Blood :: Test to screen for bacterial contamination in blood platelets
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared for marketing the first rapid test to detect bacterial contamination in blood platelets prior to transfusion.
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Tuberculosis :: $280 m grants to fight tuberculosis epidemic – Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced grants totaling $280 million to help fight tuberculosis, an epidemic that infects one-third of people on earth and kills nearly 2 million yearly—mostly in the poorest countries.
Lung Cancer :: Blood protein detects lung cancer at earliest stage
Biopharmaceutical researchers have found a protein in blood they say is linked to all stages of lung cancer but which rarely shows up in the blood of people without the disease. Testing for this protein might help physicians decide whether smokers or others at high risk for lung cancer should be referred for lung imaging, say investigators, who presented their findings today in Atlanta, Georgia at the American Association for Cancer Research’s second International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development.
Heart :: Merck sued for Medicaid Fraud over Vioxx, hiding heart risks
Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg filed a joint lawsuit against the maker of Vioxx for misrepresenting the dangers the drug posed to its users.
Genetic :: FDA Clears Genetic Lab Test for Warfarin Sensitivity
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared for marketing a new genetic test that will help physicians assess whether a patient may be especially sensitive to the blood-thinning drug warfarin (Coumadin), which is used to prevent potentially fatal clots in blood vessels.
Bone :: Bone-growing nanomaterial could improve orthopaedic implants
For orthopaedic implants to be successful, bone must meld to the metal that these artificial hips, knees and shoulders are made of. A team of Brown University engineers, led by Thomas Webster, has discovered a new material that could significantly increase this success rate.
Addiction :: New genetic research into nicotine addiction shows promise for personalized treatment
Whether a smoking-cessation drug will enable you to quit smoking may depend on your genes, according to new genotyping research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The study, published in the September issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry, found that the enzyme known to metabolize both the smoking cessation drug bupropion and nicotine is highly genetically variable in all ethnicities and influences smoking cessation.
Gene :: Importance of gene regulation for common human disease
A new study published in Nature Genetics on Sunday 16 September 2007 show that common, complex diseases are more likely to be due to genetic variation in regions that control activity of genes, rather than in the regions that specify the protein code.
Blood :: FDA Licenses 15 New Blood Typing Tests
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration licensed 15 new blood typing tests that were previously unavailable in the United States.
Insomnia :: GSK & Sepracor announce international alliance for commercilisation of Lunivia
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Sepracor Inc. (Nasdaq: SEPR) announced an agreement for the commercialisation of Sepracor’s eszopiclone product for all markets worldwide (excluding the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Japan).