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New PHQ-9 screening test evaluates major depression in adults

Primary-care clinicians know teen depression is common, but they've lacked a reliable screening test for it. Now researchers at the University of Washington (UW), Seattle Children's, and Group Health report the PHQ-9 is a good screening test for major depression in adolescents.

1 Nov 2010

Study examines effects of social stimulation and personality on humans' sleep functions

A study in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP found that vulnerability to sleep deprivation is influenced by the interaction between waking social activity and individual personality traits.

1 Nov 2010

Boehringer to present data of SOUND-C1 Phase Ib study for HCV treatment at AASLD Meeting

Boehringer Ingelheim announced results from a Phase Ib study, SOUND-C1, that showed the combination of two oral hepatitis C virus (HCV) compounds, the protease inhibitor BI 201335 and the polymerase inhibitor BI 207127, with ribavirin reduced viral load to the lower limit of quantifiable levels in HCV treatment-naïve patients.

1 Nov 2010

NeurAxon’s NXN-188 compound effective for acute migraine treatment

NeurAxon, Inc., announced today Phase 2 clinical study results for NXN-188, a novel, first-in-class treatment with the potential to raise the current standard of care in acute migraine.

1 Nov 2010

New laboratory-engineered livers could provide solution to donor shortage

Researchers at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have reached an early, but important, milestone in the quest to grow replacement livers in the lab. They are the first to use human liver cells to successfully engineer miniature livers that function - at least in a laboratory setting like human livers. The next step is to see if the livers will continue to function after transplantation in an animal model.

1 Nov 2010

Tibotec to present Week-24 interim analysis of PILLAR study for chronic HCV treatment at AASLD Meeting

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals announced today the company will present the results of a Week-24 planned interim analysis of the phase 2 response-guided PILLAR study in treatment-naive patients with chronic genotype 1 hepatitis C virus (HCV) at the 61st Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) in Boston, MA., USA. The data will be presented as part of a late-breaker oral presentation on Monday, November 1.

1 Nov 2010

Gilead to present data of two Phase III trials evaluating Viread efficacy for HBV infection at The Liver Meeting 2010

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced new data from the open-label phase of two pivotal Phase III clinical trials (Studies 102 and 103) evaluating the four-year efficacy of Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

1 Nov 2010

Researchers generate bioengineered human liver organoid using bioscaffold

Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine demonstrated the generation of a bioengineered human liver organoid using a liver bioscaffold made from an intact liver extracellular matrix, and filled (seeded) with primary human liver progenitor and endothelial cells.

1 Nov 2010

Health Canada approves PRADAX for preventing stroke in AF patients

Health Canada, the Canadian health authority, has approved PRADAX™ (dabigatran etexilate), Boehringer Ingelheim's novel, oral direct thrombin inhibitor for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in whom anticoagulation is appropriate, marking the second approval of this new oral anticoagulant following the recent marketing authorisation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

30 Oct 2010

NTU and Imperial College to jointly establish Singapore's third medical school

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Imperial College London today signed an official agreement to jointly establish Singapore's third medical school. The initiative was previously announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the National Day Rally 2010, in August. Presently, the working name for the school is "Imperial College London-Nanyang Technological University Medical School" (ICNMS).

30 Oct 2010

Value of medical innovation far outstrips its cost, says Lilly CEO

In a speech to the Dallas Friday Group today, John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D., chairman, president and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company, said that the value of medical innovation – particularly innovative medicines – far outstrips its cost. Lechleiter marshaled data showing that medical innovation over the past century dramatically extended life spans, improved quality of life, and boosted productivity.

30 Oct 2010

Surrogates preference increases for value-laden decisions in ICUs: Report

The decision to stop life-support for incapacitated and critically ill patients is, for surrogate decision makers, often fraught with moral and ethical uncertainty, and long-term emotional consequences. But as difficult as these decisions are, more than half of surrogate decision makers prefer to have full authority over the choice than to share or cede that power to physicians, according to a recent study out of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

30 Oct 2010

New sculpture to commemorate Sir Frederick Banting

One of the greatest gifts Canada has given the world will be celebrated this Sunday at Banting House National Historic Site of Canada located in London, Ont. with the unveiling of a three-metre high sculpture to commemorate the birth of Sir Frederick Banting's brilliant idea that led to the discovery of insulin. Banting House National Historic Site of Canada is a public site dedicated to the historic significance of Sir Frederick Banting.

30 Oct 2010

Effective smoking cessation interventions for Latino smokers needed

Latinos who live the United States are more likely to quit smoking when they take part in an intervention program, finds a systematic review of studies conducted by Monica Webb Hooper, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of Miami.

30 Oct 2010

New NRNB center helps clinicians to study network biology

A new center called the National Resource for Network Biology (NRNB), based at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, will help clinicians analyze an ever-growing wealth of complex biological data and apply that knowledge to real problems and diseases.

30 Oct 2010

AACR announces launch of new journal, Cancer Discovery

The American Association for Cancer Research announces the launch of its newest journal, Cancer Discovery, which will publish high-impact, peer-reviewed articles describing major advances in basic and clinical research. Its unique format will feature game-changing research, review articles, perspectives and commentaries, news, and "Research Watch" summaries of important journal articles. Cancer Discovery is a new addition to the AACR's robust publication program.

30 Oct 2010

First woman dean of Duke University awarded 2010 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science

Nancy Andrews, M.D., Ph.D., a groundbreaking researcher and the first woman dean of Duke University School of Medicine, has been awarded the 2010 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science.

30 Oct 2010

Experts at ICB-2010 Conference to discuss new research findings in biotherapy

The 8th International Conference on Biotherapy (ICB-2010) will be held in Los Angeles, November 11-14, 2010, at the Universal Los Angeles Hilton. It is the single most important meeting for sharing new clinical and research findings in biotherapy (living organisms used to treat or diagnose illness).

30 Oct 2010

Karmanos, WSU SOM present long-term results of fast neutron radiotherapy in localized prostate cancer

Scientists from the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University School of Medicine (WSU SOM) in Detroit will present the world's largest study that shows the long-term results of fast neutron radiotherapy (FNRT) in the treatment of localized prostate cancer. The findings will be formally announced Tuesday, Nov. 2, at the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting

30 Oct 2010

Research Roundup: Primary care doc pay and satisfaction; fixes to Medicare reimbursements; free vaccines?

A critical element of improving population health in underserved areas is the adequacy and distribution of the primary care physician supply, write the authors of this study, who interviewed 42 primary care physicians from both underserved and non-underserved areas in Los Angeles County, California.

30 Oct 2010