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Adherence counseling during HIV treatment greatly improves patient outcomes

Intensive adherence counseling around the time of HIV treatment initiation significantly reduces poor adherence and virologic treatment failure in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a recent study in PLoS Medicine by Dr. Michael Chung, assistant professor of Global Health at University of Washington, who works at the Coptic Hope Center for Infectious Diseases in Nairobi, Kenya.

3 Mar 2011

International consortium of researchers genetically characterise Spanish Fanconi anaemia patients

A consortium of thirty-two researchers worldwide, led by Dr Jordi Surrallés, professor of the Department of Genetics and Microbiology at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and member of the Centre for Biomedical Network Research on Rare Diseases (CIBERER), genetically and clinically characterised almost all Spanish patients suffering from Franconi anaemia, a rare disease affecting one in every 500,000 persons and which is characterised by severe anaemia in children, congenital malformations and a high predisposition to cancer.

3 Mar 2011

New breakthrough in immunological research

Immunological research at the University of Haifa, Israel, has made a new breakthrough, revealing a critical component in the "decision-making" process of white blood cells that play a role in the healing process from bacterial inflammation.

3 Mar 2011

Protein serum amyloid A could be a potential diagnostic biomarker for lung cancer

Scientists are reporting discovery of a protein in the blood of lung cancer patients that could be used in a test for the disease - difficult to diagnose in its earliest and most treatable stages - and to develop drugs that stop lung cancer from spreading. Their study appears in ACS's Journal of Proteome Research.

3 Mar 2011

New microfluidic device may help clinicians to improve cancer therapy

Manipulation of cells by a new microfluidic device may help clinicians improve a promising cancer therapy that harnesses the body's own immune cells to fight such diseases as metastatic melanoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and neuroblastoma.

3 Mar 2011

Promising new way to lower cholesterol production

A promising new way to inhibit cholesterol production in the body has been discovered, one that may yield treatments as effective as existing medications but with fewer side-effects.

3 Mar 2011

New study: Lower potassium levels may help explain racial disparity in type 2 diabetes

Lower potassium levels in the blood may help explain why African-Americans are twice as likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes as whites, according to a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers.

3 Mar 2011

Researchers find mineral deficiency increases type 2 diabetes risk in African-Americans

Lower potassium levels in the blood may help explain why African-Americans are twice as likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes as whites, according to a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers.

2 Mar 2011

Oxygen Biotherapeutics receives U.S. Army grant for studies of Oxycyte

Oxygen Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ and SIX Swiss Exchange: OXBT) today announced it has received a $2,075 million two-year grant from the U.S. Army to study the Company’s proprietary Oxycyte® PFC emulsion as a therapeutic intervention focused on reducing brain damage in victims of traumatic brain injury (TBI).

2 Mar 2011

Cellastim and Optiferrin enable development of xeno-free and blood product-free expansion media

A recent study demonstrated that Cellastim and Optiferrin deliver superior xeno-free and animal-free solutions for primary cell and stem cell expansion media.

2 Mar 2011

Virostatics' VS411 Phase 2a trial results against HIV presented at 18th CROI

An analysis of immune markers measured in a sub-study of ViroStatics' proof-of-concept Phase 2a trial showed that VS411 was able to reduce immune activation while producing a median 1.5 log10 reduction in viral load.

2 Mar 2011

Cord Blood America purchases all UCB samples and related lab equipment from RGI

Cord Blood America, Inc., the umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company, focused on bringing the life saving potential of cord blood stem cells to families nationwide and internationally, announced today that it has purchased all the umbilical cord blood samples and the related laboratory equipment from Reproductive Genetics Institute, Inc., based in Chicago, Illinois.

2 Mar 2011

WARFARIN study to explore impact of genetic testing on individualized dosing

Iverson Genetic Diagnostics, Inc. announced today that the WARFARIN Study was initiated in major hospital systems nationwide to assess the utility of genetic testing to determine a personalized warfarin dose for individual patients to reduce their risk of serious bleeding or clotting events.

2 Mar 2011

State news: Ariz. may cut fewer from Medicaid; Pa. adultbasic closes

In a meeting with the Obama administration Monday, Gov. Jan Brewer proposed some Medicaid changes that she hopes will allow Arizona to drop fewer people than previously proposed from the state's Medicaid rolls. Brewer's office already has received permission to cut coverage for 250,000 members, mostly childless adults, as the state tries to close an ongoing budget shortfall.

2 Mar 2011

DMC CVI completes the first two transcatheter aortic valve implants in Michigan

The Detroit Medical Center (DMC) Cardiovascular Institute (CVI) has completed the first two transcatheter aortic valve implants (TAVI) ever achieved in Michigan. The procedures are a part of CVI's participation in the Medtronic CoreValve® U.S. Clinical Trial. This multi-state trial will evaluate a new, non-surgical alternative to open-heart surgery for patients with severe aortic stenosis.

2 Mar 2011

New report finds 58% drop in CLABSIs in hospital intensive care units

A new report issued today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed a significant decrease in certain infections over the past nine years. The report found that central line associated bloodstream infections occurring in hospital intensive care units dropped by 58 percent between 2001 and 2009.

2 Mar 2011

CRT-D therapy benefits heart failure patients with left bundle branch block

Mild heart failure patients with a particular condition that results in disorganized electrical activity throughout the heart benefit substantially from cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator (CRT-D), according to a study published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.

2 Mar 2011

Health benefits of herbal teas no longer a folklore

Those who enjoy the caffeinated lift that comes from drinking traditional coffees and teas may tend to overlook the benefits of drinking herbal infusions. Now, as explained in this month's issue of Agricultural Research magazine, the idea that herbal teas may provide a variety of health benefits is no longer just folklore.

2 Mar 2011

Mathematical model predicts lifespan of stem cells

When patients receive a bone marrow transplant, they are getting a new population of hematopoietic stem cells. Fresh stem cells are needed when a patient is low on red blood cells, as in anemia, or white blood cells, which can be caused by cancer or even cancer treatments such as irradiation or chemotherapy. The problem is that a bone marrow transplant might not succeed because the transplanted stem cells don't live long enough or because they proliferate too well, leading to leukemia.

2 Mar 2011

Scientists discover how change in growth hormone activity leads to fatty liver disease

Scientists at the UCSF Cardiovascular Research Institute have discovered how a change in growth hormone activity in mice leads to fatty liver disease, a condition whose human counterpart is of rising concern worldwide.

2 Mar 2011