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Researcher of LA BioMed elected to distinguished fellow status of SVS

Carlos E. Donayre, MD, a researcher at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed), has been elected to distinguished fellow status of the Society for Vascular Surgery- (SVS).

20 Aug 2009

US FDA announces establishment of the Center for Tobacco Products with Lawrence Deyton as Center Director

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announcement today that it is establishing the Center for Tobacco Products and has selected Lawrence Deyton, MSPH, MD, a highly respected and experienced public health leader, as the Center Director is a demonstration of its commitment to moving quickly and vigorously to implement its new authority to regulate tobacco products, the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. This announcement comes just two months after Congress approved and President Obama signed into law historic legislation giving the FDA authority over tobacco products.

20 Aug 2009

Shortage of medical isotopes could affect the health of Canadians

Canada's physicians are deeply troubled about the prolonged and unpredictable shortage of medical isotopes and impact the crisis continues to have on patient care.

20 Aug 2009

U.S.District Court ruling favors Merck in patent infringement suit against Teva Pharmaceuticals

Merck & Co., Inc. announced today that the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has ruled in Merck's favor in a patent infringement suit against Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. (Teva).

20 Aug 2009

Scientists develop new technique to target brain cancer cells

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago's Brain Tumor Center have developed a way to target brain cancer cells using inorganic titanium dioxide nanoparticles bonded to soft biological material.

20 Aug 2009

National Science Foundation funds CMU for developing revolutionary computational tools

A multidisciplinary team led by Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist Edmund M. Clarke has received a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation's Expeditions in Computing program to create revolutionary computational tools that will advance science on a broad array of fronts, from discovering new cancer treatments to designing safer aircraft.

20 Aug 2009

DNA-encased carbon nanotubes used for treating human prostate cancer tumors in mice

Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have destroyed prostate cancer tumors in mice by injecting them with specially-coated, miniscule carbon tubes and then superheating the tubes with a brief zap of a laser.

20 Aug 2009

Nano-bio material kills cancer cells, leaves healthy cells in unharmed

19 Aug 2009

FDA approves Hiberix Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine

In response to a U.S. shortage of a vaccine to protect infants from Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) has received accelerated approval from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for Hiberix((R)) [Haemophilus b Conjugate Vaccine (Tetanus Toxoid Conjugate)] as a booster dose in children 15 months through four years of age. Hib is an often severe and potentially deadly bacterial infection that can cause meningitis.

19 Aug 2009

3M introduces Littmann electronic stethoscope with Bluetooth

Taking the stethoscope into the 21st century, 3M today announced the introduction of the 3M™ Littmann® Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200, a next-generation auscultation device featuring Bluetooth technology that wirelessly transfers heart, lung and other body sounds to software for further analysis.

19 Aug 2009

News outlets continue to explain how end-of-life care counseling works

NPR talks with Dr. David Casarett, associate professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania who started the palliative care service at the VA hospital in Philadelphia, about "the rhetoric around the end-of-life issues addressed in some of the proposed health care legislation" (Block, 8/18).

19 Aug 2009

Nurses and clinical officers in Africa know when a person should receive antiretroviral therapy

Nurses and clinical officers (non-physician clinicians, NPCs) are capable of determining when a person should receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV/AIDS. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Human Resources for Health suggest that this should ease the strain on overstretched doctors in sub-Saharan Africa and thereby help increase access to antiretroviral therapy, particularly in rural areas.

19 Aug 2009

70 percent of specialty doctors oppose health-care reform proposals

Chairman of the ASMD, Alfred O. Bonati, M.D., said that, "As a physician, the results of this poll are not surprising to me. Any doctor who has ever dealt with Medicare knows that government coverage severely limits our abilities to deliver care that best fits the needs of the patient and the patient's family. We know that government coverage does not allow for flexibility, creativity, or, sometimes, even compassion."

19 Aug 2009

U.S. Food and Drug Administration launches new Center for Tobacco Products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today launched its new Center for Tobacco Products in an historic effort to curb the hundreds of thousands of deaths caused by those products each year.

19 Aug 2009

Newly discovered anti-aging gene linked to high blood pressure

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have shown the first link between a newly discovered anti-aging gene and high blood pressure. The results, which appear this month in the journal Hypertension, offer new clues on how we age and how we might live longer.

19 Aug 2009

Health Research International publishes reports on opportunities presented by transcatheter and minimally invasive surgical valve technologies

Transcatheter heart valve technologies are positioned to become the next disruptive influence in cardiovascular medicine and drive a multi-billion dollar market. However, questions remain about the timing of adoption of these new technologies, the numbers and types of patients ultimately benefitting from them, the impact of reimbursement, and where transcatheter technologies pose the greatest threat to the current surgical caseload, especially in light of developments in minimally invasive heart valve surgery technologies.

19 Aug 2009

Researchers find connection between eye disease and arginase

Elevated levels of the enzyme arginase contribute to vascular eye damage and Medical College of Georgia researchers say therapies to normalize its levels could halt progression of potentially blinding diseases such as diabetic retinopathy.

19 Aug 2009

Improving the health and well-being of U.S. lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teens

Research indicates that the social stigma that surrounds lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) teens leads to a variety of health risks such as substance use, risky sexual behaviors, eating disorders, suicidal ideation, and victimization.

19 Aug 2009

New "micropatterning" method useful in gene expression studies

Like oil and water, two water-based liquids can mingle without mixing in a new University of Michigan technology developed for biological experiments.

19 Aug 2009

Depression causes reduced function in the reward center of brain

Clinically depressed individuals are less capable of finding pleasure in activities they previously enjoyed, a recent study has proven. Research featured in the August 26 issue of the NeuroReport shows reduced brain function in the reward center of the brain in depressed individuals, when compared to healthy subjects.

19 Aug 2009