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FDA approves Halaven therapy for metastatic late-stage breast cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Halaven (eribulin mesylate) to treat patients with metastatic breast cancer who have received at least two prior chemotherapy regimens for late-stage disease.

16 Nov 2010

Food, drugs of abuse engage same brain systems, show studies

New animal research helps explain why some eat without hunger or to excess. The studies explore the biological effects of poor eating habits, showing that high-fat diets cause lasting brain changes that may impair healthy eating. Additional studies show that food and drugs of abuse engage many of the same brain systems. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2010, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news on brain science and health.

16 Nov 2010

ViroPharma presents data on Cinryze C1 esterase inhibitor for HAE at ACAAI Meeting

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced data in four poster presentations and two oral presentations relating to Cinryze (C1 esterase inhibitor [human]) at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI), November 11 through 16 in Phoenix, Ariz.

16 Nov 2010

RBC boosting drugs may undermine breast cancer treatment with Herceptin

Red-blood-cell-boosting drugs used to treat anemia may undermine breast cancer treatment with Herceptin, a targeted therapy that blocks the cancer-promoting HER2 protein, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the Nov. 16 edition of Cancer Cell.

16 Nov 2010

Teenage binge drinking could cause mental health problems in adulthood: Study

Binge-drinking teenagers may be putting themselves at higher risk in adulthood for mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, Loyola University Health System researchers report.

16 Nov 2010

Medicare's annual open-enrollment period starts in Idaho

Today marks an important day for roughly 15% of Idaho's population, it's the start of Medicare's annual open-enrollment period, the only time of the year beneficiaries can drop or change prescription drug and health care plans for 2011.

16 Nov 2010

Republicans increase challenges to health law, repeal rhetoric

With their eyes on the 2012 election, Republicans are preparing to maximize conflict with Democrats over healthcare in the new Congress and minimize potential compromises, according to GOP strategists, lawmakers and lobbyists. That strategy is setting the stage for a bitter stalemate on Capitol Hill over the next two years ... Republican leaders and strategists think a renewed battle over healthcare will help the party expand its electoral gains and drive President Obama from the White House.

16 Nov 2010

Elsevier announces availability of eBook collections for advance purchase

Elsevier, the leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today its 2011 eBook collections available for advance purchase and to be released on SciVerse ScienceDirect, its online scientific knowledge platform.

16 Nov 2010

Diffusion Pharmaceuticals presents positive results of TSC study for PAD at American Heart Association

Diffusion Pharmaceuticals LLC today announced positive results of its Phase I/II proof-of-concept study of Trans Sodium Crocetinate (TSC) in patients suffering from walking impairment due to peripheral artery disease (PAD).

16 Nov 2010

HHS seeking to publish new health insurance data

The Department of Health and Human Services is working on regulations that would allow it to publish additional in-depth health insurance data, including the number of people enrolled in each insurance plan.

16 Nov 2010

BIDMC, IPFnet to conduct clinical trials for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) will join the Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Clinical Research Network (IPFnet), a clinical research network sponsored by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to conduct randomized clinical trials to evaluate new and existing medications for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The network is made up of healthcare institutions from around the United States.

16 Nov 2010

cTnT blood biomarker may predict risk of cardiovascular problems: Study

Certain measures of the blood biomarker cardiac troponin T (cTnT), a cardiac-specific protein, using a highly sensitive test, are associated with the development of heart failure or cardiovascular death in older adults, according to a study that will appear in the December 8 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online because it will be presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting.

16 Nov 2010

NPR reports on dengue vaccine progress

NPR's Shots blog examines progress in the search for a vaccine to protect against the dengue virus. WHO estimates that 2.5 billion people worldwide are at risk of getting dengue, and most of them are in Asia and Latin America, the blog writes.

16 Nov 2010

Oramed presents ORMD-0801 Phase IIb results for Type II diabetes at Annual Meeting in Bethesda

Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc., a developer of oral drug delivery systems, presented the results of its recently completed Phase IIb trial. The multicenter, placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind study conducted in 29 patients with Type II diabetes assessed the safety of ORMD-0801 in patients with Type II diabetes.

16 Nov 2010

RNA-based drugs may prevent premature birth: Research

Tiny molecules called microRNAs act together with hormones to control the onset of labor, raising the prospect that RNA-based drugs might be able to prevent premature labor, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in a preclinical study.

15 Nov 2010

Physician-owned hospitals gear up to fight health law restrictions

Doctors are challenging provisions of the new health law that seemed to spell the demise of physician-owned specialty hospitals, a fast-growing phenomenon in states such as Texas where hospital growth is largely unregulated.

15 Nov 2010

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals to present ZEVALIN data at ASH Meeting

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company with fully integrated commercial and drug development operations with a primary focus in oncology, today announced a total of 11 ZEVALIN related data presentations (five oral, six posters) at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), being held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, December 4-7, 2010.

15 Nov 2010

Researchers find additional work of oxytocin hormone

New human research suggests the chemical oxytocin dubbed the "cuddle hormone" because of its importance in bonding between romantic partners and mothers and children also influences feelings of well-being and sensitivity to advertising.

15 Nov 2010

Teva presents QNAZE Phase III study results for SAR at ACAAI Meeting

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today announced results from a Phase III study of QNAZE (beclomethasone dipropionate [BDP]) HFA, a nasal aerosol corticosteroid in development for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR), that demonstrated significantly greater symptom relief compared with placebo.

15 Nov 2010

Cholera deaths in Haiti top 900; U.N. appeals for $164m to deal with outbreak that could affect 200,000

Haiti's Health Ministry on Sunday said 917 cholera deaths had been reported in the country as of Friday and more than 14,600 people had been hospitalized, according to an update on the ministry's website, Reuters reports.

15 Nov 2010