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U-M Health System physicians to discuss childhood obesity

As First Lady Michelle Obama launches initiatives to fight childhood obesity, physicians from the top-ranked University of Michigan Health System are available to discuss childhood obesity and what efforts are successful at keeping children healthy.

17 Apr 2010

Harvard researchers' beef? Insurance companies owning fast food stock

Health.com/CNN: "The fast-food industry has long been under fire for selling high-fat, high-calorie meals that have been linked to weight gain and diabetes, but the financial health of the industry continues to attract investors -- including some of the leading insurance companies in the U.S. ... According to Harvard Medical School researchers, 11 large companies that offer life, disability, or health insurance owned about $1.9 billion in stock in the five largest fast-food companies as of June 2009. …"

17 Apr 2010

Knopp Neurosciences to initiate Phase 3 studies of KNS-760704 in AL

In an invited presentation today before the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, Knopp Neurosciences Inc. described further encouraging trends observed in a previously reported Phase 2 study of KNS-760704 (dexpramipexole) in ALS.

17 Apr 2010

Endra Life Sciences launches Nexus 128 preclinical photoacoustic CT scanner

Endra Life Sciences today announced the launch of the Nexus 128, a preclinical photoacoustic computed tomography (CT) scanner for small animal imaging. The system is used for simple, fast, non-invasive quantification of tumor vasculature and other physiological parameters for preclinical research.

16 Apr 2010

AKI patients admitted to hospital on a weekend more likely to die: Study

Patients with acute kidney injury who are admitted to the hospital on a weekend are more likely to die than those admitted on a weekday, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology. This disparity was most evident in smaller hospitals.

16 Apr 2010

To ban or not to ban trans fats

Now it is doctors too who have joined the move towards banning trans fats from food. Trans fats are hydrogenated solid fats that are found in deep fried foods, margarine, bakery products, fast foods etc. they are used because they are cheap and keep better. However it has long been known that these fats are bad for the heart leading to heart attacks, strokes and high blood cholesterol etc.

16 Apr 2010

New research on EKG signals could help heart patients in future

A physics major's passion for medicine led her into research that could help heart patients in the future.

16 Apr 2010

Foundation Medicine completes $25M Series A financing led by Third Rock Ventures

Foundation Medicine, a personalized cancer medicine company that aims to bring comprehensive cancer genome analysis into routine clinical care, today announced it has completed a $25 million Series A financing led by Third Rock Ventures.

15 Apr 2010

GBS cases reduce following 2009 H1N1 vaccination: Research study

A new study finds that reports of a neurologic disease called Guillain-Barré syndrome have been low after 2009 H1N1 vaccination, according to a research study that will be presented as part of the late-breaking science program at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 - 17, 2010.

15 Apr 2010

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, AACR awarded four Innovative Grants for pancreatic cancer research

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the American Association for Cancer Research awarded four Innovative Grants; three Career Development Awards; one Pathway to Leadership Grant; and one Fellowship Award to outstanding researchers for their innovative research proposals which have the potential to lead to medical breakthroughs in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

15 Apr 2010

Artificial pancreas system succeeds in maintaining near-normal glucose levels

An artificial pancreas system that closely mimics the body's blood sugar control mechanism was able to maintain near-normal glucose levels without causing hypoglycemia in a small group of patients. The system, combining a blood glucose monitor and insulin pump technology with software that directs administration of insulin and the blood-sugar-raising hormone glucagon, was developed at Boston University.

15 Apr 2010

eRNA molecules are key players in brain development, says study

How does the brain work? This question is one of the greatest scientific mysteries, and neurobiologists have only recently begun to piece together the molecular building blocks that enable human beings to be "thinking" animals.

15 Apr 2010

Synergistic interactions of A2A Agonist and PDE Inhibitors as adjunctive therapy to GC for treating MM

“Glucocorticoids are a key component of combination therapy regimens in multiple myeloma and other hematological cancers. However, glucocorticoid use comes with substantial dose limiting toxicities. The ability to enhance glucocorticoid dependent effects while sparing associated toxicities may have important implications for the treatment of multiple myeloma and other B-cell malignancies”

15 Apr 2010

Research team to receive AACR Team Science Award

The fourth annual American Association for Cancer Research Team Science Award will be given to Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Thoracic Oncology Research Team at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010. This research team is comprised of interdisciplinary investigators from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.

15 Apr 2010

New findings may aid in developing medications for atherosclerosis and insulin resistance

Scientists from Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) recently presented preliminary research findings that identify a specific gene as a potential new target for treating obesity-related diseases.

15 Apr 2010

Tapeworm infections of brain increasing in Mexico and bordering southwestern states

Tapeworm infections of the brain, which can cause epileptic seizures, appear to be increasing in Mexico and bordering southwestern states, Loyola University Health System researchers report.

15 Apr 2010

New research indicates exercise-based rehabilitation can benefit heart failure patients

Your heart is an incredible muscle, pumping an estimated 2,000 gallons of blood through about 60,000 million miles of blood vessels — and beating maybe 100,000 times a day, year after year after year.

15 Apr 2010

Family support critical for managing patients with chronic health problems

Almost 40 percent of chronically ill older adults in the U.S. live alone, and a majority of those who are married have spouses with at least one chronic illness that can affect their ability to provide support, according to a U-M study published in the journal Chronic Illness.

15 Apr 2010

Comparative effectiveness funds spur changes, but not without critics

The new health law will infuse $3 billion into health research that compares treatments to gauge which are most effective, building on an earlier federal investment of $1.1 billion from the stimulus package, Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports.

15 Apr 2010

Anticonvulsants increase suicide risk

Dr. Elisabetta Patorno, a research fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston has published a study this week in the Journal of American Medical Association which found that taking anticonvulsant drugs raise thoughts of suicide and risks of actually trying to commit suicide by two times the norm. The study was sponsored by the Harvard School of Public Health and HealthCore, a research subsidiary of WellPoint. WellPoint is a health benefits company that serves the Blue Cross Blue Shield network.

14 Apr 2010