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New online CDSMP program launched to battle against chronic illnesses

Taking the battle against the national epidemic of chronic illnesses to the Internet, the National Council on Aging (NCOA) is making Better Choices, Better Health, the online version of the internationally recognized Chronic Disease Self Management Program (CDSMP), available free for people in California and six other states Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Oregon.

30 Sep 2010

More people are consuming alcohol now than 20 years ago

More people are drinking than 20 years ago, according to a UT Southwestern Medical Center analysis of national alcohol consumption patterns. Gathered from more than 85,000 respondents, the data suggests that a variety of factors, including social, economic and ethnic influences and pressures, are involved in the increase.

30 Sep 2010

NIH awards $3.1 million to further fund Inovio's universal SynCon flu vaccine development

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that Inovio Pharmaceuticals and the University of Pennsylvania have received a grant of $3.1 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director's Office to further fund Inovio's universal SynCon™ flu vaccine development.

30 Sep 2010

Study suggests drugs targeting glutamatergic transmission may help treat psychotic illness

There is growing evidence that two neurotransmitters dopamine and glutamate are abnormal in people with psychotic illness, including schizophrenia. Among many other things, these chemicals play a role in cognitive functions, such as memory, learning, and problem solving.

30 Sep 2010

American Brain Tumor Association awards $100,000 clinical research grant

The Section on Tumors of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons has announced a $100,000 two-year ($50,000/year) clinical research grant funded by the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA). The application is open exclusively to neurosurgeons who are members of the AANS/CNS Section on Tumors.

30 Sep 2010

First preventative approach to improve outcomes in traumatized children

After experiencing a potentially traumatic event - a car accident, a physical or sexual assault, a sports injury, witnessing violence - as many as 1 in 5 children will develop Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

30 Sep 2010

Study shows tobacco control program reduces lung cancer rate

A study led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego shows that California's 40 year-long tobacco control program has resulted in lung cancer rates that are nearly 25 percent lower than other states.

30 Sep 2010

UIC develops new technique to anchor teeth back in jaw using stem cells

A new approach to anchor teeth back in the jaw using stem cells has been developed and successfully tested in the laboratory for the first time by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

30 Sep 2010

Study shows immunotherapy improves survival rate in children with neuroblastoma

Using immunotherapy biologic agents that stimulate the body's immune system pediatric oncologists have achieved the first substantial increase in over a decade in cure rates for the childhood cancer neuroblastoma. A newly released study shows that the new treatment improved two-year survival rates by 20 percent, compared to standard treatment for an aggressive form of neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system.

30 Sep 2010

Tobira completes $31 million Series B financing

Tobira Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative antiviral compounds to treat HIV disease, today announced the completion of a $31 million Series B financing. New investor Novo A/S is leading the round, joined by original investors, Domain Associates, L.L.C., Frazier Healthcare Ventures, Montreux Equity Partners and Canaan Partners.

30 Sep 2010

Consumption of diet high in trans fats by mothers doubles risk of high body fat levels in infants

A new University of Georgia study suggests that mothers who consume a diet high in trans fats double the likelihood that their infants will have high levels of body fat.

30 Sep 2010

AccuPSA test for detecting prostate cancer recurrence

A new test could reliably detect early increases in prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels a biomarker commonly used to measure the recurrence of prostate cancer in men who have undergone prostate cancer treating surgery. Earlier detection of these rising levels would allow men with cancer recurrence to undergo earlier, more effective treatment for potentially better outcomes.

30 Sep 2010

Genotoxic impurities in prescription drugs

Drug manufacturers have been adjusting to strict new government standards that limit the amount of potentially harmful impurities in medicine, according to the cover story of the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS' weekly newsmagazine. The impurities are "genotoxic," capable of damaging the DNA in genes.

30 Sep 2010

Dyax, CMIC enter agreement to develop and commercialize DX-88 for HAE treatment

Dyax Corp. and CMIC Co., Ltd, announced today an agreement to develop and commercialize subcutaneous DX-88 (ecallantide) for the treatment of hereditary angioedema (HAE) and other angioedema indications in Japan.

30 Sep 2010

Circassia announces advancement in T-cell allergy vaccines development

Circassia Ltd, a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on allergy, today announced that it has further advanced the clinical development of three of its leading T-cell allergy vaccines.

30 Sep 2010

Scientists use NMR technology to improve protein purification in drug development

The purification of drug components is a large hurdle facing modern drug development. This is particularly true of drugs that utilize proteins, which are notoriously difficult to separate from other potentially deadly impurities. Scientists within the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to understand and improve an important protein purification process.

30 Sep 2010

ASU receives grant to unravel membrane proteins in host-pathogen interaction

Arizona State University has been awarded a $7.7 million grant for the next five years from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, to unravel the structures of membrane proteins that play a key role in protection against infectious diseases.

30 Sep 2010

Mount Sinai receives contract to develop nanotechnology tools for diagnosing diseases

Mount Sinai School of Medicine received a contract for almost $16.5 million from The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLBI) through the Program of Excellence in Nanotechnology (PEN). The contract is one of four issued nationally to develop multidisciplinary research Centers with the goal of developing nanotechnology tools for diagnosing and treating heart, lung and blood diseases.

30 Sep 2010

New miRNA screening assay to detect early-stage colorectal cancer

A new microRNA (miRNA) screening assay detected the majority of early-stage colorectal cancers with good specificity and sensitivity. Our test has the potential to be safe, cheap, robust, accurate and of little or no inconvenience to the individual, and could, therefore, easily be integrated into national screening programs as part of an annual checkup,said Søren Jensby Nielsen, Ph.D., scientific manager, Diagnostic Product Development, Exiqon A/S

30 Sep 2010

Trial demonstrates improved outcomes in unsedated colonoscopy by water method

The October issue of GIE Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), features the results of two randomized controlled trials of unsedated colonoscopy comparing water infusion versus air insufflation to distend the colon.

30 Sep 2010