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Earplugs and eye masks could help intensive care patients get better night's sleep

Eye masks and earplugs could help hospital patients get a better night's sleep. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care investigated their effect on sleep quality in a simulated intensive care environment.

15 Apr 2010

Gene defect promotes aggressive forms of ovarian cancer

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have discovered how mistakes in a key gene drive the early stages of aggressive ovarian cancers. This could improve diagnosis of aggressive forms of the disease and lead to new treatments, according to a study published in the Journal of Pathology this month.

15 Apr 2010

Scientists uncover new genes responsible for cancer, deafness

From deep within the genomes of organisms as diverse as plants, worms and yeast, scientists have uncovered new genes responsible for causing human diseases such as cancer and deafness.

15 Apr 2010

Partners HealthCare offers $40 million to control health insurance costs in Massachusetts; Neb. Gov. signs new abortion law

Partners HealthCare, whose Boston teaching hospitals have been blamed for helping to drive up medical spending, is offering $40 million toward reducing double-digit health insurance rate increases for small businesses, part of a broader package that will be unveiled today by Senate President Therese Murray.

15 Apr 2010

Genzyme presents 4-year follow-up data from Phase 2 MS trial at neurology meeting

Genzyme Corporation today reported four-year follow-up data from its completed Phase 2 multiple sclerosis (MS) trial showing an estimated 71 percent of alemtuzumab treated patients remain free of clinically-active disease as much as three years after most patients received their last course of the investigational compound. The data were presented at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting.

15 Apr 2010

Fast foods contain insufficient iodine content, says new research

With one in four Americans reportedly consuming fast food on a daily basis, new research which will be released on Thursday, April 22nd at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) 19th Annual Meeting & Clinical Congress indicating another reason to avoid fast food; It may also be lacking in appropriate amounts of iodine.

15 Apr 2010

New data from Pfizer Oncology's pipeline to be presented at AACR 2010

Pfizer Oncology announced today that it will present new data from the company's pipeline, including two novel, dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitors (PF-04691502 and PKI-587, also known as PF-05212384); crizotinib (PF-02341066), an ALK inhibitor that also inhibits c-MET; and PF-04605412, an anti-α5β1 inhibitor.

15 Apr 2010

GBS cases reduce following 2009 H1N1 vaccination: Research study

A new study finds that reports of a neurologic disease called Guillain-Barré syndrome have been low after 2009 H1N1 vaccination, according to a research study that will be presented as part of the late-breaking science program at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, April 10 - 17, 2010.

15 Apr 2010

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, AACR awarded four Innovative Grants for pancreatic cancer research

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the American Association for Cancer Research awarded four Innovative Grants; three Career Development Awards; one Pathway to Leadership Grant; and one Fellowship Award to outstanding researchers for their innovative research proposals which have the potential to lead to medical breakthroughs in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

15 Apr 2010

The nuts and bolts of reform's new policies

The New York Times: "In a new report, the Congressional Research Service says the law may have significant unintended consequences for the 'personal health insurance coverage' of senators, representatives and their staff members." Lawmakers agreed to depart from their existing health plans in order to join new health insurance exchanges, something they have made available to many of their constituents. But, while the exchanges don't start up until 2014, the law is silent on when lawmakers must ditch their current benefits.

15 Apr 2010

Joint psychoanalytic treatment may benefit both mother and child

Even when a baby has been longed for, some mothers might have trouble bonding with their baby, who in turn may develop disturbed behaviour, such as crying, poor sleeping patterns and breast refusal.

15 Apr 2010

Genomic component playing key role in promoting breast cancer progression discovered

Life Technologies Corporation today announced that its scientists have teamed with researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine, and other institutions to discover a genomic component that plays a key role in promoting breast cancer progression. A study published today in the journal Nature details how levels of a specific kind of non-coding RNA molecule in primary breast tumors regulate metastasis and tumor invasiveness and may be an important target for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

15 Apr 2010

Phase I clinical trial of DFMO initiated to treat children with neuroblastoma

A new Phase I clinical trial sponsored by the Vermont Cancer Center at the University of Vermont and Fletcher Allen Health Care has opened to test the investigational drug DFMO, or alpha-difluoromethylornithine, as a treatment for the pediatric cancer neuroblastoma.

15 Apr 2010

Phase Forward's European Users Conference to be held in Budapest, Hungary

Phase Forward, a leading provider of data management solutions for clinical trials and drug safety, will host its eighth annual European Users Conference (EUC) April 21 - 22 at the Corinthia Hotel in Budapest, Hungary.

15 Apr 2010

Bedtime video-games have no significant effect on adolescents’ sleep patterns

A study in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine suggests that playing a video game before bedtime has only a mild effect on the sleep of older male teens.

15 Apr 2010

People with disabilities may be unable to afford Medicare Advantage plan under healthcare provisions

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 are the most powerful developments in decades affecting healthcare coverage for people with disabilities, according to Allsup, a nationwide provider of Social Security disability representation and Medicare plan selection services.

15 Apr 2010

Artificial pancreas system succeeds in maintaining near-normal glucose levels

An artificial pancreas system that closely mimics the body's blood sugar control mechanism was able to maintain near-normal glucose levels without causing hypoglycemia in a small group of patients. The system, combining a blood glucose monitor and insulin pump technology with software that directs administration of insulin and the blood-sugar-raising hormone glucagon, was developed at Boston University.

15 Apr 2010

Patients with RLS using rotigotine achieve sustained improvements

New data presented at the 62nd American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Toronto, Canada, showed that patients with moderate to severe Restless Legs Syndrome using rotigotine achieved sustained improvements in symptoms over 5 years of treatment.

15 Apr 2010

New technique improves cosmetic breast reconstruction in athletic cancer patients

A new technique using tissue from those below-the-waist "love handles" improves cosmetic breast reconstruction in slim, athletic cancer patients without adequate fat sources elsewhere, a small Johns Hopkins study has found. The method also turns out to be less complicated than other options for surgeons as well, the research shows.

15 Apr 2010

Interim data from phase IIa clinical trial of IDX184 in HCV-infected patients

Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of human viral diseases, today announced interim data from a 14-day, phase IIa clinical trial evaluating IDX184, a novel liver-targeted nucleotide prodrug of 2'-methyl guanosine monophosphate, in HCV-infected patients.

15 Apr 2010