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Bevacizumab added to chemotherapy for NSCLC does not improve survival in elderly patients

Adding the drug bevacizumab (Avastin) to the standard chemotherapy regimen for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) - an approach approved by the FDA in 2006 - did not lead to significantly increase survival rates for patients over the age of 65 enrolled in Medicare, a new study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers has found.

18 Apr 2012

Failure rate of PIP silicone breast implants could be as high as 33.8%

New research published in the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery suggests that the failure rate of silicone breast implants manufactured by Poly Implant Prosth-se (PIP) could be as high as 33.8%.

18 Apr 2012

Access reports positive interim results from MuGard Phase 4 clinical trial in oral mucositis

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its proprietary drug-delivery platforms to develop treatments in areas of oncology and oncology supportive care, announced interim results from its ongoing MuGard Phase 4 clinical trial in oral mucositis.

18 Apr 2012

Bruker introduces new products at Analytica 2012

At Analytica 2012, Bruker today announced several new product introductions for the research, industrial and applied markets, designed to deliver confident analyses with increased sensitivity, specificity and productivity, and to push the boundaries of advanced molecular and materials research applications.

18 Apr 2012

Idera commences IMO-3100 Phase 2 clinical trial for psoriasis

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the treatment of the first patient in a Phase 2 clinical trial of IMO-3100, the Company's lead Toll-like receptor (TLR) inhibitor for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

18 Apr 2012

Promising anti-diabetic substance found in liquorice root

It provides the raw material for liquorice candy, calms the stomach and alleviates diseases of the airways: liquorice root. Chosen as the "Medicinal plant 2012", the root has been treasured in traditional healing since ancient times. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin have now discovered that liquorice root also contains substances with an anti-diabetic effect.

18 Apr 2012

Intervertebral disc repair phase 2 trial update from Mesoblast

Global regenerative medicine company Mesoblast Limited (ASX:MSB) has announced that its Phase 2 clinical trial investigating the use of allogeneic, or off-the-shelf, Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPCs) for non-surgical restoration of degenerated intervertebral discs and treatment of low back pain has enrolled 50% of the total study patients. This rapid rate of enrolment attests to the major unmet medical need and to the relative simplicity of Mesoblast’s non-surgical procedure. Mesoblast expects to complete full enrolment by early third quarter.

17 Apr 2012

More insight into tangled proteins in Alzheimer's disease

In Alzheimer's disease, brain neurons become clogged with tangled proteins. Scientists suspect these tangles arise partly due to malfunctions in a little-known regulatory system within cells. Now, researchers have dramatically increased what they know about this particular regulatory system in mice. Such information will help scientists better understand Alzheimer's and other diseases in humans and could eventually provide new targets for therapies.

17 Apr 2012

Tumor microenvironment contributes critically to drug response

It should be possible to significantly improve the response of common cancers to existing "classical" chemotherapy drugs, say scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), by introducing agents that alter the interaction of cancer cells with their immediate surroundings, called the tumor microenvironment.

17 Apr 2012

Caring for wife with breast cancer can affect men's health

Caring for a wife with breast cancer can have a measurable negative effect on men's health, even years after the cancer diagnosis and completion of treatment, according to recent research.

17 Apr 2012

ImmunoGen commences IMGN529 Phase I trial in NHL

ImmunoGen, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops anticancer therapeutics using its antibody expertise and Targeted Antibody Payload (TAP) technology, today announced the start of clinical testing with its IMGN529 product candidate.

17 Apr 2012

Coronary stents do not increase risk of heart attack, death in people with metal allergies

Cardiologists have long grappled with how to best manage patients with coronary artery disease who report skin hypersensitivity to nickel or other metal components found in stents -- small tubes placed in narrowed or weakened arteries to help improve blood flow to the heart. But new Mayo Clinic research, published in the April 16, 2012, issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, may help allay these concerns.

17 Apr 2012

Individuals with low-quality genes may produce offspring with even more inferior chromosomes

Evolutionary biologists at the University of Toronto have found that individuals with low-quality genes may produce offspring with even more inferior chromosomes, possibly leading to the extinction of certain species over generations.

17 Apr 2012

New study describes therapeutic approach to halt cancer progression

A new study describes a therapeutic approach to halting cancer progression by exploiting a previously unrecognized "addiction" of leukemia cells to specific signaling molecules. The research, published by Cell Press online on April 16th in the journal Cancer Cell, identifies non-classical oncogenes critical for tumor development and survival, and describes a potentially less toxic strategy that selectively targets these molecules.

17 Apr 2012

Study finds lower cytokine levels in the plasma of children with autism

A University of Kansas Medical Center study found significantly lower levels of several cytokines, the immune system's messengers and regulators, in the plasma of children with autism disorder (AD) compared to that of unrelated healthy siblings from other families who had members with autism spectrum disorders.

17 Apr 2012

Study: Kidney cancer growth depends on autophagy

New research at the University of Cincinnati (UC) suggests that kidney cancer growth depends on autophagy, a complex process that can provide cells with nutrients from intracellular sources. Researchers say in certain circumstances autophagy can protect tumor cells from chemotherapy, allowing them to survive for long periods of time in a hidden, dormant, metastatic state.

17 Apr 2012

International Microbicides Conference to discuss state of HIV prevention research

Researchers, activists and funders are meeting this week in Sydney to discuss the state of HIV prevention research. The biennial International Microbicides Conference, which was opened on Sunday evening by the Honorable Tanya Plibersek MP, Australian Minster of Health, is taking place amid renewed optimism about development and delivery of new HIV prevention options with the potential for ending the AIDS epidemic, including anti-retroviral based microbicides and pre-exposure prophylaxis.

17 Apr 2012

UCSF scientists assemble high-value genetic resource to help researchers

One of the ultimate ways of understanding what impact any particular gene has in human health or disease is to disrupt it-knocking it down or wiping it out in a worm, fly or mouse and gauging what happens next. Now scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Diabetes Center and the Gladstone Institute for Cardiovascular Disease have assembled a large publicly available resource to help researchers determine the importance of genes in mice and better gauge what roles they might play in disease.

17 Apr 2012

MTR can prevent cell death in patients with TBI

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researchers seeking a successful treatment for traumatic brain injury have found that the size and extent of damaged tissue can be reduced by using a new device to prevent cell death.

17 Apr 2012

Nurr1 gene plays a fundamental role in neuron survival

Researchers at the Institute of Neurosciences at Universitat Aut-noma de Barcelona (INc-UAB) identified the fundamental role played by the Nurr1 gene in neuron survival associated with synaptic activity. The discovery, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, allows scientists to study a new target that could help to understand the relationship between alterations in neural connections, which are known to cause early cognitive deficit, and the neurodegeneration characteristic of Alzheimer's disease.

17 Apr 2012