Medicine News and Research

RSS

TMEM106B gene appears to protect against frontotemporal lobar degeneration

Neuroscientists had assumed that a mutation in the progranulin gene, which makes the progranulin protein and supports brain neurons, was sufficient to produce a kind of dementia known as frontotemporal lobar degeneration. But now an international team of scientists led by researchers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida have found another genetic factor they say appears to protect against the disorder in progranulin mutation carriers.

23 Dec 2010

FDA approves Novartis' Amturnide for treatment of high blood pressure

Today Novartis announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Amturnide (aliskiren, amlodipine and hydrochlorothiazide) tablets for the treatment of high blood pressure. Amturnide combines the only approved direct renin inhibitor worldwide, Tekturna (aliskiren), with the widely used calcium channel blocker amlodipine and the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ).

23 Dec 2010

Researchers perform cord blood cell transplantation to treat child with ischemic brain injury

In three monthly injections, researchers transplanted neurally-committed, autologous cord blood derived cells tagged with iron oxide nanoparticles into the lateral cerebral ventricle of a 16-month old child with severe global hypoxic ischemic brain injury.

22 Dec 2010

Teen birth rate at a seven decade low: Report

Figures reveal that fewer teenagers are giving birth and the numbers are a seventy year low. Reasons are not specified but two decades of public-health initiatives to curb teenage pregnancy may be paying off feel experts. Report co author Brady Hamilton, a statistician at CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics said, “One of the biggest highlights is the continuing decline in teen births -- down to record lows.”

22 Dec 2010

Snowblowers can cause severe hand injuries during winter

It's the peak season for snowstorms, and snowblowers are working overtime. But Loyola University Health System hand surgeon Dr. Randy Bindra cautions that snowblowers can cause severe hand injuries, including loss of fingers that can require one or more surgeries and months of rehabilitation.

22 Dec 2010

Earlier ART initiation should be highest priority for global expansion of HIV patient care

Earlier initiation of antiretroviral therapy should be the highest priority for global expansion of HIV patient care. This finding, from a paper published in this week's PLoS Medicine, should help resource-limited nations to phase in the implementation of the new 2010 WHO recommendations for HIV treatment. "Immediate scale-up of the entire WHO guideline package may be prohibitively expensive in some settings," said lead author Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA.

22 Dec 2010

RadNet to acquire Imaging On Call

RadNet, Inc., a national leader in providing high-quality, cost-effective, fixed-site outpatient diagnostic imaging services through a network of 198 fully-owned and operated outpatient imaging centers, today reported it has executed a definitive agreement to acquire Imaging On Call, LLC for $5.5 million plus contingent compensation of up to an additional $2.5 million if Imaging On Call achieves certain 2011 performance milestones.

22 Dec 2010

Top ten advances in cardiovascular, stroke research in 2010

Research on reducing risks, improving medical treatment and improving lifestyle behaviors to fight the battle against heart disease and stroke are among the key scientific findings that make up this year's top cardiovascular and stroke research recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

22 Dec 2010

$Emory University study reaffirms benefits of VNS Therapy System for refractory epilepsy$

Emory University study reaffirms benefits of VNS Therapy System for refractory epilepsy

Cyberonics, Inc. announced today that the VNS Therapy System, the only FDA-approved implantable medical device for the treatment of refractory epilepsy, was featured in 22 poster presentations and in the Plenary II session on neurostimulation at the annual American Epilepsy Society Meeting that took place recently in San Antonio, Texas.

22 Dec 2010

10 guiding principles for strengthening health systems

Despite the growing recognition of the importance of strengthening health systems around the world, there is a considerable lack of shared definitions and guiding principles that are threatening the ability to form strategic policy, practice and evaluations.

22 Dec 2010

Therapies to target self-renewing population of chemotherapy-resistant cells needed

Leukemia patients whose cancers express higher levels of genes associated with cancer stem cells have a significantly poorer prognosis than patients with lower levels of the genes, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The finding is among the first to show that the cancer stem cell hypothesis - which posits that some cancers spring from and are replenished by a small, hardy population of self-renewing cells - can be used to predict outcomes in a large group of patients and one day to tailor treatments in the clinic.

22 Dec 2010

First implantation of Medtronic Transcatheter Aortic Valve Prosthesis in US performed at Mount Sinai

David H. Adams, MD, Marie-Jos-e and Henry R. Kravis Professor and Chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Samin K. Sharma, MD, the Zena and Michael A. Weiner Professor and Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, and Annapoorna S. Kini, MD, Associate Professor and Associate Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, have performed the first implantation of the Medtronic CoreValve- Transcatheter Aortic Valve Prosthesis in the United States.

22 Dec 2010

Gold nanoparticles show great potential for tumour targeted drug delivery

The World Gold Council (WGC) is delighted with the successful phase 1 clinical trial of a unique nanomedicine that uses nanoparticles of gold as the core of a delivery system for tumour targeted drug delivery.

22 Dec 2010

Amorcyte reports AMR-001 phase I trial results in heart attack patients

The American Heart Journal today reported results of a clinical trial evaluating Amorcyte, lead product candidate, AMR-001 for the treatment of damaged heart muscle following acute myocardial infarction.

22 Dec 2010

Pregnant women veterans face increase risk of mental health problems

Pregnancy among women veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan appears to increase their risk for mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a study published in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The paper is available free online.

22 Dec 2010

UH scientist evaluates microRNAs as potential treatment strategy for ovarian cancer

The day when an ovarian cancer patient can treat her tumor with a single, painless pill instead of a toxic drug cocktail is the ultimate goal of the pioneering research of a University of Houston scientist.

22 Dec 2010

Prenatal iron-folic acid supplementation increases intellectual, motor function in children

In developing countries where iron deficiency is prevalent, prenatal iron-folic acid supplementation increased offspring intellectual and motor functioning during school age, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

22 Dec 2010

Altering balance among immune system cells could hold potential for T2D-associated inflammation treatment

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have demonstrated that certain T cells require input from monocytes in order to maintain their pro-inflammatory response in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The study also showed, for the first time, how a loss in homeostasis in this group of T cells most likely promotes chronic inflammation associated with T2D.

22 Dec 2010

CHMP recommends to grant marketing authorization for Espriet drug against PF to CPF

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis announced to more than 128,000 patients news that the first drug for the treatment of the deadly lung disease Pulmonary Fibrosis has passed a major hurdle in the European regulatory process and is likely to be approved in all 27 member countries of the European Union.

22 Dec 2010

86.9% of adults express support for melanoma genetic testing in minors

The vast majority of parents who tested positive for a genetic mutation that increases the risk of melanoma support genetic testing of their children or grandchildren.

22 Dec 2010

Medicine News and Research

TMEM106B gene appears to protect against frontotemporal lobar degeneration

FDA approves Novartis' Amturnide for treatment of high blood pressure

Researchers perform cord blood cell transplantation to treat child with ischemic brain injury

Teen birth rate at a seven decade low: Report

Snowblowers can cause severe hand injuries during winter

Earlier ART initiation should be highest priority for global expansion of HIV patient care

RadNet to acquire Imaging On Call

Top ten advances in cardiovascular, stroke research in 2010

Emory University study reaffirms benefits of VNS Therapy System for refractory epilepsy

10 guiding principles for strengthening health systems

Therapies to target self-renewing population of chemotherapy-resistant cells needed

First implantation of Medtronic Transcatheter Aortic Valve Prosthesis in US performed at Mount Sinai

Gold nanoparticles show great potential for tumour targeted drug delivery

Amorcyte reports AMR-001 phase I trial results in heart attack patients

Pregnant women veterans face increase risk of mental health problems

UH scientist evaluates microRNAs as potential treatment strategy for ovarian cancer

Prenatal iron-folic acid supplementation increases intellectual, motor function in children

Altering balance among immune system cells could hold potential for T2D-associated inflammation treatment

CHMP recommends to grant marketing authorization for Espriet drug against PF to CPF

86.9% of adults express support for melanoma genetic testing in minors

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Latest News