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International patient groups anxiously await start of Huntington’s trial

Prana Biotechnology Limited received a very positive reaction from international patient groups and researchers at this week’s World Congress on Huntington’s Disease in Melbourne. The company had a major presence at the Congress and the Prana team has held numerous meetings and conversations with patient groups and researchers.

15 Sep 2011

Alzheimer’s & You: prevention & treatment of dementia

Despite many promising leads, no drug has yet been found to slow or modify the debilitating, and ultimately fatal, progress of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. Within 20 years almost half a million Australians will suffer from dementia, by 2050 the number will double to one million.

15 Sep 2011

Demand for kidney transplant and dialysis increases due to diabetes prevalence

A survey reveals that the need for kidney transplants and dialysis is expected to soar by 2020 mainly due to a rise in diabetics developing chronic kidney disease and needing treatment. The total number of Australians being treated for end-stage kidney disease is forecast to rise by up to 80 per cent to about 4300 in the coming decade. While the fact that Australia's population is ageing and growing means more people are likely to develop end-stage kidney disease, the number of diabetics with the condition is also on the rise.

15 Sep 2011

A good laugh truly the best medicine: Study

British researchers carried out experiments in which volunteers watched either comedy clips from Mr. Bean or Friends or non-humorous items such as golf or wildlife shows while their resistance to mild pain was monitored. Another test was conducted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where the volunteers watched either a stand-up comedy show or a theatrical drama.

15 Sep 2011

Plans to tackle drug resistant tuberculosis

A plan has been drawn up to tackle the increasing numbers of drug-resistant tuberculosis cases in 53 European countries. Calling the situation alarming, the World Health Organization reports that Eastern Europe has the highest level of infection, while in Western Europe, London has the highest TB rate of any capital city. Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan are among the countries with the highest burden of illness. There are an estimated there 81,000 cases of drug-resistant TB a year in Europe. And this is an underestimation say experts.

15 Sep 2011

Memphis operation successfully separates twins joined at the spine

Joshua and Jacob Spates, all of seven months old spent their initial months outside the womb as conjoined twins. Now they are recovering in the pediatric intensive care unit of a Memphis hospital after a successful 13-hour surgery to separate them.

15 Sep 2011

Listeriosis outbreak sparks unofficial cantaloupe recall

At present the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to determine the source of contaminated cantaloupe blamed for the nationwide Listeriosis outbreak. Several Colorado grocery stores have removed cantaloupe from shelves, though there has been no official recall.

15 Sep 2011

Breast and cervical cancers on the rise in poor nations

A new global analysis of diseases has revealed that the number of cases and deaths from breast and cervical cancer is rising in most countries across the world, especially in poorer nations where more women are dying at younger ages.

15 Sep 2011

Research looks at impact of tougher U.S. teenage driving laws

According to a nationwide survey tougher licensing laws for teenage drivers have reduced deadly accidents among 16-year-olds, but have led to increasing the fatal crash rate among 18-year-olds.

15 Sep 2011

World's first permanent food safety lab opens

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, University of Maryland, their Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and Waters Corporation today opened the International Food Safety Training Laboratory, a groundbreaking public-private partnership that applies government, university and private industry expertise and resources to the global food safety challenge.

15 Sep 2011

Elekta acquires Nucletron

Elekta AB today announced it has successfully completed its acquisition of Nucletron, the world leader in brachytherapy treatment planning and delivery. Through the combination Elekta will offer a complete range of radiotherapy planning and delivery technologies.

From Elekta 15 Sep 2011

Loyola tests new pressure-sensing catheter to treat atrial fibrillation

Loyola University Medical Center is testing a high-tech catheter device that's intended to improve outcomes of patients treated for atrial fibrillation, the most common irregular heartbeat.

15 Sep 2011

Birner Dental Management Services announces regular quarterly dividend

Birner Dental Management Services, Inc., operators of PERFECT TEETH dental practices and Vantage Dental Implant Center, announced its regular quarterly dividend. The Company's board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 22 cents per share of common stock. The dividend is payable October 14, 2011, to shareholders of record September 30, 2011.

15 Sep 2011

Sleeping less than nine hours affects children's academic skills

A study by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB in Spanish) and Ramón Llull University have researched the relationship between the sleeping habits, hours slept, and academic performance of children aged between six and seven years of age. Experts have found that sleeping less than nine hours, going to bed late and no bedtime routine generally affects children's academic skills.

15 Sep 2011

GOP debate audience's reaction to treating uninsured sparks controversy

When presidential hopeful Rep. Ron Paul was asked if society should let an uninsured man who needs treatment die, some members of the audience cheered.

15 Sep 2011

Something like 'Contagion' could happen for influenza

In the new movie "Contagion," fictional health experts scramble to get ahead of a flu-like pandemic as a drug-resistant virus quickly spreads, killing millions of people within days after they contract the illness.

15 Sep 2011

Gates Foundation names Novartis AG executive to head global health program

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Tuesday announced that Trevor Mundel, a senior executive at the pharmaceutical company Novartis AG, will join the foundation on December 1 "as president of the philanthropy's global health group, a position that can influence the health of millions of people worldwide," the Wall Street Journal reports (Guth, 9/14).

15 Sep 2011

Hengrui, Shanghai ChemPartner enter strategic development partnership for monoclonal antibodies

ShangPharma Corporation, a leading China-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and development outsourcing company, and Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese pharmaceutical company, today announced that Shanghai ChemPartner, a wholly owned subsidiary of ShangPharma, and Hengrui have entered into a strategic partnership for the development of novel therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.

15 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 15, 2011

In today's news, reports about what might be included in President Obama's detailed plan to tame the federal federal budget. Here's a hint: Social Security changes are unlikely, but what about Medicare?

15 Sep 2011

Study reveals correlation between suicide risk and number of convictions

"The association is clear, even when controlling for risk factors such as substance abuse and mental illness," says Emma Björkenstam of the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare and Doctoral Student at the medical university Karolinska Institutet.

15 Sep 2011