Health News

Novel Approach Seeks New Drugs To Treat Human And Non-Human Cells In The Body

Date: Jul-13-2012
Amid the growing recognition that only a small fraction of the cells and genes in a typical human being are human, scientists are suggesting a revolutionary approach to developing new medicines and treatments to target both the human and non-human components of people. That's the topic of an article, which reviews work relating to this topic from almost 100 studies, in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research. Liping Zhao, Jeremy K...

Retina Transplantation Improved By Manipulating Recipient Retinal Microenvironment

Date: Jul-13-2012
A research team in the United Kingdom has found that insulin-like growth factor (IGF1) impacts cell transplantation of photoreceptor precursors by manipulating the retinal recipient microenvironment, enabling better migration and integration of the cells into the adult mouse retina. Their study is published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (21:5), is now freely available on-line.* "Photoreceptor death is an irreversible process and represents one of the largest causes of untreatable blindness in the developed world," said Dr. Rachael A...

Researchers May Use Cells Derived From Debrided Burn Tissue For Tissue Engineering

Date: Jul-13-2012
A research team in the Netherlands has found that cells from burn eschar, the non-viable tissue remaining after burn injury and normally removed to prevent infection, can be a source of mesenchymal cells that may be used for tissue engineering. Their study compared the efficacy of those cells to adipose (fat)-derived stem cells and dermal fibroblasts in conforming to multipotent mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) criteria. Their study is published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (21:5), now freely available on-line...

Managing Colorectal Cancer Using Multidrug Strategy

Date: Jul-13-2012
A Harvard researcher studying the evolution of drug resistance in cancer says that, in a few decades, "many, many cancers could be manageable." "Many people are dying needlessly of cancer, and this research may offer a new strategy in that battle," said Martin Nowak, a professor of mathematics and of biology and director of the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics. "One hundred years ago, many people died of bacterial infections. Now, we have treatment for such infections - those people don't have to die. I believe we are approaching a similar point with cancer...

Swissmedic Approves Eisai's Inovelon® (rufinamide) Oral Suspension Formulation For Seizures Associated With Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome In Switzerland

Date: Jul-13-2012
Eisai Europe Limited have announced the Swissmedic approval of Inovelon® (rufinamide) oral suspension for adjunctive (add-on) treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) in patients over the age of 4 years in Switzerland. Many patients who receive the orphan drug rufinamide are children, partially disabled, and this new formulation has been developed as a child-friendly, orange-flavoured drinkable liquid to aid the administration of treatment for this rare, severe form of epilepsy...

Guidance For Pediatric Electronic Health Records Issued By NIST

Date: Jul-13-2012
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a guide to help improve the design of electronic health records for pediatric patients so that the design focus is on the users - the doctors, nurses and other clinicians who treat children. While hospitals and medical practices are accelerating their adoption of electronic health records, these records systems often are not ideal for supporting children's health care needs. Young patients' physiology is different from adults - and varies widely over the course of their growing years...

The Protein LRP4 Is Essential For Strong Communication Between Brain And Muscle

Date: Jul-13-2012
Communication between the brain and muscle must be strong for us to eat, breathe or walk. Now scientists have found that a protein known to be on the surface of muscle cells must be present in both tissues to ensure the conversation is robust. Scientists at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Health Sciences University have shown that without LRP4 in muscle cells and neurons, communication between the two cells types is inefficient and short-lived. Problems with the protein appear to contribute to disabling disorders such as myasthenia gravis and other forms of muscular dystrophy...

Researchers Discover Switch That Lets Early Lung Cancer Grow Unchecked

Date: Jul-13-2012
Cellular change thought to happen only in late-stage cancers to help tumors spread also occurs in early-stage lung cancer as a way to bypass growth controls, say researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida. The finding, reported in Science Translational Medicine, represents a new understanding of the extent of transformation that lung cancer - and likely many other tumor types - undergo early in disease development, the scientists say. They add that the discovery also points to a potential strategy to halt this process, known as epithelial-mesenchymal transition, or EMT...

Epilepsy Treatment Zonegran® Gets License Extension Application Accepted By EMA

Date: Jul-13-2012
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted the submission by Eisai of an application to extend the use of adjunctive epilepsy treatment Zonegran® (zonisamide) in the treatment of partial seizures (with or without secondary generalisation) to include children aged six years and above. A decision on this new licence extension application is expected in September 2012...

Exploring The Healing Powers Of Singing

Date: Jul-13-2012
The Welsh cancer charity Tenovus and Cardiff University, both based in the UK, have reported that participation in a choir improves a number of quality of life factors for cancer survivors and their carers. In an effort to create a community for cancer survivors and their carers, Tenovus established the choir, Sing for Life, in 2010. More than just a support group, the aim of the choir was to improve quality of life and emotional well-being in a more social setting...