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Dermatologists recommend broad spectrum sunscreen products to protect against UVA and UVB rays

Sunscreen active ingredients, which are compounds that absorb, scatter or reflect ultraviolet (UV) light, are regulated as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

25 May 2010

Combination therapy improves patients with depression symptoms: Study

New data presented today at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting suggests a benefit to combining L-methylfolate, a prescription medical food called Deplin, with an antidepressant at the start of treatment. This retrospective analysis showed a significantly greater improvement in depression symptoms in a shorter period of time, when patients with Major Depressive Disorder were started on combination therapy.

25 May 2010

Dietary fat and heart disease

New research shows the type of fat is much more important than total fat in determining an individual's risk of heart disease - and that there are numerous factors beyond dietary fat that affect one's risk - leading to a shift in the age-old dietary fat and heart disease paradigm.

25 May 2010

New strategies defined to reduce salt levels in ready meals

Today's busy lifestyles leave little time to prepare meals from fresh ingredients, resulting in the popularity of ready prepared meals. However, these meals contain relatively high levels of salt and health agencies throughout the world are recommending a reduction in non-discretionary sodium from salt- and sodium-containing additives used in the manufacture of these meals.

25 May 2010

Traumatic brain injuries may disrupt sleep patterns, says study

People with brain injuries may produce low amounts of melatonin, which affects their sleep, according to a study published in the May 25, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

25 May 2010

Economic access becomes primary research focus in public health nutrition

Ensuring access to healthy, affordable foods is a top priority in tackling the obesity epidemic in the United States. Over the course of the last six months, the Institute of Medicine, United States Department of Agriculture, The White House and First Lady Michelle Obama have taken an interest in improving access to affordable and nutritious foods.

25 May 2010

Obesity is a risk factor for depressive symptoms

Researchers, led by Kerri Boutelle, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found that obesity is a risk factor for depressive symptoms, but not for clinical depression, suggesting that weight status could play a part in the development of depression in some adolescent girls.

25 May 2010

Reducing consumption of sugary drinks can lower blood pressure: Research

Research led by Liwei Chen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Public Health at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has found that there is an association between sugary drinks and blood pressure and that by cutting daily consumption of sugary drinks by just one serving a day, people can lower their blood pressure.

25 May 2010

One-third of Minnesotans understate their weight problems

When it comes to self-perceptions about their own healthy weight, many Minnesotans appear to be adapting Garrison Keillor's famous quip: "I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it."

25 May 2010

STOP Obesity Alliance researchers receive $250,000 donation to research on health impact of obesity

The research team of The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services' Department of Health Policy's Strategies to Overcome and Prevent Obesity Alliance received a $250,000 donation from Allergan, Inc. to support public health, policy analysis and research about the economic and health impact of obesity and related chronic diseases.

25 May 2010

Beta-blocker medications provide new hope for patients with COPD: Study

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may have fewer respiratory flare-ups and longer survival if they take beta-blocker medications, according to a report in the May 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

25 May 2010

Repligen's RG2833 granted orphan drug designation for treatment of Friedreich's ataxia

Repligen Corporation announced today that the Office of Orphan Products Development of the Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to RG2833, a selective histone deacetylase 3 inhibitor for the treatment of Friedreich's ataxia. Orphan drug designation qualifies Repligen to receive seven years of marketing exclusivity in the United States if the company is the first to obtain marketing approval for RG2833 for the treatment of Friedreich's ataxia.

24 May 2010

66% of patients with schizophrenia have extreme trust in their psychiatrists: New survey

According to a new survey sponsored by Janssen, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc, 80 percent of patients with schizophrenia, a chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder, say their psychiatrists do well or very well in treating them with courtesy and respect. This positive relationship is particularly important in treating schizophrenia as patients and psychiatrists must work closely together to determine appropriate treatment plans that will help patients manage their symptoms and reduce their risk of relapse.

24 May 2010

Thymosin beta 4 reduces brain tissue damage, improves brain function in rats: Research paper

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that in a preclinical research paper published in the May 2010 issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery, (online ahead of publication), scientists found that the systemic administration of thymosin beta 4, or Tβ4, significantly reduced brain tissue damage and improved brain function in rats with traumatic brain injury, or TBI.

24 May 2010

OnePath Gaucher Application available for patients with Type 1 Gaucher disease

Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced the availability of the OnePath Gaucher Application. The first and only application developed specifically for patients in the U.S. with Type 1 Gaucher disease, it is free and ready for download at the iTunes Application store.

24 May 2010

Salix Pharmaceuticals announces availability of Xifaxan tablets for reducing risk of overt HE recurrence

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced the availability of Xifaxan (rifaximin) 550 mg tablets for the reduction in risk of overt hepatic encephalopathy recurrence in patients 18 years of age or older. Those HE patients may now fill their Xifaxan 550 mg prescriptions in U.S. pharmacies and should speak with their doctors about this important treatment option.

24 May 2010

Enrollment in phase II clinical trial of brentuximab vedotin for ALCL completed

Seattle Genetics, Inc. and Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, today announced that they have completed enrollment of a phase II clinical trial of brentuximab vedotin (SGN-35) for relapsed or refractory systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

24 May 2010

Data from MiDAS I trial of mild for treatment of LSS to be released

Medical device company Vertos Medical, Inc. has announced the release of additional patient outcomes data from the MiDAS I trial, a prospective, 75-patient study of mild for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis. As presented at the Florida Society of Interventional Pain Physicians Annual Meeting in Orlando on May 23, investigators found that study participants reported statistically significant improvement in both their physical and mental well-being six weeks following the mild procedure.

24 May 2010

Filing of Clinical Data's NDA for vilazodone accepted for FDA review

Clinical Data, Inc., today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for filing the Company's New Drug Application for vilazodone for the treatment of major depressive disorder.

24 May 2010

NCC receives $25,000 grant award from Hospira Foundation to support pharmaceutical relief program

The National Cancer Coalition is pleased to announce that it recently received a $25,000 grant award from the Hospira Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Hospira, Inc., to support its pharmaceutical relief program within the Dominican Republic. NCC is seeking to significantly increase the levels of medical resources that it provides to the public hospitals of the Dominican Republic in an effort to more fully treat the country's underserved patients, and this grant will contribute toward achieving that goal.

24 May 2010