Pancreatitis News and Research

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Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large gland behind the stomach and close to the duodenum—the first part of the small intestine. The pancreas secretes digestive juices, or enzymes, into the duodenum through a tube called the pancreatic duct. Pancreatic enzymes join with bile—a liquid produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder—to digest food. The pancreas also releases the hormones insulin and glucagon into the bloodstream. These hormones help the body regulate the glucose it takes from food for energy.

Normally, digestive enzymes secreted by the pancreas do not become active until they reach the small intestine. But when the pancreas is inflamed, the enzymes inside it attack and damage the tissues that produce them.

Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic. Either form is serious and can lead to complications. In severe cases, bleeding, infection, and permanent tissue damage may occur.

Surgeons now use minimally invasive robotic surgical system for Whipple procedure

The Whipple procedure, used to remove tumors from pancreatic cancer patients, is one of surgery's most extensive and challenging operations.

11 Feb 2014

Furiex announces top-line results of Phase III clinical trials of eluxadoline in treatment of IBS-d

Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: FURX) today announced top-line results indicating the company's two pivotal Phase III clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of eluxadoline in the treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-d) met both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) formally agreed-upon primary endpoints of composite response based on simultaneous improvements in stool consistency and abdominal pain.

4 Feb 2014

Vodka contributes to high death rates in Russia, new study confirms

The high and sharply fluctuating death rates in Russia are due mainly to alcohol, particularly vodka, a new prospective study of 151 000 adults confirms.

3 Feb 2014

Diagnostic microRNA panels in blood may help in early detection of pancreatic cancer

Researchers have identified diagnostic microRNA panels in whole blood that had the ability to distinguish, to some degree, patients with and without pancreatic cancer, according to a study in the January 22/29 issue of JAMA.

21 Jan 2014

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals' Iclusig now commercially available to patients in the U.S.

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the commercial availability of Iclusig (ponatinib) for adult patients with refractory chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the United States. ARIAD has begun shipping Iclusig to Biologics, Inc., its exclusive specialty pharmacy, which is now filling prescriptions from physicians and distributing the cancer medicine to patients.

18 Jan 2014

FDA Advisory Committee recommends metreleptin for treatment of generalized lipodystrophy

AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee (EMDAC) recommends the investigational medicine metreleptin for the treatment of pediatric and adult patients with generalized lipodystrophy (LD).

12 Dec 2013

Study shows children with ALL can safely receive intravenous infusions of chemotherapy

Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of pediatric cancer, can safely receive intravenous infusions of a reformulated mainstay of chemotherapy that has been delivered via painful intramuscular injection for more than 40 years, research suggests.

11 Dec 2013

Novartis to present updates on broad cancer portfolio at ASH and SABCS symposiums

Novartis will present updates on its broad cancer portfolio with more than 240 abstracts at the upcoming American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting and CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS).

4 Dec 2013

Patients treated with high-risk endoscopic procedure less likely to be admitted in hospital

Patients who seek treatment from physicians who more frequently perform a high-risk endoscopic procedure are less likely to be admitted to the hospital or require a repeat procedure. Unfortunately, 90 percent of physicians performing these procedures do very few of them.

19 Nov 2013

FDA approves Prior Approval Supplement for EMBEDA Extended Release Capsules CII

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a Prior Approval Supplement for EMBEDA (morphine sulfate and naltrexone hydrochloride) Extended Release Capsules CII.

4 Nov 2013

ARIAD temporarily suspends commercial distribution of Iclusig drug in US

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it is temporarily suspending the marketing and commercial distribution of Iclusig® (ponatinib), a treatment for patients with resistant or intolerant chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL), in the United States, while it continues to negotiate updates to the U.S. prescribing information for Iclusig and implementation of a risk mitigation strategy.

31 Oct 2013

Hopes Raised For Early Pancreatic Cancer Detection

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25 Oct 2013

Leukemia drug reverses symptoms of colitis in lab tests

A drug currently on the market to treat leukemia reversed symptoms of colitis in lab tests, according to recently published findings by medical researchers with the University of Alberta.

24 Oct 2013

A simple blood test may reveal the earliest signs of pancreatic cancer

Reporting on a small preliminary study, Johns Hopkins researchers say a simple blood test based on detection of tiny epigenetic alterations may reveal the earliest signs of pancreatic cancer, a disease that is nearly always fatal because it isn't usually discovered until it has spread to other parts of the body.

23 Oct 2013

EvergreenHealth named one of America's 100 Best Hospitals in three specialty areas

EvergreenHealth today announced it has earned several distinctions for 2014 across many of the health care system's specialties from Healthgrades, the nation's leading independent provider of information to help consumers make informed decisions about a physician or hospital.

23 Oct 2013

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided drainage improves outcomes in patients with pseudocysts

Researchers report that in patients with pseudocysts with viscous debris-laden fluid, endoscopic ultrasound-guided drainage by using a combination of a nasocystic drain and transmural stents improves clinical outcomes and lowers the stent occlusion rate compared with those who underwent drainage via stents alone.

22 Oct 2013

ARIAD discontinues Phase 3 EPIC trial of Iclusig in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it is discontinuing the Phase 3 EPIC (Evaluation of Ponatinib versus Imatinib in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia) trial of Iclusig (ponatinib) in patients with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia.

18 Oct 2013

Intravenous feeding can cause liver damage, say researchers

Researchers know that feeding some patients intravenously can save their lives - but also can cause liver damage. Now scientists at the University of Colorado and Children's Hospital Colorado have figured out the likely culprit, one of the ingredients in intravenous food, behind the liver problems.

10 Oct 2013

ARIAD announces changes in Iclusig product labeling to reflect updated safety information

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced results of its review of updated clinical data from the pivotal PACE trial of Iclusig® (ponatinib) and actions that it is taking following consultations with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

9 Oct 2013

Six prominent surgeons awarded Honorary Fellowship at Clinical Congress of ACS

Last night Honorary Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons (ACS) was awarded to six prominent surgeons from Germany, England, Thailand, Mexico, and Malaysia during the Convocation ceremony that preceded the official opening of the 2013 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.

7 Oct 2013