Imaging Technique Allows Researchers to Monitor Protein Changes in Mouse Tumors
A new imaging technique can monitor, in living mice, the HER2 protein found in above-normal amounts in many cases of breast cancer as well as some ovarian, prostate and lung cancers. This new approach, once validated in mice and pending further experiments, could provide a real-time noninvasive method for identifying tumors in humans who express HER2 and who would be candidates for targeted therapy directed against this protein. It may also provide real-time information that will help clinicians optimize treatment for individual patients. The study, published in the July 2009 issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, was conducted by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, both parts of the National Institutes of Health.
Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Share Genetic Roots
A trio of genome-wide studies — collectively the largest to date — have pinpointed a vast array of genetic variation that cumulatively may account for at least one third of the genetic risk for schizophrenia. One of the studies traced schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, in part, to the same chromosomal neighborhoods.
FDA: Boxed Warning on Serious Mental Health Events to be Required for Chantix and Zyban
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it is requiring manufacturers to put a Boxed Warning on the prescribing information for the smoking cessation drugs Chantix (varenicline) and Zyban (bupropion). The warning will highlight the risk of serious mental health events including changes in behavior, depressed mood, hostility, and suicidal thoughts when taking these drugs.
Varenicline (marketed as Chantix) and Bupropion (marketed as Zyban, Wellbutrin, and generics)
FDA requires new Boxed Warnings and patient Medication Guides highlighting the risk of serious neuropsychiatric symptoms
Lantus (insulin glargine)
FDA reviewing safety data regarding possible risk for cancer in patient with diabetes.
Dynasty: Influenza Virus in 1918 and Today
The influenza virus that wreaked worldwide havoc in 1918-1919 founded a viral dynasty that persists to this day, according to scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. In an article published online on June 29 by the New England Journal of Medicine, authors Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Jeffery K. Taubenberger, M.D., Ph.D., and David M. Morens, M.D., argue that we have lived in an influenza pandemic era since 1918, and they describe how the novel 2009 H1N1 virus now circling the globe is yet another manifestation of this enduring viral family.
U.S. Attorney News Release: Ringleader Sentenced to Nine Years In Federal Prison For Allergy Testing Health Care Fraud Scheme That Bilked Insurance Companies and Deceived Thousands of Patients
A registered nurse who directed an allergy testing health care fraud scheme, was sentenced to nine years in prison and ordered to pay $2.6 million in restitution, federal law enforcement officials announced today. John Froelich, 52, formerly of Harwood Heights, was the ringleader among nine defendants who pleaded guilty to federal charges for submitting fraudulent bills totaling $11.5 million to more than 200 insurance companies, which paid approximately $2.6 million in false claims.
FDA Confirms E. Coli O157:H7 in Prepackaged Nestlé Toll House Refrigerated Cookie Dough
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it has found E. coli O157:H7 (a bacterium that can cause serious food borne illness) in a sample of prepackaged Nestlé Toll House refrigerated cookie dough currently under recall by the manufacturer and marketer, Nestlé USA. The contaminated sample was collected at Nestlé’s facility in Danville, Va. on June 25, 2009.
FDA Seeks Public Input on Tobacco Regulation
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it is seeking public input on the implementation of its historic new authority overseeing tobacco products in the United States. In a Federal Register notice, the agency invites the public to provide information and share views on a wide range of topics, from product content to advertising and marketing.
New Biomarker Method Could Increase the Number of Diagnostic Tests for Cancer
A team of researchers has demonstrated that a new method for detecting and quantifying protein biomarkers in body fluids may ultimately make it possible to screen multiple biomarkers in hundreds of patient samples, thus ensuring that only the strongest biomarker candidates will advance down the development pipeline. The researchers have developed a method with the potential to increase accuracy in detecting real cancer biomarkers that is highly reproducible across laboratories and a variety of instruments so that cancer can be caught in its earliest stages.