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TGen, Horizon Discovery partner in development of novel cancer cell-lines

The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Horizon Discovery today announced plans to develop human disease models for use in TGen's cancer research.

3 Feb 2010

Nanotope’s bioactive nanofiber system promotes cartilage regeneration

Arrowhead Research Corporation today announced publication in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) of a study using Nanotope’s lead compound for cartilage regeneration. The study’s authors, which include Nanotope co-founder Dr. Samuel Stupp, showed that Nanotope’s bioactive nanofiber system promotes the growth of new cartilage in a rabbit model. The treatment is engineered to repair cartilage defects by working with an animal’s own bone marrow stem cells to stimulate the production of new natural cartilage.

3 Feb 2010

Baker's yeast promising against cancer

A researcher at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science is investigating the potential use of non-pathogenic baker's yeast as a promising, natural therapy for cancer.

3 Feb 2010

Cancer survivors become advocates for other cancer patients

Sociologists at Case Western Reserve University found that when passive cancer patients become survivors, they have plenty of bold advice to offer other cancer patients, according to a study in JAGS, the Journal of American Geriatric Society.

3 Feb 2010

Hypertension drug market to decrease through 2013 due to generic erosion and few emerging therapies

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that, in addition to extensive generic erosion, the hypertension drug market will be constrained through 2018 by a pipeline containing very few emerging therapies with novel mechanisms of action. Gilead's darusentan was positioned to be the next emerging therapy with a novel mechanism of action to reach the hypertension market. However, following darusentan's failure to meet its primary endpoint in the recent DORADO-AC Phase III clinical trial, further development of the agent has been terminated.

3 Feb 2010

Video campaign teaches parents on how to minimize risk from toxic chemicals

Chronic childhood illnesses – asthma, allergies, autism, cancer, obesity and diabetes – are plaguing our nation, and credible scientific evidence links chemical exposure to many of these conditions.

3 Feb 2010

Patients with high levels of proteinuria have increased risk of all-cause death

Patients with high levels of proteinuria (protein in urine) in addition to another marker of reduced kidney function had an associated increased risk of all-cause death, heart attack or progression to kidney failure, according to a study in the February 3 issue of JAMA.

3 Feb 2010

Study indicates majority of physicians are not following DSM-IV guidelines for major depressive disorder

A new study led by Mark Zimmerman, MD, of Rhode Island Hospital indicates that a majority of non-psychiatrist physicians and a substantial minority of psychiatrists reported that they often do not use the criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) when diagnosing major depressive disorder (MDD) in patients. The study appears online ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

3 Feb 2010

CDC reports shows one in five American teens faces risk of developing heart disease

Pamphlets detailing the warning signs associated with heart disease may soon end up in an unexpected location: your child's pediatrician's office. According to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five American teens has at least one risk factor for developing heart disease in adulthood.

3 Feb 2010

News article on the evolving role of hyperthermia in cancer therapy

BSD Medical Corp. reports publication of a news article by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute on the evolving role of hyperthermia in cancer therapy titled, “International Study of Hyperthermia Spurs Hope in U.S.” (J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 2010 102: 79-81; doi:10.1093/jnci/djp530).

3 Feb 2010

Researchers find three different degenerative brain disorders linked by toxic form of Elk-1 protein

For the first time, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that three different degenerative brain disorders are linked by a toxic form of the same protein. The protein, called Elk-1, was found in clumps of misshaped proteins that are the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's disease.

3 Feb 2010

Supportive environment and intensive observation can prevent suicides among mental health patients

Between 1997 and 2006, 38% of out-of-clinic suicides by mental health patients were carried out by people absent without leave from the hospital. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry suggest that measures to improve the ward environment or prevent patients from leaving psychiatric wards without staff agreement could avoid up to 50 suicide deaths every year.

3 Feb 2010

BioSpecifics Technologies' XIAFLEX receives FDA approval

BioSpecifics Technologies Corp., a biopharmaceutical company developing first in class collagenase-based products, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved XIAFLEX™, a novel, first-in-class, orphan-designated, biologic, for the treatment of adult Dupuytren's contracture patients with a palpable cord.

3 Feb 2010

One-third of doctors and diabetes patients prioritize health conditions differently

About one-third of doctors and their patients with diabetes do not see eye to eye on the most important health conditions to manage, according to a survey by the University of Michigan Medical School.

3 Feb 2010

Scientists are getting closer to prove how cholesterol causes heart disease

By considering molecular-level events on a broader scale, researchers now have a clearer, if more complicated, picture of how one class of immune cells goes wrong when loaded with cholesterol. The findings reported in the February 3rd issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, show that, when it comes to the development of atherosclerosis and heart disease, it's not about any one bad actor-it's about a network gone awry.

3 Feb 2010

Play soccer to eliminate lifestyle-related diseases

Other parallel experiments on both women and men further demonstrates that a regular game of soccer affects numerous cardiovascular risk factors such as maximal oxygen uptake, heart function, elasticity of the vascular system, blood pressure, cholesterol and fat mass far more than e.g. strength training and just as much if not more than running.

3 Feb 2010

Negative perceptions of speech patterns create social barriers for Parkinson's patients

People with Parkinson's disease suffer social difficulties simply because of the way they talk, a McGill University researcher has discovered. Marc Pell, at McGill's School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, has learned that many people develop negative impressions about individuals with Parkinson's disease, based solely on how they communicate.

3 Feb 2010

Herbal remedies can aggravate asthma symptoms

Use of herbal remedies results in poorer quality of life and increased frequency of symptoms in asthma patients, according to a study published this month in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).

3 Feb 2010

Study finds racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in cancer incidence

A New Jersey study found that African-Americans with cancer are less likely to survive it than whites, and residents of poor neighborhoods less likely to survive than are those in wealthier areas of the state.

3 Feb 2010

AACE approves A1c as additional diagnostic criterion for type 2 diabetes

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) today has approved the use of A1c as an additional diagnostic criterion for type 2 diabetes. An A1c of 6.5 or greater is now considered an alternate criterion for the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.

3 Feb 2010