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New research estimates impact of an R rating for movie smoking

New research from Norris Cotton Cancer Center estimates, for the first time, the impact of an R rating for movie smoking.

10 Jul 2012

PENTAX Medical introduces EG-3270UK endoscope

PENTAX Medical sets a new standard in endoscopic ultrasound with the official launch of the EG-3270UK endoscope during the 30th GEEW congress in Brussels, Belgium.

From PENTAX Medical Company 10 Jul 2012

UTSMC could play key role in operating a proton therapy center for North Texas

UT Southwestern Medical Center, seeking to broaden an already robust array of radiation oncology treatments it offers to patients, potentially could play a key role in operating a state-of-the-art proton therapy center for North Texas being planned and funded by San Diego-based Advanced Particle Therapy (APT).

10 Jul 2012

Hormone therapy still an acceptable treatment for menopausal symptoms: New joint statement

After 10 years of debate regarding the risks and benefits of hormone therapy, 15 top medical organizations have come together to issue a statement of agreement regarding the benefits of hormone therapy for symptomatic menopausal women. It was July 9, 2002, when the controversial, highly publicized Women's Health Initiative (WHI) published its assessment of hormone therapy for the prevention of chronic disease and concluded that risks exceeded benefits.

10 Jul 2012

Gene defect linked to cluster of systemic complications

Research teams from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and Paris, France have discovered a gene defect linked to a cluster of systemic complications, including life-threatening thoracic aortic disease and intracranial aneurysms. The new syndrome is similar, but distinct from known syndromes such as Marfan and Loeys-Dietz syndrome.

9 Jul 2012

Special surface coating for stents to keep them in place

If a person's windpipe is constricted, an operation in which the surgeon inserts a stent to enlarge the trachea is often the only way to relieve their respiratory distress. But this grid-like implant can slip out of position, closing off the windpipe altogether. Researchers are working on a special surface coating for the stents to keep them in place.

9 Jul 2012

JRD receives FDA priority review designation for XARELTO sNDAs to treat PE, DVT

Janssen Research & Development, LLC (Janssen R&D) announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has assigned a priority review designation to the supplemental New Drug Applications (sNDAs) filed on May 2, 2012 for XARELTO (rivaroxaban), an oral anticoagulant, seeking new indications to treat patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), and to prevent recurrent DVT and PE.

9 Jul 2012

DNA from CF patients with and without chronic infections points to unsuspected mutation

Comparing the DNA from patients at the best and worst extremes of a health condition can reveal genes for resistance and susceptibly. This approach discovered rare variations in the DCTN4 gene among cystic fibrosis patients most prone to early, chronic airway infections.

9 Jul 2012

Conference highlights utility of zebrafish for human disorder studies

Zebrafish, popular as aquarium fish, now have an important place in research labs as a model organism for studying human diseases.

8 Jul 2012

Presence of SPDEF protein may predict prostate cancers that are unable to metastasize

Prostate cancer doesn't kill in the prostate - it's the disease's metastasis to other tissues that can be fatal. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published this week in the Journal of Biological Chemistry shows that prostate cancer cells containing the protein SPDEF continue to grow at the same pace as their SPDEF- cousins, but that these SPDEF+ cells are unable to survive at possible sites of metastasis.

8 Jul 2012

Study reveals connection among sugar, cancer, and dependence on breathing machines

A new research report published online in the FASEB Journal reveals a connection among sugar, cancer, and dependence on breathing machines--microRNA-320a.

7 Jul 2012

Cystic fibrosis patient receives generous 'gift of life'

Meara Schmidt, 28, almost died a few weeks ago. Lying in her hospital bed at UCLA, the seriously ill cystic fibrosis patient felt herself slipping away and her life flashing by. But then the image of her husband appeared, and she knew she was not ready to go.

7 Jul 2012

New vaccine candidate against leading cause of hospital-acquired infections

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have discovered a new vaccine candidate for the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa taking advantage of a new mechanism of immunity.

7 Jul 2012

Novel biomimetic strategy can dissolve blood clots before they cause serious damage or even death

Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have developed a novel biomimetic strategy that delivers life-saving nanotherapeutics directly to obstructed blood vessels, dissolving blood clots before they cause serious damage or even death.

6 Jul 2012

Roche receives FDA approval for CMV viral load test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first DNA test to help health care professionals gauge the progress of anti-viral treatment in solid organ transplant patients undergoing cytomegalovirus (CMV) antiviral therapy.

6 Jul 2012

Eltrombopag can raise blood cell levels in some people with severe aplastic anemia

Eltrombopag, a drug that was designed to stimulate production of platelets from the bone marrow and thereby improve blood clotting, can raise blood cell levels in some people with severe aplastic anemia who have failed all standard therapies.

5 Jul 2012

Lower pH reduces ability of ASL to kill bacteria in CF airways

The human airway is a pretty inhospitable place for microbes. There are numerous immune defense mechanisms poised to kill or remove inhaled bacteria before they can cause problems. But cystic fibrosis (CF) disrupts these defenses, leaving patients particularly susceptible to airway infection, which is the major cause of disease and death in CF.

5 Jul 2012

Cancer Therapeutics reveals proof of concept for second development drug

Cancer Therapeutics, a company focused on translating cancer biology research into novel treatments for cancer, today announced the validation and performance of a new targeted drug, CTx-294886, in combination with Avastin™ (bevacizumab – Genentech/Roche) in a preclinical model of breast cancer. At the same time the Company announced that it has developed a new High Throughput Screening (HTS) platform for the identification of small molecule inhibitors of protein ubiquitination, a key element in the essential cellular process of protein homeostasis, which is an exciting new target pathway for cancer treatment. Both scientific developments will be presented as posters at the EACR conference in Barcelona Spain on July 7-10 2012.

4 Jul 2012

Signs that a child is seriously ill: Interview with Professor Middleton

There are several signs that indicate that a child is seriously ill. These can be spotted by parents, teachers and carers as well as by me or any other doctor or nurse.

4 Jul 2012

TMC receives NIH grant to evaluate pepducin in heart disease patients

Tufts Medical Center researchers are developing a first-of-its-kind drug to prevent deadly blood clots in heart disease patients, without the risk of serious bleeding associated with current medications. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health has just awarded the team led by Athan Kuliopulos, MD, PhD, a $10 million grant to start testing a drug based on this novel technology.

4 Jul 2012