Switzerland

Infant :: New approach to improving diarrhea in infants with probiotics

Each year more than half a million infants worldwide, primarily in developing countries, die from diarrhea caused by rotavirus. Even in industrialized countries management of the infection costs economies about $1 billion a year. Now a study in the online open access journal, BMC Microbiology demonstrates that with the addition of probiotic bacteria, preventative measures can potentially be made far cheaper but just as effective.

Colon Cancer :: Progress in zoning in on biomarkers for better colon cancer treatment

New research has yielded a clearer picture of which biomarkers could help doctors more precisely target the treatment of colon cancer, bringing closer the day when patients who will not benefit from chemotherapy are spared it, while those that will, get the more aggressive treatment they need.

Stent :: Drug eluting stents & bare metal stents yield similarly low mortality rates

A network meta-analysis of 38 randomized controlled trials encompassing more than 18,000 patients found that the mortality risks associated with drug-eluting stents and bare-metal stents are similarly low. This analysis, the largest of its kind to date comparing drug-eluting stents (the CYPHER® Sirolimus-eluting Coronary Stent and the Taxus Stent) to bare-metal stents, appears this week in the medical journal The Lancet.

Bird Flu :: Crucell to present pre-clinical results for H5N1 Virus treatment

Dutch biotechnology company Crucell N.V. (Euronext, NASDAQ: CRXL, Swiss Exchange: CRX) announced that its researchers have discovered a monoclonal antibody that is active against H5N1 avian influenza. The studies will be presented at the 5th International Bird Flu Summit scheduled for September 27 and 28 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Healthcare :: Systems Biology poised to revolutionize the understanding of cell function and disease

Systems Biology is transforming the way scientists think about biology and disease. This novel approach to research could prompt a shake up in medical science and it might ultimately allow clinicians to predict and treat complex diseases such as diabetes, heart failure, cancer, and metabolic syndrome for which there are currently no cures.

Toothpaste :: Gilchrist & Soames initiates urgent worldwide toothpaste voluntary recall

Gilchrist & Soames, an Indianapolis-based provider of toiletry products for the hotel industry, has initiated a worldwide voluntary recall of its Gilchrist & Soames 0.65oz/18ml toothpaste manufactured in China for the company by Ming Fai Enterprises International Co., LTD, after independent tests showed some samples of the toothpaste contained diethylene glycol, or DEG.

Stent :: Drug-eluting stent controversy explored in the American Heart Hospital Journal

The Summer 2007 issue of the American Heart Hospital Journal explores one of the pivotal issues in cardiology today, the drug-eluting stent. Through commentaries from 10 leading national and international specialists, the issue presents a comprehensive discussion on the explosive growth and the potential risks of DESs.

Multiple Sclerosis :: Betaferon delays disability progession after multiple sclerosis attack

Patients treated with Betaferon? (interferon beta-1b) shortly after their first clinical MS event or ?attack? showed a 40 percent lower risk of developing confirmed disability when compared to patients in whom treatment was delayed. The results ? which were fast-tracked and published in The Lancet today ? provide the first controlled evidence that delaying Betaferon? treatment has an effect on later accumulation of disability. No other MS therapy has demonstrated this effect in this early patient population.