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New CLF survey on the unawareness of Canadians in contracting food-related illnesses

A new survey from the Canadian Liver Foundation (CLF) reveals more than half of Canadians over the age of 25 (57 per cent) are concerned about contracting food-related illnesses like hepatitis A, but many are unaware that their everyday food preparation and consumption habits may put them at risk for this liver disease

17 Sep 2009

NIH to fund grants for epigenetic research

The National Institutes of Health announced today that it will fund 22 grants on genome-wide studies of how epigenetic changes -- chemical modifications to genes that result from diet, aging, stress, or environmental exposures -- define and contribute to specific human diseases and biological processes.

17 Sep 2009

Bayer HealthCare to present its clinical trial data at a joint Multidisciplinary Congress

Bayer HealthCare today announced that data from more than 30 clinical trials evaluating three products in the company's oncology portfolio - Nexavar(R) (sorafenib) tablets, regorafenib (BAY 73-4506) and Alpharadin(TM) - will be presented at the joint 15th European CanCer Organisation (ECCO) and 34th European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Multidisciplinary Congress, September 20-24, 2009 in Berlin, Germany.

17 Sep 2009

Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource discusses myths and facts about ovarian cancer

But not all the news about ovarian cancer is grim. Incidence is declining. Doctors are learning more about early symptoms and more effective treatments. The September issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource looks at myths and facts about ovarian cancer.

17 Sep 2009

Study focuses on hypertension

How high blood pressure develops and the effects it has on the body are the focus of a two-part study underway at Penn State and Johns Hopkins University that will look at hypertension in the human body and in the laboratory.

17 Sep 2009

Liver transplantation performed in a six-month old infant

Ila and her worried parents were referred to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, home of the busiest pediatric liver transplant team in the nation. The hospital's team performed more liver transplants in 2008 – the most recent reporting period – than any other U.S. children's hospital, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. They also did the largest number of surgeries in infants like Ila, who were younger than one year when they received a transplant.

17 Sep 2009

Learning curve method checks the proficiency level in laparoscopic splenectomy procedures

A research team, led by Dr. Tarik Z. Nursal from the University of Baskent, has investigated the proficiency level reached in laparoscopic splenectomy procedures using the learning curve method. Their study will be published on August 28, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

17 Sep 2009

Paper examines how zero tolerance laws have no effect on people

As college administrators, social scientists and law enforcement officials across the country continue to debate whether the drinking age should be 18 instead of 21, a Sam Houston State University economist challenges a related law: the "zero tolerance" policy.

17 Sep 2009

ColoMarker assay achieves 100 percent detection rate for colon cancers

Marking a major milestone in the early detection and management of colon cancer, EDP Biotech Corporation (EDP), a developer of immunodiagnostic tests for humans and animals, announced today that its ColoMarker assay achieved 100 percent detection rate for colon cancers presented at stages I through III in pre-clinical trials.

17 Sep 2009

Study: Therapy addition reduces risk of stroke and other cardiovascular events

Data from the independent KYOTO HEART study, presented recently at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Barcelona, Spain, and published online in the European Heart Journal demonstrated the addition of the angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) Diovan (valsartan) to a non-ARB-based treatment regimen for high blood pressure provided a significant 45% relative risk reduction in cardiovascular events(1) including stroke, compared to conventional non-ARB treatment regimen.(1)

17 Sep 2009

Protein kinase Erk3 plays a critical role in intrauterine growth and lung maturation

Dr. Sylvain Meloche, Principal Investigator at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Universit- de Montr-al, and his colleagues have uncovered the critical role played by the protein kinase Erk3 in fetal growth potential and lung maturation.

17 Sep 2009

Clinical trial focuses on healing diabetic foot ulcers with stem cells

Fortis Healthcare, one of India's leading private hospital groups, has announced it will broaden inclusion criteria for its upcoming diabetic foot clinical trial. The study will use stem cells derived from peripheral blood to treat critical limb ischemia (diabetic foot).

17 Sep 2009

New technique found that may prevent vision loss

Blocking a protein that battles infection may help thwart a common cause of vision loss in chronic diseases such as diabetes, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.

16 Sep 2009

BCA-member blood centers to use Haemonetics' suite of blood management software

Haemonetics Corporation announced today that it has signed a comprehensive software agreement with Blood Centers of America, Inc. ("BCA"), a cooperative of community blood centers.

16 Sep 2009

The first successful implantation of the GDS Accucinch System for mitral valve repair

Guided Delivery Systems, Inc. ("GDS") announced the first successful percutaneous implantation of the GDS Accucinch(R) System for mitral valve repair. The procedure was performed by Prof. Dr. med. Joachim Schofer of Medizinisches Versorgungszentrum, Hamburg University Cardiovascular Center in Hamburg, Germany. The GDS Accucinch System significantly reduced the patient's mitral regurgitation without requiring open heart surgery.

16 Sep 2009

Children's Hospital enrolls patients for ExCell clinical study

Children's Hospital of Colorado and the Gamida Cell-Teva Joint Venture announced today that Children's Hospital is enrolling patients for the ExCell study. Children's Hospital is the 24th in a series of cord blood transplant sites worldwide, five of which are children's centers, participating in the study in the U.S., Spain, Italy, Hungary and Israel.

16 Sep 2009

PCEC to provide free prostate cancer screenings

This September, the Prostate Conditions Education Council reminds men to set aside 10 minutes to take lifesaving measures. In just 10 minutes, the same amount of time it takes to shave their faces, men can be screened for prostate cancer, the second leading cause of death among American men. For one week this month the Prostate Conditions Education Council (PCEC) will be coordinating Prostate Cancer Awareness Week (PCAW), which provides free or low-cost screenings to thousands of men across the United States.

16 Sep 2009

CEL-SCI to commence its LEAPS-H1N1 clinical trial following FDA approval

CEL-SCI Corporation (NYSE Amex: CVM), a developer of vaccines and therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and a late-stage oncology company, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has indicated that the Company can proceed with its first clinical trial to evaluate the effect of its investigational LEAPS-H1N1 treatment on the white blood cells of hospitalized H1N1 patients.

16 Sep 2009

Checklists for improved patient safety

A new report, involving the University of Leicester, has called for greater understanding of how checklists can be used to improve safety. The report has been described as "counter-revolutionary" and providing a "a long overdue and desperately needed reality check for checklists in medicine" by Faculty of 1000 Medicine.

16 Sep 2009

Albumin for cancer treatment

Tiny particles of albumin, a protein found in the blood, can be used to carry radioactive isotopes to the site of a cancerous tumour in the body and so avoid many of the side-effects of conventional radiotherapy.

16 Sep 2009