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Big pharma and federal government predicted to play diminishing role in research funding

In a commentary to be published in the Dec. 12 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, two Johns Hopkins faculty members predict an ever-diminishing role for government and drug company funding of basic biomedical research and suggest scientists look to “innovative” kinds of private investment for future resources.

27 Nov 2012

GPs fitting more into patient consultations

GPs are fitting much more into patient consultations than they were a decade ago but the average length of the consultation has stayed the same, research led by the University of Sydney shows.

27 Nov 2012

Study examines reasons why smoking is not treated in many cancer patients

It's a sad but familiar scene near the grounds of many medical campuses: hospital-gowned patients, some toting rolling IV poles, huddled in clumps under bus shelters or warming areas, smoking cigarettes.

27 Nov 2012

Johns Hopkins receives $1.9M NIH grant to establish new center for sleep research

More than one-quarter of the adult population of the U.S. suffers from sleep disturbances known to contribute to life-threatening illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and dementia as well as depression, chronic pain, and fatigue. Often such sleeplessness is a consequence of obesity, lifestyle, and work.

27 Nov 2012

Azathioprine exposure concerns raised for SLE mothers

Researchers have raised the possibility of an increased risk for developmental delay in the children of mothers who used azathioprine for systemic lupus erythematosus during pregnancy.

26 Nov 2012

Child injury fear may take the bounce out of the castle

Injuries sustained while playing on inflatable toys such as bouncy castles have increased at a rapid rate over the last two decades.

26 Nov 2012

Nonfunctional MED12 gene linked to chemotherapy resistance

Research published in Cell shows that people with tumors that have a nonfunctional version of the mediator 12 gene are resistant to drugs used to treat lung and colon cancer such as gefitinib.

26 Nov 2012

New tool helps identify nonadherent HIV patients

Researchers have developed a simple tool that predicts virologic response and development of drug resistance in patients receiving HIV treatment, based on how regularly they attend their scheduled health appointments.

26 Nov 2012

Tomosynthesis plus digital mammography improves cancer detection, reduces recall rates

Tomosynthesis imaging may improve breast cancer detection while reducing recall rates at mammographic screening, say researchers.

26 Nov 2012

Breast cancer overdiagnosis concerns for USA

Around a third of screening-detected breast cancers in US women in 2008 may have been overdiagnosed, suggests research published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

26 Nov 2012

Tivantinib holds personalized therapy promise in HCC

Tivantinib is an effective second-line therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma patients whose tumors exhibit high MET receptor tyrosine kinase expression, indicate phase II study results.

26 Nov 2012

ICU use, outcomes vary globally

Intensive care unit use varies significantly between the USA and Europe, raising important questions about approaches to the critical care of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock, say researchers.

26 Nov 2012

Moderate exercise protects elderly hearts

The more exercise taken by individuals aged 65 years and older, the less likely biomarkers indicative of cardiac injury and new-onset heart failure are to increase, show US study findings.

26 Nov 2012

Similar survival rates with endovascular, open aneurysm repair

Endovascular and open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm result in similar long-term survival rates, say researchers in TheNew England Journal of Medicine.

26 Nov 2012

$Neonatal history must be taken in ex-preterms with fractures$

Neonatal history must be taken in ex-preterms with fractures

Researchers say that a neonatal history must be taken in all ex-preterm infants with rib fractures.

26 Nov 2012

Procalcitonin levels help distinguish between pneumonia types

Serum procalcitonin is a useful marker for distinguishing between acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia and bacterial pneumonia, say researchers.

26 Nov 2012

Lack of job may raise heart attack risk

Unemployment, multiple job losses, and short periods without work are all significant risk factors for acute myocardial infarction, say researchers.

26 Nov 2012

Word-training program found to restore key words in some dementia patients

A simple word-training program has been found to restore key words in people with a type of dementia that attacks language and our memory for words.

26 Nov 2012

Chronic suppurative lung disease: an interview with Dr Robyn Marsh

Chronic suppurative lung disease, or CSLD, is used to describe a range of lung diseases characterised by a chronic wet cough and progressive lung damage. We are interested in the non-cystic fibrosis forms of the disease with a focus on bronchiectasis – the severe form of CSLD.

26 Nov 2012

First evidence of blood vessel dysfunction found in healthy young people with cystic fibrosis

The first evidence of blood vessel dysfunction has been found in a small cohort of generally healthy young people with cystic fibrosis, researchers report.

26 Nov 2012