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Scientists identify genetic variants for breast cancer

Women with higher risk scores that consisted of having certain genetic variants most strongly linked to breast cancer had an associated higher risk of breast cancer, with these scores also highly predictive of estrogen receptor-positive disease, according to a study in the July 28 issue of JAMA.

28 Jul 2010

Regeneron second-quarter total revenues increase to $115.9 million

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced financial and operating results for the second quarter of 2010. The Company reported a net loss of $25.5 million, or $0.31 per share (basic and diluted), for the second quarter of 2010 compared with a net loss of $14.9 million, or $0.19 per share (basic and diluted), for the second quarter of 2009.

28 Jul 2010

CIHR grants $2.5 million to probe impact of physical activity on breast cancer

Over the next five years, a diverse, multi-disciplinary team of researchers led by Dr. Kerry Courneya of the University of Alberta and Dr. Christine Friedenreich of Alberta Health Services will conduct a series of five large research projects to probe the impacts of physical activity on breast cancer thanks to a $2.5 million team grant over five years from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

28 Jul 2010

Calcium transfer impacts fuel mechanism for normal cell metabolism

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers have described a previously unknown biological mechanism in cells that prevents them from cannibalizing themselves for fuel. The mechanism involves the fuel used by cells under normal conditions and relies on an ongoing transfer of calcium between two cell components via an ion channel. Without this transfer, cells start consuming themselves as a way of to get enough energy.

28 Jul 2010

Scientists develop novel chemotherapeutic method for anticancer drug delivery

Combining nature and Greek mythology, researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed a tiny "Trojan Horse" system for delivering cancer-fighting drugs. With this system, the drugs are delivered only once they are inside the cancerous cells, so there is no damage to the healthy cells in the surrounding area.

28 Jul 2010

Attaching transferrin to nanoparticle surface can kill cancer cells

A normally benign protein found in the human body appears to be able - when paired with nanoparticles - to zero in on and kill certain cancer cells, without having to also load those particles with chemotherapy drugs.The finding could lead to a new strategy for targeted cancer therapies, according to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists who made the discovery.

28 Jul 2010

Process improvement program improves adherence to evidence-based CRT, ICD and drug therapy

Results of the largest U.S. outpatient heart failure clinical study show that implementation of a process improvement program significantly improved adherence to evidence-based, guideline-recommended cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and drug therapy.

27 Jul 2010

Study tests new performance intervention to improve heart failure patients in outpatient setting

A study led by UCLA tested a new performance intervention to help improve adherence to national guideline-recommended therapies for heart failure patients in an outpatient setting.

27 Jul 2010

Scientists discover mechanism behind flushing reaction caused by nicotinic acid treatment

Cholesterol influences the health of our hearts and blood vessels. Conventional treatment attempts to reduce the level of "bad" cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, in the blood plasma. The opposite approach, which involves increasing the concentration of "good" HDL cholesterol using nicotinic acid, has proven unpopular among patients up to now. The reason for this is that treatment with nicotinic acid has an unpleasant but harmless side-effect: the drug makes patients turn quite red in the face. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim have now discovered the mechanism behind this effect, which is known as flushing. This will enable the development of flush inhibitors and thereby the more effective prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

27 Jul 2010

New drug for type 2 diabetes, Effect of insulin on bones

In a groundbreaking finding, a new medicine Galvus (vildagliptin) has been created for people with type 2 diabetes that would lower blood glucose levels without the side effects of other medications.

26 Jul 2010

Seaside Therapeutics reports positive data from STX209 Phase 2 study in fragile X syndrome

Seaside Therapeutics, Inc. announced today data from the largest randomized, placebo-controlled study conducted to date in individuals with fragile X syndrome. In a Phase 2 study of STX209, clinically meaningful improvements on global and specific neurobehavioral outcomes were observed in the general study population. The improvements were statistically significant in pediatric patients with more severe impairments in sociability -- a core symptom of fragile X syndrome.

26 Jul 2010

IDC secures $32 million in Series B financing

Immune Design Corp. (IDC), a privately held biotechnology company focused on developing novel vaccines and immunotherapies for infectious disease and cancer, announced today that it has secured $32 million in Series B financing. The round was led by ProQuest Investments and was joined by current investors: The Column Group, Versant Ventures, and Alta Partners. The Series B financing brings the total amount of equity capital raised by IDC to $50 million since its inception in 2008.

26 Jul 2010

Boehringer Ingelheim announces European CHMP Positive Opinion for TWYNSTA

Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a Positive Opinion for the approval of TWYNSTA®. It will be indicated in adults whose blood pressure is not adequately controlled on amlodipine and is also indicated as replacement therapy in adult patients receiving telmisartan and amlodipine from separate tablets can instead receive tablets of TWYNSTA containing the same component doses.

26 Jul 2010

GRB7 gene drives an aggressive form of breast cancer, researchers find

Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute researchers found that the GRB7 gene drives an aggressive form of breast cancer and acts independently of the HER-2 gene, known to be a stimulator of breast cancer growth. Isolating the role of this gene could ultimately help fine-tune a patient's treatment and enable physicians to provide a more accurate prognosis.

23 Jul 2010

Repetition of DRD4 genotype may increase risk for extensive alcohol use

Your friend walks into a bar to meet you for happy hour. He sidles up to the bar and orders a drink - does that make you more likely to get a drink yourself? According to new findings reported in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, genetics may determine the extent to which you are influenced by social drinking cues - signals such as advertisements, drinks placed on a bar, and seeing other people around you drinking.

23 Jul 2010

hBD-3 biomarker helps early stage detection of oral cancer

Detecting oral cancer in its earliest stages can save the lives of the nearly 40,500 people diagnosed annually. But early detection has been difficult. Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine researchers discovered a biomarker, called human beta defensin-3 (hBD-3), which may serve as an early warning. The defensin is present in all oral cancers and associated with the early stages of oral cancer.

23 Jul 2010

African ancestry associated with triple-negative breast cancer: Study

A new study finds that African ancestry is linked to triple-negative breast cancer, a more aggressive type of cancer that has fewer treatment options.Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center found that, among women with breast cancer, 82 percent of African women were triple negative, 26 percent of African-Americans were and 16 percent of white Americans were.

23 Jul 2010

Merrimack, sanofi-aventis initiate dosing in MM-121 and exemestane combination Phase 2 breast cancer study

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and sanofi-aventis announced today that the first patient has received an initial dose in a Phase 2 randomized double blind clinical study combining MM-121 with exemestane (Aromasin®) in breast cancer patients.

22 Jul 2010

New understanding on insulin resistance, action of diabetes drugs may lead to safer medication

A new understanding of insulin resistance and the action of diabetes drugs such as Avandia and Actos could pave the way for improved medications that are more selective and safer, say scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Scripps Research Institute.Our findings strongly suggest that good and bad effects of these drugs can be separated by designing second-generation drugs that focus on the newly uncovered mechanism, said Bruce Spiegelman, PhD, of Dana-Farber, senior author on a report appearing in the July 22 issue of Nature.

22 Jul 2010

Scientists uncover new mechanism that reduces risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease

In a joint study, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard University have uncovered a novel mechanism that dramatically increases insulin sensitivity and reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

22 Jul 2010