GBP Health / Biotech News 05-18-2010:
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EurekAlert - Biology:
Public Release: 17-May-2010
Nature Genetics
Gene loss causes leukemia
Researchers from VIB and K.U.Leuven, both in Flanders, Belgium, have discovered a new factor in the development of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a disease that mainly affects children. In the cells of the patients, the specific gene PTPN2 ceases to function, causing the cancer cells to survive longer and grow faster. The study provides genetic and functional evidence for a tumor suppressor role of PTPN2.
Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, K.U. Leuven, Stichting Tegen Kanker, FWO-Vlaanderen, European Research Council
Contact: Joris Gansemans
joris.gansemans@vib.be
32-472-594-067
VIB (the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology)
Public Release: 17-May-2010Archives of Internal Medicine
Pistachios: A handful a day may keep the cardiologist away
A study published last week in Archives of Internal Medicine found that a diet containing nuts, including pistachios, significantly lowered total and LDL-cholesterol levels, in addition to triglycerides. The 600-subject, 25-clinical-trial study, conducted in seven counties, is the most comprehensive study of its kind and further substantiates the evidence that nuts can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.International Tree Nut Council
Contact: Kelly Plowe
kplowe@paramountfarms.com
310-966-8316
Paramount Farms
Public Release: 17-May-2010Circulation
Eating processed meats, but not unprocessed red meats, may raise risk of heart disease and diabetes
In a new study, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health have found that eating processed meat, such as bacon, sausage or processed deli meats, was associated with a 42 percent higher risk of heart disease and a 19 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes.Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, World Health Organization, NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Searle Scholars Program
Contact: Todd Datz
tdatz@hsph.harvard.edu
617-998-8819
Harvard School of Public Health
Public Release: 17-May-2010BMC Immunology
Did the end of smallpox vaccination cause the explosive spread of HIV?
Vaccinia immunization, as given to prevent the spread of smallpox, produces a five-fold reduction in HIV replication in the laboratory. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Immunology suggest that the end of smallpox vaccination in the mid-20th century may have caused a loss of protection that contributed to the rapid contemporary spread of HIV.
Contact: Graeme Baldwin
graeme.baldwin@biomedcentral.com
44-020-319-22165
BioMed Central
Public Release: 17-May-2010Cancer Cell
Combination therapy targets stubborn leukemia stem cells
New research discovers a combination of drugs that may prove to be a more effective treatment for a lethal form of leukemia. The study, published by Cell Press in the May issue of the journal Cancer Cell, reports that the new therapeutic strategy effectively targets notoriously intractable leukemia stem cells that often escape standard treatment and are a main factor in disease relapse.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
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.
Although caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive drug worldwide, its potential beneficial effect for maintenance of proper brain functioning has ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100517111937.htm
Scientists Identify Mechanism T-Cells Use to Block HIV
May 18, 2010 — Scientists have found a new role for a host protein that provides further insight into how CD8+ T-cells work to control HIV and other infections. Study authors say the finding may yield new ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100517152524.htm
Bypass Surgery Compared to Angioplasty
May 18, 2010 — A new study compares the safety and efficacy of heart bypass surgery to angioplasty with drug-eluting stents in patients with left main coronary artery disease, a diagnosis affecting thousands of ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100413121332.htm
New Advances in Science of the Ultra-Small Promise Big Benefits for Cancer Patients
May 17, 2010 — A $145-million U.S. Federal Government effort to harness the power of nanotechnology to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer is producing innovations that will radically ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100428121455.htm
New Freehand Ultrasound System Improves Work Flow and Reduces Scan Time
May 17, 2010 — Researchers have developed an automated 3-D mapping and labeling system that reduces scan time and improves the work flow, efficiency, and accuracy of routine freehand ultrasound exams, according to ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100502173451.htm
Mobile Phone Use and Brain Cancer Risk: Inconclusive Results from International Study
May 17, 2010 — A large international study of the risk of brain cancer from cell phone use has yielded inconclusive results. Although the study provides no definitive evidence of increased risk of brain cancer from ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100517085204.htm
Push to Understand Basis of Childhood Brain Tumors Leads to a New Treatment Target
May 17, 2010 — The most comprehensive analysis yet of the genetic imbalances at the heart of childhood brain tumors known as high-grade gliomas identified a cancer gene that is unusually active in some tumors and ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100517172258.htm
Faster Salmonella Detection Now Possible With New Technique
May 15, 2010 — A professor of food science and human nutrition wants to replace the current system of Salmonella detection with a new approach that can provide DNA sequencing-like results in hours rather than ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100504142108.htm
Source - Health Day:
Health Highlights: May 17, 2010
- Study Links Air Pollution to Higher Blood Pressure
- MRSA Infections in Children Up 10-Fold: Study
- Deaths Prompt Recall of Toy Dart Gun Set
- International Study on Cell Phones, Cancer Inconclusive
Experts Divided on Whether to Treat Thyroid Cancer
Study suggests quick action makes little difference, but others call this risky
Men, Women May Respond Differently to Vaccines
Frequency, severity of adverse effects vary between genders, researcher says
Clinical Trials Update: May 14, 2010
- Gout
- Depression
- Excessive Daytime Sleepiness
Source - Yahoo Biotech News
Chelsea Therapeutics Reports Data From Study 303 Confirming Safety and Robust Therapeutic Benefit of Long-Term Northera Treatment in Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension- GlobeNewswire - Tue 8:47 am ET
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Chelsea Therapeutics International, Ltd. reported preliminary findings from Study 303, a long-term safety extension study from its Phase III NORTHERA registration program in symptomatic neurogenic orthostatic hypotension .
Pixantrone Associated With Up to 4-Fold Reduction in Severe (Grade 3-4) Cardiac Toxicity When Compared to Doxorubicin in CHOP-R Regimen-PR Newswire - Tue 1:30 am ET
Cell Therapeutics, Inc. reported today preliminary cardiac safety results from a North American randomized phase II trial which substituted pixantrone for doxorubicin in the standard CHOP-R regimen
Source - Google Health News
Lentigen Awarded Phase I STTR Grant for Hunter Syndrome
Gene Therapy Researchers Form Consortium to Bring Cystinosis Findings to ...
Earthtimes (press release)
The goal of the CRF Cystinosis Gene Therapy Consortium is to advance progress on the most promising current findings, including moving novel therapeutic ...
'Holy Grail' cancer vaccine that blasts tumours in weeks hailed as huge leap ...
Daily Mail
By Daniel Martin Scientists have developed a new jab which they hope will be a 'holy grail' cancer cure. The treatment, which will be tested on British ...
Flu pattern worries global health experts
Calgary Herald
... laboratories, drug stockpiles, and vaccine-making capacity to deal with the ... Egypt's envoy noted there had been three new human cases of H5N1 in his ...
Save Your Skin from Melanoma
Los Angeles Times
Later stage possibilities: surgical excision and removing affected lymph nodes, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy/biochemotherapy, gene therapy ...
Source - Medical News Today :
Hospitals To Get More Bargaining Clout For Medical Devices
The Wall Street Journal : "Hospitals lack leverage when negotiating prices for high-cost implants like defibrillators and replacement hips because individual doctors, rather than hospitals, typically select the products they use in their patients. Since these doctors often aren't hospital employees, they have little incentive to bargain-hunt. New health rules, however, call for more testing of ways to bring doctors' financial interests more in line with those of hospitals." Currently, Medicare pays doctors and hospitals separately. But under the Acute Care Episode demonstration project, the federal program will combine payments to doctors and hospitals while also measuring patient outcomes."The recently passed health-care bill could broaden such testing with its 'national pilot program on payment bundling.'" The new law also creates accountable care organizations, which also are designed to "align doctor and hospital incentives, perhaps through bundled payments" (Kamp, 5/17).
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/189040.php
For more than a decade, researchers and advocates have marked HIV Vaccine Awareness Day with varying degrees of hope, cynicism and despair. This year, in large part because of the results of the Thai Prime-Boost vaccine study, there is greater cause for hope than ever before and a renewed sense of urgency to transform this hope into a reality. In September 2009, the world's largest AIDS vaccine trial to date showed the first evidence that an experimental AIDS vaccine could lower the risk of HIV infection. The results were complex; the observed benefit from the vaccine was modest; and the field is still years away from a highly protective vaccine.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/189011.php
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced one billion dollars of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds have been awarded to construct, repair and renovate scientific research laboratories and related facilities across the country. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) administered the grants, which are expected to create or sustain jobs nationwide and to help foster scientific advances that may lead to improved human health. A total of 146 grants to institutions in 44 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico were awarded to upgrade and construct buildings, laboratory spaces and core facilities that are crucial to biomedical and behavioral investigators.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/188954.php
IAVI Statement For World AIDS Vaccine Day
In the 27 years since HIV was discovered, scientists have learned a great deal about the virus and how it causes AIDS . Making a vaccine to stop it, however, has proved a greater challenge than anyone could have imagined. Plain good news in this field has been a rarity. So it is with special pleasure that we note on this World AIDS Vaccine Day, May 18, that there has been a sizeable dose of it in the past year. Last September, a candidate vaccine regimen tested in a large clinical trial in Thailand protected volunteers from HIV with 30% efficacy. That's not as protective as we'd like a vaccine to be. Still, the result electrified the field: it was the first demonstration in humans that an AIDS vaccine is possible. The challenge now is to build better AIDS vaccines.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/188827.php
Source - MIT's Technology Review :
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/25341/?a=f
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