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FDA Advisory Committee votes in favor of expanded use of LAP-BAND gastric band

Allergan, Inc. (NYSE: AGN) today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Gastroenterology and Urology Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee has recommended with an 8-2 vote that the FDA extend the currently approved use of the LAP-BAND® System, Allergan's gastric band, on the basis of a favorable benefit-risk profile for weight reduction in obese adults who have failed more conservative weight reduction alternatives and have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 35 or a BMI ≥30 and at least one comorbid condition.

4 Dec 2010

MDS Foundation: Significant advances made in understanding, treating MDS, AML

The Myelodysplastic Syndromes Foundation today said significant advances are being made in understanding and treating MDS and a related condition, AML (acute myeloid leukemia). Key studies being presented this week include data on new markers and genetic mutations to predict susceptibility to MDS and response to treatment.

4 Dec 2010

Information technology could improve prevention, treatment of depression

Could information technology and data mining techniques be used to improve the diagnosis and treatment of depression? That's the question scientists in Australia hope to have answered in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Functional Informatics and Personalised Medicine.

4 Dec 2010

UBC receives $7M grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for PRE-EMPT Project

The University of British Columbia has received a $7 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. UBC researchers working at the Child & Family Research Institute will test new strategies for the monitoring, prevention, and treatment of pre-eclampsia.

4 Dec 2010

New clues into mechanisms underlying antiphospholipid syndrome

Thanks to findings by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers, individuals with a potentially life-threatening condition predisposing them to blood clots, or thrombosis, might someday receive therapy to prevent the condition.

4 Dec 2010

Merck plans to acquire SmartCells

Today pharmaceutical company, Merck & Co., Inc. announced it will acquire SmartCells, Inc., a private biotech developing a glucose-responsive insulin whose proof-of-concept preclinical trials were partially funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

4 Dec 2010

Key findings on plasma cell disorders to be presented at American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting

Caris Life Sciences, Inc., a leading biosciences company focused on enabling precise and personalized healthcare through the highest quality anatomic pathology, molecular profiling, and blood-based diagnostic services, announced that Dr. Raul Braylan, Hematopathologist and Clinical Medical Director of Hematopathology Services, will present key findings related to plasma cell disorders at the upcoming 52nd Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology.

4 Dec 2010

LifeSpan TR1200i folding treadmill named 'Best New Treadmill'

The LifeSpan TR1200i folding treadmill was named "Best New Treadmill" by Treadmill Doctor in their 2011 fitness equipment reviews. Fitness Professor Review also selected the LifeSpan TR1200i, made by PCE Health and Fitness (www.lifespanfitness.com) as its choice for "Best Treadmill under $1000."

3 Dec 2010

Toshiba offers new classes to educate technologists

As advanced applications for imaging technology continue to develop at a fast pace, it is critical that the medical community have access to education opportunities to enhance the use of these new tools. Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.'s Education Center in Irvine, Calif., is now offering two new classes: "Advanced CT Imaging for Technologists" and "Advanced Non-Contrast MRA" to educate technologists on the latest applications available with their state-of-the-art Toshiba technology.

3 Dec 2010

Exposure to polluted air leads to accumulation of abdominal fat and insulin resistance

Exposure to polluted air early in life led to an accumulation of abdominal fat and insulin resistance in mice even if they ate a normal diet, according to new research.

3 Dec 2010

Johns Hopkins patient-safety tools help reduce lethal bloodstream infections

Using a widely heralded Johns Hopkins checklist and other patient-safety tools, intensive care units across the state of Michigan reduced the rate of potentially lethal bloodstream infections to near zero.

3 Dec 2010

Moderate consumption of 'energy drinks' can improve people's response time

Moderate consumption of so-called energy drinks can improve people's response time on a lab test measuring behavioral control, but those benefits disappear as people drink more of the beverage, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association.

3 Dec 2010

Healthy lifestyle choices, emergency room interventions can help prevent first-time strokes

Healthy lifestyle choices and emergency room interventions can help prevent first-time strokes, according to revised American Heart Association/American Stroke Association guidelines.

3 Dec 2010

CRT therapy is cost-effective for symptomatic heart failure patients: REVERSE trial

Medtronic, Inc. announced findings from an economic sub-study of the REVERSE (Resynchronization Reverses Remodeling in Systolic Left Ventricular Dysfunction) trial published in the European Heart Journal demonstrating for the first time that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is cost-effective in mildly symptomatic heart failure (HF) patients.

3 Dec 2010

Number of medical school graduates increasing; average age of physicians stabilizing

Canada experienced the biggest annual percentage gain in the national supply of physicians since the late 1980s, according to a new report released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). In 2009, there were approximately 68,100 active physicians working in Canada, an increase of nearly 2,700 physicians over the previous year. This represents an increase of 4.1%—more than triple the rate of growth of the Canadian population as a whole (1.2%) and the largest annual increase of the past two decades.

3 Dec 2010

UCLA findings could lead to enhanced health supplements, progress on Parkinson's

The discovery by UCLA biochemists of a new method for preventing oxidation in the essential fatty acids of cell membranes could lead to a new class of more effective nutritional supplements and potentially help combat neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease and perhaps Alzheimer's.

3 Dec 2010

NIAID researchers develop new method to detect prion diseases

A fast test to diagnose fatal brain conditions such as mad cow disease in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans could be on the horizon, according to a new study from National Institutes of Health scientists. Researchers at NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) have developed a highly sensitive and rapid new method to detect and measure infectious agents called prions that cause these diseases.

3 Dec 2010

Dysfunction in blood vessels plays a role in Alzheimer's disease development

A dysfunction in the lining of blood vessels that is linked to cardiovascular illness also appears to play a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in Circulation Research: Journal of the American Heart Association.

3 Dec 2010

Doctors still prescribe higher-dose menopausal hormone therapy pills

Doctors across the country are still prescribing higher-dose menopausal hormone therapy pills, despite clinical evidence that low doses and skin patches work just as well and carry fewer health risks. That's what researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine found in a study that will be published online Dec. 2 in Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society.

3 Dec 2010

Scientists propose new effort to identify proteins in cancer cells

Scientists are proposing an international effort, on the scale of the Human Genome Project (HGP), to identify all the proteins present in cancer cells. HGP was the international scientific research project that identified and mapped all the genes in humans.

3 Dec 2010