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HPV in women at or after menopause may represent an infection acquired years ago

A new study suggests that human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in women at or after menopause may represent an infection acquired years ago, and that HPV infections may exist below limits of detection after one to two years, similar to other viruses, such as varicella zoster, which can cause shingles.

14 Dec 2012

MicroRNA-218 especially low in medulloblastoma

Between the blueprint of the genome and the products of its expression lie microRNAs, which can boost or lower the rate at which genes become stuff. In fact, many cancers use microRNA to magnify the expression of faulty genes or shrink the expression of helpful genes that would otherwise suppress tumors. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the December issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry shows that in medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor of children, microRNA-218 is especially low.

14 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Politicians flirting with danger on Medicare eligibility age; Maybe doctors should be paid less

The 2010 health- care law, which imposed immediate and heavy cuts on hospitals, drugmakers and insurers, left doctors relatively untouched. A 1997 law that reduces doctors' Medicare payments is consistently overridden by Congress.

14 Dec 2012

Computer simulation can predict risk of irregular heart rhythms and sudden cardiac death

A computer model of the heart wall predicted risk of irregular heart rhythms and sudden cardiac death in patients, paving the way for the use of more complex cardiac models to calculate the consequences of genetic, lifestyle and other changes to the heart.

14 Dec 2012

Researchers discover two-faced group of cells at work in human colon cancer

Northwestern Medicine researchers have discovered a "two-faced" group of cells at work in human colon cancer, with opposing functions that can suppress or promote tumor growth. These cells are a subset of T-regulatory (Treg) cells, known to suppress immune responses in healthy individuals.

14 Dec 2012

Pfizer, Ligand announce FDA acceptance of bazedoxifene/conjugated estrogens NDA

Pfizer Inc. and Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for review a New Drug Application (NDA) for bazedoxifene/conjugated estrogens (BZA/CE), a potential new medicine for non-hysterectomized women for the treatment of moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms (VMS) and vulvar and vaginal atrophy (VVA) associated with menopause, as well as the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis.

14 Dec 2012

Scientists isolate cancer stem cells that lead to growth of Wilms' tumours

Scientists have isolated cancer stem cells that lead to the growth of Wilms' tumours, a type of cancer typically found in the kidneys of young children. The researchers have used these cancer stem cells to test a new therapeutic approach that one day might be used to treat some of the more aggressive types of this disease.

13 Dec 2012

Rural residents of Utah less likely to follow colorectal cancer screening recommendations

People who reside in rural areas of Utah are less likely to follow colorectal cancer (CRC) screening recommendations than their urban counterparts, according to researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah.

13 Dec 2012

Max Reinhardt named worldwide President of Depuy Synthes Spine

The DePuy Synthes Companies of Johnson & Johnson announced today that Max Reinhardt has been named Worldwide President of DePuy Synthes Spine, a global leader in spinal care. Mr. Reinhardt has been with the company since 2002, most recently as Vice President of Worldwide Marketing.

13 Dec 2012

Diuretic-based antihypertensive therapy touted for obese

Diuretic-based antihypertensive regimens may be preferable to calcium channel blocker-based therapy in patients who are obese, suggest researchers writing in The Lancet.

13 Dec 2012

Linking food costs to nutritional value may benefit health

Research suggests that the introduction of taxes on less healthy foods, such as sugary drinks and foods high in saturated fat, and subsidies for healthy food, such as fruit and vegetables, could significantly improve peoples’ health.

13 Dec 2012

Health systems must be more ‘adherence-friendly’

Heath system strategies must be appropriately designed to help narrow persistent racial/ethnic gaps in the use of antihypertensive therapy, say researchers.

13 Dec 2012

LED light instantly triggers or reverses depression-like behavior in rodents

A specific pattern of neuronal firing in a brain reward circuit instantly rendered mice vulnerable to depression-like behavior induced by acute severe stress, a study supported by the National Institutes of Health has found. When researchers used a high-tech method to mimic the pattern, previously resilient mice instantly succumbed to a depression-like syndrome of social withdrawal and reduced pleasure-seeking - they avoided other animals and lost their sweet tooth.

13 Dec 2012

Fatal imbalance between global disease burden and drug development

Despite important progress in research and development (R&D) for global health over the past decade, only a small fraction of new medicines developed between 2000 and 2011 were for the treatment of neglected diseases, highlighting the 'fatal imbalance' between global disease burden and drug development for some of the world most devastating illnesses, said Doctors Without Borders/M-decins Sans Fronti-res (MSF) and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), in an analysis to be presented today at an international conference aimed at spurring medical innovations for these diseases.

13 Dec 2012

Sirtex unveils new website to learn more about SIR-Spheres microspheres

Sirtex today unveiled a new, comprehensive and easy-to-use global website for doctors, nurses, patients and investors interested in learning more about SIR-Spheres microspheres, a form of radiotherapy targeting liver tumours that is gaining increasingly wide acceptance worldwide.

13 Dec 2012

New ESF strategic report identifies opportunities for research on human brain

A new strategic report, The Human Brain - From Cells to Society, Toward Better Mental Health in Europe, has been published today by the European Science Foundation (ESF). In a Europe where an estimated 38% of the population is affected by a disorder of the brain, it is becoming increasingly important to bring greater support to research in all areas of neuroscience.

13 Dec 2012

Doctors should use different therapies when treating older and younger patients with CLL

Doctors should use different therapies when treating older and younger patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, according to a new study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James).

13 Dec 2012

New way to effectively make designer drugs that hit collections of protein targets simultaneously

An international research collaboration led by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and the University of Dundee, in the U.K., have developed a way to efficiently and effectively make designer drugs that hit multiple protein targets at once.

13 Dec 2012

Opioids already in the body can enhance malignant tendencies of human cancer cells

A study led by University of Chicago researcher Patrick A. Singleton, Ph.D. and published in the journal Anesthesiology has shown that, even without the addition of further opioids such as morphine, opioids already in the body can enhance the malignant tendencies of human cancer cells.

13 Dec 2012

Family health insurance costs up 62 percent since 2003

The total cost of family health insurance, for both employers and employees, hit $15,000 last year, up 62 percent since 2003 -- and worker wages rose only 11 percent in that time, a new Commonwealth Fund report says.

13 Dec 2012