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MedImmune advances clinical development of antibody targeting interleukin-9 in patients with asthma

MedImmune has announced that its clinical program studying an investigational treatment targeting interleukin-9 (IL-9) has advanced with the start of a new trial in patients with asthma.

19 Mar 2008

SnowWorld, an interactive, virtual-reality video game helps burn patients with pain relief

To a patient recovering from severe burns, no place would be more soothing than a polar landscape of gently falling snowflakes, snowmen, penguins, igloos and icy rivers.

19 Mar 2008

Lithium chloride slows development of inclusion body myositis

A new UC Irvine study finds that lithium chloride, a drug used to treat bipolar disorder, can slow the development of inclusion body myositis, a skeletal muscle disease that affects the elderly.

19 Mar 2008

Only two per cent of 700 paediatric drug trials included independent safety checks

Only two per cent of paediatric drug trials reported that they had established independent safety monitoring committees that can help lead to the early detection of adverse drug reactions, according to a major review in the April issue of Acta Paediatrica.

19 Mar 2008

First 3-D view of anti-cancer agent

Researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Purdue School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis have created the first three-dimensional image of how a well-established chemotherapy agent targets and binds to DNA.

19 Mar 2008

Increased hepcidin expression: A novel oncogenic signalling mechanism

Historically anaemia, which is associated with colorectal cancer, has been attributed to blood loss.

19 Mar 2008

How is H pylori adhesion to gastric cells associated with MUC1 mucin VNTR size?

The Gram negative bacterium H pylori is involved in the pathogenesis of several gastrointestinal diseases, ultimately leading to gastric carcinoma.

19 Mar 2008

HDL-associated protein gene linked to heart disease risk

The gene for the HDL-associated protein paraoxonase 1 (PON1) appears to be associated with coronary artery disease and with the risk of developing adverse cardiac events, and variations in both the PON1 gene and its related enzyme activity may increase the risk for cardiovascular disease events, according to a study in the March 19 issue of JAMA , a theme issue on Genetics and Genomics.

19 Mar 2008

Compound present naturally in grape skin fights the complications of diabetes

Research carried out by scientists at the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England has found that resveratrol, a compound present naturally in grape skin, can protect against the cellular damage to blood vessels caused by high production of glucose in diabetes, according to a paper published in the science journal "Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism" this week.

19 Mar 2008

New method to determine the “selective signature” of a gene

Scientists at MIT have come up with a mathematical approach for analyzing a protein simultaneously in a set of ecologically distinct species to identify occurrences of natural selection in an organism's evolution.

19 Mar 2008

$Variants of the gene LRP5 associated with increased risk of bone fractures, low bone mineral density$

Variants of the gene LRP5 associated with increased risk of bone fractures, low bone mineral density

Results from a large study indicate that variants of the gene LRP5 are associated with a significant increase in the risk of fractures, by up to 20 percent, and lower levels of bone mineral density in the spine and hip, according to a study in the March 19 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on Genetics and Genomics.

19 Mar 2008

Silencing gene in tobacco plants reduces harmful carcinogens

In large-scale field trials, scientists from North Carolina State University have shown that silencing a specific gene in burley tobacco plants significantly reduces harmful carcinogens in cured tobacco leaves.

19 Mar 2008

Most women unaware of uterine fibroid embolization

A study presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting shows of 105 patients in the Atlanta metro area, only 18 percent of the women who saw a private practice gynecologist were told about uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), a minimally invasive treatment for uterine fibroids provided by interventional radiologists.

19 Mar 2008

FDA sends approvable letter for Ceftobiprole as treatment of complicated skin infections

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. (J&JPRD), has announced that it received an approvable letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding its New Drug Application (NDA) for ceftobiprole for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections, including diabetic foot infections.

19 Mar 2008

Family communication impacts attitude about genetic counseling/testing for breast cancer

Whether or not relatives talk about the family's history of cancer significantly impacts attitudes and knowledge about genetic counseling and testing for those at moderate risk of developing breast cancer, according to a new preliminary study presented today at the American Society for Preventive Oncology meeting in Bethesda, Md.

19 Mar 2008

Europeans can now check out on-line the credentials of laboratories offering genetic tests

Over the last two years, EuroGentest, an EU-funded project, has collated in-dept data on the majority of the 1500 + laboratories involved in Member and associated EU States. This data is now freely searcheable as part of the new version of Orpha.net, the leading public portal for rare disease information launched today.

19 Mar 2008