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Artificial discs a viable alternative to fusion surgery for two-level lumbar degenerative disc disease

When two adjacent discs in the low back wear out, become compressed and cause unmanageable pain, numbness or other symptoms, replacement with artificial discs can be a viable alternative to standard fusion surgery, based on two-year post-surgery data from a randomized, multicenter trial recently published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

21 May 2011

Multiple toxic mechanisms link elevated iron, copper levels in the brain and extensive DNA damage

No one knows the cause of most cases of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative disorders. But researchers have found that certain factors are consistently associated with these debilitating conditions.

21 May 2011

FDA approves Sutent for patients with progressive neuroendocrine cancerous tumors in pancreas

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Sutent (sunitinib) to treat patients with progressive neuroendocrine cancerous tumors located in the pancreas that cannot be removed by surgery or that have spread to other parts of the body (metastatic).

21 May 2011

African Americans with SLE have higher antibody response to influenza vaccination: Study

New research shows that African Americans with systemic lupus erythematosus had a higher antibody response to influenza vaccination than European American patients.

21 May 2011

Gen-Probe seeks FDA regulatory clearance for PANTHER fully automated and integrated molecular testing system

Gen-Probe Incorporated announced today that the Company has filed a 510(k) application with the US Food and Drug Administration for its PANTHER system, a fully automated and integrated molecular testing system designed with the flexibility to handle a wide range of testing needs.

20 May 2011

Diet quality, not quantity, can make a difference in risk for type 2 diabetes

Small differences in diet - even without weight loss - can significantly affect risk for diabetes, according to research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham published online May 18, 2011, by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

20 May 2011

AMT presents long-term efficacy study of Glybera in treatment of lipoprotein lipase deficiency

Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics, a leader in the field of human gene therapy, announced today results from a long-term efficacy study of Glybera (alipogene tiparvovec) that showed improved chylomicron metabolism could be used as a biomarker for increased lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in those patients missing the gene that produces this protein.

20 May 2011

AIDS mortality in China drops by nearly two thirds since 2002 when country began free treatment program

China's HIV/AIDS-related mortality has dropped from 39.3 per 100 person-years in 2002 to 14.2 in 2009, or 64 percent, since the nation began providing free antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2002, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and published online Wednesday in Lancet Infectious Diseases, the New York Times reports (McNeil, 5/18).

20 May 2011

VBL to present positive VB-111 preclinical data in metastatic lung cancer at 14th ASGCT

VBL Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to the development of novel treatments for immune-inflammatory diseases and cancer, today announced that it will present preclinical data demonstrating VB-111's potential synergy and additive therapeutic effect when administered in combination with the conventional chemotherapy cancer treatments.

20 May 2011

Lilly's cixutumumab Phase II study results in five subtypes of sarcoma to be presented at 47th ASCO

Eli Lilly and Company announced data from its Phase II study with cixutumumab in five subtypes of sarcoma, a cancer that develops from connective tissues in the body.

20 May 2011

VIDAS TOXO IgG Avidity assay to test for recent Toxoplasma gondii infection receives FDA clearance

On May 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the first test to help determine whether a pregnant woman or a person with swollen lymph nodes testing positive for toxoplasmosis, sometimes known as cat scratch disease, developed the infection within the past four months.

20 May 2011

Medical food resolves metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk factors

Researchers at the University of Florida and Metagenics Inc. today announced that a program consisting of a breakthrough medical food combined with a low-glycemic, Mediterranean-style diet is almost twice as effective as one of the best diets alone for lowering risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.

19 May 2011

Thermo Fisher Scientific to acquire Phadia for €2.47 billion

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Phadia, a global leader in allergy and autoimmunity diagnostics, from European private equity firm Cinven, for €2.47 billion (or approximately $3.5 billion) in cash.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 19 May 2011

Simple home-based colon cancer screening test can prevent many unnecessary deaths in Canada

Use of a simple, at-home screening test by Canadians can prevent many unnecessary colorectal cancer deaths, according to a special report about colorectal cancer in Canadian Cancer Statistics 2011 released today by the Canadian Cancer Society, in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada and Statistics Canada.

19 May 2011

Sensitive troponin assays improve clinical outcome and cardiac patient management

Research presented this week at the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry Congress and Laboratory Medicine showed that using a lower diagnostic threshold for troponin improves clinical outcomes and patient survival in patients with suspected acute coronary syndromes.

19 May 2011

Hospital websites use industry-provided content and overestimate claims of surgical robots

An estimated four in 10 hospital websites in the United States publicize the use of robotic surgery, with the lion's share touting its clinical superiority despite a lack of scientific evidence that robotic surgery is any better than conventional operations, a new Johns Hopkins study finds.

19 May 2011

YM BioSciences announces updated interim results from CYT387 Phase I/II trial in myelofibrosis

YM BioSciences Inc., today reported updated interim results for the first 60 patients with high/intermediate-risk myelofibrosis who have completed a minimum of three cycles of treatment (12 weeks) in its ongoing Phase I/II multi-center study.

19 May 2011

Simple lymphocyte count effectively identifies prognosis of renal cell carcinoma

Each year, kidney cancer is diagnosed in nearly 60,000 people in the U.S. Many of these patients undergo surgery to remove the affected kidney, but this procedure can be risky for the elderly and those who have other health problems. Unfortunately, the prognosis of kidney cancer patients often cannot be determined until tumor samples are surgically removed and evaluated.

19 May 2011

Treadmill test helps predict lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease in middle-age people

In two separate studies, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found that how fast a middle-age person can run a mile can help predict the risk of dying of heart attack or stroke decades later for men and could be an early indicator of cardiovascular disease for women.

19 May 2011

Generic drugs to rule the market in the near future: Experts

According to the latest estimates for global drug sales, generic drug makers are going to be in for bumper profits. The growth in generics is expected to depress overall ‘pharma’ sales growth, as lower-priced copies replace top-dollar brand names. In fact, global sales growth could be reduced by half over the next five years, say experts.

19 May 2011

Blood News and Research

Artificial discs a viable alternative to fusion surgery for two-level lumbar degenerative disc disease

Multiple toxic mechanisms link elevated iron, copper levels in the brain and extensive DNA damage

FDA approves Sutent for patients with progressive neuroendocrine cancerous tumors in pancreas

African Americans with SLE have higher antibody response to influenza vaccination: Study

Gen-Probe seeks FDA regulatory clearance for PANTHER fully automated and integrated molecular testing system

Diet quality, not quantity, can make a difference in risk for type 2 diabetes

AMT presents long-term efficacy study of Glybera in treatment of lipoprotein lipase deficiency

AIDS mortality in China drops by nearly two thirds since 2002 when country began free treatment program

VBL to present positive VB-111 preclinical data in metastatic lung cancer at 14th ASGCT

Lilly's cixutumumab Phase II study results in five subtypes of sarcoma to be presented at 47th ASCO

VIDAS TOXO IgG Avidity assay to test for recent Toxoplasma gondii infection receives FDA clearance

Medical food resolves metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk factors

Thermo Fisher Scientific to acquire Phadia for €2.47 billion

Simple home-based colon cancer screening test can prevent many unnecessary deaths in Canada

Sensitive troponin assays improve clinical outcome and cardiac patient management

Hospital websites use industry-provided content and overestimate claims of surgical robots

YM BioSciences announces updated interim results from CYT387 Phase I/II trial in myelofibrosis

Simple lymphocyte count effectively identifies prognosis of renal cell carcinoma

Treadmill test helps predict lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease in middle-age people

Generic drugs to rule the market in the near future: Experts

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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