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Mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus detected

There is a recent surge in the West Nile-carrying mosquitoes after a relatively dry spell accompanied by warm temperatures last week. The health department monitors about 40 traps across the county two times per week, and last week found four traps in Wheaton alone with infected mosquitoes.

12 Sep 2011

Lund University professor receives Fernström Foundation Nordic Prize for brain cell transplants

This year's Fernström Foundation Nordic Prize, with prize money of SEK 1 million, goes to Professor Anders Björklund from Lund University, Sweden. He is a neurology researcher focusing on neurodegenerative diseases, diseases in which the nerve cells die. Professor Björklund's research group is trying to develop customised stem cells to treat Parkinson's disease.

12 Sep 2011

Drug use among young adults on the rise in U.S.

Nearly one in 10 Americans report regularly using illegal drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants or prescription drugs used recreationally, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health made public today. The survey, sponsored by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), collects the data from interviews with 67,500 randomly selected people 12 years or older.

12 Sep 2011

Genetically modified ‘glow cat’ for HIV/AIDS research

U.S. researcher Eric Poeschla has produced three glowing genetically modified cats by using a virus to carry a gene, called green fluorescent protein (GFP), into the eggs from which the animals eventually grew. This method of genetic modification is simpler and more efficient than traditional cloning techniques, and results in fewer animals being needed in the process.

12 Sep 2011

New improved method can help doctors diagnose early-stage osteoarthritis

A new method is set to help doctors diagnose osteoarthritis at such an early stage that it will be possible to delay the progression of the disease by many years, or maybe even stop it entirely.

12 Sep 2011

EpiCept announces FDA's feedback on Ceplene clinical development for AML

EpiCept Corporation today announced that at a recent meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the Company was provided more definitive guidance regarding the clinical development of Ceplene, the Company's lead product administered with interleukin-2 (IL-2) for the remission maintenance and prevention of relapse of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first complete remission.

12 Sep 2011

FDA advisory panel suggests warning for bisphosphonates but does not specify wording

Two independent advisory panels to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday recommended increasing the cautionary language on the product labels of bone-building drugs taken by more than five million women in the United States. They did not however mention the exact words of the safety warnings and did not recommend limiting use of the drugs to a proposed five years. About 11 percent of women 55 and older take the drugs to prevent bone fractures.

12 Sep 2011

IBN scientists harness ultrasmall peptides to repair spinal disc damage

New ultrasmall peptides that can be used as building blocks for a wide range of regenerative applications such as spinal disc replacement and cartilage repair have been developed by scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), the world's first bioengineering and nanotechnology research institute. These peptides spontaneously assemble in water to form hydrogels, which resemble collagen, a major component of connective tissues found in cartilage, ligaments, tendons, bone and skin.

12 Sep 2011

Study indicates need for antivenoms and better health-care services in Africa

One and a half million people per year are poisoned by snake venom in Sub-Saharan Africa. An IRD researcher recently analysed around 100 surveys and medical reports published over the past 40 years. No large-scale study of the situation had hitherto been conducted and public health authorities had underestimated the size of the problem.

12 Sep 2011

Gay blood donations to be allowed soon in UK

Soon the lifetime ban on blood donations by homosexual and bisexual men will be lifted in England, Scotland and Wales. Ministers have agreed to let men who have not had sex with another man in the past 12 months to donate from November.

12 Sep 2011

Decision Innovations to improve quality, patient satisfaction and financial outcomes of hospitals

Decisions, decisions, decisions. Wouldn't it be nice to have a computer program that could help you make work-related decisions? That's exactly what Drs. Faye Anderson, Karen Frith, Fan Tseng, Mikel Petty and Gregory Reed have done.

12 Sep 2011

Chronic pain gene discovered

Scientists have found the gene responsible for chronic pain. It said that this could lead to drugs for treating long-lasting back pain.

12 Sep 2011

Crocus plant to provide a tumor killing “smart bomb”

According to the latest research, a drug derived from plant extracts could wipe out tumors in a single treatment with minimal side effects. Scientists have turned a chemical found in crocuses into a ‘smart bomb’ that targets cancerous tumors. The advantage is that healthy tissue is unharmed, reducing the odds of debilitating side effects. And unlike other side effect-free drugs, it is able to kill off more than one type of the disease, including breast, prostate, lung and bowel cancer. Potentially, all solid tumours could be vulnerable to drugs developed this way, meaning it could be used against all but blood cancers.

12 Sep 2011

USC team produces world's first high-resolution images of α7 neuroreceptor

For the first time, USC scientists have mapped out a neuroreceptor. This scientific breakthrough promises to revolutionize the engineering of drugs used to treat ailments such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.

12 Sep 2011

Mayo Clinic develops genome-based immunization strategy against feline AIDS

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a genome-based immunization strategy to fight feline AIDS and illuminate ways to combat human HIV/AIDS and other diseases. The goal is to create cats with intrinsic immunity to the feline AIDS virus. The findings -- called fascinating and landmark by one reviewer -- appear in the current online issue of Nature Methods.

12 Sep 2011

ASTMH annual meeting to explore latest research on infectious diseases

The 60th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) -- the largest of its kind in the world -- will bring together in one place global experts who are battling a wide range of bacteria, viruses, parasites and other pathogens that each year kill or sicken hundreds of millions of people.

12 Sep 2011

Boston Scientific releases statement on safety, effectiveness of surgical mesh for POP and SUI

Boston Scientific Corporation today issued the following statement from John Pedersen, Senior Vice President and President of the Company's Urology and Women's Health Division, following the conclusion of a two-day meeting of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Obstetrics & Gynecology Devices Advisory Committee.

12 Sep 2011

JHUSON nursing research news

In a six-month, randomized controlled study of asthmatic children living with smokers reported in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, August 2011, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON) professor and School of Medicine faculty member Arlene Butz, MSN, CPNP, ScD, and others found that regular use of indoor air cleaners can greatly reduce household air pollution and lower rates of children's daytime asthma symptoms.

12 Sep 2011

Pew Health Group to ensure safety of U.S. drug supply

On Wednesday, September 14, Allan Coukell, a pharmacist and director of medical programs at the Pew Health Group, will testify before the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee about the need for Congressional action to ensure the safety of the U.S. drug supply.

12 Sep 2011

Huge economic, social and personal burden of AF-related strokes across Latin America

Urgent coordinated action from national governments, medical societies and patient organizations is needed to avoid a public health crisis resulting from the tide of preventable strokes that leave many people with atrial fibrillation (AF) mentally and physically disabled or dead, every year. How Can We Avoid a Stroke Crisis in Latin America?, a report from Action for Stroke Prevention - a group of health experts from around the world - reveals the huge economic, social and personal burden of AF-related strokes across the region.

12 Sep 2011