Health News

Getting White Fat Cells To Burn Calories Could Be Way To Tackle Obesity

Date: Mar-18-2013
US scientists have discovered a protein switch that decides whether precursor fat cells turn into white fat cells that store calories, or brown fat cells that burn calories. They suggest the fight against obesity and diabetes could learn some valuable clues from studying how this switch works...

Biennial Mammograms Associated With Lower Risk Of False-Positive Results

Date: Mar-18-2013
Women aged 50 to 74 years who get mammograms biennially (every two years) instead of annually are at a lower risk of false-positive results and at a similar risk of advanced-stage disease. The study, which was published in JAMA Internal Medicine, identified the outcomes of screening mammography for age, breast density and postmenopausal use of hormone therapy. Four years ago the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended that breast cancer screening be done biennially as opposed to every one to two years for women aged 50 to 74...

Lifestyle Factors Linked To Rheumatoid Arthritis

Date: Mar-18-2013
Several lifestyle factors and pre-existing conditions are linked to an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. The finding came from a new study by researchers at the Arthritis Research UK Epidemiology Center, which is part of the National Institute of Health Research, Manchester Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit, England, and was published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. The team discovered that smoking cigarettes and having diabetes can raise a person's likelihood of developing rheumatoid arthritis. About 0...

Too Few Girls Are Getting The HPV Vaccine

Date: Mar-18-2013
Health professionals strongly recommend the vaccine for the human papilloma virus (HPV) - the virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer - for women and girls. However, many parents are worried about its safety, a new study in Pediatrics suggests. Experts say the findings are surprising and troublesome, because the vaccine is not associated with any serious negative side effects. HPV manifests in over 100 different strains - some of which produce genital and anal warts. In many people, the immune system eliminates the virus quickly from the body...

Learn Best Practices From Your Peers At The Gross-To-Net Accounting Forum, 17-18 June 2013, Boston, MA

Date: Mar-18-2013
Ensuring your Gross-to-Net calculations are accurate is a messy business, but a necessary one. In the GTN space, the pharmaceutical industry has just recently begun to open up about forecasting and accruing for liability or working interdepartmentally between the commercial and government sectors. At IIR's Gross-to-Net Accounting Forum for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, we know how important it is for you to be able to benchmark your systems and methodologies against best practices...

Blood Protein Able To Detect Higher Risk Of Cardiovascular Events In People With Chest Pain Originating From Heart Disease

Date: Mar-18-2013
Higher levels of pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) were associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events in people with cardiac chest pain that developed as a result of heart disease/coronary artery disease, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). PAPP-A, used to screen for Down syndrome in pregnant women, has been suggested as a marker of unstable plaque in coronary arteries. The study was conducted in 2568 patients in Tübingen, Germany, to determine if the presence of PAPP-A could help predict cardiovascular events...

Oral Estrogen Hormone Therapy Linked To Increased Risk Of Gallbladder Surgery In Menopausal Women

Date: Mar-18-2013
Oral estrogen therapy for menopausal women is associated with an increased risk of gallbladder surgery, according to a large-scale study of more than 70 000 women in France published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Women who took estrogen therapy through skin patches or gels did not appear to be at increased risk. Gallstone disease is common in developed countries, and women over age 50 are most at risk. Other risk factors include obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, poor diet and having given birth to two or more children...

NICE Turnaround On Novartis' Xolair To Be Discussed At Asthma & Copd Conference, 15-16 April 2013, London

Date: Mar-18-2013
The UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recently recommended Xolair, Novartis as an option for treating severe, persistent allergic asthma in adults, adolescents and children. The decision comes as a result of a move by Novartis to offer a patient access scheme to discount Xolair's list price. An estimated 65 million people currently suffer from COPD globally with 300 million asthma sufferers...

Blood Test Tracks Response To Cancer Treatment

Date: Mar-18-2013
A blood test that tracks fragments of DNA shed by dying tumor cells could one day be used to monitor how well patients are responding to cancer treatment, according to a small study in women with advanced breast cancer. Such a test could provide a non-invasive alternative to biopsies, and help adapt treatment to individual patients and the progress of disease. Researchers at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute at the University of Cambridge in the UK write about their findings in the 13 March online issue of the New England Journal of Medicine...

Potential Of Combined Vaccine And Steroid Drug In Castration Resistant PCa Shown By Japanese P2 Study

Date: Mar-18-2013
Multi-peptide vaccination therapy combined with the low-dose steroid drug dexamethasone shows promise in treating chemotherapy-naive castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients. The study, which won the third prize for best abstract in oncology at the 28th European Association of Urology Congress held in Milan, Italy from 15 to 19 March, showed the promising benefit of this combination therapy in patients who are chemotherapy-naive or those not yet exposed to specific antigens...