Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

High prevalence of asthma among children with H1N1

A new study on pediatric H1N1 influenza admissions has found that asthma is a significant risk factor for severe disease in children with pandemic H1N1 compared with the seasonal flu.

19 Nov 2009

Low-level laser therapy increases tumour growth in skin cancer

High irradiances of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) should not be used over melanomas. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Cancer studied the pain relieving, anti-inflammatory 'cold laser', finding that it caused increased tumour growth in a mouse model of skin cancer.

19 Nov 2009

Adamas Pharmaceuticals expands its Phase 2 TCAD therapy study for influenza A

Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company, announced today that it has expanded its Phase 2 clinical study of a proprietary investigational triple-combination antiviral drug therapy for influenza to include centers in the United States, Canada and Europe. The study, which was initiated in August 2009 in the Southern Hemisphere, is designed to investigate Adamas' triple combination antiviral drug (TCAD) therapy as a treatment for influenza A, including novel influenza A/H1N1, the cause of the current flu pandemic.

19 Nov 2009

SinoFresh Nasal Spray effective against 'swine flu' in animal study

SinoFresh Healthcare Products, Inc. announced today the successful results of its initial pilot animal study testing the efficacy of the SinoFresh Nasal Spray product when used on animals infected with the H1N1 virus. The study data suggests that treatment with SinoFresh allowed the infected animals to recover more rapidly from H1N1 infection than did untreated animals. In addition, pre-treatment with SinoFresh Nasal Spray decreased the severity and/or incidence of infection.

19 Nov 2009

DxNA announces successfull evaluation of its GeneSTAT PCR system

DxNA, a molecular diagnostics company headquartered in St. George, Utah, announced today that the DxNA GeneSTAT PCR system has successfully completed evaluation studies under the direction of a California laboratory supported by the Joint FAO/IAEA Programme in Food and Agriculture.

19 Nov 2009

First comprehensive, international baseline evidence about pandemics published

Public health officials walking a tightrope between massive demand for vaccines and intense public scrutiny of side effects now have a new standard for evaluating the safety of their vaccination programs.

19 Nov 2009

Exaggerated responses of immune system explain elders’ susceptibility to viral infections

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that exaggerated responses of the immune system explain why the elderly succumb to viral infections more readily than younger people. Published in the November 19 Cell Host & Microbe, the study bucks the general belief that declining immune responses are to blame for susceptibility to viral infections.

19 Nov 2009

Brain uses a mechanism to filter out distracting thoughts to focus on single information

The human brain is bombarded with all kinds of information, from the memory of last night's delicious dinner to the instructions from your boss at your morning meeting. But how do you "tune in" to just one thought or idea and ignore all the rest of what is going on around you, until it comes time to think of something else?

19 Nov 2009

NPSF supports obligatory flu vaccination for healthcare workers

The National Patient Safety Foundation recognizes vaccine-preventable diseases as a matter of patient safety and supports mandatory influenza vaccination of health care workers to protect the health of patients, health care workers, and the community.

19 Nov 2009

Sinovac Biotech files shelf registration statement with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. ( SVA), a leading developer and provider of vaccines, announced today that it has filed a shelf registration statement on Form F-3 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

19 Nov 2009

Report on unexplained liver haemorrhage after metastasis radiofrequency ablation published

Colorectal carcinoma is one of the most common cancers in the world. Approximately one in four of these patients have metastases at diagnosis, liver being the most common site involved. Although historically it was considered that liver metastases meant a very poor prognosis, today, due to improved systemic therapy, many patients will be candidates for local hepatic treatments such as surgery or less aggressive radiofrequency ablation.

19 Nov 2009

Expansion of Excelyte manufacturing plant completed at Midland

Integrated Environmental Technologies, Ltd. announces that Benchmark Performance Group, Inc., its exclusive worldwide distributor serving the oil and gas industry, has completed the expansion of its Excelyte® manufacturing plant at its Midland, Texas facility.

19 Nov 2009

MMR Information Systems and Unis-Tonghe Technology enter into a definitive agreement

MMR Information Systems, Inc., and Unis-Tonghe Technology (Zhengzhou) Co., Ltd, announced that they will enter into a definitive agreement by the end of this year to form a joint venture to build a customized version of MMR's proprietary personal health record ("PHR") services (www.mymedicalrecords.com) and professional document imaging and management solutions in China.

19 Nov 2009

Why avian flu virus has not caused a pandemic?

Bird flu viruses would have to make at least two simultaneous genetic mutations before they could be transmitted readily from human to human, according to research published today in PLoS ONE.

19 Nov 2009

Binge drinking, cannabis and prescription drugs still remain a concern among teenagers

While fewer teens are drinking alcohol in 2009 than a decade ago, binge drinking, use of cannabis and prescription drugs remain a concern, according to the 2009 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS) released today by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

19 Nov 2009

FDA Advisory Committee votes in support of Pfizer's Prevnar 13

Pfizer Inc announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 10 to 1 that the data presented support the safety and effectiveness of its 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate candidate vaccine, Prevnar 13™ (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine [Diphtheria CRM197 Protein]), for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in infants and young children.

19 Nov 2009

FDA issues complete response for Rituxan, a drug for treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Genentech, Inc., a wholly-owned member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY), and Biogen Idec announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a complete response on the companies’ applications for Rituxan® (rituximab) plus fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC) for the treatment of people with previously untreated and previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

19 Nov 2009

People with egg allergy can have H1N1 flu vaccine in graded doses

As flu season got underway this fall, Dr. Catherine Monteleone, an allergist, noticed that her office started to receive an unusually high number of calls from people with egg allergy. They previously had avoided flu vaccines because of their sensitivity to eggs. This year, with all the attention being paid to the novel H1N1 influenza, those patients want to be protected against flu, and they contacted her to find out if they are candidates for inoculation.

19 Nov 2009

New non-alcohol germ protection spray now available in Greater Cleveland

MyClyns, the new non-alcohol germ protection spray, is now available to consumers over the counter throughout Greater Cleveland, one of two cities in the nation chosen as initial test market cities prior to a nationwide product launch.

19 Nov 2009

GAVI Alliance drives down pentavalent vaccine costs, data shows

The "co-ordinated buying policy" of the GAVI Alliance has driven down "[t]he price of a vaccine that helps babies fight off killer diseases," according to data released by the group, Reuters reports. In 2010, the price of pentavalent vaccine, which protects against Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and hepatitis B, will fall "below $3.0 - a drop of almost $0.50 cents per dose on the 2009 price," according to the news services.

19 Nov 2009