Inlyta (axitinib) Approved For Advanced Kidney Cancer, USA

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:00:00 -0600

The US FDA has approved Inlyta (axitinib) for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer, in patients with whom other drugs have not been effective, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) announced today. Inlyta is made and marketed by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc...

Sign Of Autism Can Be Seen In Infants

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:00:00 -0600

A recent study that took place at the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, and was published in the January edition of Current Biology, states that detecting autism symptoms in babies as young as 6 months old can help to determine how the autism will develop later in the child's life...

3D Study Of Vitamins May Help Combat Malaria

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:00:00 -0600

A three-dimensional study of how enzymes in the malaria parasite Plasmodium synthesize essential vitamins, could help develop new drugs to combat the disease. Using electron microscopy, a team of scientists from Germany and the UK studied how the enzymes synthesize Vitamin B6, which has already been proposed as a target for new drugs...

Lung Tumor Gene Test Predicts Surgery Outcomes

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:00:00 -0600

An assay which measures the activity of 14 genes in lung cancer tumors can accurately predict who will respond well to surgery and who will probably die within five years, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, reported in The Lancet...

12/15-Lipoxygenase Protein May Help Control Alzheimer's

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:00:00 -0600

Researchers at the Temple University's School of Medicine recently identified a protein in the brain that could have a major role in regulating the creation of amyloid beta, the major component of plaques implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disease...

Asthma Rates And Costs Rise Due To Traffic Pollution

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:00 -0600

An international study of asthma, published in the early online version of the European Respiratory Journal, has for the first time, included the number of incidents caused by air pollution and shows that the costs for childhood asthma have risen sharply...

Brachytherapy Lowers Prostate Cancer Mortality

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:00 -0600

According to a study from radiation oncologists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson, high-risk prostate cancer patients who receive brachytherapy, alone or together with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) had considerably lower mortality rates. The study is published online January 23 in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics...

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Risk Factors In Pregnant Women

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:00 -0600

Approximately 1 in every 15,000 pregnant women will develop subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) - bleeding in the area between the brain and the thin membranes that cover the brain, according to a study published in the February issue of Anesthesiology...

Genetic Mutation That Triggers Pancreatic Cancer Identified

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:00 -0600

Scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified a self-perpetuating "loop" of molecular activity that fuels pancreatic cancer by linking two signature characteristics of the disease - Kras, a gene that serves as a molecular on-off switch, but gets stuck on the "on" position when mutated, and NF-κB, a protein complex that controls activation of genes...

Women With Diabetes Experience More Hearing Problems

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:00 -0600

A new study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, presented at the annual Triological Society's Combined Sections Meeting, on January 26 in Miami Beach, shows that diabetes is likely to cause a greater degree of hearing loss in women as they get older, particularly if the diabetes is not well controlled with medication...

Cancer Screening Rates Low Among Ethnic Groups, USA

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:00 -0600

Not only are relatively few Americans screened for cancer, but there are considerable disparities between ethnic and racial groups in the country, says a new report issued by NCI (National Cancer Institute) and the CDCF (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The authors added that screening rates are especially low among Hispanic and Asian Americans...

Live Liver Donations Confirmed As Safe

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:00:00 -0600

According to Johns Hopkins researchers, individuals who donate a portion of their liver for live transplantation usually recover safely from the procedure and can expect to live long, healthy lives. The study is published in the February issue of the journal Gastroenterology. Dorry L. Segev, M.D., Ph.D...

Antiretrovirals Raise Birth Defect Risk

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:00:00 -0600

HIV-positive mothers can protected their babies from becoming infected with the virus if they take antiretroviral drugs during pregnancy. However, even though these drugs prevent transmitting the disease to the child, they could potentially cause birth defects like cleft lip and palate...

Keppra® Approved By FDA For Childhood Seizures

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:00:00 -0600

In the U.S., Keppra® has been approved as adjunctive therapy for partial onset seizures in adults and children aged four years and older with epilepsy. However the UCB recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now approved to lower the age restriction to include infants from the age of one month and older with epilepsy. Professor Dr...

Rise In Home Births In US

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:00:00 -0600

After falling for 14 years, the percentage of home births in the US from 2004 to 2009 rose by 29% to the highest level since data collection on this began in 1989. However, although this looks like a big surge, the overall proportion of American women giving birth at home is still low: in 2004 only 0.56% of births were at home, rising to 0.72% in 2009...

What Is Achilles Tendon Inflammation? What Is Achilles Tendinitis?

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:00:00 -0600

Achilles tendinitis (tendonitis) or Achilles tendon inflammation occurs when the Achilles tendon becomes inflamed as a result of the Achilles tendon being put under too much strain. The Achilles tendon joins the calf muscles to the heel bone, and is found at the back of a person's lower leg. It is the largest tendon in the body and is able to endure great force, but is still susceptible to injury...

Lower Limb Amputation Rates Associated With Diabetes Drop, US

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:00:00 -0600

An investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that between 1996 and 2008, the number of leg and foot amputations among U.S. individuals, aged 40+ with diagnosed diabetes, decreased by 65%. The study, entitled "Declining Rates of Hospitalization for Non-traumatic Lower-Extremity Amputation in the Diabetic Population Aged 40 years or Older: U.S...

Breast Implant Boss Arrested

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:00:00 -0600

The scandal of the faulty, badly made breast implants from French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) continues with the arrest of Jean-Claude Mas, 72, who according to police has been held at his home in Six-Fours-les-Plages in the South of France...

Breast Cancer Tissue Bank Opens To All, UK

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600

The first national breast cancer tissue bank in the UK has opened its vaults of precious breast cancer tissue to all researchers in the UK and Ireland, providing a massive boost to breast cancer research. The bank is a unique collaboration of four leading research institutions and the NHS...

More Black Tea Lowers Blood Pressure

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:00:00 -0600

Tea, the second most consumed drink after water, may help lower blood pressure. Scientists at The University Of Western Australia and Unilever, state in Archives of Internal Medicine, that drinking black tea three times a day may drastically lower a person's systolic and diastolic blood pressure...