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Compounds derived from blue agave may be more effective way to deliver drugs to the colon

Compounds derived from the blue agave, a fruit used to make tequila, shows promise in early laboratory studies as a natural, more effective way to deliver drugs to the colon than conventional drug-carriers, according to chemists at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico.

3 Apr 2007

Biobased alternative for critical component of many polymer products

Virginia Tech chemists are looking for biobased alternatives and environmentally friendly reaction pathways to replace a toxic intermediate that is a critical component of many polymer products.

3 Apr 2007

Key protein identified in immune response to malaria and TB

An international team of researchers has identified a key protein involved in the immune system's response to malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and a number of other infectious diseases.

3 Apr 2007

New type of chemistry promises less expensive drugs

With a newly discovered method of assembling organic molecules, a team of Princeton University chemists may have found a way to sidestep many of the expensive and hazardous barriers that stand in the way of drug development.

3 Apr 2007

Information technology boosts mammography screening rates

Findings of a new Mayo Clinic study published in Archives of Internal Medicine show that a computerized mail and phone reminder program can significantly increase the percentage of patients receiving preventive health services and improve the value of health care.

2 Apr 2007

Chromosomal microarray analysis accurately detects abnormalities in individual chromosomes

Two years and more than 2,000 samples after researchers at Baylor College of Medicine started to use a new gene-chip technology called chromosomal microarray analysis to look for potential genetic abnormalities in children, they find that it is remarkably sensitive in detecting abnormalities in individual chromosomes, according to a report that appears online today in the journal Public Library of Science ONE.

2 Apr 2007

Adding estradiol to a polymer-free rapamycin-eluting stent is not associated with any measurable benefit

Patients admitted to the hospital with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are often treated with a catheter-based procedure known as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), during which a stent is inserted into an occluded or narrowed coronary artery to restore blood flow to and from the heart.

2 Apr 2007

MIT MEMS device provides precise way to physically arrange cells

Now MIT researchers led by Sangeeta Bhatia, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and Brigham and Women's Hospital, have solved the problem with a novel device.

2 Apr 2007

Magnetic system could provide surgery without scars

Physicians at UT Southwestern Medical Center and engineers at UT Arlington have collaborated to invent a groundbreaking system that could be key to delivering on the promise of surgery without scars.

2 Apr 2007

California Senate Committee approves bill that would allow HIV-positive men to have sperm washed

The California Senate Health Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve a bill (SB 443) that would allow HIV-positive men to have their sperm washed and used for fertility treatments, including artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization, under certain guidelines, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

2 Apr 2007

Single-walled carbon nanotubes may pose health risks

DNA-wrapped single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) shorter than about 200 nanometers readily enter into human lung cells and so may pose an increased risk to health, according to scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

2 Apr 2007

MedImmune licenses reverse genetics technology to sanofi pasteur

MedImmune has announced that it has licensed its proprietary reverse genetics intellectual property to sanofi pasteur, the vaccines business of the sanofi-aventis Group, to support the development and construction of new vaccine strains to produce human seasonal, pre-pandemic and pandemic influenza vaccines.

1 Apr 2007

Performing x-rays using iodine dye increases risk for kidney failure

Performing x-rays using iodine dye places patients with impaired kidney function at increased risk for kidney failure. Known as Contrast-Induced Nephropathy (ne-FROPP-a- thee) or ''CIN,'' this complication is the third most common cause of hospital-acquired kidney failure in the United States and Europe, accounting for 10-12 percent of all such cases.

1 Apr 2007

GlaxoSmithKline files European meningococcal conjugate vaccine

GlaxoSmithKline has announced the submission of a regulatory file to European Medicines Agency (EMEA) under Article 58 for the combination vaccine candidate Globorix (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, Neisseria meningitides serogroups A and C).

1 Apr 2007

Drug-eluting stent use in heart patients determined more by insurance type

If you want the best technology available to relieve blocked blood flow to the heart, the choice is a drug-eluting stent.

31 Mar 2007

Annual computed tomography screening identifies a high proportion of patients with early-stage lung cancer

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women, killing more people than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). According to the study, the estimated cure rate for lung cancer in the absence of screening is approximately 5 percent, but increases significantly when the cancer is diagnosed and treated at its earliest stage.

31 Mar 2007

Blueprint for cell, tissue and organ donation and transplantation

This week, at the second Global Consultation on Transplantation the World Health Organization (WHO) presented countries and other stakeholders with a blueprint for updated global guiding principles on cell, tissue and organ donation and transplantation.

30 Mar 2007