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Study broadens understanding of role of IDH1 and IDH2 mutations in AML

Agios Pharmaceuticals, the leading biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel drugs in the rapidly emerging field of cancer metabolism, today announced the publication of a paper in Cancer Cell that illuminates the mechanism by which 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG), and the mutations in the metabolic genes IDH1 and IDH2 that produce it, may be driving the growth of tumors in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

15 Dec 2010

Combination of SPECT and CT scans could offer protection against lymphedema in breast cancer patients

With guidance from a specialized scan, radiation oncologists at Mayo Clinic were able to reduce by 55 percent the number of lymph nodes critical for removing fluid from the arm that received damaging radiation doses.

13 Dec 2010

Multi-unit dwellings contribute to children's exposure to tobacco smoke

Children living in apartments are exposed to secondhand smoke even when no one smokes inside their own unit. This study, released online today by the journal Pediatrics, strongly suggests that housing type contributes to children's exposure to tobacco smoke, despite the best intentions of parents.

13 Dec 2010

Research identifies two genetic variants that increase risk of endometriosis

Research published today identifies two genetic variants that increase the risk of developing endometriosis, a common gynaecological disease. The study provides clues to the origin of this often very painful condition, which has a significant impact on the quality of life of sufferers.

13 Dec 2010

Sound masking therapy is of uncertain benefit when used alone to treat tinnitus

Tinnitus — what many think of as "ringing in the ears" — is the perception of sound without any real acoustic stimulation. Sound masking therapy, a common component of tinnitus treatment, is of uncertain benefit when used on its own, a new evidence review finds.

10 Dec 2010

Study to develop ways to track individual's exposure to traffic pollution

Researchers at King's College London are developing ways of working out a person's individual exposure to traffic pollution when travelling to, from, and around London.

9 Dec 2010

Ginseng may improve thinking ability, but more research is needed

Many people believe that the popular herb ginseng can improve thinking ability and prevent or even treat dementia. However, a comprehensive review of research failed to find convincing evidence of these benefits.

8 Dec 2010

American College of Physicians recognize two scientists for clinical effectiveness research

The American College of Physicians has announced that will present one of its highest honors, the Alvan R. Feinstein Memorial Award to William M. Tierney, M.D., president and C.E.O. of the Regenstrief Institute and the associate dean for clinical effectiveness research at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

8 Dec 2010

New technique may help develop novel treatments for brain diseases

Scientists have created a way to isolate neural stem cells - cells that give rise to all the cell types of the brain - from human brain tissue with unprecedented precision, an important step toward developing new treatments for conditions of the nervous system, like Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases and spinal cord injury.

8 Dec 2010

First Edition: December 7, 2010

In today's headlines, Senate leaders appear to be nearing a one-year deal on Medicare's physician pay problem.

7 Dec 2010

Low dose of aspirin reduces occurrence of several common cancers: Study

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has contributed to a study showing that a low dose of aspirin reduces the occurrence of several common cancers. The study is published in today's Lancet.

7 Dec 2010

MU researcher hopes to protect cardiac muscles for children with DMD

Children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy face a future of rapidly weakening muscles, which usually leads to death by respiratory or cardiac failure before their 30th birthday. While researchers are hopeful that gene therapy could eventually evolve into an effective treatment, few have targeted the heart of the problem as much as Dongsheng Duan, PhD.

7 Dec 2010

University of Portland's school of engineering named after Bjork-Shiley heart valve inventor

University of Portland's school of engineering will now be known as the Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering in recognition of the late Donald Shiley, a 1951 graduate who was an engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist and loving husband and father. Among his many groundbreaking inventions was the Bjork-Shiley heart valve, an innovative medical device that has been credited with saving more than a half million lives.

4 Dec 2010

FDA Advisory Committee votes in favor of expanded use of LAP-BAND gastric band

Allergan, Inc. (NYSE: AGN) today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Gastroenterology and Urology Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee has recommended with an 8-2 vote that the FDA extend the currently approved use of the LAP-BAND® System, Allergan's gastric band, on the basis of a favorable benefit-risk profile for weight reduction in obese adults who have failed more conservative weight reduction alternatives and have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 35 or a BMI ≥30 and at least one comorbid condition.

4 Dec 2010

Zometa improves OS, PFS in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients: Phase III study

A newly published study in the Lancet suggested that a first-line treatment regimen including Zometa (zoledronic acid) significantly improved overall survival and progression-free survival in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients compared with a regimen that included oral clodronate. The impact on survival was independent of the effect of Zometa on bone complications (also known as skeletal-related events or SREs).

4 Dec 2010

Columbia's professor receives 2010 Garfield Economic Impact Award

The 2010 Garfield Economic Impact Award was presented today to Frank R. Lichtenberg, PhD, of Columbia Business School. Research!America has presented this award since 2002, to recognize the outstanding work of economists who demonstrate how medical and health research impacts the economy. The award is supported by a grant from Merck & Co., Inc., and by the Eugene Garfield Foundation.

3 Dec 2010

SAGE launches two new journals in Drug Safety, Hematology

SAGE Expands Therapeutic Advances series by launching two new journals in Drug Safety and Hematology. SAGE has extended its suite of Therapeutic Advances journals with the launch of a further two titles: Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety, and Therapeutic Advances in Hematology.

3 Dec 2010

NHS to develop new treatment options for patients with lung disease

Scientists and clinicians in Nottingham are to work more closely with industry to develop new ways of diagnosing and treating lung disease.

2 Dec 2010

Lipids react and change to bacterial stimulus, trigger cell's immune response

For the first time, scientists have described not only the identities and quantities of fat species in a living mammalian cell in this case, a mouse macrophage or white blood cell but they also report how these lipids react and change over time to a bacterial stimulus triggering the cell's immune response.

2 Dec 2010

Tolerx enters collaborative research agreement with Cancer Research Institute

Tolerx, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies by modulating T cell activity, and the Cancer Vaccine Acceleration Fund (CVAF) a nonprofit program of the Cancer Research Institute established in partnership with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research today announced they entered into a collaborative research agreement to support development of Tolerx's drug candidate, TRX518, a monoclonal antibody designed to enhance the immune system by enabling T cells to more effectively attack cancer cells.

2 Dec 2010