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FDA investigates use of identifier system for medical devices

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking information on how the use of a unique identifier system for medical devices may reduce medical errors, facilitate device recalls and improve medical device adverse event reporting.

9 Aug 2006

Formation of an internal FDA Nanotechnology Task Force

Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D., today announced the formation of an internal FDA Nanotechnology Task Force.

9 Aug 2006

FDA approves generic version of Effexor (venlafaxine)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first generic version of Effexor (venlafaxine), an important step in the agency's effort to increase the availability of lower-cost generic medications.

9 Aug 2006

Metabolic syndrome may be treatable thanks to a newly discovered role for a regulatory gene

Single gene may contribute to the body's responses to caloric restriction and may explain some aspects of the Atkins Diet.

8 Aug 2006

Prospective Huntington At Risk Observational Study

Doctors have completed the first step of a unique medical research study, evaluating 1,001 individuals at risk of developing Huntington's disease who do not know - nor do they want to know - whether they carry the genetic defect that causes the condition.

8 Aug 2006

Atp7a determines a hierarchy of copper metabolism essential for notochord development

A new study reveals the timing of developmental events that critically depend on copper. While copper deficiency is rare in humans, the findings suggest that suboptimal copper metabolism might contribute to birth defects, according to the researchers.

8 Aug 2006

Wrestling on TV encourages teen violence

According to a new study teens are encouraged to behave more aggressively after watching professional wrestling on TV.

8 Aug 2006

Low-fat vegan diet treats type 2 diabetes more effectively than a standard diabetes diet

Study participants on the low-fat vegan diet showed dramatic improvement in four disease markers: blood sugar control, cholesterol reduction, weight control, and kidney function.

8 Aug 2006

New tool to study protein kinase A - linked to heart failure

Scientists studying heart cells have devised a new way to visualize and quantify the rise and fall in the activity of a key enzyme linked to heart failure.

8 Aug 2006

Valproate poses high risk for fetal death and birth defects

The epilepsy drug valproate poses a higher risk for fetal death and birth defects than other commonly used epilepsy drugs, according to a study published in the August 8, 2006, issue of Neurology.

8 Aug 2006

Allergic rhinitis linked to the development of Parkinson's disease

Researchers from Mayo Clinic have discovered that allergic rhinitis is associated with the development of Parkinson's disease later in life. Findings will be published in the Aug. 8 issue of the journal Neurology.

7 Aug 2006

Metal-organic crystals with large pores store drugs and release them over time

A French–Spanish research team has now developed a new type of carrier that can take on a particularly large "load" of medication and then release it in a controlled fashion: metal–organic frameworks with large cavities.

7 Aug 2006

AIDS drugs still work but TB a deadly addition to the virus

According to a new report, ten years after they were introduced in Europe and North America, HIV/AIDS drugs remain effective but many patients are not being put on them soon enough.

7 Aug 2006

New method of delivering a dose of radioactive iodine

A new method of delivering a dose of radioactive iodine - using a man-made version of scorpion venom as a carrier - targets deadly brain tumors called gliomas without affecting neighboring tissue or body organs.

7 Aug 2006

Watching wrestling may lead to dating violence

The frequency of adolescents viewing wrestling on TV was positively associated with date fighting and other violent behaviors, according to a study.

7 Aug 2006

Researchers gain insight into how to prevent teen pregnancy

Younger teen-agers who become pregnant tend to view pregnancy as a way to form or enhance connections with others, and are less likely to think they are unprepared to raise a child.

7 Aug 2006

Leukemia gene changes genetic packaging

A signaling system involved in many forms of leukemia and lymphoma is more powerful than scientists have thought, exerting control over our genes by affecting whole swaths of chromosomes in global fashion.

6 Aug 2006

For the first time, scientists watch neurons change in response to experience

Thanks to a new imaging system, researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have gotten an unprecedented look into how genes shape the brain in response to the environment.

6 Aug 2006

HIV virus can survive efforts to destroy it by hiding in the mucosal tissues of the intestine

UC Davis researchers have discovered that the human immunodeficiency virus, the virus that causes AIDS, is able to survive efforts to destroy it by hiding out in the mucosal tissues of the intestine.

6 Aug 2006

New, shorter therapies to treat tuberculosis more effective

New, shorter therapies to treat tuberculosis (TB), which kills millions worldwide each year, may make TB control efforts substantially more effective by simplifying treatment, improving patient outcomes and reducing transmission of new infections.

6 Aug 2006