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Peter Mac doctor receives grant to fight prostate cancer

The Victorian Minister for Health, the Hon David Davis, with the Richard Pratt Fellowships in Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Carlton Football Club, today announced Dr Helen Pearson as the 2012 recipient of the Richard Pratt Fellowship in Prostate Cancer Research.

10 Apr 2012

Spider venom studied as treatment for breast cancer

James Cook University Professor Norelle Daly has received a $205,000 research grant from the National Breast Cancer Foundation to analyze whether the venom of tarantulas and funnel web spiders can kill breast cancer cells.

10 Apr 2012

Oxytocin may offer hope for male sexual dysfunction

The hormone oxytocin that is also called the “love hormone” since it plays a role in the bond between a mother and baby may also improve sexual function - at least in men with Asperger’s syndrome - according to a published case report.

10 Apr 2012

Soon a vaccine that targets 90% of all cancers

Results from the safety trial - on patients with blood cancer - found all had greater immunity to the disease after receiving the vaccine. Three of the seven patients who have completed the treatment are now free of the condition.

10 Apr 2012

High cancer treatment costs in the US – are they worth it? Study explores

Healthcare in the United States is costlier than care in other countries. A new analysis suggests that the cost may be worth it at least when it comes to cancer care. Americans may pay more for cancer treatment, but they also live longer after diagnosis — getting a benefit that offsets their higher health expenses the study says.

10 Apr 2012

Genes and obesity link found in kids

The team of researchers used genome-wide association techniques and found that several genetic variants associated with adult obesity are also active in childhood obesity, according to Struan Grant of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and colleagues. The analysis found two new genetic variants that had not been previously associated with obesity, Grant and colleagues reported online in Nature Genetics. The findings show that “there is indeed a genetic signature of childhood obesity,” Grant said. “It's not purely lifestyle.”

10 Apr 2012

Fish oil not as beneficial for the heart as thought: Study

Fish oil, a combination of omega-3 fatty acids that has attracted much research on its effects on heart health. So far, the evidence has been inconclusive -- some studies have found fish oil has been major in preventing heart attacks, strokes and sudden cardiac death, while others have found fish oil has no benefits at all.

10 Apr 2012

Autism linked to maternal obesity: Study

The study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics shows that compared to non-obese mothers those who were obese before pregnancy had a 1.6 times increase in the likelihood of having a child with autism.

10 Apr 2012

Genstar Capital enters definitive agreement to acquire ERT

eResearchTechnology, Inc. (ERT), a global technology-driven provider of health outcomes research services to biopharmaceutical sponsors and contract research organizations (CROs), today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Genstar Capital LLC, a leading middle market private equity firm for $8.00 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $400 million.

10 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 10, 2012

In today's headlines, a new study finds that the health law, which has long been touted as a means to control costs, could add more than $340 billion to the nation's budget difficulties in the next ten years.

10 Apr 2012

Biovest seeks Health Canada approval of BiovaxID for follicular NHL

Biovest International, Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that Biovest is seeking marketing approval in Canada for BiovaxID, its personalized cancer vaccine for the treatment of follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, an incurable cancer of the immune system.

10 Apr 2012

Delcath, NKI-AVL enter initial launch and training agreement for CHEMOSAT system

Delcath Systems, Inc. announced today that the Company has entered into an initial launch and training agreement with the Netherlands Cancer Institute-Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital (NKI-AVL) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

10 Apr 2012

Health law key to Obama campaign's outreach to women voters

Late last week, the president and his deputies were linking parts of the health law and opportunities as part of their effort to draw support from women voters. At the same time, The Associated Press reports on the challenges GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney faces in his attempts to bridge the gender gap.

10 Apr 2012

Study questions whether FDA too tough on online pharmacies

The Food and Drug Administration has warned people about the many dangers of buying medications from foreign pharmacies over the Internet. While some sites might offer high-quality medicines, there are plenty that sell bogus and potentially dangerous products. But a recent economic analysis suggests that while there's good reason for the safety warnings, the FDA's stance on the matter might go too far.

10 Apr 2012

Researchers identify mechanism of TRPM2 regulation

Professor Makoto TOMINAGA from National Institute for Physiological Sciences (Okazaki Institute for Integrative Bioscience), National Institutes of Natural Sciences, and his research team member Ms. Makiko KASHIO have identified the mechanism through which TRPM2 is activated by body temperature with hydrogen peroxide (a kind of reactive oxygen species) produced by immune reactions.

10 Apr 2012

New initiative focusing on GBV and HIV/AIDS will help prevent both

"The advancement of women's health and their rights is one of the core principles of President Barack Obama's Global Health Initiative," a VOA editorial states, adding, "And so it is that the United States has rolled out a new initiative that will tackle one of the greatest threats to women's health, HIV/AIDS, by attacking another scourge: gender-based violence [GBV]."

10 Apr 2012

Wall Street Journal examines Jim Kim's nomination to head World Bank

The Wall Street Journal reports that "a long list of development experts, government officials and news organizations around the world have mounted a rebellion of sorts" in response to the nomination of Jim Yong Kim, a global health expert and Dartmouth College president, to head the World Bank, as "many of them say the two other candidates, Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo, are better qualified for the post."

10 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Doctors' efforts to cut unnecessary procedures is a good first step

Several news outlets look at the initiative by nine physicians' groups to identify medical procedures which are frequently unneeded and could even be harmful.

10 Apr 2012

WHO celebrates birthday, commemorates World Health Day with focus on healthy aging

The WHO on April 7 celebrated the founding of the organization in 1948 and World Health Day, "by focusing on aging, including a host of events, research and information under the theme, 'Good health adds life to years,'" CNN reports.

10 Apr 2012

USAID Administrator credits reduction in Ethiopia's child mortality rate to effective use of aid

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah "says development assistance to Ethiopia's health sector has helped save thousands of children's lives in the past year," VOA News reports, noting, "The progress came even as the Horn of Africa was hit by the worst drought in more than half a century."

10 Apr 2012