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AP: Prescription painkiller sales have 'exploded,' leading experts to fear 'addiction epidemic'

Sales of the nation's two most popular prescription painkillers have exploded in new parts of the country, an Associated Press analysis shows, worrying experts who say the push to relieve patients' suffering is spawning an addiction epidemic.

6 Apr 2012

Obese men more likely to underestimate their weight than women

When University of Illinois researchers surveyed over 3,500 college applicants, more than a third couldn't report their weight accurately, and overweight and obese men were more likely to underestimate their weight than women.

6 Apr 2012

Researchers understand TG paradox in people of African descent

In most people, high blood levels of the fat known as triglycerides are an early warning sign of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, but in people of African descent these dangerous health conditions may go undiagnosed because triglyceride levels are not at the level used to diagnose metabolic syndrome (>150 mg/dL). This is known as the "TG (or lipid) paradox."

6 Apr 2012

TJUH medical oncologist to receive ASCO Humanitarian Award

Edith Mitchell, M.D., FACP, a medical oncologist at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center (KCC) and Clinical Professor of Medicine and Medical Oncology in the Department of Medical Oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, has been named the 2012 recipient of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Humanitarian Award for her personification of the society's mission and values, and for going above and beyond the call of duty in providing outstanding patient care.

6 Apr 2012

Researchers develop 'phantoms' to make medical imaging safer for obese patients

Most medical imaging equipment is not designed with overweight and obese patients in mind. As a result, these individuals can be exposed to higher levels of radiation during routine X-ray and CT scans.

6 Apr 2012

Electronic pathology report more accurately identifies nonmelanoma skin cancer

Henry Ford Hospital dermatology researchers are urging caution about using claims data for identifying nonmelanoma skin cancer, suggesting that the commonly used method, which previously had not been validated, may be unreliable.

6 Apr 2012

Scientists identify how Clec9A protein recognises foreign invaders

The discovery of how a vital immune cell recognises dead and damaged body cells could modernise vaccine technology by 'tricking' cells into launching an immune response, leading to next-generation vaccines that are more specific, more effective and have fewer side-effects.

6 Apr 2012

Researchers generate endodermal progenitor cells for future diabetes treatments

Researchers have generated a new type of human stem cell that can develop into numerous types of specialized cells, including functioning pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin. Called endodermal progenitor (EP) cells, the new cells show two important advantages over embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells: they do not form tumors when transplanted into animals, and they can form functional pancreatic beta cells in the laboratory.

6 Apr 2012

New technique reveals another piece of spectrum's genetic architecture

There is little argument among experts that autism spectrum disorders (ASD), complex developmental disabilities that vary widely in their severity, are caused by both genetic and environmental factors. Advances in genome sequencing now permit scientists to uncover specific mutations in DNA that are associated with ASD at unprecedented resolution. Such data are vital to understanding the genetic basis of the disorder.

6 Apr 2012

Novel technology to grow new primordial lung progenitors

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have derived a population of pure lung and thyroid progenitor cells in vitro that successfully mimic the developmental milestones of lung and thyroid tissue formation.

6 Apr 2012

Three genes within human embryonic stem cells regulate development

Yale researchers show in detail how three genes within human embryonic stem cells regulate development, a finding that increases understanding of how to grow these cells for therapeutic purposes.

6 Apr 2012

Poor mental health can lead to heart problems and death in dialysis patients

Dialysis patients whose mental health deteriorates over time have an increased risk of developing heart problems and dying prematurely, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

6 Apr 2012

Tonix completes TNX-102 pharmacokinetic study on fibromyalgia syndrome

Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp., a specialty pharmaceutical company developing therapies for challenging disorders of the central nervous system completed a pharmacokinetic (PK) study of the first formulation of its lead drug, TNX-102, for the treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome.

6 Apr 2012

Sucampo announces positive results from lubiprostone phase 3 trial on OBD

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced positive top-line results from an open-label phase 3 clinical trial designed to evaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of lubiprostone in opioid-induced bowel dysfunction (OBD) patients with chronic, non-cancer-related pain.

6 Apr 2012

Cognitive and psychiatric impairments common among long-term ALI survivors

Cognitive and psychiatric impairments are common among long-term survivors of acute lung injury (ALI), and these impairments can be assessed using a telephone-based test battery, according to a new study.

6 Apr 2012

Positive effect of tafamidis on neurological degeneration

Tafamidis meglumine was approved in November 2011 for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis in adults. This rare disorder is caused by a defective gene and is associated with progressive nerve damage (neurological degeneration) that tafamidis is supposed to delay.

6 Apr 2012

Zalicus' cHTS platform identifies synergistic drug combinations for treatment of cancer

Adenosine A2A and beta-2 adrenergic receptor agonists are highly synergistic and selective novel agents that enhance glucocorticoid activity in B-cell malignancies such as multiple myeloma and, importantly, can synergize in combination with current multiple myeloma treatment regimens such as melphalan, lenalidomide, bortezomib and doxorubicin.

6 Apr 2012