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Researchers discover new target for drugs to prevent common iron deficiency

The discovery of a major player in the body's regulation of iron levels should provide a new target for drugs that prevent common iron deficiency as well as rare, potentially deadly iron overload, researchers said.

29 Jan 2010

New research raises hopes that immune rejection of embryonic stem cell therapies can be avoided without drugs

New research in the FASEB Journal shows that bone marrow cells fuse to different types of cells, including embryonic stem cells, creating new hybrids that may evade immune rejection

29 Jan 2010

Conatus Pharmaceuticals initiates combination trial of CTS-1027 with pegylated interferon and ribavirin for HCV

Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today the initiation of a Phase II clinical trial evaluating CTS-1027 in combination with pegylated interferon (Pegasys®) and ribavirin (Copegus®) in refractory HCV patients. Antiviral activity, safety and tolerability of the triple combination will be assessed after up to 48 weeks of therapy.

28 Jan 2010

Ligand Pharmaceuticals acquires Metabasis Therapeutics

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced that it has completed the acquisition of Metabasis Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBRX), following approval of the transaction by Metabasis stockholders yesterday. As a result, Ligand gains a fully funded partnership with Roche, additional pipeline assets and drug discovery technologies and resources. The transaction was first announced on October 27, 2009.

28 Jan 2010

Most Britons not aware of the dangers of alcohol misuse

A government-funded advertising campaign launching today, backed by Cancer Research UK and other major health charities, aims to raise awareness of the unseen health damage caused by regular alcohol misuse.

28 Jan 2010

Florida State University research team to develop way of measuring zinc levels in the human body

A team of Florida State University researchers will use a five-year, $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a way to measure levels of the trace metal zinc in the human body.

28 Jan 2010

Transplant tourism: Ethical issues

A recent case study by doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York examined the ethical issues posed by transplant tourism, an offshoot of medical tourism, which focuses solely on transplantation surgery. Many American transplant professionals frown on the practice of transplant tourism where patients travel to countries such as China, India, and the Philippines for their transplantation.

28 Jan 2010

Patients with NAFLD have higher overall mortality rate, say researchers

Researchers from the Karolinska Institute determined that patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have a higher overall mortality rate compared with the general population.

28 Jan 2010

Budgetary freeze will impact over 5M Americans afflicted with chronic viral hepatitis

Ms. Lorren Sandt, Chair of the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR) issued the following statement in advance of the President's State of the Union Address. NVHR is a coalition of more than 150 public, private, and voluntary organizations dedicated to reducing the incidence of infection, morbidity, and mortality from chronic viral hepatitis that afflicts more than 5 million Americans:

28 Jan 2010

Vitamin D supplements can counter the effects of Crohn's disease

A new study has found that Vitamin D, readily available in supplements or cod liver oil, can counter the effects of Crohn's disease. John White, an endocrinologist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, led a team of scientists from McGill University and the Universit- de Montr-al who present their findings about the inflammatory bowel disease in the latest Journal of Biological Chemistry.

27 Jan 2010

January is ‘Thyroid Awareness Month’

We often go to great lengths to look and feel our best. Yet many never realize that one of the keys to a healthy body and a productive life rests just below the neck.

27 Jan 2010

TE can be accurately performed in majority of NAFLD patients to exclude advanced fibrosis

Researchers from France and Hong Kong determined that transient elastography (TE), a noninvasive, ultrasonic imaging modality, can be accurately performed in the majority of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to exclude advanced fibrosis. Full findings of this study, funded by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, appear in the February issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

27 Jan 2010

WellWorld Science officially launches Livea in the U.S.

After more than 30 years of research and an extensive open-label weight loss study, WellWorld Science® announces the official U.S. launch of Livea®, a doctor-developed, non-prescription, patent-pending appetite-control supplement that is unlike any other dietary supplement on the market.

27 Jan 2010

Study could lead to better understanding of how certain birth defects occur in humans

Scientists have identified a gene family that plays a key role in one of the earliest stages of development in which an embryo distinguishes its left side from the right and determines how organs should be positioned within the body. The finding in mice likely will lead to a better understanding of how certain birth defects occur in humans.

27 Jan 2010

Hypothermic machine perfusion outperforms standard cold-storage liver preservation

Preserving organs on ice prior to transplantation, an approach known as cold storage or CS, has been the standard practice in liver transplant for 20 years. Now there is new evidence that a technique called hypothermic machine perfusion (HMP) may offer an improvement, according to the first-ever study comparing the impact of the two techniques on transplant outcomes.

27 Jan 2010

GEH to create a supply of molybdenum-99 for use in nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) announced today it has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to help develop a U.S. supply of a radioisotope used in more than 20 million diagnostic medical procedures in the United States each year.

27 Jan 2010

AAN guideline finds diazepam drug is effective for treating children with cerebral palsy

A new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society finds botulinum toxin type A to be an effective treatment for spasticity, muscle tightness that interferes with movement, in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy, but poses some risk.

27 Jan 2010

Promising results in mice could prevent fatal iron buildup in humans

A new study shows that a protein found in blood alleviates anemia, a condition in which the body's tissues don't get enough oxygen from the blood. In this animal study, injections of the protein, known as transferrin, also protected against potentially fatal iron overload in mice with thalassemia, a type of inherited anemia that affects millions of people worldwide.

27 Jan 2010

Dynavax Technologies to present data on its SD-101 Phase 1b trial for chronic HCV infection

Dynavax Technologies Corporation announced today data from two studies that differentiate SD-101 from standard-of-care as well as emerging treatments for chronic HCV infection. The findings of a Phase 1b clinical trial and an in vitro study of SD-101's mechanism of action show that the second-generation TLR9 agonist is well tolerated and safe and induces both IFN-lambda and IFN-alpha at concentrations producing antiviral activity. The data will be presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Vienna, Austria in April 2010.

27 Jan 2010

Institute of Medicine urges healthcare providers to take steps to battle hepatitis B and C

The Institute of Medicine, a branch of the US National Academy of Sciences, is urging healthcare providers to take steps to battle liver-damaging hepatitis B and C, which are often overlooked viruses.

25 Jan 2010

Liver News and Research

Researchers discover new target for drugs to prevent common iron deficiency

New research raises hopes that immune rejection of embryonic stem cell therapies can be avoided without drugs

Conatus Pharmaceuticals initiates combination trial of CTS-1027 with pegylated interferon and ribavirin for HCV

Ligand Pharmaceuticals acquires Metabasis Therapeutics

Most Britons not aware of the dangers of alcohol misuse

Florida State University research team to develop way of measuring zinc levels in the human body

Transplant tourism: Ethical issues

Patients with NAFLD have higher overall mortality rate, say researchers

Budgetary freeze will impact over 5M Americans afflicted with chronic viral hepatitis

Vitamin D supplements can counter the effects of Crohn's disease

January is ‘Thyroid Awareness Month’

TE can be accurately performed in majority of NAFLD patients to exclude advanced fibrosis

WellWorld Science officially launches Livea in the U.S.

Study could lead to better understanding of how certain birth defects occur in humans

Hypothermic machine perfusion outperforms standard cold-storage liver preservation

GEH to create a supply of molybdenum-99 for use in nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures

AAN guideline finds diazepam drug is effective for treating children with cerebral palsy

Promising results in mice could prevent fatal iron buildup in humans

Dynavax Technologies to present data on its SD-101 Phase 1b trial for chronic HCV infection

Institute of Medicine urges healthcare providers to take steps to battle hepatitis B and C

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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