MEDICAL NEWS
A study published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology demonstrates that the addition of Erbitux® (cetuximab) to standard oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy (FOLFOX-4) in previously untreated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients with KRAS wild-type tumors results in significantly higher efficacy than chemotherapy alone.
Immutep S.A. announced today interim results from its ongoing Phase I/II chemoimmunotherapy clinical trial in metastatic breast carcinoma. ImmuFact IMP321 was administered the day after weekly paclitaxel for six months. The interim results show a clinical response rate of 50 per cent compared to 25 per cent with paclitaxel alone.
A new epidemiological study has found that among women who have never used menopausal hormone therapy, obese women are at an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer compared with women of normal weight.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a Class I recall of lot no. UD30654 of Healon D, an ophthalmic viscosurgical device (OVD) manufactured by Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (AMO) of Santa Ana, Calif. OVDs are viscoelastic materials used to maintain space in the eye during surgery. Typically, OVDs are pre-packaged in a syringe and are applied using a small tube. On Oct.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that the District Court for the District of New Mexico has enjoined Do-Rene and Clover Knolls Dairies and their owners, Douglas B. Handley and Irene Handley, from adulterating new animal drugs and introducing adulterated food into commerce. Both companies are based in Clovis, N.M.
New Year is the time when many people decide to join a gym, or revisit a neglected gym membership, and in the current economic climate, gym owners will be concerned not only to attract new members but also to hold onto their existing ones, so now is a good time to get a good deal on your gym membership.
A £3.3m plan to reorganise Reproductive Medicine services in Leeds, bringing them together for the first time in a single purpose-designed facility which will improve care for fertility patients, is getting underway.
Nailing steroid resistant asthma was the focus of a recent Biomedical Forum for clinicians, researchers and allied health professionals from Guy's and St Thomas' and King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts and King's College London.
The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), the nation's oldest and largest, independent association for physicians-in-training, applauds the pharmaceutical industry for implementing a voluntary ban on gifts to physicians, which began on January 1, 2009.
Please see the relevant entry in List C (consolidated list of substances present in authorised products which have been reclassified since 1 April 2002) for full details.
The Chesterfield Royal Hospital has recorded its lowest yearly MRSA rates since records began. The latest statistics have been released by the Health Protection Agency with just ten cases recorded at the Royal in the year between April 2007 and March 2008. And the news gets better with the hospital on course to do even better this year with only five recorded cases since April 1st.
Communities across Lincolnshire are being invited to get involved and have their say on the next step for the future of the county's hospitals, by attending a consultation event in their area. The United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust intends to apply for NHS Foundation Trust status.
MIT engineers have developed a new, highly efficient way to pair up cells so they can be fused together into a hybrid cell. The new technique should make it much easier for scientists to study what happens when two cells are combined. For example, fusing an adult cell and an embryonic stem cell allows researchers to study the genetic reprogramming that occurs in such hybrids.
Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have developed a versatile mouse model of glioblastoma - the most common and deadly brain cancer in humans - that closely resembles the development and progression of human brain tumors that arise naturally. "Mouse models of human cancer have taught us a great deal about the basic principles of cancer biology," says Inder Verma, Ph.D.
An international team led by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers has identified genetic markers associated with risk for ulcerative colitis.
A study in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Sleep indicates that the indirect costs of untreated insomnia are significantly greater than the direct costs associated with its treatment. The study estimates that the total annual cost of insomnia in the province of Quebec is 6.5 billion Canadian dollars, representing about one percent of the province's $228.
A study in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Sleep demonstrates that the frequent arousals from sleep that occur in heart failure patients with central sleep apnea (CSA) may reflect the presence of another underlying arousal disorder rather than being a defensive mechanism to terminate apneas.
Pre-operative screening of patients for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) may be an effective way to reduce infection rates following otolaryngic surgeries, according to new research published in the January 2009 issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.
Neurologists have observed for decades that Lewy bodies, clumps of aggregated proteins inside cells, appear in the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Antioxidant supplementation was found to be effective in relieving pain and reducing levels of oxidative stress in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP), reports a new study in Gastroenterology. CP is a progressive inflammatory disease of the pancreas in which patients experience abdominal pain (in early stage) and diabetes and maldigestion (in late stage).
Arizona State University researchers Hao Yan and Yan Liu imagine and assemble intricate structures on a scale almost unfathomably small. Their medium is the double-helical DNA molecule, a versatile building material offering near limitless construction potential.
In a study to determine the diagnostic value of molecular imaging in nodal staging of patients with thyroid cancer, researchers were able for the first time to accurately distinguish between cancerous cells in regional lymph nodes and normal residual thyroid tissue directly after surgery.
A team of scientists has discovered a new syndrome associated with severe congenital neutropenia (SCN), a rare disorder in which children lack sufficient infection-fighting white cells, and identified the genetic cause of the syndrome: mutations in the gene Glucose-6-phosphatase, catalytic subunit 3 (G6PC3). The findings, which are published in the Jan.
The surgical transplant team at UT Southwestern University Hospital has garnered twin awards for its successful efforts to increase organ donation rates. "Each organ donation is an opportunity for new life, so we are gratified with these recognitions," said Dr. Juan Arenas, chief of surgical transplantation and surgical director for the liver transplant program.
With the discovery of a growing number of predictive biomarkers for existing drugs, the question of when and how to add pharmacogenetic information to drug labels has taken on greater urgency. On December 16 the Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee (ODAC) of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) met in Gaithersburg, MD with representatives from pharmaceutical companies Amgen and Imclone.
The Department of Health is reminding all women of childbearing age about the need for folic acid, whether they're planning a baby right now or not. The Department will join observances of Folic Acid Awareness Week January 5 - 11, 2009.
Department of Health Acting Secretary Everette James today urged Pennsylvania smokers to make quitting smoking their top New Year's resolution for 2009. "The start of a new year presents an opportunity to make positive changes in our lives," said James. "While quitting smoking is rarely easy, having a plan and seeking support can greatly increase your chances of succeeding.
A group of over 300 young UK scientists and engineers who investigated the evidence behind claims made for products and diets, have started a public awareness campaign by publishing a dossier that shows the word "detox" has no meaning outside of the clinical treatment of drug addiction and poisoning.
A new US study found that even short term use of oral bisphosphonates like Fosomax (alendronate), commonly used to treat osteoporosis, may leave the jaw vulnerable to devastating necrosis (death of bone tissue).
Low winter temperatures have brought warnings from experts in the Oregon Department of Human Services State Public Health Division. Exposure to cold can lead to hypothermia, so it is important to protect yourself against it. Hypothermia occurs when heat escapes from your body faster than it can warm itself and you body's core body temperature falls lower than 95 degrees F.
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