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Amgen announces publication of XGEVA Phase 3 study results against solid tumors in Journal of Clinical Oncology

Amgen today announced the publication of results from a pivotal Phase 3 study of 1,776 advanced cancer patients with different types of solid tumors or multiple myeloma, which compared XGEVA to Zometa in preventing skeletal-related events.

23 Feb 2011

Knocking out genes completely and exclusively in Natural Killer cells

Our immune systems contain three fundamentally different types of cell: B-cells, T-cells and the mysteriously named Natural Killer cells (NK cells), which are known to be involved in killing tumour cells and other infected cells. Experiments to investigate the function of NK cells have proven difficult to interpret because the interactions between the various components of the immune system make it almost impossible to isolate effects of individual cell types.

23 Feb 2011

UT Southwestern Medical Center launches new multidisciplinary abdominal wall surgery program

A 2002 auto accident started Rex Smith down a dark and difficult road. The collision perforated his colon, requiring multiple surgeries that subsequently weakened his abdominal muscles until they could no longer hold in internal organs.

23 Feb 2011

Cerasome filled molecular-sized bubbles to target liver cancer cells

Nanotechnology may open a new door on the treatment of liver cancer, according to a team of Penn State College of Medicine researchers. They used molecular-sized bubbles filled with chemotherapy drugs to prevent cell growth and initiate cell death in test tubes and mice.

23 Feb 2011

New study finds inadequate health literacy among paid caregivers of seniors

Paid caregivers make it possible for seniors to remain living in their homes. The problem, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study, is that more than one-third of caregivers had difficulty reading and understanding health-related information and directions. Sixty percent made errors when sorting medications into pillboxes.

23 Feb 2011

Nanoparticle therapy may improve survival after life-threatening blood loss

In an advance that could improve battlefield and trauma care, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have used tiny particles called nanoparticles to improve survival after life-threatening blood loss.

23 Feb 2011

Tifacogin administration shows no treatment benefit in patients with severe CAP

Use of the blood clot-inhibiting medication tifacogin does not appear to improve outcomes of patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia, according to a study conducted by researchers from North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The drug had shown some potential benefit in the sCAP subgroup of an earlier trial involving sepsis patients.

23 Feb 2011

OptumHealth names Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island as Center of Excellence for Neonatal Care

For the fifth consecutive year, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island has been named a Center of Excellence for Neonatal Care by the Clinical Sciences Institute of OptumHealth, an independent audit company. According to OptumHealth, not all health care providers are created equal. For complex medical conditions, the disparity is especially high.

23 Feb 2011

Cancer-causing retrovirus prolongs survival of host cells

A cancer-causing retrovirus exploits key proteins in its host cells to extend the life of those cells, thereby prolonging its own survival and ability to spread, according to a new study by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James) and Ohio State's College of Veterinary Medicine.

23 Feb 2011

Nationwide Children's Hospital joins Autism Speaks ATN to offer patient care

Nationwide Children's Hospital has been selected to join the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network, connecting Columbus with Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Missouri as the nation's only ATN institutions in the Midwest region.

23 Feb 2011

Aspirin for coronary heart prevention is less costly, more effective

Using aspirin for coronary heart prevention is less costly and more effective than doing nothing in men older than 45 with more than 10 percent 10-year-risk of the disease, according to a study by researchers at RTI International, University of Michigan, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

23 Feb 2011

Study: Antibody-directed chemotherapy may be effective for majority of younger AML sufferers

Antibody-directed chemotherapy offers improved survival to particular sub-groups of leukaemia sufferers, a Cardiff University-led study has found.

23 Feb 2011

Human umbilical cord blood-derived EPCs accelerate wound healing in diabetics

Transplanting human umbilical cord blood-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) has been found to "significantly accelerate" wound closure in diabetic mouse models, said a team of Korean researchers publishing in the current issue of Cell Transplantation.

23 Feb 2011

Breakthrough in Huntington's disease may give patients hope for cure

A huge leap forward in understanding Huntington's disease may give patients hope for a cure.

23 Feb 2011

Higher intake of vitamin D may reduce breast cancer risk

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha have reported that markedly higher intake of vitamin D is needed to reach blood levels that can prevent or markedly cut the incidence of breast cancer and several other major diseases than had been originally thought. The findings are published February 21 in the journal Anticancer Research.

23 Feb 2011

Research: Drug developed for controlling cholesterol synthesis can kill human breast cancer cells

A University of Missouri researcher believes there could be a new drug compound that could kill breast cancer cells. The compound might also help with controlling cholesterol.

23 Feb 2011

Regeneron submits VEGF Trap-Eye BLA to FDA for treatment of wet AMD

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the company submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for VEGF Trap-Eye for the treatment of the neovascular form of age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD). Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), the goal for a standard review time from submission to FDA action is ten months.

22 Feb 2011

Study: High-quality hospitals deliver lower-cost care to trauma patients

High-quality hospitals deliver lower-cost care to trauma patients, according to a study published in the Annals of Surgery.

22 Feb 2011

Researcher finds antibiotic in Eastern Red Cedar tree effective against MRSA

Most people would never suspect that a "trash tree," one with little economic value and often removed by farmers due to its ability to destroy farmland, could be the key to fighting a deadly bacterium. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found an antibiotic in the Eastern Red Cedar tree that is effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a "superbug" that is resistant to most medications.

22 Feb 2011

Novartis FLUAD seasonal flu vaccine for older adults receives Health Canada approval

Health Canada has approved FLUAD, a Novartis seasonal flu vaccine for adults 65 years and older. Canadian seniors are the hardest hit of all age groups by seasonal influenza and account for 90 per cent of influenza deaths and 70 per cent of hospitalizations.

22 Feb 2011