Medical News

RSS

Neuralstem files IND for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis stem cell trial

Neuralstem, Inc. announced this morning that it has filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin a clinical trial to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease).

18 Dec 2008

First nanomedicine textbook published

Formalizing progress in nanoscience and nanotechnology, engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have published the first textbook on the emerging field of nanomedicine.

18 Dec 2008

MRI brain scans provide valuable diagnostic information about Alzheimer's

MRI scans that detect shrinkage in specific regions of the mid-brain attacked by Alzheimer's disease accurately diagnose the neurodegenerative disease, even before symptoms interfere with daily function, a study by the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) in Miami and Tampa found.

18 Dec 2008

Repeated miscarriages and hormone treatment for infertility increase pre-eclampsia risk

Repeated miscarriages and hormone treatment for infertility give an increased risk of pre-eclampsia among pregnant women.

18 Dec 2008

Merck KGaA acquires manufacturing rights for Stimuvax from Oncothyreon

Oncothyreon Inc. announced today that Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany has licensed the right to manufacture Stimuvax and, through its affiliate EMD Serono Canada Inc., purchased current inventory and certain assets utilized for the manufacture of Stimuvax from Oncothyreon for consideration which includes net payments to Oncothyreon totaling approximately U.S. $13 million.

18 Dec 2008

Women donate to charity differently than men

To whom would you rather give money: a needy person in your neighborhood or a needy person in a foreign country?

18 Dec 2008

Does sugar make kids hyperactive? and six other myths debunked

Does sugar make kids hyperactive?

18 Dec 2008

Battlefield acupuncture

Medical acupuncture, which is acupuncture performed by a licensed physician trained at a conventional medical school, is being used increasingly for pain control.

18 Dec 2008

IMRIS receives FDA clearance for 3 Tesla IMRISneuro

IMRIS Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Company's 3 Tesla IMRISneuro for sale in the U.S. IMRISneuro is now available with either a 1.5 Tesla (1.5T) or a 3 Tesla (3T) magnet.

18 Dec 2008

Most frequent cause of death among firefighters is not flames, it's their hearts

Forty-four percent of U.S. firefighters who died on duty in 2007 succumbed to a heart attack, based on data from the U.S. Fire Administration. That figure is twice the number of cardiovascular deaths among on-duty police officers.

18 Dec 2008

New insight into the origin of face recognition in humans

Chimpanzees recognize their pals by using some of the same brain regions that switch on when humans register a familiar face, according to a report published online on December 18th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.

18 Dec 2008

System to recognize human gestures

A system that can recognize human gestures could provide a new way for people with physical disabilities to interact with computers.

18 Dec 2008

Smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy linked to oral clefts

Smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy is clearly linked with an increased risk of cleft lip in newborns.

18 Dec 2008

Fewer hospitalizations for bleeding in digestive system

Improved treatments for acid reflux disease, ulcers, arthritis and other conditions helped reduce hospital admission rates for internal bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract by 14 percent from 1998 to 2006, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

18 Dec 2008

FDA approves Mozobil (plerixafor) for multiple myeloma or non-Hodgkin's lymphomas

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Mozobil (plerixafor), a drug that helps increase the number of blood stem cells for bone marrow transplantation in patients with certain forms of blood cancer.

18 Dec 2008

EPA should assess health risk of phthalates and other chemicals

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should examine whether combined exposures to chemicals known as phthalates could cause adverse health effects in humans, says a new report from the National Research Council. In addition, this analysis, called a cumulative risk assessment, should consider other chemicals that could potentially cause the same health effects as phthalates, instead of focusing on chemicals that are similar in structure, which is EPA's current practice.

18 Dec 2008

Scientists coax bright white light from zinc oxide

Duke University and United States Army scientists have found that a cheap and nontoxic sunburn and diaper rash preventative can be made to produce brilliant light best suited to the human eye.

18 Dec 2008

Doctors question standardized training requirements

Doctors lack confidence in their procedural skills after completing the current NHS postgraduate training curriculum.

18 Dec 2008

New guidelines for malignant melanoma

The German Cancer Society has worked out new guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of malignant melanoma - a disease with unfavorable prognosis.

18 Dec 2008

Alfuzosin fails to reduce symptoms in chronic prostatitis

Alfuzosin, a drug commonly prescribed for men with chronic prostatitis, a painful disorder of the prostate and surrounding pelvic area, failed to significantly reduce symptoms in recently diagnosed men who had not been previously treated with this drug, according to a clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

18 Dec 2008