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Cleveland Clinic receives NHLBI grant to identify new pathways linked with cardiovascular diseases

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has awarded a $4.78 million grant to researchers at Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute to use metabolomics - a new approach that focuses on the small-molecule byproducts of metabolism - for discovery of novel pathways linked to the development of cardiovascular diseases.

14 Jul 2012

GlobalPost blog interviews head of WHO's Stop TB Department

GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog interviews Mario Raviglione, the director of the WHO's Stop TB Department since 2003, "about the progress and frustrations with detection and treatment of tuberculosis [TB]."

14 Jul 2012

Financial boost to malaria fight would result in beneficial gains

"[A] surge in money for insecticide-treated nets and other interventions" to fight malaria over the past decade has reduced the malaria-related death rate by 26 percent since 2000, and a "new push" to fight the disease, which killed 655,000 people in 2010, would have beneficial results, according to a report set to be released by Ray Chambers, the U.N. special envoy for malaria, an Economist editorial notes.

14 Jul 2012

Migraine involves multiple symptoms that vary widely among sufferers

Almost everyone suffers from headache pain occasionally, but for 36 million Americans, intense, debilitating headaches accompanied by other neurological symptoms — also known as migraine syndrome — are a source of physical misery that can have a devastating effect on their quality of life. It is estimated that the medical expenses and loss of productivity caused by migraine costs Americans $20 billion annually.

14 Jul 2012

Sandia researchers develop SpinDx medical diagnostic tool

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a lab-on-a-disk platform that they believe will be faster, less expensive and more versatile than similar medical diagnostic tools.

14 Jul 2012

Preventable hospital deaths: around 12,000 in England each year

Around 12,000 deaths in acute hospitals in England each year could be prevented, suggests a data analysis published online in BMJ Quality and Safety.

13 Jul 2012

New diagnostic test for drug-resistant TB allows 'new approach' to fight disease

The widespread incidence of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) "calls for a new approach to TB in the developing world," a Bloomberg editorial states.

11 Jul 2012

Book explains complex world of personalized medicine

Personalized medicine has promised to radically change the way we look at health and disease. Talk of tailored drug therapies and early detection of cancer has captured the attention of scientists and lay people alike. So when will patients start to reap the benefits of this medical revolution?

11 Jul 2012

SRI International receives DoD grant to develop novel therapy for MS

The Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded SRI International a one-year grant to develop a novel therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune nervous system disease that affects about 400,000 people in the United States and more than two million people worldwide. There is currently no cure for this disorder, which can impair vision and movement.

11 Jul 2012

Abbott announces CE Marking for ARCHITECT HbA1c assay

More than 346 million people worldwide are living with diabetes, and the World Diabetes Foundation estimates that number will increase by nearly 27 percent by 2030. In order to help physicians appropriately monitor treatment efficacy for these patients, Abbott announced today CE Marking (Conformite Europeenne) for the Abbott ARCHITECT HbA1c (IA) Assay.

10 Jul 2012

Methylation provides signal of unique mix of leukocytes

When a person is sick, there is a tell-tale sign in their blood: a different mix of the various types of immune cells called leukocytes. A group of scientists at several institutions including Brown University has discovered a way to determine that mix from the DNA in archival or fresh blood samples, potentially providing a practical new technology not only for medical research but also for clinical diagnosis and treatment monitoring of ailments including some cancers.

10 Jul 2012

MammaPrint more cost-effective and clinically-useful test than Oncotype DX

New research from University of the Sciences' Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy suggests that MammaPrint - a gene expression profiling (GEP) test used to identify whether women with early-stage breast cancer would benefit from chemotherapy - is the more cost-effective and clinically-useful test than the most frequently used GEP in practice in the United States today.

10 Jul 2012

SurModics IVD to introduce BioFX TMB Extended Range HRP Microwell Substrate

SurModics IVD Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SurModics, Inc. and a market leader for in vitro diagnostic assay components, is pleased to announce it will launch BioFX TMB Extended Range HRP Microwell Substrate (TMBX) at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry show in Los Angeles, CA from July 17-19, 2012.

9 Jul 2012

BioView, ScreenCell enter collaboration agreement for imaging of CTC

BioView Ltd. and ScreenCell, a privately-held company, today jointly announced the signing of a commercial collaboration agreement for Bioview's Automated Cell Imaging Systems for imaging of CTC's isolated with ScreenCell's Cyto Kit.

9 Jul 2012

Luminex to acquire molecular diagnostics company, GenturaDx

Luminex Corporation today announced a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held, GenturaDx, a molecular diagnostics company focused on making nucleic acid testing both affordable and practical for any laboratory. GenturaDx is in late stage development of a fully integrated, highly automated, real-time PCR system that employs a single-use cassette for true sample-to-answer workflow.

From Luminex 9 Jul 2012

New optical microscope identifies rare breast cancer cells

The ability to distinguish and isolate rare cells from among a large population of assorted cells has become increasingly important for the early detection of disease and for monitoring disease treatments.

7 Jul 2012

ADCT, CRT sign agreements to develop ADCs against cancer

Cancer Research Technology (CRT), the commercial arm of Cancer Research UK, and Switzerland-based ADC Therapeutics Sarl (ADCT) announce today that they have signed agreements to develop cancer treatments called Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) using CRT antibodies and peptides, and ADCT's 'warhead' and linker chemistries.

6 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: The Medicaid expansion 'dilemma;' Mandate not the only health tax the GOP backed

Full-time employment is a major reason that able-bodied adults would have incomes above 133 percent of the federal poverty level. If carried out, this expansion is expected to reduce full-time employment among able-bodied adults, because they would no longer need to be employed full time to obtain health insurance.

6 Jul 2012

Abbott, Sucampo receive Japanese approval for AMITIZA

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Abbott today announced that Sucampo Pharma, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of SPI, has received approval from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Japan for AMITIZA (lubiprostone), a prescription medicine for the treatment of chronic constipation.

5 Jul 2012

Neighboring non-cancer cells may contribute to drug resistance

One of cancer's most frightening characteristics is its ability to return after treatment. In the case of many forms of cancer, including the skin cancer known as melanoma, tailored drugs can eradicate cancer cells in the lab, but often produce only partial, temporary responses in patients. One of the burning questions in the field of cancer research has been and remains: how does cancer evade drug treatment?

5 Jul 2012