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Sanofi announces new results from alemtuzumab-Rebif comparative CARE-MS I trial

Sanofi and its subsidiary Genzyme announced today new results from the CARE-MS I trial, the first of two randomized, Phase III clinical trials comparing the investigational drug alemtuzumab to Rebif (high dose subcutaneous interferon beta-1a) in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

22 Oct 2011

Small molecule selectively blocks gene activity regulated by thyroid hormone

A small molecule developed at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital advances progress toward more tailored drugs in research that also offers insight into the biology of thyroid hormone.

22 Oct 2011

Eighth Circuit hears health law arguments

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Thursday regarding whether a health law legal challenge brought by two Missouri residents should be revived.

22 Oct 2011

Ferring reports on FDA approval of labeling supplement for EUFLEXXA to treat knee osteoarthritis

On Oct. 11, 2011, the FDA approved a labeling supplement for EUFLEXXA (1% sodium hyaluronate) that provides 26-week efficacy data from the FLEXX trial, as well as, 52-week safety data to demonstrate the safety of repeated injection cycles.

22 Oct 2011

Physiological changes, chronic illness make older adults more susceptible to illness during disasters

In a summer with unprecedented weather events, from tornados, floods, fires and hurricanes, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing found that physiological changes associated with aging and the presence of chronic illness make older adults more susceptible to illness or injury, even death, during a disaster.

22 Oct 2011

On debate night, Perry 'sidesteps' question about Texas' uninsured children

The question from GOP debate moderator Anderson Cooper on Tuesday night was about health care, specifically the high number of uninsured children in Texas. Gov. Rick Perry's answer decidedly was not….

22 Oct 2011

Writer's description of facial vividness linked to mirror neuron system

Celebrated writers such as Charles Dickens and George Eliot described characters' faces vividly without going into detail about their features, according to a research group led at the University of Strathclyde.

22 Oct 2011

Old age not synonymous with impairment and disability

Exceptional cognitive and physical function in old age leaves a tell-tale immunologic fingerprint, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Likewise, older adults who have mild impairments bear a distinct immunologic pattern, too, according to findings published today in the Public Library of Science: One.

22 Oct 2011

NYT: Wal-Mart cutting some health benefits

After trying to mollify its critics in recent years by offering better health care benefits to its employees, Wal-Mart is substantially rolling back coverage for part-time workers and significantly raising premiums for many full-time staff (Greenhouse and Abelson, 10/20).

22 Oct 2011

RCUK welcomes NAO's Value for Money study recommendations

Research Councils UK (RCUK) welcomed the recommendations made in the NAO's Value for Money study of the project to establish the RCUK Shared Service Centre. We thank the NAO for endorsing, through their recommendations, the approach that the Research Councils are already taking to ensure that the SSC's service matures quickly.

22 Oct 2011

UNICEF calls for additional resources to fight hunger, famine in Somalia

Though the humanitarian response to the food crisis in the Horn of Africa has lessened the suffering of thousands of people in the region, "more resources are needed to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of children in famine-hit areas of Somalia, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said" in a progress report released Thursday, the U.N. News Centre reports.

22 Oct 2011

Critical migrating neurons in the human brain decline during infancy

José Manuel García Verdugo, full professor of Cell Biology at University of Valencia, together with a University of California research team, has participated in the discovery of new pathways of neurons migrating from lateral ventricles to the prefrontal cortex. The work done in chidren at early ages reveals a new cell pathway which may increase the amount of neurons in regions important for cognitive tasks, emotional processes and spatial perception.

22 Oct 2011

Sewage provides perfect ecosystem for studying diversity of uncharacterized viral populations

Raw sewage provides a perfect ecosystem for studying the diversity of viral populations that remain uncharacterized. This is one of the principal conclusions of a study published in the journal mBio by a team comprising experts from the UB's Laboratory of Water and Food Viral Pollution, Washington University and the University of Pittsburgh, under the direction of James Pipas.

22 Oct 2011

Brazil to become world supplier of Chagas disease treatment

"Brazil is keen to take part in the international effort to expand access to medicines and to produce its own drugs, and will start by becoming the world supplier of medicines to treat Chagas disease," Health Minister Alexandre Padilha announced "at the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health, which opened Tuesday October 19 in Rio de Janeiro," Inter Press Service reports.

22 Oct 2011

Microbiome and its role in gastric and estrogen-related cancers

In the October 20th edition of the journal Cell Host and Microbe, Drs. Claudia Plottel and Martin J. Blaser of the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology at NYU Langone Medical Center, and the Department of Biology at New York University, present a model for understanding how cancer evolves in humans based on an understanding of the bacteria living in our body, the microbiome.

22 Oct 2011

Specific dopamine system gene variants linked to ADHD medication response in children

Children with certain dopamine system gene variants have an improved response to methylphenidate - the most commonly prescribed medication for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - in a finding that could help eliminate the guesswork from prescribing effective medications for children with ADHD.

22 Oct 2011

U.N. calls on international community to provide food aid to North Korea

"Wealthier countries need to put aside politics to help millions of North Koreans going hungry from food shortages, the U.N.'s top relief official said Friday, renewing an appeal for assistance that has largely gone unmet," the Associated Press/CBS News reports.

22 Oct 2011

VTT to develop next-generation vaccines against allergy

VTT holds patents on gene technology which can be applied to alter the structure of an allergen, i.e. a protein causing allergy, so that it will cause less allergic symptoms than the original allergen, while remaining effective in desensitisation therapy.

22 Oct 2011

HIV/AIDS clinic in Pakistan working to fight stigma, provide treatment

Inter Press Service reports on the Family Care Centre for people living with HIV/AIDS in Pakistan, which opened in Peshawar on September 1 "in the hope of breaking the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS" in a region where myths surrounding the disease and its transmission are prevalent.

22 Oct 2011

Medical homes save money, but many practices 'lack what it takes'

Families with special needs kids can save up to a third of their out-of pocket medical expenses by having a so-called "medical home" coordinate the care for their child, a news study suggests. A medical home could be a primary care doctor's office that incorporates the family in medical decision-making and coordinates and follows up on visits to specialists.

22 Oct 2011