The inflammatory process in the brain of multiple sclerosis patients is triggered by their own immune system. However, there is one type of immune cells that seems to fight against the destructive progress - and might be used for therapeutic purposes in future.
During the race to produce vaccines against evolving influenza viruses the slowness of their manufacture has turned producers more sharply towards cell culture technology. Using the traditional process, fertilised chicken eggs must first be inoculated with live flu virus, then the resulting egg-adapted virus must be purified and inactivated to produce trivalent inactivated virus (TIV), during…
According to ECD statistics for Europe, three million cases of nosocomial infections occur annually, and 50,000 are fatal. Evelina Tacconelli MD PhD (below) is Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases at the Università Cattolica Sacro Cuore in Rome, Italy. Her scientific focus is on epidemiology, clinical and therapeutic aspects of nosocomial infections and infection control policies aimed to…
The first strain of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) was isolated in the 1960s, and its presence was reported worldwide in the late 1990s. A higher incidence of MRSA was noted in communities, at the dawn of the new millennium, leading to two basic MRSA strains being differentiated - CA-MRSA (community acquired MRSA) and HA-MRSA (healthcare associated MRSA). In clinical practice…
European hospitals are increasingly using robotic dispensing systems to accelerate drug distribution and the patients discharge process.
Beckman Coulter, Inc. has expanded its drugs of abuse test menu to include a DRI* Oxycodone Enzyme Immunoassay (OXYX). The assay is for the qualitative and semi-quantitative determination of oxycodone and its metabolite, oxymorphone, in human urine.
Fifteen new research projects aimed at bringing innovative medicines to market faster have been selected to receive 246 million Euros from the European Commission and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). The projects will foster understanding of health issues such as diabetes, pain, severe asthma and psychiatric disorders while increasing medicine safety.
Today help is often available for those suffering from high blood pressure in the pulmonary circulation (pulmonary arterial hypertension/PAH). New drugs — so-called endothelin receptor antagonists — make it possible to alleviate the symptoms, improving patients' physical strength and quality of life.
Among 2,552 European R&D projects (clinical phases I-III) conducted by small and mid-size biotechnology firms (under 600 employees), 64 are focused on diabetes, according to a large, detailed study carried out by Novumed Life Science Consulting.
The last time medical science enriched clinical practice with new advanced technologies ideas about aetiology and the treatment principles of a great number of diseases changed. Now the dilemma of modification of diagnoses and treatments, including laboratory diagnostics, is a very hot issue in Russia.
As processes become more complex, the need for increased laboratory safety is paramount. Protecting operators from hazardous substances, aerosol release or spillages is a critical consideration during processes, whether they are mixing substances or dispensing drugs. Of equal importance is the need to protect the substance, or product, from contamination from the operator. Mark Nicholls presents…
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology has demonstrated a better way to deliver cancer drugs directly to tumors by using specially engineered nanoparticles that can inhibit a signaling pathway and deliver a higher concentration of medication to the specific area.
In a symposium organised by Bayer Schering Pharma at the 2009 European Congress of Radiology (ECR), the audience heard a series of four presentations on the potential advantages of high-signal-intensity contrast agents for MRI, focusing on gadobutrol (Gadovist). During the discussion, several claims made by the speakers were challenged and debated by ECR delegates.
Thanks to cell therapy, researchers have found new ways to understand and potentially treat heart diseases and degenerative conditions such as Parkinson's and cancer. The role of imaging is becoming more and more important, especially in understanding the action of transplanted cells in situ.
17-21 March Stockholm Sweden
When prescribing drugs electronically, US clinicians often over-ride automatic drug warning alerts in computer-based systems, according to a new study led by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre (BIDMC), Boston, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (9/2/09).
The availability of a new opioid-based treatment option, has led pain specialists to believe they may at last be able to solve the age-old problem of how to provide effective chronic pain relief without causing opioid-induced constipation (OIC).
UK - Following a six-month study of 3,000 hospital patients in 12 wards in Merseyside, researchers at Liverpool University found that one in seven had suffered adverse drug reactions.
The Netherlands - People in developing countries run health risks from pharmaceutical companies testing drugs on them for the Western market.
The next two countries to preside over the EU Presidency - the Czech Republic (first half year of 2009) and Sweden (second half) recently presented the priorities of their presidencies for healthcare at the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG).
Czech hospitals are seeking powerful inspiration regarding antibiotics (ATB) consumption from France, where a recent public campaign helped to decrease ATB consumption by 30%.
The 14th Eppendorf Young Investigator Award 2008, worth ?15,000, was presented at MEDICA in November.
The European market for autoimmune disease diagnostics has demonstrated sustained growth due to advances in detection technology and automation, according to a new analysis from Frost & Sullivan (F&S)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Abbott's TRILIPIX™ (fenofibric acid) delayed-release capsules for use along with diet to help lower triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, and to raise HDL cholesterol in patients with lipid problems.
The current global financial crisis is like to hit Bio-tech and pharmaceutical companies due to a lack of funding for research and the discovery and production of many new drugs, according to Professor David Wield, Director of the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) Edinburgh-based Innogen Centre, and chair of the recent international ESRC conference Genomics and Society: Reinventing…
