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House votes to repeal health law

The new Republican majority in the House of Representatives late Wednesday fulfilled a campaign pledge and passed a bill to repeal the federal health care law. The vote was 245 to 189. However Senate Democrats have said that they will not take up the measure.

20 Jan 2011

Researchers discover how Ras oncogene chooses a signaling pathway

The National Cancer Institute estimates that more than 43,000 Americans were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year and more than 36,000 died from the disease. Despite advances in genetic science showing that the Ras oncogene is mutated in virtually all pancreatic cancers, scientists have been frustrated by the complexity of the signaling pathways in humans, which make it difficult to pinpoint potential therapeutic targets.

20 Jan 2011

Biomarin commences BMN 701 Phase 1/2 trial for treatment of Pompe disease

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. announced today that it has initiated a Phase 1/2 trial for BMN 701, a novel fusion protein of insulin-like growth factor 2 and acid alpha glucosidase in development for the treatment of Pompe disease.

20 Jan 2011

Roundup: Arizona Medicaid waiver?; 'Sweeping' Texas budget cuts; Wisconsin tort reform; Aspen's 'dismal' health coverage

The Legislature will meet in special session today to give Gov. Jan Brewer authority to seek a Medicaid waiver from the federal government, the first step to cutting health care for 280,000 Arizonans. Brewer and Republican lawmakers say the move is needed to balance the state budget and keep the rest of the state's Medicaid program intact.

20 Jan 2011

Positive top-line results from TC-5619 Phase 2 trial in patients with schizophrenia

Targacept, Inc. today announced positive top-line results from a Phase 2 clinical proof of concept trial to assess TC-5619 as an augmentation therapy to improve cognition in patients with schizophrenia.

20 Jan 2011

El Camino Hospital introduces CHI program to educate Chinese community on health disparities

El Camino Hospital has launched a Chinese Health Initiative, designed to address the troubling and unique health disparities in the Silicon Valley's Chinese community and to accommodate their cultural preferences in education, screening and health care delivery.

19 Jan 2011

Study: HIV-positive head and neck cancer patients respond well to radiation therapy treatments

HIV-positive head and neck cancer patients respond well to radiation therapy treatments and experience similar toxicity rates as non-HIV-positive patients, despite prior reports to the contrary, according to a study in the January issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology•Biology•Physics, an official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

19 Jan 2011

Scientists determine protein structure that delivers genetic material of HIV to human cells

A team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the University of Virginia has determined the structure of the protein package that delivers the genetic material of the human immunodeficiency virus to human cells.

19 Jan 2011

Study finds link between public transport and risk of catching ARI

You are six times more likely to end up at the doctors with an acute respiratory infection if you have recently used a bus or tram — but those who use buses or trams daily might well be somewhat protected compared with more occasional users.

19 Jan 2011

Boston Scientific announces merger agreement to acquire Atritech

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement, under which the Company will acquire Atritech, a privately held company based in Plymouth, Minnesota.

19 Jan 2011

Swedish patient swallows dentist’s drill bit

In an unfortunate incident, a patient who attended a dental clinic in Västmanland county, Sweden to have the filling from a recently repaired tooth cleaned, swallowed the dentist’s drill bit.

19 Jan 2011

Legionnaires’ disease scare in Bali: Australian tourists warned

Commonwealth chief medical officer Jim Bishop has warned Australians who have returned from Bali on an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease on the popular Indonesian resort island. The Australian health authorities knew of 11 cases of Legionnaires’ disease detected in Victorians and Western Australians after holidays in the Kuta area of Bali between August 2010 and January 2011.

19 Jan 2011

Malaria parasite caught in action on film for the first time

Australian researchers have managed to take pictures of microscopic malaria parasite as it invades a human red blood cell. This will provide a deeper understanding of the parasite’s behaviour and may help fight it. Up to 10% of the world’s population contract malaria every year and a million people, mostly pregnant women and children, die as a result of the parasite transmitted by infected mosquitoes.

19 Jan 2011

Alcohol statistics in Australia: Beer low wine high

New statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistic (ABS) on alcohol and wine consumption released on Tuesday show beer consumption is now at its lowest level in 61 years. It is making up less than half of all the pure alcohol consumed in Australia.

19 Jan 2011

Autism Speaks, CDC and NIH collaborate to investigate higher prevalence of ASD in Minneapolis' Somali population

Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization, today announced a collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in the Somali population located in Minneapolis, Minn. Autism Speaks is contributing funding to this project to be initiated in early 2011.

19 Jan 2011

USPTO grants KL4 surfactant combination product patent to Discovery Labs

Discovery Laboratories, Inc. has been notified that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued U.S. Patent Number 7,863,241 titled "Compositions for Treatment and Prevention of Pulmonary Conditions." The patent provides broad coverage for compositions that employ a combination of certain pulmonary surfactants with a broad array of protease inhibitors, administered as either a liquid or aerosol, for treating pulmonary inflammation.

19 Jan 2011

Salk Institute uncovers presenilin's productive side

Mutant presenilin is infamous for its role in the most aggressive form of Alzheimer's disease-early-onset familial Alzheimer's-which can strike people as early as their 30s. In their latest study, researchers at the Salk Institute uncovered presenilin's productive side: It helps embryonic motor neurons navigate the maze of chemical cues that pull, push and hem them in on their way to their proper targets.

19 Jan 2011

Data on Ensituximab for treatment of pancreatic and colorectal cancers to be presented at ASCO 2011

Neogenix Oncology announced today that Dr. Luis Diaz of The Johns Hopkins University Hospital will present data from Ensituximab, the company's novel, therapeutic antibody to treat pancreatic and colorectal cancers. The presentation is scheduled at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2011 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium to be held January 20-22, 2011 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA, USA.

19 Jan 2011

Novo Nordisk's new insulin pen for children receives 2010 GOOD DESIGN Award

A 2010 GOOD DESIGN Award has been awarded to Novo Nordisk for NovoPen Echo, the latest innovation in pen development - designed specifically with the needs of children in mind. Judging is made based on product design which is new, visionary and innovative and that may enrich people's lives.

From Novo Nordisk 19 Jan 2011

Home blood pressure monitors can help people keep blood pressure in check

A recent research review has concluded that home blood pressure monitors can help people keep their blood pressure in check and possibly cut down on medication – as long as patients and their doctors put those home readings to good use. For years, Omron Healthcare, Inc. has reminded Americans how important home blood pressure monitoring is when it comes to reducing their risk of a heart attack or stroke, and truly wants people to take the news to heart in 2011.

19 Jan 2011