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FDA approves only once-daily inhaled corticosteroid for children

Schering-Plough Corporation has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ASMANEX TWISTHALER 110 mcg (mometasone furoate inhalation powder) for the maintenance treatment of asthma as a preventive therapy in patients 4 to 11 years of age.

4 Feb 2008

Infants' bodies expel thimerosal mercury much faster than originally thought

February's issue of Pediatrics offers another reason to rethink blaming the spike in autism diagnoses on thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative routinely used in several childhood vaccines until the late '90s.

4 Feb 2008

A new anatomical teaching aid

Medical students will be helped to understand what it is like to go under the knife thanks to a world-first project that brings together art and science.

4 Feb 2008

Anemia treatment may be a double-edged sword

Erythropoietin has so far been known to doctors as a hormone that boosts red-blood-cell production.

4 Feb 2008

Deep brain stimulation may improve memory

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery, which is used to treat Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders, is now being studied for its potential to treat a variety of conditions.

4 Feb 2008

New liquid treatment for wide-neck brain aneurysm tested at Jefferson Hospital

Neurological surgeons at Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience are among the first surgeons in the United States using an FDA-approved liquid system for treating wide-necked brain aneurysms, which could eventually replace current treatments.

4 Feb 2008

Trabectome procedure for glaucoma

Glaucoma is a devastating disease that harms the eye without manifesting early signs or symptoms.

4 Feb 2008

New target for flu prevention

Emerging subtypes of influenza A virus hold the potential to initiate a world-wide epidemic in the next few years, according to World Health Organization officials.

4 Feb 2008

Best way to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) - a condition in which the large vessel that supplies blood to your abdomen, legs, and pelvis swells to over 50 percent its normal size -occurs in approximately 4 out of 100 adults.

4 Feb 2008

Study confirms safety of BrachySil for treatment of inoperable pancreatic cancer

The results of a Phase IIa clinical trial of BrachySil for the treatment of advanced, inoperable pancreatic cancer were presented at American Society of Clinical Oncolgy-GI (ASCO-GI) this weekend in a poster presented by Dr. Paul Ross, Chief Investigator in the study and Consultant Medical Oncologist at Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.

30 Jan 2008

Heart transplant standards set too low

Heart surgeons at Johns Hopkins have evidence to support further tightening rather than easing of standards used to designate hospitals that are best at performing heart transplants.

30 Jan 2008

Common drug-releasing coronary stents appear to have similar clinical outcomes

A comparison of use of the first two commercially available drug-releasing coronary stents (for the medications sirolimus and paclitaxel) among patients in "everyday clinical practice" indicates no significant differences for outcomes such as heart attack or cardiac death, according to a study in the January 30 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

30 Jan 2008

Carbon monoxide causes direct damage to the heart muscle

Lack of oxygen isn't the only way that carbon monoxide (CO) damages the heart, say researchers at Rhode Island Hospital.

30 Jan 2008

New nanomedicine research for prostate cancer

The Prostate Cancer Foundation, largely through the generosity of David H. Koch, has given $5 million to four institutions, including Weill Cornell Medical College, to support novel research in prostate cancer. The gift is one of the largest-ever individual donations for prostate cancer research.

29 Jan 2008

New target found for asthma

An enzyme released by mast cells in the lungs appears to play a key role in the tightening of airways that is a hallmark of asthma -- pointing to a potential new target for treatment against the illness.

29 Jan 2008

Dairy-free diets may put boys with autism at risk for thin bones

Results of an early study suggest that dairy-free diets and unconventional food preferences could put boys with autism and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at higher than normal risk for thinner, less dense bones when compared to a group of boys the same age who do not have autism.

29 Jan 2008

Sex, drugs and diet top issues parents want doctors to discuss with kids

When parents bring their children in for routine check-ups many are hoping the doctors and nurse practitioners caring for them will do more than just check blood pressure, listen to their heart and provide any necessary vaccinations.

28 Jan 2008

FDA warns public of contaminated pre-filled syringe flushes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a nationwide recall of all lots of heparin and saline pre-filled flush syringes manufactured by AM2 PAT, Inc., of Angier, N.C. Two lots have been found to be contaminated with Serratia marcescens, a bacterium that can cause serious injury or death.

28 Jan 2008

Evidence strongly supports diuretics as initial metabolic syndrome therapy, especially in black patients

New research shows that in people with high blood pressure as part of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that increases the risk for heart disease, diuretics offer greater protection against cardiovascular disease, including heart failure, and are at least as effective for lowering blood pressure as newer, more expensive medications.

28 Jan 2008

Weakness found in anthrax bacterium

MIT and New York University researchers have identified a weakness in the defenses of the anthrax bacterium that could be exploited to produce new antibiotics.

25 Jan 2008