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Exacerbate-reverse' approach can identify potential therapy for fatal childhood disease

Many genes that cause human diseases have parallel genes in other organisms, including yeast. Now Columbia University researchers have used an innovative yeast-based screening method to identify a possible treatment for the fatal childhood disease Niemann-Pick C.

19 Apr 2011

National Institute on Aging/Alzheimer's Association update new dementia guidelines

For the first time in 27 years, clinical diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease dementia have been revised, and research guidelines for earlier stages of the disease have been characterized to reflect a deeper understanding of the disorder.

19 Apr 2011

Hospitals can reduce unnecessary imaging tests using CD import

Each year, more than two million critically ill patients are transferred from one hospital emergency department to another for appropriate care. With the ability to successfully import data from a CD-ROM containing the patient's diagnostic medical images, hospitals may be able to significantly reduce unnecessary medical imaging tests, some of which expose patients to radiation. These findings are reported in a new study published in the July issue of Radiology.

19 Apr 2011

New biomarker-based test more effective for early acute kidney injury detection

A new biomarker-based diagnostic test is more effective than the current best practice for early detection of adverse outcomes after acute kidney injury, which can be fatal for an estimated 50 percent of the critically ill patients who get the condition.

19 Apr 2011

Nerve disorder expert Jack Griffin passes away

Jack Griffin, an internationally acclaimed and admired expert on diseases of the peripheral nervous system, founding director of the Johns Hopkins Brain Science Institute, and former director of Hopkins School of Medicine's Department of Neurology, died Saturday, April 16, after a long battle with bladder cancer. He was 69.

18 Apr 2011

Quest Diagnostics launches AccuType IL28B test for HCV

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, today announced the availability of its AccuType® IL28B test for aiding in the prediction of patient response to peginterferon alpha-based therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

From Quest Diagnostics 18 Apr 2011

Pharma Tech expands agreement for Shasta Genstrip

InstaCare Corp. a leading provider of prescription diagnostics, home testing products for the chronically ill, a leading fulfillment provider of direct to patient diabetes programs, and a leading developer of revolutionary cell phone centric e-health products and technologies, today announced that its operating subsidiary, Pharma Tech Solutions, Inc., has significantly expanded its agreement to control, manage and distribute the novel at-home diagnostic product, the Shasta Genstrip.

18 Apr 2011

QHR to connect over 72 physicians to AccuroEMR

QHR Technologies Inc., a leading Canadian Healthcare technology provider announced that its Electronic Medical Records (EMR) division, Optimed Software Corporation, will connect over 700 users including 72 physicians, in the community of Barrie, Ontario to its Accuro®EMR, creating the largest integrated healthcare network in Canada using one EMR software.

18 Apr 2011

IDS launches AbbaDox 5.0 modular healthcare workflow and documentation portal

Integrated Document Solutions, a pioneer in delivering healthcare information and applications via cloud computing since 2003, today released the latest version of its AbbaDox modular healthcare workflow and documentation portal, featuring cross-platform compatibility and a new streamlined user interface. It is the company's fifth-generation cloud computing solution.

18 Apr 2011

St. Jude Medical's Accent MRI pacemaker and Tendril MRI lead system receives European CE Mark approval

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced that it has received European CE Mark approval for its Accent MRI™ pacemaker and Tendril MRI™ lead. The system, designed and tested for safe use in a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) environment and approved as MR-Conditional, allows patients to undergo full-body, high-resolution MRI scans.

18 Apr 2011

Thermo Fisher Scientific introduces wireless sample monitoring solution

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today introduced its new Thermo Scientific Smart-Vue wireless monitoring solution. Smart-Vue™ protects precious samples by monitoring key laboratory parameters including temperature, CO2 concentration, humidity and differential pressure. It can be installed by the user on most laboratory equipment, including ultra-low temperature freezers, laboratory refrigerators, CO2 incubators and clean rooms.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 16 Apr 2011

IOF, ISCD to develop new training courses to focus on osteoporosis diagnostic techniques

Two leading international organizations in the bone field are joining forces to establish a global series of training courses. The International Osteoporosis Foundation and the International Society for Clinical Densitometry have agreed to work together to develop an exciting new series of training courses which will set new standards in health education in the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis.

16 Apr 2011

New treatment improves immune function in 13-year-old with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome

In a novel approach that works around the gene defect in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, an inherited immune deficiency disorder, researchers used an alternative cell signaling pathway to significantly improve immune function in a 13-year-old boy with the disease.

15 Apr 2011

Alliance HealthCare Services acquires 24/7 Radiology

Alliance HealthCare Services, Inc., a leading national provider of outpatient diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy services, announced the acquisition of 24/7 Radiology, a professional radiology services company, which provides both preliminary and final professional radiology interpretation services for MRI, CT, ultrasound, X-Ray and other imaging modalities in 18 states.

15 Apr 2011

NIST's new reference can aid in Huntington's disease diagnosis

A new Standard Reference Material from the National Institute of Standards and Technology will help clinical genetics labs accurately diagnose Huntington's disease, an inherited degenerative brain disorder that usually begins between ages 35 and 50 and progressively leads to physical impairment, dementia and death.

15 Apr 2011

SQI enters clinical validation agreement with University North Carolina Kidney Center for Vasculitis Assay

SQI Diagnostics Inc., a medical systems automation company focused on evolving laboratory-based autoimmune biomarker testing, today announced it entered into a clinical validation agreement with University North Carolina Kidney Center, Chapel Hill, to evaluate SQI's new multiplexed, automated approach for biomarker detection in vasculitis.

15 Apr 2011

NRC, NCKU partner to develop cancer diagnostic and treatment technologies

A Taiwanese research team led by Prof. Dar-Bin Shieh of Institute of Oral Medicine in Medical College at National Cheng Kung University has partnered with a research group led by Dr. Dennis Whitefield from National Research Council of Canada to develop innovative cancer diagnostic and treatment technologies.

15 Apr 2011

Trial of non-invasive prenatal test to determine Down syndrome successful

At the moment, the only reliable way of diagnosing chromosomal irregularities during pregnancy is to use invasive prenatal methods. This causes miscarriage in about one per cent of these risky surgical procedures.

14 Apr 2011

Medicinal applications of fullerenes, filled with radioactive material

Fullerenes have attracted considerable attention in different fields of science since their discovery in 1985. Investigations of physical, chemical and biological properties of fullerenes have yielded promising information. It is inferred that size, hydrophobicity, three-dimensionality and electronic configurations make them an appealing subject in medicinal chemistry. Their unique carbon cage structure coupled with immense scope for derivatization make them a potential therapeutic agent.

13 Apr 2011

Study finds SAVI applicator for breast brachytherapy safe for women with breast implants

The SAVI® applicator for breast brachytherapy was used to safely deliver post-lumpectomy radiation therapy to a woman with breast implants, according to a newly published paper in a peer-reviewed journal. The case study showed that SAVI produced an "optimal" clinical outcome and "excellent cosmetic results that pleased the patient," wrote the authors.

12 Apr 2011