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Health care opinion leaders support public reporting of health care quality, prices

Health care providers, insurance companies and drug makers should make information about prices available to the public, according to a new survey of leaders in health care and health policy.

19 Nov 2007

Gene-transfer technique trial for childhood blindness under way

Three decades have passed since gene therapy pioneer William W. Hauswirth, Ph.D., and his colleagues at the University of Florida began work on a virus that could safely deliver corrective genes into living animals.

19 Nov 2007

Gender roles and not gender bias hold back women scientists

Traditional roles of women in the home and a negative bias in workplace support result in less career success for women versus men at the same stage of their research careers, determined researchers at the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in a study appearing in the November 2007 issue of EMBO reports.

19 Nov 2007

Funds to boost UK methods research

A new programme to strengthen the UK's position as a leader in the methods that underpin health research has been announced by the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research.

19 Nov 2007

FDA boosts Food Emergency Response Network

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) today announced the award of three lab grants, designed to boost the food screening capabilities and spot radioactive material in food, resulting from deliberate or accidental contamination.

19 Nov 2007

U.S. approval of Nexavar (sorafenib) for inoperable liver cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Nexavar (sorafenib) for use in patients with a form of liver cancer known as hepatocellular carcinoma, when the cancer is inoperable.

19 Nov 2007

Increase in eating disorder symptoms among ethnic groups

Eating disorders in the U.S. among ethnic groups were thought to be rare, but recent studies have shown that many cultures are now exposed to the thin beauty ideal.

19 Nov 2007

Drug-eluting stents versus bare-metal stents

Drug-eluting stents are just as safe and effective as traditional bare-metal stents when used in routine clinical practice, according to a new study by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital.

19 Nov 2007

New device for screening potential new drug compounds

A new device invented by researchers at the University of Virginia could save pharmaceutical companies significant time and money in screening potential new drug compounds.

19 Nov 2007

It's not just sugary sodas that are adding to the obesity crisis!

...it's fruit drinks, alcohol and a combination of other high-calorie beverages, say University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health researchers.

19 Nov 2007

Combining medications often best strategy to battle rheumatoid arthritis

For patients with rheumatoid arthritis, combining one well-known, lower-cost synthetic drug with one of six biologic medications often works best to reduce joint swelling or tenderness, according to a new report by researchers at the RTI International-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Evidence-based Practice Center, which is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

19 Nov 2007

Collaboration between medical specialties benefits patients

Opportunities for interdisciplinary cooperation between facial plastic surgeons and ophthalmologists have never been more important or promising, according to an editorial in the November/December issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, a theme issue on orbital and ophthalmic plastic surgery.

19 Nov 2007

Gene chips provide new technique to evaluate organ rejection in kidney transplants

A new article appearing in American Journal of Transplantation describes a revolutionary technique for more clearly identifying the possibility of organ rejection in kidney transplants.

19 Nov 2007

People with migraines have differences in cortex area of the brain

People with migraines have differences in an area of the brain that helps process sensory information, including pain, according to a study published in the November 20, 2007, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

19 Nov 2007

Boston Scientific announces amended agreement to settle lawsuits

Boston Scientific Corporation has announced that an amended agreement has been reached to settle claims associated with a series of product communications issued by Guidant Corporation in 2005 and 2006.

19 Nov 2007

Better detection accounts for increase in cases of thyroid cancer

Although still rare, the incidence of thyroid cancer is increasing. In this longitudinal study over 12 years from a large cancer registry, Kent and colleagues used the Ontario Cancer Registry to identify 7422 cases of differentiated thyroid cancer from 1990 to 2001.

19 Nov 2007

Bacteria shed light on an important group of human proteins

A collaboration between researchers in Switzerland, the UK and France has led to the solution of the first crystal structure of a member of the Rhesus protein family and thereby shed new light on a group of proteins of great importance in human transfusion medicine.

19 Nov 2007

Anti-cancer drug made from soil bacteria

Scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) have discovered a class of natural substances that are produced by soil bacteria and prevent somatic cells from dividing.

19 Nov 2007

Smoking linked to age-related hair loss among Asian men

Smoking may be associated with age-related hair loss among Asian men, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Dermatology.

19 Nov 2007

Future European food supplies

Food has never been more of a global commodity than it is today. But there is an urgent need to understand the problems that face future European food supplies within this global market. And so scientists and policy makers gathered in Budapest last week to push for a more holistic approach to the study of what Europeans eat.

19 Nov 2007