Medical Condition News

RSS

Data for end-stage kidney disease in the United States available online

Incidence and prevalence data for end-stage kidney disease in the United States will be available online from the U.S. Renal Data System a year earlier than usual, announces the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. In addition, the data will be updated online every three months and will show quarterly counts of patients at www.usrds.org/qtr/qrt_report_table_new.html.

3 Oct 2009

Teens with chronic disease often have expensive, uncertain coverage

ABC News profiles teens living with chronic diseases, and examines their insurance coverage and the cost of such care. The article notes: "Chronic diseases affect 1 in 10 Americans and are the leading cause of disability, accounting for 70 percent of all deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are also expensive."

3 Oct 2009

IRSF awards $2M for research into a cure for Rett syndrome

The International Rett Syndrome Foundation (IRSF) announced today that it is awarding grants totaling $2 million to support 18 innovative research projects in 2009. Each project will explore bold new ideas that have the potential to drive the field forward and speed the translation of research into treatments and a cure for Rett syndrome.

3 Oct 2009

Research study reveals primary chemotherapy benefits

Initial chemotherapy alone after surgery is just as successful as initial radiation therapy for patients from whom a very malignant brain tumor (anaplastic glioma) was removed. With this treatment, the patients survive on average > 30 months without a recurrence. A study conducted by the Neurooncology Working Group of the German Cancer Society led by researchers from Heidelberg and Z-rich showed that patients in primary therapy benefit to the same extent from chemotherapy alone as from radiation alone.

3 Oct 2009

Study finds link between allergic inflammation and nephropathy in men with type 2 diabetes

For men with type 2 diabetes, a cell type linked to allergic inflammation is closely linked to a key indicator of diabetic kidney disease (nephropathy), suggests a study in the November Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). "Allergy is a common disease that is increasing worldwide, so our findings may have important implications for diabetic nephropathy," comments Michiaki Fukui, MD (Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan).

3 Oct 2009

Increase in omega-3 fatty acid levels can prevent strokes, according to research

Research led by Hernan A. Bazan, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Section of Vascular Surgery, at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine, has found that unstable carotid artery plaques - those in danger of rupturing and leading to a stroke - contain more inflammation and significantly less omega-3 fatty acids than asymptomatic plaques.

3 Oct 2009

Nutra Pharma manufactures first commercial batch of Cobroxin

Nutra Pharma Corp., a biotechnology company that is developing treatments for Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN), HIV and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), has announced today that it has completed manufacturing the first commercial batch of Cobroxin and has successfully released it for final distribution.

3 Oct 2009

FDA grants Fast Track designation to Corthera's relaxin for treating acute heart failure

Corthera Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to relaxin, the company's investigational drug for the treatment of acute heart failure (AHF). The Fast Track program facilitates the development and expedites the review of new drugs intended to treat serious or life-threatening conditions and that demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs.

3 Oct 2009

Eye treatment reimbursement change could cost Medicare millions

A change in the reimbursement rate for the drug Avastin, used off-label to treat an eye illness in the elderly, could lead Medicare doctors to use a much costlier drug that would cost the system millions, The New York Times reports.

3 Oct 2009

Telik's announces positive results from Phase 1-2a TELCYTA-carboplatin-paclitaxel combination study

Telik, Inc. today announced the publication of the positive results from a Phase 1-2a multicenter, dose-ranging study of TELCYTA in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel as first-line therapy for patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a leading peer reviewed publication, the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, October 2009; Vol. 4, No. 10.

3 Oct 2009

American Kidney Fund to host national gala to support kidney care community

In celebration of people who are living with kidney disease, as well as the individuals and corporations who are working to improve the lives of kidney patients, the American Kidney Fund will host its first national gala, The Hope Affair, at the Newseum on October 6.

3 Oct 2009

Dapagliflozin with metformin reduces glycosylated hemoglobin level and body weight

Results from a 24-week phase 3 clinical study demonstrated that the investigational drug dapagliflozin, added to metformin, demonstrated significant mean reductions in the primary endpoint, glycosylated hemoglobin level (HbA1c) and in the secondary endpoint, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) in patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin alone, as compared to placebo plus metformin.

3 Oct 2009

ALL initiative three-year clinical observational study results published

A program that bundled two generic, low-cost drugs - a cholesterol-lowering statin and a blood pressure-lowering drug - and gave daily doses to 68,560 people with diabetes or heart disease for two years is estimated to have prevented 1,271 heart attacks and strokes in the first year following the study period, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published online in the American Journal of Managed Care.

3 Oct 2009

Angelman Syndrome Foundation increases grant award for 2009 for AS research

The Angelman Syndrome Foundation further solidified its dedication to research by increasing its grant award total to more than $1 million for 2009. Most recently, more than $988,000 in grants was awarded to six principle investigators, focusing on Angelman Syndrome (AS) research.

3 Oct 2009

American Airlines' initiative to fight breast cancer

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, American Airlines is inviting consumers to join the fight against breast cancer when purchasing an American Airlines Gift Card. During October, when gift card buyers specify Komen as the beneficiary, American will donate $5 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure® for every $50 of travel purchased via the American Airlines Gift Card.

3 Oct 2009

61 institutions awarded grants for cancer research from American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 94 new national research and training grants totaling $45,097,000 to 61 institutions nationwide in the second of two grants cycles for 2009. The grants go into effect beginning January 1, 2010.

3 Oct 2009

Array BioPharma to present poster on ARRY-403 glucokinase activator

Array BioPharma Inc. today announced that a poster on ARRY-403, a novel, oral, glucokinase activator (GKA), will be presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting, on October 2, 2009, in Vienna, Austria.

2 Oct 2009

sNDA for Clonicel submitted to the FDA

Addrenex Pharmaceuticals and Sciele Pharma, Inc., a Shionogi company today announced that Addrenex has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Clonicel (modified-release clonidine) to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

2 Oct 2009

Clinical study results demonstrate the efficacy of AFRESA inhalation powder

AFRESA (insulin human [rDNA origin]) Inhalation Powder, a well-tolerated, ultra rapid acting insulin, showed no significant changes in pulmonary function and sustained glycemic control in adult patients with type 2 diabetes over four years of continuous treatment, according to data presented today at the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.

2 Oct 2009

Mayo study reveals infliximab reduces the need for colectomy

A new study led by Mayo Clinic researchers has found that ulcerative colitis patients had a 41 percent reduction in colectomy after a year when treated with infliximab, according to a study published in the October 2009 issue of Gastroenterology.

1 Oct 2009