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UNC HIV researcher Cohen discusses his work, HPTN 052

PSI's "Healthy Lives" blog features a video from the UNC Medical Center News Office in which Myron Cohen, a professor of medicine, microbiology, immunology and public health at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the director of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, discusses his research into HIV/AIDS prevention, including his lead role in HPTN 052.

6 Jan 2012

GSK obtains exclusive license to ChemoCentryx's CCX354 CCR1 inhibitor for RA

ChemoCentryx, Inc., today announced that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has exercised its option to obtain an exclusive license for further development and worldwide commercialization of the investigational medicine CCX354, a potent and selective inhibitor of CCR1, a chemokine receptor that drives the recruitment of inflammatory cells into the joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

6 Jan 2012

New HIV vaccine candidates show promise in monkeys

"The quest for a vaccine against AIDS is gaining momentum, with research published Wednesday identifying promising new candidates that protected monkeys against a powerful strain of the virus and that soon could be tested in humans," the Wall Street Journal reports.

6 Jan 2012

Non-eosinophilic disease more prevalent in patients with mild-to-moderate asthma

A large percentage of patients with mild-to-moderate asthma have persistently non-eosinophilic disease which may not respond to currently available anti-inflammatory treatments, according to a new study.

6 Jan 2012

New information about how early ESCs develop and form primate species

Newly published research by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University provides significant new information about how early embryonic stem cells develop and take part in formation of the primate species.

6 Jan 2012

Varenicline may reduce smoking rates before people try to quit

Smokers planning to kick the habit may have more success if they begin using a cessation medication several weeks before they actually try to quit.

6 Jan 2012

Statin use may influence susceptibility to ILD in smokers

Use of statins may influence susceptibility to or the progression of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in smokers, according to a new study.

6 Jan 2012

Study to determine user experience for several popular functions of My HealtheVet

Although personal health records are now securely accessible online to a large and growing number of individuals, little research has been conducted on opinions about their ease of use.

6 Jan 2012

Clearside Biomedical receives $4M venture capital investment

Technology developed by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University for delivering drugs and other therapeutics to specific locations in the eye provides the foundation for a startup company that has received a $4 million venture capital investment.

6 Jan 2012

Cost paid for statins 400% higher in the U.S. than U.K.

In the United States, the cost paid for statins (drugs to lower cholesterol) in people under the age of 65 who have private insurance is approximately 400 percent higher than comparable costs paid by the government in the United Kingdom.

6 Jan 2012

SonoPhoto Dynamic Therapy shows promise against squamous cell carcinoma

George Miller developed an ulcer on his bottom lip that began to bleed. His doctor sent cell scrapings to a pathologist, and diagnosed Miller with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). According to TMD Limited, a medical tourism company, squamous cell carcinoma is the 2nd most common cancer in humans and other animals.

6 Jan 2012

Scientists identify how dihydromyricetin counteracts acute alcohol intoxication

UCLA researchers have identified how a component of an ancient Chinese herbal anti-hangover medicine called dihydromyricetin, isolated from the plant Hovenia, counteracts acute alcohol intoxication and withdrawal symptoms.

6 Jan 2012

AACR, IASLC sponsor conference on molecular origins of lung cancer

Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States and often the most fatal unless caught early, but scientists are working on ways to improve their understanding of the disease. Several hundred of scientists will gather in San Diego at the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina during Jan. 8-11, 2012, for the AACR-IASLC Joint Conference on Molecular Origins of Lung Cancer: Biology, Therapy and Personalized Medicine.

6 Jan 2012

Wake Forest Baptist participates in novel brain tumor vaccine clinical trial

A national clinical trial testing the efficacy of a novel brain tumor vaccine has begun at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, the only facility in the Southeast to participate.

6 Jan 2012

New guideline on management of hyperglycemia in non-critically ill hospitalized patients

Hyperglycemia, or having high glucose levels in the blood, is a common, serious and costly health care problem in hospitalized patients. Today, The Endocrine Society released a clinical practice guideline (CPG) providing recommendations for practical and safe glycemic targets and describing protocols and system improvements required to achieve glycemic goals for hospitalized patients in a non-critical care setting.

6 Jan 2012

Combination of cancer drugs shows promise against Pompe disease

Kids with Pompe disease fail because of a missing enzyme, GAA, that leads to dangerous sugar build-up, which affects muscles and movement. An enzyme replacement treatment pioneered at Duke University has saved many lives, but some children with Pompe disease produce an immune reaction that blocks the benefits of the life-saving enzyme treatment.

6 Jan 2012

Twins born five years apart thanks to advanced reproductive technology

Floren Blake is a miracle baby for her parents. At just under two months of age she also has a “twin” five-year-old brother Reuben. Even the clinicians who delivered the baby girl in November last year were ecstatic said her 38-year-old mother, Jody Blake, as the family shared the excitement brought about by advances infertility treatment over the past 20 years.

5 Jan 2012

FDA asks makers of vaginal mesh to respond to safety queries

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered Johnson & Johnson and C.R. Bard Inc. to study rates of organ damage, infection and painful sex linked to vaginal mesh implants, in response to doctors and patients who say the devices have harmed women.

5 Jan 2012

Hepatitis C vaccine succeeds in an early phase clinical trial

An early phase clinical trial of a hepatitis C vaccine has shown promising results, according to researchers at Oxford University. The virus causing Hepatitis C is a difficult one since it changes its appearance, making creation of a vaccine against it a challenge.

5 Jan 2012

2012 ‘Best Diets’ rankings

Those aspiring to lose weight and eat healthy this New Year may benefit from the U.S. News & World Report's 2012 Best Diets rankings. Each year, U.S. News accumulates data from scientific journals, government reports, and solicits input from 22 experts in food science and nutrition, to come up for its rankings.

5 Jan 2012