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Popular Articles

Threat Of Beer Bellies And Man Boobs Scaring Men Into Moderation
Concerns about health and looks are driving thousands to cut back on booze

Two Drug-Related Legislative Plans Pose Problems For Stakeholders
"The Senate dealt a blow to the drug lobby Thursday by voting to permit people in the United States to order lower-cost drugs from Canada over the Internet," the Associated Press/Arizona Republic reports. The drugs in question are often made in the U.S., and then sold abroad for lower prices than at home because because of government policies in many other countries. The bill would make it legal to re-import those drugs more readily. The drug provision passed as an amendment to a Department of Homeland Security funding bill and was introduced by Republican Louisianna Sen. David Vitter (Taylor, 7/9).
News of the day
Deadly Leukemia Stem Cells Found And Eliminated By New Targeted Therapy
New research describes a molecular tool that shows great promise as a therapeutic for human acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a notoriously treatment-resistant blood cancer. The study, published by Cell Press in the July 2nd issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, describes exciting preclinical studies in which a new therapeutic approach selectively attacks human cancer cells grown in the lab and in animal models of leukemia.
Endocrinology

St. Jude Medical Announces Australian TGA Regulatory Approval For Libra Deep Brain Stimulation Systems For Parkinson's Disease

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) announced Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approval of its Libra® and LibraXP™ deep brain stimulation (DBS) systems for treating the symptoms of Parkinson"s disease, a neurological disorder that progressively diminishes a person"s control over his or her movements. Similar to a heart pacemaker, the Libra DBS systems function by delivering mild electrical pulses from an implanted device via thin wires with multiple independent electrodes. The stimulation is targeted to one of three regions in the brain which are involved in muscle control for the symptomatic treatment of Parkinson"s disease. "This approval is an important step forward in bringing our deep brain stimulation systems to a broader market," said Chris Chavez, president of the St. Jude Medical Neuromodulation Division. "We are excited to be able to provide physicians in Australia with these best-in-class deep brain stimulation systems, allowing them to have more capability and control in treating their patients." The Libra and LibraXP neurostimulators are constant current devices that feature the largest battery capacity of any DBS device in their class, which may maximize the time between device replacement procedures. This therapy can be externally programmed by a clinician to meet individual patient needs. An estimated 6.3 million people worldwide live with Parkinson"s disease, according to the European Parkinson"s Disease Association. The disease usually develops in people between the ages of 40 and 70, with an average age of onset of 60 years. Parkinson"s disease affects both men and women in almost equal numbers, although research suggests that men are two to three times more likely to be diagnosed with the disease than women. Parkinson"s Disease Symptoms Parkinson"s disease patients may experience stiffness or rigidity of the arms and legs, slowness or lack of movement, and walking difficulties, in addition to tremor of the hands, arms, legs, jaw or face. These symptoms can make simple, everyday tasks like getting dressed, shaving, eating with utensils and drinking from a glass difficult. Faced with these challenges, Parkinson"s disease patients often have a significant decline in their quality of life. In addition to the TGA approval, the Libra and LibraXP DBS systems have also received the CE Mark approval in Europe. In the U.S., the systems are currently being evaluated in clinical studies for depression, Parkinson"s disease and essential tremor. For more information about these studies, visit http://www.BROADENstudy.com, http://www.PowerOverPD.com and http://www.PowerOverET.com St. Jude Medical


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