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SCCA's infection control program leads to suppression of potential H1N1 pandemic

Despite a 100-fold increase in H1N1 influenza cases in the Seattle area during spring 2009, an aggressive infection control program to protect immunocompromised cancer patients and thorough screening measures resulted in no corresponding increase in H1N1 cases among the total patient population at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, according to a new study by researchers and physicians at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the SCCA.

19 Dec 2009

Infection control program protects immunocompromised cancer patients from H1N1 infection

17 Dec 2009

ThromboGenics completes enrollment in second microplasmin Phase III trial

ThromboGenics NV, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative treatments for eye disease, vascular disease and cancer, announces today that it has completed the enrolment of the second Phase III trial evaluating microplasmin for the non-surgical treatment of eye disease.

16 Dec 2009

Pure populations of immature cells that enable male reproduction isolated and transplanted

Reproductive researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have succeeded in isolating and transplanting pure populations of the immature cells that enable male reproduction in two species-human spermatogonia and mouse gonocytes. These germline stem cells, taken from testis biopsies, demonstrated viability following transplantation to mouse testes within a controlled laboratory setting.

15 Dec 2009

Phase 1 clinical trial of iCo-007 demonstrates positive safety profile

iCo Therapeutics Inc. - iCo Therapeutics ("iCo") is pleased to announce that its Phase 1 clinical trial of iCo-007, having enrolled all patients in four cohorts of increasing concentration (110ug, 350ug, 700ug, 1000ug), has to date demonstrated a positive safety profile.

12 Dec 2009

ThromboGenics initiates Phase II trial of microplasmin for wet AMD

ThromboGenics NV, a biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative medicines for eye disease, vascular disease and cancer, announces today that it has started a Phase II trial of microplasmin for the treatment of exudative (wet) Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

11 Dec 2009

TGFb growth factor controls spread of cancer cells

The spread, or metastasis, of individual breast cancer cells from the main tumor into the blood circulation to the lungs and other body tissues and organs is under the control of a growth factor abbreviated TGFb, according to a study with laboratory mice that will be presented at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 49th Annual Meeting, Dec. 5-9, 2009 in San Diego.

7 Dec 2009

Axsun Technologies reports successful testing of novel OCT imaging integrated light source architecture

Axsun Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volcano Corporation, today announced the initial development and successful testing of a novel integrated light source architecture for OCT imaging. Axsun believes this proprietary optical engine design raises the bar on imaging speed and overcomes fundamental limitations of laser-based designs for swept source OCT light sources.

4 Dec 2009

Stentys commences enrollment in its comparative stent study

Medical device pioneer Stentys announced today that the first patient has been enrolled into the ‘APPOSITION II’ clinical study—a randomized trial comparing the Stentys self-expanding stent with a conventional balloon-expandable stent in AMI patients. The primary endpoint of the ‘APPOSITION II’ study is stent strut apposition at day three post-procedure via extremely high-resolution OCT (optical coherence tomography) imaging.

4 Dec 2009

GIS scientists publish the first genetic historical map of Han Chinese

The first genetic historical map of the Han Chinese, the largest ethnic population in the world, as they migrated from south to north over evolutionary time was published online today by the American Journal of Human Genetics by scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS).

26 Nov 2009

Fourth-quarter and full year fiscal 2009 results announced by Hillenbrand

Hillenbrand reported net revenues of $153.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2009, which ended Sept. 30, 2009, a $5.7 million (3.6 percent) decline from the same period in fiscal 2008. The company posted net income of $22.6 million, a $3.4 million (17.7 percent) increase from last year.

24 Nov 2009

Minimally invasive procedure relieves chronic back pain for retired school teacher

Carole Riggs, a retired teacher and school principal, points to her work during one Christmas vacation - bending, twisting and sitting on the floor to create games and teaching aids - as the primary culprit behind many years of back pain.

24 Nov 2009

Daschle still making voice heard on health care

The Hill reports that former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle helped Obama Administration officials strategize to win health care reform votes from Senators on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

19 Nov 2009

Aegera Therapeutics commences AEG35156 Phase 2B study for AML

Aegera Therapeutics Inc. announced today the dosing of the first patient in a randomized Phase 2B study of AEG35156, a targeted antisense therapeutic in mid-stage development for multiple oncology indications.

19 Nov 2009

Cappella commences evaluation of the Sideguard Coronary Sidebranch Stent & Delivery System

Cappella, Inc., a medical device company developing dynamic solutions for the treatment of coronary bifurcation disease, announced the start of Sideguard 3, an IVUS/OCT evaluation of the Sideguard® Coronary Sidebranch Stent & Delivery System. This is a European multicenter study to evaluate the vascular response to Sideguard in de novo bifurcation lesions of native coronary arteries.

16 Nov 2009

Lack of health insurance leads to death of 2,266 U.S. military veterans in 2008

A research team at Harvard Medical School estimates 2,266 U.S. military veterans under the age of 65 died last year because they lacked health insurance and thus had reduced access to care. That figure is more than 14 times the number of deaths (155) suffered by U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2008, and more than twice as many as have died (911 as of Oct. 31) since the war began in 2001.

11 Nov 2009

Prepubertal boys with cancer can bank on their testicular tissue for preserving fertility

For parents of children with cancer, the hopeful news is that pediatric survival rates have steadily improved for decades. Among the bad news-treatments that enable survival often cause infertility.

10 Nov 2009

Costly ER bills raise questions, concerns

McClatchy/The Sacramento Bee reports on a the experience of Scott Hawkins, a 23-year old student who received five minutes of ER care at the UC Davis Medical Center before being pronounced dead. McClatchy reports: "Few question the extent to which doctors tried to save the student's life on Oct. 21, but the amount billed for his emergency care has provoked outrage - a further example, critics said, of what is wrong in a health care system that is roundly maligned for its escalating costs."

9 Nov 2009

NHLBI stops enrollment in study comparing resuscitation strategies

Enrollment has ended early in a large, multicenter clinical trial comparing two distinct resuscitation strategies delivered by emergency medical service (EMS) providers to increase blood flow during cardiac arrest. The study's independent monitoring board and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the lead sponsor of the study, stopped enrollment based on preliminary data suggesting that neither strategy significantly improved survival.

7 Nov 2009

Health policy research roundup

Health Affairs: Enrollment Is Driving Medicaid Costs—But Two Targets Can Yield Savings - "Although Medicaid spending has grown faster than the rate of increase in national health spending, much of this is explained by increased enrollment," write the authors of this paper, who present data showing that "[p]er enrollee, Medicaid spending actually compares favorably to increases in medical care prices and gross domestic product."

7 Nov 2009