Drug-induced respiratory depression is a life-threatening condition caused by analgesic, hypnotic, and anesthesia medications. Although it is a leading cause of death from the overdose of some classes of abused drugs, respiratory depression also arises during normal, physician-supervised procedures such as surgical anesthesia, post-operative analgesia, and as a result of normal out-patient management of pain from cancer, accidents, or illnesses. [click link for full article]

Since successful antiretroviral therapies have made HIV a treatable condition, more HIV patients who are also infected with hepatitis B or C are experiencing the progression of their liver disease. In the face of this novel challenge, experts in the field convened to share information and opinions on the management of such patients. [click link for full article]

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: BAY) and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ONXX) has announced that Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets significantly extended overall survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or primary liver cancer versus those taking placebo by 44% (HR=0.69; p-value=0.0006). Results were presented at the 43rd annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). [click link for full article]

A simple exercise test may help predict mortality risk in patients with heart failure and help doctors to better tailor treatment strategies, according to new research from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.”This may allow doctors to better assess patient risk, and could help them determine the most appropriate plan of care based on the prognosis of the patient,” said Dalane Kitzman, M.D., a professor of cardiology and senior researcher on the project. [click link for full article]

Nutrition 21, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXXI) has announced new published results from a 447 subject, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study that showed Diachrome®, a patented combination of chromium picolinate and biotin, significantly improved glycemic control in patients with poorly controlled blood sugar levels who were being treated with oral anti-diabetic medication (OADs). [click link for full article]

An antibody to pregnancy-associated malaria that is present in some women who have been pregnant more than once is not present in HIV-positive women, according to a study published in the May issue of PLoS Medicine, ANI/newKerala.com reports. [click link for full article]

A survey of 1,812 patients with moderate-to-severe asthma revealed that the disease was not controlled in 55 percent, despite the fact that most had health insurance and visited their health care providers regularly.”Even more shocking was the finding that 38 percent of controlled asthmatics and 54 percent of uncontrolled asthmatics reported having had an asthma attack during which they feared for their life,” said Stephen P. Peters, M.D., Ph.D. [click link for full article]

An international research consortium, which included the participation of the Mutagenesi Group from the UAB, has made outstanding progress in the study of Fanconi anaemia. They have described the function and range of possible mutations of the gene implicated in this disease that affects functions like nerve and skeletal development, blood cell formation and predisposition to cancer. [click link for full article]

An updated analysis of two large randomized clinical trials has found that breast cancer patients who received the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) along with chemotherapy are living longer and with less risk of recurrent disease, compared to patients treated with chemotherapy alone. [click link for full article]

With a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are developing a physics-based virtual model that can simulate a patient’s breathing in real time. When used in conjunction with existing 3-D models, adding the fourth dimension of time could significantly improve the accuracy and effectiveness of radiation treatment for lung and liver cancers.X. [click link for full article]