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Personality traits linked with individual's susceptibility to placebo effect from pain medicines

Personality traits might do more than help you win a popularity contest. According to new University of Michigan-led neuroscience research, co-authored by University of Maryland (UM) School of Dentistry Dean Christian S. Stohler, DMD, DrMedDent, such traits also might make you more likely to get pain relief from a placebo - a fake medicine.

17 Nov 2012

Cinacalcet failure raises trial conduct issues

The oral calcimimetic agent, cinacalcet, has been found to have no significant effect on cardiovascular events or death in patients with chronic kidney disease in a randomized controlled trial.

16 Nov 2012

Hydrocortisone protects bilateral knee replacement patients

Repeat doses of corticosteroids may protect patients undergoing bilateral total knee arthroplasty from postoperative side effects such as fever, pain, and acute respiratory distress, research suggests.

16 Nov 2012

Oxytocin regulates social distance between women and men

Flirting brings women and men closer. But the "social distance" ensures that they will keep a certain spatial distance from each other. Researchers under the leadership of the University of Bonn studied whether this distance can be diminished by the so-called love hormone, oxytocin.

16 Nov 2012

Denosumab associated with improved overall survival in NSCLC patients

It is common for patients initially diagnosed with lung cancer to have the cancer spread to sites like the liver, brain and bone. One of the most frequent sites of metastases is the bone, with an estimated 30 to 40 percent of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) developing bone loss.

16 Nov 2012

RXi announces pharmacokinetic results from RXI-109 Phase 1 study in healthy subjects

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative therapies addressing major unmet medical needs using RNA-targeted technologies, today announced the pharmacokinetic results of their single dose Phase 1 study with RXI-109 in healthy subjects.

15 Nov 2012

Colon cancer risk: Supplements no substitute for dietary fiber

Dietary supplementation with resistant starch does not reduce long-term colorectal cancer risk in patients with Lynch syndrome, shows the CAPP2 study.

15 Nov 2012

NIH awards $4.1M grant to explore new ways for treating kidney stones

In the United States, one in 10 men and one in 14 women have had a kidney stone. Unless the kidney stone is too large to pass on its own, the treatment prescribed is usually plenty of fluids and painkillers while letting it pass over a period of several days.

15 Nov 2012

EU approves Forxiga for treatment of type 2 diabetes

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca today announced that the European Commission has approved Forxiga (dapagliflozin) tablets for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in the European Union. Forxiga is a selective and reversible inhibitor of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) that works independently of insulin to help remove excess glucose from the body, a unique mode of action not seen in any other currently available treatments for type 2 diabetes.

15 Nov 2012

Paxvax PXVX0200 cholera vaccine demonstrates safety and immunogenicity in Phase 1 clinical trial

PaxVax Inc, which develops and commercializes innovative vaccines against infectious diseases in a socially responsible manner today announced results from a Phase 1 clinical trial of PaxVax's single-dose oral cholera vaccine candidate at the 2012 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Meeting in Atlanta.

15 Nov 2012

EpiCept third quarter revenue increases to $0.9 million

EpiCept Corporation today reported a net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2012 of $1.1 million and a net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 of $1.7 million.

14 Nov 2012

Reflexology can help cancer patients manage their symptoms and perform daily tasks

A study led by a Michigan State University researcher offers the strongest evidence yet that reflexology - a type of specialized foot massage practiced since the age of pharaohs - can help cancer patients manage their symptoms and perform daily tasks.

14 Nov 2012

Tolvaptan improves kidney health in polycystic kidney disease

A vasopressin V2-receptor blocker slows the increase in total kidney volume and decline in kidney function in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, report US researchers.

12 Nov 2012

Multivitamin disappoints in first long-term CV trial

Taking a daily multivitamin does not reduce the risk for major cardiovascular events or mortality in men, research suggests.

9 Nov 2012

Melatonin improves sleep in children with neurodevelopmental disorders

Melatonin increases the length of time spent asleep and reduces the time it takes to get to sleep for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, compared with placebo, show study results published in the British Medical Journal.

9 Nov 2012

Monoclonal antibody boosts cholesterol reduction

Adding a monoclonal antibody that blocks the breakdown of lipid receptors to atorvastatin therapy further reduces low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia, show study findings.

9 Nov 2012

Dopamine improves long-term memory

The feel-good hormone dopamine improves long-term memory. This is the finding of a team lead by Emrah D-zel, neuroscientist at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the University of Magdeburg.

9 Nov 2012

Positive results from Palatin’s bremelanotide Phase 2B trial on female sexual dysfunction

Palatin Technologies, Inc. today reported positive top-line results, including the successful achievement of statistical significance for the primary endpoint and key secondary endpoints in its Phase 2B clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of bremelanotide for the treatment of female sexual dysfunction (FSD).

9 Nov 2012

Synthetic cannabinoid could treat pain in diabetes patients

Oral synthetic cannabinoid nabilone may be effective for treating diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, a study shows.

8 Nov 2012

Autologous stem cells do not improve heart function when given three weeks after heart attack

Administering stem cells derived from patients' own bone marrow either three or seven days after a heart attack is safe but does not improve heart function six months later, according to a clinical trial supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

8 Nov 2012