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UMKC School of Medicine receives $400,000 gift to establish Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Program

The University of Missouri-Kansas City has received a $400,000 gift to establish a pulmonary fibrosis research program at the UMKC School of Medicine. The gift comes from the estate of the late Mary K. Geldmacher, a retired St. Louis school teacher who suffered from pulmonary fibrosis and passed away in 2009. Pulmonary fibrosis is the formation or development of excess fibrous connective tissue in the lungs, commonly described as “scarring of the lung.”

26 Apr 2012

Diabetes alone may cost a sixth of total NHS budget by 2035: Report

A new report warns that diabetes will cost the NHS more than a sixth of its entire budget by 2035. The disease accounts for 10 per cent (£9.8 billion) of NHS spending, but this is projected to rise to £16.9 billion over the next 25 years, or 17 per cent of the health service's funds. There are around 3.8 million people living with diabetes in the UK and this is expected to increase to 6.25 million in just over two decades.

26 Apr 2012

Contraceptive pill could soon be given out to 13 year olds without prescription

According to an NHS report girls as young as 13 should be given the contraceptive pill without having to see a doctor. Normally girls and women can only go on the Pill once they have undergone a thorough consultation with a GP or nurse as it can cause side effects including blood clots.

26 Apr 2012

CytRx commences INNO-206 Phase 2 clinical trial for pancreatic cancer

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the preliminary efficacy and safety of INNO-206 in patients with advanced pancreatic ductual adenocarcinomas (PDA) who have progressed after receiving two prior therapies.

26 Apr 2012

Helpful roles of rank, toxic substances

Usually, we think of mold, feces, nitric oxide, hydrogen sulfide and rat poison as rank, toxic or both. But scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health are learning more about the helpful roles these substances can play.

26 Apr 2012

Kidney donated two weeks after transplant

For the first time, a kidney that had been donated to a patient in need was removed and implanted into a new patient, the third individual to have the organ, after it failed in the first transplant recipient. Ray Fearing, a 27-year-old Arlington Heights resident received the organ from his sister, Cera, after a long battle with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a disease in which scar tissue develops on the part of the kidney that filters waste out of the blood, ultimately causing kidney failure.

26 Apr 2012

Active cognitive lifestyle lowers risk for dementia

The findings of a new study suggest that the protective effects of an active cognitive lifestyle arise through multiple biological pathways.

26 Apr 2012

Fatter children more likely to develop cardiometabolic disease, hypertension

A new study from presented at the European Society of Hypertension conference in London shows that children who show greater adiposity (fatness) in early life are at a substantially increased risk for hypertension and cardiometabolic problems in later life.

26 Apr 2012

U of A develops new technology that enables personalized medicine

You wouldn't know it from appearances, but a metal cube the size of a toaster, created at the University of Alberta, is capable of performing the same genetic tests as most fully equipped modern laboratories-and in a fraction of the time.

26 Apr 2012

MSF says number of annual malaria cases treated in DRC has tripled since 2009

Ahead of World Malaria Day on April 25, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Tuesday said the number of malaria cases it has treated in the country "more than tripled to 155,000 last year from two years previous," Reuters reports.

26 Apr 2012

Studies: Against best advice, docs continue unneeded prostate screenings

JAMA and another journal found that despite government recommendations, doctors continue to screen too many men for prostate cancer.

26 Apr 2012

First-ever study to evaluate effects of interaction between metamphetamines and Ibudilast

John W. Tsuang, M.D., principal investigator at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed), in conjunction with Steven J. Shoptaw, Ph.D., from the UCLA Department of Family Medicine, is spearheading a Phase I clinical safety trial that for the first time examines the effects of Ibudilast when administered with metamphetamine (MA), an addictive stimulant that is closely related to amphetamine.

26 Apr 2012

Robot assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy better than other surgical techniques

Outcomes from use of a robot to assist surgeons in removal of a cancerous prostate are at least as good, if not better, than the other two techniques used for a radical prostatectomy -- open or laparoscopic surgery -- according to a large meta analysis led by researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell.

26 Apr 2012

Scientists identify linchpin of fat metabolism

Humans are built to hunger for fat, packing it on during times of feast and burning it during periods of famine. But when deluged by foods rich in fat and sugar, the modern waistline often far exceeds the need to store energy for lean times, and the result has been an epidemic of diabetes, heart disease and other obesity-related problems.

26 Apr 2012

Physical activity reduces oxidative stress in people with SCT

Sickle cell disease (SCD), an inherited condition that causes red blood cells to sometimes deform into a crescent shape, affects an estimated 100,000 Americans, typically those of African descent. However, far more have sickle cell trait (SCT), caused when individuals carry just a single copy of the disease-causing mutation in their genes.

26 Apr 2012

Custom-made mouthpieces can decrease levels of serum cortisol following exercise

Mouthguards are used by almost everyone participating in sports. These devices, typically purchased over-the-counter and used on the upper teeth, are designed to protect against broken teeth and an injured tongue. Recently, researchers in South Carolina found that a customized device which rests on the lower jaw can decrease levels of serum cortisol following exercise.

26 Apr 2012

Intensive dialysis at home could increase survival chances for patients with ESRD

Patients suffering with end-stage renal disease could increase their survival chances by undergoing intensive dialysis at home rather than the conventional dialysis in clinics. A new study by Lawson Health Research Institute shows the potential of more intensive dialysis completed in a home setting.

26 Apr 2012

Study sheds new light on common food poisoning bug

BBSRC-funded researchers at Cambridge University have shed new light on a common food poisoning bug. Using real-time video microscopy, coupled with mathematical modelling, they have changed our assumptions about Salmonella and how it infects human cells.

26 Apr 2012

Latest AAN/AHS guidelines can help prevent migraine attacks

The latest American Academy of Neurology/American Headache Society Guidelines released this week outline evidence-based and effective treatments that can prevent migraine attacks and lessen their severity.

26 Apr 2012

FDA issues complete response letter to Takeda’s NDAs for type 2 diabetes investigational therapies

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc. today announced that the company received a complete response letter from the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding New Drug Applications (NDAs) for alogliptin and fixed-dose combination (FDC) alogliptin and pioglitazone.

26 Apr 2012