Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

New UK Drive To End Malaria Deaths
An additional 30 million bed nets, the development of life-saving new treatments and new funding to increase access to anti-malarial drugs are announced today in a package of measures by International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander, as the UK continues its fight to rid the world of malaria.

ACCP Position Paper On Genetic Tests Advertised Directly To The Consumer
Genetic testing services have recently begun to be advertised directly to the patient, and the results of the consumers" response can affect public health, as well as the future adoption of pharmacogenetic/genomic testing, according to a position paper from the American College of Clinical Pharmacology (ACCP) to be published in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. The journal is published on behalf of the ACCP by SAGE.
News of the day
Xeloda In Combination With Oxaliplatin Shown To Be Effective In Early Colon Cancer
Roche announced results from the international phase III study NO16968 (XELOXA), investigating oral Xeloda in combination with intravenous oxaliplatin (XELOX) immediately after surgery, which show that patients with colon cancer taking XELOX live disease free for longer compared to those taking the commonly used intravenous chemotherapy combination 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin (5-FU/LV). The data prove that XELOX is superior to 5-FU/LV in terms of the time patients live without their cancer being detectable.
Health Insurance

Advancing Vaccine Against Valley Fever - UTSA Infectious Disease Researchers

Medical mycologists in The South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (STCEID) and the Department of Biology at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) have significantly advanced the fight against San Joaquin Valley Fever, a respiratory infection of humans, commonly called Valley Fever, which is caused by the Coccidioides fungus. For the first time, the researchers have genetically engineered a live, attenuated vaccine that successfully protects mice against Valley Fever, known in scientific circles as coccidioidomycosis. A live, attenuated vaccine is used as a preventative treatment based upon creation of a mutated form of the pathogen that is no longer capable of causing disease. Coccidioides, a soil-dwelling fungus, is responsible for significantly increased numbers of respiratory infections among outdoor workers when compared to the general population. In addition, people with compromised T-cell immunity, the elderly and certain racial groups, such as African-Americans and Filipinos who live in the Southwestern United States, have an increased incidence of the infection"s symptoms, caused by the inhalation of Coccidioides spores. In approximately 40% of human Valley Fever cases, respiratory problems set in one to three weeks after inhalation. Although less than one percent of infected individuals experience severe symptoms, such as chronic-progressive pneumonia or meningitis, the incidence of reported primary pulmonary infection cases in Arizona and California is on the rise, having significantly increased in the last decade. STCEID researchers at UTSA and Wilford Hall Medical Center at San Antonio"s Lackland Air Force Base have long collaborated on Coccidioides studies in the hopes of developing a vaccine to better protect those who are exposed to it in the future. This most recent study has been funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the California HealthCare Foundation and the Margaret Batts Tobin Foundation. "Respiratory infections caused by Coccidioides tend to escape the radar of most large pharmaceutical companies, because only about 100,000 cases are reported each year," said Garry Cole, professor of biology at UTSA and the study"s principal investigator. He adds, "But when I look at 100,000 cases, I see 100,000 faces looking back at me." Christi Fish University of Texas at San Antonio


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009