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FDA approves generic Topamax tablets (topiramate)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first generic versions of Topamax tablets (topiramate) to prevent seizures.

1 Apr 2009

Novel optical technique distinguishing single cells

Researchers at the University of Rochester have developed a novel optical technique that permits rapid analysis of single human immune cells using only light.

1 Apr 2009

Combat injuries: A matter of life and death

Orthopaedic surgeons play a crucial role in the care of active duty military personnel according to a Forum article in the April 2009 issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS).

1 Apr 2009

New streamlined triage system for "brain attack"

Taking a page out of the playbook developed by cardiologists nearly two decades ago to promote the warning signs and swift treatment for heart attacks, a multidisciplinary team of stroke experts at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) have created a new streamlined triage system at Strong Memorial Hospital's Emergency Department (ED) to provide rapid evaluation and specialized treatments to "brain attack," or stroke, patients.

1 Apr 2009

Protein ferritin in blood may hold key to stopping tumor growth in cancer patients

A recent discovery by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine could clear the way for a new drug that inhibits tumor growth in cancer patients and could potentially help in the healing of wounds.

1 Apr 2009

Discovery of possible trigger for onset of labor

The relationship between two different types of estrogen and a hormone produced in the placenta may serve as the mechanism for signaling labor, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

1 Apr 2009

Anemia treatment improves heart structure and quality of life in kidney disease patients

In chronic kidney disease patients, different levels of anemia treatment have a beneficial effect on the heart and improve quality of life, according to a pair of studies appearing in the April 2009 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

1 Apr 2009

Accurate assessment of heart disease leads to earlier, more aggressive therapy

In a study comparing the ability of various medical techniques to accurately determine the extent of heart disease and stratify patients according to disease severity, researchers found that myocardial perfusion testing with gated single photon emission computed tomography (gated SPECT) was a more accurate predictor of prognosis in chronic ischemic heart disease (IHD)-a painful condition caused by a temporary reduction of oxygen-rich blood to the heart.

1 Apr 2009

Why some people with very red faces do not look so healthy

People use the color of your skin to judge how healthy you are, according to researchers at the University of St Andrews.

1 Apr 2009

New HIV drug may help patients not responding to treatment

A potential treatment for HIV may one day help people who are not responding to Anti-Retroviral Therapy, suggests new research published tomorrow in The Journal of Immunology.

1 Apr 2009

Novel assays provide new insight into why patients are in heart failure

A failing heart makes a lot of a hormone needed to eliminate the excess salt and water bloating the body but not enough of the enzyme needed to activate it, researchers say.

1 Apr 2009

New insights into how brain responds to viral infection

Scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health have discovered that astrocytes, supportive cells in the brain that are not derived from an immune cell lineage, respond to a molecule that mimics a viral infection using cellular machinery similar to that used by classical immune cells in the blood.

1 Apr 2009

Magnetic nanoparticles used to manipulate human cells

The power of magnetism may address a major problem facing bioengineers as they try to create new tissue -- getting human cells to not only form structures, but to stimulate the growth of blood vessels to nourish that growth.

1 Apr 2009

Hospital-to-hospital health information exchange begins

LifeBridge Health has begun an electronic exchange of health information between its two hospitals, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore and Northwest Hospital, and Saint Agnes Hospital, a community hospital with an overlapping service area.

1 Apr 2009

District Court decision received in Concerta patent sase

The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has rendered a decision in the patent litigation between Alza Corporation, McNeil-PPC, Inc. and Andrx Pharmaceuticals LLC. McNeil Pediatrics, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which markets Concerta (methylphenidate HCI) Extended-Release Tablets CII, said the court held that the patent in suit is not valid or infringed by the filing of Andrx's Abbreviated New Drug Application.

1 Apr 2009

Researchers develop mouse models of leukemia that predict response to chemotherapy

Being able to accurately predict how a given cancer will respond to chemotherapy would spare patients with non-responsive tumors the burden of undergoing toxic and ultimately unhelpful treatment.

1 Apr 2009

Coronary angiography improves outcomes for cardiac arrest patients

People who suffer cardiac arrests and then receive coronary angiography are twice as likely to survive without significant brain damage compared with those who don't have the procedure, according to a study by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers.

1 Apr 2009

Researchers examine medical effects of bed bugs and control and eradication strategies

A review of previously published articles indicates there is little evidence supporting an effective treatment of bites from bed bugs, that these insects do not appear to transmit disease, and control and eradication of bed bugs is challenging, according to an article in the April 1 issue of JAMA .

1 Apr 2009

By shutting down inflammation, agent reverses damage from spinal cord injury in preclinical studies

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) have been able to speed recovery and substantially reduce damage resulting from spinal cord injury in preclinical studies.

1 Apr 2009

Amniotic fluid may be a new source of stem cells

For the first time, scientists have shown that amniotic fluid (the protective liquid surrounding an embryo) may be a potential new source of stem cells for therapeutic applications. The study was prepublished online on February 12, 2009, in Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology.

31 Mar 2009