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Pregnant women warned not to use statins

Pregnant women or those hoping to start or extend a family should avoid using the cholesterol-lowering drugs statins, say scientists.

From The University of Manchester 10 Dec 2008

Siblings of mentally disabled face own lifelong challenges

People who have a sibling with a mental illness are more likely to suffer episodes of depression at some point in their lives, say researchers who analyzed four decades of data.

10 Dec 2008

DNA vaccine for SARS achieves neutralizing responses in first U.S. human trial

Vical Incorporated (NASDAQ:VICL) today announced that results from a Phase I clinical trial of a DNA vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published in the November 25 issue of Vaccine(1), demonstrated that the vaccine was well-tolerated, and induced neutralizing antibody responses in 80% of the vaccinees and T-cell immune responses in all vaccinees.

10 Dec 2008

New clues to the roots of epilepsy, autism, schizophrenia

Rice University researchers have found a potential clue to the roots of epilepsy, autism, schizophrenia and other neurological disorders.

10 Dec 2008

Reforms needed in adolescent health care

Current health services for adolescents are fragmented and poorly designed to meet the health needs of all of the nation's adolescents, says a new report from the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine.

10 Dec 2008

Quantros acquires MEDMARX from United States Pharmacopeia

U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) Convention, an official public standards-setting authority for all prescription and over-the-counter medicines sold in the United States, on December 4, 2008 transferred all rights, ownership and management of the overall MEDMARX reporting program to Quantros.

10 Dec 2008

Discovery of gender gap in spatial skills that starts in infancy

Men tend to perform better than women at tasks that require rotating an object mentally, studies have indicated.

10 Dec 2008

UK's first prostate cancer patient treated using RapidArc radiotherapy

65-year-old grandfather of six, Graham McCormack has become the first cancer patient in the UK to be treated using RapidArc radiotherapy technology from Varian Medical Systems.

10 Dec 2008

Experimental drug successfully blocks mutation in bone marrow cancers

Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute researchers have found that an experimental drug successfully blocks an enzyme that causes some bone marrow cancers.

10 Dec 2008

Advances in tissue engineering

Some patients wish they had a second skin - for instance because their own skin has been burnt in a severe accident.

10 Dec 2008

Potential breakthrough for T-cell lymphoma

Preliminary results of a pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial of pralatrexate (PDX), a drug that partially works by mimicking folic acid, showed a complete or partial response in 27 percent of patients with recurrent or resistant peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL).

10 Dec 2008

Portola Pharmaceuticals starts phase 2 trial of P2Y12 ADP receptor antagonist in non-urgent percutaneous coronary intervention

Portola Pharmaceuticals has announced that it has initiated patient enrollment in INNOVATE-PCI, a large Phase II clinical trial of PRT060128, the Company's novel P2Y12 ADP receptor antagonist, in patients undergoing non-urgent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

10 Dec 2008

Pycnogenol reduces inflammatory marker C-reactive protein in osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA), a type of arthritis caused by the breakdown and loss of cartilage, affects more than 20 million Americans.

10 Dec 2008

People who want access to the NHS should behave more responsibly, says expert

Patients should recognise they have to take responsibility for their own health if they want access to free healthcare, says a leading academic.

10 Dec 2008

Overweight children may inherit faster eating behaviour

Overweight children may inherit faster eating behaviour according to a Cancer Research UK study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

10 Dec 2008

New data on ZOLINZA (vorinostat) in combination with Bortezomib

Results from two Phase 1 studies of ZOLINZA (vorinostat), Merck's oral histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, administered in combination with bortezomib, showed early anti-tumor activity in patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma, including those previously treated with and no longer responding to bortezomib.

10 Dec 2008

Mould toxins in buildings more prevalent and hazardous than thought

Mould toxins in buildings damaged by moisture are considerably more prevalent than was previously thought, according to new international research.

10 Dec 2008

Merck Serono's Kuvan receives European marketing authorization

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Kuvan(R) for the treatment of hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA) in phenylketonuria (PKU) or BH4 deficient patients.

10 Dec 2008

Lip balms, sunscreens make ideal stocking fillers, dermatologist says

If you're in need of some stocking-stuffer ideas, consider lip balms and sunscreens for your loved ones.

10 Dec 2008

Conquering cancer: A global effort

Despite the recent good news that cancer incidence and death rates for men and women in the United States continue to decline, cancer is projected to become the leading cause of death worldwide in the year 2010, and low- and middle-income countries will feel the impact of higher cancer incidence and death rates more sharply than industrialized countries.

10 Dec 2008