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WHO, UNICEF issue guide, call for more research into medicines for children

Along with the release of a WHO-UNICEF guide on medicines for children, the U.N. agencies on Friday said the guide "exposed dangerous shortfalls" in medicines designed for children and called for more research into treating children, Reuters reports. "While effective medicines exist to fight disease and treat life-threatening conditions like malnutrition, formulations suitable for children are often difficult to source," Francisco Blanco, UNICEF's chief of medicines and nutrition, said, according to the news service.

3 May 2010

Weight loss through caloric restriction and increase in physical activity improve symptoms of GERD

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a debilitating problem for sufferers -- heartburn, difficulty swallowing, chest pain and acid reflux. According to a Mayo Clinic study that will be presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2010 in New Orleans May 1-5, even moderate weight gain can exacerbate those symptoms, DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians and researcher in the field of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

3 May 2010

PlusNews/IRIN examines HIV/AIDS elements of new adult mortality data

PlusNews/IRIN examines what the global adult mortality data, released Friday in the journal Lancet, suggests about HIV/AIDS. According to the news service, the study, based on an analysis of adult mortality rates between 1970 and 2010 in 187 countries, revealed: "HIV was key to reversing the worldwide decline in mortality from 1970 to 1990. Even though worldwide mortality is still about 26 percent lower than it was 40 years ago, there are regional imbalances.

3 May 2010

Protect eyes from sun's UV rays to decrease risk of eye diseases, disorders

With summer right around the corner, more people will be spending time outdoors and UV protection will be top of mind. Unfortunately, most people think about the protection of their skin, when they should also be considering the safety of their eyes. In fact, according to the American Optometric Association's (AOA) American Eye-Q® survey, only one-third of Americans said UV protection is the most important factor they consider when purchasing sunglasses.

3 May 2010

Progress in development of gene therapies for inherited blindness caused by rod degeneration

Veterinary vision scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have safely and successfully used a viral vector in targeting a class of photoreceptors of the retina called rods, a critical first step in developing gene therapies for inherited blindness caused by rod degeneration.

3 May 2010

Santen licenses Clinical Data's ATL313 agonist compound for development of ophthalmic treatments

Clinical Data, Inc., and Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., today announced that Santen has exercised its option to license Clinical Data's highly selective adenosine A2A agonist compound, ATL313, for the development of topical treatments for certain ophthalmic diseases, including glaucoma. ATL313, a promising late-stage preclinical compound, has shown significant pharmacological effects in vivo and has been nominated as a clinical candidate.

From Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. 3 May 2010

Raptor Pharmaceutical presents positive results from Phase 2a trial of DR cysteamine bitartrate for NASH

Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp., announced positive Phase 2a clinical trial results from its pilot study of delayed-release cysteamine bitartrate in 11 adolescent patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, a progressive form of liver disease believed to affect 5% to 11% of the U.S. population. The results were presented at the Digestive Disease Week 2010 conference in New Orleans, LA on May 2, 2010.

3 May 2010

Researcher finds evidence of how human behavior can influence emergence of infectious disease

After studying the interactions of human and animal populations in Africa, Kathleen Alexander, associate professor of wildlife science in Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources, found powerful evidence of how human behavior can influence the emergence of infectious disease in humans and animals.

3 May 2010

Extended hepatitis C treatment increases sustained virological response after liver transplant

Extending hepatitis C treatment for liver transplant patients beyond current standards results in high clearance rates of the hepatitis C virus from the blood, and a low relapse rate, according to a study by Henry Ford Hospital.

3 May 2010

While global adult mortality rates drop, gaps between countries grow, Lancet study finds

"The global mortality rate for adults [ages 15-59] has fallen by about 1 percent a year for the past 40 years, with women making greater gains than men and huge differences opening up between countries and regions over that period, according to a new study" published online Friday in the journal Lancet, the Washington Post reports, noting the study offers "the most detailed nation-by-nation trends in adult mortality" to date.

3 May 2010

Leptin hormone controls immune’s response to sepsis: Study

The hormone leptin, typically associated with body weight regulation, works within the central nervous system (CNS) to aid the immune system's defense against sepsis, researchers say.

3 May 2010

PAS conference focuses on vaccine-preventable diseases among children

Each year, millions of children in developing countries die from diseases for which known treatments exist. How to use this knowledge to save children's lives on a global scale will be discussed in a day-long session Monday, May 3, 2010, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

3 May 2010

NPR examines U.N.'s effort to stop sexual violence in war

"Hundreds of thousands of women in conflict zones around the world have been or are now becoming victims of rape and sexual torture," reflects Michel Martin, host of NPR's "Tell Me More," as she interviewed Margot Wallstrom, U.N. special representative on sexual violence in conflict, in a show examining the U.N.'s "ramped up" campaign to end systemic sexual violence in war.

3 May 2010

Study could provide new strategies to prevent hospital-acquired infections

A bacterial pathogen can communicate with yeast to block the development of drug-resistant yeast infections, say Irish scientists writing in the May issue of Microbiology. The research could be a step towards new strategies to prevent hospital-acquired infections associated with medical implants.

3 May 2010

FDA approves Abbott Prism Chagas test to screen blood, tissue and organ donors for T. cruzi

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a second test to screen blood, tissue and organ donors for a blood-borne parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi that causes Chagas disease, a serious and potentially fatal parasitic infection.

3 May 2010

Seasonal flu vaccine ups the risk of getting H1N1 flu

Initial reports linking seasonal flu vaccine and getting swine flu or H1N1 flu emerged September 2009 in Canada. In spring 2009 many people who acquired pandemic H1N1 flu had been initially vaccinated with seasonal flu vaccine. This triggered four additional studies in Canada to explore the link further. The studies included 2,700 patients with or without H1N1. The first of the studies showed a surprising 68 percent rise of risk of development of H1N1 flu in those vaccinated with seasonal flu shot. The other 3 studies showed increase of risk of H1N1 flu by 1.4 to 1.5 times with the original flu shot.

2 May 2010

GeNOsys sponsors Phase I safety trial in collaboration with Nitric Solutions

GeNOsys, Inc. today announced they are sponsoring a Phase I safety trial in collaboration with Nitric Solutions Inc. GeNOsys will be testing their patented nitric oxide generator and nitric oxide producing formula for safety and effectiveness in treating disease. In a parallel study Nitric Solutions will be testing the efficacy of their prophilactic nitric oxide producing formula Nitrisol.

30 Apr 2010

Celtic Pharma commences enrolment in Phase III trial of TDT 067 for onychomycosis

Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings L.P., the global private equity firm focused on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, announced today the enrolment of the first patient into its Phase III trial of TDT 067, terbinafine in Transfersomes®, for the topical treatment of onychomycosis (also known as a fungal nail infection).

30 Apr 2010

Data mining of hospital information can help identify MDROs: Asolva

Infection control within hospitals is a huge and growing problem. A recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that conditions caused by healthcare associated infections killed 48,000 people and increased healthcare costs by $8.1 billion in 2006 alone.

30 Apr 2010

Opinions: Sanitation and women, child health; GM in Global Food Security bill; U.S. malaria strategy; GHI on NTDs; Haiti recovery

"If Stephen Harper is serious about maternal health and child health [as suggested by his plans for the upcoming G8 and G20 summits], he needs to recognize that healthy mothers come from healthy communities," Maude Barlow and Meera Karunananthan of the Council of Canadians write in a Chronicle Herald opinion piece that examines the connections between the health of women and children and access to drinking water and sanitation.

30 Apr 2010

Disease/Infection News

WHO, UNICEF issue guide, call for more research into medicines for children

Weight loss through caloric restriction and increase in physical activity improve symptoms of GERD

PlusNews/IRIN examines HIV/AIDS elements of new adult mortality data

Protect eyes from sun's UV rays to decrease risk of eye diseases, disorders

Progress in development of gene therapies for inherited blindness caused by rod degeneration

Santen licenses Clinical Data's ATL313 agonist compound for development of ophthalmic treatments

Raptor Pharmaceutical presents positive results from Phase 2a trial of DR cysteamine bitartrate for NASH

Researcher finds evidence of how human behavior can influence emergence of infectious disease

Extended hepatitis C treatment increases sustained virological response after liver transplant

While global adult mortality rates drop, gaps between countries grow, Lancet study finds

Leptin hormone controls immune’s response to sepsis: Study

PAS conference focuses on vaccine-preventable diseases among children

NPR examines U.N.'s effort to stop sexual violence in war

Study could provide new strategies to prevent hospital-acquired infections

FDA approves Abbott Prism Chagas test to screen blood, tissue and organ donors for T. cruzi

Seasonal flu vaccine ups the risk of getting H1N1 flu

GeNOsys sponsors Phase I safety trial in collaboration with Nitric Solutions

Celtic Pharma commences enrolment in Phase III trial of TDT 067 for onychomycosis

Data mining of hospital information can help identify MDROs: Asolva

Opinions: Sanitation and women, child health; GM in Global Food Security bill; U.S. malaria strategy; GHI on NTDs; Haiti recovery

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