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Breakthrough advance in tackling dangerous 'bad' cholesterol in the body

Scientists from the University of Leicester and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have announced a breakthrough advance in tackling dangerous 'bad' cholesterol in the body.

9 Dec 2011

FDA advisory panel OKs anemia drug peginesatide

Once approved by the FDA, the once-monthly injection could capture a share of the $3 billion U.S. market for anemia drugs used for kidney dialysis patients, currently dominated by Amgen Inc's blockbuster Epogen. Affymax, which developed the drug with partner Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, is also expected to price its product below Epogen.

8 Dec 2011

Working night shifts may raise risk of diabetes: Study

About 26% percent of the American workforce, including health-care workers and sanitation staff, need to work night shifts. Earlier research has shown that regular night shifts may disrupt the circadian rhythm, raising the risk of heart disease, obesity, ulcers and even depression.

8 Dec 2011

Pending budget cuts could jeopardize health, safety of state's most vulnerable seniors

California's low-income seniors with disabilities are struggling to remain in their homes as public funding for long-term care services shrinks and may be slashed even further, according to a new study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research conducted with support from The SCAN Foundation.

8 Dec 2011

Clues to underlying causes of atherosclerosis

By changing the behavior of certain cells within human blood vessels, Cornell University researchers have discovered important clues as to the underlying causes of atherosclerosis - a discovery researchers hope can lead to more targeted drug therapies for the prevention of the disease.

8 Dec 2011

Study contradicts premise of framing effect on making health decisions

The behavior of consumers who are faced with making decisions about their health is not significantly influenced by the way health messages are worded or framed, according to a large, new study by researchers at the University at Buffalo and other institutions.

8 Dec 2011

Heart patients may experience fewer traumas with new invention

Heart patients may experience "a lot less" trauma with a new invention to mend leaky valves with minimum cutting, says inventor James Gammie, MD, an associate professor at the University of Maryland (UM) School of Medicine.

8 Dec 2011

New gene editing technique can heal sickle cell patients with their own cells

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have developed a way to use patients' own cells to potentially cure sickle cell disease and many other disorders caused by mutations in a gene that helps produce blood hemoglobin.

8 Dec 2011

Massive and consistent changes in inflammatory gene expression seen in trauma, burns

Serious traumatic injuries, including major burns, set off a "genomic storm" in human immune cells, altering around 80 percent of the cells' normal gene expression patterns. In a report to appear in the December Journal of Experimental Medicine, members of a nationwide research collaborative describe the initial results of their investigation into the immune system response to serious injury, findings which have overturned some longstanding assumptions.

8 Dec 2011

Cedars-Sinai neurosurgeon seals off wide-neck aneurysm with new device

As Stephanie Weiss was coming to grips with the news she had two large and three small aneurysms in her brain, the Los Angeles independent travel consultant was told there was no minimally invasive way to treat at least one of the defects: a wide-neck aneurysm. She would have to undergo open-brain surgery.

8 Dec 2011

BCX4945 proves effective at clearing malaria infections

An antimalarial agent developed by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University proved effective at clearing infections caused by the malaria parasite most lethal to humans - by literally starving the parasites to death. The novel research, carried out on a small number of non-human primates, could bolster efforts to develop more potent therapies against one of the world's leading killers.

8 Dec 2011

Influenza shot boosts immune response in pregnant women, protects neonatal babies

The researchers studied the immune response of 107 pregnant women after they were injected with a single dose of non-adjuvant H1N1 vaccine. They concluded that the influenza shot boosted the immune response in pregnant women and at the same time protected neuronatal babies via the antibodies that transferred through the placenta.

8 Dec 2011

Research: lncRNA affects apoptosis and plays a role in RBC development

A long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) regulates programmed cell death during one of the final stages of red blood cell differentiation, according to Whitehead Institute researchers. This is the first time a lncRNA has been found to play a role in red blood cell development and the first time a lncRNA has been shown to affect programmed cell death.

8 Dec 2011

State roundup: Aetna suing over Mich. BCBS hospital deals; ACLU threatens Ohio abortion suit

The latest challenge was a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Detroit's federal court by insurance giant Aetna, one of the nation's largest health plans, with 35 million members. The suit alleges a violation of federal antitrust laws, claiming the Blues raised rates for Michigan consumers over the last four years and used the money to reward hospitals with higher payments if they charged Blues' competitors the same or higher rates.

8 Dec 2011

Microsoft, GE Healthcare plans to create joint venture

General Electric Company, through its healthcare IT business, and Microsoft Corp. today announced plans to create a joint venture aimed at helping healthcare organizations and professionals use real-time, system-wide intelligence to improve healthcare quality and the patient experience.

8 Dec 2011

Updated data from Novartis Afinitor plus everolimus Phase III study on advanced breast cancer

Updated results of a Phase III study of Afinitor (everolimus) tablets plus exemestane, a hormonal therapy, show everolimus provided additional time women with advanced breast cancer lived without their disease progressing.

8 Dec 2011

CSL partners with NIH to study Cytomegalovirus, a common cause of abnormalities in newborns

CSL Limited announced today that it is partnering with the world’s largest health research agency, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), to study a potential new treatment for the prevention of congenital CMV infection, one of the most common known causes of congenital (i.e., present at birth) abnormalities in the developed world.

7 Dec 2011