According to a study presented on Wednesday at an American Association for Cancer Research conference, many African-American women living in Washington, D.C. public housing do not have the healthy eating habits that could reduce their risk for cancer, Reuters reports (Bigg, Reuters, 11/28). [click link for full article]

Findings released by the Health Department provide the first broad snapshot of physical and mental health effects among children exposed to the World Trade Center disaster. The survey found that children under five had an increased likelihood of being diagnosed with asthma in the two to three years following the event, though not as sharp an increase as rescue workers. The survey did not find evidence of elevated levels of post-traumatic stress in children. [click link for full article]

Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISPH) announced the initiation of a Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate epinastine nasal spray for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis. This Phase 3 clinical trial is a 14-day randomized, double-blind comparison of two concentrations of epinastine (0.1% and 0.15%) at two different spray volumes to placebo in approximately 750 subjects who have a documented history of seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) to mountain cedar pollen. [click link for full article]

OXiGENE, Inc. (NASDAQ: OXGN, XSSE: OXGN), a clinical-stage, biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics to treat cancer and eye diseases, reported that its lead product candidate, ZYBRESTATTM (combretastatin A4 phosphate / CA4P), demonstrated anti-leukemic effects in preclinical studies published online and ahead of print on November 16, 2007 on the website of the journal BLOOD. [click link for full article]

Oncologists nationwide are increasingly choosing IntelliDose® — the industry’s de facto standard for capturing vital chemotherapy dosage and treatment information — as their primary solution for driving clinical best practice. As these physicians move from paper to electronic processes, they’re driving record growth for IntrinsiQ, LLC and its flagship oncology electronic health record (EHR) software, IntelliDose. [click link for full article]

Charles Bridges, MD, ScD, Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Pennsylvania Hospital, has been awarded a $3 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for his work in “molecular cardiac surgery:” a unique approach to gene therapy for heart failure.The four-year grant will enable Dr. [click link for full article]

Abuse of women is a serious problem in our society. Almost 1 in 10 women are physically abused by an intimate partner in any given year, and on average, 72 women are killed by their partner, or ex-partner, every year in Canada. In light of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women on December 6, Canadian Institutes of Health Research experts are speaking out and sharing what they have learned on the health implications of violence. [click link for full article]

Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation (NASDAQ: NYMX) announced positive results from a newly completed long-term outcome study of NX-1207 for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). 24 clinical trial sites across the U.S. and 103 unselected subjects participated in the blinded, placebo controlled study. The study assessed symptom scores and treatment outcome 2 years (range 16-27 months) after a single treatment with NX-1207 or placebo. [click link for full article]

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE:VRX) announced that it has enrolled the first patient in its Phase 2 clinical trial of retigabine for the treatment of pain associated with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), a painful and common complication of shingles. “We are eager to investigate whether retigabine, our new novel potassium channel opener, will be effective in treating neuropathic pain,” said Timothy C. Tyson, president and chief executive officer. [click link for full article]

In the very first trial of its kind in the world over 300 families are being recruited to find out if water softeners can help in the treatment of childhood eczema.The independent trial run by clinicians at The University of Nottingham has received funding of nearly £1million from the Department of Health’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme. [click link for full article]