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CDC grant to support community-based public health project in RI and CT

A $250,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will support a Rhode Island Hospital research study aimed at reducing the state's leading cause of accidental death among adults. Researchers will explore the use and effectiveness of statewide prescription monitoring programs (PMP) in reducing the number of accidental overdose deaths involving prescription opioids like OxyContin and Vicodin in both Rhode Island and Connecticut.

6 Oct 2010

Health IT may bring unintended consequences

The Philadelphia Inquirer: As the Obama administration nudges the health system toward electronic medical records, researchers have identified some unintended consequences.

6 Oct 2010

Insulin-sensitizing drugs may offer new treatments for kidney failure

Evidence reported in the October issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, offers a completely new explanation for why people with diabetes account for more than half of all patients requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation. It appears that insulin has a significant influence on the structure and proper function of a particular group of very specialized cells, known as podocytes, that are integral to the kidney's ability to do its job filtering blood.

6 Oct 2010

USP announces revision schedule for Model Guidelines Version 5.0

As the Medicare Model Guidelines-a listing of therapeutic categories and pharmacologic classes that Medicare Part D plans can utilize when developing their formularies-undergo revision for the first time in three years, the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is announcing its revision schedule and the expanded opportunities for public input as it develops Version 5.0.

6 Oct 2010

Amino acid mixture increases survival in mice

When mice are given drinking water laced with a special concoction of amino acids, they live longer than your average mouse, according to a new report in the October issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. The key ingredients in the supplemental mixture are so-called branched-chain amino acids, which account for 3 of the 20 amino acids (specifically leucine, isoleucine, and valine) that are the building blocks of proteins.

6 Oct 2010

Sebelius: Medicare Advantage cuts won't hurt plans

Will the health law curb private Medicare insurance plans, known as Medicare Advantage, or won't it? Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters Monday that it won't, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. "Ms. Sebelius said the decision by a large Massachusetts insurer to leave the Medicare Advantage market is not a harbinger of the program's decline.

6 Oct 2010

New approach method could simplify study and treatment of human diseases

Therapeutic antibodies can be an efficient alternative when common drugs do not work anymore. However, antibodies obtained from blood of animals such as mice could not be used: The human immune system recognizes them as foreign and rejects them.

6 Oct 2010

Lixte, NCI collaborate for clinical evaluation of LB-100 compound

Lixte Biotechnology Holdings announced today that the National Cancer Institute Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) Program Senior Advisory Committee (SAC), Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), signed a NExT Material Transfer Agreement formalizing a collaboration with Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc. for clinical evaluation of LB-100, one of Lixte's lead anti-cancer compounds.

6 Oct 2010

CPF honors three critical areas of leadership for Pulmonary Fibrosis community

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) has announced its annual awards honoring three critical areas of leadership that impact the work of the Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) community.

5 Oct 2010

Archimedes publishes FPNS clinical study results in Pain journal

Archimedes Pharma US Inc. today announced publication of results from a pivotal clinical study of Fentanyl Pectin Nasal Spray (FPNS) in the treatment of breakthrough cancer pain (BTCP).

5 Oct 2010

Preclinical data of Enzon's PEG-SN38 in pediatric neuroblastoma published in Clinical Cancer Research

Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the publication of preclinical data demonstrating that PEG-SN38 (EZN-2208), the Company's novel PEGylated DNA topoisomerase I inhibitor, led to significantly greater tumor regression as compared to CPT-11 (irinotecan) in both in vitro and in vivo models of pediatric neuroblastoma.

5 Oct 2010

Intellect Neurosciences receives patent for Alzheimer's disease monoclonal antibody program

Intellect Neurosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company with internal preclinical and clinical-stage pipelines, as well as multiple licenses with major pharmaceutical companies covering products in late-stage clinical trials, announced that it has received a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) related to its internal Alzheimer's disease (AD) monoclonal antibody program.

5 Oct 2010

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics to present ICT-107 clinical data at World Stem Cell Summit

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel immune-based cancer therapies, today announced that the company's clinical data from ICT-107 will be featured in two oral sessions at the World Stem Cell Summit, which is being held October 4-6 in Detroit, MI.

5 Oct 2010

GE Healthcare launches first human cellular assay product

Geron Corporation today announced that GE Healthcare has launched the first human cellular assay product for use in drug discovery and toxicity screening, developed under a license and alliance agreement between the two companies.

5 Oct 2010

FDA grants Matrix tentative approval under PEPFAR for Atazanavir Sulfate Capsules ANDA

Mylan Inc. today announced that its subsidiary Matrix Laboratories Limited has received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Atazanavir Sulfate Capsules, 150 mg and 300 mg. This product will be eligible for purchase outside the U.S. in certain developing countries.

5 Oct 2010

Researchers explore changes in brain regions to combat sleep apnea

According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the average sleep apnea sufferer stops breathing and loses oxygen between five and 30 times a night. This lack of oxygen leads to a host of complications, including high blood pressure, vascular disease, an abnormal heart rhythm, or even a fatal cardiac event. Now, a team of University of Missouri researchers is exploring the changes in distinct brain regions that contribute to these symptoms in hopes of combating this common health issue.

5 Oct 2010

Researchers reveal ways to halt Rett Syndrome

In a study published today in the Journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an international team of researchers based in the U.S. and UK revealed that they were able to halt the potentially lethal, breath holding episodes associated with the neurological disease Rett syndrome.

5 Oct 2010

Combining computer simulations with laboratory experiments gives best results in drug development

While computer simulations of how the body metabolises drugs save both time and money,the best results when developing new drugs come from combining such simulations with laboratory experiments, reveals a researcher from the University of Gothenburg.

5 Oct 2010

Researchers investigate ways to increase survival rate in patients with Parkinson's disease

New research shows how old people are when they first develop Parkinson's disease is one of many clues in how long they'll survive with the disease. The research is published in the October 5, 2010, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

5 Oct 2010

Researchers are developing new drug for osteoporosis

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered a group of substances in the body that play a key role in controlling bone density, and on this basis they have begun development of a drug for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and other bone disorders.

5 Oct 2010