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Health and education leaders commend school for promoting physical activity among students

During a visit today to Conrad Weiser Middle School, Department of Health Secretary Everette James and Secretary of Education Gerald Zahorchak commended the school for its efforts to increase physical activity among students.

22 Dec 2009

Orthopaedic Center of the Rockies updates its name to Orthopaedic & Spine Center of the Rockies

The Orthopaedic Center of the Rockies (Fort Collins and Loveland, CO) has updated its name to Orthopaedic & Spine Center of the Rockies. The name change highlights the 40-year-old medical practice's services for patients with disorders or injuries to their back or neck.

22 Dec 2009

CPRIT extends Company Investment application date to January 12, 2010

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) announced today that it has extended the deadline to January 12, 2010 to file a letter of intent to submit a proposal for the Company Investment request for application (RFA). The RFA is available on the CPRIT website, www.cprit.state.tx.us/funding.html.

22 Dec 2009

ADHD Support Twitter page from Shire

Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announced the launch of its newest online Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) resource, the ADHD Support Twitter(TM) page (http://twitter.com/adhdsupport), derived from the Shire award-winning online educational resource, ADHDSupport.com.

22 Dec 2009

Health experts offer recommendation to improve school meal programs

More fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, less sodium and a limit on calories served per meal—those are just some of the recommendations a committee of experts has made on how to improve the nation’s school lunch and breakfast menus.

22 Dec 2009

AADA lauds indoor tanning tax in the health system reform legislation

The American Academy of Dermatology Association (AADA) applauds the decision of the U.S. Senate to substitute a 10 percent federal excise tax on indoor tanning services for the proposed tax on cosmetic procedures in the Senate's health system reform legislation (H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordability Act of 2009). The indoor tanning tax, as proposed to Senate leadership by the AADA, furthers its goal of promoting wellness and prevention, and removes the harmful unintended consequences associated with a tax on cosmetic surgery procedures.

22 Dec 2009

Emisphere's oral salmon calcitonin product addresses persistent musculoskeletal pain

Emisphere Technologies, Inc. today announced a meta-analysis published in the December 2009 edition of Rheumatology Reports examining independent evidence of the analgesic action of the hormone calcitonin. This publication restates the potential of calcitonin in filling a significant unmet need for alternative treatments for persistent musculoskeletal pain.

22 Dec 2009

ZEGERID OTC approval triggers $20M milestone payment to Santarus

Santarus, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it has received the $20 million milestone payment previously announced on December 1, 2009 relating to the approval of ZEGERID OTC™ (omeprazole 20 mg/sodium bicarbonate 1100 mg capsules) under its over-the-counter (OTC) licensing agreement with Schering-Plough HealthCare Products, Inc., the consumer healthcare division of Merck & Co., Inc. Schering-Plough and Merck merged on November 3, 2009.

22 Dec 2009

New data shows more number of women are attending breast screening program

The number of women attending breast screening has risen, with nearly two million accepting invitations from the NHS Breast Screening Programme in 2007/08, new figures show.

22 Dec 2009

Persistent disparities exist in melanoma diagnosis

White and Hispanic individuals are being diagnosed with melanoma more frequently in recent years, whereas Hispanic and black patients continue to have advanced skin cancer at diagnosis, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

22 Dec 2009

Scientists identify role of epigenetic changes in SLE

Identical twins look the same and are nearly genetically identical, but environmental factors and the resulting cellular changes could cause disease in one sibling and not the other.

22 Dec 2009

First robot-assisted lung-tumor surgery performed at UT Southwestern Medical Center

When Craig Harrison found out he would be the first patient in North Texas to have robot-assisted lung-tumor surgery, an operation performed at UT Southwestern Medical Center, he wasn't nervous at all.

22 Dec 2009

Cost outweighs benefits of self-monitoring blood glucose test strips

Routine self-monitoring of blood glucose levels by people with type 2 diabetes who are not taking insulin is an ineffective use of health resources as the modest benefits are outweighed by the significant cost of test strips, suggest 2 studies http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj091017.pdf and http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj090765.pdf in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca .

22 Dec 2009

Omega-3 fatty acids lower AMD and chronic kidney disease, improve heart health

Start 2010 right: consume more seafood omega-3 fatty acids. Improvements or lower risks in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), chronic kidney disease and heart health have been reported in people with higher intakes of fatty fish or the omega-3s they contain.

22 Dec 2009

Reference platform for diabetic retinopathy and other vascular complications

The volume addresses a variety of current scientific discussions about mechanisms of damage such as growth factors and the VEGF/PEDF balance in the diabetic eye, the ocular renin-angiotensin system, and leukocyte interactions with the microvasculature among others.

22 Dec 2009

Bioheart makes breakthrough in stem cell treatment for critical limb ischemia

Bioheart, Inc. offers yet another medical breakthrough with the next-level stem cell treatment for critical limb ischemia patients. The stem cells aid in promoting angiogenesis or the formation of new blood vessels and providing support for the healing of damaged blood vessels.

22 Dec 2009

Aristolochic acid in Chinese herbal products associated with increased risk of urinary tract cancer

The carcinogen aristolochic acid, which was found in many prescribed Chinese herbal products including Guan Mu Tong, is associated with an increased risk of urinary tract cancer, according to a new study published online December 21 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

22 Dec 2009

Grant of $1 million awarded to develop new treatments for dyskinesia

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research has awarded $1 million for a clinical study aiming to make a critical step toward the development of new treatments for dyskinesia, the excessive and uncontrollable movements that are a complication of long-term dopamine replacement therapy in patients with Parkinson's disease.

22 Dec 2009

IKK phosphorylate: A double-edged sword in Huntington's disease

The kinase IKK phosphorylates the protein mutated in Huntington's disease to promote its removal and neuron survival, but IKK may be a double-edged sword that increases neurotoxicity in later stages of the disease. The study, led by researchers from the University of California, Irvine, will be published online December 21 in the Journal of Cell Biology (www.jcb.org).

22 Dec 2009

Discovery suggests how toxin-filtering cells go awry

Researchers from Children's Hospital Boston and Brigham and Women's Hospital have identified an important genetic cause of a devastating kidney disease that is the second leading cause of kidney failure in children, according to The NephCure Foundation.

22 Dec 2009