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Sequana Medical announces CE mark approval of alfapump for patients with malignant ascites

Sequana Medical is pleased to announce that it has received CE mark approval for use of its alfapump system in patients with ascites caused by cancer (malignant ascites).

30 Oct 2012

Study identifies genetic variations as predictors of prostate cancer-related fatigue

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of South Florida have found that men with prostate cancer who receive androgen deprivation therapy may predictably suffer from fatigue if they have single nucleotide polymorphisms in three pro-inflammatory genes. The discovery highlights the importance of personalized medicine, in which therapies are tailored to a patient's genetic profile.

29 Oct 2012

Zebrafish model can test unique individual genetic differences in humans

The zebrafish is a potential tool for testing one class of unique individual genetic differences found in humans, and may yield information helpful for the emerging field of personalized medicine, according to a team led by Penn State College of Medicine scientists. The differences, or mutations, in question create minor changes in amino acids -- the building blocks of DNA -- from person to person.

26 Oct 2012

Advaita receives $125,000 Michigan Emerging Technologies Fund award

Advaita Corporation, a startup company based on technology developed at Wayne State University by Sorin Draghici, Ph.D., professor of computer science in the College of Engineering, received the final installment of a $125,000 award from the Michigan Emerging Technologies Fund program.

25 Oct 2012

12-chemokine gene signature can predict presence of lymph node-like structures in MM

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have discovered a unique immune gene signature that can predict the presence of microscopic lymph node-like structures in metastatic melanoma. The presence of these immune structures, the researchers said, appears to be associated with better survival and may indicate the possibility of selecting patients for immunotherapy based solely on the immune-related makeup of their tumors as an approach to personalized medicine.

25 Oct 2012

Personalized medicine research strikes early for heart genes

A landmark paper identifying genetic signatures that predict which patients will respond to a life-saving drug for treating congestive heart failure has been published by a research team co-led by Stephen B. Liggett, MD, of the University of South Florida.

18 Oct 2012

DNA method leads to more effective treatment of neuroblastoma in children

After leukaemia and brain tumours, neuroblastoma is the most common form of cancer to affect children. A thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has studied a DNA method which is now used for all cases of neuroblastoma in Sweden, and which has led to more effective treatment at individual level.

15 Oct 2012

Johns Hopkins, Iverson enter licensing agreement for molecular diagnostics

Iverson Genetic Diagnostics, Inc. announced today an exclusive licensing agreement with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine under which Iverson receives global exclusive commercialization rights for molecular diagnostics that are designed to help physicians to assess cardiovascular risk in men and women and infertility risk in women.

12 Oct 2012

LLS symposium to review latest advances in blood cancer research

A cadre of leading researchers in hematology, oncology, cell biology, and biotechnology are conducting presentations and discussions at this symposium to review the latest advances in blood cancer research.

12 Oct 2012

UCSF project to explore mystery behind advanced prostate cancer

Many men survive prostate cancer, but thousands of others -- whose cancer spreads -- inevitably develop resistance to even the most promising treatments, leaving them with few medical options and a dwindling span of life.

10 Oct 2012

Genetic basis of uterine fibroids uncovered

A mutation located near the fatty acid synthase gene is associated with an increased predisposition for uterine leiomyomata or fibroids, suggest US study findings.

8 Oct 2012

Progress toward preventing initial and recurrent episodes of C. diff infection

Surgeons are making progress toward preventing initial and recurrent episodes of clostridium difficile colitis (C. difficile or C. diff), a vicious bacterial infection that is estimated to affect about 336,000 people each year, typically patients on antibiotics.

6 Oct 2012

Researchers identify genetic risk allele for uterine fibroids

Uterine fibroids are the most common type of pelvic tumors in women and are the leading cause of hysterectomy in the United States. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) are the first to discover a genetic risk allele (an alternative form of a gene) for uterine fibroids in white women using an unbiased, genome-wide approach.

5 Oct 2012

RNA clue to MS disease course

Researchers say that the RNA profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells can identify two distinct subsets of patients with multiple sclerosis.

4 Oct 2012

Roundup: Individual mandate back on Fla. ballot; More Mass. doctors embrace new payment methods; Ga. hospital tax fight rages on

In a bid to remake Florida's judiciary, Republicans are asking voters to oust three state Supreme Court justices and give the Legislature greater power over Supreme Court appointments. ... In Florida, the issue is not same-sex marriage but another politically divisive matter: President Obama's health care law. In a 2010 ruling, the Florida Supreme Court removed from the ballot a nonbinding amendment allowing Floridians to refuse to buy mandatory health insurance.

4 Oct 2012

First Edition: October 3, 2012

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jordan Rau reports: "Medicare's new readmission penalties for hospitals just got a bit tougher. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has discovered errors in its initial calculations in August. As a result, 1,422 hospitals with comparatively high readmission rates will lose slightly more money than they were expecting, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis of the revised penalties. Fifty-five hospitals will lose less than were previously told."

3 Oct 2012

NF1 gene mutations cause noninheritable or spontaneous breast cancers

Cancerous tumors contain hundreds of mutations, and finding these mutations that result in uncontrollable cell growth is like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. As difficult as this task is, it's exactly what a team of scientists from Cornell University, the University of North Carolina, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York have done for one type of breast cancer.

3 Oct 2012

Biomarkers can increase success rate of clinical trials for breast cancer drugs by almost 50%

Using biological markers--genetic characteristics that are associated with some patients with breast cancer--can increase the success rate of clinical trials for breast cancer drugs by almost 50 per cent, says new research from the University of Toronto Mississauga.

3 Oct 2012

Study opens new door to more personalized treatment of advanced breast cancer

For the first time, researchers have conducted a large trial in which they tested the entire genome of individual breast cancers to help personalize treatment. They released their findings at the ESMO 2012 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna.

1 Oct 2012

Rehabilitation robots help identify and customize post-stroke therapy

When it comes to stroke rehabilitation, it takes a dedicated team to help a person regain as much independence as possible: physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, recreation therapists, caregivers and others. Now, a University of Calgary research team has added a robot to help identify and customize post-stroke therapy.

1 Oct 2012