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IL-2 compound ineffective against HIV-AIDS

An international research team has demonstrated that treating HIV-AIDS with interleukin-2 (IL-2) is ineffective. As a result, the researchers recommend that clinical trials on this compound be stopped.

19 Oct 2009

Physical therapists can promote early diagnosis of breast cancer-related lymphedema

As breast cancer awareness month is observed during October, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) is hoping to shine a spotlight on lymphedema, a chronic, debilitating and often irreversible side effect of cancer treatment.

19 Oct 2009

Stem cell treatments could repair the kidney defects associated with Alport syndrome

Several cell-based therapy approaches could provide new treatments for patients with Alport syndrome, reports an upcoming paper in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). "Our study opens up many considerations of how new therapies related to the use of stem cells can be devised for our kidney patients with chronic disease," comments Raghu Kalluri, MD, PhD (Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA).

19 Oct 2009

Angiochem announces results of Phase 1 /2 clinical trials of ANG1005

Angiochem, Inc. a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing drugs that are uniquely capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier to treat brain diseases, announced today that its lead drug candidate, ANG1005, has demonstrated a favorable safety and efficacy profile in more than 100 patients with brain cancer from two separate Phase 1 /2 clinical studies in patients with progressive gliomas, including recurrent glioblastoma, and in patients with progressive brain metastases.

19 Oct 2009

Rituxan's sBLA receives a Complete Response from the FDA

Genentech, Inc. a wholly-owned member of the Roche Group, and Biogen Idec announced today that the companies received a Complete Response from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Rituxan (rituximab) plus methotrexate (MTX) in patients with moderately-to-severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who no longer respond to treatment with a disease modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD), including MTX.

19 Oct 2009

CytoSorb human clinical trials nearing completion

TapeBeat.com, the news and research portal for the serious bio-tech investor in conjunction with the Farseers Group is proud to profile one of the most exciting up and coming biotech companies, MedaSorb Technologies (MSBT.OB), which is perfectly poised to realize exponential growth.

19 Oct 2009

New chromosomal abnormality in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Researchers identified a new chromosomal abnormality in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that appears to work in concert with another mutation to give rise to cancer. This latest anomaly is particularly common in children with Down syndrome.

19 Oct 2009

Cardium Therapeutics reports positive findings from Excellarate Phase 1/2 clinical study

Cardium Therapeutics today announced the publication of positive findings from the open label multi-center Phase 1/2 clinical study of Excellarate(TM) (GAM501, Ad5PDGF-B / 2.6% collagen), its product candidate for the potential treatment of non-healing diabetic foot ulcers.

19 Oct 2009

DFG Research Centre to be funded for a further four-year period

The DFG Research Centre for Renewable Therapies at the Technical University of Dresden ("Renewable Therapies: From Cells to Tissues to Therapies - Engineering the Cellular Basis of Regeneration ", CRTD), following a very successful first funding period, is being extended and will be funded for a further four years.

19 Oct 2009

Novel HIV drug to be studied in cell cultures and patients

A $6 million, five-year federal grant to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute will enable researchers to investigate a novel approach in treating HIV infection---a unique class of drugs focused on developing therapies for psychological and neurological effects in AIDS.

19 Oct 2009

Research programme to develop immunological biomarkers for chronic inflammatory diseases

Persistent inflammation and the activation of the immune system is the key pathological mechanism affecting many long-term conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease and is the predominant mechanism underlying organ transplant rejection.

19 Oct 2009

Bedside coaching and exercising for ICU patients on ventilators

Few people have thought about providing an exercise workout in the intensive care unit, especially for patients on ventilators - even those who are comatose - but a researcher from Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University will be doing some bedside coaching and exercising to get patients stretching and flexing their muscles.

19 Oct 2009

Innovative tool for providing patient-centered care for diabetics

Mayo Clinic clinicians and designers, along with colleagues from other institutions, have developed and tested a tool to involve patients more in their diabetes treatment and medication choices.

19 Oct 2009

Rituxan drug effective for treating ANCA-associated vasculitis

Researchers have identified that Rituxan, a drug previously approved for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's B cell lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis, can treat severe ANCA-associated vasculitis as effectively as cyclophosphamide, the current standard therapy.

19 Oct 2009

Hygeia questions the recently issued state bid notification for breastpumps

In the USA, each state is responsible for its Women Infant Children program and encourages breastfeeding through lactation counseling and the purchase of supplies. A state bid notification for breastpumps and supplies was recently issued. "This bid had such an unusual feature that needs further attention. The bid's breastpump requirement was that the pumps only had to work for 90% of the women. The state felt that it was acceptable for the pumps to fail for 10% of the women," stated John Estill, CEO of breastpump manufacturer Hygeia.

19 Oct 2009

Exercise prevents memory decline post brain radiation treatments

Exercise is a key factor in improving both memory and mood after whole-brain radiation treatments in rodents, according to data presented by Duke University scientists at the Society for Neuroscience meeting.

19 Oct 2009

Study reveals the cost effectiveness of Rheos blood pressure lowering device

A study conducted by the University of Rochester Medical Center demonstrates that, for certain patient populations, an experimental device that lowers blood pressure may be a cost effective treatment. The implantable device, called Rheos, is in advanced stages of testing for individuals with drug resistant hypertension.

19 Oct 2009

BJUI: Testicular cancer survivors face an increased risk of long-term illness due to effective treatment

Testicular cancer survivors can face an increased risk of long-term illness, not because of the malignancy, but the highly effective treatment they receive, according to a study in the urology journal BJUI.

19 Oct 2009

Qforma introduces new phase of its healthcare database

Patients diagnosed with breast cancer or depression who are seeking a medical expert in their own community to guide them through treatment now have a place to start. Qforma, an advanced analytics and predictive modeling company, today introduced the new phase of its first-of-its-kind healthcare database "Most Influential Doctors," or MID, presented by USA TODAY.

19 Oct 2009

St. Anthony Hospital installs Toshiba America Medical Systems' Vantage Titan MR system

To provide the latest in MR technology to its patient community, St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor, Wash. installed the Vantage TitanTM from Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. to offer comprehensive MR patient exams. The new 80-bed St. Anthony hospital is the only full service facility in the area and needed a workhorse MR system to conduct a full range of exams.

18 Oct 2009