Lungs News and Research

RSS

Over 2,800 people worldwide have died from H1N1, WHO reports

The WHO on Friday announced the H1N1 (swine) flu virus has killed at least 2,837 people - the result of an continued increase in the number of H1N1 cases worldwide, not the virulence of the virus, Reuters reports. "There is no sense that the virus has mutated or changed in any sense," WHO spokesperson Gregory Hartl said during a news conference (Nebehay/MacInnis, 9/4).

5 Sep 2009

Victim’s longevity with the deadly disease inspires thousands of dying patients

When Jerry Lewis takes the stage again on Labor Day 2009 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon, thousands of people who suffer from the same lung disease as he will be watching - and not just to hear the funny things he'll say. They'll be looking for inspiration from the funny man who suffers from a not-so-funny and little known fatal lung disease.

5 Sep 2009

CARO and Elekta award $75,000 fellowship for lung cancer research

The Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology (CARO), along with international medical-technology group Elekta, are pleased to award the 2009 CARO-Elekta Research Fellowship to Radiation Oncologist, Dr. David Palma.

From Elekta 5 Sep 2009

American mayapple contains anticancer compounds: Study

A common weed called American mayapple may soon offer an alternative to an Asian cousin that's been harvested almost to extinction because of its anti-cancer properties.

5 Sep 2009

Researchers discover the causes for the severity of RSV illness

Approximately one-half of all infants are infected with the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) during the first year of life, and almost all children have been infected at least once by the time they reach their second birthday. Researchers at West Virginia University have discovered what makes RSV such a severe and persistent illness.

4 Sep 2009

Two new da Vinci Si HD Surgical System robots added to Swedish Medical Center

As one of the first medical centers in the Northwest to perform robot-assisted surgery, Swedish Medical Center is home to the fastest-growing and most experienced robot-assisted surgical program in the region. Swedish established the multidisciplinary robot-assisted surgical program in 2005 and has since performed more than 2,000 robot-assisted surgeries, more than any other program in the region.

4 Sep 2009

OSI Pharmaceuticals initiates two clinical trials with OSI-906 oral insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor inhibitor

OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIP) announced today the initiation of two clinical trials with OSI-906, the Company’s potential first-in-class, oral insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) inhibitor. The first study is a Phase III, multi-center study that will evaluate the use of OSI-906 for patients with locally advanced or metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC).

4 Sep 2009

nSpire Health awarded over $9 million for clinical research trials

nSpire Health, a leading global manufacturer of respiratory diagnostic products and services, announced today clinical trial research services awards of over $9 million in August. The trials awarded by prominent pharmaceutical companies include the company’s eSP™ core lab services, gold standard KoKo® spirometry, and new patent pending PiKoLogic® electronic patient reported outcomes (ePRO) solution.

4 Sep 2009

FDA approves new xTAG Cystic Fibrosis 39 Kit v2 from Luminex

Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ: LMNX), the worldwide leader in multiplexed solutions, today announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a new cystic fibrosis (CF) test: the xTAG® Cystic Fibrosis 39 Kit v2.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 4 Sep 2009

Lawsuits filed against Johnson & Johnson, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical and Walgreen

St. Louis-based law firm Carey & Danis LLC announces the filing of four civil lawsuits on behalf of twenty plaintiffs against Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc., the makers of the powerful antibiotic Levaquin, as well as the Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG), which sells the drug.

4 Sep 2009

Banner Good Samaritan treats cancers and neurological disorders with the Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform

John J. Kresl, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center are now treating a wide variety of cancers and neurological disorders with highly-accurate, non-invasive, image-guided radiosurgery using the Novalis Tx(TM) radiosurgery platform from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) and BrainLAB.

4 Sep 2009

First-quarter fiscal 2010 results announced by Peregrine Pharmaceuticals

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM) today announced financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2010 ended July 31, 2009. Total revenues for the first quarter of FY 2010 increased 345% to $6,750,000, compared to $1,517,000 for the comparable prior year quarter. This increase was primarily generated from increased government contract revenue and from increased sales by Avid Bioservices, the company's wholly owned contract manufacturing subsidiary.

3 Sep 2009

Damprid's recommendations for tackling seasonal allergy

For America’s 60 million seasonal allergy sufferers, fall can be one of the most difficult times of year as ragweed begins to release its pollen into the air and mold and fungus spores increase due to the decay of leaves and other plants. Each ragweed plant produces one billion pollen grains per average season. This generally continues until the first frost, usually in October.

3 Sep 2009

Alternative device for increased specificity of bronchoscopic lung cancer detection

Research published in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology has found that narrow-band imaging bronchoscopy increases the specificity of bronchoscopic early lung cancer detection and can serve as an alternative detection device.

3 Sep 2009

Aerocrine’s NIOX MINO technology approved in Canada for treating asthma

Aerocrine AB (STO:AEROB) today announced that Health Canada’s Therapeutic Products Directorate has approved Aerocrine’s NIOX MINO® technology for use in treating asthma. Canada’s National Health Service may now begin using the NIOX MINO, a medical device that provides a measure of the degree of inflammation in the airways in a single breath.

3 Sep 2009

GDC-0449 inhibits the Hedgehog signaling pathway

The Hedgehog signaling pathway is involved in a preliminary study and case report describing positive responses to an experimental anticancer drug in a majority of people with advanced or metastatic basal cell skin cancers. One patient with the most common type of pediatric brain cancer, medulloblastoma, also showed tumor shrinkage.

3 Sep 2009

Researchers to analyse nanoparticles

Researchers at Swansea University's Centre for NanoHealth have been awarded £1 million by the Research Councils' Nanoscience through Engineering to Application cross-council programme, led by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC), to analyse the levels at which nanoparticles can be deemed safe within cells.

3 Sep 2009

Bextra qui tam lawsuit leads to Pfizer's whopping $2.3 billion settlement

The decision by a Pfizer sales representative in Florida to file a whistleblower ("qui tam") lawsuit in 2003 kicked off the federal and state investigations that led to Pfizer's record-breaking $2.3 billion settlement today.

3 Sep 2009

Avastin increases survival rates in recurrent glioblastoma affected patients

The targeted therapy Avastin, alone and in combination with the chemotherapy drug CPT-11, significantly increased response rates, progression-free survival times and survival rates in patients with a deadly form of brain cancer that had recurred.

3 Sep 2009

Patients with advanced NSCLC predict their overall survival rates

Research published in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology has found that an individual's quality of life prior to treatment can help predict the overall survival of patients with advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

3 Sep 2009