Biotech Week articles from June 2009

Biotech Week archives from June 2009

News briefs from the May issue of Chest.
June 3, 2009... "WEIGHT LOSS GENE" MAY KEEP SMOKERS THIN Research has shown that smokers weigh less and have less body fat than nonsmokers, and now scientists may know the reason why. A research team from Weill Medical College of Cornell University New York...

Study examines reliability of clinical and pathological diagnoses of Barrett's esophagus.
June 3, 2009... In a review of more than 2,000 patients coded for Barrett's esophagus, electronic diagnosis overestimated the prevalence of the disease according to researchers in California. They found that only 61.9 percent of patients assigned a billing...

Patients reveal willingness to trade hands-on medical care for computer consultations.
June 3, 2009... As President Barack Obama calls for streamlining heath care by fully converting to electronic medical records and as Congress prepares to debate issues of patient privacy, one question has largely gone unasked: What do patients want? A...

Cohesin jigsaw begins to fit.(Report)
June 3, 2009... The essential chromosomal protein complex cohesin has crucial roles in sister chromatid cohesion, DNA repair and transcriptional regulation. Despite its conserved function, cohesin's disparate association patterns in different organisms did not...

Plant Min protein sits tight and rescues E. coli.
June 3, 2009... A protein vital for correct chloroplast division in plants is able to take on a similar role in bacterial cells, according to research published in the open access journal BMC Microbiology. The Arabidopsis thaliana Min protein (AtMinD)...

Online surveillance tools provide opportunity to support public health.
June 3, 2009... Tapping the Internet - including personal Web searches, news reports, blogs, chat rooms and social networking sites - is fast becoming a way to get a complete, up-to-the-minute view of public health threats, say researchers from the Informatics...

Monkeys found to wonder what might have been.
June 3, 2009... Monkeys playing a game similar to "Let's Make A Deal" have revealed that their brains register missed opportunities and learn from their mistakes (see also Duke University Medical Center). "This is the first evidence that monkeys, like...

Special petal cells help bees get a grip.
June 3, 2009... Researchers have discovered why most insect-pollinated flowers have special cone-shaped cells on the surfaces of their petals. They literally help bees get a grip, according to a report published online on May 14th in Current Biology, a...

Cholesterol-busting bug with a taste for waste.
June 3, 2009... A novel species of bacteria with cholesterol-busting properties has been discovered by scientists at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. Dr Oliver Drzyzga and colleagues isolated the new bug, called Gordonia cholesterolivorans, from...

Center-based care and insensitive parenting may have lasting effects.(Clinical report)
June 3, 2009... A growing number of American children are enrolled in child care and questions remain about how these settings may affect them in both positive and negative ways. A new study published in the May/June 2009 issue of the journal Child Development...

Fathers respond to teens' risky sexual behavior with increased supervision.(Clinical report)
June 3, 2009... Two-thirds of American teenagers have sex by the time they're 18. A new longitudinal study finds that when adolescents engage in risky sexual activity, fathers respond by increasing their efforts to supervise and monitor their children (see...

Herbal Supplement Sales Increase in US in 2008.
June 3, 2009... Herbal dietary supplement sales in the United States increased slightly in 2008, reaching a total estimated figure of $4,800,000,000. A recent report published in the nonprofit American Botanical Council's (ABC) quarterly journal HerbalGram,...

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners Receives NASDAQ Deficiency Notice.(Report)
June 3, 2009... Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) announced that on May 19, 2009 it was advised by The NASDAQ Stock Market(R) that, based on the Company's stockholders equity as reported in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the...

Guardium 7 Awarded 5-Star Ratings by SC Magazine.
June 3, 2009... Guardium, the database security company, received 5 out of 5 stars on Features, Performance and Ease-of-Use in an extensive Guardium 7 lab review published in the April 2009 issue of SC Magazine UK (see also Guardium). The review states...

Hythiam Receives Notice from Nasdaq Regarding Noncompliance with Minimum Stockholders' Equity Requirement.
June 3, 2009... Hythiam, Inc. (NASDAQ:HYTM) announced that on May 14, 2009 the Company received a Staff Deficiency Letter from the Nasdaq Stock Market ("Nasdaq") for not maintaining a minimum of $10 million in stockholders' equity in accordance with Nasdaq...

NaVOBA Honors 10 Best Corporations for Veteran-Owned Businesses.
June 3, 2009... The National Veteran-Owned Business Association (NaVOBA) announced its 10 Best Corporations for Veteran-Owned Businesses for 2009 (see also National Veteran-Owned Business Association). The list of honorees was published in a story gracing...

Sinobiopharma Applies for Two Chinese Patents for Cisatracurium Besylate.
June 3, 2009... Sinobiopharma Inc. ("Sinobiopharma ", or "the Company") (BULLETIN BOARD: SNBP) is pleased to announce that it has applied for two Chinese patents for its flagship product, Cisatracurim besylate, a pre-surgical skeletal muscle relaxant (see also...

MHA Clinical Director Kimberly Binaso, Pharm.D. Awarded 2009 ASHP Fellow.
June 3, 2009... Managed Health Care Associates, Inc. (MHA), the largest Alternate Site GPO in the country is pleased to announce that Kimberly Binaso-Stwalley, Pharm.D. has been named a 2009 Fellow by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) in...

Study Confirms Effectiveness of Innovative Prism Glasses for Hemianopia Patients.(Clinical report)
June 3, 2009... In a study of specially designed peripheral prism glasses for hemianopia patients (blinded in half the visual field in both eyes), scientists found that two-thirds of patients continued to wear the glasses at the end of the study period and...

Getting More From Whole-Transcript Microarrays.
June 3, 2009... The widely-used Affymetrix Whole-Transcript Gene 1.0 ST (sense target) microarray platform, normally used to assay gene expression, can also be utilized to interrogate exon-specific splicing. Research published in the open access journal BMC...

New data from H. Yahya et al illuminate research in acne vulgaris.
June 3, 2009... According to recent research published in the International Journal of Dermatology, " Community-based studies of acne vulgaris conducted in many parts of the world show that it is very common in adolescents but little is known from Africa. In...

Researchers' work from University of Miami, Medical Department focuses on acne vulgaris.
June 3, 2009... "Botanical extracts and preparations have been used in different pathological conditions with success. An important group of phytochemical phenolic compounds are the catechins found in green tea," scientists in the United States report (see...

New research on acromegaly from University of Birmingham summarized.
June 3, 2009... "Acromegaly is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Treatment options include surgery, radiotherapy, and medical therapy," scientists writing in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism report (see also Acromegaly). ...

Reports summarize acute appendicitis study results from A.A. Malik and co-researchers.(Clinical report)
June 3, 2009... According to recent research published in the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, "The acute appendicitis is the most common abdominal emergency, and the primary treatment has been appendicectomy. Antibiotics are started preoperatively and...

Findings in acute pancreatitis reported from J. Gigout and co-researchers.(Report)
June 3, 2009... "- The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical progression of patients who had severe acute pancreatitis (AP) and a stay in hospital of more than a month. - A total of 24 patients (median age: 57 years) were included in this...

Study findings on acute pancreatitis are outlined in reports from Harvard University.
June 3, 2009... "Our aim was to prospectively evaluate the ability of the bedside index for severity in acute pancreatitis (BISAP) score to predict mortality as well as intermediate markers of severity in a tertiary center. The BISAP score was evaluated among...

Findings from Texas State University in addiction medicine reported.
June 3, 2009... According to a study from the United States, "Many people smoke to control weight and/or reduce stress. Previous studies have shown a link between body mass index (BMI) and reasons for smoking among addicted adults." "Our 2006-2007 data...

New addiction medicine study findings have been reported by S.K. Dobscha and colleagues.
June 3, 2009... According to a study from the United States, "This study sought to identify racial and ethnic differences in rates of alcohol-related advice given to veterans treated in Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities. This was a cross-sectional analysis of...

New addiction medicine study findings recently were published by researchers at University of Minnesota.
June 3, 2009... "Whether people believe that they have control over their behaviors is an issue that is centrally involved in definitions of addiction. Our research demonstrates that believing in free will-that is, believing that one has control over one's...

New research on addiction medicine from University of Texas summarized.(Report)
June 3, 2009... "The rewarding effect of opioids, the driving force for compulsive behaviors of opioid abuse and addiction, is primarily mediated by the mu-opioid receptor. However, the role of the delta-opioid receptor (DOR) in opioid reward and addiction is...

Reports outline addiction medicine study results from G. Gerra et al.
June 3, 2009... "Many studies have documented the safety, efficacy, and effectiveness of long-acting opioids (L-AOs), such as methadone and buprenorphine, in the treatment of heroin addiction," investigators in Vienna, Austria report (see also Addiction...

New adenoma research has been reported by scientists at Erasmus University.(Clinical report)
June 3, 2009... "Previous studies have demonstrated the expression of somatostatin receptor subtypes (mainly sst(5)) and dopamine (DA) receptor subtypes (mainly D-2) in smaller series of human corticotroph adenomas. In line with these findings, sst5 and...

Studies in the area of adolescence reported from University of Amsterdam.
June 3, 2009... "Which moral principles should guide us in evaluating sexual contacts of adolescents? This paper tries to answer this question by taking two steps. First, the implications of a liberal sexual ethics for adolescence are spelled out, assessed and...

Studies from K.J. Lepik et al add new findings in the area of adverse drug reactions.(Clinical report)
June 3, 2009... "We investigate adverse drug events associated with antidotes ethanol and fomepizole in methanol or ethylene glycol poisonings. An ''adverse drug event'' is harm associated with normal or incorrect drug use," scientists in Vancouver, Canada...

Investigators at Griffith University zero in on aggression.
June 3, 2009... According to a study from Brisbane, Australia, "Purpose of review To review current evidence linking amphetamine use with aggression and to consider possible factors that might underlie this association. Recent findings Although evidence that...

Research from Northeastern University yields new findings on aggression.
June 3, 2009... "Atypical antipsychotics are commonly prescribed to clinically referred youngsters for treatment of heightened aggressive behavior associated with various psychiatric disorders. Previously, we demonstrated risperidone's anti-aggressive effects...

New aging findings from K. Beer and co-authors described.
June 3, 2009... According to recent research from the United States, "A validated scale is presented to provide an objective measurement tool to evaluate dorsal hand aging. Representative cases are utilized to demonstrate the various stages of the rating...

New aging research reported from V.A. Narurkar and co-authors.
June 3, 2009... "The aging hand poses a number of therapeutic challenges for rejuvenation and multiple factors are involved, including: dyschromia, lentigines, textural anomalies, volume loss, laxity and the visibility of superficial veins. As with facial...

Report summarizes aging study findings from T.C. Flynn and co-researchers.
June 3, 2009... "Lip fullness declines with aging. Injectable dermal fillers, most commonly hyaluronic acid and collagen-derived, are used to treat the border of the upper and lower lip to enhance lip contour and definition, although in the U.S. dermal filler...

Research from N. Solish and co-researchers in the area of aging described.
June 3, 2009... "Facial aging is one of the most common problems patients present to dermatologic surgeons. Aging of the mid-face is typically a significant factor in the overall appearance of the face," scientists in the United States report (see also Aging)....

Studies from L. Busque et al in the area of aging described.
June 3, 2009... According to recent research from Montreal, Canada, "Nonrandom X-chromosome inactivation (XCI), also known as skewing, has been documented in the blood cells of a significant proportion of normal aging women by the use of methylation-based...

Studies from University of California provide new data on aging.
June 3, 2009... According to a study from the United States, "The long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC PUFAs) docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n3) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n3) are important for health and development of organisms, but the...

Study findings from C. Jaag et al broaden understanding of aging.
June 3, 2009... According to recent research from Switzerland, "This paper deals with two issues concerning the effects of population aging on education decisions in the presence of a PAYG pension system: We first analyze the effects of an aging population per...

Researchers at Cleveland Clinic target airway obstruction.(Report)
June 3, 2009... According to recent research from the United States, "There are important gaps in our understanding of the epidemiology and diagnosis of upper-airway obstruction. We examined the diagnostic value of several criteria for predicting upper-airway...

Study results from Army in the area of airway obstruction published.
June 3, 2009... "The 2005 American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society guidelines on spirometry emphasize examination of the inspiratory curve of the flow-volume loop for evidence of intrathoracic or extrathoracic upper airway obstruction. We sought...

Study results from Zhejiang University broaden understanding of airway obstruction.
June 3, 2009... According to a study from Hangzhou, People's Republic of China, "The conventional FEV1/FVC test is the ''gold standard'' to quantitate airway obstruction, but elderly subjects or patients with severe respiratory diseases quite frequently...

New alcoholism study results reported from K.M. Keyes et al.
June 3, 2009... "Recent research suggests that adding a quantity/frequency alcohol consumption measure to diagnoses of alcohol use disorders may improve construct validity of the diagnoses for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental and Behavior Disorders...

Researchers from University of Maryland describe findings in alcoholism.(Report)
June 3, 2009... "Initial motivation and readiness to change (RTC) are complex constructs and have been important but inconsistent predictors of treatment attendance and drinking outcomes in studies of alcoholism treatment. Motivation can be described in...

Scientists at National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism target alcoholism.
June 3, 2009... "Our previous studies have used intravenous (IV) clamping methods to demonstrate that family history positive (FHP) subjects exhibit a greater initial response to alcohol than family history negative (FHN) subjects. These results differ from...

Studies from University of Connecticut provide new data on alcoholism.(Report)
June 3, 2009... "Glutamate neurotransmission plays an important role in a variety of alcohol-related phenomena, including alcohol self-administration by both animals and humans. Because the risk for alcohol dependence (AD) is genetically influenced, genes...

Study results from Washington University, Medical Department broaden understanding of alcoholism.
June 3, 2009... According to recent research from the United States, "Alcohol dependence is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and has a strong familial component. Several linkage and association studies have identified chromosomal regions...

Research from Columbus Children's Hospital yields new data on allergic contact dermatitis.
June 3, 2009... According to a study from the United States, "Atopic dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis are skin disorders triggered by epicutaneous sensitization with protein antigens and contact sensitization with haptens, respectively. Skin is...

Data on allergies published by researchers at Kyoto University.
June 3, 2009... According to a study from Kyoto, Japan, "Forkhead box protein 3-positive regulatory T (Treg) cells are indispensable for the maintenance of self-tolerance and immune homeostasis." "They can also be exploited for the treatment of immunologic...

Findings from R. Wessbecher and co-researchers advance knowledge in allergies.
June 3, 2009... " In some diseases penicillin is the treatment of choice. Case studies have shown a good response for the treatment of circumscribed scleroderma or scleroderma adultorum of Buschke," scientists writing in the International Journal of...

New data from Okayama Prefectural University illuminate research in allergies.
June 3, 2009... According to recent research published in the journal Bioscience Biotechnology and Biochemistry, "Tropomyosins have been identified as a common allergen in crustaceans, but their allergenicity is not well understood. In the present study, we...

Recent findings from Marche Polytechnic University highlight research in allergies.
June 3, 2009... "Berries contain powerful antioxidants, potential allergens, and other bioactive compounds," scientists in Ancona, Italy report (see also Allergies). "Genetic and environmental factors affect production and storage of such compounds. For...

Research reports on allergies from Virginia Commonwealth University provide new insights.
June 3, 2009... According to a study from the United States, "Pruritus ( itch) is a common cause of discomfort by dermatological disorders. Several peripherally and centrally mediated pathologies that induce pruritus do not generally respond to typical...

Study results from N. Goplen et al provide new insights into allergies.
June 3, 2009... According to recent research from the United States, "Existing asthma models develop tolerance when chronically exposed to the same allergen. We sought to establish a chronic model that sustains features of asthma long after discontinuation of...

Studies from Columbia University have provided new data on alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency.
June 3, 2009... In this recent report, researchers in the United States conducted a study "To elucidate psychosocial and ethical issues faced by adults at risk for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) that have received little attention. Eleven individuals...

New Alport syndrome findings from K. Hopker and co-authors described.
June 3, 2009... "Alport syndrome is a progressive hereditary renal disease. Mutations in the genes encoding for three members of the type IV collagen protein family have been found to be the cause of the disease," scientists in Cologne, Germany report (see...

Reports outline alveolar bone loss study results from Cumhuriyet University.(Report)
June 3, 2009... "The purpose of this study was to analyze the morphometric and histopathologic changes associated with experimental periodontitis in rats in response to systemic administration of N-acetylcysteine (NAC). Forty-three Wistar rats were divided...

Research on Alzheimer disease reported by scientists at Lund University.
June 3, 2009... "The objective was to identify separate cognitive domains in the standard assessment tools (MMSE, ADAS-Cog) and analyze the process of decline within domains during three years in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients with donepezil treatment. AD...

Research reports on Alzheimer disease from Louisiana State University provide new insights.(Report)
June 3, 2009... According to recent research from the United States, "Six older adults with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) were trained to recall a name-face association using the spaced retrieval technique. In this study, we retested these persons in a...

Researchers at University of California have published new data on Alzheimer disease.
June 3, 2009... According to recent research from the United States, "Selecting what is important to remember, attending to this information, and then later recalling it can be thought of in terms of the strategic control of attention and the efficient use of...

Study data from Shiga University provide new insights into Alzheimer disease.(Report)
June 3, 2009... "We and others have previously reported that lactotransferrin (LF), acting both as an iron-binding protein and inflammatory modulator, is greatly up-regulated in the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, it remains unknown...

Research from F. Fang and co-researchers in the area of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis published.
June 3, 2009... In this recent report published in the journal Archives of Neurology, researchers in Stockholm, Sweden conducted a study "To investigate the temporal trend of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) incidence in Sweden between January 1, 1991, and...

Study data from M. Mohta et al provide new insights into analgesics.
June 3, 2009... According to recent research published in the Journal of Trauma - Injury Infection and Critical Care, "Thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA), a commonly used analgesic technique in patients with multiple fractured ribs, is technically demanding and...

Study findings on analgesics are outlined in reports from J. Garzon and colleagues.
June 3, 2009... "Although the systemic administration of cannabinoids produces antinociception, their chronic use leads to analgesic tolerance as well as cross-tolerance to morphine. These effects are mediated by cannabinoids binding to peripheral, spinal and...

Data on anaphylactic shock detailed by J. Soar and co-authors.
June 3, 2009... According to recent research published in the journal Clinical Medicine, "Anaphylaxis is a severe, life-threatening, generalised or systemic hypersensitivity reaction characterised by rapidly developing life-threatening airway, breathing and/or...

Researchers at Third Military Medical University target anatomy.
June 3, 2009... "Simultaneous defects of Achilles tendon and skin remain a big challenge for clinical surgeons. This article reviews the experience of a one-stage reconstruction of the defects," researchers in Kunming, People's Republic of China report (see...

Researchers' work from University of Alberta focuses on anatomy.
June 3, 2009... According to recent research from Edmonton, Canada, "The contrasting hydraulic properties of wheat (Triticum aestivum), narrow-leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolius), and yellow lupin (Lupinus luteus) roots were identified by integrating...

Investigators at University of Wisconsin release new data on anesthesia.(Clinical report)
June 3, 2009... "The differential diagnosis of new or worsening focal neurologic deficits on emergence from anesthesia is broad," investigators in the United States report (see also Anesthesia). "Cerebral ischemia or hemorrhage, focal seizures, and acute...

New anesthesia data have been reported by J.W. Yi and co-authors.
June 3, 2009... According to recent research from Seoul, South Korea, "In spite of more than 20 yr of research, the mechanism whereby local anaesthetics act on the brain to mediate anaesthesia still remains unclear. Furthermore, the effect of local...

New anesthesia research from University of Lubeck outlined.
June 3, 2009... According to recent research from Lubeck, Germany, "Measuring propofol concentration in plasma (c(P)PL) and in exhaled alveolar gas (c(P)G) during constant infusion provides information about their respective time courses. In the present study,...

Research by V. Bonhomme and colleagues in anesthesia provides new insights.(Report)
June 3, 2009... "Propofol anesthesia may induce metabolic disturbances and sevoflurane anesthesia arterial hypotension. This study compares both techniques regarding acid-base and hemodynamic status during intracranial surgery," scientists writing in the...

Researchers from Roosevelt Hospital provide details of new studies and findings in the area of anesthesia.
June 3, 2009... In this recent report published in the Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, researchers in the United States conducted a study "To determine whether interscalene brachial plexus block (ISB) provides adequate anesthesia for surgery on or about the...

Study results from National Defense Medical College, Medical College update understanding of anesthesia.
June 3, 2009... "The Entropy (TM) Module anaesthesia monitor displays two spectral entropy-based indices, response entropy (RE) and state entropy (SE). The difference between RE and SE (RE-SE), which mainly reflects electromyography activation, is thought to...

Study data from B. Mets et al provide new insights into anesthesiology.
June 3, 2009... In this recent report published in the Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, researchers in the United States conducted a study "To characterize the approach of academic chairs of anesthesiology in leading and managing their departments, and to gain...

Recent studies from Louisiana State University add new data to aneurysm.
June 3, 2009... According to recent research from the United States, "Aneurysms of the lower basilar artery are surgically difficult to expose and clip. Various cranial base approaches, which are associated with significant morbidity, have been used to access...

Data on angiology discussed by Y. Kurimoto and colleagues.
June 3, 2009... "Endovascular stent-grafting with intentional coverage of the left subclavian artery may be used to treat aortic isthmus injury, but this procedure may have serious neurologic sequelae and may not provide an adequate proximal landing zone. In...

Findings from Tri-Service General Hospital in angiology reported.
June 3, 2009... "Functional reconstruction after a severe hand injury is best achieved by obtaining primary, stable soft tissue coverage to avoid delayed wound healing, prolonged immobilization, and joint stiffness. A wide range of procedures from spontaneous...

Investigators at University of Cambridge have published new data on angiology.
June 3, 2009... According to a study from Cambridge, the United Kingdom, "The ADAMTS enzymes (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type 1-like motifs) have important roles in central nervous system (CNS) physiology and pathology. This...

Research from University of Milan reveals new findings on angiology.(Report)
June 3, 2009... "In this study we analysed the relationship between damage in the territory of the posterior cerebral artery and semantic knowledge, with special reference to category dissociations. Twenty-eight posterior cerebral artery stroke patients (18...

Investigators at Catholic University publish new data on ankylosing spondylitis.(Clinical report)
June 3, 2009... "Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a well recognized extraintestinal manifestation of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBDs), either Crohn's Disease(CD) or Ulcerative Colitis (UC). A much larger percentage of SpA patients have subclinical gut inflammation...