Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Pevion announces positive results of PEV7 Phase I study for recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis

Pevion Biotech AG today announced positive preliminary results from a Phase I study of PEV7, the first vaccine against recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC).

11 Nov 2010

TFAH's new report on flu finds higher hospitalization rates among African Americans

H1N1 flu hospitalization rates for African-Americans, Hispanics, and American Indian/Alaska Natives were nearly two to one higher than rates for Whites during the 2009-2010 flu season, according to a new report, Fighting Flu Fatigue, from the Trust for America's Health (TFAH). At the same time, both H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccination rates were lower for African Americans and Hispanics than for Whites.

11 Nov 2010

Pharmaxis to present ARIDOL Bronchial Challenge Test Kit at 2010 ACAAI

Pharmaxis, a global specialty pharmaceutical company focused on therapeutic products for respiratory and immune disorders, will present ARIDOL™ (mannitol inhalation powder) Bronchial Challenge Test Kit, at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), November 11-16 in Phoenix, AZ.

11 Nov 2010

Exhausted neurons die prematurely and trigger disease symptoms

We all know that living a stressful lifestyle can take its toll, making us age faster and making us more susceptible to the cold going around the office.

11 Nov 2010

Nplate reduces treatment failure and splenectomies in adults with chronic immune thrombocytopenia

Amgen Inc. today announced the publication of results from the first open-label study to compare Nplate® (romiplostim) treatment to standard of care therapies (SOC) in non-splenectomized adult patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). The study results, which were published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), show that both the incidence of treatment failure and need for splenectomy were reduced among the Nplate-treated patients.

11 Nov 2010

Hemispherx Biopharma awarded grant for Ampligen, Alferon development programs

Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. announced today grant awards totaling $488,958 from the U.S. Department of Treasury in support of its Ampligen and Alferon development programs.

10 Nov 2010

NHLBI launches new campaign to highlight common COPD symptoms

The number of Americans who report being aware of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, increased by 4 percentage points between 2008 and 2010, but many people at risk are still unaware of the disease, according to mailed survey results released today by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

10 Nov 2010

Pres. Obama emphasizes U.S.-Indian partnerships to track, fight diseases

On his final day in India as part of his 10-day Asia-Pacific tour, President Barack Obama on Monday addressed the joint session of the Indian Parliament in New Dehli, where he emphasized the importance of U.S.-Indian partnerships to tackle disease and improve education, Indo-Asian News Service/Hindustan Times reports (11/8).

10 Nov 2010

Flu vaccination programs can protect employee health, save businesses money

Each year, influenza poses a tremendous burden on working adults and the many businesses that employ them, contributing to absenteeism and lost productivity. Yet, annual influenza immunization rates remain very low. New data out today show that employer-sponsored influenza vaccination programs held early in the flu season not only protect employee health, but save businesses money.

10 Nov 2010

World Lung Foundation report highlights prevalence of acute respiratory infections worldwide

Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) - such as influenza, pneumonia and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) - cause 4.25 million deaths each year often among young children in developing countries, according to the Acute Respiratory Infections Atlas, which was released on Tuesday by the World Lung Foundation, Reuters reports (11/9).

10 Nov 2010

Aromatase inhibitors increase side effects in women undergoing breast cancer therapy

Women being treated for breast cancer with aromatase inhibitors may experience extremely low estrogen levels resulting in a wide variety of side effects that a typical postmenopausal woman without cancer may not experience.

10 Nov 2010

Health reform policy: Flexible spending, device taxes and waivers

One health law provision will be a bummer for people who use the tax-free dollars stored in flexible spending accounts, Kaiser Health News reports. "Starting in January, you'll no longer be able to use your FSA for over-the-counter drugs and medicines unless you have a doctor's prescription. Experts agree that the new rules will likely discourage people from tapping their FSAs for routine purchases of aspirin, vitamins, cough medicine and other drugstore essentials" (Andrews, 11/8).

10 Nov 2010

Health advice on NHS website saves £44 million per year

The latest study has shown that as more people self diagnose using the NHS Choices website, Britain’s national healthcare service saves millions of pounds every year. The website was launched three years ago. Last year more than 100 million visits were recorded at the site which offers patients a quick reference guide to illnesses, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Overall, there was a 10% increase in the number of visits to the website in 2010 compared to 2009. Some 19 million people logged on to NHS Choices for information on swine flu.

9 Nov 2010

First Edition: November 9, 2010

Today's news includes reports about the Supreme Court's decision regarding an early challenge to the health law.

9 Nov 2010

Covidien fourth quarter net sales increase 3% to $2.67 billion

Covidien plc today reported results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 (July - September 2010). Fourth-quarter net sales of $2.67 billion increased 3% from the $2.59 billion reported a year ago, with foreign exchange rate movement reducing the quarterly sales growth rate by approximately one percentage point.

9 Nov 2010

New techniques to stop ventricular arrhythmias in high-risk patients

New techniques now being used at UCLA allow doctors to more precisely target certain areas of the heart to stop ventricular arrhythmias — serious abnormal rhythms in the heart's lower chambers — in high-risk patients.

9 Nov 2010

DHA protects brain tissue and promotes recovery in acute ischemic stroke

Research led by Dr. Nicolas Bazan, Boyd Professor, Villere Chair, and Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health Sciences Center, has shown that Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a component of fish oil, is a powerful therapeutic agent that can protect brain tissue and promote recovery in an experimental model of acute ischemic stroke, even when treatment is delayed by up to five hours.

9 Nov 2010

Intercell aggregate revenues decrease 28.4% to EUR 21.1m in 9 months ended September 30, 2010

Today, Intercell AG announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2010 and presented an update on the Company's key R&D programs as well as changes to the Management Board.

9 Nov 2010

SIMPONI injection improves inflammation, structural damage in RA patients

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analyses from two Phase 3 clinical trials showed that once every four week subcutaneous injections of SIMPONI (golimumab) 50 mg plus methotrexate resulted in statistically significant improvements in markers of inflammation and structural damage in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with placebo plus methotrexate.

9 Nov 2010

Vaccinations do not increase risk of RA

Common adult vaccinations are not associated with an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta.

9 Nov 2010