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Quitting hormone therapy can lead to breast tumor regression

As soon as women quit hormone therapy, their rates of new breast cancer decline, supporting the hypothesis that stopping hormones can lead to tumor regression, according to a report e-published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, & Prevention.

29 Feb 2012

Maturitas publishes EMAS' clinical guide on SERMs against postmenopausal osteoporosis

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today the publication of an important clinical guide from the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) in the February issue of Maturitas.

29 Feb 2012

XL888 inhibitor can prevent vemurafenib resistance in melanoma patients

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and colleagues in California have found that the XL888 inhibitor can prevent resistance to the chemotherapy drug vemurafenib, commonly used for treating patients with melanoma.

29 Feb 2012

Silver Hill Hospital announces opening of Chronic Pain and Addiction Center

Silver Hill Hospital, the nationally recognized psychiatric hospital in New Canaan, CT, announces the opening of the Chronic Pain and Addiction Center, an intensive residential treatment program for patients with pain who have become addicted to opioid medications.

28 Feb 2012

Biogen Idec receives FDA approval for two separate dosing innovations to treat MS

Today Biogen Idec announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two separate dosing innovations designed to improve the treatment experience for patients receiving once-a-week AVONEX for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

28 Feb 2012

FDA grants orphan drug designation to Ultragenyx UX003 for treatment of MPS 7

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for rare and ultra-rare genetic disorders, today announced that the FDA Office of Orphan Products Development has granted orphan drug designation for UX003 for the treatment of MPS 7.

28 Feb 2012

Blog examines sale of fake malaria drugs in Tanzania

In this post in Malaria Free Future's "Malaria Matters" blog, Bill Brieger, a professor in the health systems program of the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins University, examines recent discoveries of fake malaria medications being sold in Tanzania.

28 Feb 2012

Telephone-based counseling program does not improve osteoporosis medication adherence

Telephone motivational counseling sessions did not result in a statistically significant improvement in adherence to an osteoporosis medication regimen, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

28 Feb 2012

Report identifies patterns in misuse of illicit and prescription drugs among young adults

A new report from researchers at the Drexel University School of Public Health identifies patterns in the misuse of illicit drugs among young adults who also misuse prescription drugs.

28 Feb 2012

Swaziland looking to shore up funding for AIDS treatment, testing supplies

"Cash-strapped Swaziland is struggling to fund its HIV programs, and experts are warning of long-term damage to treatment and prevention schemes if steps are not taken to ring-fence funding and supplies," the Mail & Guardian reports.

28 Feb 2012

Study finds subtle cognitive deficits in women treated with CMF chemotherapy

Dutch investigators have reported that women who received CMF chemotherapy (a combination regimen including the drugs cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil) for breast cancer between 1976 and 1995 scored worse on cognitive tests than women who never had cancer.

28 Feb 2012

Aurora-A protein blocks proper functioning of tumor-suppressor p73

A protein abundantly found in treatment-resistant cancers holds an important tumor-suppressor out of the cell nucleus, where it would normally detect DNA damage and force defective cells to kill themselves, a team of scientists reports in the current Cancer Cell.

28 Feb 2012

JAM study highlights emerging problem in addiction therapy

A Journal of Addiction Medicine (JAM) study was cited in a recent Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR) series highlighting an emerging problem in addiction therapy: the diversion and misuse of the medication buprenorphine.

28 Feb 2012

Biogen Idec, Samsung Biologics establish joint venture to develop and market biosimilars

Samsung Biologics and Biogen Idec announced today that the companies have established their joint venture, Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd., to develop, manufacture and market biosimilars in keeping with their agreement announced in December.

28 Feb 2012

Sleeping pills may increase risk of cancer-related death

People are relying on sleeping pills more than ever to get a good night's rest, but a new study by Scripps Clinic researchers links the medications to a 4.6 times higher risk of death and a significant increase in cancer cases among regular pill users.

28 Feb 2012

Octapharma submits octaplasLG BLA with FDA to treat TTP

Octapharma USA has submitted its Biological License Application (BLA) for octaplasLG to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the goal of expanding its U.S. product portfolio by the fourth quarter of 2012.

28 Feb 2012

Chemically altered osteoporosis drug may fight malaria

A chemically altered osteoporosis drug may be useful in fighting malaria, researchers report in a new study. Unlike similar compounds tested against other parasitic protozoa, the drug readily crosses into the red blood cells of malaria-infected mice and kills the malaria parasite. The drug works at very low concentrations with no observed toxicity to the mouse.

27 Feb 2012

USPTO issues two patents on 'Novel Shigella protein antigens and methods' to IVI

The International Vaccine Institute (IVI), an international organization based in Seoul devoted to research on the development and introduction of vaccines for the developing world, reached a milestone in its aim to prevent and control dysentery (also commonly called shigellosis or bloody diarrhea), a deadly disease that affects several million people worldwide.

27 Feb 2012

FDA assigns Priority Review designation to JRD's XARELTO sNDA

Janssen Research & Development, LLC (JRD) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has assigned a Priority Review designation to the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) filed on December 29, 2011 for XARELTO (rivaroxaban), an oral anticoagulant, to reduce the risk of thrombotic cardiovascular events in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS).

27 Feb 2012

Glenmark Generics recalls batch of birth control pills

Drug manufacturer Glenmark Generics, announced last Friday, that it is recalling seven lots of birth control pills because in some packages, the pills were in the wrong order.

27 Feb 2012