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Study identifies netrin-1 as novel target for atherosclerosis

A new study by NYU Langone Medical Center researchers identified a new culprit that leads to atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fat and cholesterol that hardens into plaque and narrows arteries. The research, published online by Nature Immunology on January 8, 2012, explains why cholesterol-laden, coronary artery disease-causing cells called macrophages, accumulate in artery plaques.

10 Jan 2012

JHM, Healthways partner for innovative weight-loss program

Building on the success of recent Hopkins research showing obese participants were able to lose significant weight and keep it off for two years using telephone coaching and a specially designed website, Johns Hopkins Medicine is collaborating with Healthways to help bring the innovative weight-loss program to many more who could benefit from it.

9 Jan 2012

Novel target in artery plaque identified as potential therapeutic intervention

A new study by NYU Langone Medical Center researchers identified a new culprit that leads to atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fat and cholesterol that hardens into plaque and narrows arteries.

9 Jan 2012

MPIIB, QIAGEN partner to develop latent TB diagnostic test

QIAGEN N.V. and the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (MPIIB), Department of Immunology have announced a new collaboration to develop a molecular diagnostic test to assess the risk of an individual with latent tuberculosis (TB) developing active TB disease during their lifetime.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 9 Jan 2012

Smokeless tobacco products in India associated with increased risk of oral cancer

The 2nd International Conference on the Frontiers in Prevention, Diagnosis & Therapy of Cancer was held on 7th Jan. 2012 at Allahabad, India and looked at the relationship of oral cancer with tobacco habits. Various innovations in oral cancer diagnosis, therapy and tobacco usage were discussed by experts from around the world.

7 Jan 2012

Annual prostate cancer testing does not reduce mortality among men

Men enrolled in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer (PLCO) Screening Trial had no evidence of a mortality benefit compared to a control group of men undergoing usual care, according to a study published online Jan. 6 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

7 Jan 2012

Annual screening tests do not decrease deaths from prostate cancer

There's new evidence that annual prostate cancer screening does not reduce deaths from the disease, even among men in their 50s and 60s and those with underlying health conditions, according to new research led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

6 Jan 2012

IRIN examines risk of waterborne diseases in Zimbabwe

IRIN examines how a lack of sanitation facilities and access to clean water, as well as the onset of the rainy season, are increasing the risk of waterborne diseases in rural areas of Zimbabwe.

6 Jan 2012

LCA calls for more aggressive integration of imaging advances and biomedical research

As the War on Cancer enters its fifth decade and the number of people being diagnosed with cancer continues to rise, Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) called for more aggressive integration of advanced imaging technology and biomedical research to improve prevention, earlier detection and treatment of cancer.

6 Jan 2012

UCSD surgeons perform west coast's first ex-vivo liver resection

A team led by Alan Hemming, MD, transplant surgeon at UC San Diego Health System, has successfully performed the west coast's first ex-vivo liver resection, a radical procedure to completely remove and reconstruct a diseased liver and re-implant it without any tumors. The procedure saved the life of a 27-year old mother whose liver had been invaded by a painful tumor that crushed the organ and entangled its blood supply.

6 Jan 2012

New guideline on management of hyperglycemia in non-critically ill hospitalized patients

Hyperglycemia, or having high glucose levels in the blood, is a common, serious and costly health care problem in hospitalized patients. Today, The Endocrine Society released a clinical practice guideline (CPG) providing recommendations for practical and safe glycemic targets and describing protocols and system improvements required to achieve glycemic goals for hospitalized patients in a non-critical care setting.

6 Jan 2012

Vitamin D may stop conferring cardiovascular benefits: Study

New research by Johns Hopkins scientists suggests that vitamin D, long known to be important for bone health and in recent years also for heart protection, may stop conferring cardiovascular benefits and could actually cause harm as levels in the blood rise above the low end of what is considered normal.

5 Jan 2012

ACS report shows decline in overall cancer death rates

The American Cancer Society's annual cancer statistics report shows that between 2004 and 2008, overall cancer incidence rates declined by 0.6% per year in men and were stable in women, while cancer death rates decreased by 1.8% per year in men and by 1.6% per year in women.

5 Jan 2012

Hypothermia rarely used in the U.S. hospitals to reduce heart attack cases

Therapeutic hypothermia has been proven to reduce mortality and improve neurologic outcomes after a heart attack, yet it was rarely used in a sample of more than 26,000 patients, according to a study published in Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

5 Jan 2012

Ethiopia's PMTCT plan needs men to participate in order to reach goal, experts say

"Ethiopia's new plan to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission by 2015 cannot be attained unless men are more meaningfully involved in reproductive health, experts say," PlusNews reports.

5 Jan 2012

Positive preliminary results from Alnylam's Phase I ALN-PCS trial on severe hypercholesterolemia

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today the achievement of positive preliminary results from its ongoing clinical trial of ALN-PCS, an RNAi therapeutic targeting PCSK9 for the treatment of severe hypercholesterolemia.

5 Jan 2012

Weight loss surgery cuts risk of heart attacks, strokes: Study

A new study shows that weight loss surgery clearly cuts the risk of heart attacks, strokes and death from cardiovascular disease. But the research also raises questions regarding which patients benefit the most from surgery.

4 Jan 2012

St. Jude Medical meets stopping rule in RESPECT clinical trial, closes patient enrollment

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced that it has met a stopping rule in its RESPECT clinical trial - triggered by reaching the protocol-required number of primary events in the trial, defined as stroke and all-cause mortality - and is closing patient enrollment.

4 Jan 2012

Task force identifies key themes and challenges in critical care research

To reduce mortality and improve patient care in the nation's ICUs, a task force formed by the Critical Care Societies Collaborative (CCSC), in conjunction with the US Critical Illness and Injury Trials Group (USCIITG) has recommended that research in the field become less fragmented and better account for patient heterogeneity and the complexity of critical illness.

4 Jan 2012

IQWiG examines added benefit of pirfenidone for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Pirfenidone inhibits the development of inflammation and scarring (fibrosis) in pulmonary tissue and has been approved for the treatment of mild to moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) since the beginning of 2011.

4 Jan 2012