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First details of genetic alterations that fuel early T-cell precursor ALL

Researchers have discovered that a subtype of leukemia characterized by a poor prognosis is fueled by mutations in pathways distinctly different from a seemingly similar leukemia associated with a much better outcome. The findings from the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (PCGP) highlight a possible new strategy for treating patients with this more aggressive cancer.

12 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Slowing health care growth; Competing views of Romney

The headline is that health care spending grew at only 3.9 percent in 2010 - just .1 percent more than the rate of growth in 2009. Combine the numbers from 2009 and 2010 and we're looking at the slowest two-year rate of growth since the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began keeping tabs on these numbers 51 years ago.

12 Jan 2012

Excess salt stimulates production of adrenalin and causes hypertension

A review article by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) debunks the widely-believed concept that hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the result of excess salt causing an increased blood volume, exerting extra pressure on the arteries. Published online in the Journal of Hypertension, the study demonstrates that excess salt stimulates the sympathetic nervous system to produce adrenalin, causing artery constriction and hypertension.

12 Jan 2012

State roundup: Ga. moves to keep docs; Ore. health plan could save $3.2B

The federal government sharply criticized New York's oversight of the developmentally disabled in a new report, saying the state agency charged with oversight lacks independence from the governor's office, failed to account for how it is spending public money and has broken several requirements of federal law.

12 Jan 2012

Drinking alcohol leads to release of endorphins in the brain

Drinking alcohol leads to the release of endorphins in areas of the brain that produce feelings of pleasure and reward, according to a study led by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco.

12 Jan 2012

Two emergency medicine physicians create weapon against lethal war injury

Two emergency medicine physicians with wartime experience have developed a weapon against one rapidly lethal war injury.

12 Jan 2012

Merger Sub II completes tender offer for outstanding shares of Pharmasset common stock

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced the successful completion of the tender offer by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Royal Merger Sub II Inc., for all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Pharmasset, Inc. a price of $137 per share, net to the seller in cash.

12 Jan 2012

Nature journal publishes Ember's brown fat biology data

Ember Therapeutics, Inc., a company harnessing breakthroughs in brown fat biology and insulin sensitization to revolutionize the treatment of metabolic disease, today announced the publication of key data supporting its lead brown fat biology program in the journal Nature.

12 Jan 2012

APHON receives prestigious Gold Award in Association TRENDS' 2011 All-Media Contest

APHON has been honored with a Gold in Educational Program in Association TRENDS' 2011 All-Media Contest. It was one of more than 450 entries in the association publications contest.

12 Jan 2012

Exposure to light appears to have therapeutic effects on Alzheimer's patients

Exposure to light appears to have therapeutic effects on Alzheimer's disease patients, a Wayne State University researcher has found.

12 Jan 2012

Study confirms condom use reduces risk of HIV infection by 78%

The level of HIV-1 in the blood of an HIV-infected partner is the single most important factor influencing risk of sexual transmission to an uninfected partner, according to a multinational study of heterosexual couples in sub-Saharan Africa.

12 Jan 2012

$Patients with hip fractures should be operated on within 48 hours of admission$

Patients with hip fractures should be operated on within 48 hours of admission

All patients with hip fractures should be fast-tracked through hospital emergency departments and operated on within 48 hours of admission, according to new consensus guidelines developed by UK experts in anaesthesia, orthopaedics, geriatrics and emergency medicine and published in the January issue of Anaesthesia.

12 Jan 2012

Consuming adequate quantities of dietary fiber can improve health

We should all be eating more dietary fiber to improve our health - that's the message from a health review by scientists in India. The team has looked at research conducted into dietary fiber during the last few decades across the globe and now suggests that to avoid initial problems, such as intestinal gas and loose stool, it is best to increase intake gradually and to spread high-fiber foods out throughout the day, at meals and snacks.

12 Jan 2012

Elevated ISG15 pathway may provide therapeutic targets for breast cancer

Interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15), a ubiquitin like protein, is highly elevated in a variety of cancers including breast cancer. How the elevated ISG15 pathway contributes to tumorigenic phenotypes remains unclear and is the subject of a study published in the January 2012 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine.

12 Jan 2012

Amarantus receives U.S. patent titled, 'Dopaminergic Neuronal Survival-Promoting Factors and Uses Thereof'

Amarantus BioSciences, Inc., a biotechnology company developing MANF, a first-in-class disease-modifying therapeutic protein, today announced U.S. Patent Number 8,084,425 has been issued for MANF entitled, Dopaminergic Neuronal Survival-Promoting Factors and Uses Thereof.

12 Jan 2012

New imaging agent shows promise in detecting signs of AD

Scientists are reporting development and initial laboratory tests of an imaging agent that shows promise for detecting the tell-tale signs of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the brain - signs that now can't confirm a diagnosis until after patients have died.

12 Jan 2012

Novel avenues to treat heart attack

Novel avenues to treat a heart attack: in patients, who have a blood pressure cuff several times briefly inflated before they undergo coronary artery surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, the heart is protected from damage.

12 Jan 2012

Health Fidelity, Columbia University enter license agreement to commercialize MedLEE NLP

Columbia University and Health Fidelity, Inc. announced today that they have entered into a license agreement for commercialization of Columbia's MedLEE Natural Language Processing technology.

12 Jan 2012

Chemotherapy drugs can lead to relapse of leukemia

The chemotherapy drugs required to push a common form of adult leukemia into remission may contribute to DNA damage that can lead to a relapse of the disease in some patients, findings of a new study suggest.

12 Jan 2012

Investing in Frontline Health Workers effective in saving lives of mothers, children

In the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children, writes about the Frontline Health Workers Coalition's call on the U.S. government to train 250,000 new frontline health workers in developing countries, stating, "At a time when every dollar counts more than ever, the new Frontline Health Workers Coalition believes this focus is the most cost-effective way to save mothers' and children's lives around the world, address global health threats, and help advance strategic U.S. interests in a secure and prosperous world."

12 Jan 2012