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Interference with biofilm detachment mechanisms may prevent biofilm-associated infections

Patients in hospitals and healthcare facilities can develop infections as a result of contamination of indwelling medical devices such as catheters with bacteria that are normal inhabitants of the skin of the patient or health care personnel. The bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis is a major cause of such infections.

7 Dec 2010

Knee replacement operations cause bacterial infection in the joint

Last year 12 700 knee replacement operations were carried out in Sweden. Most such operations go well, but some patients are affected by bacterial infection in the joint and have to be re-operated. This is a complicated procedure that does not always produce successful results, as shown in a thesis by Anna Stefánsdóttir from Lund University in Sweden.

7 Dec 2010

Long-term prognosis still excellent for children with seizures

Mayo Clinic researchers studied more than 200 children with epilepsy and found that even if the cause of focal-onset seizures cannot be identified and they do not fit into a known epilepsy syndrome, long-term prognosis is still excellent. This study was presented at the American Epilepsy Society's annual meeting in San Antonio on Dec. 4.

7 Dec 2010

32% of UAE residents could have diabetes or prediabetes by 2020

One in three United Arab Emirates (UAE) residents could have diabetes or prediabetes by the end of the decade, according to a new analysis from international health and well-being company UnitedHealth Group, released today at the World Health Care Congress Middle East meeting in Abu Dhabi.

7 Dec 2010

Scientists identify protein that disseminates biofilm-associated infection

What:Scientists from the National Institutes of Health have discovered how catheter-related bacterial infection develops and disseminates to become a potentially life-threatening condition. The study, which included research on Staphylococcus epidermidis in mice implanted with catheters, could have important implications for understanding many types of bacterial biofilm infections, including those caused by methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA).

7 Dec 2010

Adverse birth outcomes partially explain epilepsy mortality

A higher rate of mortality is known to be associated with epilepsy, but the precise contribution of the underlying health factors is unknown. The results from the study of a large cohort of people born in Denmark in 1977 through 2006 were reported today at the American Epilepsy Society meeting here.

7 Dec 2010

Protein alpha-2-beta-1 integrin suppresses metastasis

Mary Zutter and colleagues, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, have generated data that lead them to suggest that decreased expression of the protein alpha-2 integrin is predictive of tumor dissemination to distant sites and decreased survival in individuals with either breast or prostate cancer.

7 Dec 2010

Clinicians should specify subtypes of depression and combine antidepressants and psychotherapy

It is unlikely that different types of depression can be combined to one single disease called Major Depression. When testing the efficacy of antidepressants or psychotherapy, clinicians should make an attempt to specify the subtypes of depression and to combine antidepressants and psychotherapy in a sequential approach.

7 Dec 2010

Apexigen enters collaboration with Centocor R&D for antibody discovery

Apexigen, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a collaboration and worldwide license agreement with Centocor Research & Development, Inc. and its affiliates to utilize Apexigen's proprietary therapeutic antibody technologies to discover and develop monoclonal antibody drugs. Apexigen will generate and screen antibodies to several targets specified by Centocor R&D, which will be responsible for development and commercialization of all products resulting from the collaboration.

7 Dec 2010

WHO to create an evidence base for traditional medicine

WHO will develop, for the first time, a classification of traditional medicine, paving the way for the objective evaluation of its benefits.

7 Dec 2010

PET/CT scan predicts, detects local recurrence after radiofrequency ablation

A study published in the December issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine identified positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scans as a potentially useful tool for predicting local recurrence in lung cancer patients treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA). RFA, which uses localized thermal energy to kill cancer cells, is increasingly used as an alternative treatment for patients unable to undergo surgery or other therapies to treat lung cancer.

7 Dec 2010

Protein DEDD required for uterine decidualization during early pregnancy: Study

The mammalian embryo relies on physical connections to its mother to survive. After implantation into the wall of the uterus and before the placenta is established, a structure known as the decidua forms and is key to supporting embryonic development.

7 Dec 2010

New bio-coating technology could enhance long-term performance of medical implant devices

The long-term performance of medical implant devices, like heart valves and cardiac stents, could be enhanced substantially by new bio-coating technology recently licensed to University of Alabama at Birmingham spin-out company Endomimetics LLC through the UAB Research Foundation.

7 Dec 2010

Promising Phase 2 data of perifosine in CLL and HL presented at 52nd ASH

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced data presented for the first time at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology showing promising clinical activity, safety and tolerability of perifosine in patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). KRX-0401 (perifosine) is the Company's novel, potentially first-in-class, oral anti-cancer agent that inhibits Akt activation in the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway.

7 Dec 2010

Smoking is common among young adults and children with diabetes, raises risk of heart disease

Cigarette smoking is widespread among children and young adults with diabetes yet few health care providers are counseling children and young adults with diabetes to not smoke or stop smoking, according to a new report from the SEARCH Study Group, published online in the Journal of Pediatrics.

7 Dec 2010

New ways to identify patients most likely to respond to cancer vaccine treatment

A personalized vaccine is a powerful therapy to prevent recurrence among certain follicular lymphoma patients, according to the latest results of ongoing research led by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The new findings show that when these patients - whose tumors are marked by a specific protein that may be present in up to half of people with this type of cancer -- receive a vaccine made from their own tumor cells, disease-free survival is improved by nearly two years, compared with patients who receive a placebo.

7 Dec 2010

Sectra second quarter net sales increase 27.3% to SEK 246.9 million

For the first six months, IT and medical technology company Sectra reported a 15.8% increase in net sales to SEK 453.6 million (391.7). Operating profit totaled SEK 7.6 million (16.5), corresponding to an operating margin of 1.7% (4.2). Profit after net financial items was SEK 2.4 million (4.4).

7 Dec 2010

Expansion of newborn screening throws some families on a journey of great uncertainty

Mandatory genetic screening of newborns for rare diseases is creating unexpected upheaval for families whose infants test positive for risk factors but show no immediate signs of the diseases, a new UCLA study warns.

7 Dec 2010

Medication and blood transfusion reduce risk of recurrent strokes in young patients with sickle cell anemia

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators discuss results of research into managing iron overload associated with stroke prevention in young sickle cell patients and the search for genetic predictors of stroke risk.

7 Dec 2010

Interleukin-1 plays major role in wound healing

Anesthesiologists are playing a leading role in research into the molecular factors affecting inflammation, pain, and healing of surgical incisions, as illustrated by papers published in the December issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

7 Dec 2010