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New device can correct bone deformities in children

Another day, another four turns of the screw. That's just a part of life for people, primarily children, undergoing the long and difficult process of distraction osteogenesis, a method to correct bone deformities that leave one limb shorter than the other.

24 Apr 2012

Bartonella bacterium may also play a role in human arthritis

A bacterium historically associated with cat scratch fever and transmitted predominately by fleas may also play a role in human rheumatoid illnesses such as arthritis, according to new research from North Carolina State University.

24 Apr 2012

TGA approves Ikaria’s LUCASSIN to treat Hepatorenal Syndrome Type 1

Ikaria, Inc., a critical care company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies for critically ill patients, announced today the approval of LUCASSIN (terlipressin) by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) of Australia.

24 Apr 2012

Thousands of women in UK undergo genital mutilation each year: Report

Reports suggest that nearly 100,000 women in Britain have undergone female genital mutilations. Even medics in the UK are offering to carry out the illegal procedure on girls as young as 10.

23 Apr 2012

Life spans of American women not increasing proportionate to that of men: Report

Life spans of the women in the USA are improving at a slower pace than men's and are shorter in many U.S. counties than they were 20 years ago, according to a report released last Thursday.

23 Apr 2012

‘Brain freeze’ provides clue to migraine cause and therapy

According to latest reports by researchers the headache that is caused by eating something cold like an ice cream, may be caused by a sudden change in brain blood flow. The U.S. team of researchers add that this study may show targets to treat other, more troubling forms of headache such as migraine.

23 Apr 2012

Phytochemicals in mangos may target breast cancer cells

Already one of the world's most popular fruits, scientists are discovering that mangos may also be one of the healthiest. New research, presented this week at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) meeting in San Diego, not only suggests people who eat mangos have a better diet, but the fruit also contains a substance that may have an effect on breast cancer cell proliferation.

23 Apr 2012

Nephros granted rights to market products based on Medica's Medisulfone ultrafiltration technology

Nephros, Inc., a medical device company developing and marketing filtration products for therapeutic applications, infection control, and advanced water purification solutions, today announced that the company has entered into a strategic license and supply agreement with Medica S.p.A.

23 Apr 2012

Brain injury in amateur boxing similar to Alzheimer´s

Olympic boxers can exhibit changes in brain fluids after bouts, which indicates nerve cell damage. This is shown in a study of 30 top-level Swedish boxers that was conducted at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, in collaboration with the Swedish Boxing Federation, published in PLoS ONE.

23 Apr 2012

Aggredyne closes $3 million Series A convertible preferred stock financing

Aggredyne, Inc., a Houston-based biomedical diagnostics company that is defining a new standard for platelet function testing, sold out and closed a $3 million Series A convertible preferred stock financing.

23 Apr 2012

Abbott, St. Jude Medical enter multi-year joint initiative for cardiovascular treatment technologies

Abbott and St. Jude Medical today announced Choice Alliance, a multi-year joint initiative that provides mutual U.S. customers access to a robust portfolio of interventional cardiology, cardiac rhythm management, electrophysiology and intravascular imaging and diagnostic technologies.

23 Apr 2012

NEI awards Scripps Research $10.2M grant to develop new treatments for vision disorders

A team led by a scientist from The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded a five-year, $10.2 million grant from the National Eye Institute (NEI) to develop a new type of treatment for diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and other common vision disorders.

23 Apr 2012

Nano-devices cross blood-brain barrier to deliver drug to treat cerebral palsy

A team of scientists from Johns Hopkins and elsewhere have developed nano-devices that successfully cross the brain-blood barrier and deliver a drug that tames brain-damaging inflammation in rabbits with cerebral palsy.

23 Apr 2012

FDA clears Smiths Medical's ViaValve Safety I.V. Catheter

Smiths Medical, a leading global medical device manufacturer, today announced that its ViaValve Safety I.V. Catheter has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and can be marketed in the United States.

23 Apr 2012

Enrollment complete for In-tunnel SeptRx European PFO Trial in Europe

SeptRx, an emerging medical device company that has developed the SeptRx Intrapocket PFO Occluder (IPO), reported today that it has completed enrollment for its "InterSEPT" (In-tunnel SeptRx European PFO Trial) clinical trial in Europe, and has entered into a partnership with CoRRect Medical GmbH for commercial distribution in Germany and Switzerland of the SeptRx IPO.

23 Apr 2012

Moxonidine drug can improve heart function and reduce blood pressure

Heart failure is the most common cause of death throughout the world, typically the result of chronic high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. As a result, research efforts have focused on an array of approaches aimed at preventing and treating high blood pressure. Recently, Japanese researchers examined the utility of an anti-hypertensive drug, moxonidine, which acts on the imidazoline receptors in the cardiovascular center of the brainstem.

23 Apr 2012

Avocado oil protects against free radicals in mitochondria

Atmospheric oxygen facilitated the evolution and complexity of terrestrial organisms, including human beings, because it allowed nutrients to be used more efficiently by those organisms, which in turn were able to generate more energy. However, as we find out more about how oxygen molecules work inside the body, more attention is being paid to their not-so-good effects, and researchers are seeking ways to thwart them.

23 Apr 2012

Preliminary data hint at how neem extracts may stop replication of HIV virus

Tall, with dark-green pointy leaves, the neem tree of India is known as the "village pharmacy." As a child growing up in metropolitan New Delhi, Sonia Arora recalls on visits to rural areas seeing villagers using neem bark to clean their teeth. Arora's childhood memories have developed into a scientific fascination with natural products and their power to cure illnesses.

23 Apr 2012

APS honors MCW professor with Henry Pickering Bowditch Lecture Award

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a major problem worldwide, with the latest estimates suggesting that a billion people across the globe may have this condition. Hypertension not only takes an enormous cost on health and wellbeing, but it also exacts an expensive financial toll. Complications from this condition including kidney disease, and its resulting treatments, such as long-term dialysis and kidney transplant, are some of the costliest conditions the American health care system must contend with.

23 Apr 2012

Brain freeze may share common mechanism with other types of headaches

'Brain freeze' is a nearly universal experience—almost everyone has felt the near-instantaneous headache brought on by a bite of ice cream or slurp of ice-cold soda on the upper palate. However, scientists are still at a loss to explain this phenomenon. Since migraine sufferers are more likely to experience brain freeze than people who don't have this often-debilitating condition, brain freeze may share a common mechanism with other types of headaches, including those brought on by the trauma of blast-related combat injuries in soldiers.

23 Apr 2012