The Fentanyl transdermal system, a skin patch that provides powerful pain relief is the source of a second safety warning by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The first warning was issued in 2005, explaining that the product label directions and patient package insert should be followed precisely in order to prevent overdosing - the warning was sent to health care professionals. [click link for full article]

The seemingly inefficient way our bodies replace worn-out cells is a defense against cancer, according to new research.Having the neighboring cell just split into two identical daughter cells would seem to be the simplest way to keep bodies from falling apart.However that would be a recipe for uncontrolled growth, said John W. Pepper of The University of Arizona in Tucson. [click link for full article]

A new neuroimaging study conducted by researchers from the Montreal Neurological Institute of McGill University and the Universite de Montreal at the International laboratory for Brain Music and Sound Research (BRAMS), has found that tone-deaf or amusic individuals have more grey matter in specific regions of the brain related to processing musical pitch, namely the right interior frontal gyrus and the right auditory cortex, as compared to those who are musically intact. [click link for full article]

Immigrant children are five times as likely as U.S-born children to suffer from lead poisoning in New York City, according to a new Health Department study, and the risk is highest among the most recent immigrants. The new study of children tested for lead poisoning in 2002, published online in the American Journal of Public Health this month, found that children who had lived abroad within the previous six months were 11 times as likely as U.S.-born children to have lead poisoning. [click link for full article]

Orion Genomics announced the discovery and validation of the most frequent DNA alterations detected in breast cancer to date. The results of a genome wide analysis of DNA methylation appeared in PLoS ONE. The study entitled, “Identification of Novel High Frequency DNA Methylation Changes in Breast Cancer” found more than 50 novel biomarkers, which were subsequently validated in up to 230 independent patient samples. [click link for full article]

The Society for Women’s Health Research announced its top five women’s health stories of 2007 today. The list covers advances of particular interest to women and new sex-specific treatments. “The medical news in 2007 show how important it is that researchers continue to focus on women’s health and sex differences,” said Phyllis Greenberger, M.S.W, president and CEO of the Society for Women’s Health Research, a Washington, D.C., based advocacy organization. [click link for full article]

Stem cells — popularly known as a source of biological rejuvenation — may play harmful roles in the body, specifically in the growth and spread of cancer. Amongst the wildly dividing cells of a tumor, scientists have located cancer stem cells. Physician-scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College are studying these cells with hopes of combating malignant cancers in the brain. “Some patients’ brain tumors respond to chemotherapy and some don’t,” says Dr. John A. [click link for full article]

Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MLNM) announced the submission of a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for VELCADE in the treatment of patients with previously untreated multiple myeloma (MM). The filing is based on data from the 682 patient Phase III VISTA(1) trial, one of the largest, international, randomized clinical trials for patients in this treatment setting. [click link for full article]

Genta Incorporated (Nasdaq: GNTA) announced that the Company has received notice from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that FDA has extended its review period of Genta’s request for correction of certain information that was filed pursuant to the Information Quality Act for an additional 60 days. [click link for full article]

Progen Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: PGL; Nasdaq: PGLA) provided an update on clinical trial enrollment associated with its phase 3 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, primary liver cancer) study. The study has begun initiating sites and is now open for patient recruitment, though a thorough examination of available surgical cases has not yet found any eligible patients who are able to be enrolled by 31 December 2007. [click link for full article]