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FDA approves Livalo (pitavastatin), a new cholesterol-lowering drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the 4 milligram maximum dose of Livalo (pitavastatin), a drug intended to improve blood cholesterol levels in persons with elevated or abnormal blood cholesterol levels.

3 Aug 2009

After-school programs are an important contributor to children's physical activity

Children's after-school activities often consist of sedentary behavior such as watching television, but after-school programs that offer physical activity and healthy snacks could be the best place for children's health.

3 Aug 2009

Tiny device to 'sniff out' disease, heart attacks, poison and environmental pollution

Like the sensitive seismographs that can pick up tremors of impending earthquakes long before they strike, a similar invention from Tel Aviv University researchers may change the face of molecular biology.

3 Aug 2009

Success of GERD therapy hinges on medication type and physician bedside manner

Patient satisfaction with their medications and the quality of interactions with their doctor reflect the success of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) therapy, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

3 Aug 2009

Anti-growth factor drugs raise hope and concern for treatment of children's eye diseases

A new class of antibody drugs may provide a powerful new tool for the treatment of eye diseases in children, but specialists need to be alert for the possibility of serious side effects, according to an editorial in the August Journal of AAPOS (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus), published by Elsevier.

3 Aug 2009

FDA approves Invega Sustenna for schizophrenia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Invega Sustenna (paliperidone palmitate) extended-release injectable suspension for the acute and maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adults.

2 Aug 2009

Nanoparticles show potential as part of new therapy for advanced ovarian cancer

Nanoparticle delivery of diphtheria toxin-encoding DNA selectively expressed in ovarian cancer cells reduced the burden of ovarian tumors in mice, and researchers expect this therapy could be tested in humans within 18 to 24 months, according to a report in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

30 Jul 2009

In a flu pandemic 1 in 6 health workers will not report for work

With hospitals around Australia struggling to cope with the added burden of swine flu cases researchers say 1 in 6 health workers will not report in for work in a flu pandemic.

28 Jul 2009

Many health won't report in during flu pandemic

A study conducted by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health indicates that approximately 16 percent of public health care workers will not report for work in a pandemic flu emergency, regardless of the severity.

28 Jul 2009

H1N1 could infect up to 2 billion people within next two years, WHO says

The WHO on Friday said the "H1N1 swine-flu virus could infect up to two billion people over the next two years - about one of every three people in the world," VOA News reports.

28 Jul 2009

Asian pneumonia prevention organization calls for required pneumonia vaccine in India

The Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP) is calling for the pneumonia vaccine to become an official part of India's required list of immunizations, the Times of India reports.

28 Jul 2009

Deferoxamine could help diabetics heal wounds

A drug used to remove iron from the body could help doctors fight one of diabetes' cruelest complications: poor wound healing, which can lead to amputation of patients' toes, feet and even legs.

28 Jul 2009

Adolescents at high HIV risk say peers should teach prevention

African-American adolescents have some of the highest rates of HIV infection in the United States, and efforts to educate them about preventing the disease must include the help of their adolescent peers, new research suggests.

27 Jul 2009

Global health officials working to prevent H1N1 spread

"Global health officials are scrambling to try to prevent the spread of the H1N1 swine flu virus, with U.S. officials moving Thursday with a recommendation that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approve or license a [new H1N1] vaccine," without waiting on the results from "clinical trials to test its safety and efficacy," Wall Street Journal reports (Dooren/Winning, 7/24).

24 Jul 2009

1 in 6 public health workers would not report to work during a pandemic flu emergency

The findings are a significant improvement over a 2005 study conducted by the same research team, in which more than 40 percent of public health employees said they were unlikely to report to work during a pandemic emergency. The new study suggests ways for improving the response of the public health workforce. The results are published in the July 24 edition of the journal PLoS ONE.

24 Jul 2009

Johns Hopkins-designed animal tuberculosis "tracker" to speed drug and vaccine studies

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a novel way to monitor in real time the behavior of the TB bacterium in mouse lungs noninvasively pinpointing the exact location of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The new monitoring system is expected to speed up what is currently a slow and cumbersome process to test the safety and efficacy of various TB drug regimens and vaccines in animals. Plans are already under way for developing a similar system to monitor TB disease in humans.

23 Jul 2009

Copper could be used to inhibit swine flu

A leading microbiologist from the University of Southampton has told a conference that his research has found copper is effective in inhibiting the influenza A H1N1 virus.

23 Jul 2009

Prevention, vaccines addressed at IAS conference

During the 5th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, scientists "renewed the call for more immediate and urgent effort to be directed towards HIV prevention amid the dominance of treatment interventions and the world-wide search for a quick fix vaccine, which many agree, is years away," Health-e/allAfrica.com reports (Thom, 7/22).

22 Jul 2009

Parabon NanoLabs awarded research grant to develop novel cancer therapeutics

Parabon NanoLabs, a leading designer and manufacturer of breakthrough products at the nanoscale, announced today its award of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant.

21 Jul 2009

Targeted nanoparticles boost arsenic’s anticancer punch

Arsenic trioxide has a long history as a potent human poison, but it also has proven valuable as one of the primary treatment options for acute promyelocytic leukemia. Efforts to use arsenic trioxide to treat other types of cancer are under way, but clinical trials are revealing that the extreme toxicity of this material is likely to limit its utility as a broad-spectrum anticancer agent.

21 Jul 2009