A protein tagged with light-emitting agents may aid in the noninvasive assessment of pharmacodynamic responses to chemotherapy, according to a recent article published in the online issue of Nature Medicine.

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Scientists have successfully implanted human embryonic stem cell- derived pancreatic endoderm cells, which are capable of generating glucose-responsive insulin secreting cells, into mice. Generation of insulin expressing cells that are functionally and morphologically similar to the human pancreatic beta-cells signify a crucial milesone in the development of stem cell therapy for diabetes.

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Hypodontia, the congenital absence of one or few teeth, may be associated with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), according to a new study done by American researchers, Leigh A. Chalothorn, DMD, MS, and her colleagues at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, and University of Virginia, Charlottesville, the findings of which were published in the recent issue of the Journal of American Dental Association.

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A recombinant antihemophilic factor (Xynthaâ„¢ | Wyeth), free from both albumin and plasma, has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of hemophilia A. The product is obtained from a genetically engineered Chinese hamster ovary cell line, and is purified using nanofiltration purification technology. It has been approved for the management of bleeding as well as surgical prophylaxis in hemophilia A patients.

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Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics has received US Food and Drug Administration marketing approval for its automated viral load-testing tool, Versantâ„¢ 440 Molecular System (V440) for the management of patients undergoing antiviral therapy against Hepatitis C virus (HCV). The V440 is used with the Versant HCV RNA 3.0 assay (bDNA), a signal amplification nucleic acid probe assay, which quantifies the Hepatitis C viral RNA in the serum or plasma of HCV infected individuals.

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Herpes viral infection during pregnancy is associated with an increased incidence of preterm birth and pregnancy induced hypertensive disorders, according to a research study published in the recent issue of the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The team of researchers from the Women’s & Children’s Hospital, Adelaide, and the University of Adelaide, have claimed this is the world’s first report substantiating a link between viral infections and pre-eclampsia and preterm birth.

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According to phase II clinical trial results published in the recent issue of Clinical Cancer Research, researchers at the Yale School of Medicine have developed a new blood test that can detect early-stage ovarian cancer with 95% sensitivity and 99% specificity by detecting the levels of six protein biomarkers.

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Scientists across the world are investigating the potential use of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) to treat a variety of diseases, including diabetes, leukemia, heart disease, Alzheimer disease, and Parkinson disease. But the ethical issues associated with the use of stem cells derived from human embryos have been a matter of great concern and debate. Now, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), have successfully created embryonic-like stem cells, termed ‘induced pluripotent stem cells’ (ips cells) from human skin cells, which could be an alternative source for stem-cell based therapies.

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A new bioartificial liver designed by HepaLife Technologies, integrated with pig-epiblast derived PICM-19 liver stem cells, showed positive outcomes for quick elimination of toxic levels of ammonia in vitro, according to a company press release.

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Very few hypertensive patients follow the recommended DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, as revealed by an analysis of the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) during the 1988-1994 and 1999-2004 periods. These findings were reported in the February 2008 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

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