| Interest in proton therapy for cancer on rise | | Posted Friday, September 01, 2006 1:04:14 AM by Blog57 Team | | U.S. doctors are discussing the merits of a cancer treatment that has been around for decades, but has only recently come in wider use. Proton therapy targets the tumour with a narrow beam of protons, leaving adjacent healthy tissue untouched. Typical X-ray radiation treatments may affect a wider area, damaging healthy tissue, and can cause side effects such as diarrhea and headaches. Advances in traditional radiation mean it can be more focused, but proton therapy still enables doctors to use higher levels of radiation. A study last year concluded that men with prostate cancer were less likely to have their cancer return if they were treated with higher does of radiation, in part through proton therapy. But an editorial in the same edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association questioned results.... | |
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| | | Athenagen Initiates Clinical Development of Its Anti-Angiogenic Eye Drop Therapy for AMD | | Posted Thursday, August 31, 2006 10:53:37 AM by Blog57 Team | | SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Athenagen, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company, said today that it has begun testing ATG003, its topical (eye drop) therapy for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in a Phase I clinical trial. ATG003 is a proprietary topical formulation of mecamylamine that has shown efficacy in animal models and is a possible alternative to current therapies for AMD, which require frequent needle injections directly in the eye. This study represents the first human study of an eye drop anti-angiogenic therapy for AMD, with a Phase 2 efficacy study expected to follow early next year. AMD is characterized by abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye, resulting in significant loss of vision. ATG003 is a novel anti-angiogenic agent that inhibits endothelial nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh) receptors and has been shown to decrease angiogenesis (new blood vessel growth) as well as vascular permeability, two well-known hallmarks of neovascular AMD.... | |
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| | | Athenagen Initiates Clinical Development Of Its Anti-Angiogenic ... | | Posted Friday, August 25, 2006 8:55:18 AM by Blog57 Team | | Athenagen, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company, said today that it has begun testing ATG003, its topical (eye drop) therapy for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in a Phase I clinical trial. ATG003 is a proprietary topical formulation of mecamylamine that has shown efficacy in animal models and is a possible alternative to current therapies for AMD, which require frequent needle injections directly in the eye. This study represents the first human study of an eye drop anti-angiogenic therapy for AMD, with a Phase 2 efficacy study expected to follow early next year. AMD is characterized by abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye, resulting in significant loss of vision. ATG003 is a novel anti-angiogenic agent that inhibits endothelial nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh) receptors and has been shown to decrease angiogenesis (new blood vessel growth) as well as vascular permeability, two well-known hallmarks of neovascular AMD.... | |
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| | | Athenagen starts clinical studies of AMD drug | | Posted Thursday, August 24, 2006 2:54:50 PM by Blog57 Team | | Athenagen, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company, has begun testing ATG003, its topical (eye drop) therapy for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in a phase I clinical trial. ATG003 is a proprietary topical formulation of mecamylamine that has shown efficacy in animal models and is a possible alternative to current therapies for AMD, which require frequent needle injections directly in the eye. This study represents the first human study of an eye drop anti-angiogenic therapy for AMD, with a phase 2-efficacy study expected to follow early next year. AMD is characterized by abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye, resulting in significant loss of vision. ATG003 is a novel anti-angiogenic agent that inhibits endothelial nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh) receptors and has been shown to decrease angiogenesis (new blood vessel growth) as well as vascular permeability, two well-known hallmarks of neovascular AMD.... | |
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| | | Pig cell implants show potential for treatment of stroke ... | | Posted Saturday, August 05, 2006 4:53:31 AM by Blog57 Team | | A review of accumulated evidence on the use of porcine brain choroid plexus (CP) cells published in the July issue of Xenotransplantation highlights that these cells have the potential to treat acute and chronic brain disease. Successful results of past CP transplants in small animals and primates point to the possibility for treatment of human neurological diseases in the near future. CP cells are found in the brain and are rich with blood vessels, adjoining with the lining of the brain. The cells produce and secrete hormones that are essential in restoring the health and behavioral capabilities of the brain, eliminate toxic molecules, and are strongly associated with the health of the central nervous system. The authors of the review reference research demonstrating that a single surgical procedure to implant CP cells can promote recovery of the brain in animal models.... | |
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| | | For Your Eyes Only (Ultimate Edition | | Posted Saturday, July 29, 2006 12:55:54 PM by Blog57 Team | | I have an odd relationship with For Your Eyes Only. Despite the fact I must have seen the film at least half a dozen times, it always fails to leave any lasting impression at all, so much so that on the rare occasions when I cast my mind to it I find it hard to recall a single scene or event in the entire picture following the daft pretitles sequence. I know all the bullet points about it, of course: this is the Bond where Moore got serious, the one with Julian Glover and Topol and the first Mrs Pierce Brosnan Cassandra Harris, the first one shot and released in the Nineteen Eighties, the first directed by John Glen, the first in which Michael G Wilson contributed substantially to the screenplay, and the first film without Bernard Lees M (Lee having died shortly before production began). All thats fine and dandy, but beyond those solid facts theres nothing: before sitting down to watch it again for this review all I could muster from my memory was that theres a skiing bit and a climbing bit and thats it.... | |
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| | | Pig cell implants show potential for treatment of stroke, Huntington's disease | | Posted Friday, July 28, 2006 2:54:14 AM by Blog57 Team | | A review of accumulated evidence on the use of porcine brain choroid plexus (CP) cells published in the July issue of Xenotransplantation highlights that these cells have the potential to treat acute and chronic brain disease. Successful results of past CP transplants in small animals and primates point to the possibility for treatment of human neurological diseases in the near future. CP cells are found in the brain and are rich with blood vessels, adjoining with the lining of the brain. The cells produce and secrete hormones that are essential in restoring the health and behavioral capabilities of the brain, eliminate toxic molecules, and are strongly associated with the health of the central nervous system. The authors of the review reference research demonstrating that a single surgical procedure to implant CP cells can promote recovery of the brain in animal models.... | |
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| | | Aditya Jyot Sets Dept Of Ocular Oncology | | Posted Saturday, July 22, 2006 12:52:06 PM by Blog57 Team | | Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, recently announced the setting up of the first comprehensive ocular oncology treatment centre in Western India. Said Dr Debraj Shome, Ophthalmic & Facial Plastic Surgeon, Aditya Jyot Hospital, "This department will deal with diagnosis and therapy of all cancers of the eye and orbit including the lids, eye surface, retina, choroid and orbit." Conditions treated in this comprehensive department will include, besides cancers, issues of the lacrimal (tear duct) system (involving tearing of the eyes), functional (like in-turning, out-turning and drooping) of the lids, cosmetic (excess lid skin and other beautification) issues of the lids and orbital (bony socket) diseases. .... | |
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| | | Fingerprint-reading USB drive: for your eyes only | | Posted Saturday, July 15, 2006 8:55:24 PM by Blog57 Team | | We love technology that makes things more convenient (that's the point of it, really), but the price of such convenience can often be reduced security. I mean, who's ever heard of cloning a landline? Used your neighbor's Wi-Fi lately? And what about flash drives — nice and small, yeah, but their tiny form factor means they're more readily lost… or worse, stolen. At least if you use this Buffalo USB drive, you'll be safe in knowing that any would-be data thieves won't be able to access the contents. The drive uses a fingerprint reader (beneath the cap so it doesn't get scratched up) to verify the identity of anyone trying to scan it, so should it fall into the wrong hands the drive will lock up, preventing evil eyes from reading your Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan fiction. But for you, it bestows one-touch access faster than you could type any password.... | |
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| | | Circulating hormones and hypothalamic energy balance regulatory ... | | Posted Sunday, July 09, 2006 4:53:08 AM by Blog57 Team | | To ascertain mechanisms underlying low caloric intake and low body weight in the Lou/C rat, circulating hormone levels and gene expression of hypothalamic peptides and receptors important in energy balance and induction of suppressor of cytokine signalling 3 (SOCS3) gene expression in response to leptin challenge were compared in Lou/C and Wistar rats. Plasma leptin levels were lower in the Lou/C, as was corticosterone, TSH and T4 but not T3. Ghrelin levels were higher in the Lou/C. Total leptin receptor (Ob-R) and the long form of the leptin receptor (Ob-Rb) gene expression were lower in the arcuate (ARC) and ventromedial nuclei (VMN) in the Lou/C. Ghrelin receptor (GHS-R) expression in the ARC and VMN was lower in the Lou/C. However, agouti gene-related peptide (AgRP) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene expression were higher in the Lou/C.... | |
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