New strategies against MRSA
A new paper by Shahriar Mobashery, Navari Family Professor in Life Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, and researchers in his lab provides important insights into promising new antibiotics aimed at combating MRSA.
Medication
Eradiction of H. pylori protects against stomach cancer
Almost all stomach cancers not related to the heart develop from the stomach ulcer causing bug H. pylori. A Japanese study shows that treatment to eradicate the mikrobe reduces the risk of developing new gastric carcinoma in patients.
Two more cancer drug-candidates for Bayer Schering Pharma AG
Bayer Schering AG, Germany, acquires the preclinical anti-cancer program from Swiss pharma company Nycomed. Two potential drug candidates are expanding the German oncology pipeline.
Seniors got more - prescriptions
Compared to 1997 people aged 60 and over receive a lot more from their physicians: Not more attention but more drugs or other medical aids. The average number of prescriptions for elder people doubled from 1997 to 2007, a report from The NHS Information Centre reveals.
Professional accountablity of nurses
A recent case from Eardisland, Herefordshire, demonstrates the impact of institutions like the Nursing & Midwifery Council in the UK that considers allegations of misconduct of nurses. A nurse was given a three-year caution for not adhering to the Council's professional code of conduct which led to serious consequences for the patient.
New treatment guidelines for HIV infection
An international panel of physicians has updated the guidelines and recommendations for antiretroviral treatment of adult human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection after evaluating recent data, according to an article in JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.
OTC-gel for painless mammograms
It sounds impressively simple: An over-the-counter pain-relieving gel from the drugstore may reduce the uncomfortable and even dolorous feeling women experience during mammography exams, according to the a study published in the online edition of Radiology.
Russia: Fight against HIV
Russia has one of the fastest-growing AIDS epidemic in the world. One reason for this development is unsafe sex of addicts. Therefore sexual behaviour should be considered as an important component in the treatment of drug-dependent people to stop HIV-transmission.
Article • MRgFUS
Successful therapy for uterine fibroids using MRgFUS
Magnetic Resonance Guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) therapy was introduced in June at the Amperklinikum in Dachau, near Munich, the third German site, after Berlin and Bochum for this new technology.
Know your enemy
Along with MRSA and ESBL bacteria, Clostridium difficile is causing a growing problem. Epidemics of a new C. difficile strain have already occurred in hospitals in North America, England and the Benelux countries.
MRSA in US hospitals
Arlington Medical Resources (AMR), a pharmaceutical market research firm, found that the number of patients treated with an antibiotic associated with MRSA-infections within U.S. acute care hospitals has increased 8 percent by the last year. But the average time MRSA-patients had to stay in hospital decreased by 10 percent.
New drug protects against venous blood clots
In the EU blood clots are responsible for killing 544.000 people each year. Rivaroxaban, a new oral given anticoagulant drug from Bayer Healthcare, is significantly more effective than the current standard of care, according to three recent studies. The number of blood cluts in Europe is about 1.5 million per year, more than thirty percent of the patients affected die.
TI: Corruption and fraud in the German healthcare system
The German chapter of anti-corruption organisation Transparency International had another close look at the German healthcare system. And it didn't like what it found: In an updated policy paper, member of the board of directors Anke Martiny, deplores that "huge amounts of money belonging to the insured are lost" due to lack of transparency, to corruption and fraud.
New medical options by tobacco plants
Bayer and its affiliated firm Icon Genetics developed an own production process which provides the opportunity to make therapeutic proteins from tobacco plants. The pilot plant for biotech drugs opened on June 16 in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt.
Inhaled TB vaccine
USA - A new tuberculosis vaccine successfully tested at the University of North Carolina (UNC) is easier to administer and store and just as effective as one commonly used worldwide, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Berlin TB Symposium
The WHO-Euro region ranges from Portugal to the East Asian parts of Russia, including Central Asia and the Southern Caucasus. Because of the increasing numbers of tuberculosis and rates of multidrug resistance (MDR TB), tuberculosis was declared a regional emergency in 2004.
Alarming TB cases in Austria
A third of the worlds population is infected with the bacterium Myobacterium tuberculosis which infects around nine million people annually.
On the near horizon
The first FDA-approved prescription medication that reduces blood phenylalanine (Phe) levels in patients with Phenylketonuria (PKU) — a genetic disorder that prevents the normal use of protein foods and can lead to impaired brain development if untreated — could result in more regular screening of blood phenylalanine (Phe) levels in PKU patients.
Multiple-targeted therapies
The next big development in biological targeted therapies for advanced breast cancer will be drugs acting via multiple mechanisms, experts told delegates attending the 1st Asian Breast Cancer conference, held in New Delhi 9-10 February.
Numerous measles cases in Salzburg
Austria - An unusually high number of measles cases is currently causing concern amongst the public as well as health officials. Presumed to have originated in a private school in Salzburg, increasing numbers of cases were being reported at the end of March and beginning of April.
Improvement to therapeutic effects for seasonal rhinitis
Patients suffering from moderate to severe seasonal allergic rhinitis experience significantly improved therapeutic effects when combining nasal Azelastine spray with Fluticason nasal spray as opposed to using Fluticason nasal spray by itself. Those are the surprising results of a study released by the Annals of Allergy & Asthma Immunology (1) in January 2008. Azelastine is a first-line,…
Computerised model of the heart to develop new therapies
During a workshop organized by the European Science Foundation (ESF), researchers discussed further steps in developing computerised “in-silico” models of the heart that simulate the real heart and enable possible drugs and therapies to be tested without risk to people.
COPD: New therapy reduces mortality
Patients with severe COPD may benefit more from therapy that combines salmeterol and fluticasone [SFC] than treatment with tiotropium, according to results from a long-term, multi-center study, “Investigating New Standards for Prophylaxis in Reducing Exacerbations” (INSPIRE) that directly compared the two therapies.
Neuroendocrine Cancer
The collaboration between two companies may pave the way for the development of new therapy options for neuroendocrine tumors: Covidien LTd, a global provider of healthcare products and BioSynthema Inc., a company specialized in the discovery and development of molecular targeted biophamaceuticals recently signed an agreement that will gain BioSynthema access to specific Covidien proprietary…
Starving a tumour
Every developing tissue is supplied by blood vessels with oxygen and nutrients. Tumours grow far more quickly than normal tissues, so have a greater need of nutrients, which is why tumour cells begin to produce growth factors that stimulate the formation of blood vessels.