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Technology Discovered At University of Virginia Now Helps Men To Monitor Their Fertility After Vasectomy
A new home test kit called SpermCheck Vasectomy, based on a protein discovered at the University of Virginia (UVA) Health System, marks the launch of a product line that could revolutionize the way men monitor their reproductive status. Based on antibodies that bind to SP-10, a protein discovered in the laboratory of John C. Herr, PhD, SpermCheck Vasectomy is the only FDA-approved immunodiagnostic test for monitoring sperm after vasectomy.

NIMH Recovery Act Funds Boost HIV Prevention Program
Developing interventions to reduce the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among heterosexual men, couples and ethnically diverse populations continues to be complex and challenging. To help address this issue, NIMH awarded a two-year grant to David Pç©rez-Jimç©nez, Ph.D., at the University of Puerto Rico, to support the adaptation and assessment of an HIV and other sexually transmitted infection intervention designed for young, heterosexual Latino couples. This grant will use funds allocated to NIMH through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to promote economic recovery and spur advances in science and health.
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Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc. Completes Enrollment Of CaRES Registry To Further Evaluate Definity(R) In Patients With Suboptimal Echocardiograms
Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., a worldwide leader in diagnostic imaging, announces that it has completed patient enrollment of CaRES (Contrast Echocardiography REgistry for Safety Surveillance), the first, multicenter Phase IV observational registry that evaluates the use of ultrasound imaging agents in routine clinical practice. The 1,060 patients who were enrolled at 15 sites in the U.S. were 18 years old or older and required DEFINITY® Vial for (Perflutren Lipid Microsphere) injectable suspension-enhanced echocardiography because of a previous suboptimal, unenhanced echocardiogram.
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Discovery Of Possible Drug Target For One Of The Most Aggressive Breast Cancers

Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) investigators have identified a gene that could be an important therapeutic target in the treatment of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer. Currently, patients with these cancers have few treatment options. "Breast cancer mortality rates are actually declining, but the cancers that don"t respond to traditional treatments tend to be more aggressive and have decreased survival rates," said VARI Research Scientist Carrie Graveel, Ph.D., lead author of the study published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. Researchers found that the Met gene may play a critical role in the development of an aggressive form of breast cancer known as basal breast cancer. "Met has already been associated with decreased survival in breast cancer, but this study identifies its importance in specific types that can be distinguished at the molecular level," said VARI Distinguished Scientific Fellow George Vande Woude, Ph.D., who heads the laboratory that conducted the research. In the 1980"s, Dr. Vande Woude"s laboratory at the National Cancer Institute demonstrated that inappropriate levels of Met occur in human tumors, and that cells with inappropriate Met signaling dramatically impact the spread of cancer. This signaling is implicated in most types of human cancers and high Met expression often correlates with poor prognosis. "We found Met in the majority of breast cancers," said VARI Research Technician Jack DeGroot, another of the study"s authors. "But levels were highest in aggressive types, making Met a promising drug target that could help patients that currently have few treatment options." According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancers account for more than one in four cancers diagnosed in women in the United States. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 40,170 women in the U.S. will die from breast cancer in 2009. "This very exciting work by the Van Andel Research Institute gives us a new target for treatment of patients with one of the worst types of breast cancer - basal breast cancer," said Dr. Daniel D. Von Hoff, Physician-in Chief of the Translational Genomic Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix, Arizona, which initiated an alliance with Van Andel Institute in February. "Since there are many new inhibitors of Met available for clinical trials, we now have a direct route for immediate application of these important findings in the care of patients with this very aggressive form of breast cancer." Joe Gavan Van Andel Research Institute


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