Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Lenalidomide worsens survival, adverse events in prostate cancer

A combination of lenalidomide plus docetaxel and prednisone treatment in patients with chemotherapy-naive prostate cancer leads to worse overall survival rates and increased toxicity compared with placebo, show study results.

12 Oct 2012

Hospital superbugs can float on air currents and contaminate surfaces

Hospital superbugs can float on air currents and contaminate surfaces far from infected patients' beds, according to University of Leeds researchers.

12 Oct 2012

Alverix receives FDA 510(k) clearance for new BD Veritor System kit

Alverix, Inc., a world leader in the design and manufacture of next-generation platforms for diagnostic Point-of-Care (POC) testing, today announced that BD Diagnostics, a segment of Becton Dickinson and Company, a leading global medical technology company, received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for nasopharyngeal wash, aspirate and swab in transport media specimens on the BD VeritorTM System for Rapid Detection of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

12 Oct 2012

Top-line results from Pfizer’s ALO-02 Phase 3 study on chronic non-cancer pain

Pfizer Inc. announced top-line results today from a Phase 3 open-label long-term safety study of investigational agent ALO-02 (oxycodone hydrochloride and naltrexone hydrochloride extended-release capsules) in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic, non-cancer pain.

12 Oct 2012

Blocking leukotriene B4 might slow down eczema

More than 15% of children suffer with eczema, or atopic dermatitis, an inflammatory skin disease that in some cases can be debilitating and disfiguring. Researchers reporting in the October issue of Immunity have discovered a potential new target for the condition, demonstrating that by blocking it, they can lessen the disease in mice.

12 Oct 2012

Fibulin-3 protein may help identify mesothelioma in early stages

Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have discovered the protein product of a little-known gene may one day prove useful in identifying and monitoring the development of mesothelioma in early stages, when aggressive treatment can have an impact on the progression of disease and patient prognosis.

11 Oct 2012

Pakistan to become first south Asian country to introduce pneumococcal vaccine

"Pakistan is set to become the first country in south Asia to introduce the pneumococcal vaccine to protect children against pneumonia, one of the biggest killers of children under five in the developing world," the Guardian reports.

10 Oct 2012

Roundup: Labor activist's work for Blue Shield raises conflict concerns; R.I. to mandate flu shots for health workers; Minn. safety net hospitals brace for cuts

At a time when public-sector unions across the country are fighting to hold on to generous retirement and health benefits, one of the loudest voices standing up for their rights is Dave Low. A longtime labor activist, Low carries considerable clout as executive director of the California School Employees Assn., a 215,000-member union that represents bus drivers, custodians and other school workers.

10 Oct 2012

Navigating the Labyrinth of Traumatic Brain Injury to Discover a Secondary Neurological Condition

Working with individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) every day, I see the debilitating effects and long-term struggles firsthand.

9 Oct 2012

New data from Genzyme's AUBAGIO and LEMTRADA clinical trials to be presented at ECTRIMS

Genzyme, a Sanofi company, announced today new data from Genzyme's clinical development programs for AUBAGIO (teriflunomide) and LEMTRADATM (alemtuzumab) will be presented at the 28th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) in Lyon, France, October 10-13.

9 Oct 2012

New model of influenza transmission can provide real-time information about infections

A new model of influenza transmission, published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine, using more detailed information about patterns and severity of infection than previous models, finds that cases and transmission rates of H1N1 during the 2009-2010 flu pandemic have been underestimated. This model can provide a more robust and accurate real-time estimate of infection during a pandemic, which will help health services prepare and respond to future outbreaks.

9 Oct 2012

Myths about the influenza vaccine

With cold and flu season upon us, many companies have geared up for what is predicted to be a busy flu season producing 150 million doses of the influenza vaccine, up 17 million from last year.

9 Oct 2012

Maths-based tool can quantify the spread and infectiousness of viruses

Mathematicians have developed a powerful tool to quantify the spread and infectiousness of viruses like the pandemic H1N1 flu strain, which can be used together with modern laboratory techniques to help the healthcare system plan its response to disease outbreaks.

9 Oct 2012

Best-practices protocol significantly reduces ventilator-associated pneumonia

An intensive care unit-initiated protocol implementing “best practices” significantly reduces ventilator-associated pneumonia, research shows.

8 Oct 2012

Trellis, OMT enter collaboration to generate human antibodies

Trellis Bioscience LLC and Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc. today announced a new collaboration where the companies will join forces to generate human antibodies against therapeutic targets identified by Trellis and its partners using OMT's OmniRat platform.

8 Oct 2012

Standard red blood cell transfusion as good as fresh RBCs for premature infants

Among premature, very low-birth-weight infants requiring a transfusion, use of fresh red blood cells (RBCs) compared with standard RBC transfusion practice did not improve clinical outcomes that included rates of complications or death, according to a study in the October 10 issue of JAMA.

8 Oct 2012

Positive results from Cempra's IV solithromycin Phase 1 study

Cempra, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing antibiotics to meet critical medical needs in the treatment of bacterial infectious diseases, today announced results of its Phase 1 study of intravenous (IV) solithromycin in healthy subjects. The study demonstrated that IV solithromycin was well tolerated, showed a favorable pharmacokinetic profile (PK) and achieved relevant plasma concentrations.

8 Oct 2012