Health News

4th Annual COPD: Novel Therapeutics & Management Strategies, 22-23 October 2012, London

Date: Jun-15-2012
COPD is a life threatening disease which negatively affects normal breathing. It is characterised by persistent blockage of air flow to the lungs. COPD encapsulates chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The most common cause of patients getting COPD is tobacco smoke. This is either from smoking or from second hand smoke. COPD is not curable and it is under-diagnosed meaning sufferer numbers may be much larger than are recorded currently. COPD cannot be cured, but effective treatment can slow its progress and reduce the numbers of deaths...

FDA Approves Combo Vaccine For Deadly Bacterial Meningitis In Children

Date: Jun-15-2012
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Thursday that it has approved the combination vaccine Menhibrix against two potentially life-threatening bacteria that cause meningitis in children after reviewing how effective the vaccine was in hundreds of infants and toddlers. Menhibrix, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, based in Rixensart, Belgium, is indicated for infants and toddlers aged 6 weeks through 18 months, to prevent invasive disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroups C and Y, and Haemophilus influenzae type b...

Virus Hitches Ride On Blood Cells To Kill Cancer

Date: Jun-15-2012
Scientists have discovered when a cancer-killing virus is injected in the bloodstream it hitches a ride on blood cells and evades attack from the immune system, allowing it to reach cancer tumors, and start destroying cancer cells. They suggest this means it may be possible to use promising "viral therapy" during routine outpatient sessions, like chemotherapy, to treat a wide range of cancers. Certain viruses, like the reovirus, that causes colds and mild stomach upsets, prefer to attack cancer cells. They also stimulate the immune system to attack tumors...

First Efficacy Trial Of A Microbicide Ring To Prevent HIV Is Underway

Date: Jun-15-2012
The Ring Study to assess IPM's monthly ARV ring for women The International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) today announced that a clinical trial called The Ring Study has been launched in Africa to determine whether a monthly vaginal ring containing the antiretroviral (ARV) drug dapivirine helps prevent HIV infection in women and is safe for long-term use. The Ring Study is the first Phase III efficacy trial of a microbicide ring for HIV prevention and will enroll a total of 1,650 women...

New Phase III Data Showed Merck's Investigational Insomnia Medicine Suvorexant Improved Patients' Ability To Fall Asleep And Stay Asleep

Date: Jun-15-2012
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced new data from two pivotal Phase III efficacy trials for suvorexant, the investigational medicine Merck is developing for the treatment of insomnia. In the studies, suvorexant significantly reduced the time it took patients to fall asleep and increased the time that patients stayed asleep as early as the first night and at the three-month time point compared to placebo...

Many People Over The Age Of 55 Regret Not Looking After Their Teeth In Earlier Life

Date: Jun-15-2012
New research shows that six out of every ten people aged 55 and over in the UK regret not looking after their teeth in earlier life, with people living in the North East of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland the most likely to regret their past oral hygiene. The findings have been published by leading charity the British Dental Health Foundation as part of National Smile Month - the UK's biggest annual campaign to improve the nation's oral health. Around one in five people in the UK wear full or partial dentures and an estimated 2.5 million people have no natural teeth...

Enzyme Disorder Set To Be Conquered As Phenylketonuria Is Due New Treatments

Date: Jun-15-2012
New treatments for Phenylketonuria (PKU) are set to revolutionize the lives of many patients, as pharmaceutical development swiftly takes control of the orphan disease, according to new research released by healthcare analysts GlobalData. The new report* shows that restricted diets may soon be a thing of the past, as medication looks to conquer this rare enzyme mutation. PKU is a metabolic genetic disorder which renders the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) unable to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine (Phe)...

AMIC Says JAMA Imaging Study Affirms Recent Decline In Imaging Utilization

Date: Jun-15-2012
Appropriate Use of Imaging Saves Lives, Is Not Driving Health Care Costs The Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC) said that research (Smith-Bindman et al.) published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) validates government and independent analyses showing that medical imaging utilization has fallen in recent years among both Medicare and privately-insured individuals.  Medicare payments for medical imaging services have been cut repeatedly since 2006, many by more than half...

Kidney Disease Chronically Under-Diagnosed In The US

Date: Jun-15-2012
Chronic kidney disease is significantly under-diagnosed in a population that's most at risk-America's 26 million diabetics - according to research presented at the 72nd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association, held here this week. The multi-site cross-sectional study, Awareness, Detection and Drug Therapy in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Chronic Kidney Disease (ADD-CKD), conducted by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), assessed the prevalence and proportion of patients with chronic kidney disease in type 2 diabetes, treated within the primary care setting...

Postmenopausal Women Who Have Undergone Hysterectomy May Be At Increased Risk Of Heart Disease

Date: Jun-15-2012
Estrogen-deficient, postmenopausal women who have had their uterus removed appear to have stiffer arteries compared to similar women who have not had a hysterectomy, according to new research from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The finding may help explain the greater risk of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in women, reported in previous research. "The message here is that having a hysterectomy may lead to large artery stiffening, which can lead to the development of cardiovascular disease," said Kerrie Moreau, Ph.D...