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FDA grants PMA for Pinnacle's Optiguide DCYL700 Fiber Optic Diffuser Series flexible fiber

Concordia Healthcare Corp. announced today that its subsidiary Pinnacle Biologics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical research and development company specializing in rare diseases, was granted U.S. Food and Drug Administration premarket supplemental approval (PMA) for its Optiguide DCYL700 Fiber Optic Diffuser Series flexible fiber.

26 Mar 2014

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals starts Phase IIa clinical study of IW-3718 for gastroesophageal reflux disease

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IRWD) announced today that dosing has begun in its Phase IIa clinical study of its investigational compound IW-3718 in patients suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) who have not responded adequately to treatment with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI). Data are expected in the first half of 2015.

18 Mar 2014

Research grows "mini-livers" to reduce use of animals in science

Research that has for the first time successfully grown "mini-livers" from adult mouse stem cells has won the UK's international prize for the scientific and technological advance with the most potential to replace, reduce or refine the use of animals in science (the 3Rs).

26 Feb 2014

Researchers personalize drug treatments for cholangiocarcinoma using genomic sequencing

Physicians at Mayo Clinic's Individualized Medicine Clinic and researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) have personalized drug treatments for patients with cholangiocarcinoma using genomic sequencing technologies.

14 Feb 2014

Surgeons now use minimally invasive robotic surgical system for Whipple procedure

The Whipple procedure, used to remove tumors from pancreatic cancer patients, is one of surgery's most extensive and challenging operations.

11 Feb 2014

Gastric bypass and cardiovascular disease risk: an interview with Dr. Brethauer, Cleveland Clinic

Gastric bypass surgery is a type of bariatric operation that results in weight loss and stimulates metabolic effects that treat diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension.

9 Jan 2014

Landes Bioscience releases special issue on sepsis

A special issue on sepsis has been released by the publisher Landes Bioscience (Austin, TX USA). The articles contained in this special issue of the journal Virulence have been authored by world-class investigators and provide new insights into both the pathogen-related factors and the host defense mechanisms that lead to septic shock and contribute to its resolution or fatal outcome.

7 Jan 2014

Concordia Healthcare acquires Pinnacle Biologics

Concordia Healthcare Corp., an integrated, specialty healthcare company focused on the acquisition of legacy pharmaceutical products and medical devices and the acquisition and/or development of orphan drugs, announced today that it has acquired Pinnacle Biologics, Inc., a U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company specializing in legacy pharmaceuticals which have the potential for development as orphan drugs to treat cancer indications in addition to those for which they have previously been approved.

24 Dec 2013

Reflux disease diagnosis: an interview with Professor Peter Dettmar, Managing Director of RD Biomed Limited

Generally speaking, reflux has been a major chronic issue for probably the last 40 or 50 years. When you look at the global population, depending on which country we're talking about, around 20% to 40% of individuals have reflux disease within their populations.

23 Dec 2013

Researchers develop oral vaccine against Helicobacter pylori

Researchers from Southern Medical University in Guangdong, Guangzhou, China, have developed an oral vaccine against Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria responsible for peptic ulcers and some forms of gastric cancer, and have successfully tested it in mice. The research is published ahead of print in the journal Clinical and Vaccine Immunology.

20 Dec 2013

Patients treated with high-risk endoscopic procedure less likely to be admitted in hospital

Patients who seek treatment from physicians who more frequently perform a high-risk endoscopic procedure are less likely to be admitted to the hospital or require a repeat procedure. Unfortunately, 90 percent of physicians performing these procedures do very few of them.

19 Nov 2013

Philipp E. Scherer honored with 15th Naomi Berrie Award for Outstanding Research in Diabetes

Columbia University Medical Center has honored Philipp E. Scherer, PhD, with the 15th Naomi Berrie Award for Outstanding Research in Diabetes, for his work that helped usher in a new understanding of fat and its role in diabetes and other metabolic diseases. His discovery of adiponectin, a hormone produced by fat, helped transform the scientific concept of fat as an inert storage depot to one of it as an endocrine "organ" that exerts control over the brain, muscles, and other organs. The award, given annually by CUMC's Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, is Columbia's top honor for excellence in diabetes research.

19 Nov 2013

RNA molecule present in the blood could someday be a diagnostic marker for pancreatic cancer

An Indiana University cancer researcher has demonstrated that a particular molecule is present in the blood of most pancreatic cancer patients, suggesting it could someday be a diagnostic marker for the disease.

8 Nov 2013

Endocrine Society announces winners of organization's prestigious 2014 Laureate Awards

The Endocrine Society today announced it has selected 15 accomplished endocrinologists as winners of the organization's prestigious 2014 Laureate Awards.

5 Nov 2013

Scientists make seminal breakthrough in understanding molecular basis of bile duct cancer

A team of scientists from the National Cancer Centre Singapore, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore, Fundeni Clinical Institute (Romania) and Koen Kaen University (Thailand), have made a seminal breakthrough in understanding the molecular basis of bile duct cancer or cholangiocarcinoma, a rare but highly lethal form of liver cancer.

4 Nov 2013

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided drainage improves outcomes in patients with pseudocysts

Researchers report that in patients with pseudocysts with viscous debris-laden fluid, endoscopic ultrasound-guided drainage by using a combination of a nasocystic drain and transmural stents improves clinical outcomes and lowers the stent occlusion rate compared with those who underwent drainage via stents alone.

22 Oct 2013

Intravenous feeding can cause liver damage, say researchers

Researchers know that feeding some patients intravenously can save their lives - but also can cause liver damage. Now scientists at the University of Colorado and Children's Hospital Colorado have figured out the likely culprit, one of the ingredients in intravenous food, behind the liver problems.

10 Oct 2013

Surgeon finds way to perform laparoscopic gallbladder removal in Nicaragua

A University of Michigan surgeon has found a way to successfully perform laparoscopic gallbladder removal in Nicaragua, despite limited clinical resources and poor operating room conditions.

8 Oct 2013

Saint Luke's liver transplantation program receives CMS certification

The liver transplantation program at Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City has received certification by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. The certification is an important step in enhancing the hospital's ability to care for Medicare-covered patients suffering from end-stage liver disease, and attract other insurers who base their coverage on the CMS certification.

2 Oct 2013

No significant association between advent of depression and subsequent advent of cancer

All of the absences from work for depression, certified by doctors, were recorded as well as many questionnaires measuring depressive moods. The results, which will be published in The American Journal of Epidemiology, do not indicate any significant association between a person experiencing the symptoms of depression during their lifetime and their subsequently contracting cancer.