Smoking News and Research

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Burger, fries and a statin please!

British scientists have come up with a novel idea. They suggested that junk food counters should hand out free cholesterol-lowering statin drugs to their customers to “neutralize” the heart risks of eating fatty foods like burgers and fries. The idea is to project having high cholesterol fatty food as risky a behavior as driving or smoking that needs the user to go for seatbelts and filtered cigarettes respectively.

17 Aug 2010

Thickening of neck artery wall increases risk of heart attack, stroke: Study

Researchers for the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), studied 5,614 Italians in four villages and found that those who scored high for antagonistic traits on a standard personality test had greater thickening of the neck (carotid) arteries compared to people who were more agreeable. Thickness of neck artery walls is a risk factor for heart attack and stroke.

17 Aug 2010

Ozone, nicotine reaction may become threat to asthma sufferers: Study

Another reason for including asthma on the list of potential health risks posed by secondhand tobacco smoke, especially for non-smokers, has been uncovered. Furthermore, the practice of using ozone to remove the smell of tobacco smoke from indoor environments, including hotel rooms and the interiors of vehicles, is probably a bad idea.

17 Aug 2010

NIDA grants Selecta Biosciences $3M to develop nicotine vaccine for smoking cessation and relapse prevention

Selecta Biosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing synthetic nanoparticle vaccines and immunotherapies, today announced that it has been awarded a grant for $3 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), an institute within the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The grant is aimed at advancing the development of an enhanced therapeutic nicotine vaccine for the treatment of smoking cessation and relapse prevention.

16 Aug 2010

August is National Immunization and Cataract Awareness Month

Childhood immunizations keep our children safe from a number of serious diseases. This is a good time of year to make sure your child is up-to-date on all of his/her immunizations. Continue reading to find out which vaccines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend for children 6 and under.

16 Aug 2010

Phenomenon to block thoughts of cigarette unwittingly triggers a subsequent increase: Study

Blocking thoughts of cigarettes helps reduce smokers' intake at first, but means they smoke more than usual when they stop suppressing, according to new research.The study was carried out by researchers at St George's, University of London and the University of Hertfordshire.Co-author Dr James Erskine, a psychologist at St George's, says the study shows that many smokers attempting to give up - as well as people trying to quit other vices - may be thwarted by the very technique they use to stop.

16 Aug 2010

U-M dentistry agrees to use Interleukin's PST test for gum disease clinical study

University of Michigan School of Dentistry has signed an agreement with Interleukin Genetics Inc. to conduct what may be the largest clinical study to date using genetic testing to assess the risk for gum disease.

13 Aug 2010

Statin drugs can neutralise heart disease dangers of fatty food: Study

Fast food outlets could provide statin drugs free of charge so that customers can neutralise the heart disease dangers of fatty food, researchers at Imperial College London suggest in a new study published this week.Statins reduce the amount of unhealthy "LDL" cholesterol in the blood. A wealth of trial data has proven them to be highly effective at lowering a person's heart attack risk.

13 Aug 2010

Fast food outlets can provide statin drugs to help customers neutralise heart disease: Researchers

12 Aug 2010

Interleukin Genetics, University of Michigan to conduct landmark clinical study on periodontal disease

Interleukin Genetics, Inc. announced today that the Company has signed an agreement with the University of Michigan to conduct a landmark clinical study on risk factors predictive of periodontal disease progression to tooth loss using a new version of Interleukin Genetics' PST genetic test.

12 Aug 2010

Perrigo fourth-quarter fiscal 2010 net sales up 22%

Perrigo Company today announced results for its fourth quarter and full year ended June 26, 2010.

12 Aug 2010

Aradigm reports net loss of $4.1M for second-quarter 2010

Aradigm Corporation today announced financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2010.

12 Aug 2010

TriZetto announces general availability of health benefits administration and incentive management software

The TriZetto Group, Inc. today announced the general availability of its Value-Based Benefits Solution, health benefits administration and incentive management software that enables healthcare payers to customize benefits and provide incentives for individual members based on their health status, chronic conditions, and health and wellness activity.

12 Aug 2010

Smoking rates continue to fall in Japan

Japan has set a world record with the 15th consecutive year of low smoking rates according to a nationwide survey released Wednesday by Japan Tobacco Inc.

11 Aug 2010

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals completes sale of PentaStaph vaccine candidate to GSK

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals announced today that it has successfully completed the technology transfer of program know-how associated with the sale of the PentaStaphTM vaccine candidate to GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals S.A.. As a result of successfully completing this milestone, Nabi is eligible to receive $8 million under the agreement governing Nabi's sale of PentaStaphTM (Pentavalent S. aureus Vaccine) and related assets to GSK.

11 Aug 2010

Breath test to detect cancer: Study

According to researchers cancer may soon be detectable using a breath test. They are now developing sensors that can detect chemical markers of lung, breast, bowel and prostate cancer in a person's breath. The new portable device has been purported as an “electronic nose” that can detect early cancers. As a cancer grows, the surface of the cells emits chemicals. The research found that sensors – involving gold nanoparticles – could be used to detect these chemicals in the breath.

10 Aug 2010

UC Riverside scientists secure grants for tobacco control research

Tobacco-related disease kills more people worldwide than any other single factor. To help address this problem, the University of California, Riverside has received six grants from the University of California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP), the most TRDRP grants the campus has received in any year.

6 Aug 2010

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals reports revenue of $4.8M for second-quarter 2010

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals today announced its second quarter financial results for the three month period ended June 26, 2010. The Company reported a net loss from continuing operations of $3.4 million, or $0.08 per share, compared to a net loss of $5.8 million, or $0.11 per share, for the period ended June 27, 2009.

6 Aug 2010

Sigma-Aldrich, NHLBI and BU collaborate in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease research

Sigma-Aldrich® today announced it has entered into an agreement with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, and Boston University (BU) to develop methods to measure several potential biomarkers of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) using plasma samples from the NHLBI's Framingham Heart Study (FHS), one of the most prestigious clinical studies in medicine. Funding for the project is provided by the NHLBI to Sigma-Aldrich under a research subaward agreement with BU.

5 Aug 2010

Scientists develop laser probe for early detection of oral cancer

UC Davis researchers have developed a laser probe for the early detection of oral cancer. A trial with human subjects shows that the device could also be used during surgery to locate the edges of a tumor.

5 Aug 2010