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Astellas announces FDA acceptance of Tarceva sNDA for EGFR activating mutation-positive NSCLC

Astellas Pharma US, Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc., today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Tarceva (erlotinib) for first-line use in people with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activating mutations.

17 Jan 2013

ARHGEF28 gene mutations present in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Research

Researchers at Western University in London, Canada, have identified a new genetic mutation for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), opening the door to future targeted therapies. Dr. Michael Strong, a scientist with Western's Robarts Research Institute and Distinguished University Professor in Clinical Neurological Sciences at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, and colleagues found that mutations within the ARHGEF28 gene are present in ALS.

16 Jan 2013

Selective strategy for D-dimer testing in DVT

Selecting certain patients for D-dimer testing appears to be a safe and more efficient way of diagnosing deep vein thrombosis than uniformly testing all patients suspected of having the condition, report researchers.

16 Jan 2013

Proteinuria common in canine lymphoma

Approximately a quarter of dogs with lymphoma have proteinuria, a much greater proportion than seen in healthy dogs, indicate research results.

16 Jan 2013

BPA adversely affects kidney function in children

Children with high levels of exposure to bisphenol A are at increased risk for low-grade albuminuria, report researchers.

16 Jan 2013

Clinician demographics key to primary care career choice

The demographics of physician assistants who choose a career in primary care are similar to those of medical students who also choose primary care, US study findings show.

16 Jan 2013

Urgent research needed’ on emergency airway management

Research in JAMA adds to suspicions that advanced airway management techniques may do more harm than good in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

16 Jan 2013

Study demonstrates ways in which quality measurement from EHRs can be improved

Health care providers and hospitals are being offered up to $27 billion in federal financial incentives to use electronic health records (EHRs) in ways that demonstrably improve the quality of care. The incentives are based, in part, on the ability to electronically report clinical quality measures.

16 Jan 2013

Sp2 protein plays a key role in creation of neurons from stem cells

A protein known as Sp2 is key to the proper creation of neurons from stem cells, according to researchers at North Carolina State University. Understanding how this protein works could enable scientists to "program" stem cells for regeneration, which has implications for neural therapies.

16 Jan 2013

Link between infections and venous thromboembolism in surgical patients

Despite receiving blood thinners and other clot prevention treatment, some patients still develop potentially lethal blood clots in the first month after their operations anyway, especially if they developed a surgical-site infection while in the hospital, according to results of a study at Johns Hopkins.

16 Jan 2013

Fifteen established scientists to receive NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grants

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (formerly NARSAD, the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression) announced the latest recipients of its highly competitive NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grants.

16 Jan 2013

Researchers identify new group of growth factor receptors that signal to brain tumours

One in 25,000 people worldwide is affected by neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), a condition where the loss of a tumour suppressor called Merlin results in multiple tumours in the brain and nervous system.

16 Jan 2013

Florida Atlantic University announces $3M gift to endow medical student scholarships

Florida Atlantic University's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine has announced a $3 million gift to endow medical student scholarships. The endowment will be named the "Dr. Morton and Cynthia Levitt Endowed Scholarship for Medical Education," and the announcement was made during the Schmidt College of Medicine's inaugural "Your Medical School" celebration honoring Dick and Barbara Schmidt.

16 Jan 2013

Stroke survivors with depression more likely to die

People who are depressed after a stroke may have a tripled risk of dying early and four times the risk of death from stroke than people who have not experienced a stroke or depression, according to a study that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013.

16 Jan 2013

Malaria control: an interview with Dr Jo Lines

Malaria is a tropical, mosquito-borne disease. It is found all over the tropics, in every continent but diminished now a great deal in most of Latin America, most of Asia. Still 90% of the world’s deaths due to malaria – are in Africa and most of them are in young children in Africa.

16 Jan 2013

Stem cell transplantation prevents decrease in heart function associated with DMD

Researchers have shown that transplanting stem cells derived from normal mouse blood vessels into the hearts of mice that model the pathology associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) prevents the decrease in heart function associated with DMD.

16 Jan 2013

Patients' health care decisions, spending key to future of medicine

As patients become more engaged in decisions related to treatment and health care, their role in holding down health care spending will likely become more prominent.

16 Jan 2013

MI-ONCOSEQ program identifies NAB2-STAT6 fusion in solitary fibrous tumors

It started with a 44-year-old woman with solitary fibrous tumor, a rare cancer seen in only a few hundred people each year. By looking at the entire DNA from this one patient's tumor, researchers have found a genetic anomaly that provides an important clue to improving how this cancer is diagnosed and treated.

16 Jan 2013

Jan. issue of Behavioural Neurology features papers on aphasia and hemispatial neglect

Approximately half a million individuals suffer strokes in the US each year, and about one in five develops some form of post-stroke aphasia, the partial or total loss of the ability to communicate. By comparing different types of aphasia, investigators have been able to gain new insights into the normal cognitive processes underlying language, as well as the potential response to interventions.

16 Jan 2013

Zimbabwe continues to face medicine shortages, stock-outs, PlusNews reports

"Chronic shortages of generic and antiretroviral drugs, stock-outs, high medication costs, and long distances to clinics are some of the hurdles people face in their quest to access essential medicines in Zimbabwe," PlusNews reports.

16 Jan 2013