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Study reveals how Bdnf gene mutation contributes to severe obesity

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have revealed how a mutation in a single gene is responsible for the inability of neurons to effectively pass along appetite suppressing signals from the body to the right place in the brain. What results is obesity caused by a voracious appetite.

19 Mar 2012

Scientist generates mutant version of IL-2 protein to treat advanced cancers

The utility of a naturally occurring protein given, sometimes to great effect, as a drug to treat advanced cancers is limited by the severe side effects it sometimes causes. But a Stanford University School of Medicine scientist has generated a mutant version of the protein whose modified shape renders it substantially more potent than the natural protein while reducing its toxicity.

19 Mar 2012

Pfizer supports First World Congress on Healthy and Active Ageing

As an official partner of the First World Congress on Healthy Ageing, Pfizer reaffirms the company's commitment to promote healthy and active ageing at all stages of life as a basis for enhanced productivity in the Asia Pacific. Pfizer will lead a luncheon symposium today focused on the relationship between health and economic sustainability and the resulting challenges and opportunities of shifting demographics across the region.

19 Mar 2012

Study of genes may hold the key to improved skin care

Ever wonder why two people who are the same age may look years apart? While extrinsic factors such as sun exposure and smoking can contribute to skin aging, intrinsic factors - namely the genes inherited from our parents - can have an even greater influence on how our skin ages.

17 Mar 2012

Exposure to MEHP shortens reproductive life of female mice

Female mouse fetuses exposed to very high doses of a common industrial chemical that makes plastics more pliable develop significant reproductive alterations and precancerous lesions as they grow up, according to a new toxicology study conducted at Brown University.

17 Mar 2012

Tiny Tim may have suffered from rickets and TB

Le Bonheur Professor Russell Chesney, M.D. believes he knows what was ailing Tiny Tim, the iconic character from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Based on detailed descriptions of both the symptoms and living conditions of 18th century London, Dr. Chesney hypothesizes that Tiny Tim suffered from a combination of rickets and tuberculosis (TB).

17 Mar 2012

New EU project to assess risk of contaminated food brought in from other countries

The EHEC crisis in Germany in 2011 proved that food brought in from other countries can potentially carry agents that cause life-threatening diseases. Nevertheless, there have been extremely few investigations of the actual danger posed by germs that enter the EU along with food. The gap is now to be addressed by a new project, with the EU providing almost three million Euro to cover the costs.

17 Mar 2012

Japan's MHLW provides reimbursement coverage for MTWA test

Cambridge Heart, Inc., a developer of non-invasive diagnostic tests for cardiac disease, today announced that its Microvolt T-Wave Alternans (MTWA) test received reimbursement coverage from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW).

17 Mar 2012

Researchers report higher price tag for robotic prostatectomy surgery

In perfecting the science of medicine, advancements always face exhaustive scrutiny and opposition. Typically, these rigors focus on confirming the efficacy of a procedure or treatment to ensure it remains in the patient's best interest for healing or wellness. More recently, with heightened emphasis on government-funded healthcare, medical procedures such as robotic prostatectomy surgery for prostate cancer treatment are under fire for cost.

17 Mar 2012

ACEP urges public to learn how to prevent poison during 50th anniversary of NPPW

The American College of Emergency Physicians urges the public to learn how to "prevent poison" during the 50th Anniversary of National Poison Prevention Week (NPPW), March 18-24, 2012.

17 Mar 2012

SBMT announces 2012 recipients of Pioneers in Medicine, Technology and Healthcare Policy Awards

Today, the Society for Brain Mapping & Therapeutics announced the 2012 recipients of the organization's prestigious Pioneers in Medicine, Technology, and Healthcare Policy Awards.

17 Mar 2012

National Poison Prevention Week 2012: March 18-24

March 18-24, 2012 will mark the 50th Anniversary of National Poison Prevention Week (NPPW), first established by Congress in September 1961. As one of the longest continuously running, health and safety campaigns in the United States, the key goal of NPPW is to create national awareness about the risk of injury or death due to poisoning.

17 Mar 2012

Oral BRAF inhibitor can extend survival to 16 months for patients with MM

An international team of researchers from the United States and Australia, including researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have found that the oral BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib (PLX4032) when tested in a phase II clinical trial offered a high rate of response in patients with previously treated metastatic melanoma and who had the BRAF mutation.

17 Mar 2012

Congressional Brain Injury Task Force brings representatives to Capitol Hill for BIA Day

On Wednesday, March 21, the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force brings representatives from the brain injury community to Capitol Hill for Brain Injury Awareness (BIA) Day. The day starts with the BIA Fair, where attendees share information on policy issues, research, diagnosis and screening and care and rehabilitation. The afternoon features a briefing on "The Impact of Brain Injury: Any Time, Any One, Any Age."

17 Mar 2012

WASM, Philips partner to raise awareness of sleep disorders

Royal Philips Electronics will join with the World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM) as an official sponsor of World Sleep Day 2012, held on Friday, March 16. This year's theme– 'Breathe Easily, Sleep Well' – centers on raising awareness of sleep disorders that affect a person's breathing, such as obstructive sleep apnea.

17 Mar 2012

Research roundup: Medicaid vs. private pay ER use; Doctors treat black, white patients differently; Caregiver stress

By looking at National Health Interview Survey data of more than 230,000 patients from 1999-2009, researchers were able to compare Medicaid with privately insured patients. More than 39 percent of those enrolled in Medicaid in the sample used the ER versus 17.7 percent of privately insured patients. Medicaid patients wer much more likely to have "specific barriers to timely primary care."

17 Mar 2012

PFO closure device no better than drugs alone in preventing recurrent strokes or TIAs

Loyola University Medical Center is one of the major enrollers in a landmark clinical trial that found that plugging a hole in the heart works no better than drugs in preventing strokes.

17 Mar 2012

State roundup: Minnesota tort reform; Calif. prepares - or not - for newly insured; Reducing C-sections in Oregon

A roundup of health policy news from Minnesota, California, Kansas, Connecticut, Oregon, Missouri, Washington D.C. and Colorado.

17 Mar 2012

Only 21 states require public reporting of hospital data on surgical site infections

Only 21 states require public reporting of hospital data on surgical site infections and, even when disclosure is mandated, the information is often not easily accessible to patients who could use it to make decisions about their medical care, according to new Johns Hopkins research.

17 Mar 2012

QB3 renews and expands three-year agreement with Pfizer

The California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) has renewed and expanded a three-year agreement with Pfizer Inc. to collaborate on research projects at the University of California with the potential to transform world-class science into better medicine.

17 Mar 2012

Medicine News and Research

Study reveals how Bdnf gene mutation contributes to severe obesity

Scientist generates mutant version of IL-2 protein to treat advanced cancers

Pfizer supports First World Congress on Healthy and Active Ageing

Study of genes may hold the key to improved skin care

Exposure to MEHP shortens reproductive life of female mice

Tiny Tim may have suffered from rickets and TB

New EU project to assess risk of contaminated food brought in from other countries

Japan's MHLW provides reimbursement coverage for MTWA test

Researchers report higher price tag for robotic prostatectomy surgery

ACEP urges public to learn how to prevent poison during 50th anniversary of NPPW

SBMT announces 2012 recipients of Pioneers in Medicine, Technology and Healthcare Policy Awards

National Poison Prevention Week 2012: March 18-24

Oral BRAF inhibitor can extend survival to 16 months for patients with MM

Congressional Brain Injury Task Force brings representatives to Capitol Hill for BIA Day

WASM, Philips partner to raise awareness of sleep disorders

Research roundup: Medicaid vs. private pay ER use; Doctors treat black, white patients differently; Caregiver stress

PFO closure device no better than drugs alone in preventing recurrent strokes or TIAs

State roundup: Minnesota tort reform; Calif. prepares - or not - for newly insured; Reducing C-sections in Oregon

Only 21 states require public reporting of hospital data on surgical site infections

QB3 renews and expands three-year agreement with Pfizer

Everything there is to know about biosimilars eBook

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

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