Medical News

RSS

Researchers identify gene required for proper development of mouse inner ear

Providing clues to deafness, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a gene that is required for proper development of the mouse inner ear.

4 Jan 2012

Avedro's Lasik Xtra procedure receives CE Approval

Avedro, Inc. announced today that the Company's proprietary Lasik Xtra procedure has received CE Approval. Lasik Xtra is a two minute procedure used in conjunction with standard Lasik to restore the biomechanical integrity and strength to the cornea after a Lasik procedure.

4 Jan 2012

USPTO issues patent to NJIT's unique device for treatment of brain injury

NJIT Professor Gordon Thomas and NJIT Research Professor Reginald Farrow, both in the department of physics, and NJIT alumnus Sheng Liu, formerly a doctoral student of both researchers and now an engineer at a biotech company, were awarded a patent today for the NJIT SmartShunt-, a unique device to help patients with brain injuries.

4 Jan 2012

MRC-funded study to explore pancreatic cancer

A promising line of attack against pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer is to be explored further at Cardiff University, thanks to substantial new funding from the Medical Research Council.

4 Jan 2012

Scientists discover chemical compound that inhibits poxviruses from replicating

A team of scientists from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified a novel compound that inhibits viruses from replicating. The findings, which are published online in the Journal of Virology, could lead to the development of highly targeted compounds to block the replication of poxviruses, such as the emerging infectious disease Monkeypox.

4 Jan 2012

Mitochondrial dysfunction in tissue stem cells can cause aging-associated degeneration

Aging-related tissue degeneration can be caused by mitochondrial dysfunction in tissue stem cells. The research group of Professor Anu Suomalainen Wartiovaara at the University of Helsinki, with their collaborators in Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging, Karolinska Institutet and University of Wisconsin, reported on the 3rd January in Cell Metabolism their results on mechanisms of aging-associated degeneration.

4 Jan 2012

Hydrogen sulfide decreases manufacture of kidney scarring matrix proteins

Hydrogen sulfide, a gas notorious for its rotten-egg smell, may have redeeming qualities after all. It reduces high glucose-induced production of scarring proteins in kidney cells, researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

4 Jan 2012

Global health issues allow for reporting on broad spectrum of challenges, journalists say at seminar

GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog describes a December seminar, titled "Global Health and Story Telling in the Digital Age" and sponsored by GlobalPost and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, at which "journalists discussed challenges they faced in covering global health during a time of shrinking budgets and within an industry struggling to balance hard-hitting coverage with the need to continually update websites and attract readers."

4 Jan 2012

Two new studies offer clearer picture of rise of hepatocellular carcinoma

Doctors have known for years that the incidence of deadly liver cancer is on the rise, but what is causing that trend has remained a mystery. Two recent Mayo Clinic studies published in the January issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings offer a clearer picture of the rise of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer, which has tripled in the U.S. in the last three decades and has a 10 to 12 percent five-year survival rate when detected in later stages.

4 Jan 2012

BioMarin to initiate BMN-111 Phase 1 trial in achondroplasia

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. announced today that the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for BMN-111, an analog of C-type Natriuretic Peptide (CNP), for achondroplasia is active.

4 Jan 2012

In-your-face advertisements target childhood obesity

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is hearing strong criticism from some camps for its in-your-face advertising campaign designed to attack Georgia's childhood obesity epidemic. But the pediatric health system stands firmly by its approach, saying the grim advertisements featuring overweight kids are necessary to get families to recognize the widespread public health problem.

4 Jan 2012

Bingo enhances cognitive performance in people with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease

Bingo, a popular activity in nursing homes, senior centers and assisted-living facilities, has benefits that extend well beyond socializing. Researchers found high-contrast, large bingo cards boost thinking and playing skills for people with cognitive difficulties and visual perception problems produced by Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD).

4 Jan 2012

Vioguard self-sanitizing computer keyboard receives FDA clearance

Vioguard today announced the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has cleared the company's first product, the Vioguard self-sanitizing computer keyboard, for use in healthcare settings.

4 Jan 2012

PIP breast implant update

The Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery update regarding French breast implant recall which may affect some Australian women

4 Jan 2012

Lundbeck announces availability of ONFI Tablets in the U.S.

Lundbeck announced today that ONFI Tablets are now available for prescribing in the United States. The FDA recently approved ONFI for adjunctive treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) in patients two years and older.

4 Jan 2012

ARC Healthcare closes acquisition of medical office building in Willingboro

American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust, Inc. announced that on December 29, 2011, the Company closed its acquisition of a fee simple interest in a medical office building located in Willingboro, New Jersey, for a purchase price of approximately $3.3 million, exclusive of closing costs.

4 Jan 2012

FDA issues PMA response letter to BioMimetic's Augment Bone Graft

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that it received a comprehensive post-panel response letter from the FDA related to the Company's Pre-Market Approval (PMA) application for Augment Bone Graft for use as an alternative to autograft in hindfoot and ankle fusion procedures.

4 Jan 2012

Low T Center for testosterone replacement therapy opens new clinic in Denver

Low T Center is opening a new clinic at 12213 North Pecos, Westminster, Co., a suburb of Denver on Tuesday, January 3, 2012. This men's oriented clinic will provide testosterone replacement therapy in the form of testosterone injections for men around the ages of 40-60 years old.

4 Jan 2012

Expert offers tips to lose weight

It happens every year, millions of Americans make resolutions to lose weight. Most persons end that pledge after the first few weeks of the New Year but experts at My Weight Doctor® say it may be that people are trying too hard to make quick changes. The experts say that making small, gradual changes to boost your metabolism will lead to better habits.

4 Jan 2012

Protein increases lean mass while extra calories increase fat mass

In a study conducted among 25 healthy individuals living in a controlled setting who were randomized to overconsumption of different levels of protein diets, those consuming the low-protein diet had less weight gain compared to those consuming normal and high protein diets, and calories alone, and not protein appeared to contribute to an increase in body fat, according to a study in the January 4 issue of JAMA.

4 Jan 2012