With an estimated fatality rate of 52%, the need to discover a cure for Ebola has never been more urgent. New research published in Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics this month suggests that scientists currently investigating potential cures for the Ebola virus should focus more attention on the protein furin.
Fever, vomiting, internal and external bleeding – these are the symptoms of the Ebola virus infection. The current epidemic in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone is the largest recorded Ebola outbreak ever and a serious challenge for the healthcare institutions worldwide.
Founded in Germany 25 years ago, EKF Diagnostics’ PLC HQ is currently in Cardiff, Wales, where the firm is pursuing the development of a molecular assay for specific cancer types.
While the Generating Antibiotic Incentives Now (GAIN) Act of 2012 has been a significant step in the right direction for encouraging novel antibiotics research, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) remains one step behind its European equivalent, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), according to an analyst with research and consulting firm GlobalData.
Finnish pharma company Orion and German healthcare giant Bayer have entered into an agreement for the development and commercialisation of a novel drug targeting prostate cancer.
Using pictures and symbols, rather than handwritten words, on prescriptions helps illiterate patients take their medicines correctly when they leave hospital, say doctors today. The idea was first tested in a hospital in Pakistan using simple pictures of the sun, moon and stars to help patients understand when and how long to take their medication for.
Bayer has agreed to acquire the consumer care business of U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA, for a purchase price of USD 14.2 billion (EUR 10.4 billion).
Neurologists keenly debate the value of mechanical reopening of blocked blood vessels in the brain, as demonstrated during the 21st World Congress for Neurology (WCN) in Vienna this September. Theoretically, endovascular thrombolysis can only be considered for 20-30% of all incidents of stroke.
Diarrhoea caused by Clostridium difficile, which remains an issue in hospital settings, has been the focus of Cochrane Collaboration scientists, who now suggest that taking probiotics at the same time as antibiotics could help to maintain a healthy balance of bacteria in the gut, particularly as antibiotics can disturb the ecosystem of organisms normally present in the digestive system.
In the country’s first scientific study to correlate the demographic changes and frequency of tumorous diseases, demographic changes have led scientists to forecast a significant increase in the number of cancerous diseases in coming years.
The current financial crisis is having a major impact on European economies, especially that of Spain. Past evidence suggests that adverse macro- economic conditions exacerbate mental illness, but evidence from the current crisis is limited.
Samsung BioLogics today announced that Samsung BioLogics and F. Hoffmann-La Roche have entered into a long term strategic manufacturing agreement under which Samsung will manufacture Roche's proprietary commercial biologic medicines at its two manufacturing facilities in Incheon, South Korea, of which one is currently under construction.
The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Bayer HealthCare (Bayer) will extend their successful strategic research alliance in search of novel cancer therapeutics by focusing their activities also on the field of immunotherapy.
‘All human body cells contain the same DNA, but every type of cell – for example a muscle cell compared to that of a nerve – has a different gene expression pattern’, said Dr Sonja Stadler, speaking at the 2012 congress of DGKL (German Society for Clinical Chemistry).
A hospital is not the best place to get a good night’s sleep, especially in a noisy intensive care unit.
A dynamic new consortium was launched in October during the recent Innovation in Oncology event organised by the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) with Heidelberg University Hospital.
The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) announced that online registration for its annual congress to take place next year from 13-15 March 2013 in Palais des Congrès, Paris, France is open. This congress’ theme is “Improving patient outcomes – a shared responsibility”.
Modern wars will be fought in the cyber zone, targeting an enemy's communications technology to cause critical damage; a Tel Aviv University researcher suggests to employ similar tactics in the battle against cancer.
For the first time, a EU agency recommends a gene therapy drug for commercial release in Europe. The European Medicine's Agency announced in late July 2012 that its Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommends Glybera for commercial release in the European Union
A new genre of medical tests - which determine whether a medicine is right for a patient's genes - are paving the way for increased use of personalized medicine, according to the cover story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News. C&EN is the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.
Alere introduced its new PBP2a test, a rapid, lateralflow assay that detects the PBP2a protein found in MRSA directly from Staphylococcus aureus isolates. It is a costeffective, targeted approach to identifying MRSA, the firm points out. Providing results in five minutes, the assay uses samples from cultures (wound, skin, urine, etc.) and has builtin quality controls on every test strip.
EH Paris correspondent Annick Chapoy, reports on a French study that confirms the relevance of a drug with a long history in the management of other diseases
The world’s first gene cancer therapy study of an innovative oral vaccine is underway at the Surgical Clinic of Heidelberg University Hospital.
Although the drug metformin is considered the gold standard in the management of type 2 diabetes, a study by a group of French researchers published in this week's PLoS Medicine suggests that the long-term benefits of this drug compared with the risks are not clearly established - an important finding given that currently, thousands of people around the world are regularly taking metformin to…
Point of care technologies (POCT) have an important, quality enhancing, risk-reducing and cost-impacting role within the extremely time-critical medical decision structures of a central Accident and Emergency department, says Professor Wilfried von Eiff, Centre for Hospital Management, University of Muenster, Germany.
