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Researchers find new genetic differences in human hearts

Healthy men and women show little difference in their hearts, except for small electrocardiographic disparities. But new genetic differences found by Washington University in St. Louis researchers in hearts with disease could ultimately lead to personalized treatment of various heart ailments.

25 Jan 2013

Researchers initiate first gene therapy clinical trial for Fabry disease

Researchers in Calgary have launched the first gene therapy clinical trial in the world for Fabry disease, a rare inherited enzyme deficiency that can shorten the lifespan of people who have it by as much as 40 years.

24 Jan 2013

Women taking tacrolimus drug can breast feed their babies

Women taking the immunosuppressant tacrolimus can rest assured that breast feeding will not elevate their babies' exposure to the drug, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

24 Jan 2013

DFG now extends funding for research on immunological therapy at Charité

The DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) has now extended the funding of a research association which is located at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) will receive funding in excess of ten million Euros over the next four years.

23 Jan 2013

Novel way to engineer specialized immune cells targeted by the AIDS virus

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found a novel way to engineer key cells of the immune system so they remain resistant to infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

23 Jan 2013

Galectin Therapeutics' GR-MD-02 reverses diabetic nephropathy in preclinical study

Galectin Therapeutics, the leading developer of therapeutics that target galectin proteins to treat fibrosis and cancer, today announced new preclinical data on the efficacy of anti-galectin therapy on diabetic kidney disease.

23 Jan 2013

Antibodies essential for dendritic cell maturation

Dendritic cells, or DCs for short, perform a vital role for the immune system: They engulf pathogens, break them down into their component parts, and then display the pieces on their surface.

23 Jan 2013

ECLS system supports flu patients in their recovery from severe respiratory problems

In recent weeks the intensive critical care units at University Health Network's Toronto General Hospital have used Extra Corporeal Lung Support (ECLS) to support five influenza (flu) patients in their recovery from severe respiratory problems.

19 Jan 2013

Boehringer Ingelheim initiates enrollment in Phase III IFN-free HCV trial

Today, Boehringer Ingelheim announced that the first patients have been enrolled in the company's pivotal Phase III interferon (IFN)-free hepatitis C (HCV) clinical trial programme, HCVerso.

18 Jan 2013

Octapharma receives FDA approval for Octaplas to treat blood clotting disorders

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Octaplas, a pooled plasma (human) blood product for the replacement of clotting proteins (coagulation factors) in certain medical conditions where patients have insufficient levels.

18 Jan 2013

Atrial fibrillation increases risk of kidney failure in people with CKD

Many people who suffer from chronic kidney disease progressively lose their kidney function over time and eventually develop a condition called end-stage renal disease - the complete failure of the kidneys - placing them in need of lifelong dialysis or a kidney transplant.

18 Jan 2013

AeriSeal System may provide relief for patients with emphysema

Those who have emphysema may soon be able to breathe a sigh of relief. That's because alternative ways to treat advanced cases of the condition are being developed.

17 Jan 2013

Thermo Scientific QMS Everolimus Assay Kit receives CE Mark for liver transplant application

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today announced that its Thermo Scientific QMS Everolimus Assay Kit has been CE marked for sale in the European Union for a third application, namely liver transplants.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 16 Jan 2013

SLU researchers examine health outcomes for obese transplant recipients

In a research review article published in the American Journal of Nephrology, Saint Louis University investigators examined data from multiple studies to better understand how obesity, an epidemic in the U.S., impacts kidney transplant patients.

16 Jan 2013

Over-expression of NEK2 in cancer cells significantly enhances drug resistance

Increased NEK2 gene expression linked to increased drug resistance, faster cancer growth, and poorer patient outcome - The finding may improved diagnostic and prognostic tools for cancer care and could lead to improved cancer therapies

16 Jan 2013

Donor liver wastage on the increase

US researchers have found that the expansion of liver transplantation criteria to include post-cardiac death donors is associated with an increase in the proportion of unused donor livers.

14 Jan 2013

Obesity complicates kidney transplantation

The risk for delayed graft function in patients undergoing kidney transplant rises in line with their body mass index, say US researchers.

14 Jan 2013

Angiotensin II blockade does not seem to provide benefit to kidney transplant recipients

A drug that protects the kidneys of patients with chronic kidney disease does not seem to provide the same benefit to kidney transplant recipients, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

11 Jan 2013

Lower liver quality from donation after cardiac death linked to drop in transplants

A new study, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Health Resources and Services Administration, and published in the January 2013 issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), found that the non-use of donor livers climbed through 2010 due to a worsening of donor liver quality, primarily from donation following cardiac death. Diabetes, donor age, and body mass index (BMI) were also linked to a decrease in use of organs.

11 Jan 2013