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Novel device may simplify monitoring of patients' response to treatment for ovarian cancer

A microchip-based device developed by Massachusetts General Hospital investigators may greatly simplify the monitoring of patients' response to treatment for ovarian cancer - the most lethal form of gynecologic cancer - and certain other malignancies.

6 Dec 2013

CEL-SCI gets approval to start enrollment for Multikine Phase III study for head and neck cancer

Further advancing one of the largest Phase III trials for head and neck cancer in the world, CEL-SCI Corporation announced today that it has received approval from the Agency for Medicaments and Medical Devices of the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina to begin enrollment of subjects into the Phase III Head and Neck Cancer clinical trial of its investigational cancer immunotherapy treatment Multikine (Leukocyte Interleukin, Injection).

5 Dec 2013

Newly discovered receptor may help in early diagnosis and treatment for sepsis

Sepsis, or septicaemia, is a devastating disease that is difficult to diagnose early and for which treatment options are limited. The number of deaths from sepsis exceeds those from lung cancer, and from breast and bowel cancer combined.

4 Dec 2013

Oxygen levels play critical role in determining effectiveness of anti-inflammatory drugs

A new research discovery published in the December 2013 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology yields an important clue toward helping curb runaway inflammation. Oxygen levels play a critical role in determining the severity of the inflammatory response and ultimately the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory drugs.

3 Dec 2013

Newly identified protein could prove promising new drug target for AIDS

Researchers have identified a protein that causes loss of function in immune cells combatting HIV. The scientists report in a paper appearing online Dec. 2 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that the protein, Sprouty-2, is a promising target for future HIV drug development, since disabling it could help restore the cells' ability to combat the virus that causes AIDS.

2 Dec 2013

Government of Canada awards $8.76M in funding to develop cure for HIV

In the push for a cure for HIV, the Government of Canada has announced $8.76 million in funding to Université de Montréal and Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal Professor éric A. Cohen, who will lead an unrivaled group of Canadian investigators and international collaborators with a strong track record of interactive research.

29 Nov 2013

Study uncovers mechanisms that allow stem cells to keep dividing in perpetuity

The blood stem cells that live in bone marrow are at the top of a complex family tree. Such stem cells split and divide down various pathways that ultimately produce red cells, white cells and platelets. These "daughter" cells must be produced at a rate of about one million per second to constantly replenish the body's blood supply.

27 Nov 2013

Merck announces approval of NOXAFIL delayed-release tablets by FDA

Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved NOXAFIL® (posaconazole) 100 mg delayed-release tablets.

27 Nov 2013

Researchers successfully target T lymphocytes which play key role in body's immune response

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have successfully targeted T lymphocytes - which play a central role in the body's immune response - with another type of white blood cell engineered to synthesize and deliver bits of non-coding RNA or microRNA (miRNA).

26 Nov 2013

Researchers identify immune cell protein that sets off body's initial response against viral infection

A Massachusetts General Hospital-led research team has identified an immune cell protein that is critical to setting off the body's initial response against viral infection. The report that will be published in an upcoming issue of Nature Immunology and is receiving early online release describes finding that a protein called GEF-H1 is essential to the ability of macrophages - major contributors to the innate immune system - to respond to viral infections like influenza.

25 Nov 2013

First molecular test developed to detect eosinophilic esophagitis

Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have developed the first molecular test to diagnose eosinophilic esophagitis, a chronic upper gastrointestinal disorder. The incidence of EoE has skyrocketed since it was first characterized two decades ago.

22 Nov 2013

Staphylococcus Aureus Bacteria anticipates and turns immune defenses against the host

Around 20 percent of all humans are persistently colonized with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, a leading cause of skin infections and one of the major sources of hospital-acquired infections, including the antibiotic-resistant strain MRSA.

20 Nov 2013

NeutroPhase irrigation therapy and NPWT help treat severe flesh eating and wound infections

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing topical non-antibiotic antimicrobial products, today announced the publication of a scientific paper by Dr. John R. Crew of Seton Medical Center, Daly City, California, describing the first use of adjunctive NeutroPhase irrigation therapy in conjunction with Negative Pressure Wound Therapy to successfully manage the severely-infected wound in the arm of a patient with life-threatening 'flesh-eating' disease.

20 Nov 2013

GM-CSF therapy does not improve treadmill walking time in patients with peripheral artery disease

Joseph Poole, M.D., Ph.D., of the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, and colleagues studied whether therapy with granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), an agent that functions as a white blood cell growth factor, would improve walking performance in patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease (a form of vascular disease in which there is partial or total blockage of an artery, usually one leading to a leg or arm).

19 Nov 2013

Study: Blood cell growth factor improves effects of exercise in patients with peripheral artery disease

A blood cell growth factor can boost the effects of exercise in improving mobility for patients with peripheral artery disease, a clinical study has shown.

19 Nov 2013

FDA accepts Merck's NOXAFIL IV solution NDA for priority review

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that its New Drug Application for an investigational intravenous solution formulation of the company's antifungal agent, NOXAFIL (posaconazole), has been accepted for priority review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

18 Nov 2013

GO drug may improve outcome of bone marrow transplantation for select pediatric leukemia patients

Combining the drug gemtuzumab ozogamicin with conventional chemotherapy may improve the outcome of bone marrow transplantation for some children battling high-risk acute myeloid leukemia, according to a study led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The results appear in the current edition of the journal Cancer.

16 Nov 2013

Scientists discover new drug mechanism to reduce risk of infections

Scientists at A*STAR's Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) have discovered the exact mode of action by plerixafor, a drug commonly prescribed to stimulate immune responses in patients suffering from neutropenia, which causes them to become prone to oral, skin, genital infections and in worst cases, a fatal whole-body infection.

15 Nov 2013

CD137 T cell activation molecule can help identify rare antitumor T cells in human cancers

Patients with tumors that contain increased numbers of T lymphocytes generally survive longer than those with tumors without T-cell involvement, suggesting that T cells with potent antitumor function naturally exist in cancer and control tumor progression. With the exception of melanoma, it has been difficult to identify and isolate the tumor-reactive T cells from common cancers, however, the ability to do so could be used to fight a patient's own cancer.

14 Nov 2013

Imbruvica gets FDA approval for treatment of mantle cell lymphoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Imbruvica (ibrutinib) to treat patients with mantle cell lymphoma, a rare and aggressive type of blood cancer.

13 Nov 2013