GBP Health / Biotech News 09-12-2009

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Source - EurekAlert – Biology:

Public Release: 11-Sep-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
New method monitors early sign of oxidative stress in cancer
The growth of cancerous tumors is fueled, at least in part, by the buildup of free radicals -- highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules.
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, American Heart Association
Contact: Nancy Ross-Flanigan
rossflan@umich.edu
734-647-1853
University of Michigan
Public Release: 10-Sep-2009
Neuron
A new protein partnership that leads to pediatric tumor regression
Weizmann Institute scientists have discovered that the cell receptor TrkA may be involved in the spontaneous regression of some pediatric cancers. Further research towards a better understanding of the mechanism of action might hopefully lead, in the future, to the development of drugs that will be able to induce regression of certain tumors.
Contact: Yivsam Azgad
news@weizmann.ac.il
972-893-43856
Weizmann Institute of Science
Public Release: 10-Sep-2009
APS International Conference on Endothelin
Endothelin drugs benefit those with pulmonary hypertension
Research on new drugs to block endothelin has led to successful treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension and provides hope for treating other chronic diseases. Whether the new drugs can treat congestive heart failure is less clear. Researcher Matthias Barton describes the progress of endothelin research at an APS conference.
Contact: Donna Krupa
dkrupa@the-aps.org
301-634-7209
American Physiological Society
Public Release: 10-Sep-2009
Science
Scientists discover mechanism to make existing antibiotics more effective at lower doses
A new study published in the Sept. 11, 2009, issue of Science by researchers at the NYU School of Medicine reveals a conceptually novel mechanism that plays an important role in making human pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus anthracis resistant to numerous antibiotics.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Dorie Klissas
dorie.klissas@nyumc.org
212-404-3555
NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine
Public Release: 10-Sep-2009
Nature Biotechnology
Pandemic flu can infect cells deep in the lungs, says new research
Pandemic swine flu can infect cells deeper in the lungs than seasonal flu can, according to a new study published today in Nature Biotechnology. The researchers, from Imperial College London, say this may explain why people infected with the pandemic strain of swine-origin H1N1 influenza are more likely to suffer more severe symptoms than those infected with the seasonal strain of H1N1.
Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Contact: Lucy Goodchild
lucy.goodchild@imperial.ac.uk
44-207-594-6702
Imperial College London
Public Release: 9-Sep-2009
ACS Nano
UCSB researchers develop drug delivery system using nanoparticles and lasers
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have developed a new way to deliver drugs into cancer cells by exposing them briefly to a non-harmful laser. Their results are published in a recent article in ACS Nano, a journal of the American Chemical Society.
Contact: Gail Gallessich
gail.g@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-7220
University of California - Santa Barbara


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.

Genes Identified May Help Breast Cancer Diagnosis
September 12, 2009 — Researchers have identified two genes which may help improve the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer patients. They found that the survival rate for patients with a low expression of a gene ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910121852.htm

New Method Monitors Early Sign Of Oxidative Stress In Cancer
September 12, 2009 — The growth of cancerous tumors is fueled, at least in part, by the buildup of free radicals--highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules. It stands to reason, then, that cancer should respond to ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090911114306.htm

Two Genes Identified As Potential Therapeutic Targets For Multiple Sclerosis
September 11, 2009 — A new study has found that two genes in mice were associated with good central nervous system repair in multiple ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090911083327.htm

Scientists Discover Mechanism To Make Existing Antibiotics More Effective At Lower Doses
September 11, 2009 — A new study reveals a conceptually novel mechanism that plays an important role in making human pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus anthracis resistant to numerous ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910142356.htm

Major Clinical Study Rejects Cancer Safety Fears Of Most Common Heartburn Treatment
September 11, 2009 — Fears about the cancer-causing effects of the second most prescribed group of drugs in the Western world have been put to rest, following the largest ever study into their ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090909103011.htm

In The Middle Of Brain Surgery, Patients Wake Up And Begin Talking
September 11, 2009 — Kim Delvaux was undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor when doctors woke her up. Her doctor talked to her about her favorite topics -- NASCAR and her kids during the ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090911132802.htm

Drug Detection: Space-age Technology And Crime Research Combine For New Development
September 10, 2009 — Researchers have combined crime research and space-age technology in ways that could lead to the quick detection of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in a black market currently worth an estimated $40 ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090908084737.htm

Melanosome Dynamics And Sensitivity Of Melanoma Cells To Chemotherapy
September 10, 2009 — Manipulating the functions of melanosomes -- the organelles in pigment-producing cells -- may enhance the activity of anticancer drugs used against melanoma, according to a new ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090824182433.htm


Source - Health Day:

Health Highlights: Sept. 11, 2009

• Japan Home to 40,000 Centenarians
• Ghostwriting Rampant in Medical Journals: Study
• Prescription Drug Abuse Declines, Survey Finds
• U.S. Uninsured Reaches 46.3 Million: Census
  

Two Genes May Determine How Well MS Patients Do
Study in mice provides clues to variations in disease progression
Clinical Trials Update: Sept. 11, 2009

• High Blood Pressure
• Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
• Type 2 Diabetes
  

U.S. Faces Shortage of Heart Surgeons
Too many aging Americans, too few new doctors spell trouble, experts say

Clinical Trials Update: Sept. 10, 2009

• Schizophrenia
• Epilepsy
• Depression
  

Source - Yahoo Biotech News:

Genzyme's Alemtuzumab for Multiple Sclerosis Shows Durable Treatment Benefit in Review of Four-Year Phase 2 Trial Data - Business Wire - 2 hours, 34 minutes ago
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.----Genzyme Corporation reported today that four-year follow-up data from its completed Phase 2 multiple sclerosis trial continued to show durable reductions in relapse rate and sustained accumulation of disability three years after the majority of patients received their last course of the investigational compound alemtuzumab.

Amylin and Biocon to partner on diabetes drug - AP - Thu 5:43 pm ET
Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Thursday it will partner with Biocon Ltd. of India to develop and market a biotech diabetes drug.


Source - Google Health News:

Japan to buy H1N1 vaccine from Novartis, GSK: media
Reuters
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's health ministry is set to buy enough H1N1 flu vaccine for nearly 50 million people from British drug maker glaxosmithkline and ...

Cross-Reactive Antibody Responses to the 2009 Pandemic H1N1 ...
New England Journal of Medicine (subscription)
Antigenically distinct MF59-adjuvanted vaccine to boost immunity to H5N1. N Engl J Med 2008;359:1631-1633. [Free Full Text] Davenport FM, Hennessy AV, ...

Inhalable H1N1 Vaccine Will Be Available Soon
WCPO
It will be an inhalable form of the vaccine, similar to the flu mist available for the seasonal flu vaccine. But only people between the ages of 5 and 49 ...

SENS4 Antiaging conference: Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells, Gene ...
Next Big Future
Gabor Forgacs gave a very interesting talk about using bioprinting to build entire organs from scratch. He argued that while traditional scaffold-based ...

ANALYSIS-Flu pandemic giving tiny companies big stage
Alibaba News Channel
Novavax has been using the technology to develop a vaccine against H5N1 avian influenza and said last month its seasonal flu vaccine was effective in a ...


Source - Medical News Today:

FDA Panel Recommends Approval Of HPV Vaccine Cervarix For Women, Gardasil For Male Warts
An FDA panel on Wednesday recommended that the agency approve GlaxoSmithKline's human papillomavirus vaccine, Cervarix, to prevent cervical cancer , as well as expand approval of Merck's HPV vaccine, Gardasil , to include use in men ages nine to 26 for the prevention of genital warts , the Wall Street Journal reports. Though FDA is not obligated to follow the panel's guidance, it typically does. The panel voted 12-1 that Cervarix is safe and effective in preventing the transmission of two strains of HPV that can lead to cervical cancer and that it should be approved for use in women ages 10 to 26 (Corbett Dooren, Wall Street Journal, 9/9). The National Vaccine Information Center 's Vicky Debold, a staunch critic of vaccine safety, cast the sole vote against Cervarix (McCullough, Philadelphia Inquirer , 9/10). Both Cervarix and Gardasil protect against HPV strains 16 and 18, which cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases. Gardasil also protects against two other strains that cause genital warts in both men and women. Gardasil is FDA-approved for girls and women ages nine to 26, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends routine vaccination for girls ages 11 and 12 (Wall Street Journal, 9/9). The vaccine also is recommended for girls and women ages 13 through 26 who have not yet been vaccinated or who have not received all three doses (Women's Health Policy Report , 9/9). If Cervarix is approved by FDA, the vaccine would later go before a CDC advisory panel, which develops written recommendations for the routine administration of vaccines to children and adults. Private insurers often wait for a CDC panel's endorsement before agreeing to pay for a new vaccine, the Journal reports (Wall Street Journal, 9/9).
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163649.php

Vaccination Of Children And 70 Percent Of U.S. Population Could Control Swine Flu Pandemic
An aggressive vaccination program that first targets children and ultimately reaches 70 percent of the U.S. population would mitigate pandemic influenza H1N1 that is expected this fall, according to computer modeling and analysis of observational studies conducted by researchers at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VIDI) at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Published in the Sept. 11 issue of Science Express, the early online edition of the journal Science, the study which includes the first estimate of the transmissibility of pandemic H1N1 influenza in schools recommends that 70 percent of children ages 6 months to 18 years be vaccinated first, as well as members of high-risk groups as identified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These groups include health care and emergency services personnel and those at risk for medical complications from pandemic H1N1 illness such as persons with chronic health disorders and compromised immune systems. Two doses of vaccine, delivered three weeks apart, may be needed to confer adequate protection to the virus.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163629.php

Researchers Discover Clues About PML Infection
Research published today in the New England Journal of Medicine has described how progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) infection may occur in people taking Tysabri , a drug licensed for use in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). PML is a serious and often fatal infection of the brain that is estimated to occur in approximately one in 1,000 people taking Tysabri over the course of 18 months.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163604.php

If H1N1 Flu Outbreak Worsens, Four-Fifths Of Businesses Foresee Problems Maintaining Operations
In a national survey of businesses that looks at their preparations for a possible widespread H1N1 outbreak, Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that only one-third believe they could sustain their business without severe operational problems if half their workforce were absent for two weeks due to H1N1 (also known as "swine flu "). Just one-fifth believe they could avoid such problems for one month with half their employees out. The survey also found that while 74% of businesses offer paid sick leave for employees, only 35% of businesses offer paid leave that would allow employees to take care of sick family members, and even fewer would allow paid time off to care for children if schools/daycares were closed (21%). The survey is part of an ongoing series about the country's response to the H1N1 flu outbreak undertaken by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at HSPH. The polling was done July 16-August 12, 2009.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163567.php


New Role Of Vitamin C In Skin Protection Revealed By Study
Scientists have uncovered a new role played by Vitamin C in protecting the skin. Researchers at the University of Leicester and Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology in Portugal studied new protective properties of vitamin C in cells from the human skin, which could lead to better skin regeneration.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163447.php


Source - MIT's Technology Review:

Flu Data Goes Mobile
http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/23414/?a=f

Complete Genomics Sequences 14 Genomes
http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/23414/?a=f