Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

UM researcher uses computer algorithms to develop vaccines for new strains of influenza viruses

Defeating the flu is challenging because the virus responsible for the disease undergoes frequent changes of its genetic code, making it difficult for scientists to manufacture effective vaccines for the seasonal flu in a timely manner. Now, a University of Miami computer scientist, Dimitris Papamichail, and a team of researchers from Stony Brook University have developed a rapid and effective approach to produce vaccines for new strains of influenza viruses.

9 Jul 2010

Phase III study results of imiquimod creams for treatment of EGW presented at HPV Conference

Results from a Phase III program evaluating imiquimod 3.75% and 2.5% creams for the treatment of EGW, applied once daily for up to 8 weeks, demonstrated that both were well-tolerated and more efficacious than placebo, according to data presented at the annual Human Papillomavirus Conference in Montreal, July 3 - 8. Investigators found that efficacy was greatest for imiquimod 3.75% with an enhanced safety profile.

9 Jul 2010

WHO report examines donors response to developing countries during H1N1 pandemic

CIDRAP News examines a recently-released WHO report on how donor countries and organizations have responded to the needs of developing countries during the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic. In September, the WHO estimated the "64 'least-resourced countries' needed a total of $1.48 billion of aid for vaccine, medicines and supplies, laboratory and surveillance services, communications capacity, and other activities to respond to the pandemic," according to the news service.

9 Jul 2010

IBC offers more personalized online information about PHR to its members

Independence Blue Cross now offers its members more personalized online information about their health – as the amazon.com experience is to the savvy shopper, the ibxpress.com experience is to the smart health care consumer. Personal health information began to flow into members' electronic health records this month – available through ibxpress.com, the company's member website.

9 Jul 2010

Accudial's weight-based rotating labels prevent underdosing and overdosing in children's OTC medications

There is plenty to worry about when it comes to the job of parenting. However, wondering if a child is receiving the correct amount of over-the-counter (OTC) medication can now be a concern of the past, thanks to Children's AccuDial(R), a patented new line of children's medication available across Canada, with a dosing system based on body weight, not age.

9 Jul 2010

PharmAthene reports progress in lyophilized rPA anthrax vaccine development program

PharmAthene, Inc., a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, announced today that it continues to make solid progress in its lyophilized recombinant Protective Antigen (rPA) anthrax vaccine development program. The Company has recently demonstrated that its lyophilized rPA vaccine candidate is structurally stable and potent at various temperatures up to and including 70 degrees centigrade.

9 Jul 2010

Advanced Life Sciences announces positive results from preclinical studies of Restanza IV

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, oncology and respiratory diseases, today announced positive results from preclinical toxicology and pharmacokinetic studies of an intravenous (IV) formulation of its novel antibiotic, Restanza™ that support its use in a hospital setting.

8 Jul 2010

Aethlon Medical files provisional patent on behalf of ESI for exosome detection assay

Aethlon Medical, Inc., the pioneer in developing therapeutic filtration devices to address infectious disease and cancer, announced today that it has filed a provisional patent on behalf of its wholly owned subsidiary Exosome Sciences, Inc. (ESI), relating to the development of an assay that will allow researchers to detect exosomes in blood and other fluids.

8 Jul 2010

New information about quality of care available in America's hospitals added to new HHS website

Important new information about the quality of care available in America's outpatient and emergency departments, including how well hospitals care for patients with heart attacks and protect outpatients from surgical infections was added to the new HHS website HealthCare.gov.

8 Jul 2010

Landmark study compares oral and transvaginal NOTES to traditional laparoscopy

As part of the only U.S. prospective multicenter clinical trial to compare natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery to laparoscopy, surgeons at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have performed the trial's first oral gallbladder removal. This landmark study will evaluate whether or not NOTES is safe and as effective as traditional laparoscopic surgery.

8 Jul 2010

ASA provides tips to help parents protect children from over-the-counter drug abuse

In recent years, a growing and potentially life-threatening trend known as Robo tripping, the abuse of over-the-counter cough and cold medications, has emerged among America's youth. As the Society representing the front-line physicians responsible for treating patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) who have overdosed on over-the-counter medications, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) has developed information to help parents recognize the signs of Robo tripping and to prevent overdose and longer-term health complications.

8 Jul 2010

Heart attack death rates drop in hospitals; CDC reports increase in colon cancer screening rate

USA Today: Hospital heart attack death rates fell, according to new Medicare data. "Death rates at 4,569 hospitals that treat Medicare patients who suffer heart attacks fell by almost half a percentage point, from a national average of 16.6% last year to 16.2%. Death rates for most hospitals ranged from about 14.5% to 17.9%. ...

8 Jul 2010

HQA applauds public availability of hospital quality information at Hospital Compare website

The Hospital Quality Alliance today applauded the public availability of new information on hospital quality of care at the Hospital Compare website. The HQA is a broad working group of hospitals, consumer representatives, physician and nursing organizations, employers and payers, oversight organizations and government agencies dedicated to improving health care quality and making useful and understandable information about hospital quality available to the public.

8 Jul 2010

Study reveals asthma as a risk factor for pneumonia in children hospitalized for influenza

Children with asthma are at increased risk of developing pneumonia as a complication of influenza, reports a study in the July issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

8 Jul 2010

FDA approves Beech Tree Labs' IND for Phase 1/2a clinical evaluation of BTL-TML-HSV

Beech Tree Labs, Inc., announced today that the FDA has approved its IND for a Phase 1/2a clinical evaluation of BTL-TML-HSV, a novel therapeutic agent for treating recurrent oral herpes infections. The study will be a 210 patient, multi-site, placebo-controlled trial and is anticipated to begin later this summer.

8 Jul 2010

Investment report on Hemispherx BioPharma

MicroStockProfit.com announces an investment report featuring Hemispherx BioPharma Inc.. The report includes financial, comparative and investment analyses, and recent company news that you need to know to make an educated investment decision.

7 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 7, 2010

Today's biggest health policy news surrounds an announcement by the White House that President Obama will install a new Medicare and Medicaid chief with a recess appointment the bypasses the confirmation process.

7 Jul 2010

Map of herpes virus "cell-entry machinery" provides new target for antiviral drugs

The mechanism by which a herpes virus invades cells has remained a mystery to scientists seeking to thwart this family of viruses. New research funded by the National Institutes of Health and published online in advance of print in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology reveals the unusual structure of the protein complex that allows a herpes virus to invade cells. This detailed map of a key piece of the herpes virus "cell-entry machinery" gives scientists a new target for antiviral drugs.

7 Jul 2010

American Lung Association welcomes U.S. EPA proposal to reduce power plant pollution

The cleanup of power plants is long overdue. Power plant pollution causes tens of thousands of premature deaths each year. These plants are major contributors to particulate pollution and ozone in the East and Midwest. The American Lung Association welcomes today's proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce power plant pollution across 31 states.

7 Jul 2010

New Center for Image-Guided Intervention opened at MSKCC

Image-guided interventions are revolutionizing cancer diagnosis and treatment. MSKCC's new Center for Image-Guided Intervention (CIGI), which opened in June, offers cancer patients the most advanced, minimally invasive diagnostic and treatment options in a unique multidisciplinary setting designed to foster rapid innovations in cancer care.

7 Jul 2010

Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

UM researcher uses computer algorithms to develop vaccines for new strains of influenza viruses

Phase III study results of imiquimod creams for treatment of EGW presented at HPV Conference

WHO report examines donors response to developing countries during H1N1 pandemic

IBC offers more personalized online information about PHR to its members

Accudial's weight-based rotating labels prevent underdosing and overdosing in children's OTC medications

PharmAthene reports progress in lyophilized rPA anthrax vaccine development program

Advanced Life Sciences announces positive results from preclinical studies of Restanza IV

Aethlon Medical files provisional patent on behalf of ESI for exosome detection assay

New information about quality of care available in America's hospitals added to new HHS website

Landmark study compares oral and transvaginal NOTES to traditional laparoscopy

ASA provides tips to help parents protect children from over-the-counter drug abuse

Heart attack death rates drop in hospitals; CDC reports increase in colon cancer screening rate

HQA applauds public availability of hospital quality information at Hospital Compare website

Study reveals asthma as a risk factor for pneumonia in children hospitalized for influenza

FDA approves Beech Tree Labs' IND for Phase 1/2a clinical evaluation of BTL-TML-HSV

Investment report on Hemispherx BioPharma

First Edition: July 7, 2010

Map of herpes virus "cell-entry machinery" provides new target for antiviral drugs

American Lung Association welcomes U.S. EPA proposal to reduce power plant pollution

New Center for Image-Guided Intervention opened at MSKCC

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Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Edoardo Fabini

Reducing polypharmacy through innovative drug formulation technologies

How innovation in dried blood spot testing is transforming neurological disease monitoring

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