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Drug treatments, scientific advances fuel hope for HIV control as AIDS 2012 conference draws near

"A cure for AIDS remains a distant prospect but a host of drug treatments and other advances have fueled fresh hope that new HIV infections may someday be halted for good," Agence France-Presse reports.

17 Jul 2012

AstraZeneca plans to conduct ticagrelor plus clopidogrel clinical trial for PAD

AstraZeneca today announced plans to conduct the EUCLID study, a global clinical trial involving 11,500 patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD), a condition affecting approximately 27 million people in Europe and North America.

17 Jul 2012

Health law implementation decisions draw state officials' attention, set scene for state-level policy action

Virginia's attorney general outlines his take on the fiscal dangers that the health law's Medicaid expansion will cause. Meanwhile, Michigan lawmakers will consider the creation of a state-based health exchange. Also, in Georgia, a year-long effort to revamp the state's Medicaid program is on hold as one leader says it would be "imprudent" to move forward while so many uncertainties are in play.

17 Jul 2012

Activating NOTCH and AKT gene may trigger cholangiocarcinoma

A rare type of cancer thought to derive from cells in the bile ducts of the liver may actually develop when one type of liver cell morphs into a totally different type, a process scientists used to consider all but impossible. UCSF researchers triggered this kind of cellular transformation-and caused tumors to form in mice-by activating just two genes.

17 Jul 2012

MSU nursing researcher’s Wii-Fit program helps lung cancer patients reduce fatigue

With the support of a $379,741 grant from the National Cancer Institute and the Nintendo Wii game system, nursing researcher Amy Hoffman aims to help lung cancer patients reduce fatigue and get more exercise as they transition from the hospital to the home after surgery.

17 Jul 2012

ED patients prefer technology-based interventions for high-risk behaviors

A Rhode Island Hospital researcher has found that emergency department patients prefer technology-based interventions for high-risk behaviors such as alcohol use, unsafe sex and violence. ER patients said they would choose technology (ie text messaging, email, or Internet) over traditional intervention methods such as in-person or brochure-based behavioral interventions.

17 Jul 2012

Researchers identify cannabinoid-making pathway

U of S researchers have discovered the chemical pathway that Cannabis sativa uses to create bioactive compounds called cannabinoids, paving the way for the development of marijuana varieties to produce pharmaceuticals or cannabinoid-free industrial hemp.

17 Jul 2012

Tips to help minimize risks associated with acid reflux disease

While the overall death rates from several cancers such as breast and lung have gone down, there has been a meteoric rise in cases of esophageal cancer. Studies have shown that from 1975 to 2001, the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma rose approximately sixfold in the United States (from four to 23 cases per million), a relative increase greater than that for melanoma, breast, or prostate cancer.

17 Jul 2012

Why is the incidence of gout increasing?

Gout has been described by the Daily Mail as something, “usually associated with port-swilling, over-fed elderly men of the 19th century”. (1) Recent research carried out at the Boston University School of Medicine, however, has found that the incidence of gout in the US is on the rise. (2) Thus, the condition is clearly not something that only affects this stereotype.

17 Jul 2012

Life Technologies acquires Navigenics

Life Technologies Corporation today announced the acquisition of Navigenics, Inc. This acquisition represents Life Technologies' first step in executing against a strategy to build out its molecular diagnostics business through internal development, partnerships and select acquisitions.

17 Jul 2012

UCLA introduces digital and mobile technology to make more effective neurosurgical training

The neurosurgery residency training program at UCLA has successfully introduced digital and mobile technology—including tablet computers linked to a digital library of resources—to make neurosurgical training more effective and efficient, according to an article in the July issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

17 Jul 2012

Scientists discover new way to convert cord blood cells into iNC

For more than 20 years, doctors have been using cells from blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord after childbirth to treat a variety of illnesses, from cancer and immune disorders to blood and metabolic diseases.

17 Jul 2012

PsychoGenics, Afraxis partner to offer Enhanced Spine Platform technology

Afraxis and PsychoGenics today announced an alliance to offer Afraxis' Enhanced Spine Platform (ESP) technology as part of PsychoGenics' comprehensive testing capabilities and drug discovery services.

17 Jul 2012

Thermo Fisher Scientific signs definitive agreement to acquire One Lambda

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire One Lambda, the leader in transplant diagnostics, for $925 million in cash, subject to a post-closing adjustment.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 17 Jul 2012

Asian-American victims of domestic violence rarely seek help from police or health care providers

Asian-American victims of domestic violence rarely seek help from police or health care providers - "an alarming trend" among the fastest-growing racial group in the United States, says a Michigan State University researcher.

17 Jul 2012

Ampio announces advancement of NCE001 to preclinical development

Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing repurposed drugs and new molecular entities (NMEs) that treat inflammatory diseases, including osteoarthritis, diabetic macular edema (DME) and sexual dysfunction and conducting clinical trials on its four lead drugs announced today the advancement of NCE001, from its proprietary methylphenidate derivatives family of compounds, to preclinical development for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme, renal cell carcinoma and inflammatory breast cancer following the granting of multiple composition of matter and use patents in the USA, Canada, Europe and China.

17 Jul 2012

U.S. News & World Report unveils 23rd annual Best Hospitals rankings

U.S. News & World Report has released its 23rd annual Best Hospitals rankings and a new hospital has seized the No. 1 spot.

17 Jul 2012

Scientists develop first cell-based model of Alzheimer's disease

A team of scientists at The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Laboratory led by Scott Noggle, PhD, NYSCF-Charles Evans Senior Research Fellow for Alzheimer's Disease, has developed the first cell-based model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by reprogramming skin cells of Alzheimer's patients to become brain cells that are affected in Alzheimer's.

17 Jul 2012

Biomet fourth quarter net sales increase 3% to $739.5 million

Biomet, Inc. announced today preliminary financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended May 31, 2012. The final results for the three and twelve months ended May 31, 2012 will be made available to the public with the filing of Biomet's Form 10-K for fiscal year 2012 and will include the finalization of a non-cash goodwill and intangible asset impairment charge as further described below and certain income tax accounts.

17 Jul 2012

Gates Foundation's efforts to improve access to contraceptives will improve health, lives of women, children

"Supporters of women's health ought to cheer the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's plan" to provide $1 billion over eight years to increasing women's access to contraceptives and family planning services because the "effort underscores the critical role of family planning in the international battle to reduce poverty and improve maternal health," a Seattle Times editorial states.

17 Jul 2012