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Intracellular nucleic acid sensors can trigger autoimmune disease

Bruce Beutler, MD, a co-recipient of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Medicine, has coauthored an article describing a novel molecular mechanism that can cause the body to attack itself and trigger an autoimmune disease.

28 Oct 2011

Spinal cord meninges is a potential source of self-renewing stem cells

Italian and Spanish scientists studying the use of stem cells for treating spinal cord injuries have provided the first evidence to show that meninges, the membrane which envelops the central nervous system, is a potential source of self-renewing stem cells.

28 Oct 2011

First-ever study of chronic postoperative pain in children

Are children suffering needlessly after surgery? UC Irvine anesthesiologists who specialize in pediatric care believe so. An operation can be one of the most traumatic events children face, and according to a UCI study, many of them experience unnecessary postsurgical pain lasting weeks or months.

28 Oct 2011

Super committee Dems ready 'grand bargain' with $400 billion Medicare plan; Republicans reject approach

As Republicans and Democrats on the congressional super committee swapped plans to reduce the federal deficit, the ideas they advanced demonstrated that the parties remain at odds over increasing taxes and making deep spending cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

28 Oct 2011

Nestin-driven oncolytic viruses show effectiveness in glioblastoma models

A new fourth-generation oncolytic virus designed to both kill cancer cells and inhibit blood-vessel growth has shown greater effectiveness than earlier versions when tested in animal models of human brain cancer.

28 Oct 2011

Manipulating normal bacteria could tackle gum disease

Normal bacteria which live in our mouths provide the catalyst for the development of gum disease, a debilitating condition which leads to painful gums and the loosening of teeth, new research from Queen Mary, University of London has found.

28 Oct 2011

Dems offer mixed views on CLASS Act's demise

But during a Wednesday congressional hearing, Department of Health and Human Services officials made clear that they really have stopped implementing the health law's long-term care insurance program, despite continuing pleas to give it another chance.

28 Oct 2011

Adult stem cells can reshape our organs in response to environmental change

A new study from University of California, Berkeley, researchers demonstrates that adult stem cells can reshape our organs in response to changes in the body and the environment, a finding that could have implications for diabetes and obesity.

28 Oct 2011

NK cells can fight against anthrax

One of the things that makes inhalational anthrax so worrisome for biodefense experts is how quickly a relatively small number of inhaled anthrax spores can turn into a lethal infection. By the time an anthrax victim realizes he or she has something worse than the flu and seeks treatment, it's often too late; even the most powerful antibiotics may be no help against the spreading bacteria and the potent toxins they generate.

28 Oct 2011

NIDRR selects BMC as Spinal Cord Injury Model System site

The New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center at Boston Medical Center (BMC) has been selected as a Spinal Cord Injury Model System (SCIMS) by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

28 Oct 2011

Insight into role of cytokines in autoimmune diseases

Cytokines, a varied group of signaling chemicals in the body, have been described as the software that runs the immune system, but when that software malfunctions, dysregulation of the immune system can result in debilitating autoimmune diseases such as lupus, arthritis, and diabetes. Leading experts in the field of cytokine research present their most up-to-date findings and unique perspectives on the role of cytokines in autoimmune diseases in a special issue of Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research, a peer-reviewed publication of Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

28 Oct 2011

Special team care reduces cumulated stroke risk after transient ischaemic attacks

Patients who had a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), sometimes referred to as a "mini stroke", were much less likely to experience further vascular events in the first year if their care was co-ordinated by a special hospital team. That is the key finding from a study published in the November issue of the European Journal of Neurology.

28 Oct 2011

Beneficial intestinal bacteria can activate immune cells and trigger MS

Multiple sclerosis is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. For a long time, pathogens were believed to be such external influences. According to scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried, however, it is apparently not harmful bacteria that trigger multiple sclerosis, but beneficial ones - specifically, the natural intestinal flora, which every human being needs for digestion.

28 Oct 2011

Taking regular aspirin halves risk of hereditary cancers

Scientists including those from Queen's University have discovered that taking regular aspirin halves the risk of developing hereditary cancers.

28 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: Gephardt and Leavitt's bipartisan push for biomedical innovation; suggestions for the super committee

We Americans are rightfully proud of our can-do spirit. We know that our nation is capable of uniting for a common goal -; and triumphing. In this time of economic challenge and political divisiveness, we are proposing an idea for our country's next common mission: biomedical innovation. From our combined decades of experience leading in the Congress and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, we see the biomedical frontier as America's greatest opportunity to align our nation's competencies and resources for a better future.

28 Oct 2011

Foreign aid investment saves millions of lives, reflects American leadership

Chris Collins, vice president and director of public policy at the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), and Khai Hoan Tram, an Allan Rosenfield Fellow at amfAR, write in this Huffington Post opinion piece that what's missing from the discussion of foreign aid -- which accounts for approximately one percent of the U.S. national budget -- "is the fact that [it] is actually used to aid those in need while advancing our country's humanitarian and diplomatic goals.

28 Oct 2011

Enoxaparin can reduce risk of VTE in plastic surgery patients

For plastic surgery patients at high risk, treatment with the anticoagulant (blood-thinning) drug enoxaparin can reduce the risk of serious blood clot-related complications called venous thromboembolism (VTE), reports a study in the November issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

28 Oct 2011

La Jolla Institute becomes 5th participant in novel stem cell research collaboration

The La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology has become the fifth organization in the prestigious Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, joining colleagues from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, The Scripps Research Institute, University of California, San Diego and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in the first-of-its-kind multi-institutional stem cell research collaboration.

28 Oct 2011

Gilead submits Quad NDA to FDA for treatment of HIV-1 infection

Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced today that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for marketing approval of the "Quad", a complete single-tablet regimen of elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults.

28 Oct 2011

Roundup: Mass. offers plan to cut costs for dual eligibles; Oregon's high hopes for coordinated care organizations

The governor of Massachusetts wants to hire private insurers or other third parties to manage care for the poor and chronically ill patients who use a disproportionate share of public health-care dollars. The proposal comes as state and federal officials search for a cheaper way to deliver health care to people known as "dual eligibles." These are the 9.2 million in the U.S. who receive both Medicare, the federal program for those 65 and older or disabled, and Medicaid, the joint state-federal health plan for the poor.

28 Oct 2011