Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Foot and mouth disease outbreak in South Korea

South Korea is facing an outbreak of foot and mouth disease reported Seoul’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Foot and Mouth Disease is a highly contagious and sometimes fatal disease that can affect cloven-hoofed animals including pigs, sheep, cattle, deer and goats. Humans are usually not affected. The three most recent cases take the total number reported in South Korea to 56 with more than 400,000 animals destroyed since November 29.

28 Dec 2010

Flu infection rates double in a week

Figures reveal that the rates of flu infection in the UK have more than doubled in the last week. Number of cases has risen to 87.1 per 100,000 people, from 32.8 in the previous week, according to the Royal College of GPs. Reports also reveal that school-age children from England and Wales are particularly affected. Ages five to 14 are highest affected followed by those under four, then people aged 15 to 44. Considering all age groups rates almost tripled in the South in one week, from 36 per 100,000 to 93.4. In the North, the rate was 55.5, up from 15.7, and was 94.9 in the central England region, up from 37.9.

27 Dec 2010

22% of hospital admissions in 2008 were for patients over 75 years old: AHRQ

Twenty-two percent of all admissions to U.S. hospitals in 2008 were for patients born the year that Franklin D. Roosevelt was first inaugurated President of the United States or earlier, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

24 Dec 2010

Scientific American examines efforts to increase influenza virus monitoring in pigs to prevent pandemics in humans

Scientific American examines how, in an attempt to improve early recognition of viruses that could give rise to pandemics in people, such as last year's H1N1 swine flu, scientists are looking to better understand "the viruses that infect the estimated 941 million domesticated pigs around the world." However, as the article notes, "[i]ntensive monitoring of pig viruses is unlikely to come any time soon … Most pork-producing countries do not test their pigs at all, and in some that do - such as the U.S. - the testing is done on behalf of the pork producers.

24 Dec 2010

Electronic health records have only limited effect on improving quality of medical care: RAND study

Use of electronic health records by hospitals across the United States has had only a limited effect on improving the quality of medical care, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

24 Dec 2010

BROMG doctor calls for votes to win $25,000 Pepsi Refresh Grant to pay for more flu vaccine

Dr. M. George of the Birmingham Royal Oak Medical Group (BROMG) is well known for providing free flu shots for the past thirteen years to more than 28,000 people in his community at a cost of $300,000 to his clinic. He also provides free Doctor visits for the unemployed and the uninsured. Now, Doc George, as he is known, is asking for help to win a Pepsi Refresh Grant of $25,000 to pay for more flu vaccine.

23 Dec 2010

Immunization with VLP vaccine results in functional, protective immune responses against RSV

Novavax, and scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, led by Dr. Trudy Morrison, published in the January 2011 issue of The Journal of Virology, a report indicating that a novel virus-like particle vaccine candidate against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) protects mice from a live virus challenge.

23 Dec 2010

Pfizer seeks FDA and EMA approval for expanded use of Prevnar 13 for pneumococcal disease

Pfizer Inc today announced that it has submitted supplemental applications to both the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to expand the use of Prevnar 13® (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine [Diphtheria CRM197 Protein]) to adults 50 years of age and older for the prevention of pneumococcal disease caused by the 13 serotypes contained in the vaccine.

23 Dec 2010

Obese people more likely to report exercise as a trigger for asthma

Obese people are more likely to report exercise as a trigger for asthma. Of 673 people evaluated in a new study whose results are published in the journal The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 71 percent of participants reported exercise-induced asthma (ETA).

23 Dec 2010

Researchers find 37° C body temperature is warm enough to ward off fungal infection

Two researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found that our 98.6° F (37° C) body temperature strikes a perfect balance: warm enough to ward off fungal infection but not so hot that we need to eat nonstop to maintain our metabolism.

23 Dec 2010

Medicago completes first part of H5N1 vaccine Phase II trial

Medicago, a biotechnology company focused on developing highly effective and affordable vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus-Like Particles, today announced that the last dose of vaccine has been administered completing the first part of the Company's Phase II human clinical trial with its H5N1 Avian Influenza vaccine.

23 Dec 2010

Merck announces FDA approval for GARDASIL against HPV-related anal cancer

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved GARDASIL® [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16, and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] for the prevention of anal cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18 and for the prevention of anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) grades 1, 2 and 3 (anal dysplasias and precancerous lesions) caused by HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18, in males and females 9 through 26 years of age.

23 Dec 2010

New study reveals statin therapy linked to reduced postoperative mortality

Statin drugs were first introduced to lower blood cholesterol concentrations; however, research is now discovering other benefits. A new study from France, published in the January 2011 issue of Anesthesiology, is the first to analyze the impact of preoperative chronic statin therapy on postoperative adverse events in surgical patients. Findings from the study suggest that statin therapy is associated with reduced postoperative mortality.

23 Dec 2010

FDA approves Novartis' Amturnide for treatment of high blood pressure

Today Novartis announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Amturnide (aliskiren, amlodipine and hydrochlorothiazide) tablets for the treatment of high blood pressure. Amturnide combines the only approved direct renin inhibitor worldwide, Tekturna (aliskiren), with the widely used calcium channel blocker amlodipine and the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ).

23 Dec 2010

New cough suppressant from cocoa

People suffering from persistent cough may soon have a remedy that is derived from cocoa. At present researchers are carrying out the final stages of clinical trials of a drug that contains theobromine, an ingredient found in chocolate and cocoa. The drug could be in the market in another two years.

22 Dec 2010

Walgreen first quarter sales increase 6.0% to record $17.3 billion

Walgreens announced record earnings and sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2011.

22 Dec 2010

Seaside purchases additional $2.5M of NanoViricides' Series B Convertible Preferred Stock

NanoViricides, Inc., announced today that it had consummated a closing with Seaside 88, LP ("Seaside"), a Florida limited partnership, on Seaside's purchase of an additional $2.5M of the Company's Series B Convertible Preferred Stock. Seaside has financed several leading-edge bio-pharma companies, including Cytori Therapeutics, Inc., Generex Biotechnology Corporation, and NovaDel Pharma, Inc. among others.

22 Dec 2010

Vote For Kids Health calls for voting support to help win December Pepsi Refresh Project

Critically ill and disadvantaged children are counting on the generosity of strangers Thursday, December 23, 2010, asking for 100,000 votes to help win their grant ideas in the December Pepsi Refresh Project. Securing the thousands of votes needed to finish in winning spots is an uphill challenge for many organizations, but eight enterprising charities have joined forces to help each other into the winners circle.

22 Dec 2010

BioCryst commences BCX4208/allopurinol combination Phase 2b study in gout patients

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the initiation of a Phase 2b study of BCX4208 as add-on therapy in gout patients who have not responded to allopurinol therapy alone.

22 Dec 2010

New research sheds light on how neurons make connections with one another

Newly published research led by Professor Z. Josh Huang, Ph.D., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory sheds important new light on how neurons in the developing brain make connections with one another.

22 Dec 2010

Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Foot and mouth disease outbreak in South Korea

Flu infection rates double in a week

22% of hospital admissions in 2008 were for patients over 75 years old: AHRQ

Scientific American examines efforts to increase influenza virus monitoring in pigs to prevent pandemics in humans

Electronic health records have only limited effect on improving quality of medical care: RAND study

BROMG doctor calls for votes to win $25,000 Pepsi Refresh Grant to pay for more flu vaccine

Immunization with VLP vaccine results in functional, protective immune responses against RSV

Pfizer seeks FDA and EMA approval for expanded use of Prevnar 13 for pneumococcal disease

Obese people more likely to report exercise as a trigger for asthma

Researchers find 37° C body temperature is warm enough to ward off fungal infection

Medicago completes first part of H5N1 vaccine Phase II trial

Merck announces FDA approval for GARDASIL against HPV-related anal cancer

New study reveals statin therapy linked to reduced postoperative mortality

FDA approves Novartis' Amturnide for treatment of high blood pressure

New cough suppressant from cocoa

Walgreen first quarter sales increase 6.0% to record $17.3 billion

Seaside purchases additional $2.5M of NanoViricides' Series B Convertible Preferred Stock

Vote For Kids Health calls for voting support to help win December Pepsi Refresh Project

BioCryst commences BCX4208/allopurinol combination Phase 2b study in gout patients

New research sheds light on how neurons make connections with one another

How does norepinephrine influence anxiety-related behaviours?

Transforming Lab Workflows with Cell Culture Automation

Building Bridges to Scalable Allogeneic Cell Therapy

Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

How does norepinephrine influence anxiety-related behaviours?

Transforming Lab Workflows with Cell Culture Automation

Building Bridges to Scalable Allogeneic Cell Therapy

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