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Stafford Hospital inquiry looks into “human rights” violations in care

A public inquiry into conditions and care at Stafford hospital in Stafford, England heard that the hospital was violating basic human rights of the patients. The counsel for Cure the NHS, a campaign group set up by relatives of some of the people who died at the hospital after receiving inadequate treatment established the fact that the standard of care constituted inhuman and degrading treatment at the facility.

10 Nov 2010

Cholera outbreak in PNG makes officials wary

Cholera has been confirmed as the cause of death of 16 persons on a remote island in Papua New Guinea which is close to Australia's maritime border. The first case was detected on Daru Island in Western Province three weeks ago. Since then 12 adults and 4 children have died, and 320 others have been treated for the infection.

10 Nov 2010

HPV vaccination rates falter

According to the latest research lesser numbers of teenage girls and young women are getting infected by the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) – a virus linked to cervical cancer. Research also shows that most who start the vaccination regimen against the virus fail to take all three doses.

10 Nov 2010

Simple test and an MRI predicts future Alzheimer’s disease

Until now is has been believed that Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia could be diagnosed only when symptoms appear which almost always means when patients are in their 70s or 80s. Now the latest research shows that some brain lesions are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease and can be detected in the brains of healthy people in their 40s. Along with this a simple mental skills test may be able to detect the problem many years sooner than previously thought.

10 Nov 2010

Statins benefit ‘at risk’ patients but are underused: Study

A look at some of the large clinical trials and studies has shown that thousands of deaths could be prevented a year if people at risk of heart attack or stroke are prescribed high doses of statins. The review involves data from 170,000 patients in 26 randomized trials. The paper is published in the journal The Lancet.

10 Nov 2010

Lung cancer in smokers versus non-smokers shows different genetic mutations

A group of scientists at B.C. Cancer Agency have found that lung cancers in smokers have different genetic mutations and look different than lung cancer in non-smokers. According to senior scientist at the BC Cancer Agency Research Centre Wan Lam, this finding is significant because it means that from now on, research, treatments and diagnostics should be tailored to the distinct genetic variations in the different lung cancers instead of expecting that a one-size fits all approach will work. He said, “At the current time, treatment does not distinguish between these different types. The subtypes are all grouped together. But with this work, we are beginning to tease out the subtypes.” The study was presented Tuesday at a conference in Philadelphia of the American Association of Cancer Research.

10 Nov 2010

Obese teens become obese adults

A new report shows that obese adolescent Americans tend to carry their extra weight into adulthood. The nationally representative study of American youth showed that one in 12 teenagers became severely obese as they entered adulthood with some 100 pounds above their ideal weight. And nearly half the girls and more than a third of the boys who are obese as teenagers grew up to be obese adults with a high risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancers.

10 Nov 2010

Appeals court upholds five-year exclusivity period for Shire's VYVANSE

Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announces that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has affirmed the ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to grant five-year New Chemical Entity exclusivity to lisdexamfetamine dimesylate, currently marketed by Shire U.S. Inc. under the name VYVANSE(R).

10 Nov 2010

RadarFind to provide real-time locating distributed sensor network to VHA's 1,400 member hospitals

VHA Inc., the national network, has selected RadarFind, a TeleTracking company, to provide its real-time locating distributed sensor network to VHA's 1,400 member hospitals to track equipment, patients and staff for improved operational efficiency and patient care.

10 Nov 2010

Bioniche Life Sciences announces first quarter fiscal 2011 results

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc., a research-based, technology-driven Canadian biopharmaceutical company, today announced financial results for the first quarter of its 2011 fiscal year (ended September 30, 2010).

10 Nov 2010

Positive results from XOMA 052 study in patients with uveitis of Behcet's disease

XOMA Ltd., a leader in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies, announced additional positive results from an open-label pilot study of XOMA 052 in patients with uveitis of Behcet's disease who were suffering from vision-threatening exacerbations despite maximal doses of immunosuppressive medicines.

10 Nov 2010

China Medical Technologies' EGFR PCR Assay for lung cancer targeted drugs receives Chinese SFDA approval

China Medical Technologies, Inc., a leading China-based advanced in-vitro diagnostic ("IVD") company, today announced that it has received approval for its real-time PCR-based Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Assay (the "EGFR PCR Assay") for the use of lung cancer targeted drugs from the State Food and Drug Administration of China (the "SFDA").

10 Nov 2010

Hemispherx Biopharma awarded grant for Ampligen, Alferon development programs

Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. announced today grant awards totaling $488,958 from the U.S. Department of Treasury in support of its Ampligen and Alferon development programs.

10 Nov 2010

DATATRAK third quarter revenue increases 17% to $1,818,000

DATATRAK International, Inc., a technology and services company focused on global eClinical solutions for the clinical trials industry, today announced its operating results for the third quarter of 2010: $1.8 million revenue, $11.4 million backlog, and continued profitability, resulting in a cash increase over second quarter 2010.

10 Nov 2010

Elsevier to support MSF through 'The Great Giveback' campaign

Elsevier, the world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced today that it will contribute to Doctors Without Borders/M-decins Sans Fronti-res through 'The Great Giveback' campaign, providing medical assistance and support to numerous people around the world.

10 Nov 2010

Exact Sciences completes underwritten public offering

Exact Sciences Corp. today announced that it has completed its previously announced underwritten public offering of common stock at a price of $6.00 per share.

10 Nov 2010

PPIs, antiplatelet drugs can help treat CV disease patients at high risk of upper GI bleeding

Using proton pump inhibitors and antiplatelet drugs (thienopyridines) together is an appropriate way of treating patients with cardiovascular disease who are at high risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeds, despite recent concerns about an adverse interaction between these two types of drugs, according to an Expert Consensus Document released jointly today by the American College of Cardiology Foundation, the American College of Gastroenterology, and the American Heart Association.

10 Nov 2010

Zalicus third quarter total revenue decreases to $1.2 million

"We made solid product development progress this quarter," commented Mark H.N. Corrigan, MD, President and CEO of Zalicus. "We finalized our development plans for Synavive, and also related to Synavive, we were awarded a Therapeutic Discovery Project grant to help fund Synavive development going forward.

10 Nov 2010

Hormones and stress are major contributors to depression in women who undergo IVF

Between 20 and 30 percent of women who undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures suffer from significant symptoms of depression. Many practitioners believe that the hormone therapy involved in IVF procedures is primarily responsible for this. But new research from Tel Aviv University shows that, while this is true, other factors are even more influential.

10 Nov 2010

Researchers identify molecular cascade that drives process of reconnection in adult brain after stroke

A stroke wreaks havoc in the brain, destroying its cells and the connections between them. Depending on its severity and location, a stroke can impact someone's life forever, affecting motor activity, speech, memories, and more.

10 Nov 2010