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Risingsun signs consent decree to stop selling unapproved drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that Toby McAdam and Greta Armstrong, doing business as Risingsun Health and The Center for Complimentary and Alternative Health of Livingston, Montana, have signed a consent decree that prohibits them from manufacturing and selling unapproved new drugs and adulterated or misbranded dietary supplements in violation of the law.

14 Oct 2010

World's third rectal microbicide trial launched in Pittsburgh

The world's third rectal microbicide trial launched in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania today, with sites preparing to open in Boston, Massachusetts, and Birmingham, Alabama soon. Scientists will test the rectal safety and acceptability of tenofovir gel, a microbicide developed for vaginal use that has shown promise for preventing HIV through vaginal intercourse. Depending on the outcome of this new study, tenofovir gel could be further evaluated to determine if it can reduce the risk of HIV among both men and women who engage in receptive anal intercourse.

14 Oct 2010

World Food Prize symposium to give out award; focus on issues facing smallholder farmers

Global agriculture officials and as many as 60 farmers from around the world this week at the annual World Food Prize symposium in Des Moines, Iowa will focus on the challenges facing small farmers, the Associated Press reports.

14 Oct 2010

GSK to expand donation of albendazole medicine to treat children with STH risk

At the launch of the World Health Organization's (WHO) first report on Neglected Tropical Diseases today, GSK announced a new five year commitment to expand the donation of its medicine albendazole to treat children at risk of intestinal worms, known as soil-transmitted helminths (STH).

14 Oct 2010

Stony Brook professor receives 2010 NIH Director's New Innovator Award

Balaji Sitharaman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Stony Brook University, is a 2010 recipient of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director's New Innovator Award.

14 Oct 2010

Anger, seniors and Ad campaigns: Health reform politics

A poll released Tuesday shows most seniors in Medicare's prescription drug benefit program don't know that the health law "closes Part D's coverage gap," The Hill's Healthwatch blog reports.

14 Oct 2010

Drugs that restore mitochondria function may treat Alzheimer's disease at early stages: Research

Before Alzheimer's patients experience memory loss, the brain's neurons have already suffered harm for years. A new study in mouse models by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center has found that the brain's mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cell, are one of the earliest casualties of the disease. The study, which appeared in the online Early Edition of PNAS, also found that impaired mitochondria then injure the neurons' synapses, which are necessary for normal brain function.

14 Oct 2010

Stop TB Partnership launches Global Plan to Stop TB 2011-2015

The WHO's Stop TB Partnership "laid out a new plan on Wednesday to combat tuberculosis and the nearly 2 million deaths it causes each year," Reuters reports.

14 Oct 2010

Mystery of arsenite solved

Scientists have solved an important mystery about why an arsenic compound, called arsenite, can kill us, and yet function as an effective therapeutic agent against disease and infections. According to new research published in the October 2010 issue of Genetics scientists from Johns Hopkins, Baylor and Stanford discovered that arsenite, a common water contaminant in many parts of the world, affects a special protein folding machine in yeast, called TCP, also present in humans.

14 Oct 2010

Experts reach consensus about DBS treatment for Parkinson's disease

Since the late 1990s, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has proven to be a lifeline for some patients suffering from Parkinson's disease, a cruel neurological disorder that can cause lack of control over movement, poor balance and coordination, and rigidity, among other symptoms.

14 Oct 2010

Researchers seek to end disparities in cancer, stroke care

HealthDay/U.S. News & World Report: Research has shown that there is a racial gap in breast cancer care, "with black and Hispanic women less likely to get recommended breast cancer treatments than white patients."

14 Oct 2010

Stony Brook professor receives NIH grant to optimize cardiovascular devices

Danny Bluestein, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Stony Brook University, has been awarded a five-year, $7.5 million grant by the National Institutes of Health. The award marks the first time a Stony Brook professor has received a Phase II Quantum Grant, given by The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), a division of the NIH, to make a profound improvement or quantum leap forward—in health care.

14 Oct 2010

NIH awards grant to Bavarian to advance early research in filoviruses

Bavarian Nordic A/S announced today that the company has received funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance its early research in filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg virus).

14 Oct 2010

Ligand launches Viviant in Japan and Spain for postmenopausal osteoporosis

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that its partner Pfizer, Inc. launched Viviant® (Bazedoxifene) in Japan for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Under the brand name Conbriza®, the drug is also marketed in Spain through a co-promotion with Almirall, an international pharmaceutical company based in Spain.

14 Oct 2010

Stimulating brain's nicotine receptors may eliminate side effects of Alzheimer's drug: Research

A team of neuroscientists has discovered important new information in the search for an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease, the debilitating neurological disorder that afflicts more than 5.3 million Americans and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Hey-Kyoung Lee, associate professor in the University of Maryland Department of Biology, and her research team have shown that they may be able to eliminate debilitating side effects caused by a promising Alzheimer's drug by stimulating the brain's nicotine receptors.

14 Oct 2010

State roundup: N.Y.'s retiree health benefits crisis; Colorado referendum

The New York Times: "The cities, counties and authorities of New York have promised more than $200 billion worth of health benefits to their retirees while setting aside almost nothing, putting the public work force on a collision course with the taxpayers who are expected to foot the bill. … The total cost appears in a report to be issued on Wednesday by the Empire Center for New York State Policy, a research organization that studies fiscal policy.

14 Oct 2010

Walking six miles per week preserves memory in old age

New research suggests that walking at least six miles per week may protect brain size and in turn, preserve memory in old age, according to a study published in the October 13, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

14 Oct 2010

XenoPort to present XP23829 preclinical data at ECTRIMS meeting

XenoPort, Inc. announced today that it will present data on a new preclinical product candidate, XP23829, at the upcoming 26th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden, October 13 - 16, 2010.

14 Oct 2010

Children recognise signs of neglect in peers: Survey

Researchers for Action for Children in a survey of over 3,000 eight to 12 year-olds found that 44% of children under 12 have seen other children who were dirty and smelled. Nearly two-thirds of children have seen suspected signs of neglect among their peers in classrooms, playgrounds, neighborhoods and activity clubs.

13 Oct 2010

NHS bonuses under scanner

The NHS bonus scheme is being criticized. The scheme originated in 1948 when the NHS was created. They are available to consultants and are designed to reward excellence in research, teaching and, of course, clinical care.

13 Oct 2010