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Blocking CRF may prevent excessive alcohol consumption

A team of scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has found that a specific stress hormone, the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), is key to the development and maintenance of alcohol dependence in animal models.

28 Jan 2010

Pfizer's new pipeline shows growth and diversity in research and development

Pfizer Inc. today provided an update to its pipeline for the first time since the close of the acquisition of Wyeth in October, 2009. The new development pipeline, composed of assets from both legacy companies, includes 133 programs from phase 1 through registration, and shows growth and increased diversity in each of the areas where the company invests in research and development.

28 Jan 2010

MedCI forms new strategic alliance with Genta

MedCI LLC, a life-science business consulting services company, announced the formation of a new strategic alliance with Genta Incorporated to secure licensing partners for Genta’s small molecule oncology compound, tesetaxel.

28 Jan 2010

Electrode devices emerge as potential stimulation treatments for depression

Approximately ten to thirty percent of patients with depression do not respond to drug treatments commonly used for the disorder, and this has spurred a search for alternatives. According to Kalorama Information's report "Electrical and Magnetic Neurostimulation," electrode devices that stimulate nerves have emerged as a solution and there is competition among notable device companies to provide the most effective stimulator.

28 Jan 2010

Clinton rebuffs criticism of U.S. aid to Haiti, pledges redoubling of efforts to help quake survivors

"Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday she resents criticism of the U.S. effort to help stricken Haiti and pledged to redouble efforts to help survivors of the Jan. 12 earthquake," the Associated Press/CBSNews.com reports. "I deeply resent those who attack our country, the generosity of our people and the leadership of our president in trying to respond to historically disastrous conditions after the earthquake," she said.

27 Jan 2010

Abbott declares quarterly dividend of 40 cents per share

Abbott today announced financial results for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009.

27 Jan 2010

Findings provide new insight into factors causing neurodegenerative diseases

Scientists at the Babraham Institute have discovered a novel survival factor whose rapid transport along nerve cells is crucial for keeping them alive. The same factor seems likely to be needed to keep our nerves healthy as we age.

27 Jan 2010

USPTO grants Cenestra Health patent relating to high-purity omega-3 fatty acid formulations

Cenestra Health announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a key patent related to the company's high-purity omega-3 fatty acid formulations and their methods of use. U.S. Patent No. 7652068, entitled "Omega-3 Fatty Acid Formulations," covers a unique, high-purity formulation of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).

27 Jan 2010

FDA recalls Huber infusion set needles

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced a Class I recall of Exel/Exelint Huber needles, Exel/Exelint Huber Infusion Sets and Exel/Exelint "Securetouch+" Safety Huber Infusion Sets, manufactured by Nipro Medical Corporation for Exelint International Corporation.finf

27 Jan 2010

Scott & White conducts DBS research for Parkinson's patients

At Scott & White Memorial Hospital, a multi-disciplinary team of neurosurgeons, neurologists, neurophysiologist, neuropsychologists and a movement disorders specialist are offering hope to some Parkinson's patients with a treatment called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). DBS involves placing a thin wire that carries electrical currents deep within the brain on Parkinson's patients who are no longer benefitting from medications, and have significant uncontrollable body movements called dyskinesia. Scott & White is also performing research into the effects of DBS on the non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease including "drenching sweats," bladder dysfunction, depression, hallucination, anxiety, and dementia as well as intestinal disorders, loss of sense of smell, and sleep disturbances.

27 Jan 2010

Testing DBS for treating severe long-term depression

Bewernick and colleagues administered DBS treatment in ten patients with severe long-term depression who had not responded to multiple other antidepressant treatments, including psychotherapy, drug treatments and electroconvulsive treatment. After one year of DBS, all patients showed some improvement, and half of them experienced significant improvement in their symptoms of depression, astonishing considering they had not responded to any prior antidepressant treatment. In addition, the patients showed reduced ratings of anxiety and had only minor side effects. Importantly, none of their overall brain functioning was impaired by the DBS treatment.

27 Jan 2010

FDA's Ampyra approval wonderful news for people with MS experiencing walking problems

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the marketing of Ampyra™ (dalfampridine, formerly known as fampridine SR, from Acorda Therapeutics) for its ability to improve walking speed in people with any type of multiple sclerosis.

23 Jan 2010

FDA approves fampridine-SR drug for treatment of multiple sclerosis

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug fampridine-SR for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) have been evaluating the effects of the drug in MS for more than 10 years- it is the first medication shown to enhance some neurological functions in people with the disease - and their efforts helped pave the way for today's action by the FDA.

23 Jan 2010

Ampyra receives FDA approval for improving walking in MS patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Ampyra (dalfampridine) extended release tablets to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In clinical trials, patients treated with Ampyra had faster walking speeds than those treated with an inactive pill (placebo). This is the first drug approved for this use.

23 Jan 2010

Researchers produce DVD to help patients live with and manage neuropathic pain

Health professionals and patients can now go online for help and tips from a groundbreaking pain clinic, which halved referrals to hospital.

22 Jan 2010

Findings offer potential significance to the recovery of walking after spinal cord injury

Researchers at the medical university Karolinska Institutet have created a genetically modified mouse in which certain neurons can be activated by blue light. Shining blue light on brainstems or spinal cords isolated from these mice produces walking-like motor activity. The findings, which are published in the scientific journal Nature Neuroscience, are of potential significance to the recovery of walking after spinal cord injury.

22 Jan 2010

Vitamin D insufficiency associated with higher risk of relapse attacks in patients with MS

Low vitamin D blood levels are associated with a significantly higher risk of relapse attacks in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who develop the disease during childhood, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco.

22 Jan 2010

Researchers identify new therapeutic approach for stroke treatment

For the first time, research led by Youming Lu, PhD, MD, Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine, has identified a novel mechanism that may trigger brain damage during stroke and identified a therapeutic approach to block it.

22 Jan 2010

Findings may aid in developing therapeutic drugs for stroke and other neurodegenerative diseases

Biomedical scientists from the University of Central Florida and Louisiana State University have identified a way to block a "cell death signal" that they believe triggers brain damage during strokes.

22 Jan 2010