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Long-term interferon beta benefits unclear in MS

A large “real-world” study fails to show reduced disability progression in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis given interferon beta.

26 Jul 2012

LPL deficiency treatment poised to be first gene therapy in Europe

For the first time, the European Medicines Agency has recommended gene therapy for approval in Europe.

26 Jul 2012

Fatty acids normalize without help in girls with eating disorders

Omega-3 essential fatty acid supplementation is unnecessary for adolescent girls with eating disorders and weight-loss eating disorder, as levels normalize once they return to normal weight, say researchers.

26 Jul 2012

Walking speeds the way to understanding elderly blood pressure

The first study to examine walking speed, mortality, and blood pressure has shown that frail, elderly adults who have high blood pressure may actually be at a decreased risk for mortality, write researchers in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

26 Jul 2012

Illiteracy linked to schizophrenia risk

The risk for schizophrenia is significantly higher among illiterate than literate individuals in China, particularly among younger age groups, results from a population-based study show.

26 Jul 2012

PTSD prevalent in serious mental illness patients

Post-traumatic stress disorder is common among patients with serious mental illnesses, and is associated with an increased risk for suicide attempts, Spanish researchers report.

26 Jul 2012

Congenital long QT syndrome guidelines ‘too restrictive’

Athletes who choose to continue competing after being diagnosed with long QT syndrome have a low rate of LQTS-triggered cardiac events, US researchers report.

26 Jul 2012

Visual impairment hampers elderly patients’ self-management

Elderly patients with visual impairment need extra support to help them manage their medications, report UK researchers.

26 Jul 2012

Hyperion prices initial public offering of 5,000,000 shares of common stock

Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. announced today the pricing of its initial public offering of 5,000,000 shares of its common stock at $10.00 per share, before underwriting discounts and commissions.

26 Jul 2012

China calls for additional reform of its national health-care system

"Chinese health officials on Tuesday called for additional reform of China's health-care system amid mounting costs, problems at public hospitals and a surge of patients with chronic diseases," the Wall Street Journal reports.

26 Jul 2012

New association found between basal cell carcinoma and eczema

In the powerful sunlight of July, newly published results from a large study of people at high risk for basal cell carcinoma support the emerging view of the nation's most common cancer as a chronic ailment that often repeatedly afflicts older people but for which the seeds may be planted in youth. The research also found a new association with eczema.

26 Jul 2012

UNITAID to invest more than $140M to evaluate point-of-care HIV diagnostics, monitoring in Africa

International medicines financing mechanism UNITAID said on Monday it "will invest more than $140 million to evaluate point-of-care [PoC] HIV diagnostic and monitoring technology in seven African countries," PlusNews reports.

26 Jul 2012

Novel technique allows scientists to assay tumor invasion attributable to interstitial fluid

There are many factors that affect tumor invasion, the process where a tumor grows beyond the tissue where it first developed. While factors like genetics, tissue type and environmental exposure affect tumor metastasis and invasion, physical forces like fluid flow remain a poorly understood component of tumor invasion. A new video article in JoVE, the Journal of Visualized Experiments, describes a novel procedure that allows researchers to study and test the microenvironment of a growing tumor.

26 Jul 2012

Obama's absence at AIDS 2012 gains attention of activists, Bloomberg reports

Noting that President Barack Obama's "only presence at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) is a 50-second cameo in a three-minute video welcoming delegates," Bloomberg reports that his "absence ... has activists talking."

26 Jul 2012

Researchers develop piglet model to study infant brain development

Events that take place early in life almost certainly have consequences for later cognitive development. Establishing the connections is difficult, however, because human infants cannot be used as laboratory subjects. Rodney Johnson and his collaborators have developed an alternative model for studying infant brain development. "Assistant professor Ryan Dilger and I became interested in establishing the neonatal piglet as a model of human brain and cognitive development 3 or 4 years ago," he said.

26 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 26, 2012

Today's headlines include coverage of findings from a new study that indicate Medicaid may help people live longer.

26 Jul 2012

Myotonia less important to patients with myotonic dystrophy than other symptoms

Complex, multi-system diseases like myotonic dystrophy - the most common adult form of muscular dystrophy - require physicians and patients to identify which symptoms impact quality of life and, consequently, what treatments should take priority. However, a new study out this month in the journal Neurology reveals that there is often a disconnect between the two groups over which symptoms are more important, a phenomenon that not only impacts care but also the direction of research into new therapies.

26 Jul 2012

CBO estimates impact of high court decision on health law costs, coverage expansion

The Congressional Budget Office projected the court's decision allowing states to opt out of the Medicaid expansion would decrease costs to the federal government, but result in three million fewer Americans gaining coverage.

26 Jul 2012

Insomnia: an interview with Dr Darryle Schoepp

Insomnia is a very common disorder. In medical terms it can affect a third of people. It affects elderly as well as non-elderly people, and is more common in women.

26 Jul 2012

Study shows potential for histone deacetylase inhibitors to eradicate latent HIV infection

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today the publication of a study in the July 26 issue of the leading scientific journal Nature that provided early evidence for the use of a drug to dislodge reservoirs of hidden virus in patients receiving treatment for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

26 Jul 2012