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Lilly to acquire neuroscience drug discovery co. Hypnion

Eli Lilly and Company and Hypnion, Inc. today announced that they have signed a definitive merger agreement whereby Lilly will acquire Hypnion, a privately held neuroscience drug discovery company focused on sleep disorders.

5 Mar 2007

Actions taken on HPV vaccine proposals in Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota and Virginia

Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline's HPV vaccine Cervarix in clinical trials have been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases.

4 Mar 2007

Steroid use fails to boost pregnancy rates in infertility treatments

There is no clear benefit from a hormone commonly prescribed to enhance the effectiveness of infertility treatments, according to a new review of studies.

1 Mar 2007

Virtual Iraq to aid traumatised soldiers and military staff

The virtual Iraq simulation, developed at the University of Southern California (USC) but now being put into practice at Reading, is "fully-immersive" and designed as part of an exposure therapy programme which allows soldiers suffering post-traumatic stress disorder to relive and confront psychological trauma - and it has produced promising results for the first handful of patients treated.

1 Mar 2007

Fox Chase Cancer Center and Cancer Research Technology initiate drug discovery collaboration

Cancer Research Technology Inc. (CRT Inc.) and Fox Chase Cancer Center have announce the initiation of an oncology-focused drug discovery collaboration.

1 Mar 2007

FDA reaches agreement with medical device lobby for user fees

The Advanced Medical Technology Association and FDA have reached an agreement in principle regarding reauthorization of the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act, according to AdvaMed President Steven Ubl, CQ HealthBeat reports.

1 Mar 2007

Delays and lack of communication to primary care physicians common after hospital discharge

Primary care physicians often do not receive adequate patient information from the hospital-based physician following discharge, according to a review article in the February 28 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

28 Feb 2007

Tangerine tomatoes boost disease-fighting antioxidants in blood

Deep red tomatoes get their rich color from lycopene, a disease-fighting antioxidant. A new study, however, suggests that a special variety of orange-colored tomatoes provide a different form of lycopene, one that our bodies may more readily use.

28 Feb 2007

Researchers conducting clinical trials of diaphragm as HIV prevention method

Researchers at the Women's Global Health Imperative program at the University of California-San Francisco's Medical Center are conducting a large-scale clinical trial among 4,500 women in Zimbabwe and South Africa to test the effectiveness of diaphragms in preventing the spread of HIV, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

28 Feb 2007

Microsoft to acquire Medstory

Microsoft on Monday announced plans to acquire California-based Medstory, a start-up company that has developed a specialized online search engine to provide health and medical information to consumers, the New York Times reports.

28 Feb 2007

Task force recommends greater use of exercise testing in chronic disease

Exercise testing can be a powerful tool for diagnosing chronic heart and lung conditions and measuring responses to treatment, according to new research published in the European Respiratory Journal.

27 Feb 2007

New toy helps teach words to autistic childre

Helma van Rijn has developed a toy that uses a new method for teaching words to autistic children. She developed this toy as part of her graduation project at Delft University of Technology's Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering.

27 Feb 2007

Cancer Research UK secures fenretinide orphan drug licence

A previously shelved drug could prove effective for treating a group of rare childhood cancers, and Cancer Research UK today announced it has been granted exclusive marketing rights for the drug in these indications by the European Commission and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

27 Feb 2007

Neurological disorders a global problem

A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that neurological disorders, ranging from epilepsy to Alzheimer disease, from stroke to headache, affect up to one billion people worldwide. Neurological disorders also include brain injuries, neuroinfections, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson disease.

27 Feb 2007

NASA undersea mission to test space medicine concepts

NASA will send a flight surgeon, two astronauts and a Cincinnati doctor under the ocean off the Florida coast May 7-18 to test space medicine concepts and moon-walking techniques. It is the first undersea mission to include a NASA flight surgeon.

26 Feb 2007

DNA 'cages' to deliver drugs

By combining DNA macromolecules with polymers containing iron, molecular 'cages' can be made: porous structures capable of carrying and delivering drugs or DNA-fragments.

26 Feb 2007

Irregular heartbeat linked to genetic mutation

Every day for 10 years, a seemingly heart-healthy 53-year-old woman experienced rapid and irregular heartbeats. She had no personal or family history of hypertension or hyperthyroidism. She did not suffer from myocardial or coronary artery disease, or any abnormalities of the heart as best doctors and medical science could determine.

25 Feb 2007

Health care IT adviser resigns over lack of progress on privacy

Paul Feldman, chair of the privacy and security workgroup of the American Health Information Community, on Wednesday announced his resignation because the workgroup "has not made substantial progress towards the development of comprehensive privacy and security policies that must be at the core of a nationwide health information network," CQ HealthBeat reports.

25 Feb 2007

microRNA directly regulates a gene implicated in human cancers

MicroRNAs are tiny snippets of RNA that can repress activity of a gene by targeting the gene's messenger RNA (which copies DNA information and starts the process of protein production).

22 Feb 2007

Apolipoprotein C1 protein linked to elevated BMI in people of American Indian and Mexican ancestry

University of Minnesota researchers have discovered a variant of a common blood protein, apolipoprotein C1, in people of American Indian and Mexican ancestry that is linked to elevated body mass index (BMI), obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

22 Feb 2007