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Invasive plants increase risk of tick-borne disease in suburbs as well

"You don't have to go out into the woods anymore," says tick expert Brian F. Allan, PhD, who just completed a postdoctoral appointment at Washington University in St. Louis. "The deer are bringing tick-borne disease to us."

12 Oct 2010

Estrogen therapy may increase risk of kidney stones in postmenopausal women: Study

The use of estrogen therapy by postmenopausal women might increase the risk of developing kidney stones, according to findings by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers.

12 Oct 2010

Urgent care clinics find place in market, other health care industry news

Florida Today/USA Today reports that urgent care clinics, "in a growing trend," are seeing consumers increasingly turn to walk-in clinics "and urgent care centers for treatment of minor ailments and injuries instead of trying to squeeze in an appointment with a primary care provider or waiting at a crowded emergency room.

12 Oct 2010

New microchip technology to identify neuronal regenerators

Scientists have long sought the ability to regenerate nerve cells, or neurons, which could offer a new way to treat spinal-cord damage as well as neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. Many chemicals can regenerate neurons grown in Petri dishes in the lab, but it's difficult and time-consuming to identify those chemicals that work in live animals, which is critical for developing drugs for humans.

12 Oct 2010

Persistent exposure to light at night leads to weight gain

Persistent exposure to light at night may lead to weight gain, even without changing physical activity or eating more food, according to new research in mice.

12 Oct 2010

Magnetecs announces commencement of human studies using CGCI system in patients with arrhythmia

Magnetecs Corporation, a designer and manufacturer of robotic systems for minimally invasive surgical procedures, today reported that human studies have commenced using the Company's Catheter Guidance Control and Imaging (CGCI) system for patients with arrhythmia, or irregular heart beat.

12 Oct 2010

Folic acid supplement does not reduce cardiovascular events, cancer or death

Use of folic acid supplements appears to lower blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine—theorized to be a risk factor for heart and blood vessel disease—but does not appear to be associated with reduced rates of cardiovascular events, cancer or death over a five-year period, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies in the October 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Oct 2010

Essentialis receives patent for active component in DCCR product

Essentialis, Inc. announced today that the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued U.S. Patent No. 7,799,777 entitled Salts of potassium ATP channel openers and uses thereof. The patent claims a novel composition of a polymorph of diazoxide choline, the active ingredient in the Essentialis lead product, DCCR. Essentialis has successfully completed phase 2b clinical trials with DCCR, showing a highly significant triglyceride reduction in dyslipidemic patients.

12 Oct 2010

Carotid artery stenting increases risk of death, stroke

For patients with blockages in the carotid artery that supplies blood to the brain, carotid artery stenting (a non-surgical treatment) appears to be associated with an increased risk of both short- and long-term adverse outcomes when compared with surgical treatment (carotid endarterectomy), according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies that was posted online today and will appear in the February 2011 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Oct 2010

Combination therapy for ovarian cancer leads to greater toxicity

Adding topotecan to carboplatin plus paclitaxel, the standard treatment for ovarian cancer, does not improve progression-free survival in patients and leads to greater toxicity, according to a study published online October 11 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

12 Oct 2010

Mammography, vaccines still raise questions in consumers' minds

NPR reports on two preventive measures that, despite years of research, still have consumers wondering what to do.

12 Oct 2010

Study finds link between malnutrition and prolonged hospital stay

Hospital patients admitted with malnutrition or who don't eat for several days are at greater risk of a prolonged hospital stay, according to a study published in CMAJ.

12 Oct 2010

Study finds rapid increase in diabetes hospitalizations among young women

A study published in Journal of Women's Health shows a rapid increase in the number of hospitalizations due to diabetes for young adults - particularly young women.

12 Oct 2010

$Osteoporosis Canada issues new guidelines to prevent fragility fractures$

Osteoporosis Canada issues new guidelines to prevent fragility fractures

Comprehensive new guidelines from the Osteoporosis Canada aimed at preventing fragility fractures in women and men over the age of 50 are published in CMAJ.

12 Oct 2010

Biologists recommend virtual institute for RNA research

A Europe-wide network of labs focusing on RNA research is needed to make the most of RNA's high potential for treating a wide range of diseases. The recommendation for this virtual research institute comes from a panel of biologists at the European Science Foundation in a report published today, 'RNA World: a new frontier in biomedical research'.

12 Oct 2010

Halozyme Therapeutics to advance core proprietary programs through key clinical inflection points

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing products targeting the extracellular matrix, today announced a focusing of its resources on advancing its core proprietary programs through key clinical inflection points in 2011 and 2012, and supporting strategic alliances with Roche and Baxter such as validation of Halozyme's commercial scale manufacturing process to produce kilogram quantities of enzyme.

12 Oct 2010

Erbitux-based therapy helps in early tumor shrinkage, long-term survival in mCRC patients with KRAS wild-type tumors

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany has announced that new data presented today at the 35th Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) have shown that patients with KRAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) who experienced early tumor shrinkage (within 8 weeks) during 1st line Erbitux (cetuximab) based treatment lived a median of 28.3 months.

12 Oct 2010

Health overhaul rhetoric intensifies on campaign trail

In a debate Friday, Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., "accused Republican challenger Ron Johnson of wanting to replace the program with a system that puts insurance companies in control," The Associated Press reports. "Johnson, who calls the health care law an assault on personal freedoms, countered that the nation's health care system was already the finest in the world, and needed only minor tweaks to become even better.

12 Oct 2010

Cerner, MedAssets announce reseller agreement to increase revenue capture

Cerner Corporation and MedAssets announced a reseller agreement that increases the interoperability of Cerner's revenue cycle offerings and gives Cerner clients access to a broader suite of solutions to increase revenue capture, accelerate cash flow and reduce administrative costs.

12 Oct 2010

TMS therapy benefits patients with major depression: Study

In a study to determine the durability and long-term effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), psychiatric researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found the non-invasive, non-drug therapy to be an effective, long-term treatment for major depression. Results of the study were published in the October 2010 issue of Brain Stimulation, a journal published by Elsevier.

12 Oct 2010