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HRF inhibitors may provide new therapeutic avenue for treatment of asthma and allergies

La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology scientists have identified the histamine releasing factor (HRF) molecule as a promising target for developing new treatments for a number of allergic reactions including asthma.

3 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Is Berwick a scapegoat?; Rep. Smith on Kagan; Daschle on health IT

Don Berwick, the prominent pediatrician and Harvard School of Public Health professor who headed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has officially stepped down, another victim of Washington's hyper-partisan politics.

3 Dec 2011

Two-thirds of women with catamenial epilepsy have diagnosis of partial epilepsy, study finds

In women of childbearing age with epilepsy, seizure exacerbation may occur either at the time of menstruation or ovulation. Investigators in a specialized epilepsy center have analyzed the data on a group of patients with seizures associated with their menstrual cycles (catamenial seizures) for type of epilepsy, seizure frequency, response to medication, neuroimaging findings, and seizures during pregnancy.

3 Dec 2011

Government leaders make statements in recognition of World AIDS Day

A number of government leaders made statements on Thursday in recognition of World AIDS Day. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a press statement said, "We have come a long way in the fight against AIDS, but there is still a long road ahead to realize our ambitious goals.

3 Dec 2011

La Jolla researchers create first cellular movies showing destruction underlying type 1 diabetes

A war is being waged in the pancreases of millions of people throughout the world. The siege leads to the development of type 1 diabetes and has been a battlefield largely hidden from view-- until now.

3 Dec 2011

End to AIDS in reach, U.N. officials say on World AIDS Day

"As the world heads into the fourth decade of AIDS, it is finally in a position to end the epidemic, [U.N.] Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said [Thursday], leading a chorus of United Nations officials in calling for the political will, investments and determination to reach this goal," the U.N. News Centre reports. "'Momentum is on our side. Let us use it to end AIDS -- once and for all,' Mr. Ban said in his message for World AIDS Day," the news service writes.

3 Dec 2011

CDER, Shire enter agreement for ProAmatine clinical trial to treat symptomatic orthostatic hypotension

Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announces that it has reached an agreement with the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to conduct additional clinical trials to confirm the clinical benefit of ProAmatine (midodrine HCl), a medicine approved in 1996 under Subpart H for the treatment of symptomatic orthostatic hypotension (SOH).

3 Dec 2011

Research roundup: Recession's big impact on men's insurance coverage

Researchers examined three sets of surveillance data and found that of the estimated 1.2 million persons in the United States living with the human immunodeficiency virus, 942,000 persons were aware of their infection. More than three-quarters of those were "linked to care" and among HIV-infected adults in care, "45 percent received prevention counseling, and 89 percent were prescribed antiretroviral therapy."

3 Dec 2011

Most older drivers don't plan for the future when they may be unable to drive safely

Florida is home to one of the highest percentages of residents ages 65 and older in the United States, but very few of them have thought ahead to a time when they will no longer be able to drive a vehicle safely or considered how they will get around without a car, according to a new survey developed by Florida State University and the Florida Department of Transportation.

3 Dec 2011

On World AIDS Day, Obama announces plan to redirect $50 million to fight AIDS

President Barack Obama told advocates, patients and other stakeholders that his administration will do more to get antiretroviral drugs to people infected with HIV - in the United States and in low-income countries around the world.

3 Dec 2011

New rapid blood test for early diagnosis of cryptococcosis

Research conducted at University of Nevada, Reno and licensed through the University's Technology Transfer Office is featured in the technology transfer publication "Better World Report" for a remarkable second year in a row.

3 Dec 2011

GOP develops strategies to focus on health law in upcoming election season

The 2012 election year will see a sustained Republican push to repeal the health care reform law in bits and pieces, members of both parties say. The new House majority's first major legislative effort back in January was a highly publicized party-line vote to repeal the whole law, a bill that, predictably, foundered in the Senate.

3 Dec 2011

Four clinical centers to provide NovoTTF device treatment for recurrent GBM

Novocure, a commercial stage private oncology company, has announced that prominent neuro-oncologists at four clinical centers in the U.S. will be the first to provide access to its Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) device, NovoTTF-100A System, for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma multiforme. GBM is a deadly brain tumor affecting approximately 10,000 Americans each year.

3 Dec 2011

Mainz gastroenterologist awarded ERC Advanced Grant

The European Research Council (ERC) has earmarked about €2.5 mio. to fund the research being conducted by gastroenterologist and biochemist Professor Dr. Dr. Detlef Schuppan at Mainz University Medical Center.

3 Dec 2011

Latin American, Caribbean national rotavirus immunization campaigns show success, CDC report says

"Fourteen of the 32 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean make the rotavirus vaccine available for all infants via national programs," according to a report published Friday in the CDC's "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report," United Press International reports.

3 Dec 2011

NASA-developed technology for treatment of hardened arteries in the heart

NASA has signed a patent license agreement that will allow a California company use of NASA-developed technology that could be used to treat hardened arteries in the heart.

3 Dec 2011

American Plasma Users Coalition awarded $40,000 advocacy grant from CSL Behring

CSL Behring announced today that it has awarded a $40,000 advocacy grant to the American Plasma Users Coalition (A-PLUS) through its Local Empowerment for Advocacy Development (LEAD) program. LEAD grants support the grassroots advocacy efforts of organizations that help people who use plasma-derived or recombinant therapies to manage rare and serious medical disorders.

3 Dec 2011

IOM essential benefits recommendations draw criticism

A letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius from more than 2,400 health care providers and advocates offered objections to the Institute of Medicine's recommendations regarding what benefits must be covered in state health insurance marketplaces. Additionally, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, offered a warning regarding an Internal Revenue Service proposal on premium assistance in the health law's insurance exchanges.

3 Dec 2011

Residents at neurosurgery training programs oppose new regulations limiting duty hours

Residents at U.S. neurosurgery training programs strongly oppose new regulations that further limit their duty hours, according to a survey study in the December issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

3 Dec 2011

World Cell Race pulls 70 entries for title of world's fastest cell

A "team" of fast-moving, bone marrow stem cells from a research laboratory in Singapore has run away with the first World Cell Race, finishing first with a cellular speed record of 5.2 microns per minute (or 0.000204 inches per minute) in results announced today at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB).

3 Dec 2011