OCT News and Research

RSS

Schering-Plough expands Vicriviroc study in treatment-naive patients with HIV

Schering-Plough Corporation has announced that it has extended to stage two an ongoing Phase II clinical study with vicriviroc, its investigational CCR5 antagonist, for use in first-line therapy of adult treatment-naive HIV-infected patients with R5-type virus only. In this study, vicriviroc is being evaluated in a novel nucleoside-sparing regimen that is designed to provide additional options for treatment-naive patients in a once daily regimen, while preserving other drug classes for subsequent lines of treatment.

15 Jul 2009

Slumping economy hurts health system, but stimulus provides some relief

The receding economy has dragged down Michigan's health care system, "offering a preview of how a lingering recession could corrode Americans' hospitals, savings and health," the Wall Street Journal reports.

14 Jul 2009

House approves bill to end delay in veteran care

The House approved a bill Tuesday that seeks to end waits for federal financing of veterans' health care programs, The New York Times reports.

25 Jun 2009

Hormone therapy may confer more aggressive properties to prostate tumours

Hormone therapy is often given to patients with advanced prostate cancer. While it is true that the treatment prevents growth of the tumour, it also changes its properties. Some of these changes may result in the tumour becoming more aggressive and more liable to form metastases. This is one of the conclusion of a thesis presented at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

10 Jun 2009

Congress approves $3.5 trillion budget resolution that includes reconciliation language

Congress on Wednesday -- President Obama's 100th day in office -- passed a $3.5 trillion fiscal year 2010 budget resolution (S Con Res 13) that includes budget reconciliation as an option for passing health reform legislation, the Wall Street Journal reports.

30 Apr 2009

Ultra-detailed 3-D images of eyes reveal details of age-related macular degeneration

To get a better look at the abnormalities that cause age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss in Americans and Europeans over 50, the research groups of James Fujimoto at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and collaborators Jay Duker of the Tufts University School of Medicine, and Joel Schuman of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have created ultra-detailed 3-D images of the eyes of more than 2,000 people from different ethnic groups, 400 of whom have AMD.

20 Mar 2009

Shining light on diabetic retinopathy

A group of scientists in California is trying to develop a cheaper, less invasive way to spot the early stages of retinal damage from diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness in American adults, before it leads to blindness.

11 Mar 2009

Eli Lilly to pay $1.415 billion for off-label promotion of Zyprexa

American pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company today agreed to plead guilty and pay $1.415 billion for promoting its drug Zyprexa for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Justice announced today.

19 Jan 2009

Clioquinol - gastrointestinal drug could become anti-aging treatment

Recent animal studies have shown that clioquinol – an 80-year old drug once used to treat diarrhea and other gastrointestinal disorders – can reverse the progression of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.

6 Jan 2009

Dieting may help reduce the risk of gum disease, mostly in men

For men, especially older men, dieting may help reduce the risk of gum disease more than for women, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and other institutions.

17 Dec 2008

Clinical study shows that drug improves endothelial function in sickle cell disease patients

Itamar Medical, an international medical technology company developing noninvasive diagnostic technology using the Peripheral Arterial Tone (PAT) Signal, announced today the use of the company's patented Endo-PAT2000 in BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.'s phase 2 study of patients with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). The Endo-PAT2000 was used to measure endothelial function in a study designed to evaluate whether the drug 6R-BH4 can improve endothelial function in SCD patients

5 Dec 2008

Final ruling on Patient Safety Organizations

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued a final rule for Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs).

24 Nov 2008

Soviet-developed immune formula boosts immune activity

A recent study on an American-made, Soviet-developed immune formula shows the product has a significant effect on immune function.

19 Nov 2008

Optical frequency-domain imaging provides 3-D view of human coronary arteries

For the first time researchers are getting a detailed look at the interior of human coronary arteries, using an optical imaging technique developed at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

17 Nov 2008

Drops in blood oxygen levels may be key to sudden death in some epilepsy patients

A new study by researchers at UC Davis Medical Center suggests that the sudden unexplained deaths of some epilepsy patients may be a result of their brains not telling their bodies to breathe during seizures.

17 Nov 2008

Folic acid does not offer any cardiovascular benefits

Folic acid is safe - but it lacks any cardiovascular benefits - according to researchers presenting at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008. The results from the Study of the Effectiveness of Additional Reductions in Cholesterol and Homocysteine (SEARCH), a 12,064-person, randomized study, were presented as a late-breaking clinical trial.

11 Nov 2008

New blood test identifies sickest heart failure patients in ER

A new blood test identifies the sickest heart failure patients better than tests now used in emergency departments, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008. Results of the Mid-Regional pro-Adrenomedullin (proADM) versus BNP and NTproBNP as Prognosticator in Heart Failure Patients: Results of the BACH Multinational Trial were presented as a late-breaking clinical trial.

11 Nov 2008

Novel concept in chronic lymphoid leukemia treatment

Mayo Clinic researchers say they have moved closer to their goal of providing personalized care for a common blood cell cancer.

7 Nov 2008

2 million children with insured parents are uninsured in the U.S.

Some 2.3 million children a year, mostly from low- to middle-income families, have no health care coverage to pay for preventive or other medical needs, even though at least one of their parents is insured, according to a new study supported by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Center for Research Resources, part of HHS' National Institutes of Health.

6 Nov 2008

Research points to new treatment options for infantile hemangioma

A team of researchers led by Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) Dean for Research Bjorn Olsen has discovered a mechanism for the rapid growth seen in infantile hemangioma, the most common childhood tumor.

31 Oct 2008