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FDA approves GSK's Promacta (Eltrombopag)

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval for PROMACTA (eltrombopag) for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in patients with chronic immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) who have had an insufficient response to corticosteroids, immunoglobulins or splenectomy.

20 Nov 2008

Bionovo to present phase 1B trial results of BZL101 in metastatic breast cancer

Bionovo, Inc. has announced the company will present results from the Phase 1B clinical trial of their lead drug candidate for advanced metastatic breast cancer, BZL101, at the Society for Integrative Oncology's Fifth International Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

20 Nov 2008

Nanoparticle reports on drug delivery to breast tumors, predicts response to therapy

One of the hallmarks of many nanoparticle-based anticancer therapeutics and imaging agents is that they accumulate in tumors thanks to the fact that they are small enough to escape from the bloodstream through the leaky blood vessels that surround tumors.

20 Nov 2008

Survival of head and neck cancer patients is greatly affected by coexisting ailments

Current estimates for head and neck cancer survival are largely inaccurate because they widely disregard many of the most common diseases such patients have in addition to their primary cancer, says Jay Piccirillo, M.D., a head and neck specialist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the Siteman Cancer Center and Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

19 Nov 2008

Regular religious service attendance reduces risk of death by 20 percent

A study published by researchers at Yeshiva University and its medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, strongly suggests that regular attendance at religious services reduces the risk of death by approximately 20 percent.

19 Nov 2008

Study identifies causes of bone loss in breast cancer survivors

Osteoporosis is a growing concern among breast cancer survivors and their doctors, because certain cancer drugs can cause bone loss.

19 Nov 2008

Banning fast food ads on TV would reverse childhood obesity trends

A ban on fast food advertisements in the United States could reduce the number of overweight children by as much as 18 percent, according to a new study being published this month in the Journal of Law and Economics.

19 Nov 2008

How is a shortage of primary care physicians affecting the quality and cost of medical care?

A white paper, How is a Shortage of Primary Care Physicians Affecting the Quality and Cost of Medical Care? , released today by the American College of Physicians (ACP) documents the value of primary care by reviewing 20 years of research.

19 Nov 2008

Call for greater scrutiny of relationship between medical journalists and health care industry

The BMJ paper outlines three areas where journalists might become entangled in conflict-of-interest issues: during educational activities that may be drug company sponsored, when accepting sponsored awards, or in the day-to-day practice of reporting the news by relying too heavily on industry supplied sources.

19 Nov 2008

Results out from first phase III randomized clinical trial to study the best time to begin ART in infants

Testing very young babies for HIV and giving antiretroviral therapy (ART) immediately to those found infected with the virus dramatically prevents illness and death, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

19 Nov 2008

Breakthrough could revolutionise drug development

Scientists in Leeds have devised a new way to create the next generation of man-made molecules in a breakthrough that could revolutionise drug development.

19 Nov 2008

A new Institute for Nanotechnology

The George Washington University has announced the establishment of the GW Institute for Nanotechnology.

19 Nov 2008

Genetic screening no better than traditional risk factors for predicting type 2 diabetes

Screening for a panel of gene variants associated with the risk for type 2 diabetes can identify adults at risk for the disorder but is not significantly better than assessment based on traditional risk factors such as weight, blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

19 Nov 2008

Systems biology brings hope of speeding up drug development

Almost every day brings news of an apparent breakthrough against cancer, infectious diseases, or metabolic conditions like diabetes, but these rarely translate into effective therapies or drugs, and even if they do clinical development usually takes well over a decade.

19 Nov 2008

Study to examine early, inherited form of Alzheimer's disease

The adult children of people diagnosed with inherited Alzheimer's disease are the focus of a new study to better understand the biology of the disease.

19 Nov 2008

Obese women who undergo bariatric surgery decrease pregnancy-related health complications

Obese women who have weight loss surgery before becoming pregnant have a lower risk of pregnancy-related health problems and their children are less likely to be born with complications, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

18 Nov 2008

High levels of social support may protect brain during stroke

New research in mice suggests that high levels of social support may provide some protection against strokes by reducing the amount of damaging inflammation in the brain.

18 Nov 2008

Human granulocytic anaplasmosis - tick-borne disease found in China

It appears that for the first time human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), an emerging tick-borne infectious disease found in the U.S. and Europe, has been identified in China and apparently was transmitted from person to person, according to a study in the November 19 issue of JAMA.

18 Nov 2008

Medications containing barbiturates or narcotics may make migraine worse

A team of researchers led by investigators at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has determined that certain commonly-prescribed medications may have the unintended consequence of increasing the frequency of migraine attacks.

18 Nov 2008

Nontoxic nanoparticle delivers and tracks drugs

A nontoxic nanoparticle developed by Penn State researchers is proving to be an all-around effective delivery system for both therapeutic drugs and the fluorescent dyes that can track their delivery.

18 Nov 2008