Medical News

RSS

SanMedica’s SeroVital-hgh could revolutionize both anti-aging and weight-loss industries

While the Obesity Society's prestigious 30th Annual Scientific Meeting is the venue for some of the most cutting-edge obesity research in the world, at this year's conference the main highlight wasn't weight loss, but was instead — believe it or not — anti-aging. Research presented by a group of highly renowned scientists revealed an oral compound that experts are predicting could completely revolutionize both the anti-aging and weight-loss industries.

20 Feb 2013

Study may help design better DAA drug cocktails to treat HCV

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection affects about 4 million in the United States and is the primary cause of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Current therapy against HCV is suboptimal. Daclatasvir, a direct acting antiviral (DAA) agent in development for the treatment of HCV, targets one of the HCV proteins (i.e., NS5A) and causes the fastest viral decline (within 12 hours of treatment) ever seen with anti-HCV drugs.

20 Feb 2013

Physicians do not talk to patients about psychosocial impact and long-term risks of ICDs

New research at Saint Louis University shows physicians do not talk to patients about the psychosocial impact and long-term risks of implanting cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) to treat irregular heart rhythms, leaving them misinformed about how the device may affect quality of life.

20 Feb 2013

TIR-199 shows promise in fighting renal cancer

Chemists at the University of California, Riverside have developed a compound that holds much promise in the laboratory in fighting renal (kidney) cancer.

20 Feb 2013

Medicare trims, scaled-back tax breaks debated as part of budget fix

The Washington Post reports that President Barack Obama favors replacing the automatic cuts slated to take effect on March 1 with a combination of budget moves, including spending cuts in Medicare and Medicaid.

20 Feb 2013

Study finds chemical cues that allow seals’ brain to remain half awake and asleep

A new study led by an international team of biologists has identified some of the brain chemicals that allow seals to sleep with half of their brain at a time.

20 Feb 2013

Scientists create new strain of polio to protect vaccine factory workers

"Scientists have created new strains of polio intended to protect workers in factories that make polio vaccine," the New York Times reports.

20 Feb 2013

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company launches new ad campaign

Insurance is all about a 'Promise'. A promise that needs to be fulfilled during the hour of need. This is a unique category where the value of the product is realised not at the time of purchase but sometime in future when an unfortunate event/accident occurs for which the insurance cover was purchased. It is this 'moment of truth' that separates one insurance company from the other in terms of whether or not a claim is settled and the speed of settlement thus adequately compensating the insured for the loss.

20 Feb 2013

Estimating budget sequestration's impact on global health, foreign aid

Writing in the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition's (USGLC) blog, Molly Lester, government relations associate at the USGLC, highlights a report released last week by the House Appropriations Committee Democrats that outlines the potential impact of budget sequestration on different agencies and issues.

20 Feb 2013

Identifying areas of malarial infection risk depends more on daily temperature variation

Identifying areas of malarial infection risk depends more on daily temperature variation than on the average monthly temperatures, according to a team of researchers, who believe that their results may also apply to environmentally temperature-dependent organisms other than the malaria parasite.

20 Feb 2013

WHO, World Bank meeting on universal health coverage begins in Geneva

A two-day WHO and World Bank ministerial-level meeting on universal health coverage (UHC) began in Geneva on Monday, bringing "together ministers of finance and health from 27 countries with other high-level stakeholders" to discuss "exploring ways that countries are progressing towards universal health coverage, sharing innovative solutions and identifying actions the global community can take to support efforts," the Global Dispatch reports.

20 Feb 2013

Targeting p38alpha MAPK isoform can help treat CNS inflammatory diseases

A study by a leading Alzheimer's researcher at the University of Kentucky provides new evidence that will help researchers home in on the molecular mechanisms involved in inflammation of the central nervous system (CNS) and aid drug-development strategies for treating inflammatory neurological diseases.

20 Feb 2013

Reports warn premium spikes, dropped workers could result from health law

The New York Times reports that some companies could avoid requirements in the health law by insuring their own employees -- a move that might drive up costs for workers of other companies. Other outlets look at concerns that young, healthy people buying policies in new online markets could see a jump in insurance costs.

20 Feb 2013

CCR1 and CCR5 receptors play a crucial role in atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is one of the commonest causes of death in modern societies. The condition is characterized by the build-up of fatty deposits called atherosclerotic plaques on the inner surfaces of arteries, which restrict, and may eventually cut off, blood flow. The deposits can also be dislodged from their site of origin and may then block major vessels in the heart or the brain, leading to life-threatening myocardial infarction or stroke.

20 Feb 2013

Gates Foundation blog series examines contraception options for women, girls

Writing in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Gary Darmstadt, head of the family health division at the foundation, and Monica Kerrigan, a family planning expert, introduce the blog's new series, "What's Your Method?," which "offers a window into many of the contraceptive options for women and girls around the world."

20 Feb 2013

Tobacco-free snuff, nicotine lozenges help smokers to quit

Smokeless tobacco users who said they didn't want to quit changed their minds or significantly cut back when given nicotine lozenges or tobacco-free snuff in a Mayo Clinic study.

20 Feb 2013

State roundup: Calif. opens prison psychiatric ward, hopes to shed fed oversight

Virginia is among the last states to begin dismantling its large institutions for the developmentally disabled, a decision that was made as part of a year-old settlement agreement with the Justice Department, which argued in a lawsuit that Virginia was discriminating against training center residents by keeping them institutionalized.

20 Feb 2013

Researchers succeed in developing artificial neuronal network

This technological prowess was made possible by the development of a "simplified artificial brain" that reproduces certain types of so-called "recurrent" connections observed in the human brain.

20 Feb 2013

Mobile phones could help diagnose, properly treat malaria in remote areas, study says

"Mobile phones, along with local knowledge and field support, can help to ensure the effective diagnosis and treatment of malaria in remote rural areas, according to a study" conducted in Bangladesh and published this month in Malaria Journal, SciDev.Net reports.

20 Feb 2013

Gilead to resolve Viread patent litigation case with Teva

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that Gilead and Teva Pharmaceuticals have reached an agreement in principle to settle the ongoing patent litigation concerning the patents protecting Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), a treatment for HIV infection and chronic hepatitis B. Under the terms of the settlement, Teva will be allowed to launch a generic version of Viread on December 15, 2017.

20 Feb 2013