to deliver oxygen-rich cells to tissue

A small study from Johns Hopkins adds to the growing body of evidence that red blood cells stored longer than three weeks begin to lose the capacity to deliver oxygen-rich cells where they may be most needed.

4 Mar 2013

Shortage of TDP-43 protein causes muscle wasting and stunted nerve cells

A shortage of a protein called TDP-43 caused muscle wasting and stunted nerve cells. This finding supports the idea that malfunction of this protein plays a decisive role in ALS and FTD. The study is published in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA" (PNAS).

3 Mar 2013

Blood News and Research

Children with low-risk retinoblastoma do not need postoperative chemotherapy

Roundup: Mass. health costs may start accelerating again; Review questions Minn. HMO payment rates; Calif. lawmakers approve health care bills

Study highlights long-term benefits of early antiretroviral therapy initiated in infants

Express Scripts finds decline in 2012 U.S. spending on traditional prescription drugs

New tool can accurately forecast malaria epidemics in northwestern India

Overall risk of infection associated with most neuroangiographic procedures is very low

Screening colonoscopy associated with reduced advanced colorectal cancer diagnoses

OPKO Health acquires Cytochroma

Exercise during pregnancy can reduce rate of cesarean deliveries in healthy pregnant women

HIV infection may increase risk of acute myocardial infarction

Heart disease signs in newborns of overweight and obese mothers

Positive results from NeuroDerm ND0612 Phase I trial on Parkinson's

Electronic health records increase colorectal cancer screening rates

More than 60% of fire ant allergic patients do not adhere to treatment guidelines

Prompt antiretroviral therapy may help infants clear the HIV and achieve long-term remission

Poll shows compelling association between exercise and better sleep

Study instructs how to design new, more powerful vaccine formulas for cancer

Investigators identify seven new genetic regions associated with AMD

RBCs stored longer than 3 weeks begin to lose the capacity to deliver oxygen-rich cells to tissue

Shortage of TDP-43 protein causes muscle wasting and stunted nerve cells

Industry Focus eBook - Cell biology (5th edition) eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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