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Intermountain signs collaborative research agreement with Myriad

Intermountain Healthcare and Myriad Genetics today announced they have signed a collaborative research agreement. The purpose of this agreement is to perform research and validation studies on transformative molecular diagnostic tests being developed by Myriad in an effort to improve the care and treatments for patients at Intermountain and around the world.

22 May 2012

Combination of vitamin D and BCG vaccine improves bladder cancer survival

The tuberculosis vaccine is often used as a treatment for bladder cancer, and adding vitamin D might improve the vaccine's effectiveness, according to new research from the University of Rochester Medical Center presented today at the American Urological Association annual meeting.

22 May 2012

Liposuction surgery reduces risk of ultraviolet-light induced skin cancer

Is it possible that liposuction or other fat removal procedures are beneficial for treating obesity and reducing the risk of cancer? When it comes to humans, scientists can't answer that question. They know that obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. But there have not been clinical studies to determine if the surgical removal of fat tissue would decrease cancer risk in humans.

22 May 2012

HSF-1 protein likely source of chemotherapy-related heart damage in mice

Blocking a protein in the heart that is produced under stressful conditions could be a strategy to prevent cardiac damage that results from chemotherapy, a new study suggests.

22 May 2012

New strategy can reactivate genes that cause cancer tumors to shrink and die

A team of scientists has developed a promising new strategy for "reactivating" genes that cause cancer tumors to shrink and die. The researchers hope that their discovery will aid in the development of an innovative anti-cancer drug that effectively targets unhealthy, cancerous tissue without damaging healthy, non-cancerous tissue and vital organs.

22 May 2012

Some patients appear to be more predisposed for recurrent infection from C. diff

University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have found that some patients appear to be more predisposed for recurrent infection from the bacterium Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, and that it may advance to a more serious inflammatory condition in those individuals.

22 May 2012

VEN occurs also in the insula of macaque monkeys

The anterior insular cortex is a small brain region that plays a crucial role in human self-awareness and in related neuropsychiatric disorders. A unique cell type - the von Economo neuron (VEN) - is located there. For a long time, the VEN was assumed to be unique to humans, great apes, whales and elephants.

22 May 2012

Behavior support intervention can help reduce blood pressure in African-Americans

Behavioral support from peers and primary care office staff can help patients improve their blood pressure control by as much as starting a new drug, a new study found. Barbara J. Turner, M.D., M.S.Ed., M.A., M.A.C.P., of UT Medicine San Antonio, is the senior author.

22 May 2012

First insight into links between microbes and developing infant

A new multi-university study reports that differences in bacterial colonization of the infant gut in formula-fed and breast-fed babies lead to changes in the expression of genes involved in the infant's immune system.

22 May 2012

MGH develops new technique to reconstruct the larynx after surgery for advanced cancer

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) surgeons have developed a new technique for reconstructing the larynx after surgery for advanced cancer.

22 May 2012

Data from Janssen’s SIMPONI Phase 3 study on ulcerative colitis

New study findings presented today show that subcutaneous induction regimens of the anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha therapy SIMPONI (golimumab) induced clinical response in a majority of patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) who had previously failed or were intolerant to conventional agents.

22 May 2012

Study finds large amounts of melanopsin in the human brain

A new study by Oulu University found large amounts of a light-sensitive OPN4-protein, melanopsin, in the human brain.

22 May 2012

Human cytomegalovirus associated with neovascular AMD

A team of researchers, including a scientist from the Viral Immunology Center at Georgia State University, have found that a type of herpesvirus infection of the eye is associated with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease that causes blindness in the elderly.

22 May 2012

Scientists unravel action mechanism of castor oil

Castor oil is known primarily as an effective laxative; however, it was also used in ancient times with pregnant women to induce labour. Only now have scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research succeeded in unravelling the mysteries of the action mechanism. A receptor by the name of EP3 on the cells of the intestine and uterus is apparently responsible. This is activated by an ingredient in the oil.

22 May 2012

FDA clears Teleflex’s ARROW PICC with Chloragard technology

Teleflex Incorporated announced today that in addition to broad-spectrum antimicrobial protection, the pressure-injectable ARROW PICC with Chloragard Technology provides antithrombogenic protection for at least 30 days.

22 May 2012

More than 16,000 patients visit NYU Langone's new CMC

If the first month at NYU Langone's new Center for Musculoskeletal Care (CMC) is any indication of the growing need for integrated care, the more than 16,000 patients coming to the facility on 38th Street in Manhattan since it opened in April is a true testament.

22 May 2012

InterMune reaches definitive agreement with Vidara to sell Actimmune

InterMune, Inc. today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement with Vidara Therapeutics International Limited (Vidara) to sell its rights to Actimmune (interferon gamma-1b) in a cash transaction valued at $55 million plus a two-year royalty stream.

22 May 2012

T cell imbalance may put certain people at increased risk of C. difficile infection

University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have found that an imbalance in the regulation of certain T cells-the cells in the body that fight off infection or attack the system in certain autoimmune diseases-may put certain people at a higher risk of having recurrent cases of Clostridium difficile, or C. Diff, infection.

22 May 2012

Kaiser Family Foundation releases new poll examining Americans' views of U.S. support of global health

"Two-thirds of Americans say that the U.S. is spending too little or about the right amount on global health with one in five saying spending is too high, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation [KFF] survey on the public's views of global health issues" released Monday, a KFF news release reports.

22 May 2012

CHDI, Lundbeck enter collaboration to investigate targeted therapy for Huntington's disease

CHDI Foundation, Inc. and Lundbeck today announced a research collaboration to investigate a targeted therapy for Huntington's disease (HD). Currently, no treatment exists to slow or halt the progression of HD, a challenging hereditary neurodegenerative disease characterized by a triad of behavioral, cognitive, and motor symptoms.

21 May 2012