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AVEO initiates enrollment in tivozanib and mFOLFOX6 Phase 2 combination trial for CRC

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the initiation of patient enrollment in an open-label, multicenter, randomized Phase 2 clinical trial, called BATON-CRC, evaluating tivozanib in combination with modified FOLFOX6 (mFOLFOX6) compared to bevacizumab in combination with mFOLFOX6 as first-line therapy in patients with advanced metastatic colorectal cancer.

22 Dec 2011

Asynchronous telemedicine can improve healthcare delivery in rural areas

A lack of infrastructure in developing countries, and particularly in rural areas, often ensures that healthcare provision is absent. Research published in the International Journal of Services, Economics and Management by a team at Howard University in Washington DC suggests a solution to this insidious problem involving the development of telemedicine.

22 Dec 2011

FLT-PET imaging can effectively detect mantle cell lymphoma

Positron emission tomography (PET) and a molecular imaging agent that captures the proliferation of cancer cells could prove to be a valuable method for imaging a form of Non-Hodgkin's disease called mantle cell lymphoma, a relatively rare and devastating blood cancer.

22 Dec 2011

Gottlieb specialist, NWCR offer top weight-loss tips

Losing weight and saving money are the top New Year's resolutions expected to challenge Americans this year, experts say.

22 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: HHS punts on essential benefits; A doctor's view of Medicare

The health care reform law passed last year requires insurers to offer, at a minimum, a set of "essential" benefits to individuals and small groups. ... On Friday, however, the Department of Health and Human Services put out a bulletin proposing to let each state come up with its own definition.

22 Dec 2011

Researchers map every apparent physical interaction of HIV virus with human cells

In perhaps the most comprehensive survey of the inner workings of HIV, an international team of scientists led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco has mapped every apparent physical interaction the virus makes with components of the human cells it infects—work that may reveal new ways to design future HIV/AIDS drugs.

22 Dec 2011

Scientists discover N-cadherin as promising therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer

Often, and without much warning, pancreatic cancer cells slip through the endothelial cells, head into the blood and out to other parts of the body to metastasize, making it one of the deadliest and hardest to treat cancers today.

22 Dec 2011

Autism Speaks announces 47 new ASD research grants

Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization, today announced the awarding of 47 new research grants totaling $13,242,279 in funding over the next three years.

22 Dec 2011

JAMA commentary argues that vitamin therapy still plays a role in reducing stroke

A commentary by Dr. David Spence of The University of Western Ontario and Dr. Meir Stampfer of the Harvard School of Public Health in today's Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) argues that vitamin therapy still has a role to play in reducing stroke.

22 Dec 2011

Scott & White gynecologist receives Honorary Fellowship from RANZCOG

Bob L. Shull, M.D., gynecologist and director of fellowship training in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive pelvic surgery at Scott & White Healthcare in Temple, Texas, has received an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

22 Dec 2011

Researchers evaluate Clade C HIV envelope protein in Phase I trial

In the first clinical trial of an injectable vaccine containing trimeric HIV envelope protein (gp140) relevant to the predominant strain of HIV in Africa, researchers from four UK academic centers (St George's University London, Imperial College, Hull York Medical School (HYMS; University of York) and the Medical Research Council Clinical Trial Unit) and from the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) have come together to evaluate whether the vaccine is safe for use in human volunteers.

22 Dec 2011

Gottlieb surgeon's evaluations of top five winter sports

The first day of winter is Wednesday, December 21, and many states are bracing for a season of snow and ice. Broken bones from snowboarding and sledding top the list of common visits to the Emergency Department (ED) during the winter months. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one-quarter of all emergency hospital visits are attributed to snowboarding accidents, and half of all cases were for broken bones and sprains.

22 Dec 2011

CNVs appear to play a significant role in early onset bipolar disorder

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, reports that abnormal sequences of DNA known as rare copy number variants, or CNVs, appear to play a significant role in the risk for early onset bipolar disorder.

22 Dec 2011

Truths and myths about pregnancy, obesity

Ironically, despite excessive caloric intake, many obese women are deficient in vitamins vital to a healthy pregnancy. This and other startling statistics abound when obesity and pregnancy collide. Together, they present a unique set of challenges that women and their doctors must tackle in order to achieve the best possible outcome for mom and baby.

22 Dec 2011

FDA approves Infrascanner to detect life-threatening brain bleeding

Battlefield corpsmen and medical professionals across the country gained a valuable tool last week, as the Food and Drug Administration approved the first hand-held device to detect life-threatening bleeding in the brain.

22 Dec 2011

Leishmania parasite develops combined resistance against drug, human immune system

Scientists of the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITG) discovered a parasite that not only had developed resistance against a common medicine, but at the same time had become better in withstanding the human immune system.

22 Dec 2011

Sunless tanners could reduce sunbathing time: Study

Sunless tanners like creams and sprays that fake a tan may reduce their sunbathing time and tanning bed use, according to a new study. “Using the sunless tanners can change tanning behaviors,” says researcher Suephy C. Chen, associate professor of dermatology at Emory University School of Medicine. “People who used the sunless tanners decreased the number of times they laid out or went to tanning booths.”

21 Dec 2011

Study examines patterns of emergency care delivery in Indiana

The first study to examine patterns of emergency care for an entire state has found that 40 percent of emergency department visits in Indiana over a three-year period were by patients who visited more than one emergency department.

21 Dec 2011

Antihypertensive drug therapy associated with longer life expectancy

More than 68 percent of Americans 65 and older - 80 percent age 75 and over - have hypertension (high blood pressure), according to a 2010 report by the Centers for Disease Control. Left untreated, this chronic condition can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure or premature death. Researchers at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School have shown in a follow-up to the landmark clinical trial, Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program (SHEP), that the use of antihypertensive drug therapy is associated with longer life expectancy.

21 Dec 2011

State roundup: Ariz. high court to hear Medicaid funding challenge

The Arizona Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider a challenge to state Medicaid cuts. The court put the matter on its Feb. 15 agenda and will decide then whether to take the case and hear oral arguments. Three public-interest law groups challenged an enrollment freeze for childless adults in the state's Medicaid program, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. A lower-court judge and an Arizona appeals-court panel upheld the cuts.

21 Dec 2011