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Cancer patients may live longer with palliative and hospice care services: Study

A new study released by the New England Journal of Medicine found that among patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, those who received palliative care lived, on average, almost two months longer than those who received standard care. Researchers also found that the patients receiving palliative care reported a higher quality of life through the final course of their illness.

20 Aug 2010

St. Vincent's Hospital performs Australia's first implant of SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart

On Aug. 5, St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney performed Australia's first implant of the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart. The patient, a 50-year-old male suffering from total heart failure, is the first recipient of the Total Artificial Heart in the Southern Hemisphere. The surgery was performed by heart surgeons Drs. Phillip Spratt and Paul Jansz.

20 Aug 2010

Even low-level exposure to cigarette smoke affects gene function in lungs

Casual smokers may think that smoking a few cigarettes a week is "no big deal." But according to new research from physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, having an infrequent smoke, or being exposed to secondhand smoke, may be doing more harm than people may think. The findings may further support public smoking bans, say the authors.

20 Aug 2010

Palliative care recipients live longer and in less pain, study finds

The New York Times: "In a study that sheds new light on the effects of end-of-life care, doctors have found that patients with terminal lung cancer who began receiving palliative care immediately upon diagnosis not only were happier, more mobile and in less pain as the end neared — but they also lived nearly three months longer.

20 Aug 2010

Research marks new direction to treat Pneumocystis, inflammatory diseases

A drug to treat inflammation plays a surprising role reducing the level of infection caused by an opportunistic bug that is deadly for AIDS and cancer patients and others with weakened immune systems.

20 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 19, 2010

In the news today, modest premium increases are ahead for Medicare drug plans while a survey finds that big employers expect health cost hikes in 2011.

20 Aug 2010

Effects of illegal drugs on health

Illegal drugs are responsible for up to 1,600 deaths a year in the UK, and destroy thousands of relationships, families and careers. Find out about the most commonly used illegal drugs in England and Wales and the effects they can have on your health.

19 Aug 2010

Montana State University offers new biomedical technologies for prevention, treatment of viral infections

Researchers at Montana State University have developed six new biomedical technologies that could have applications for treating antibiotic resistant infections, fungal infections and viral infections; boosting humans' innate immunity and improving scientists' ability to study such compounds. The technologies are available for licensing to interested companies and entrepreneurs.

19 Aug 2010

FDA grants orphan drug designation to ImmunoGen's lorvotuzumab mertansine for small-cell lung cancer

ImmunoGen, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops antibody-based targeted anticancer products, today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to its lorvotuzumab mertansine (formerly IMGN901) product candidate when used for the treatment of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).

19 Aug 2010

Gene-regulating molecule plays key role in development of Th9 cells linked to chronic respiratory tract illness

Scientists at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany have taken a further step towards improving our understanding of how asthma develops. These new findings show that the gene-regulating molecule "IRF4" plays a key role in the development of T helper 9 lymphocytes (Th9 cells), which can play a major part in the development of this chronic, inflammatory illness of the respiratory tract.

18 Aug 2010

New research explores effects of radiation on human bone after stereotactic radiosurgery

New research holds promise for the thousands of people whose cancer has spread to their bones.A common treatment for such patients is radiation surgery even though very little is known about radiosurgery's impact on bone strength, says Edmond Richer, associate professor of engineering at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

18 Aug 2010

Toshiba America Medical Systems/RSNA issues grant to three researchers

The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Research & Education (R&E) Foundation awarded 2010 Toshiba America Medical Systems/RSNA grants to Kenneth S. Lee, M.D., Nitin Ohri, M.D., and Ben Paxton, M.D. The grants are made possible by Toshiba's support of the RSNA R&E Foundation.

18 Aug 2010

$Study finds link between osteoporosis, fracture$

Study finds link between osteoporosis, fracture

An international study of more than 60,000 women has drawn new light on the relationship between osteoporosis and fractures.Scientists call for more to be done to identify and treat patients at the highest risk of fractures.Osteoporosis is more common in women who have fractured bones when they were younger and they experience a similar loss in health-related quality of life as those with arthritis, lung disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases.

18 Aug 2010

Varian to showcase new Gated RapidArc technology at 2010 CHINA-HOSPEQ exhibition

Varian Medical Systems, Inc. will showcase the company's new Gated RapidArc technology on its Trilogy® machine with advanced motion management capabilities at the 2010 CHINA-HOSPEQ exhibition being held in Beijing August 19-21 by China's Ministry of Health. Varian, the world's leading manufacturer of medical technology for treating cancer and a premier supplier of X-ray imaging technology, will also exhibit its software for planning and for managing radiation therapy treatments.

18 Aug 2010

Study shows increase in IL-6 secretion can reduce Tarceva sensitivity to treat lung tumor cells

One of the most tantalizing developments in anti-cancer therapy over recent years has been the advent of targeted treatments, which have proven highly effective in holding aggressive cancers at bay in certain patients, although typically only for a limited period of time.

18 Aug 2010

NHLBI awards Vanderbilt Pediatrics and Nashville Parks $12 million to fight childhood obesity

Vanderbilt's Department of Pediatrics, in partnership with Metro Nashville Parks and Recreation, has been awarded a $12 million, seven-year grant from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for an ambitious project aimed at stopping obesity in preschoolers before it can take hold.

18 Aug 2010

Researcher identifies immune system's ability to protect body against lung cancer

A Michigan State University researcher is analyzing the immune system's own ability to protect the body against lung cancer.The results of the work by Alison Bauer, an assistant professor of pathobiology and diagnostic investigation in the College of Veterinary Medicine, are expected to provide new approaches to prevent, identify and treat lung cancer.

18 Aug 2010

Adult stem cells associated with poor prognosis of cancer: Research

Adult stem cells that are vital for airway repair in the lung but that persist in areas where pre-cancerous lesions are found are associated with a poor prognosis in patients who develop cancer, even those with early stage disease, researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have found.These adult stem cells are found in repairing areas after injury and also are found in pre-cancerous areas, suggesting that these cells may mutate and become cancer causing stem cells, making them a potential cell-of-origin for lung cancer and a possible target for prevention strategies and new targeted therapies.

18 Aug 2010

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

Long-term Entecavir therapy reverses fibrosis and cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B patients

Researchers from this international study found that patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection who received at least 3 years of cumulative entecavir (antiviral) therapy achieved substantial histologic improvement and regression of fibrosis or cirrhosis. Full details of the study appear in the September issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

17 Aug 2010

Lungs News and Research

Cancer patients may live longer with palliative and hospice care services: Study

St. Vincent's Hospital performs Australia's first implant of SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart

Even low-level exposure to cigarette smoke affects gene function in lungs

Palliative care recipients live longer and in less pain, study finds

Research marks new direction to treat Pneumocystis, inflammatory diseases

First Edition: August 19, 2010

Effects of illegal drugs on health

Montana State University offers new biomedical technologies for prevention, treatment of viral infections

FDA grants orphan drug designation to ImmunoGen's lorvotuzumab mertansine for small-cell lung cancer

Gene-regulating molecule plays key role in development of Th9 cells linked to chronic respiratory tract illness

New research explores effects of radiation on human bone after stereotactic radiosurgery

Toshiba America Medical Systems/RSNA issues grant to three researchers

Study finds link between osteoporosis, fracture

Varian to showcase new Gated RapidArc technology at 2010 CHINA-HOSPEQ exhibition

Study shows increase in IL-6 secretion can reduce Tarceva sensitivity to treat lung tumor cells

NHLBI awards Vanderbilt Pediatrics and Nashville Parks $12 million to fight childhood obesity

Researcher identifies immune system's ability to protect body against lung cancer

Adult stem cells associated with poor prognosis of cancer: Research

Burger, fries and a statin please!

Long-term Entecavir therapy reverses fibrosis and cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B patients

The ultimate guide to lung research tools and protocols eBook

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

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