Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

New data: 4 in 5 children received recommended doses of DTP vaccine during infancy in 2011

Four in five children (83%) worldwide received the recommended three doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine during infancy in 2011, according to new data released in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and in the WHO Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER).

2 Nov 2012

Partial dentin removal superior to stepwise excavation over long term

Partial caries removal treatment for individuals with deep caries lesions results in significantly improved pulp vitality after 3 years than does stepwise excavation, indicate Brazilian study findings.

1 Nov 2012

CSHL scientists discover new way to specifically target and kill cancer cells

Cancer cells grow fast. That's an essential characteristic of what makes them cancer cells. They've crashed through all the cell-cycle checkpoints and are continuously growing and dividing, far outstripping our normal cells. To do this they need to speed up their metabolism.

1 Nov 2012

Encouraging results from stereotactic radiosurgery Phase I trial on kidney cancer

A first-of-its-kind clinical trial conducted at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center Seidman Cancer Center has shown encouraging results for the use of stereotactic radiosurgery to treat kidney cancer.

1 Nov 2012

CDC report outlines international influenza activities

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday released a 268-page annual report that "profiles a wide range of CDC influenza-related projects around the world, from flu surveillance in Indonesia to vaccine effectiveness studies in El Salvador and epidemiology training in Ghana," CIDRAP News reports.

1 Nov 2012

Novartis resumes distribution of two seasonal influenza vaccines in Canada

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. has announced it is resuming distribution of two seasonal influenza vaccines in Canada, Fluad and Agriflu, following the announcement by Health Canada earlier today that it has completed its review of safety information for Agriflu and Fluad and is releasing the two vaccines for immediate use.

1 Nov 2012

Advaxis updates preliminary data from ADXS-HPV Phase 2 trial on cervical cancer

Advaxis, Inc., a leader in developing the next generation of immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, updated preliminary data from an ongoing randomized 110 patient Phase 2 trial of ADXS-HPV being conducted in India in women with recurrent/refractory cervical cancer who have failed previous cytotoxic therapy.

1 Nov 2012

Empathetic and analytic thinking mutually exclusive in the brain

New research shows a simple reason why even the most intelligent, complex brains can be taken by a swindler's story - one that upon a second look offers clues it was false.

31 Oct 2012

BioCryst announces withdrawal of BCX5191 IND following discussion with FDA

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the withdrawal of its Investigational New Drug application (IND) for the antiviral nucleoside, BCX5191, following a discussion with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

31 Oct 2012

FDA accepts Sunovion’s two LATUDA sNDAs for review

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review two supplemental New Drug Applications (sNDAs) for the use of LATUDA as 1) monotherapy and 2) adjunctive therapy to lithium or valproate, both to treat adult patients with depressive episodes associated with bipolar I disorder (bipolar depression).

31 Oct 2012

$Most refractory status epilepticus patients have poor functional outcome$

Most refractory status epilepticus patients have poor functional outcome

Three-quarters of refractory status epilepticus patients have a poor functional outcome, which is linked to drug-induced coma and severe encephalographic suppression, say US scientists.

30 Oct 2012

Adolescent males at increased risk of reporting longtime OTC drug use

As crackdowns get tougher on alcohol, tobacco sales, and illicit drugs, there's a growing trend among youth to turn to another source to get a high: their parent's medicine cabinet. A new University of Cincinnati study suggests adolescent males are at a higher risk of reporting longtime use of over-the-counter drugs, compared with their female peers.

30 Oct 2012

All health care workers should be vaccinated with annual flu vaccine to protect patients

All health care workers in health care institutions should be vaccinated with the annual influenza vaccine to protect patients, argues an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

30 Oct 2012

Canadian Cardiovascular Society issues new pediatric heart failure guidelines

The Canadian Cardiovascular Society is the first in Canada to issue guidelines aimed at helping primary care and emergency physicians, as well as specialists, recognize and manage heart failure in children. The guidelines were released today at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress.

30 Oct 2012

AstraZeneca commences FASLODEX Phase III study for hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer

AstraZeneca today announced the start of a Phase III study (FALCON), a global clinical trial which will involve 450 postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who have not previously been treated with any hormonal therapy. The Phase III study is designed to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of fulvestrant 500 mg compared to anastrozole 1 mg in this patient population.

29 Oct 2012

Sea water strengthens the body against viruses, low defences, bacteria and pathogens

Sea water therapy is a technique of cellular nutrition backed by more than 100 years of clinical use in hospitals, during which numerous studies have demonstrated its beneficial effects on patients' health.

29 Oct 2012

Scientists hope to unravel mystery of how Borrelia burgdorferi causes Lyme disease

Investigators at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have accelerated the search for the bacterial genes that make the Lyme disease bacterium so invasive and persistent. The discovery could advance the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, which affects an estimated 30,000 Americans each year.

29 Oct 2012

Flu shot might also prevent heart disease

Getting a flu shot may not only protect you from getting sick, it might also prevent heart disease.

29 Oct 2012

Artificial CSP proteins reduce S. pneumoniae competence y more than 90%

The bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae - which can cause pneumonia, meningitis, bacteremia and sepsis - likes to share its antibiotic-defeating weaponry with its neighbors. Individual cells can pass resistance genes to one another through a process called horizontal gene transfer, or by "transformation," the uptake of DNA from the environment.

26 Oct 2012

Roundup: New laws on breast screening irk some doctors; Improved school meals cut obesity; More Coloradans use ER

In a sign of the improving national economy, Medicaid spending growth this year slowed to 2 percent as enrollment in the state-federal health insurance program for the poor also slowed for the third consecutive year, according to a report released Thursday. In 2011, Medicaid spending soared by nearly 10 percent, which helped put the entitlement program in the crosshairs of politicians looking to lower the federal deficit and ease pressure on state budgets.

26 Oct 2012