Diagnostics
A virus (from the Latin virus meaning toxin or poison) is a microscopic organism consisting of genetic material (RNA or DNA) surrounded by a protein, lipid (fat), or glycoprotein coat. Viruses are unique organisms because they cannot reproduce without a host cell. After contacting a host cell, a virus will insert genetic material into the host and take over the host"s functions. The cell, now infected, continues to reproduce, but it reproduces more viral protein and genetic material instead of its usual products. It is this process that earns viruses the classification of "parasite".
"The Senate Finance Committee, which is seeking a bipartisan compromise, has failed to reach an agreement" on health care reform, Bloomberg reports, "even as two House committees and a Senate panel cleared their versions of the legislation with only Democratic approval." The open-ended question of when, and what, the Finance panel will propose, has become the focus of Senators and the administration as the August recess nears with no deal in sight. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the Finance chairman, said a deal could come this week "at the earliest," a month after he originally planed to finalize a version of the bill, Bloomberg reports (Litvan and Jensen, 7/20).
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has announced an innovative and wide-ranging programme for the Health Protection 2009 conference, which is taking place at Warwick University from 14th to 16th September.
The insurance industry so far has "stayed at the bargaining table and held its fire in the ad wars," but "now, the industry is speaking up, not with an attack but with a seven-figure, national cable TV ad buy starting Monday in favor of affordable bipartisan health reform that can cover everyone," Politico reports. "But make no mistake: The ads are sending a strong don"t-tread-on-us message, not so much a shot across the bow of reform as a reminder of the industry"s ability to weigh in at any time, with messages pro or con." The 30-second ads from America"s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) "pushes for bipartisan reform that includes affordable, universal coverage that doesn"t deny insurance to those with pre-existing health conditions," but doesn"t attack the idea of a government-run insurance plan - a proposal the industry vehemently opposes." The ad "will be supported by a complementary print campaign that is also set to launch this week."
Health plans launched a new national television advertising campaign in support of bipartisan health care reform.
The New York Daily News on Friday examined the federal government"s recent actions to remove HIV from the list of diseases that can bar foreign residents from entry into the U.S. According to the Daily News, "The current regulations took effect in 1987, at the height of the worldwide AIDS scare," but, "[n]ow, with the backing of the Obama administration, the ban could be lifted by the end of the year." Martin Cetron, director of the CDC"s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, said, "We"re trying to end the stigma and the discriminatory practice for a disease that doesn"t warrant exclusion for coming into this country." MSNBC.com reports that "immigration critics say they"re leery of the proposal that could allow an average of 4,275 HIV-infected people into the country annually, with a lifetime medical cost of about $94 million for those admitted during the first year, according to CDC estimates published this month in the Federal Register" (Aleccia, 7/17). Through Aug. 17, CDC is seeking public comment on the proposed rule to remove HIV from the list of diseases that can bar entry into the U.S. (Miller, 7/17).
Patients taking Boehringer Ingelheim"s HIV drug Viramune have a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease than those taking Bristol-Myers Squibb"s treatment, Reyataz, according to a study released on Monday at the 5th International AIDS Society conference in Cape Town, South Africa, Reuters reports. "The drug trial, involving 569 participants, yielded that Viramune, while being as effective at suppressing HIV as Bristol Myers" blockbuster Reyataz, had a more favourable effect on patients" cardiovascular risks, as measured by certain blood lipids," the article states. The study found that "Viramune-treated patients ò€¦ had more than twice the level of HDL cholesterol, known as "good cholesterol" for its benefitial effect on blood vessels, than those on Reyataz, Boehringer said in a statement," Reuters reports. The article adds that advances in antiretroviral drugs have helped make HIV a "treatable chronic condition," and "as a result, patients are growing older, bringing other symptoms of an HIV infection, such as cardiovascular diseases, to the fore" (Burger, Reuters, 7/20).
The individual health insurance market is not a viable option for the majority of uninsured adults, a new report from The Commonwealth Fund finds. Seventy-three percent of people who tried to buy insurance on their own in the last three years did not purchase a policy, primarily because premiums were too high. In addition, among adults with individual coverage or who tried to buy coverage in the past three years, 57 percent said it was very difficult or impossible to find coverage they could afford, 47 percent said it was very difficult or impossible to find a plan with the coverage they needed, and 36 percent were denied coverage or charged more because of a pre-existing condition, or had the condition excluded from their coverage.
First Minister Rhodri Morgan announced (date) that almost ÷£30 million of funding has been secured for phase two of the Institute of Life Science at Swansea University, with the promise of up to 650 jobs.
The peptide alpha-MSH works in a region of the brain known as the hypothalamus to suppress appetite. A team of researchers, at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, and the University of California Davis, has provided new insight into the way in which levels of the active form of alpha-MSH are regulated in mice. Specifically, genetic and biochemical analysis performed by the team, led by Sabrina Diano and Craig Warden, indicated that the protein PRCP is expressed in the hypothalamus and breaks down the active form of alpha-MSH, generating a slightly smaller peptide that does not suppress food intake. Importantly, administration of PRCP inhibitors to both normal and obese mice reduced their food intake. Further, mice lacking PRCP had increased levels of the active form of alpha-MSH in the hypothalamus and were leaner and shorter than normal mice; they also did not get obese when fed a high-fat diet. The authors suggest that these data are the first step in identifying PRCP as a candidate drug target for the treatment of obesity and obesity-related disorders. Although Richard Palmiter, at the University of Washington, Seattle, also raises this intriguing possibility, he cautions that any drug would need to penetrate the brain.
Scientists have identified a master regulator gene for early embryonic development of the pancreas and other organs, putting researchers closer to coaxing stem cells into pancreatic cells as a possible cure for type1 diabetes.
Merck & Co., Inc. issued the following statement in response to study results published today by the World Health Organization offering the first evidence that elimination of the tropical disease river blindness (onchocerciasis) in Africa is feasible with treatment with ivermectin (registered trademark Mectizan®). As the discoverer and manufacturer of Mectizan, Merck decided in 1987 to donate the drug to all who need it for as long as necessary until river blindness is eliminated as a public health problem. The Merck Mectizan Donation Program is one of the longest-running disease-specific drug donation and public/private partnership programs in history.
Research carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has resulted in a promising approach to help treat Alzheimer"s disease in a significant proportion of the population that suffers from a particularly rapid development of this disease.
Stagnation in HIV/AIDS funding and the high cost of new medicines are putting the lives of thousands of poor patients at risk, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Mç©decins Sans Frontiç¨res (MSF) warned today at the 2009 International AIDS Society conference in South Africa . Patients needing new drug regimens will return to AIDS "death row." While the lack of access to antiretroviral treatment for seven million people remains unaddressed, inadequate financing now further threatens treatment scale-up.
Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NasdaqGM: SPPI), a commercial stage biotechnology company with a focus on oncology, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing and review the resubmission to the Company"s supplement to the biologics license application for ZEVALIN (ibritumomab tiuxetan) in the first line consolidation setting on July 8, 2009. The FDA considers the review as a Class 1 submission to their complete response letter of July 2, 2009. Therefore, the user fee goal date is September 7, 2009.
The east coast states, particularly Queensland and New South Wales, are the first to feel the pressure from the burgeoning medical student "tsunami" and students nationwide will be anxiously looking to these states as an indication of things to come.
Ortho Clinical Diagnostics announced the launch of its Remote Monitoring Center, the first 24-7 central command center in the in vitro diagnostic industry that continuously tracks the condition of laboratory instrument performance. Using proprietary remote diagnostic tools leveraging more than 30 years of field engineering experience, the Remote Monitoring Center helps customers identify specific service needs up to 30 days in advance. This innovative service detects and predicts potential instrument problems before they interrupt the ability of the laboratory to deliver quality test results. With the Remote Monitoring Center, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics fundamentally changes the way laboratories manage and maintain instruments so they can deliver timely and accurate results to physicians and patients.
Say a deadly campus shooting occurs. It might seem sensible to offer everyone on campus psychological support to prevent psychological repercussions, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The UK needs a national plan for dementia research or the country will pay the price, the UK"s top scientists are warning today.
Following the publication of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) report on advanced practice, the NMC made the following statement.
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) on Monday said that he and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) are negotiating to resolve the concerns of antiabortion-rights Democrats who want to exclude abortion coverage from the House health reform bill (HR 3200), Dow Jones reports. Stupak said that the compromise would affect how state abortion laws are handled under the bill (Yoest, Dow Jones, 7/20.). According to the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Stupak did not give details on the negotiations, and aides said that no final deal has been reached (Werner, AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/21).Stupak said that he and Waxman"s staff discussed the compromise over the weekend. According to Stupak, a compromise could be voted on this week as an amendment during the committee"s markup of the bill. According to Dow Jones, Stupak holds a key vote on the health bill, which faces opposition from some other conservative Democrats on the panel over costs. His comments on Monday suggest "an easing of tensions" between antiabortion-right Democrats and supporters of the bill, Dow Jones reports. Stupak and 19 other House Democrats last week sent a letter to party leaders stating that they "cannot support a health care reform proposal unless it explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health plan." They also stated that they want to ensure that a health benefits advisory council created under the bill "cannot recommend abortion services be included under covered benefits or as part of a benefits package." The advisory council would make recommendations to the HHS secretary, who would make final determinations on what public and private plans would be required to cover in a health insurance exchange. Stupak said that the two sides are "working in good faith" and that other members of the committee should not push their own abortion-related amendments (Dow Jones, 7/20). On Monday, committee voted 20-35 to reject an amendment, offered by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.), that would have eliminated a provision requiring states to adhere to minimum benefits requirements that employer-sponsored insurance must include. Deal said that states could be required to cover abortion or "out of mainstream" services. Stupak responded, "I hope we"re not going to start using reproductive rights as a red herring on every amendment that comes up." Panel Approves Sex Education AmendmentThe panel voted 33-23 to approve an amendment that would authorize $250 million through 2014 for "evidence-based" sex education programs for teenagers. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), who offered the amendment, said that abstinence-only programs would not be excluded if they are proven effective. Following debate on Capps" amendment, Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) offered an amendment that would reauthorize the Title V abstinence-only sex education program. Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said that Title V "has been a failure," adding that 25 states refused to accept the money through the program because it is ineffective. Terry"s amendment was rejected 26-29.The committee also voted 36-23 to adopt an amendment that would provide $150 million in grants through 2014 to state and local governments and not-for-profits for educating residents in "medically underserved" areas on various topics, including sexual behavior (Wayne, CQ Today, 7/21).
"Until the nation"s governors staged a public revolt last weekend, few people were paying attention to one of the most far-reaching proposals being considered as part of overhauling the health care system: a dramatic expansion and redefinition of the Medicaid program," Time reports. "Redefining who is eligible for Medicaid would be one of the major means by which lawmakers hope to achieve universal health coverage - which is one of the reasons that Governors, whose budgets already are straining under the program"s growing costs, are so wary of the idea."
AccuVein LLC announced the launch of AccuVein AV300, the world"s first hand-held, non-contact vein illumination device that helps healthcare professionals locate hard-to-find veins. IV starts and blood draws (venipuncture) can be a of patient anxiety and discomfort, and accessing veins in difficult patients can take up to 10 minutes and require multiple needle sticks. Venipuncture is the most common invasive medical procedure with an estimated 2.7 million procedures conducted every day in the United States alone. The AV300 can help reduce the need for multiple needle sticks, with the goal of improving patient care and the time to access veins.
Prices paid for medical equipment show Medicare inefficiencies and foreshadow difficulties in reforming the system. CNN reports on the issue by focusing on one wheelchair: "Debbie Brown used to process medical and dental forms for a living before a debilitating illness forced her into early disability retirement and left her in a simple, no-frills wheelchair -- a rented wheelchair that has cost taxpayers about $1,200. Brown says the public should be outraged about her wheelchair. Why? She says she could buy a comparable wheelchair on the Internet for $440 if she had the money. It sounded hard to believe that her rented, $1,200 taxpayer-funded wheelchair could be bought for $440, so CNN decided to check -- and instead found an even better deal. CNN went to the same company that charges Medicare for Brown"s chair, Apria Healthcare, and bought it for $349 -- about a fourth of what taxpayers" have paid for Brown"s rented wheelchair. That"s why this slightly built woman, who lives modestly with her husband in Sacramento, California, believes her story and her wheelchair underscore the bigger problem of reforming health care in America."
A former health insurance spokesman speaks out against insurance practices. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones reports: "Wendell Potter, former chief spokesman for health insurer Cigna Corp., describes himself in his Twitter bio as a "journalist who spent 20 years undercover as HMO PR flack, now writing all about it." While Potter chuckles about the line, he is serious about his foray into the U.S. health reform debate, where he is campaigning for a public health-plan option and, with mild delivery and tough words, targeting what he calls "deceptive and dishonest" tactics of a for-profit health insurance industry that"s fighting such a plan."
In addition to acting as life-saving therapy to people living with HIV/AIDS, WHO researchers say antiretrovirals (ARVs) may also be able to prevent the spread of HIV, Health-e/allAfrica.com reports. Reuben Granich, of the WHO, used a model to estimate the use of ARVs for the prevention of HIV transmission, and presented his findings to delegates gathered at the 5th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention meeting in Cape Town, South Africa (Thom, 7/20).
Timeframe before conception may be linked to disease later in life
Cells rely on tiny molecular motors to deliver cargo, such as mRNA and organelles, within the cell. The critical nature of this transport system is evidenced by the fact that disruption of motors by genetic defects leads to fatal diseases in humans. Although investigators have isolated these motor to study their function in a controlled environment outside the cell, it has been difficult for researchers to follow these fascinating molecular transporters in their natural environment, the living cell.
Commenting on the Care Quality Commission"s report into the West London Mental Health Trust, NHS Confederation Chief Executive Steve Barnett said:
Healthy, normal-weight women pregnant with twins should gain between 37 and 54 pounds, according to research from a Michigan State University professor who helped shape the recently released national guidelines on gestational weight gain.
In the new issue of the Developmental Cell journal, a team of scientists at Singapore"s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill, report research findings about the molecular mechanisms behind the aging process, which has up till now been poorly understood, that offer the possibility that a novel, pharmacological approach could be developed to combat age-related disorders.
Over 3,400 South Asians have taken part in the UK"s largest study into heart failure in ethnic minority populations. Researchers at the University of Birmingham in the UK have been carrying out the study, involving members of the Indian community. Patients, who are registered with GPs in the Birmingham area of the English Midlands, were screened at their local surgery, to discover how common, heart failure is among them.
Taking eye drops multiple times a day can be difficult for patients to do, and because of blinking and tearing, as little as 1 to 7 percent of the dose is actually absorbed by the eye. Now, researchers led by Daniel Kohane, MD, PhD, director of the Laboratory for Biomaterials and Drug Delivery at Children"s Hospital Boston, have developed special contact lenses that can gradually dispense a constant amount of medication to the eye, at adjustable rates. They describe their prototype lens in the July issue of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.
Long Beach PET Imaging Center, a leading diagnostic imaging center in the Long Beach, Calif.-area, announced it has relocated to a new, expanded facility at 2708 East Willow, Signal Hill, CA 90755, 562-427-0714, adjacent to Liberty Pacific Medical Imaging. The relocation is expected to be completed in August 2009. During the relocation process, all services including PET/CT and CT will remain in full operation without any interruption.
John Muir Health Foundation, the charitable fundraising organization for all John Muir Health programs and services, has provided funding to enable John Muir Health to purchase two advanced high definition daVinci® Surgical Systems for its Walnut Creek and Concord campuses. Surgeons at John Muir Heath will use the daVinci® "robots" for a variety of minimally invasive urological, gynecological, gynecologic/oncologic and colorectal treatments.
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:GILD) highlighted results from a study known as DART (Development of Anti-Retroviral Treatment in Africa), which evaluated the need for routine laboratory monitoring in adults taking antiretroviral therapy in Africa. The DART trial was an open-label, randomized study comparing clinical and laboratory monitoring to clinical monitoring alone for efficacy and toxicity. In this study, 74 percent of patients were on a treatment regimen containing Viread® (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate). At baseline, more than 50 percent of patients had reduced renal function. The results indicated that Viread was well tolerated and that the incidence of renal adverse events was low. DART researchers concluded that renal function test results were similar in both arms of the trial for up to five years, suggesting that routine monitoring of Viread may not be necessary in re-limited settings when using the product as part of a first-line HIV treatment regimen. The results of the study were presented today at the 5th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2009) in Cape Town, South Africa.
Interim results of a study being conducted by scientists at the University of Liverpool suggest that children aged three years and younger, who are born to women taking the anti-epileptic drug sodium valproate whilst pregnant, are likely to have an IQ of six to nine points lower than average.
Increasing numbers of children around the world are suffering from respiratory problems - coughing, wheezing and asthma attacks. Although the key external causes of these diseases were identified a long time ago (traffic and industrial air pollution), it had not previously been possible to distinguish clearly between these two factors so as to have a targeted impact on them. Researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the University of Leipzig carried out research in this area together with colleagues from the University of La Plata and can now confirm that air pollution caused by industry has even more grave effects than vehicle exhaust fumes.
A new report aimed at increasing the number of doctors from lower income groups was branded a missed opportunity by doctor and medical student leaders after it failed to address the full of extent of the soaring financial cost of studying medicine in the UK.
Purdue University researchers have created magnetically responsive gold nanostars that may offer a new approach to biomedical imaging.
EHE International recently announced the findings of a study indicating that elevated PSA levels, often associated with prostate cancer, are potentially harder to detect in men who are obese or experiencing weight gain. Prostate specific antigens (PSAs) are proteins produced by the cells of the prostate gland and because elevated levels may be indicative of prostate cancer, PSAs are regularly measured in annual physicals. PSA velocity is a measure of how fast PSA levels are changing in a man through time, and a high PSA velocity is an important indicator of prostate cancer risk. The study describes how obesity and increases in Body Mass Index (BMI) make PSA velocity scores appear lower than they really are, thereby potentially obscuring clinically relevant changes in circulating PSA.
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), announced that its Endeavor drug-eluting stent (DES) is the first and only coronary stent to have received CE (Conformité Européene) Mark approval for treating patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), which includes unstable angina and acute myocardial infarction (AMI), commonly known as heart attack.
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced positive results from its first Phase 2 clinical study evaluating the functionality of the handheld device component of its ARX-01 Sufentanil NanoTab(TM) PCA System for management of acute post-operative pain in patients requiring opioid analgesia during hospitalization. Patients reliably self-administered sufentanil NanoTabs repeatedly over the 12-hour study without any ARX-01 System failures or dosing errors of any kind.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons"(AAOS) Board of Directors approved a new clinical practice guideline for the treatment of pediatric diaphyseal femur fractures. Diaphyseal (the shaft of a long bone) fracture of the femur (the bone in the thigh) is a very common childhood injury.
The American Cancer Society estimates 192,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year with more than 40,000 individuals dying from the disease. In New Jersey alone 6,400 new cases are expected with 1,400 deaths. In an effort to combat such statistics, researchers at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) have opened a clinical trial, which will evaluate a new drug combination for patients with breast cancer who are set to undergo surgery to remove the tumor. At focus is the process of stopping angiogenesis (blood vessel growth), which is necessary for cancer tumors to grow and spread. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday postponed its vote on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor until July 28 at the request of Republican members who said they need one more week to review written answers she recently submitted to the panel, CongressDaily reports. Both Republicans and Democrats expect Sotomayor to be approved by the committee and confirmed by the Senate, CongressDaily reports (CongressDaily, 7/21).The delay came as Senate Republicans continued to weigh whether they would vote to confirm Sotomayor, the Wall Street Journal reports. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced plans to vote for Sotomayor and issued a statement calling the judge "committed to applying the law impartially without bias or favoritism." Four other moderate Republicans have said they will support Sotomayor, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) indicated that more might follow suit. "There are a number of Republicans who have announced they plan to vote for her," Leahy said, adding, "There are a number of others who"ve not made that announcement yet, but plan to vote for her" (Peterson, Wall Street Journal, 7/21). Leahy said he is confident that Sotomayor will be confirmed in time for the Supreme Court"s first meeting on Sept. 9.Some strong conservatives, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), have said they will oppose Sotomayor (Hirschfeld Davis, AP/Denver Post, 7/22). Among the Senate Republicans who have not announced their intentions are Sens. John Cornyn (Texas), who serves on the Judiciary Committee, and Judd Gregg (N.H.) (Wall Street Journal, 7/21).NARAL Endorses Sotomayor NARAL ProChoice America recently said that it will endorse Sotomayor, the AP/Seattle Times reports. The group said that Sotomayor"s testimony shows that she is a stronger supporter of privacy rights than the last two Supreme Court nominees -- Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. Sotomayor said several times during her confirmation hearings that privacy rights include a woman"s right to have an abortion, NARAL said. According to the AP/Times, NARAL did not endorse Sotomayor until now because of uncertainty over her views on abortion rights (Hirschfeld Davis, AP/Seattle Times, 7/21).
Asthma UK"s team of clinical experts is offering important advice on how people with asthma can help protect themselves against swine flu now and into the autumn.
Work on the House health care reform bill is slowing as Rep. Henry Waxman of California and fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats have come to an agreement on Medicare payments, The New York Times reports.
A US non-profit organization filed a lawsuit on Wednesday asking a New Jersey county court to force food companies to put labels warning of
The Wall Street Journal reports that "Democratic centrists said they won a tentative commitment from the White House to back a proposal to curb the growth of Medicare costs. ... One proposal pushed both by President Barack Obama and some centrists is to give the executive branch the authority to implement cuts to Medicare spending that would be recommended by independent experts. Congress could stop the cuts, but only if it acted swiftly. Fiscal conservatives say that under the current system, which gives Congress more power, lawmakers shy away from politically tough votes to restrain Medicare costs."
Young adults are facing tough times with limited job prospects and no health insurance. The Associated Press reports on recent college graduate Emily Weinstein as being representative of the many young uninsured Americans: "Like millions of other uninsured adults in their 20s, Weinstein is watching Congress as it advances legislation to overhaul health care. The recession has deepened young adults" career struggles. It has also sharpened their interest in health insurance. Already the least likely of any age group to have coverage, adults in their 20s face brutal job searches and more time uninsured because of the recession. Nearly 30 percent, 13.2 million, were uninsured in 2007, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based research center. Many young adults work entry-level jobs without insurance and, despite new laws in some states, they"re eventually too old to stay on their parents" policies."
"HIV infection rates among babies are significantly cut when mothers are given prolonged ARV treatment during breastfeeding," according to findings released at the International AIDS Society conference in Cape Town, South Africa on Wednesday, Reuters reports. According to Reuters, "Key findings from the study showed that a stronger drug cocktail administered over a longer period reduced the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission compared with the current WHO-recommended short-course ARV regimen." Tim Farley, project leader for the "Kesho Bora" study - which was conducted at five sites in Burkina Faso, Kenya and South Africa by the WHO in partnership with several other international agencies - said, "The results of this study show an almost two-fold reduction in the risk of HIV transmission during the breastfeeding period and also [show] there is no short-term toxicity (to mothers or infants)." The WHO "is reviewing its 2006 recommendations on the use of ARVs in pregnant women, including during the breastfeeding period. New guidelines are expected to be published by the end of 2009 and will take into account emerging data," Reuters reports (Roelf, 7/21).
Chicago high school students interested in science and health care will get a chance to learn about diagnostic tests and the laboratory professionals who perform them during the American Association for Clinical Chemistry"s 2009 Clinical Lab Expo on July 21 and 22.
Labs Are Vital™ announced that a 2009 high school graduate from northern California, Kelly Peterson, is the grand prize winner of its national video contest. High school students around the country submitted their views on video about why careers in the clinical lab sciences are vital.
Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will allow the National Institutes of Health to create jobs for early career scientists and increase the ranks of researchers and clinicians working in the global health field. With $3 million in funding over the next 18 months, the NIH"s Fogarty International Center will be able to support 23 additional participants in its Clinical Research Training Scholars and Fellows Program.
Micrus Endovascular Corporation (NASDAQ:MEND) announced that study results presented recently at the 10th Congress of the World Federation of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology (WFITN) demonstrated that the DeltaPaq™ microcoil"s proprietary design appears to improve the uniformity of coil distribution within a cerebral aneurysm and the degree of microcoil packing in the aneurysm dome and neck, which may reduce the risk of aneurysm recurrence. Bernard R. Bendok, M.D., Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery and Radiology, Department of Neurological Surgery of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and Matthew Gounis, Ph.D., Director of the New England Center for Stroke Research at the University of Massachusetts, served as principal investigators for the Micrus-sponsored in vitro study.
Medicaid health plans are producing cost savings for states, increasing access to services for individuals covered by Medicaid, improving quality of care, and earning high satisfaction ratings from enrollees, according to a Lewin Group report released today by America"s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). Twenty-four existing studies were analyzed by the Lewin Group to determine the savings achieved when states have implemented private Medicaid health plans.
A new study has found that a currently available yet underused vaccine against typhoid fever is highly effective in young children and protects unvaccinated neighbors of vaccinees.
The role of a protein called XIAP in the regulation of cell death has been identified by Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers and has led them to recommend caution when drugs called IAP inhibitors are used to treat cancer patients with underlying liver conditions.
By miniaturizing a device that monitors the delivery of healthy cells, researchers at Department of Energy"s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are developing a powerful instrument for physicians to use in treating patients with Parkinson"s syndrome, brain tumors and other diseases.
Dr. David H. Martin, Professor and Chief of the Section of Infectious Diseases at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine, updated reporters and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases on sexually transmitted diseases in the United States on July 22, 2009 at the National Press Club in Washington , DC. Dr. Martin, whose presentation was called, Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Neither Gone nor Forgotten, revealed significant information about STDs including Chlamydia trachomatis, gonorrhea, syphilis, and a relatively new STD, Mycoplasma genitalium.
Scientists have launched a project to make hair dye out of seaweed from around the Shetland Islands.
The National Cancer Institute has awarded a five-year, $2.8 million Research Project (RO1) grant to Roswell Park Cancer Institute http://www.roswellpark.org/ (RPCI) researchers to investigate the role of immunological pathways in the development of ovarian cancer.
QRxPharma Limited (Pink Sheets: QRXPY; ASX: QRX) announced the initiation of a Phase 2 comparative proof-of-concept study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of MoxDuo(TM) IV (intravenous morphine and oxycodone) versus IV morphine alone for the treatment of moderate to severe post-operative pain in patients following hip replacement surgery. Data from this study will serve as a significant predictor of MoxDuo(TM) IV"s clinical benefits and provide guidance for the design of further clinical trials leading to submission of an NDA to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within the next three years.
Botox is one of the many trade names for the neurotoxic protein called botulinum toxin that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. In large doses, the protein causes botulism, a rare paralytic illness often linked to food poisoning.
Coal dust exposure is directly linked to severity of emphysema in smokers and nonsmokers alike, according to new research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Ozone exposure, even at levels deemed safe by current clean air standards, can have a significant and negative effect on lung function, according to researchers at the University of California Davis.
Almost everyone who lives a long life will develop cataracts at some point. As more Americans live into their 70s and beyond, we all need to know a few cataract basics: risks and symptoms, tips that may delay onset, and how to decide when it is time for surgery, so good vision can be restored.
"With many Americans growing anxious about his plans to overhaul the nation"s healthcare system, President Obama on Wednesday sought to lay out in personal terms how they stand to gain from the legislation that he has made one of the top goals of his presidency," the Los Angeles Times reports. He used the speech to reach out to people who already have insurance, arguing that skyrocketing costs must be slowed and that inaction would hobble businesses and families alike. In making the case for health reform to the American public, however, Obama described specific policy ideas and "relied on jargon that Washington insiders embrace but that might leave the typical television viewer mystified" (Nicholas, Parsons and Levey, 7/23).
Patients with moderate COPD were randomized to receive "usual care" or to undergo an interdisciplinary, community-based program (INTERCOM) that offered an intensive lifestyle moderation phase of four months, during which patients were instructed in detail to perform two 15-minute intervals of pleasurable walking or cycling, and offered instruction in other lifestyle changes such as nutrition and smoking cessation. After the four-month introductory period, there was a less intensive 20-month maintenance during which patients were offered guidance but not intensive intervention.
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified its voluntary recall action of the Intrepid™ Intervertebral Body Fusion Device as a Class II recall. Medtronic initiated a voluntary recall of the product on February 6, 2009, and communicated the risk to physicians and hospitals. As of the date of this news release, all unused product has been retrieved and Medtronic has received confirmation of notification from all affected physicians and hospitals.
"Several senior House Democrats voiced strong concern Wednesday with a proposal to empower the executive branch to restrain Medicare spending, adding fresh uncertainty to White House efforts to build support for health legislation," The Wall Street Journal reports. "The proposal is being pushed by a coalition of centrist Democrats who are demanding greater steps to control the growth of health-care costs before they consider supporting legislation that would extend health insurance to tens of millions of Americans lacking coverage." Earlier this week, "the centrists struck a tentative deal with top Obama aides and House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D., Calif.) to add the proposal to health legislation pending on Capitol Hill."
The Medicare rebate system should be reformed to enable General Practitioners to spend more time helping patients to avoid preventable health problems, the AMA said today.
A protein from algae may have what it takes to stop Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) infections, according to new research. A recent study has found that mice treated with the protein, Griffithsin (GRFT), had a 100 percent survival rate after exposure to the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), as compared to a 30 percent survival for untreated mice.
The administration"s negotiations with the health industry date back to first weeks after President Obama"s inauguration, according to newly released visitor logs that show numerous visits by health industry lobbyists and executives to the White House, the Associated Press/Boston Globe reports. Richard Umbdenstock, the president of the American Hospital Association, visited on Feb. 4 and Angela Braly, an executive at insurer WellPoint visited on Feb. 13.
A new study finds more seniors are covered by a Medicare drug plan and report greater savings, but gaps in coverage and other problems still persist.
Police detectives searched the offices of one of Michael Jackson"s doctors for evidence of manslaughter on Wednesday, according to various US
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Wednesday announced that it will provide several housing assistance grants to help low-income families living with HIV/AIDS, the Boston Globe reports (7/23). "A record $310 million will assist 58,000 U.S. households annually, officials said," KITV.com reports. The grants were distributed based on the number of AIDS cases reported nationwide. The Gregory House Programs of Honolulu, a nonprofit that provides housing assistance, substance use and other services, will receive $1.3 million (KITV.com, 7/22). The Frannie Peabody Center in Portland, Maine, will receive $1.3 million; the city of Portland will receive $1.4; New Hampshire will receive over $716,000; and the Burlington Housing Authority in Vermont will receive over $392,000, the Globe reports (7/23).
Volunteers are needed for the final phase of a Diabetes UK-funded study investigating whether flavonoids - compounds found in chocolate - can protect older women with diabetes from heart disease.
Nanotechnology scientists at two Arkansas research institutions have developed a method of detecting, tracking, and killing cancer cells in real time with carbon nanotubes.
Florida Atlantic University researcher Dr. Jianning Wei, assistant professor of biomedical sciences in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science at FAU, has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to further her research into the molecular mechanisms of Huntington"s disease (HD). Named after American physician George Huntington, HD is a highly complex genetic, neurological disorder that causes certain nerve cells in the brain to waste away. The disease, characterized by a selective loss of neurons in the brain, affects the basal ganglia, which controls motor control, cognition, learning and emotions. It also affects the outer surface of the brain, or the cortex which controls thought, perception, and memory. Wei and her colleagues are working to identify the pathways in the brain that are altered in response to mutant proteins, as well as to understand the cellular processes impacted by the disease in order to facilitate the development of effective pharmacological interventions.
Much as meteorologists predict the path and intensity of hurricanes, Indiana University"s Alessandro Vespignani believes we will one day predict with unprecedented foresight, specificity and scale such things as the economic and social effects of billions of new Internet users in China and India, or the exact location and number of airline flights to cancel around the world in order to halt the spread of a pandemic.
Repeated encouragement and verbal instruction do not motivate stroke survivors to be physically active, and other more intensive strategies need to be found, concludes a study published on bmj.com.
In a paper publishing online July 23 in Cell Stem Cell, a Cell Press journal, Dr. Shaorong Gao and colleagues from the National Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing, China, report an important advance in the characterization of reprogrammed induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs.
Allergan, Inc. (NYSE: AGN) announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ACUVAIL™ (ketorolac tromethamine ophthalmic solution) 0.45%, an advanced, preservative-free formulation of ketorolac, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) indicated for the treatment of pain and inflammation following cataract surgery. Cataracts are a leading cause of blindness among older adults and cataract surgery is the most frequently performed surgical procedure in the United States, with more than 3 million procedures performed each year.1
Australia"s largest study of young drivers has shown that risky driving habits are putting young drivers at a significantly increased risk of crashing, irrespective of their perceptions about road safety. The study surveyed 20,000 young drivers and examined their crashes reported to police. Young drivers involved in the study who said they undertook risky driving were 50% more likely to crash.
A new self-care service which will give people with pandemic swine flu symptoms fast access to antivirals was launched today by Health Secretary Andy Burnham.
"As the President himself has said, America does not face an entitlement
Most Canadians with chronic conditions have a regular place of care, but there are some reported gaps in the management of their conditions according to a new study released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). The study, Experiences With Primary Health Care in Canada, measures access to and quality of care from a patient perspective across Canada"s 10 provinces. The study is based on the responses of more than 11,000 people age 18 and older to Statistics Canada"s 2008 Canadian Survey of Experiences With Primary Health Care, which was jointly funded by CIHI and the Health Council of Canada.
Breathing xenon gas can help protect the infant brain from damage caused by oxygen deprivation, but the xenon"s high cost and scarcity has precluded its widespread use. A newly developed "closed circuit system" may make xenon feasible, safe, and cost efficient for use in protecting the brains of critically ill infants, according to a study in the August issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS). The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry.
Bayer HealthCare AG and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that their first cooperative group-sponsored randomized Phase II trial in advanced metastatic breast cancer met its primary endpoint of progression-free survival. The study evaluated Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets in combination with the oral chemotherapeutic, capecitabine, in patients with locally advanced or metastatic HER-2 negative breast cancer. Study findings demonstrated that the median progression-free survival was extended in patients treated with Nexavar and capecitabine compared to patients receiving capecitabine and placebo. These results were statistically significant (p-value = 0.0006). In this trial, the safety and tolerability of the combination was as expected and did not show any new or unexpected toxicities. A complete data analysis from this study is expected to be presented at an upcoming scientific meeting.
Roche announced that the European Union"s Committee on Human Medicinal Products (CHMP) has issued a positive recommendation for the use of MabThera (rituximab) in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Physicians will soon be able to prescribe MabThera, the first monoclonal antibody therapy approved for previously untreated CLL, in combination with chemotherapy to patients who have been treated for the disease but whose cancer has returned or have not appropriately responded to therapy.
Health authorities in the United States have voiced concern that 40% of the country"s whole population could be infected with the swine flu (H1N1) virus over the next 24 months. The estimates are based on data gleaned from the 1957 flu pandemic which killed nearly 70,000 people in the country. That pandemic was not as severe as the 1918-1919 Spanish flu one. If one hundred and twenty million people caught swine flu this time round, and vaccine campaigns were not successful, the eventual death toll could be in the hundreds of thousands.
China"s $124 billion three-year "overhaul of its healthcare system needs to address the prescription of unnecessary drugs and treatments - a widespread practice relied upon to finance the medical sector, the World Bank said Thursday," China Daily/People"s Daily Online reports. The country"s "ambitious" reform efforts aim to "provide basic medical coverage and insurance to the country"s 1.3 billion people," according to the publication (7/24).
The release of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission report, A Healthier Future
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), in collaboration with stakeholders, trading partners, and the public and animal health communities, has refined its approach to managing cases of the pandemic H1N1 2009 virus in swine.
A successfully completed electronic health record pilot project at Randolph Medical Center in
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for a another diagnostic test for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, whose spread has caused the virus to be characterized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization.
The National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission has wasted a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to fix
Elekta (STO:EKTAB) has received FDA 510(k) clearance for the VMAT (Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy) enhancement to Monaco®, treatment planning solution.
President Obama on Tuesday started interviewing potential Supreme Court nominees, the Wall Street Journal reports. Senior White House adviser David Axelrod on Tuesday said that the administration is looking for a candidate who will give the powerless and disenfranchised people "a fair shake." Conservatives have said that the nominee will inevitably be a "judicial activist" because Obama has said that he wants to nominate a candidate who can use past experience and empathy for the underrepresented populations to help guide court decisions.Obama has started calling Republican senators in an effort to prevent the "bruising battles" past Supreme Court nominations have encountered during the confirmation process, the Journal reports. Obama called Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Tuesday, which Cornyn said was a "nice gesture." Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) spoke to Obama last week. Coburn said, "I don"t know that it"s going to be contentious," adding, "A prudent man would say, "I"m going to have a couple of Supreme Court nominees. Maybe I want to defuse the thing, the first one, so I can do what I want to do (with) the second one."" Axelrod said that Obama has spoken to 15 senators from both parties (Weisman/Bendavid, Wall Street Journal, 5/20).
PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (PTC) announced the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial of PTC299 in adult patients with neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), a rare genetic disorder that causes the development of non-malignant brain tumors. PTC299 is a novel, orally administered investigational new drug that is designed to selectively block tumor-related vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). With its novel mechanism of action, PTC299 has the potential to meet significant unmet medical need in NF2 and other conditions resulting from the overexpression of VEGF.
Smoking has once again been implicated in the development of advanced cancer. Exposure to nicotine by way of cigarette smoking may increase the likelihood that pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma will become metastatic, according to researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. Their study was published in the August edition of the journal Surgery.
Does posting calories on restaurant menu boards help Canadians make healthier food choices and possibly prevent obesity? Dietitians of Canada says yes - providing nutrition information in restaurants, including calorie and nutrient content of food served, is one step that may help promote healthier choices. However, a review of the evidence on this issue by Dietitians of Canada (DC) underscores the fact that there are no simple solutions to the complex issue of obesity prevention; a variety of approaches are needed. One such solution is to ensure that settings in which food choices are made, including restaurants and fast-food establishments, support healthy eating. Longer term evaluation of these types of labelling initiatives are needed before we can say whether providing calorie and nutrient information in these settings will affect obesity rates.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) moved to a neutral position on assisted suicide following a discussion at its Council meeting.
"Health care groups working feverishly to shape -- or kill -- an industry-wide reform bill are lavishing campaign cash on the politicians at the center of the debate," The Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune reports. Sens. Orrin Hatch and Max Baucus, both major health reform players on the Senate Finance Committee, are among those benefiting form the uptick in contributions. One lobbyist for the watchdog group Public Citizen said, "A person can reach no other conclusion than this is quid pro quo activity" (Canham, 7/27).
"Fifteen months before the midterm congressional election, health care is appearing in candidate stump speeches and interviews - particularly by Republican challengersò€¦ running in districts recently claimed by Democrats," USA Today reports. "That dynamic helps explain why a $1 trillion-plus health care bill stalled last week in Congress. ò€¦ Obama has said he wants lawmakers to finish health care by the end of the year, in part because it could become mired in election-year politics. All 435 members of the House and 36 members of the Senate are up for election in 2010."
Dr. Chong Yuan, Managing Director of Diazyme Laboratories Division, General Atomics, received the 2009 Pacific Biometrics Research Foundation Award at the annual meeting of American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) held in Chicago on July 20th, 2009.
"Premiums for small employers have been rising by double-digit increases for a few years, and they don"t have the negotiating power of larger employers," the Hartford (Conn.) Courant reports. This year"s increases are even higher than usual, on top of an economic recession. Connecticut businesses are resorting to drastic measures to preserve employee"s coverage, or are forced to drop it all together.
The Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP) is calling for the pneumonia vaccine to become an official part of India"s required list of immunizations, the Times of India reports. According to the newspaper, Nithin Shah, chairman of ASAP India chapter, said there is an "immediate need to take steps to control and prevent pneumonia morbidity and mortality," which is the leading cause of death among children younger than age five in India, according to international child health experts (7/26).
Congressional Republicans are releasing two health care reform proposals -- one from conservatives and one from moderates -- as alternatives to plans by Democrats, CQ Today reports (Wayne, CQ Today, 5/19). Conservative Plan
In Chicago, 17.4 percent of gay men are estimated to be HIV-positive, compared with 1.2 percent of the general male population, according to a new report by the Chicago Public Health Department, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The report is based on data collected from 570 Chicago men through the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system, and found that half of the men with HIV were unaware they were infected (Thomas, 7/25). "Health officials said Friday, information in the report on HIV infection mark the first time Chicago health officials have used blood-testing to determine infection rates among men," the AP/Chicago Tribune reports. In the past, estimates have relied on interviews with gay and bisexual men, according to Christopher Brown, the Public Health Department assistant commissioner. The report also found that "black men who have sex with other men have double the HIV infection rates of white and Hispanic men," the AP/Tribune reports (7/24).
The cytokine IL-9 promotes a multiple sclerosis-like disease in mice, according to a new study by Nowak et al. published online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. In a related Commentary, Richard Locksley discusses the molecular and genetic regulation of cytokine production by CD4+ T helper (Th) cells and the plasticity among different Th subsets. The Commentary was published online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine on Monday, July 27th.
A team of researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have solved the mystery of why some children are more susceptible to malaria infection and anemia. These novel findings suggest that some children who are exposed to Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) malaria before birth become tolerant to the malaria parasites, or their soluble products. This tolerance, which persists into childhood, reduces the ability of the immune system to attack and destroy parasites and increases the susceptibility of these children to develop a malaria infection. It also increases their risk for anemia. The study, published in this week"s issue of the open access journal, PLoS Medicine, is led by Indu Malhotra, Ph.D., and Christopher King, M.D., Ph.D., professor of international health, medicine, and pathology, with their colleagues at the Center for Global Health and Diseases at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and their Kenyan colleagues at the Kenya Medical Research Institute and Division of Vector Borne Diseases.
Scientists in the US suggest that current tests for diagnosing ovarian cancer are not good enough and we need to develop better ways of detecting
A comprehensive analysis of nearly 1,600 tumor samples has found that CT-X genes are expressed in nearly half the breast cancers that lack the estrogen receptor (ER). CT-X gene products are the targets of therapeutic cancer vaccines already in phase III clinical trials for lung cancer and melanoma. The study - to be published in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week - was led by the international Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR).
Overconsumption of fatty, sugary foods leads to changes in brain receptors, according to new animal research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The new research results are being presented at the 2009 annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), July 28 - August 1, 2009, the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior. The results have implications for understanding bulimia and other binge eating disorders.
Following the announcement that Diabetes UK and NHS Diabetes have joined forces to deliver an innovative project that will support three PCTs in England to develop effective user involvement approaches in diabetes care, the charity has received an excellent response from PCTs wanting to get involved.
Biotronics3D has worked with The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) to develop and launch new software to significantly improve the accuracy of MRI scan analysis. Called 3D Net Perfusion, the system extracts data from images of tumours and transforms it into usable information.
Government health officials from 13 African countries today launched the first-ever push for accreditation of the continent"s medical laboratories, starting a process that the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Government believe will be an historic step to strengthen health systems and lead to better care for patients.
Some babies who are exposed to malaria before birth develop a tolerant
Researchers at the Peninsula Medical School have received a grant of over ÷£39,000 from the charity Deafness Research UK, to investigate the role of brain tumours causing deafness in children and adults and the development of therapies using in vitro models.
Doctors are being reminded that assisting a suicide is illegal in England and Wales and that they should not give advice to patients to help them travel abroad to take their own lives.
CSL Biotherapies, a subsidiary of one of the world"s leading manufacturers of thimerosal-free seasonal influenza vaccine, announced that it has begun shipment of its seasonal influenza virus vaccine to a national network of U.S. distributors for the 2009-2010 season. CSL Biotherapies plans to deliver more than eight million doses of the vaccine, the majority of which will be in single-dose, thimerosal-free, pre-filled syringes.
Since the groundbreaking 2002 ISAT International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT) which ultimately was halted due to overwhelming evidence that minimally invasive coiling (an endovascular therapy) was, on average, superior to traditional surgical clipping in the treatment of brain aneurysms many studies have continued to prove the short and long-term viability of this procedure. Further technical refinements for coiling are underway all over the world.
Less than two weeks after instituting new therapeutic hypothermia treatment for heart attack patients, Providence Tarzana Medical Center has applied the body-cooling treatment in three cases - and each patient showed remarkable neurologic recovery.
RadMD LLC has become the first company to offer a broad range of accredited CME courses in the area of medical imaging for pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech clinical trials.
Cardium Therapeutics (NYSE Amex: CXM) and its subsidiary Tissue Repair Company (TRC) provided an update on the completion of their MATRIX Phase 2b clinical study and announced plans to provide detailed safety and efficacy data for their Excellarate(TM) product candidate around the end of September. The MATRIX trial, a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, has enrolled 124 diabetic patients with non-healing, lower extremity neuropathic ulcers.