Weight Loss News and Research

Latest Weight Loss News and Research

Study explores role of genetic influence on ulcerative colitis

Adults diagnosed with ulcerative colitis after age 50 are more likely to achieve remission from their symptoms than patients diagnosed at younger ages, even when those patients receive similar treatments, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

3 Aug 2010

Jenkins wins three man weight loss challenge by Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet weight-loss regimen

New York Jets defensive tackle Kris Jenkins has won the three-man weight-loss challenge proposed by Head Coach Rex Ryan back in May, defeating Ryan and teammate Damien Woody. Jenkins lost 33 pounds compared to 26 pounds for Woody and 20 pounds for Ryan. A four-time NFL Pro Bowl athlete, Jenkins weighed 390 pounds at the start of the competition and now weighs in at a lean 359 pounds. To help insure his victory, Jenkins had recruited renowned physician, author, and weight-loss expert Dr. Sanford Siegal and followed the Miami physician's popular Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet weight-loss regimen.

2 Aug 2010

Scottsdale Healthcare surgeon elects as new president for ASMBS

Scottsdale Healthcare surgeon Robin Blackstone, MD is the new president-elect of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), recognizing her leadership and expertise in the field of weight-loss surgery.

2 Aug 2010

PacificHealth Laboratories signs consulting agreement with Signal Nutrition

PacificHealth Laboratories, Inc., a nutrition technology company, announced today that it has signed a consulting agreement with Signal Nutrition LLC, a research and development company headed by former PHLI CEO and founder Dr. Robert Portman. This agreement supports PHLI'S efforts in focusing on its core businesses to drive growth and profitability.

31 Jul 2010

Active ingredients continue to attract new, loyal investors

Active ingredients ranging from weight-loss herbals to cancer-killing cytotoxics attract billions in venture investment dollars every year. But technologies designed to selectively deliver active ingredients to targeted locations are beginning to gain momentum, as their application in drugs, medical devices, food, personal care, and agricultural chemicals rapidly grows and corporate venture investors take notice, according to a new report from Lux Research.

31 Jul 2010

Mental-health treatment could reduce pain in osteoarthritis patients: Study

How much pain osteoarthritis sufferers feel is directly related to their mental health, a new study by researchers at UC Davis School of Medicine has found. In the study, people with better mental health felt less pain, and people with worse mental health felt more.

31 Jul 2010

Patients with malignant gastrointestinal disease show high prevalence of malnutrition

Malnutrition is an important factor, influencing both morbidity and recovery after surgery. The early detection of nutritional risk would allow early intervention, which may prevent later complications. A traditional nutritional assessment often includes dietary and medical evaluations to identify significant weight loss over time, significantly low or high body weight(BW), skinfold thickness, serum nutritional factor levels and functional measurements of muscle strength.

31 Jul 2010

Nutrisystem second-quarter revenues increase 8% to $141.6 million

Nutrisystem, Inc., a leading provider of weight management products and services, today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2010.

30 Jul 2010

Orexigen's Contrave COR-I trial results published online in journal Lancet

Orexigen® Therapeutics, Inc. announced that results from its COR-I trial of Contrave® were published online today in the journal Lancet. COR-I was the largest of the four, 56-week, Phase 3 trials supporting the New Drug Application for Contrave, currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Results show that patients taking Contrave were two to three times more likely to lose at least 5% or 10% of their body weight compared to those taking placebo, on both an intent-to-treat (ITT) and completers basis.

30 Jul 2010

Intercept signs CRADA with NIDDK for study of obeticholic acid in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for chronic fibrotic and metabolic diseases, today announced the signing of a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health to conduct a double blind, multi-center, study to evaluate the effects of obeticholic acid in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

28 Jul 2010

Morinda Holdings chosen as one of the Healthiest Companies in America

Amid the glaring spotlight on healthcare reform in the US, Interactive Health Solutions published their list of the "Healthiest Companies in America" for 2010. The list is a group of 34 companies that have significantly reduced healthcare costs through employee participation in a prevention-based health program in the workplace. Morinda Holdings, Inc. (parent company of Tahitian Noni International) was chosen from over 1,300 corporations in the United Sates ranging in size from as little as 100 to over 50,000 employees, as one of the "Healthiest Companies in America."

28 Jul 2010

Studies reveal impact and spread of CVBDs worldwide

Fascinating studies giving new insights into the spread of leishmaniosis in the UK and France, the appearance of new CVBDs in Germany, the state of heartworm infection in Korea and the neurological impact on humans of long-term bartonella infection from the USA are among the papers now available for download from http://www.cvbd.org, as the proceedings of the 5th Annual Canine Vector Borne Disease (CVBD) World Forum are made available online today.

28 Jul 2010

Merck signs non-exclusive license agreement with LabCorp for commercialization of genetic test

Merck announced a non-exclusive license agreement with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings for the commercialization of a genetic test that may help predict the response of patients with Hepatitis C virus infection to peginterferon alpha-based therapy.

28 Jul 2010

Cancer survivor to celebrate 100th birthday

Loyola University Hospital cancer patient Mary Cipolla was 89 years old when she underwent one of the most extensive operations in surgery, known as the Whipple procedure.

28 Jul 2010

20% of patients demonstrate decrease in body weight, BMI after knee or hip replacement

A Mount Sinai School of Medicine study has found that patients often exhibit a significant decrease in weight and body mass index (BMI) after undergoing knee or hip replacement surgery (arthroplasty). The study is the first of its type to correct for the annual increase in BMI typically found in North Americans between the ages of 29 to 73 years. The study was recently published in Orthopedics.

27 Jul 2010

Psychologists to host China's first-ever conference on positive psychology

The ranks of China's millionaires continue to grow, but the increased wealth has done little to boost the country's gross domestic happiness, according to psychologists at the University of California, Berkeley. They say the pursuit of prosperity in the nation is fast outpacing mental health and well-being, and are seeking to correct that imbalance by spreading the science of happiness in China.

27 Jul 2010

Interactive weight management website program helps weight loss maintenance

The more people used an interactive weight management website, the more weight loss they maintained, according to a Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research study published online today in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.The National Institutes of Health-funded study evaluated an Internet-based weight maintenance intervention involving 348 participants. Consistent website users who logged on and recorded their weight at least once a month for two-and-a-half years maintained the most weight loss, the study found.

27 Jul 2010

Scientists develop obesity drug without neurological side effects

The drug rimonabant was developed as a treatment for obesity and its myriad of serious health consequences. Despite having its desired effects on weight, which it decreased, and on levels of glucose and fats in the blood, rimonabant was never approved for use in the US because of serious neurological side effects including depression and anxiety. Now, a team of researchers, led by George Kunos, at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, and Alexandros Makriyannis, at Northeastern University, Boston, have developed a drug that has the same positive effects in mice on levels of glucose and fats in the blood as rimonabant but none of the neurological side effects.

27 Jul 2010

Medtronic glucose monitoring device helps owners manage pets’ diabetes

The treatment of diabetes was revolutionized in 1922 when insulin was isolated from dogs. Since then, significant advances in human medicine have made diabetes more manageable for patients. Now, human medicine has returned the favor and used these advances to help dogs with diabetes. A University of Missouri researcher is using a continuous glucose monitoring device - commonly used in humans with diabetes - to help treat dogs and other animals. The device, which provides a detailed glucose picture of an animal over several days, will help pet owners manage their pets' diabetes.

26 Jul 2010

FDA approves Aricept 23 mg tablet for Alzheimer's disease

Eisai Inc. and Pfizer Inc announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new once-daily, higher-dose Aricept 23 mg tablet for the treatment of moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease (AD). Aricept 23 mg tablet offers another dosing option for patients with moderate-to-severe AD, for whom few treatments are available

26 Jul 2010