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Chest: January news briefs

New research suggests that subcutaneous omalizumab is safe and effective an add-on treatment to corticosteroids for moderate to severe asthma in children and adults. Researchers from Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile performed a meta-analysis on eight trials where 1,883 patients received omalizumab and 1,546 received a placebo.

4 Jan 2011

Lancet editorial highlights similarities between current health challenges, those from 1911

"After a century of progress, the issues that medicine must tackle in the coming year aren't that different from the ones that faced doctors at the start of 1911, according to the observations" published Jan. 1 in a Lancet editorial, LiveScience reports (Parry, 12/30).

4 Jan 2011

Late-preterm infants often treated as developmentally mature, when not

In the last 15 years the U.S has seen a sharp increase in the number of babies born as late-preterm infants, between 34 and 37 weeks' gestation. This is approximately 400,000 children each year, comprising over 70 percent of all preterm births. Often, late-preterm infants are treated the same as full-term infants since they are commonly a similar size and weight. Growing research is showing that this can be detrimental to a late-preterm infant's health and frequently results in readmission to the hospital within the first month of life.

4 Jan 2011

Newsweek reports on growth of safety net programs in developing countries

"[A] recent study by the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization identified 72 different 'social pension' plans around the world dedicated to the elderly, the ill, or the down and out," Newsweek writes in an article exploring the growth in welfare programs around the world. "Most countries on the [WHO/ILO] list are developing nations once considered too destitute to help their poor and that, until recently, had little or no welfare coverage at all.

4 Jan 2011

Nanoparticles may help diagnose and treat pancreatic and ovarian cancer

The research - carried out by a group of five institutions, including Einstein, that comprise the Texas Center for Cancer Nanomedicine - could lead to novel ways to diagnose and treat pancreatic and ovarian cancer using nanoparticles.

4 Jan 2011

MGH, Veridex establish research center of excellence on circulating tumor cell technologies

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has entered into a collaborative agreement with Veridex LLC to establish a center of excellence in research on circulating tumor cell (CTC) technologies. The overall goal of the agreement is to develop and commercialize novel technologies for capturing and characterizing CTCs, solid tumor cells found at extremely low levels in the bloodstream, which may offer a key to noninvasive characterization of cancer and potentially to early detection.

4 Jan 2011

New technology can help implement safe driving strategies in electric wheelchairs

Thick gravel, mud, snow, steep ramps or hills . . . They might get a pedestrian a little dirty or out of breath, but to someone in an electric wheelchair, they could mean terrain that's simply too difficult to cross alone. To address this problem, researchers at the Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering are working on technology that will enable electric-powered wheelchairs to detect hazardous terrain and automatically adjust their control settings to maneuver more safely.

4 Jan 2011

Media examine potential Obama administration engagement with Africa in 2011, foreign policy action on Capitol Hill

"President Barack Obama is quietly but strategically stepping up his outreach to Africa, using this year to increase his engagement with a continent that is personally meaningful to him and important to U.S. interests," the Associated Press writes in a story looking at how the Obama administration might engage with African countries in the upcoming year.

4 Jan 2011

CDK1 protein deactivates EZH2 enzyme that causes cancer spread

By sticking a chemical group to it at a specific site, a protein arrests an enzyme that may worsen and spread cancer, an international research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports in the January issue of Nature Cell Biology.

4 Jan 2011

Embryome Sciences announces $4M equity financing, changes name to ReCyte Therapeutics

BioTime, Inc. today announced a $4 million equity financing by its subsidiary, Embryome Sciences, Inc. Concurrent with the financing, Embryome Sciences will be renamed ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc. and will develop therapeutic products for cardiovascular and blood diseases. The new equity financing is being led by a $2.5 million investment by private investors and a $1.5 million investment from BioTime that valued ReCyte Therapeutics at a post money valuation of $60 million on a fully diluted basis.

4 Jan 2011

Peptide in blood and tissue inhibits growth of breast tumors

Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (WFUBMC) have discovered what may become a new weapon in the fight against breast cancer. For the first time, a peptide found in blood and tissue has been shown to inhibit the growth of human breast tumors in mice, according to a study recently published in the journal Cancer Research.

4 Jan 2011

New House GOP leaders plan early vote on health law repeal

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said Republicans would hold a vote on repealing the health-care law before Obama delivers his State of the Union address later this month. Upton said disenchantment with the law is so pervasive in the new House that they could reach the two-thirds threshold to overturn a likely presidential veto.

4 Jan 2011

Mercator, Pepscan enter multi-program cancer research collaboration

Mercator Therapeutics, the first biopharmaceutical company to systematically use in vivo phage display technology to develop novel cancer drugs and Pepscan Therapeutics, a world leader in protein mimicry technologies for improved therapeutic peptides and anti-GPCR antibodies, today announced a multi-program research collaboration. The companies will collaborate to optimize Mercator's 'Homing Peptides' using Pepscan's proprietary CLIPS technology.

4 Jan 2011

18F-FDG PET scans help evaluate cognitive dysfunction of pediatric fever-induced epilepsy

Sudden, catastrophic childhood epilepsy is a parent's worst nightmare, especially in the case of fever-induced refractory epileptic encephalopathy in school-age children (FIRES). While not much is known about the condition, new research published in the January issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that positron emission tomography (PET) scans can offer an evaluation of cognitive dysfunction of FIRES, its evolution and further prognosis.

4 Jan 2011

Researchers report estrogen may increase movement of precancerous cells in oral cavity

Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common type of cancer and is on the rise in some demographic groups, including young women without any known risk factors. Now, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center report that estrogen may increase the movement of precancerous cells in the mouth and thus promote the spread of the disease within the oral cavity.

4 Jan 2011

U-M research shows children are more frequently exposed to radiation through imaging tests

Children frequently exposed to medical imaging procedures that utilize radiation, U-M research shows. "Our findings indicate that more awareness about the frequent use of these tests may be needed among care providers, hospitals and parents," says Adam L. Dorfman, M.D., clinical assistant professor of pediatrics and communicable diseases and of radiology at the U-M Medical School.

4 Jan 2011

Senator eyes plan to ease prescription drug shortages

As a shortage of some cancer drugs and certain other medications persists, a U.S. senator from Minnesota is proposing legislation she says will help federal regulators address the problem (Snowbeck, 12/28).

4 Jan 2011

Genes determine susceptibility to depression

University of Michigan Health System researchers have found new evidence that our genes help determine our susceptibility to depression.

4 Jan 2011

The Scientist examines how nonprofit, for-profit pharma groups are working together to make drugs more affordable for developing countries

"With philanthropists funneling billions of dollars into biomedical research and traditional drug discovery efforts producing fewer and fewer therapies, the line between for-profit and nonprofit life science companies is beginning to blur as both sides of the divide look for new options," The Scientist magazine writes in an article that examines the rise in collaborations between nonprofit pharmaceutical companies and for-profit groups.

4 Jan 2011

Researchers identify new biological pathway that contribute to glaucoma

In a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of researchers from the Kennedy Krieger Institute and four collaborating institutions, identified a new and unexpected biological pathway that appears to contribute to the development of glaucoma and its resulting vision loss.

4 Jan 2011

Research News and Research

Chest: January news briefs

Lancet editorial highlights similarities between current health challenges, those from 1911

Late-preterm infants often treated as developmentally mature, when not

Newsweek reports on growth of safety net programs in developing countries

Nanoparticles may help diagnose and treat pancreatic and ovarian cancer

MGH, Veridex establish research center of excellence on circulating tumor cell technologies

New technology can help implement safe driving strategies in electric wheelchairs

Media examine potential Obama administration engagement with Africa in 2011, foreign policy action on Capitol Hill

CDK1 protein deactivates EZH2 enzyme that causes cancer spread

Embryome Sciences announces $4M equity financing, changes name to ReCyte Therapeutics

Peptide in blood and tissue inhibits growth of breast tumors

New House GOP leaders plan early vote on health law repeal

Mercator, Pepscan enter multi-program cancer research collaboration

18F-FDG PET scans help evaluate cognitive dysfunction of pediatric fever-induced epilepsy

Researchers report estrogen may increase movement of precancerous cells in oral cavity

U-M research shows children are more frequently exposed to radiation through imaging tests

Senator eyes plan to ease prescription drug shortages

Genes determine susceptibility to depression

The Scientist examines how nonprofit, for-profit pharma groups are working together to make drugs more affordable for developing countries

Researchers identify new biological pathway that contribute to glaucoma

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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