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TJUH adopts new equipment from Roche Diagnostics for laboratory testing services

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH) is advancing its laboratory testing services with new state-of-the-art equipment from Roche Diagnostics designed to help labs increase their testing capacity and deliver reliable results with greater efficiency.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 20 Sep 2011

University of Colorado, SuviCa complete license agreement for CU cancer drug screening technology

SuviCa Inc. of Boulder and the University of Colorado recently completed an exclusive license agreement for a CU drug screening technology to identify novel therapies for cancer.

20 Sep 2011

Leverage mobile technology and social networking to strengthen health systems

Alexander Finlayson, Katherine Hudson and Faisal Ali, all affiliates of MedicineAfrica, a social enterprise providing a platform for health care educational and research partnerships between Northern and Southern collaborators, write in a SciDev.Net opinion piece, "Health scientists in developing countries can use social media to tackle research priorities, ... building networks and sharing the knowledge needed to make strategic progress towards strengthening health systems.

20 Sep 2011

Combination of lunasin and oxaliplatin prevents colon cancer from metastasis

A University of Illinois study reports a promising new weapon in treating metastatic colon cancer, particularly in patients who have developed resistance to chemotherapy.

20 Sep 2011

Introduction of free caesarean sections in Congo leads to increase in procedure

"A health policy shift that saw the introduction in May of free caesarean section operations in 35 hospitals across the Republic of Congo -- to curb the growing rate of maternal and infant mortality -- seems to have prompted a proliferation of such operations, according to health officials," IRIN reports.

20 Sep 2011

Cardiff develops simple and effective wound test that could save NHS millions

Scientists in Cardiff are developing a simple but effective test to predict whether chronic wounds will respond to conventional treatment - which could save the NHS tens of millions of pounds annually.

20 Sep 2011

Henry Ford Hospital performs DBS procedure inside iMRI to treat Parkinson's

Henry Ford Hospital became the third hospital in the United States to perform a Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) procedure inside an Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner, or iMRI.

20 Sep 2011

Global trade negotiations must consider inequalities in access to medicines

Some of the issues to be addressed at the U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) taking place this week in New York "are controversial, including those relating to intellectual property rights for new medicines, diagnostics and medical devices," James Love, director of Knowledge Ecology International, writes in an Al Jazeera opinion piece.

20 Sep 2011

LUHS Emergency Department Nurse Manager receives Patriotic Employer Award

Loyola University Health System (LUHS) Emergency Department (ED) Nurse Manager Michelle Ruther, RN, MSN, was recognized this week with a Patriotic Employer Award for her extraordinary support of U.S. Army Reserve Capt. Linda Mounce, who is an LUHS ED nurse.

20 Sep 2011

New York Times examines possible entry into global market of generic drugs for NCDs

The New York Times describes how, as the U.N. begins its meeting on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), Chinese and Indian generic drug makers "say they are on the verge of selling cheaper copies" of costly biotech medications used to treat cancers, diabetes, arthritis and other chronic illnesses.

20 Sep 2011

Scientists identify oldest known DNA regulatory region

A team of scientists has discovered the oldest known DNA regulatory region, as reported in an article in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences.

20 Sep 2011

WHO, WEF reports examine cost of treating and preventing, economic burden of NCDs

Low-income countries "could introduce measures to prevent and treat millions of cases of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and lung disease for a little as $1.20 per person per year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday" in a report released on the eve of the U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) taking place this week in New York, Reuters reports.

20 Sep 2011

Giving up smoking can restore everyday memory

Giving up smoking isn't just good for your health, it's also good for your memory, according to research from Northumbria University.

20 Sep 2011

Independent panel calls for stronger financial safeguards for Global Fund

After a six-month review of the financial systems at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a seven-member independent panel "recommended a substantial overhaul Monday in the grant organization's practices," the Wall Street Journal reports.

20 Sep 2011

BIOTRONIK completes enrollment in Passeo-18 Lux DEB catheter clinical study for PAD

BIOTRONIK, a leading European manufacturer of therapy solutions for vascular intervention, announced the completion of enrollment in the BIOLUX P-I - a clinical study investigating the use of a drug-eluting balloon (DEB) catheter, a promising new approach to treating disease in the more challenging peripheral vascular anatomy.

20 Sep 2011

World Bank report examines gender equality, highlights mortality disparity between men and women

The World Bank's annual World Development Report, which was released on Sunday and this year "focuses on gender equality around the world, offers some stark facts about how women and girls fare in developing countries despite decades of progress," the Wall Street Journal reports (Reddy, 9/18). "The most glaring disparity is the rate at which girls and women die relative to men in developing countries, according to" the report, Reuters/AlertNet reports.

20 Sep 2011

Yawning could regulate brain temperature

A study led by Andrew Gallup, a postdoctoral research associate in Princeton University's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, is the first involving humans to show that yawning frequency varies with the season and that people are less likely to yawn when the heat outdoors exceeds body temperature.

20 Sep 2011

'ScienceSpeaks' interviews director of technical leadership at OGAC

The Center for Global Health Policy's "ScienceSpeaks" blog features an interview with Caroline Ryan, director of technical leadership at the Office of U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC), where she has worked for seven years. Ryan discusses PEPFAR program implementation, circumcision as an HIV prevention tool and balancing efficiency with the realization of new, but potentially costly, prevention tools.

20 Sep 2011

Regular exercise also increases mitochondrial numbers in brain cells

Researchers have long known that regular exercise increases the number of organelles called mitochondria in muscle cells. Since mitochondria are responsible for generating energy, this numerical boost is thought to underlie many of the positive physical effects of exercise, such as increased strength or endurance. Exercise also has a number of positive mental effects, such as relieving depression and improving memory.

20 Sep 2011

NCD draft declaration lacks specific targets, calls for nations to adopt recommendations for reducing chronic disease deaths

"World leaders at a meeting of the United Nations on Monday will agree to a deal to try to curb the spread of preventable 'lifestyle' diseases," including heart disease, cancers and diabetes, also known as non-communicable diseases (NCDs), "amid concern that progress is already being hampered by powerful lobbyists from the food, alcohol and tobacco industries," the Guardian reports.

20 Sep 2011