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Inhaled interferon-gamma may effectively treat IPF

Inhaled interferon-gamma may be an effective treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic and progressive form of lung disease caused by excessive formation of fibrotic, or scar tissue, in the lungs, according to an article published in Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

1 Mar 2012

WPI establishes Healthcare Delivery Institute

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has established the Healthcare Delivery Institute, (HDI), bringing together top faculty and students in engineering, science, and business with the aim to solve one of the nation's toughest problems-delivering high-quality healthcare for a growing, aging population.

1 Mar 2012

ACTB and ACTG1 actin genes cause Baraitser-Winter syndrome

Scientists from Seattle Children's Research Institute and the University of Washington, in collaboration with the Genomic Disorders Group Nijmegen in the Netherlands, have identified two new genes that cause Baraitser-Winter syndrome, a rare brain malformation that is characterized by droopy eyelids and intellectual disabilities.

1 Mar 2012

RMC offers groundbreaking new procedure for LSS patients

More than one million people are diagnosed and treated each year in the United States for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), a condition that occurs from the narrowing of the spinal canal. Peter Staats, M.D., in conjunction with Riverview Medical Center, is offering LSS patients a groundbreaking new procedure, mild (minimally invasive spinal decompression) that safely and therapeutically reduces pain and improves mobility.

1 Mar 2012

HDAC2 enzyme could be a potential target for new Alzheimer's drugs

MIT neuroscientists have shown that an enzyme overproduced in the brains of Alzheimer's patients creates a blockade that shuts off genes necessary to form new memories. Furthermore, by inhibiting that enzyme in mice, the researchers were able to reverse Alzheimer's symptoms.

1 Mar 2012

Scientists develop safer and more accurate way to administer warfarin

A team of global scientists, led by researchers at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City, has developed a safer and more accurate way to administer warfarin, one of the most commonly prescribed but also potentially dangerous medications in the United States.

1 Mar 2012

FDA revises safety information on statin labels

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it is revising safety information on the labels of some statins (cholesterol lowering drugs).

1 Mar 2012

Researchers discover mechanism by which lead alters nerve cells in the brain

Exposure to lead wreaks havoc in the brain, with consequences that include lower IQ and reduced potential for learning. But the precise mechanism by which lead alters nerve cells in the brain has largely remained unknown.

1 Mar 2012

NEJM publishes results from two Jakafi Phase III studies on MF

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) today published results from two Phase III studies (COMFORT-I and COMFORT-II) of Jakafi (ruxolitinib), a JAK1 and JAK2 inhibitor recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis.

1 Mar 2012

FDA extends action date for Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer's Eliquis NDA

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Pfizer announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the action date by three months for the New Drug Application (NDA) for Eliquis (apixaban) for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation.

1 Mar 2012

Ultrasound-based TE more accurate in detecting hepatic fibrosis

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic confirm that ultrasound-based transient elastography (TE) provides excellent diagnostic accuracy for detecting cirrhosis due to recurrent infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection following liver transplantation.

1 Mar 2012

Scripps Florida study to focus on four new classes of pain-relieving compounds

Scripps Florida scientists have been awarded $3.1 million by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, to study and develop several new compounds that could prove to be effective in controlling pain without the unwanted side effects common with opiate drugs, such as morphine, Oxycontin, and Vicoden.

1 Mar 2012

Brain mitochondria are dysfunctional in early-stage Alzheimer's

Mitochondria -- subunits inside cells that produce energy -- have long been thought to play a role in Alzheimer's disease. Now Mayo Clinic researchers using genetic mouse models have discovered that mitochondria in the brain are dysfunctional early in the disease.

1 Mar 2012

Inhibitory effect of serotonin 1A receptor is extremely small in people with depression

Researchers at the MedUni Vienna have, for the first time, investigated the influence of the serotonin system on the default mode network (DMN) in the human brain and discovered that, in people with depression, the inhibitory effect of the serotonin 1A receptor is extremely small. This means, says Siegfried Kasper, Head of the University Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, that affected patients "are virtually never able to be mentally calm".

1 Mar 2012

New research shows beneficial side effect of anti-allergy parasite

New research is showing a beneficial side effect of parasites for our health. Hygiene Hypothesis: As rates of allergy are reported to have tripled in the UK in the past decade, the scientific finger is pointing to an over-sanitised lifestyle making our immune responses overactive. Now, a team of biologists at the University of Edinburgh, led by Professor Rick Maizels, are investigating how parasitic worms could offer a cure for modern illnesses.

1 Mar 2012

New health data from Cleveland neighborhoods on obesity, hypertension and diabetes

Today, the Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods of Case Western Reserve University release new health data from Cleveland neighborhood groups on three of the most pressing public health concerns: obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.

29 Feb 2012

LAU-0901 drug protects brain in an experimental stroke model

Research led by Nicolas Bazan, MD, PhD, Boyd Professor and Director of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has found that a synthetic molecule protected the brain in a model of experimental stroke.

29 Feb 2012

Springer adds 6 new quarterly clinical review journals to medicine portfolio

Springer is adding six new quarterly clinical review journals to its existing medicine portfolio in March 2012. These new journals will expand the publisher's medical specialty coverage, focusing on dermatology, geriatrics/gerontology, nutrition, obesity, obstetrics/gynecology and respiratory care.

29 Feb 2012

New NOSH-aspirin appears more effective against cancer

Scientists have combined two new "designer" forms of aspirin into a hybrid substance that appears more effective than either of its forebears in controlling the growth of several forms of cancer in laboratory tests. Their report on the new NOSH-aspirin, so named because it releases nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), appears in the journal ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

29 Feb 2012

Biogen Idec announces new easier to use injection for multiple sclerosis

The Food and Drug Administration approved the company's Avonex pen, an injection designed to reduce pain and anxiety when patients self-administer the drug. The FDA also approved a new dosing schedule for the drug intended to reduce flu-like symptoms often associated with the drug.

29 Feb 2012