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Sleep apnea increases chances of dying

Nightly bouts of interrupted, oxygen-deprived sleep from a collapsed airway in the upper neck raises the chances of dying in middle-aged to elderly people by as much as 46 percent in the most severe cases, according to a landmark study on sleep apnea by lung experts at Johns Hopkins and six other U.S. medical centers.

18 Aug 2009

$Denosumab reduces fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis$

Denosumab reduces fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis

Fractures are a major cause of disability and health care costs among postmenopausal women. Now a study in the New England Journal of Medicine highlights an alternative therapy that prevents fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

18 Aug 2009

Cost-saving value of some medical tests challenged

The Boston Globe: "One of President Obama's favorite arguments for his health care overhaul plan is that he would require insurance companies to pay for tests and other preventive care that can determine whether a person has a life-threatening disease,"

18 Aug 2009

Smoking increases risk for brain shrinkage in multiple sclerosis

People who smoke and have multiple sclerosis (MS) may be at increased risk of brain shrinkage and increased brain lesions related to the disease, according to a study published in the August 18, 2009, print issue of NeurologyÂ®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Smoking has already been linked to an increased risk of developing MS.

18 Aug 2009

Scientists harness carbon nanomaterials for drug delivery, oxygen sensors

Two nanoscale devices recently reported by University of Pittsburgh researchers in two separate journals harness the potential of carbon nanomaterials to enhance technologies for drug or imaging agent delivery and energy storage systems, in one case, and, in the other, bolster the sensitivity of oxygen sensors essential in confined settings, from mines to spacecrafts.

17 Aug 2009

U.S. District Court rules against Lilly regarding Gemzar patent

Eli Lilly and Company today announced that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has granted a motion by Sun Pharmaceuticals for partial summary judgment.

17 Aug 2009

Boehner blasts Phrma on deal with White House

The drug industry’s decision to agree to $80 billion in concessions to the White House was short-sighted, will hurt drug manufacturers and their customers, and "has all the markings of a deal gone sour," House Minority Leader John Boehner wrote Monday to his former colleague, Billy Tauzin, who now heads the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

17 Aug 2009

Human Genome Sciences achieves systemic lupus goals with candidate drug

Human Genome Sciences announced that BENLYSTA™ met the primary endpoint in BLISS-52, the first of two pivotal Phase 3 trials in patients with serologically active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). These results show that BENLYSTA™ has the potential to become the first new approved drug in decades giving hope to people living with systemic lupus.

17 Aug 2009

The White House backs away from public option

Obama administration officials are signaling their willingness to compromise on a public plan option in any health reform proposal.

17 Aug 2009

Discovery of the first protein-based toxin in an amphibian

Researchers in China have discovered the first protein-based toxin in an amphibian - a 60 amino acid neurotoxin found in the skin of a Chinese tree frog. This finding may help shed more light into both the evolution of amphibians and the evolution of poison.

17 Aug 2009

FDA approves Helixate FS for routine prophylaxis in children with hemophilia A

CSL Behring announced today that Helixate® FS, Antihemophilic Factor (Recombinant), has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for routine prophylaxis in children with hemophilia A who are 16 years old or younger and do not have pre-existing joint damage.

17 Aug 2009

Labopharm comments on outcome of patent-infringement litigation initiated by Purdue Pharma

Labopharm Inc. today commented on the outcome of patent-infringement litigation initiated by Purdue Pharma Products L.P. against Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. relating to Ultram(R) ER (tramadol hydrochloride extended-release tablets).

17 Aug 2009

Obama in campaign mode on health reform

With three town hall meetings in the past in the past week, President Obama and Democrats are staying in campaign mode on their push for reform, The Washington Post reports.

17 Aug 2009

Asia's food and feed demand is expected to double by 2050 bringing shortages

A comprehensive new study of irrigation in Asia warns that, without major reforms and innovations in the way water is used for agriculture, many developing nations face the politically risky prospect of having to import more than a quarter of the rice, wheat and maize they will need by 2050.

17 Aug 2009

Health overhaul explainers and answers

NPR provides an interactive report on how a health care overhaul would affect different consumers such as the uninsured, employer insured and underinsured. It notes: "President Obama has challenged Congress to come up with a bill that provides quality, affordable health insurance to all Americans -- without adding to the deficit. See how key proposals would affect you" (Knox, 8/14).

17 Aug 2009

Protein Huwe1 may be an important factor in the development of brain cancer

Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center's Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a protein that activates brain stem cells to make new neurons - but that may be hijacked later in life to cause brain cancer in humans. The protein called Huwe1 normally functions to eliminate other unnecessary proteins and was found to act as a tumor suppressor in brain cancer.

17 Aug 2009

Scientific studies enough to warrant action on bisphenol A

Scientists, physicians, consumers and environmental health advocates today responded to an FDA staff presentation on progress of their review of bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic sex hormone linked to cancer, diabetes, heart problems and other illness. Congressmen Henry Waxman and Bart Stupak asked for FDA to review their evaluation of BPA.

17 Aug 2009

Mandatory folic acid fortification may be unnecessary

Persistently present levels of unmetabolized folic acid found in the population indicate that introducing mandatory food fortification may result in an ‘overdosing’ effect. A study of blood donors, new mothers and babies, published in the open access journal BMC Public Health, has found that most already get enough folic acid from voluntarily fortified foods.

17 Aug 2009

Health care adverts dominate airwaves

"By the time President Obama left Montana on Saturday, the Bozeman media market had been saturated with an advertisement opposing his health care plan — hard for anyone to miss since it ran 115 times in 36 hours on network [affiliate] and cable television channels," The New York Times reports.

17 Aug 2009

Sugar "feeds" tumors

Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah have uncovered new information on the notion that sugar "feeds" tumors. The findings may also have implications for other diseases such as diabetes. The research is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

17 Aug 2009