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Joslin study uncovers potential targets for soft-tissue sarcomas

Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston have uncovered important molecular and genetic keys to the development of soft-tissue sarcomas in skeletal muscle, giving researchers and clinicians additional targets to stop the growth of these often deadly tumors.

30 Nov 2011

FDA clears Abbott's new ARCHITECT 25-OH Vitamin D assay

Abbott announced today it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a fully-automated 25-OH Vitamin D assay performed on its widely used ARCHITECT laboratory testing platform.

30 Nov 2011

Pfizer backs its highest grosser Lipitor

Pfizer’s Lipitor, a blood cholesterol lowering drug, is a popular one the among general population. However now that a generic competition for the drug has arrived in the market the company has devised discounts and incentives for patients, insurers and companies that process prescriptions that will, at least for the next six months, make the brand name drug about as cheap as or cheaper than the generics.

30 Nov 2011

With HIV and unaware of it: CDC report

Over the years diagnosis with HIV/AIDS has ceased to become a death sentence. However a new Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) report says only one in four Americans with AIDS has the virus under control with adequate medication. Figures also show that about 16,000 people die from the disease annually, and the number of new infections each year in the U.S. has held steady at about 50,000 in recent years.

30 Nov 2011

Combination treatment improves progression-free survival in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

Combination treatment with everolimus, an inhibitor of the mammalian target rapamycin (mTOR), and octreotide has shown to improve progression-free survival for patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors and a history of carcinoid syndrome, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

30 Nov 2011

ACGME approves Cedars-Sinai's neurology residency training program

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has approved a neurology residency training program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Recruitment of the first group of three residents is under way through the 2012 "match," a process in which an independent organization pairs applicants with programs to meet the preferences of each.

30 Nov 2011

Elevated blood sugar levels linked with increased risk of colorectal cancer

Elevated blood sugar levels are associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

30 Nov 2011

Existing prediction tools could prevent many cases of diabetes

New research from Queen Mary, University of London suggests that many cases of diabetes could be prevented by making use of existing prediction tools.

30 Nov 2011

Polarized filter may improve ability to detect precancerous changes, reduce unnecessary biopsies

The same filtered light that enables sunglasses to reduce glare may improve a physician's ability to detect early signs of cervical cancer, reducing unnecessary biopsies and surgery.

30 Nov 2011

Babraham Institute receives BBSRC grant to study effects of ageing on immune system

Efforts to understand the effect of ageing on the immune system received a boost today as the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) announced investment in a new £3.6 million research project.

30 Nov 2011

Anemia, high blood pressure linked to risk of silent strokes in children with SCD

A team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, Vanderbilt University and elsewhere have demonstrated that high blood pressure and anemia together put children with sickle cell disease (SCD) at serious danger for symptomless or so-called "silent" strokes, although either condition alone also signaled high risk.

30 Nov 2011

Scientists regenerate functional muscle tissue in mice

A team of scientists from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and CellThera, a private company located in WPI's Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center, have regenerated functional muscle tissue in mice, opening the door for a new clinical therapy to treat people who suffer major muscle trauma.

30 Nov 2011

Lapatinib could extend survival in women with Her2-positive breast cancer

Treatment with lapatinib could extend survival in women with Her2-positive breast cancer that has spread to the brain, according to research published in the British Journal of Cancer.

30 Nov 2011

Nanomedicine breakthrough by IBN and IBM named a ‘world changer’

A nanoparticle that can destroy drug-resistant bacteria developed by the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), and the IBM Almaden Research Center, has recently been named one of 10 world changing ideas by Scientific American in its Technology Special Report ('World Changing Ideas – 10 New Technologies That Will Make a Difference', December 2011).

29 Nov 2011

EC extends therapeutic indication for Soliris to treat atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the European Commission (EC) has extended the therapeutic indication for Soliris® (eculizumab) to include the treatment of pediatric and adult patients with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS).

29 Nov 2011

FDA grants 510(k) clearance for SweetSpot Diabetes Data Management Service

SweetSpot Diabetes Care, Inc. announced today it has received 510(k) clearance from the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for the SweetSpot Diabetes Data Management Service which helps health care providers and patients see, understand and use blood glucose meter data to diagnose and manage diabetes.

29 Nov 2011

Crucial part of nervous system linked to increased risk of death from heart failure

A team of neuroscientists and anaesthetists, who have been using pioneering techniques to study how the brain regulates the heart, has identified a crucial part of the nervous system whose malfunction may account for an increased risk of death from heart failure.

29 Nov 2011

IVC filter study reinforces SIR's guidelines surrounding retrieval or permanent placement

Researchers have published the largest single patient population study to date on a method for following patients with retrievable inferior vena cava (IVC) filters-devices used to keep blood clots from traveling to the lungs.

29 Nov 2011

Counterparts of memory cells ward off microbial foes

The immune system possesses a type of cell that can be activated by tissues within the body to remind the immune system not to attack our own molecules, cells and organs, UCSF researchers have discovered.

29 Nov 2011

Most heart attack patients not transported quickly enough for angioplasty

Most heart attack patients transferred between hospitals for the emergency artery-opening procedure called angioplasty are not transported as quickly as they should be, Yale School of medicine researchers report in the first national study of "door-in door-out" time for transfer patients.

29 Nov 2011