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Biomagnetics Diagnostics discusses utilization of acquired Los Alamos National Security intellectual property

Biomagnetics Diagnostics Corp., a developer of revolutionary diagnostic systems and technology for HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis and malaria detection provides the following recap of yesterday's investor conference call, which discussed the Company’s acquisition of intellectual property rights from Los Alamos National Security.

5 Dec 2009

Comparative study on African monkeys may provide novel targets for AIDS therapy

Two studies published this month in the Journal of Clinical Investigation provide a significant advance in understanding how some species of monkeys such as sooty mangabeys and African green monkeys avoid AIDS when infected with SIV, the simian equivalent of HIV.

5 Dec 2009

Tips to prevent H1N1 infection

National Handwashing Awareness Week is from Dec. 6 to 12, and a Geisinger physician advises that with the presence of the H1N1 virus this year, handwashing is more important than ever.

5 Dec 2009

Statins may protect against GVHD complications

Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins are among the most prescribed medicines in the U.S. Now a new study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center indicates that statins may protect stem cell transplant patients from one of the most serious complications of the life-saving cancer therapy: graft-versus-host disease, or GVHD.

5 Dec 2009

Scientists report cervarix vaccine offers protection against cervical cancer

The Cervarix vaccine provides protection against two types of human papillomavirus (HPV) for more than six years, US scientists have reported.

5 Dec 2009

Paralyzed dancer sues Cargill over E. coli tainted burger

Stephanie Smith, the twenty-two year old Minnesota dance instructor left paralyzed by a burger tainted with E. coli filed suit today against Cargill, who produced the contaminated meat. Ms. Smith, whose “The Burger that Shattered Her Life” profile in the New York Times was emailed all over the country, covered by hundreds of media outlets and galvanized legislators to change food laws, attempted mediation with the company, but was unable to come to a fair agreement with them.

5 Dec 2009

Number of new active TB cases increases from 2007 to 2008, WHO says

The WHO's Stop TB Department released data on Thursday at the 40th Union World Conference on Lung Health indicating that the number of new active TB cases worldwide rose from 9.27 million in 2007 to 9.4 million in 2008, Reuters reports. Experts, who were gathered for the conference in Cancun, Mexico, "called for more research funding to develop better diagnostic tests, vaccines and drugs for tuberculosis, which killed 1.8 million people around the world last year," according to the news service.

4 Dec 2009

Too early to declare end of H1N1 pandemic, WHO says

Though there are signs the H1N1 (swine flu) has peaked in the U.S. and Canada, a WHO flu expert said Thursday it is too early to declare the pandemic over, Canadian Press reports.

4 Dec 2009

Measles deaths decline worldwide by 78%, experts warn against complacency

Measles deaths fell from 733,000 in 2000 to 164,000 in 2008 - 78 percent - thanks, in part, to increased vaccination efforts that reached an estimated 700 million children, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S.-based Measles Initiative, Reuters reports.

4 Dec 2009

Foreign Policy examines 'philanthrocapitalism' trend

Foreign Policy examines "a revolutionary idea for how to remake charity in the 21st century [that] is taking off: philanthrocapitalism." The magazine writes: "Unlike their colleagues in government bureaucracies and tried-and-true NGOs, the philanthrocapitalists are a nimble, business-minded stock."

4 Dec 2009

New York Times examines HIV testing program in China

The New York Times examines an HIV prevention program in China aimed at promoting blood screening that has led "more than 110,000 people" to be tested so far: "On any given night, in 14 cities around the country, hundreds of people flock to makeshift blood collection centers in bars, bathhouses and apartments where workers test for syphilis and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS."

4 Dec 2009

Recent releases in Global Health

Ahead of the U.N. Climate Change conference in Copenhagen next week, a Lancet comment examines the health consequences associated with climate change and the case for linking climate and health goals. "The issue now is not whether climate change is occurring, but how we can respond most effectively. ... Responding to climate change is not a distraction from the business of protecting health: it is part of the same agenda," the author writes (Chan, 12/5).

4 Dec 2009

Campaign for legislation to protect adult film industry performers

On Friday, a broad coalition of health groups will unveil a campaign to press for California legislation to protect adult film industry performers. The legislative push will be formally announced in conjunction with a strategy symposium for the effort being held Friday, December 4th at UCLA (Public Affairs Building, North Campus).

4 Dec 2009

Study shows herbal medicine is effective for treating acute rhinosinusitis

Rhinosinusitis is an inflammatory process involving one or more of the paranasal sinuses that typically follows a viral upper respiratory tract infection (RTI). The term ‘acute rhinosinusitis’ is used instead of ‘acute sinusitis’ because it is the currently internationally accepted terminology.

4 Dec 2009

New study shows seasonal flu vaccine awareness is high among Hispanics, but vaccination rates are lower

Although there is high awareness of the need for seasonal influenza vaccines, a new study of Hispanics in one California county shows low rates of actual vaccination, especially among men.

4 Dec 2009

Habitat destruction and biodiversity loss can increase the incidence of infectious diseases

The extinction of plant and animal species can be likened to emptying a museum of its collection, or dumping a cabinet full of potential medicines into the trash, or replacing every local cuisine with McDonald's burgers.

4 Dec 2009

GSK places a batch of AS03 adjuvanted H1N1 vaccine on hold

Following reports from Canada's Public Health Agency that six patients had suffered allergic reactions after receiving the shot, GlaxoSmithKline plc has voluntarily placed a hold on a single batch of the AS03 adjuvanted H1N1 vaccine Arepanrix in Canada as a precautionary measure.

4 Dec 2009

New SPC3649 drug found effective in treating HCV infections

In a dramatic finding, a new drug for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections that targets liver cells produced a substantial drop in blood levels of the virus in animals and continued to work up to several months after treatment, say scientists at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in San Antonio.

4 Dec 2009

Santaris Pharma's LNA technology based microRNA-targeted therapy holds promise for HCV

A study published online in this week's Science shows that SPC3649, a breakthrough microRNA-targeted therapy developed by Santaris Pharma A/S using its proprietary Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) technology, holds promise as a novel treatment for patients infected with the Hepatitis C virus (HCV).

4 Dec 2009

Adaptive vaccination strategies outperform seasonal influenza vaccination allocation strategies

Adaptive vaccination strategies, based on age patterns of hospitalizations and deaths monitored in real-time during the early stages of a pandemic, outperform seasonal influenza vaccination allocation strategies, according to findings reported Dec. 3 by researchers, including two from Arizona State University, in the online journal PLoS ONE.

4 Dec 2009