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NIH awards $2.5 million grant to University of Utah cardiologist

A pioneering model that a University of Utah cardiologist proposes as a cause of heart disease is the kind of creative thinking the National Institutes of Health (NIH) likes to see-and reward with one of its most prestigious honors, a $2.5 million 2009 Pioneer Award.

24 Sep 2009

Results of Phase III clinical trial of HIV vaccine released

A Phase III clinical trial involving more than 16,000 adult volunteers in Thailand has demonstrated that an investigational HIV vaccine regimen was safe and modestly effective in preventing HIV infection. According to final results released by the trial sponsor, the U.S. Army Surgeon General, the prime boost combination of ALVAC(R)( )HIV and AIDSVAX(R) B/E( )lowered the rate of HIV infection by 31.2% compared with placebo.

24 Sep 2009

Rescuing immune system cells can reduce risk of prostate cancer

Immune therapies have been explored as a way to treat cancer after it develops. But a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center suggests that genetic risk of prostate cancer can be reduced by rescuing critical immune system cells.

24 Sep 2009

NIHR to fund patient panel for skin disease research

People who suffer from skin disease are being asked to help make research more effective by joining a new 'Patient Panel'.

24 Sep 2009

Medivation commences patient treatment in clinical trial of MDV3100 in advanced prostate cancer

Medivation, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDVN) today announced treatment of the first patient in a Phase 3 clinical trial of the investigational drug MDV3100 in advanced prostate cancer. Known as AFFIRM, the trial will evaluate the novel androgen receptor antagonist MDV3100 in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer who were previously treated with docetaxel-based chemotherapy.

24 Sep 2009

ProVation MD software for GI procedures

Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information for healthcare professionals and students, announced today that Outpatient Surgery Center of Jonesboro has selected its ProVation® MD software for procedure documentation and coding. The software will be used to document Gastroenterological (GI) procedures at the facility.

24 Sep 2009

Computational models form basis to design the device for recreating kidney function

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and two other academic institutions have received federal funding to systematically assemble functional human kidney tissue from tissue modeled on a computer. If successful, the research-which ties together several emerging technologies including virtual tissue modeling and nanofabrication-could lead to a more predictable way for researchers to engineer tissue outside the body and, consequently, to screen for new drugs.

24 Sep 2009

Study on leisure experiences of women with intellectual disabilities in group homes

Brenda Rossow-Kimball, who did post-graduate research with Donna Goodwin, in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, investigated the leisure experiences of five women with intellectual disabilities in two group homes. They found major differences in how leisure was experienced in each group home. In one, the women were provided with support and encouraged to make their own decisions about how they used their leisure time; there was a genuine interest in the women engaging in independent spontaneous leisure, according to Rossow-Kimball. In the other home leisure was supervised by the staff, scheduled into the activities of the home, and managed by the staff, which, the researchers say, doesn't teach the women how to discover what they like to do for leisure.

24 Sep 2009

Some states praise language to change Medicare pay formula

Some states such as Washington and Minnesota see benefit in changes to the Medicare pay formula.

24 Sep 2009

NIH Director's Pioneer Award and New Innovator Award for Duke scientists

Two Duke University Medical Center scientists have won prestigious National Institutes of Health Director's awards to pursue novel research.

24 Sep 2009

Finance senators debate issues of timing, transparency

The Finance Committee resumed its mark-up of a proposal authored by its chairman, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., on Wednesday, with much of the debate gravitating to amendments concerning speed, timing and transparency. Republicans sought to delay the vote, while Democrats argued for a compromise that would bring the committee's deliberations to a swifter conclusion.

24 Sep 2009

Hormone leptin can regulate bone mass and suppress appetite

Contrary to the prevailing view, the hormone leptin, which is critical for normal food intake and metabolism, appears to regulate bone mass and suppress appetite by acting mainly through serotonin pathways in the brain, according to a recent study published in Cell by Yale School of Medicine researchers and colleagues at Columbia University. This new finding contradicts the view that leptin acts primarily in the hypothalamus.

24 Sep 2009

Cook Medical launches next-generation IVC filter delivery system for treating pulmonary embolism

Physicians can now navigate even the most tortuous anatomy with greater speed and safety with the next-generation inferior vena cava (IVC) filter delivery system introduced today by Cook Medical at TCT 2009. The release of the NavAlign™ delivery system marks the 20th anniversary of Cook’s first IVC filter and further advances the treatment of pulmonary embolism (PE), a life-threatening condition caused by blood clots in the lungs that affects thousands of Americans annually.

24 Sep 2009

LEO Pharma re-acquires product licensing rights from Warner Chilcott

Warner Chilcott plc (Nasdaq: WCRX) and LEO Pharma announced today that, in exchange for a one-time cash payment of $1.0 billion to Warner Chilcott, LEO Pharma is re-acquiring Warner Chilcott's exclusive product licensing rights in the United States to its topical psoriasis treatments Taclonex(R), Taclonex Scalp(R), Dovonex(R) as well as rights to all products in LEO's development pipeline, and acquiring all inventories of the products.

24 Sep 2009

Galapagos announces BioFocus DPI's drug discovery collaboration with SPRI

Galapagos NV announces today that its service division, BioFocus DPI, has initiated a drug discovery collaboration with Schering-Plough Research Institute (SPRI).

24 Sep 2009

Lux Biosciences announces results of its LX214 human safety study for dry eye syndrome

Lux Biosciences, Inc. a privately held biotechnology company focused on the treatment of ophthalmic diseases, today announced results from a Phase 1 human safety and an open-label pilot efficacy study of the company’s potential best-in-class therapy for dry eye, LX214 (topical mixed nanomicellar formulation of voclosporin).

24 Sep 2009

Pregnant women must be vaccinated against H1N1 and seasonal flu

Pregnant women should be sure to get all their flu shots as soon as the vaccines become available this year to protect them against both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 (swine) flu, according to eight leading national maternal and infant health organizations.

24 Sep 2009

DATATRAK International signs two clinical studies

DATATRAK International, Inc., a technology and services company focused on global eClinical solutions for the clinical trials industry, today announced the signing of two worldwide studies exemplifying the versatility of the DATATRAK eClinical platform.

24 Sep 2009

Acetaminophen can prevent age-related problems

Recent studies conducted by Dr. Eric Blough and his colleagues at Marshall University have shown that use of the common pain reliever acetaminophen may help prevent age-associated muscle loss and other conditions.

24 Sep 2009

DISC1 linked to proper development and migration of neurons in the brain

Scientists now have a better understanding of a perplexing gene that is associated with susceptibility for a wide spectrum of severely debilitating mental illnesses. Two independent research studies published by Cell Press in the September 24th issue of the journal Neuron provide fascinating insight into the molecular mechanisms that link disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) with the proper development and migration of neurons in the hippocampus, a brain area involved in learning and memory and associated with the pathology of schizophrenia.

24 Sep 2009