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Importance of PSA testing in high-risk men, stressed by National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recently updated the NCCN Guidelines for Prostate Cancer Early Detection incorporating the results of the recent ERSPC trial that assessed the benefit of PSA screening. The NCCN Guidelines contend that PSA screening does save lives when performed intelligently in men at high-risk of developing the disease.

11 Aug 2009

Don't smoke, exercise and eat sensibly to reduce risk of chronic disease

Four healthy lifestyle factors - never smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly and following a healthy diet - together appear to be associated with as much as an 80 percent reduction in the risk of developing the most common and deadly chronic diseases, according to a report in the August 10/24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

11 Aug 2009

Cases of depression and other mental illnesses nearly doubled between 1996 and 2006

The number of Americans under care for depression and other mental illnesses nearly doubled between 1996 and 2006, and the overall cost of treating them jumped by nearly two-thirds, according to the latest News and Numbers from HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

11 Aug 2009

Recruitment of new neurons slows when old brain cells kept from dying

Recruitment of new neurons slows when old brain cells kept from dying. Like clockwork, brain regions in many songbird species expand and shrink seasonally in response to hormones.

11 Aug 2009

New class of molecules capable of blocking formation of tau protein fibrils

A new class of molecules capable of blocking the formation of specific protein clumps that are believed to contribute to Alzheimer’s disease pathology has been discovered by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. By assaying close to 300,000 compounds, they have identified drug-like inhibitors of AD tau protein clumping, as reported in the journal Biochemistry.

11 Aug 2009

Negotiations: A 'frustrating process' as lawmakers elbow for position during recess

The Senate Finance Committee's "Gang of Six" closed negotiations are frustrating for other lawmakers on Capitol Hill, The Christian Science Monitor reports and adds: "So, how do the other 529 members of Congress get to have a say in these closed yet critical deliberations? The same way they influence legislation — by working through outside interest groups with clout in the Congress to influence other members."

11 Aug 2009

Need 'strong' USAID administrator, 'robust' agency, Lugar says in letter to the editor

In response to an article examining USAID's prospects, Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) writes in a Washington Post letter to the editor that the agency's "institutional atrophy and loss of expertise" has resulted in a "proliferation of aid programs across the government with little coordination or a common framework to evaluate what works and what doesn't."

11 Aug 2009

Obama to discuss combating H1N1 at North American Leaders Summit

President Obama arrived in Guadalajara, Mexico, Sunday for a two-day North American Leaders Summit with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Wall Street Journal reports. The leaders "are discussing efforts to stem the spread of the H1N1 flu virus, economic competitiveness, national security, and global climate change," according to White House officials (Williamson, 8/9).

11 Aug 2009

Taro Pharmaceutical Industries presents preliminary first half 2009 financials

Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (“Taro,” the “Company,” Pink Sheets: TAROF) today provided information on its financial performance for the first half of 2009

11 Aug 2009

'Nanobee' drug delivery to tumors

When bees sting, they pump poison into their victims. Now the toxin in bee venom has been harnessed to kill tumor cells by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers attached the major component of bee venom to nano-sized spheres that they call nanobees.

11 Aug 2009

Underinsured face daunting medical bills, look for help from Congress

"While much of the American health care discussion has focused on providing coverage to the country's 46 million uninsured, there is growing concern about millions more who are underinsured, or whose policies require them to pay thousands of dollars out-of-pocket before coverage kicks in," The Sacramento Bee reports.

11 Aug 2009

Research shows how schizophrenia works in the brain

Schizophrenia waits silently until a seemingly normal child becomes a teenager or young adult. Then it swoops down and derails a young life.

11 Aug 2009

Sorting out the truth in the health care debate

The New York Times reports in a "primer on the details of health reform" that Republican criticism of a government-run insurance plan to compete with private health insurance as "socialized medicine" "seems overblown," it reports. "The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that, under the House bill, the number of people with employer-sponsored insurance would climb to 162 million in 2016, which is 3 million more than expected under current law. Further, it said, enrollment in the proposed public plan might total 11 million, far lower than estimates cited by Republicans."

11 Aug 2009

Discovery of a potential target for metastatic cancer

The deadliest part of the cancer process, metastasis, appears to rely on help from macrophages, potent immune system cells that usually defend vigorously against disease, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University report.

11 Aug 2009

Childhood cancer survivors treated with radiation may have an increased risk of diabetes

Childhood cancer survivors treated with total body or abdominal radiation may have an increased risk of diabetes, according to a report in the August 10/24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. This correlation does not appear to be related to patients’ body mass index or physical inactivity.

11 Aug 2009

New molecule blocks lymphangiogenesis

Researchers in the laboratory of Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati at the University of Kentucky have discovered the first naturally occurring molecule that selectively blocks lymphatic vessel growth. In an article in the Aug. 9, 2009 online edition of Nature Medicine, they report the identification of a new molecule known as soluble VEGFR-2 that blocks lymphangiogenesis - the growth of lymphatics - but not blood vessel growth.

11 Aug 2009

Somanetics files patent infringement against CAS Medical Systems

Somanetics Corporation (Nasdaq: SMTS), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of the INVOS(R) Cerebral/Somatic Oximeter, a medical device that monitors oxygen saturation in the brain and other regions of the body, announced that it has filed a patent infringement action against CAS Medical Systems, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

11 Aug 2009

Oncothyreon closes $15.0 million registered direct financing

Oncothyreon Inc. (Nasdaq: ONTY) (TSX: ONY) announced today that it closed its previously announced sale of approximately 2.28 million shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase approximately 684,000 shares of its common stock for gross proceeds of approximately $15.0 million on August 7, 2009.

11 Aug 2009

Detection is the key to preventing the sudden death of young athletes

Few things stun a community more than when a seemingly healthy high school or collegiate athlete suddenly dies during practice or in competition from a hidden heart disorder.

11 Aug 2009

H3N2 influenza unlikely to spread between humans

Seeing animals up close is an integral part of experiencing the state and county fairs that take place around the country each summer and fall. And with good hygiene, Kansas State University veterinary experts say fair visitors shouldn't worry about contracting diseases from animals.

11 Aug 2009