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Disabling RGS14 gene helps mice remember better

Deleting a certain gene in mice can make them smarter by unlocking a mysterious region of the brain considered to be relatively inflexible, scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have found.

18 Sep 2010

Researchers identify new target for cystic fibrosis

The lab of Kevin Foskett, PhD, the Isaac Ott Professor of Physiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, has found a possible new target for fighting cystic fibrosis (CF) that could compensate for the lack of a functioning ion channel in affected CF-related cells. Their finding appears in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

18 Sep 2010

Research Roundup: Assessing physician quality; Community health centers' future; Why doctors take gifts; Access to HIV treatment

Archives of Internal Medicine: Associations Between Physician Characteristics And Quality Of Care - Since "most patients do not have access to physician quality measures," they are often encouraged to use public information such as malpractice claims and board certification status to chose a doctor, according to this report that used 2004-2005 insurance claims from about 10,000 Massachusetts physicians for more than 1.13 million adults.

18 Sep 2010

Boehringer Ingelheim commences afatinib Phase III clinical trial in advanced breast cancer

Boehringer Ingelheim today announced the initiation of a phase III clinical trial to investigate one of its most advanced oncology pipeline compounds, afatinib, for the treatment of patients with advanced (metastatic) breast cancer. Afatinib is an oral compound (taken as a tablet), which is a next generation, targeted therapy, that irreversibly inhibits both, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/HER1) and the human epidermal receptor HER2, which are involved in tumour growth and spread.

18 Sep 2010

Today's Opinions: Recession's impact on the uninsured; Repeal of health reform? Then what?

The record number of people last year without health insurance — 50.7 million, up from 46.3 million in 2008 — provides stark evidence of why the country desperately needs the health care reforms enacted in March (9/16).

18 Sep 2010

Conference to discuss frontline of immunological research, its clinical application

The immune system is evolved to protect our body against a variety of infectious agents which can cause serious and often fatal diseases. We now appreciate that the immune system is also involved in surveillance of malignant transformation of normal cells that constitute our body, as well as rejection of transplanted organs.

17 Sep 2010

Teenagers devote more time to sedentary behaviour at weekend: European study

The new school year has started and the school routine is back. A European study led by Spanish researchers has shown how the proportion of young people who watch television and play on the computer for more than two hours per day doubles at the weekend. And while boys opt for video games, teenage girls prefer to surf the net.

17 Sep 2010

IOM briefing to discuss ways to improve health care quality, address health care work force shortage

Since its inception in July 2009, the Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine has worked to develop a blueprint for using nurse-led models of innovation to improve the health care system.

17 Sep 2010

New study shows impact of violence on Palestinian, Israeli children

As another round of talks continues between Israelis and Palestinians, a new University of Michigan study documents the impact the violence has been inflicting on the region's children.

17 Sep 2010

Inspire Pharmaceuticals to present denufosol tetrasodium therapy data at ERS Annual Congress

Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that data will be presented on denufosol tetrasodium, an investigational therapy for cystic fibrosis (CF), during oral and poster presentations at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Annual Congress September 18 - 22, 2010 in Barcelona, Spain.

17 Sep 2010

Report finds increase in osteopathic physicians

As concerns mount over whether there will be enough physicians to meet the nation's growing demand for health care, the number of osteopathic physicians (DOs) is reaching new heights, according to a report released today from the American Osteopathic Association.

17 Sep 2010

Women's Health Research releases progress report

A major effort to conduct research on women's health began about 20 years ago, when it became clear that results from studies until then, which involved mostly male subjects, were often misinterpreted or misapplied in the cases of female patients. Women's Health Research: Progress, Promise, and Pitfalls, new from the Institute of Medicine, offers a progress report on the state of women's health research.

17 Sep 2010

CID to provide update on Cre8 polymer-free DES program at TCT 2010

CID s.r.l., a European company leader in interventional medicine, will update interventional cardiologists on the status of their revolutionary drug eluting stent technology during The Drug Eluting Stent (DES) Summit at TCT 2010, Washington, DC on Wednesday, September 22, 2010. The lecture, entitled "Status of the CID Cre8 polymer-free DES program", will be delivered by Alexandre Abizaid, MD, PhD. Chief of Intervention at Instituto Dante Pazzanese, in Sao Paulo Brazil, and will be part of the session "The Next Generation DES, Polymer-Free".

17 Sep 2010

Center for One Health Illinois to receive additional $500,000 grant from USDA

The Center for One Health Illinois, established at the University of Illinois last year with a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will receive another $500,000 in grants over several years from the USDA to pursue its mission of fostering collaborations and the free flow of information among those in the fields of medicine, public health, the environment and agriculture.

17 Sep 2010

Global regulator for DNA trade needed

Amid growing concern that synthetic life sciences pose biosecurity and biosafety risks, scrutiny is increasing into the burgeoning DNA sequence trade. Research published today in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by SAGE, looks at the necessity of a global regulator for DNA trade, and the significant barriers to creating one.

17 Sep 2010

Implementation of solutions to emergency department crowding needed

An editorial published online on Friday in Annals of Emergency Medicine says the fact that a serious study showing that acute coronary patients can be treated in the waiting room of a severely crowded emergency department shows how bad things have gotten ("Waiting Room Medicine: Has It Really Come to This?").

17 Sep 2010

Researchers to develop vaginal microbicide gels to reduce HIV risk

With the support of an $11.8 million, five-year federal grant, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and their collaborators are developing a quick-dissolving vaginal film containing a powerful drug that reduces the risk of HIV infection, and they plan to begin testing it locally within a year.

17 Sep 2010

Research finds placebo improves sexual satisfaction among women

Many women with low sex drives reported greater sexual satisfaction after taking a placebo, according to new psychology research from The University of Texas at Austin and Baylor College of Medicine.

17 Sep 2010

Abiomed to provide updates on USpella registry, Impella case reviews at CRF annual TCT meeting

Abiomed Inc., a leading provider of breakthrough heart support technologies, today announced its schedule of events at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation's (CRF) annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific meeting, scheduled from September 21 - 25, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.

17 Sep 2010

Prometheus, Tarrot announce exclusive agreement for Crohn's Disease treatment

Prometheus Laboratories Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical and diagnostic company, and Tarrot Laboratories, a business unit of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, today announced the execution of an exclusive research collaboration and license agreement. The collaboration will focus on identifying genetic or serologic markers associated with clinical responses to anti-TNF therapies such as Cimzia, Humira and Remicade utilized in the treatment of Crohn's Disease, and the subsequent development of diagnostic tests.

17 Sep 2010