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HTDS announces recent business developments

Hard to Treat Diseases (HTDS; http://www.htdsmedical.com/) brings attention to a certain previously released news announcements namely January 7 2009, November 19, 2009, Dec 15, 2009 January 12,2010, and January 22, 2010.

6 Feb 2010

Tβ4 may help treat skeletal muscle disease in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. announced today that a research team in Washington, D.C. has found that dystrophin-deficient Mdx mice, treated twice a week for six months with Tβ4, showed a significant increase in skeletal muscle regenerating fibers compared to untreated mice. No effects related to muscle function or fibrosis and no adverse reactions were observed in the mice.

6 Feb 2010

Artificial pancreas can help manage diabetes in kids overnight

In a landmark study in children and teenagers with type 1 diabetes, JDRF-funded researchers at the University of Cambridge showed that using a first-generation artificial pancreas system overnight can lower the risk of low blood sugar emergencies while sleeping, and at the same time improve diabetes control.

6 Feb 2010

Study may provide new intervention strategies for esophageal adenocarcinoma

Barrett's epithelium is recognized as a complication of erosive esophagitis and is the pre-malignant condition for adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.

6 Feb 2010

Valentine's Day designated as National Organ Donor Day, drive for registration

While many commemorate Valentine's Day with cards, candy and flowers, Pennsylvanians are encouraged to give the ultimate gift of love by signing up to become organ and tissue donors. With the support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Valentine's Day has been designated as National Organ Donor Day to raise awareness of the lives that can be touched -- potentially more than 50 at a time --through one person becoming an organ and tissue donor.

6 Feb 2010

Visionworks launches optical retail center in Cranberry Commons Mall

Today Cranberry residents will see the grand opening of the first Visionworks® location in western PA. Visionworks is a full-service optical retail center that features several thousand private label and designer frames along with contact lenses at value prices.

6 Feb 2010

$1.2B needed to aid women, children in 28 countries 'in crisis,' UNICEF says

UNICEF on Thursday launched a $1.2 billion appeal aimed at providing "life saving emergency assistance to millions of children and women in dire need," VOA News reports (Schlein, 2/4). "The appeal is part of UNICEF's Humanitarian Action Report 2010, released in Geneva ... which spotlights the desperate situation of children and women in 28 countries and territories facing deep humanitarian crises," the U.N. News Centre writes (2/4).

6 Feb 2010

Moody’s Investors Service raises Ventas' senior unsecured debt from Ba1 to Baa3

Ventas, Inc. today announced that Moody’s Investors Service has raised the rating on the Company’s senior unsecured debt to Baa3 from Ba1, with a stable outlook. This action by Moody’s follows similar ratings upgrades from Fitch Ratings in July 2009 (unsecured debt raised to BBB from BBB-, with a stable outlook) and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services in February 2008 (unsecured debt raised to BBB- from BB+, with a stable outlook). The Company’s senior unsecured debt now carries an investment grade rating from all three major ratings agencies.

6 Feb 2010

Combination of Motrin and Robitussin drugs is safe for adults and children

A viral e-mail currently making the rounds between private accounts and public message boards warning of a danger posed by mixing over-the-counter medications Motrin and Robitussin is unfounded.

6 Feb 2010

Cervical length screening may reduce preterm births

Using ultrasound to screen all pregnant women for signs of a shortening cervix improves pregnancy outcomes and is a cost-effective way to reduce preterm birth, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in a new study.

6 Feb 2010

Study shows cellular circuitry is more complex than previously thought

Using an elaborate sleuthing system they developed to probe how cells manage their own division, Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that common but hard-to-see sugar switches are partly in control.

6 Feb 2010

Increased risk of intrauterine fetal death in women with fibroids

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Chicago, researchers will unveil findings that show that there is an increased risk of intrauterine fetal death (IUFD), commonly known as stillbirth, in women who have fibroids.

6 Feb 2010

About 8% of Americans report difficulty in accessing specialty care

Among the 36 percent of U.S. adults age 18 and older who needed to see a specialist in 2007, about 8 percent reported that getting to see one was a big problem, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

6 Feb 2010

Two U.S. insurers approve coverage of radioembolization for treatment of unresectable liver cancer

MDS Nordion, a global leader in providing products and services for medical imaging and radiotherapeutics, today announced that two of the largest health insurers in the United States have recently approved coverage of radioembolization to treat unresectable liver cancer, which includes the use of MDS Nordion's TheraSphere(R) treatment. The two insurance companies and their affiliates together serve more than one-quarter of Americans and do business in all 50 states.

6 Feb 2010

HPV vaccination programs may reduce genital diseases

High-coverage human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations among adolescents and young women may result in a rapid reduction of genital warts, cervical cell abnormalities, and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, researchers report in a new study published online February 5 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Some of these genital abnormalities are precursors of cervical, vulvar, and vaginal cancers.

6 Feb 2010

For readers, health information from doctors is more reliable than blogs

Health information written by a doctor is rated as more credible when it appears on a Web site than in a blog or a homepage, according to a study of college students.

6 Feb 2010

Study suggests environmental factors play a significant role in the etiology of Crohn's disease

Although inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) [comprising mainly Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC)] is thought to affect about 150 000 people in the United Kingdom, the prevalence of severe IBD is not known. Mortality following hospitalization for IBD is significant but little has been reported on long-term follow-up.

6 Feb 2010

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries reaches settlement in principle to resolve claims under federal, state False Claims Acts

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that several of its subsidiaries in the United States reached a settlement in principle to resolve claims brought by Ven-A-Care of the Florida Keys, Inc. on behalf of the United States, Texas, Florida, and California under federal and state False Claims Acts.

6 Feb 2010

Opinion: IVAWA marks 'first step' towards making women central focus of U.S. foreign policy

In a Politico opinion piece, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.), lead sponsors of the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA), together with Larry Cox and Kerry Kennedy of Amnesty International USA, reflect on the significance of the legislation introduced in the House and Senate on Thursday.

6 Feb 2010

Endoscopic surveillance could be an appropriate strategy for subepithelial lesions

Although several studies pertaining to the natural history of subepithelial tumors have been published, they have been limited by small sample size and relatively short follow-up. The natural history of subepithelial lesions has not been clearly elucidated, and the appropriate management strategy for small subepithelial tumors is still controversial.

6 Feb 2010