Medical Condition News

RSS

Despite all advancements in melanoma diagnosis, rapid treatment remains critical: Report

Twenty-five years after publishing the mnemonic "ABCD" to facilitate the early diagnosis of melanoma, the group who came up with that moniker says early detection remains a key factor in lowering mortality from malignant melanoma. Darrell S. Rigel, M.D. and colleagues from the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology at New York University School of Medicine say that, despite all of the advances in melanoma diagnosis, timely recognition, detection, and rapid treatment of melanoma remain critical.

30 Jul 2010

FDA clears Hotspur's new balloon dilatation and embolectomy catheters

Hotspur Technologies, Inc. announced today that it has received FDA clearance for the first three commercial products in its portfolio. These products are based on Hotspur's unique and groundbreaking technology that makes dialysis access interventional and peripheral vascular procedures that open blood vessels less expensive, more efficient, and less invasive for patients.

30 Jul 2010

Partners in ENIAC project announce details of multinational/multidisciplinary program

The partners in a new publicly-funded European research project today announced details of the multinational/multidisciplinary program: 'CSI: Central Nervous System Imaging.' This three-year ENIAC project aims to achieve substantial advances in state-of-the-art medical 3D-imaging platforms by focusing on the diagnosis and therapy of serious diseases of the central nervous system and brain.

30 Jul 2010

Intrinsic brain connectivity in fibromyalgia associated with chronic pain intensity

A recent study from researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and University of Michigan provides the first direct evidence of linkage between elevated intrinsic (resting-state) brain connectivity and spontaneous pain intensity in patients with fibromyalgia (FM). This research shows an interaction of multiple brain networks, offering greater understanding of how pain arises. Details of the study appear online and in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology.

30 Jul 2010

Cancer Research UK launches new £18 million Biotherapeutics Development Unit

Cancer Research UK's Drug Development Office marks the launch of its Biotherapeutics Development Unit (BDU) today (Friday) with the manufacture of its first product - an antibody for treating a range of cancers.

30 Jul 2010

Pancreas surgery specialist performs 1,000th Whipple procedure

Pancreas surgery specialist Charles J. Yeo, M.D., Samuel D. Gross Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, and Co-Director of the Pancreatic, Biliary Tract and Related Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, recently performed his 1,000th Whipple procedure (pancreaticoduodenectomy). Only one other surgeon in the United States has reached this milestone for this procedure. That surgeon is John Cameron, M.D., Professor, Department of Surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

30 Jul 2010

HSFC supports SWG's report on reducing sodium levels

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada strongly supports the report released today by the Sodium Working Group.

30 Jul 2010

Chemical compound provides new angle for developing drugs to treat seizures: Study

A chemical compound that boosts the action of a molecule normally produced in the brain may provide the starting point for a new line of therapies for the treatment of epileptic seizures, according to a new study by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute.

30 Jul 2010

Genetics research team discovers new recurrent translocations

A genetics research team based at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia continues to discover recurrent translocations—places in which two chromosomes exchange pieces of themselves. As many as 1 in 600 persons carry balanced chromosome translocations, which involve no loss or gain of DNA. Most such people appear healthy, but may have a child with abnormal chromosome composition and disabilities resulting from disrupted, extra or missing copies of genes.

30 Jul 2010

No More Excuses No More Lung Cancer 5K Run/Walk comes back to Georgia

Today, Lung Cancer Alliance-Georgia announced the return of the No More Excuses No More Lung Cancer 5K Run/Walk. Taking place on Saturday, November 6, 2010, the run/walk will raise awareness for lung cancer to help reduce the stigma of the disease, expand the grassroots movement for the disease and inspire others to join the cause to increase compassion and support to all those impacted by lung cancer

30 Jul 2010

Graymark Healthcare adds two new sleep centers in Texas, Nebraska

Graymark Healthcare announced that it has added two new sleep centers in Texas and Nebraska with the signing of agreements to provide on-site services to Goodall-Witcher Medical Center in Central Texas and Henderson Community Hospital in Nebraska. These agreements continue to execute on Graymark's strategy to expand the availability of sleep medicine in rural communities that otherwise might not have access to comprehensive sleep care.

30 Jul 2010

FDA approves two SCS leads for use with Boston Scientific's Precision Plus Spinal Cord Stimulator System

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of two spinal cord stimulation (SCS) leads for use with its Precision Plus™ Spinal Cord Stimulator System, the world's first rechargeable SCS device for the management of chronic pain of the trunk and/or limbs. The Linear™ 3-4 and Linear™ 3-6 Percutaneous Leads offer wider contact spacing to expand the lead choices available to physicians. The Company plans to launch the products immediately in the U.S.; they were launched in Europe and other international markets earlier.

30 Jul 2010

Treating back problems cost Americans more than $30 billion in 2007: AHRQ

Treating back problems, one of the most bothersome medical problems, cost Americans more than $30 billion in 2007- up from $16 billion in 1997 (in 2007 dollars), according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

30 Jul 2010

Surgeons continue to advance minimally-invasive surgery for kidney cancer patients

Surgeons at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine continue to advance minimally-invasive surgery for cancer patients by reducing the number of abdominal incisions from approximately six to a single small incision.

30 Jul 2010

CPF announces nationwide advertising campaign to increase awareness about PF

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis announced today a nationwide advertising campaign to spread the word about Pulmonary Fibrosis is underway in an untraditional setting – on the nation's interstates. Together, a billboard ad and truck ads are part of a nationwide campaign to raise eyebrows and awareness of the deadly lung disease.

30 Jul 2010

SynCo Bio Partners extends collaboration with Versartis

SynCo Bio Partners today announced an extension of its successful collaboration with Versartis, Inc. following the recent initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with monthly dosing of VRS-859. This news comes less than 12 months since the parties entered into a strategic partnership to manufacture Versartis' lead product VRS-859 (exenatide-XTEN).

30 Jul 2010

Study explores benefits, risks of aggressive blood sugar control in hemodialysis patients

Aggressive blood sugar control does not improve survival in diabetic patients with kidney failure, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology. The results suggest that physicians should individualize blood sugar targets for these patients and not rely on recommendations based on studies in the general population.

30 Jul 2010

Researchers discover tumor suppressor lincRNAs

The recent discovery of more than a thousand genes known as large intergenic non-coding RNAs (or "lincRNAs") opened up a new approach to understanding the function and organization of the genome. That surprising breakthrough is now made even more compelling with the finding that dozens of these lincRNAs are induced by p53 (the most commonly mutated gene in cancer), suggesting that this class of genes plays a critical role in cell development and regulation. Furthermore, the researchers identify one lincRNA in particular (lincRNA-p21), and demonstrate its critical role in suppressing the reading of many genes across the genome following p53 activation.

30 Jul 2010

Bio-Path commences dosing in Liposomal Grb-2 Phase I cancer study

Bio-Path Holdings, Inc.,, a biotechnology company with drug development operations in Houston, Texas, announced today that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase I study of its cancer drug candidate, Liposomal Grb-2 (L-Grb-2 or BP-100-1.01), in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) or Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS).

30 Jul 2010

Study on link between SNP and concentrations of serum creatinine

Scientists at deCODE genetics and colleagues at Radboud University in the Netherlands today describe how the impact of a single letter variation in the sequence of the human genome conferring risk of kidney disease varies with age and with the onset of other diseases. The study provides independent confirmation of the association made in an earlier study between a version of the the SNP, located on chromosome 16p12, and risk of chronic kidney disease. It also confirmed the link between the SNP and concentrations of serum creatinine, a key indicator of kidney function.

30 Jul 2010