GBP Health / Biotech News 09-18-2009

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Source - EurekAlert – Biology:

Public Release: 18-Sep-2009
Nano Letters
Using magnetism to turn drugs on and off
Many medical conditions, such as chronic pain, cancer and diabetes, require medications that cannot be taken orally, but must be dosed intermittently, on an as-needed basis, over a long period of time. Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have devised a drug delivery solution that combines magnetism with nanotechnology.
NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Contact: James Newton
james.newton@childrens.harvard.edu
617-919-3112
Children's Hospital Boston


Public Release: 18-Sep-2009
Cell
Antioxidant controls spinal cord development
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have discovered how one antioxidant protein controls the activity of another protein, critical for the development of spinal cord neurons. The research, publishing this week in Cell, describes a never-before known mechanism of protein control.
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Muscular Dystrophy Association
Contact: Audrey Huang
audrey@jhmi.edu
410-614-5105
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions

Public Release: 17-Sep-2009
Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders
Metabolic syndrome risk factors drive significantly higher health-care costs
Risk factors for metabolic syndrome, such as obesity, high blood pressure and elevated blood lipid levels, can increase a person's health-care costs nearly 1.6 fold, or about $2,000 per year. For each additional risk factor those costs rise an average of 24 percent, according to an illuminating article in a recent issue of Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert Inc.
Contact: Vicki Cohn
vcohn@liebertpub.com
914-740-2156
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

Public Release: 17-Sep-2009
Journal of Cell Science
Scientists pinpoint protein link to fat storage
A protein found present in all cells in the body could help scientists better understand how we store fat. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have found that the protein invadolysin, which is essential for healthy cell division, is present in lipid droplets -- the parts of cells used to store fat.
Contact: Tara Womersley
tara.womersley@ed.ac.uk
44-131-650-9836
University of Edinburgh

Public Release: 17-Sep-2009
The wonders of wine
A conversation over a glass of wine turned into Eureka-backed research effort to create new, healthy wine-flavored products. The German and Spanish partners of Eureka project E! 4008 ProVino say they have invented a way of making powder from by-products of red wine production, which could be used in everything from yogurt and chocolates to creams and face masks.
Eureka
Contact: Dr. Gabriele Randele
randel@spectralservice.de
49-223-696-9470
EUREKA

Public Release: 17-Sep-2009
PLoS Pathogens
Vaccine to prevent urinary tract infections shows early promise
University of Michigan scientists have made an important step toward what could become the first vaccine in the US to prevent urinary tract infections, if the robust immunity achieved in mice can be reproduced in humans. The findings are published September 18 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens.
Contact: Mary Kohut
plospathogens@plos.org
415-568-3457
Public Library of Science

Public Release: 17-Sep-2009
Blood
Rare genetic disease successfully reversed using stem cell transplantation
A recent study by Scripps Research Institute scientists offers good news for families of children afflicted with the rare genetic disorder, cystinosis. In research that holds out hope for one day developing a potential therapy to treat the fatal disorder, the study shows that the genetic defect in mice can be corrected with stem cell transplantation.
Contact: Keith McKeown
kmckeown@scripps.edu
858-784-8134
Scripps Research Institute

Public Release: 17-Sep-2009
Molecular Cell
Regulatory role of key molecule discovered at Hebrew U.
The discovery by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers of an additional role for a key molecule in our bodies provides a further step in world-wide efforts to develop genetic regulation aimed at controlling many diseases, including AIDS and various types of cancers.
Contact: Jerry Barach
jerryb@savion.huji.ac.il
972-258-82904
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem


Source - Science Daily:
Please note: Due to the format restrictions of Science Daily articles, you must click on the URL (web address) below the article summary, rather than the article title.


Rare Genetic Disease Successfully Reversed Using Stem Cell Transplantation
September 18, 2009 — A recent study offers good news for families of children afflicted with the rare genetic disorder, cystinosis. In research that holds out hope for one day developing a potential therapy to treat the ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917131656.htm

How To Improve Vaccines To Trigger T Cell As Well As Antibody Response
September 18, 2009 — Most successful vaccines stimulate antibodies that attack and kill viruses as they scoot from one cell to another. But what about viruses and other pathogens that never leave the cell? A new theory ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090904071654.htm

Researchers Isolates Liver Cancer Stem Cells Prior To Tumor Formation
September 18, 2009 — Researchers have taken an important step in understanding the role of stem cells in development of liver cancer. Using a unique approach that involves study of individual cells, the team has ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917161744.htm

Killing Cancer Like A Vampire Slayer: New Drug Cuts Off Blood Supplies To Starve Cancer Tumors
September 18, 2009 — A researcher in Israel has developed a new drug carrier to deliver compounds straight to the cancer tumor, cutting off blood supplies to the tumor and improving the efficacy of anti-cancer ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917111621.htm

Chemobrain: The Flip Side Of Surviving Cancer
September 18, 2009 — Breast cancer survivors tell their story in a descriptive study of the effects that cognitive impairment has on women's work, social networks and dealings with the health care ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917111518.htm

New Marker For Alzheimer's Discovered
September 17, 2009 — Researchers have discovered a previously unknown substance in spinal fluid that can be used to diagnose Alzheimer's ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090914131906.htm

What Happens When Immune Cells Just Won't Die?
September 17, 2009 — X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP) is a rare inherited immunodeficiency most commonly caused by deficiency in the protein SAP. New research now provides an explanation as to how SAP ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090914172334.htm

Alzheimer’s Disease Results In Greater Language Impairments In More Highly-educated Than Less Learned Patients, New Study Suggests
September 16, 2009 — Alzheimer’s Disease results in greater language impairments in more highly-educated than less learned patients, according to a new study. The research also revealed that women with the disease ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915101545.htm


Source - Health Day:

Health Highlights: Sept. 18, 2009

• VA Facilities Improve Endoscopic Safety: Report
• FDA Warns About Stolen Respiratory Medicines
• Swine Flu Vaccine Production Lower Than Expected: WHO
• U.S. Will Share 10 Percent of Swine Flu Vaccine With Other Nations
  

Swine Flu Shots Safe for People With Weak Immune Systems: Experts
Another study outlines risks of catching H1N1 from various routes.

Researchers Perfect the View of Heart Disease
CT technology could provide more detail at less cost, study suggests

Clinical Trials Update: Sept. 18, 2009

• Type 2 Diabetes
• Overactive Bladder
• Healthy Volunteers
  

Lack of Insurance to Blame for Almost 45,000 Deaths: Study
Going without coverage greatly increases mortality, researchers conclude

More Whole Grains May Mean Less Fat
In older eaters, fiber content of cereals has biggest effect, study finds

Clinical Trials Update: Sept. 17, 2009

• Type 2 Diabetes
• Overactive Bladder
• Healthy Volunteers
  

Source - Yahoo Biotech News:

Sanofi buys Merck's half of animal health business - AP - Fri 10:41 am ET
French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA has completed its $4 billion purchase of Merck & Co.'s half interest in their veterinary medicine business, Merial Ltd., the companies said Friday.


Source - Google Health News:

Pandemic vaccine licence weeks away for Europe
Emerging Health Threats Forum
Because the swine flu vaccine is made in exactly the same way that the H5N1 vaccine was made, it should work in the same way, Robertson explains. ...

Flu database relaunches, ruffling feathers
CNET News
... hoarding crucial information about the H5N1 avian influenza in a private database in Los Alamos, NM, which only a handful of laboratories could access. ...

Color Blind Monkeys Treated with Gene Therapy
WiredPRNews.com (press release)
Press Release Service – Wired PR News – A therapy used to cure color blindness in monkeys may one day prove to be beneficial for curing vision disorders in ...

Research lab in NO to make big strides in stem cell research
WWL
The Louisiana Gene Therapy Research Consortium says this opens doors. "Once you land that first contract, that establishes credibility so that the rest of ...

Seeking justice for my son
Philadelphia Inquirer
He died in a gene-therapy trial. Penn and the FDA should release the records. By Paul Gelsinger Ten years ago today, my 18-year-old son, Jesse Gelsinger, ...


Source - Medical News Today:

Novartis Receives FDA Approval For Valturna(R), A Single-Pill Combination Of Valsartan And Aliskiren, To Treat High Blood Pressure
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Valturna((R)) (aliskiren and valsartan) tablets, the first and only medicine to target two key points within the renin system, also known as the renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS), an important regulator of blood pressure. This is the first approval for Valturna, which is indicated for the treatment of high blood pressure in patients not adequately controlled on aliskiren or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) monotherapy and as initial therapy in patients likely to need multiple drugs to achieve their blood pressure goals. "This unique combination brings together the powerful blood pressure lowering effects of valsartan and aliskiren," said Joe Jimenez, CEO of the Novartis Pharmaceuticals Division. "It offers an important additional treatment option for physicians and hypertension patients, many of whom are not at their blood pressure goal. Valturna builds upon our strong cardiovascular franchise and is consistent with our long-term commitment to developing effective and innovative therapies. It further strengthens our growing portfolio of single-pill combinations to treat high blood pressure."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164361.php

Top Research Advances Highlight New Approaches To Cardiovascular Risk Prediction
The Peripheral Arterial Disease (P.A.D.) Coalition announced the Coalition's third annual Best PAD Research Awards for papers published in 2008 at the organization's sixth annual meeting in Washington, DC. The Best PAD Research Awards honor the work of investigators and acknowledge the creation of new clinical research relevant to the understanding and/or treatment of peripheral arterial disease. The Best PAD Research Award in Epidemiology/Preventive Medicine was presented to Gerry Fowkes, professor of Epidemiology, Public Health Sciences Section, Division of Community Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Fowkes and his fellow researchers that comprise the international Ankle Brachial Index Collaboration were recognized for their work on the research study, "Ankle Brachial Index Combined With Framingham Risk Score to Predict Cardiovascular Events and Mortality: A Meta-analysis," published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA. 300:197-208, 2008).
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164372.php

Phase III Study Showed Patients Lived Longer Without Low-Grade Lymphoma Progressing When Rituxan Was Used First-Line For Maintenance
Genentech, Inc., a wholly-owned member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) and Biogen Idec (Nasdaq:BIIB), today announced that a Phase III study (PRIMA) showed that patients with follicular lymphoma who continued receiving Rituxan ® (rituximab) alone after responding to Rituxan and chemotherapy lived longer without their disease worsening (progression-free survival or PFS) than those who did not continue to receive Rituxan. Because PRIMA met its endpoint during a pre-planned interim analysis, the study was stopped early on the recommendation of an independent data and safety monitoring board. The safety profile of Rituxan observed in the study was consistent with that previously reported. Genentech, Roche and Biogen Idec will discuss next steps for a potential new indication for Rituxan with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European regulatory authorities. The full study results will be submitted for presentation at a future medical meeting.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164312.php

Source - MIT's Technology Review:

Plug-and-Play Medicine
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/23490/

Color-Blind Monkeys Get Full Color Vision
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/23483/