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LSUHSC awarded $4M grant to study cannabinoid treatment for HIV infection

Patricia Molina, MD, PhD, Professor and Head of Physiology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has been awarded a $4 million grant over five years by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health to study how cannabinoids, the principal psychoactive component of marijuana, produce subtle changes in gene activity that affect how a person responds to HIV infection.

8 Jul 2010

Scientists use genetically reprogrammed herpes virus to shrink distant sarcomas

Scientists have used a genetically reprogrammed herpes virus and an anti-vascular drug to shrink spreading distant sarcomas designed to model metastatic disease in mice - still an elusive goal when treating humans with cancer, according to a study in the July 8 Gene Therapy.

8 Jul 2010

Seattle non-profit recommends 'national strategy' for improving U.S. foreign aid efficacy

"[T]he United States needs a national strategy to clarify the goals of foreign aid, trade policy consistent with those goals, an easier process for small businesses to participate and support for international education programs," according to a set of recommendations for improving the effectiveness of U.S. foreign aid assistance released Tuesday by the Seattle-based non-profit Global Washington, the Seattle Times reports.

8 Jul 2010

Heart attack death rates drop in hospitals; CDC reports increase in colon cancer screening rate

USA Today: Hospital heart attack death rates fell, according to new Medicare data. "Death rates at 4,569 hospitals that treat Medicare patients who suffer heart attacks fell by almost half a percentage point, from a national average of 16.6% last year to 16.2%. Death rates for most hospitals ranged from about 14.5% to 17.9%. ...

8 Jul 2010

HQA applauds public availability of hospital quality information at Hospital Compare website

The Hospital Quality Alliance today applauded the public availability of new information on hospital quality of care at the Hospital Compare website. The HQA is a broad working group of hospitals, consumer representatives, physician and nursing organizations, employers and payers, oversight organizations and government agencies dedicated to improving health care quality and making useful and understandable information about hospital quality available to the public.

8 Jul 2010

SurModics licenses biodegradable polymer implant technology to Clinuvel

SurModics, Inc., a leading provider of drug delivery and surface modification technologies to the healthcare industry, announced today that it has entered into a license agreement with Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited of Melbourne, Australia. Under the agreement, the Company's SurModics Pharmaceuticals unit has licensed certain of its biodegradable polymer implant technology to Clinuvel for the treatment of sun-induced skin disorders. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

8 Jul 2010

Decline in international medical graduates threatens patient access to quality surgical care

A decline in the number of international medical graduates (IMGs) is threatening patient access to quality surgical care, according to a new study in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

8 Jul 2010

Report investigates clear cell ICC

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is a cancer of the bile duct in the liver. The clear cell subtype of ICC is a rare cancer; until now, only 8 cases have been reported. The number of reports is so small that a detail description of clear cell ICC is valuable.

8 Jul 2010

Obama uses recess appointment to install Berwick as head of Medicare, Medicaid

President Barack Obama Wednesday will use a recess appointment to install Harvard Professor Donald Berwick to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the White House announced Tuesday.

8 Jul 2010

Study reveals asthma as a risk factor for pneumonia in children hospitalized for influenza

Children with asthma are at increased risk of developing pneumonia as a complication of influenza, reports a study in the July issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

8 Jul 2010

Drug initiative granted rights to develop TB compounds for potential treatment of NTDs

The Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative now has the rights to "develop a class of potential anti-[tuberculosis] compounds" for the treatment of Chagas disease, African sleeping sickness and leishmaniasis, Reuters reports (Nebehay, 7/7).

8 Jul 2010

Dragon Pharma announces sufficient votes based on receipt of preliminary proxies to approve Merger

Dragon Pharmaceutical Inc. announced that based on the receipt of preliminary proxies, the Company believes that it has sufficient votes to approve the Agreement and Plan of Merger by and among Dragon, Chief Respect Limited, Datong Investment Inc., a subsidiary of Chief Respect Limited, and Mr. Yanlin Han.

8 Jul 2010

Review examines surgical and non-surgical treatments available for patients with knee arthritis

Middle-aged men and women with osteoarthritis of the knee now have more options than ever before for treatments that may allow them to remain active in the sports they love, according to a review published in the July 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

8 Jul 2010

Patients willing to travel for cheaper, better care; Especially when the boss pays

Employers, in search of better deals on surgeries, are in some cases sending employees they insure hundreds of miles for medical care, Kaiser Health News/USA Today reports. "Forget about traveling to Thailand or India for low-cost surgery. … By steering workers to facilities with high-quality care and lower prices, employers say they can reduce their costs 20% to 40% — more than enough to cover the travel expenses."

8 Jul 2010

BJS data shows mortality rates in local jails declined between 2000 and 2007

Mortality rates in local jails declined over the period from 2000 through 2007, the Bureau of Justice Statistics in the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, announced today. A total of 8,110 jail inmates died in custody of local jails over the study period, during which the mortality rate declined from 152 deaths per 100,000 jail inmates in 2000 to 141 per 100,000 in 2007.

8 Jul 2010

Millipore launches new ProRes-S media for downstream purification of monoclonal antibodies, proteins

Millipore Corporation, a leading provider of technologies, tools and services for the global life science industry, today announced the launch of its new ProRes-S media. With the addition of ProRes-S media, Millipore's purification suite now provides a complete solution for the downstream purification of monoclonal antibodies and proteins. Developed jointly with The Dow Chemical Company, ProRes-S media offers biopharmaceutical manufacturers greater flexibility and increased throughput in a smaller manufacturing footprint.

8 Jul 2010

Asian Development Bank, U.N. call on Asia-Pacific countries to increase agriculture funding to ensure food security

Countries in Asia and the Pacific should increase investment in agriculture by $120 billion annually through 2050 to address hunger and prevent major food price increases, U.N. and Asian Development Bank (ADB) officials said Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. According to the officials, the "onus for funding the investments would be on private sources and governments," the news service writes (7/7).

8 Jul 2010

Oramed Pharmaceuticals signs MSA with sanofi-aventis

Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc., a developer of oral delivery systems, today announced that Oramed entered into a Manufacturing Supply Agreement with sanofi-aventis. According to the MSA, sanofi-aventis will supply Oramed with specified quantities of recombinant human insulin to be used by Oramed for its clinical trials in the USA.

8 Jul 2010

GSK, XenoPort disappointed with GSK1838262/XP13512 phase 2b study for migraine headaches

GlaxoSmithKline and XenoPort, Inc. announced today that GSK1838262/XP13512 (gabapentin enacarbil) did not demonstrate a statistically significant improvement compared to placebo as a prophylactic treatment for migraine headaches. This phase 2b dose-ranging study evaluated the efficacy, safety and tolerability of GSK1838262 in adults diagnosed with migraine headache (with or without aura) according to the International Headache Society criteria.

8 Jul 2010

Olaparib shows promising results against inherited forms of breast and ovarian cancer

Olaparib, a new type of experimental drug called a PARP inhibitor, has shown promising results against inherited forms of breast and ovarian cancer in two small clinical trials led by scientists at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Unit at King's College London.

8 Jul 2010

Medical News

LSUHSC awarded $4M grant to study cannabinoid treatment for HIV infection

Scientists use genetically reprogrammed herpes virus to shrink distant sarcomas

Seattle non-profit recommends 'national strategy' for improving U.S. foreign aid efficacy

Heart attack death rates drop in hospitals; CDC reports increase in colon cancer screening rate

HQA applauds public availability of hospital quality information at Hospital Compare website

SurModics licenses biodegradable polymer implant technology to Clinuvel

Decline in international medical graduates threatens patient access to quality surgical care

Report investigates clear cell ICC

Obama uses recess appointment to install Berwick as head of Medicare, Medicaid

Study reveals asthma as a risk factor for pneumonia in children hospitalized for influenza

Drug initiative granted rights to develop TB compounds for potential treatment of NTDs

Dragon Pharma announces sufficient votes based on receipt of preliminary proxies to approve Merger

Review examines surgical and non-surgical treatments available for patients with knee arthritis

Patients willing to travel for cheaper, better care; Especially when the boss pays

BJS data shows mortality rates in local jails declined between 2000 and 2007

Millipore launches new ProRes-S media for downstream purification of monoclonal antibodies, proteins

Asian Development Bank, U.N. call on Asia-Pacific countries to increase agriculture funding to ensure food security

Oramed Pharmaceuticals signs MSA with sanofi-aventis

GSK, XenoPort disappointed with GSK1838262/XP13512 phase 2b study for migraine headaches

Olaparib shows promising results against inherited forms of breast and ovarian cancer

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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