Scientists studying one of nature’s simplest organisms have helped to unravel the structure of a key molecule that controls pain in humans.The findings — published in the top scientific journal Nature — could rapidly advance research into the next generation of painkillers for relief of chronic conditions such as migraine and backache. [click link for full article]

Those with heavy hearts - in the literal not figurative sense - long have been known to be prone to cardiac arrest and sudden death. But many are not, and who among them is subject to serious risk is a mystery. To find clues to the puzzle, the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has just awarded $2 million to Sumeet Chugh, M.D. [click link for full article]

While the overall cost-effectiveness of Medicare benefits have been much-debated, new data now show that people who were uninsured before receiving benefits at age 65 required more intensive and costlier care than those who had been privately insured prior to receiving Medicare. These findings, from researchers at Harvard Medical School (HMS), appear in the New England Journal of Medicine. [click link for full article]

U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice on Monday approved a court settlement intended to improve access to health care for Texas children covered by Medicaid, the Houston Chronicle reports (Fikac, Houston Chronicle, 7/10). [click link for full article]

Biodesign Institute researchers have received nearly $9 million in grants to develop a preventive vaccine against cancer.Stephen Albert Johnston, PhD, director of the institute’s Center for Innovations in Medicine, will focus his research project on breast cancer. Johnston is one of only two recipients in the nation bestowed with a five-year, $7.5 million grant from the Department of Defense’s Innovator Award, funded through its Breast Cancer Research Program. [click link for full article]

A fat-derived protein known for its effects on the liver and skeletal muscle might also serve as an energy-conserving signal to the brain during periods of starvation, suggests a new study in the July issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press. The substance, known as adiponectin, acts on the brain to boost appetite and slow energy expenditure in an effort to maintain adequate fat stores during lean times, the researchers report. [click link for full article]

MacroChem Corporation (OTCBB: MACM - News) has announced that it has signed an exclusive option to acquire exclusive worldwide license rights for drug uses of pexiganan, a novel, small peptide anti-infective for topical treatment of patients with mild diabetic foot infection (DFI), from Genaera Corporation (Genaera).”We believe this is a unique opportunity for MacroChem to broaden its product portfolio with a product that has already completed two Phase 3 clinical trials. [click link for full article]

Far fewer rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with the drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) went on to develop diabetes compared to those who never took the drug, according to a 20-plus-year University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine-led study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In addition, those using HCQ who did develop diabetes were less likely to take medications to manage their disease after diagnosis. [click link for full article]

Milk thistle extract, an herbal remedy since the times of the ancient Greeks and Romans, is today one of the most popular herbal supplements, with U.S. retail sales of nearly nine million dollars.The current issue of Integrative Cancer Therapies (ICT) published by SAGE, contains a summary of current research on and clinical application of silymarin, the mixture of chemicals found in milk thistle. [click link for full article]

The recently released “Family Planning: A Global Handbook for Providers” includes a chapter on fertility-awareness based methods of family planning, highlighting the Standard Days Method and the TwoDay Method, two family-planning methods developed by Georgetown University Medical Center’s Institute for Reproductive Health, as effective, easy-to-use and without the health risks of chemically based family planning methods such as birth control pills. [click link for full article]