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The Hill examines push to get more U.S. funding for malaria medicines

The Hill examines Medicines for Malaria Venture's (MMV) efforts to get more U.S. funding for its work. According to the newspaper, the group is "asking USAID and Congress to redirect more money beginning next year to drug research and development from a pot of funds used to cover the range of efforts to treat and prevent malaria, such as providing mosquito nets."

3 Dec 2009

Repeated use of ecstasy drug increases the risk of developing sleep apnea

Repeated use of the drug popularly known as "ecstasy" significantly raises the risk of developing sleep apnea in otherwise healthy young adults with no other known risk factors for the sleep disturbance, a new study by Johns Hopkins scientists suggests.

2 Dec 2009

Fruit flies use same molecular mechanisms as humans for maintaining cholestrol

More importantly, according to two new studies led by a University of Utah human geneticist, fruit flies use the same molecular mechanisms as humans to help maintain proper balances of cholesterol and a key form of stored fat that contributes to obesity. The findings mean that as researchers try to learn more about the genetic and biological processes through which people regulate cholesterol and fat metabolism, the humble fruit fly, also called Drosophila, can teach humans much about themselves.

2 Dec 2009

Research finds change in the outlook of people with type 2 diabetes and heart disease

The outlook for individuals with type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease is not as grim as originally believed, according to new Saint Louis University research published in Circulation, the Journal of the American Heart Association.

2 Dec 2009

Vitro Diagnostics files a patent application for its technology related to generation of iPS cells

Vitro Diagnostics, Inc., dba Vitro Biopharma, announced the filing of a new United States patent application entitled “POU5-F1 Expression in Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells” and the development of new technology related to generation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS).

2 Dec 2009

University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine awarded IBM SUR grant

The University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which connects scientists who work on tissue engineering, cell therapies, artificial organs and biodevices, has been awarded a Shared University Research (SUR) Award from IBM ( IBM). The IBM SUR Award will provide IBM computer hardware, software and services to Pitt for its cutting-edge "in silico" biological research, which uses computer simulations to explore biological pathways and test therapeutic interventions.

2 Dec 2009

Women at high risk of developing breast cancer reluctant to take tamoxifen for prevention

Even when women at high-risk of breast cancer are well-informed about the risks and benefits of using the drug tamoxifen for prevention, only 6 percent said they were likely to take it.

2 Dec 2009

Patient enrollment complete in Peregrine Pharmaceuticals' Cotara trial

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported completion of patient enrollment in a dose confirmation and dosimetry trial of Cotara® in patients with relapsed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the deadliest form of brain cancer. Cotara is a targeted monoclonal antibody linked to a radioisotope being developed as a potential new treatment for GBM.

2 Dec 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

Once upon a time, grass-roots women challenged the establishment by figuratively burning their bras. Now, in some masochistic perversion of feminism, they are raising their voices to yell, "Squeeze our breasts!" (Barbara Ehrenreich, 12/2).

2 Dec 2009

World AIDS Day observed, activists decry budget cuts

A new study on HIV anti-retroviral regimens was released Dec. 1 and events were held to mark World AIDS Day. Meanwhile, advocates in New York and California expressed concern about budget cuts and tight funding for AIDS programs.

2 Dec 2009

Butler Health System implements PatientKeeper’s Platform and Physician Portal

PatientKeeper®, Inc., the leading provider of Physician Information Technology, announced today that Butler Health System of Butler, Pennsylvania selected PatientKeeper to help its organization meet the meaningful use criteria requirements established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The implementation of PatientKeeper’s Platform and Physician Portal, which is scheduled to roll-out in the first quarter of 2010, will extend physician accessibility and connectivity to over 200 physicians and significantly impact patient quality and care.

2 Dec 2009

Genta to supply Ganite for new CF clinical trial

Genta Incorporated announced that the Company will supply Ganite® (gallium nitrate injection) for a new clinical trial that will be initiated in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) who may develop serious infections.

2 Dec 2009

Protein marker may hold the key against pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic tumors can be identified by a readily detectable marker that shows promise as a basis for immune therapy against the disease, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

2 Dec 2009

Columbia University VP testifies on medical malpractice reform

Lee Goldman, M.D., executive vice president for health and biomedical sciences and dean of the faculties of medicine and health sciences at Columbia University testified today on medical malpractice reform before the New York State Senate Committees on Codes, Health and Insurance in Albany, New York.

2 Dec 2009

Health eTouch helps to enhance communications between patients and doctors

Parents of teens know just how difficult it is to get them to talk about their personal lives, let alone their health. With only 20 percent of children with mental health problems in the United States being properly identified and treated, it is imperative that a solution be found. Doctors and researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital are one step closer by finding a new way to get teens to open up about their health and what's really on their mind, bringing up issues that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.

2 Dec 2009

A leader in the fight against brain diseases and in drug discovery joins UF

A leader in the fight against brain diseases and in drug discovery to help Alzheimer's patients has joined the University of Florida College of Medicine, interim dean Michael Good, M.D., announced.

2 Dec 2009

RSNA: Dec. 2, 2009 briefing and presentations

A special press briefing will be held Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 10:45 a.m. CT (11:45 a.m. ET), featuring a panel of top experts who will discuss the recent U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) release of revised screening mammography guidelines. Many patients, breast cancer survivors, medical experts and government authorities dispute the guidelines as being without scientific evidence.

2 Dec 2009

Researchers attribute modest improvement in lung cancer patients to novel targeted therapies

Research released in the December 2009 issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology sought to determine whether the survival improvement among patients with metastatic lung cancer has improved over the last two decades as reported in controlled clinical trials.

2 Dec 2009

Ecotones Duet Sleep Sound Machine recommended as part of a healthy sleep plan

Last month on a prominent nationally syndicated radio show, Dr. Rafael Pelayo, Associate Professor at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine, recommended the Ecotones Duet Sleep Sound Machine as part of a healthy sleep plan for people trying to achieve a better night's sleep with minimal use of drugs.

2 Dec 2009

Beta 2 adrenergic agonist drugs can increase risk of autism-spectrum disorders in developing fetus

Commonly prescribed beta 2 adrenergic agonist drugs for the treatment of asthma in pregnant women as well as pre-term labor may increase the incidence of autism-spectrum disorders, psychiatric pathology, cognitive problems and poor school performance in their children, according to a new study published in the December 2009 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

2 Dec 2009