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Researchers study Rett neurons in a Petri dish

A collaborative effort between researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of California, San Diego, successfully used human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells derived from patients with Rett syndrome to replicate autism in the lab and study the molecular pathogenesis of the disease.

12 Nov 2010

Neuropsychologist advices soldiers struggling with mild traumatic brain injury

For soldiers who have suffered a head injury, it can be frustrating when problems linger after returning home. Because there may be no physical signs of injury, issues like memory complaints or sleep disturbances that follow mild traumatic brain injury can be underestimated or overlooked by veterans and their families.

12 Nov 2010

Not enough doctors for primary care medical homes

Provisions of new federal health care reforms will move the country toward a primary care medical home for patients, but the nation may not have enough primary care doctors to handle the workload, according to a study by the University of Michigan Health System.

12 Nov 2010

Scientists unveil mechanism of liver regeneration

The liver's unique ability among organs to regenerate itself has been little understood. Now Weill Cornell Medical College scientists have shed light on how the liver restores itself by demonstrating that endothelial cells the cells that form the lining of blood vessels play a key role.

12 Nov 2010

Hartford Hospital research team receives $238,000 grant from InHealth to study prostate cancer

The Institute for Health Technology Studies (InHealth) has awarded a grant totaling more than $238,000 to a research team at the Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut to study how various prostate cancer treatments affect a patient's "social capital" the ability to continue working productively in a paying job.

12 Nov 2010

Inovio to update HVTN 080 Phase I clinical study for HIV at HVTN Conference

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that Dr. Spyros Kalams will provide an update of interim immune responses and safety results from the HVTN 080 Phase I clinical study of Inovio's PENNVAX-B HIV DNA vaccine in a preventive setting.

12 Nov 2010

Scientists create functional neurons to study ASD development

Using induced pluripotent stem cells from patients with Rett syndrome, scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have created functional neurons that provide the first human cellular model for studying the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and could be used as a tool for drug screening, diagnosis and personalized treatment.

12 Nov 2010

Drug industry roundup: Fosamax trial focuses scrutiny on osteoporosis drugs; What about $4 generics; Recalls undermining confidence

The New York Times: A civil trial against the drugmaker Merck is now underway in Manhattan. A retired investigator for the U.S. army is one of 1,400 people suing the company on the premise that Fosamax, a Merck drug used by millions of women with thinning bones, caused them to develop jawbone ailments.

12 Nov 2010

Ordway, Milestone to develop drug formulation for administration through CompuFlo injection technology

Milestone Scientific Inc., the recognized leader in advanced, computer controlled drug delivery technologies, and Ordway Research Institute, a leading research and drug development organization, have agreed to develop drug formulations for precise targeted delivery of drugs to affected body parts, organs and cancerous tissue through Milestone's patented CompuFlo injection technology.

12 Nov 2010

Carter Center, Merck take steps to prevent river blindness in Latin America

Public health officials at the 20th Inter-American Conference on Onchocerciasis in Antigua, Guatemala, confirmed that more than one-third of all Latin Americans who ran the risk of contracting river blindness (onchocerciasis), a leading cause of preventable blindness, are no longer at risk.

12 Nov 2010

New report highlights effectiveness of bed rest for pregnant women

Despite lack of evidence about bed rest's effectiveness, doctors annually prescribe it for roughly 1 million pregnant women to delay preterm births. Judith Maloni, professor at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University, said a comprehensive review of more than 70 evidence-based research articles challenges whether this is healthy for mothers or their babies.

12 Nov 2010

GPR124 protein controls growth of blood vessels into brains

One protein single-handedly controls the growth of blood vessels into the developing brains of mice embryos, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Understanding how the protein, a cellular receptor, functions could help clinicians battle brain tumors and stroke by choking off or supplementing vital blood-vessel development, and may enhance the delivery of drugs across the blood-brain barrier.

12 Nov 2010

Research on fruit flies reveal novel human pain gene

While it has become clear in recent years that susceptibility to pain has a strong inherited component, very little is known about actual "pain genes" and how they work. In the November 12th issue of Cell, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and their collaborators report on a novel human pain gene. People with minor variations in this gene showed clear differences in susceptibility to acute heat pain and chronic back pain.

12 Nov 2010

Research unveils epigenetic function of MECP2 gene tht cause neuropsychiatric disorders

The laboratory of Huda Zoghbi, where the discovery that mutations in the gene MECP2 cause the severe childhood neurological disorder Rett Syndrome was made, has taken yet another step toward unraveling the complex epigenetic functions of this gene, implicated also in cases of autism, bipolar disease and childhood onset schizophrenia. The November 11 issue of Nature reports that removing MECP2 from a small group of neurons that typically make the inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA, recapitulates many symptoms of Rett as well as numerous neuropsychiatric disorders.

12 Nov 2010

Holding and swaddling newborn infants during heel lance procedures reduces pain

For newborn infants, being held and swaddled is a simple and effective way to reduce pain during routine blood sampling, reports a study in the November/December issue of MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

12 Nov 2010

Reata to present bardoxolone methyl Phase 2b clinical trial data for CKD, type 2 diabetes at ASN Conference

Reata Pharmaceuticals today announced that the company will present data on the primary endpoint from a pivotal Phase 2b clinical trial of bardoxolone methyl in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes. The data will be presented in a late-breaking oral presentation at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Renal Week Conference to be held November 16-21, 2010, in Denver, Colorado.

12 Nov 2010

PenCLAHRC provides funding to support C. difficile research

The Peninsula Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (PenCLAHRC) has provided funding to support joint research between the University of Exeter and the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust to investigate why some cases of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) are more difficult to treat than others and also why some cases result in more incidences of relapses.

12 Nov 2010

Diabetic drug may retard growth of fluid-filled cysts in PKD: Research

Researchers report that a drug commonly used to treat diabetes may also retard the growth of fluid-filled cysts of the most common genetic disorder, polycystic kidney disease.

12 Nov 2010

33rd CTRC-AACR Symposium to feature breast cancer research

The 33rd CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium will feature the latest findings in prevention, epidemiological, laboratory, translational and clinical breast cancer research. This year's symposium will highlight new therapies in the pipeline, new approaches with existing agents and emerging biology that will affect the quest for personalized medicine.

12 Nov 2010

NCI awards $11.5 million to Fred Hutchinson Center for breast cancer research

The National Cancer Institute has awarded $11.5 million to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to lead a five-year, Seattle-based breast cancer research consortium. The goal of the endeavor is to positively impact breast cancer prevention, detection, treatment and care of women who have or are at risk for the disease.

11 Nov 2010