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Health Canada approves Osiris’ Prochymal to treat acute GvHD in children

Osiris Therapeutics Inc. announced today it has received market authorization from Health Canada to market its stem cell therapy Prochymal (remestemcel-L), for the treatment of acute graft-vs-host disease (GvHD) in children.

18 May 2012

Cleveland Eye Clinic surgeons perform Corneal Cross-Linking procedure

For years, patients with an eye disease called keratoconus have had little to no hope of continuing to see well without glasses or contacts, and a portion of them had a high risk corneal transplant in their future. Keratoconus is an eye disease that causes the cornea (the clear covering on the eye) to become thin and steep over time. Patients with keratoconus can wear special contact lenses or in some cases glasses. Many of them lose the ability to see well even with corrective eye wear.

18 May 2012

Lenalidomide following stem cell transplant can halt progression of blood cancer

Multiple myeloma patients are better equipped to halt progression of this blood cancer if treated with lenalidomide, or Revlimid-, following a stem cell transplant, according to a study co-authored by a physician with the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute.

17 May 2012

Fitness fanatic dad becomes research pioneer after kidney disease diagnosis

A super-fit father who rowed the distance from the Equator to the North Pole on a rowing machine has told of how his experience of kidney disease led to him becoming the first patient to take part in a groundbreaking research study run in Sheffield and Leeds.

17 May 2012

Updated results from Amgen’s blinatumomab Phase 2 study on ALL

Amgen today announced updated results from a Phase 2 study that showed treatment with blinatumomab (AMG 103) helped achieve a high-rate of complete response (CR) in 72 percent of adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treated in the study.

17 May 2012

Some hand function restored in quadriplegic patient with spinal cord injury

Surgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have restored some hand function in a quadriplegic patient with a spinal cord injury at the C7 vertebra, the lowest bone in the neck. Instead of operating on the spine itself, the surgeons rerouted working nerves in the upper arms. These nerves still "talk" to the brain because they attach to the spine above the injury.

16 May 2012

New Jefferson Hepatitis C Center

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital recently opened its new Jefferson Hepatitis C Center, one of only a few comprehensive, multidisciplinary centers dedicated to the study of hepatitis C virus and hepatic disease in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware tri-state area.

14 May 2012

Workout routine tips from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/CUMC

The summer is a great season for getting in shape. Whether by playing a sport, doing an aerobic exercise routine, or just returning to that familiar running path — this is the time for activity.

14 May 2012

Kidney transplants more frequent among NxStage home hemodialysis patients

NxStage Medical, Inc., a leading manufacturer of innovative dialysis products, today commented on findings of the Chronic Disease Research Group (CDRG) study showing that patients receiving daily, or more frequent, home hemodialysis with the NxStage System One are more likely to receive a kidney transplant when compared with conventional thrice-weekly dialysis, particularly in patients not on the transplant waitlist at initiation of daily home hemodialysis.

14 May 2012

Lenalidomide delays progression of multiple myeloma after stem cell transplant

Multiple myeloma is a form of cancer where the plasma cells in the bone marrow grow out of control, causing damage to bones as well as predisposing patients to anemia, infection and kidney failure. A medical procedure called autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, commonly known as a stem cell transplant, is frequently an important treatment option for many patients.

14 May 2012

New mom receives surprise heart transplant

New mom Windy Hill, 38, of Kingsport, Tenn., was given the ultimate Mother's Day gift a little early after she was wheeled into the operating room at Vanderbilt University Hospital on April 20 to receive a mechanical pump to aid her failing heart and save her life.

14 May 2012

Positive results from Cytochroma CTAP101 Phase 2b clinical trial for CKD

Cytochroma today announced positive clinical trial results for its lead product, CTAP101 Capsules. In a recently completed Phase 2b trial, CTAP101 Capsules effectively and safely lowered elevated plasma intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) in patients with Stage 3 or 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD) and vitamin D insufficiency.

11 May 2012

Cedars-Sinai’s first patient implanted with SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart

SynCardia Systems, Inc., manufacturer of the world's first and only FDA, Health Canada and CE (Europe) approved Total Artificial Heart, said today that Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles has discharged its first patient to be implanted with the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart.

11 May 2012

Final results from Alnylam’s ALN-TTR01 Phase I trial on TTR-mediated amyloidosis

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today final results from its completed Phase I clinical trial with ALN-TTR01, an RNAi therapeutic targeting transthyretin (TTR) for the treatment of TTR-mediated amyloidosis.

11 May 2012

Interim results from Seattle Genetics’ ADCETRIS phase II trial on CTCL

Seattle Genetics, Inc. today announced that interim results from an investigator-sponsored phase II clinical trial of ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) in patients with relapsed cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) were presented at the Society for Investigative Dermatology annual meeting being held May 9-12, 2012 in Raleigh, NC.

11 May 2012

$EC approves CTI’s Pixuvri to treat multiply relapsed or refractory aggressive NHL$

EC approves CTI’s Pixuvri to treat multiply relapsed or refractory aggressive NHL

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it has received conditional marketing authorization from the European Commission for Pixuvri (pixantrone) as monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with multiply relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphomas.

11 May 2012

NEJM publishes results from Celgene’s REVLIMID phase III studies on MM

Celgene International Sàrl, a subsidiary of Celgene Corporation, today announced that results from three phase III studies evaluating the use of continuous REVLIMID(lenalidomide) treatment in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients or maintenance treatment with lenalidomide following autologous stem cell transplant were published online in the May 10, 2012 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

11 May 2012

Maternal gluten sensitivity may increase risk of schizophrenia in children

Babies born to women with sensitivity to gluten appear to be at increased risk for certain psychiatric disorders later in life, according to research by scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore.

11 May 2012

Lenalidomide improves overall survival for patients with multiple myeloma

Data from the first large U.S. study assessing the effectiveness of long-term "maintenance" therapy with lenalidomide for patients with multiple myeloma show that the drug significantly improves the time to progression and overall survival for patients with this often-deadly hematologic cancer.

10 May 2012

LWW wins 21 awards in 15 categories from ASHPE

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), part of Wolters Kluwer Health, is pleased to announce that it has won 21 awards in 15 categories, which is a record number of wins in a single year for LWW overall. ASHPE's 12th annual awards competition recognizes member articles and publications for editorial, design, print, and online award categories.

10 May 2012