Miscarriage occurs in 10%-25% of all clinically recognized pregnancies, with around <5% of women reporting 2 consecutive miscarriages and nearly 1% women experiencing ≥3 recurrent episodes of pregnancy loss. The etiology of miscarriage is unexplained in approximately 50%-75% of couples with recurrent pregnancy loss. Now a randomized controlled study, published in the recent issue of Human Reproduction, reports the potential of subcutaneous administration of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) as an effective strategy to improve the pregnancy outcome in patients with idiopathic recurrent miscarriages. Continue Reading

The advancements in present day technology have still fallen short of combating the two major barriers that limit wider adoption of organ transplantation; namely immune rejection and side effects that result from immune suppression. Several strategies have been proposed to artificially manipulating dendritic cells (DC), found responsible for eliciting primary immune response and tolerance, to generate “tolerogenic” DC, which holds greater therapeutic potential for autoimmune diseases and allograft rejection. Now, a recent study has zeroed-in on a potential strategy to overcome the complications through the development of degradable microparticles that are capable of delivering major histocompatibility complex, class I, G (HLA-G), a natural immune suppressor, directly into DC. Continue Reading

PillCam Colon Capsule Endoscopy (PCCE), utilizing an ingestible capsule with a video camera, is considered as a safe and less invasive method and an alternative strategy for endoscopic visualization of the colon. Now, a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that the sensitivity of the capsule endoscopy is lower than the more invasive optical colonoscopy for the detection of colorectal lesions and cancer. Continue Reading

Dronedarone (Multaq® | Sanofi-aventis) received regulatory approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for maintaining normal heart rhythms in patients with a history of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter (heart rhythm disorders). The FDA approval was based on results obtained from five randomized multicenter clinical trials, comprising of approximately 6,300 patients. However, due to the increased mortality in one of the trials (ANDROMEDA study), the drug’s label contains a boxed warning from the FDA, prohibiting its use in patients with severe heart failure. Continue Reading

There has been substantial increase in the global incidence of cutaneous malignant melanoma over the past few decades. An enhanced count of the common and dysplastic nevi has been identified as the most important risk factors for melanoma; however, the underlying genetic association was ambiguous. Now, a recent genome-wide assoication study published in the journal Nature Genetics provides the first evidence on the association of genetic variants at 9p21 and 22q13 with the nevus count and also with melanoma susceptibility. Continue Reading

Appendicitis, the most common abdominal emergency, is most often delayed in diagnosis and treatment in children as they may not always present the classical symptoms of the condition. Now, a team of US researchers has reported that proteins detectable in the urine could act as promising biomarkers for diagnosing pediatric appendicitis and also ascertain the need for appendectomy. The findings have been published in the recent online issue of the journal, Annals of Emergency Medicine. Continue Reading

Plasma levels of adiponectin have been found to effectively predict glycemic efficacy in healthy as well as type 2 diabetic patients undergoing peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-agonist treatment. The findings of the study, conducted by the Biomarker Consortium, a public-private partnership under the management of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, are published in the online issue of the Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Continue Reading

The advent of insulin marks one of the greatest innovations for the treatment of diabetes, in achieving and maintaining normoglycemic conditions to delay or abate the progression of associated complications. Following the development of analogs to human insulin, various studies have demonstrated proliferative and anti-apoptotic activity associated with the analogs in vitro. Now, in a recent cohort study published in the online journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Diabetologia, German researchers have suggested a link between the use of the insulin analog glargine and the incidence of cancer; the risk being dose-dependent, when compared to human insulin. Continue Reading

The outbreak of the H1N1 influenza, earlier referred to as “swine flu”, has drawn major global attention, owing to its rapid spread and high initial mortality rates. In response to the ongoing community level outbreak in various regions and the emergence of a global pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the alert level for H1N1 to phase 6, in June, 2009. ¹ Continue Reading

Statin-intolerance in individuals is becoming a more prevalent issue, considering the rise in the number of patients undergoing lipid-lowering treatment. This has necessitated the need for a shift in the medication regime from statins to alternative medicines or other classes of lipid-lowering drugs such as cholesterol absorption inhibitors and bile acid sequestrants. Now, a randomized controlled trial published in the recent issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine further substantiates that the Chinese herbal dietary supplement, red yeast rice, and therapeutic lifestyle changes could significantly lower the levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in statin-intolerant individuals. Continue Reading