Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Prestige Brands third quarter net revenues increase 17.3% to $106.3M

Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc. today announced results for the fiscal 2012 third quarter ended December 31, 2011, including net revenues of $106.3 million, an increase of 17.3% over the prior year's comparable quarter of $90.6 million.

9 Feb 2012

NewsOne examines HIV in Caribbean

NewsOne examines HIV in the Caribbean, where one percent of the population is infected with the virus, "small in comparison to numbers found in the global scheme but significant enough to distinguish it as the second-highest region with HIV/AIDS outside of sub-Saharan Africa."

9 Feb 2012

Examining debate over bird flu research

In this post on KPLU's "Humanosphere" blog, journalist Tom Paulson describes "five reasons why you should not panic" about the recent news that two research teams have created bird flu strains that are easily transmissible among ferrets, which are used as a lab model for humans.

9 Feb 2012

South Asian nations explore ways to strengthen collaboration at forum for health research

Delegates and officials from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Thailand representing their health and medical research councils on Tuesday in New Delhi concluded a three-day South Asian Forum for Health Research (SAHFer) hosted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Pharmabiz.com reports.

9 Feb 2012

Four options for resolving bird flu research debate

In this Scientific American opinion piece, author and former staff writer at Scientific American John Horgan examines "a bitter debate" among scientists over the publication of controversial H5N1 research, writing, "Research involving the bird-flu virus H5N1 poses an especially knotty dilemma, in which scientists' commitment to openness -- and to reducing humanity's vulnerability to potential health threats -- collides with broader security concerns."

8 Feb 2012

New technologies safe and effective for fat removal

For many people, getting rid of excess fat can be a lifelong battle. Whether it is undesirable love handles, excess fat around the knees or flabby upper arms, pockets of fat can be difficult to reduce and sometimes diet and exercise are not enough to make a noticeable difference. Now, dermatologists are finding that the introduction of non-invasive fat removal technologies is opening the door for more people who are not candidates for liposuction to remove stubborn fat, safely and effectively.

8 Feb 2012

GSK launches Medivir's Xerclear for OTC use in Europe

Medivir AB, the research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases, announces that its unique cold sore product Xerclear, which Medivir developed in-house, is now being launched for over-the-counter (OTC) use by its partner GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in Europe.

8 Feb 2012

FDA accepts Genentech's pertuzumab BLA and grants Priority Review

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the company's Biologics License Application for pertuzumab and granted Priority Review.

8 Feb 2012

Tailoring TB treatment based on a patient's genetic sequence

A gene that influences the inflammatory response to infection may also predict the effectiveness of drug treatment for a deadly form of tuberculosis.

8 Feb 2012

Bread to blame for too much salt in American diet: CDC report

According to the latest figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this Tuesday, nine out of 10 American adults consume too much salt.

7 Feb 2012

Closing elementary and secondary schools can help slow pH1N1 transmission

Closing elementary and secondary schools can help slow the spread of infectious disease and should be considered as a control measure during pandemic outbreaks, according to a McMaster University led study.

7 Feb 2012

Tips to combat milder winter doldrums

Shorter days and colder weather can lead to a loss of energy for many people. Summoning the motivation to perform daily tasks can be a challenge. Some people even suffer episodes of clinical depression triggered by the change in seasons, a condition called "seasonal affective disorder."

7 Feb 2012

Positive data from Chimerix CMX001 Phase 2 study on CMV disease

Chimerix, Inc., a biotechnology company developing novel antiviral therapeutics, today announced positive results from CMX001 Study 201, a Phase 2 study evaluating CMX001 for the prevention of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) recipients.

6 Feb 2012

Asian bird flu update for Ferbruary 2012

Health workers in Nepal are to cull thousands of chickens following the discovery of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in the southeastern part of the Himalayan country.

6 Feb 2012

Panel discussion shows heated controversy over H5N1 research

"The controversy over research about potentially dangerous H5N1 viruses heated up [Thursday night] in a New York City debate that featured some of the leading voices exchanging blunt comments on the alleged risks and benefits of publishing or withholding the full details of the studies," CIDRAP News reports.

6 Feb 2012

Positive results from Chimerix CMX001 study for CMV in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients

6 Feb 2012

Soligenix reports positive results from preclinical studies of vaccine thermostabilization technology

Soligenix, Inc., a development stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today results from preclinical studies of its proprietary vaccine thermostabilization technology indicating that Soligenix is able to produce stable vaccine formulations using adjuvants, protein immunogens, and other components that ordinarily would not withstand long temperature variations exceeding customary refrigerated storage conditions.

6 Feb 2012

Business Group urges flu shot requirements for hospital workers

The National Business Group On Health is advocating this position as a way to reduce flu risk for health care workers and patients.

6 Feb 2012

Medicare, deficits and the politics of 2012

Reuters offers an analysis based on a recent poll and finds that people, shaken by the difficult economy, worry about the impact of efforts to address the nation's deficit. This concept could lead to Democrats finding traction for their positions on Medicare.

6 Feb 2012

Study offers evidence that toxic forms of Alzheimer's protein spread in the brain

Tau tangles are one half of the twin hallmark pathologies of Alzheimer's disease—the half that is most closely tied to the death of neurons. A study in the February 1 PLoS One offers evidence that the toxic forms of tau that cause these tangles spread throughout the brain by moving from one neuron to the next in a pattern that tracks anatomical synaptic connections of the earliest-hit nerve cells in the brain.

4 Feb 2012