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Reports that NanoMarkets LC has announced the release of two white papers that forecast and analyze the role of nanotechnology in drug discovery and drug delivery. Availability of the papers for immediate download from the firm's Web site.

Reports that the Beryl Cos. has released a white paper that examines the need for hospitals to objectively measure the effectiveness of their marketing investments in the U.S. Use of specific demographic information from hospital's call center to calculate the return on investment for individual marketing initiatives; Basis of the white paper; Data included in the paper.

The article focuses on newly released white paper for insurers. Insufficient funding for long-term care as a looming crisis for all Americans is identified, especially the growing millions of elderly citizens who lack the means to pay for the services they will require. The white paper authors state that the current group long-term care insurance market is growing, but insurers should design new insurance products to help employers improve participation rates and thereby create bigger financial safety nets for their employees.

The article reports on a study conducted by researchers, published in the 2004 issue of the journal "Computers in Biology and Medicine," which described generation of a digital time database from paper ECG records and Fourier transform-based analysis for disease identification. ECG signals recorded on paper are transferred to the digital time database with the help of an automated data extraction system developed here. A flatbed scanner is used to form an image database of each 12-lead ECG signal. Those images are then fed into a Pentium PC having a system to extract pixel-to-pixel co-ordinate information to form a raw database with the help of some image processing techniques.

Reports on the recognition of Noah A. Rosenberg's and collegues' paper "Genetic structure of human populations" as the most important biomedical research paper for 2003. Nominator's comments on the article's significance; Other nominated papers; Importance of multidiciplinary collaboration.

Reports the announcement by Xcyte Therapies, Inc. of the publication of a scientific paper describing the mechanism of action of its lead product, Xcellerated T Cells, in chronic lymphocyte leukemia. Implication of the research on the field of biotechnology; Basis for the conclusion; Periodical that published the research.

Reports that using predictive models to trigger patient-specific information prescriptions can help more people manage their health, according to a Healthwise white paper. Predictive modeling and information therapy; Use of predictive modeling by health plans and disease management companies to identify the future health care needs and costs of their members who are most ill; How-to examples for reaching beyond the most intensively ill to help a greater number of people to self-manage chronic illness in ways that improve health and reduce overall costs.

Reports on Aegera Therapeutics Inc.'s announcement of the publication of Freda Miller's paper on the origin and function of skin-derived precursor (SKP), a novel source of multipotent adult stem cells, in the scientific journal "Nature Cell Biology." Miller's description of how endogenous SKP are established in skin during embryogenesis and persist into adulthood; Background on Aegera's agreement to combine its original intellectual property (IP) portfolio related to the SKP with the IP portfolio of Sick Kids.

Reports that DOBI Medical International Inc. has released a paper compiling the results from company-sponsored research studies to evaluate the possibility of breast cancer in women who had suspicious mammograms.

Reexamines the paper about a project in human genome and cardiovascular disease genes from ChondroGene Ltd. (CGL). Application of the techniques developed for the project in identification of cardiovascular genomics; Impact of the Dr. C. C. Liew's work in specific gene expression involved in Osteoarthritis; Services provided by CGL.

Presents a paper that provides a comprehensive explanation of ethical issues as well as suggestions for avoiding conflicts of interest in the medical care. Factors underlying the potential conflict in the medical care; Recognition of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions towards the growing pressures faced by the members; Recommendations for avoiding potential problems in the roles cardiologists play.

Reports on the publication of a scientific paper from the Antigen Express immunomedicine subsidiary of Generex Biotechnology Corp. Progress in the development of a novel peptide vaccine for HIV; Presentation of T-helper cell-stimulating; Validation of the use of Ii-Ky hybrid peptides as T helper-cell vaccines for HIV.

Reports on the presentation of a paper identifying the potential benefit of oxygen-carrying blood substitute PolyHeme in modulating the post-injury immune response by Northfield Laboratories Inc. Use of human polymerized hemoglobin; Assessment of the role of PolyHeme in the treatment of trauma patients; Identification of transfusion of red blood cells.

Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) PLC has responded to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) talk paper recommending that Paxil, which is not approved for pediatric use, should not be used in children and adolescents under 18 years for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). The agency said it has not yet completed a review of the safety data, and has not definitively determined if there is an increased risk of suicidal behavior in pediatric patients with MDD. "The FDA is communicating with patients and physicians while they continue to review the data on Paxil in children and adolescents," said Dr. David Wheadon, GSK's senior vice president of regulatory affairs.

Announces the publication of papers on the design and use of activity-based chemical molecular probes licensed exclusively by biotechnology company ActivX Biosciences Inc. from The Scripps Research Institute.

Discusses the abstract of the article "Can obstetric care provide further improvement in the outcome of preterm infants?," published in the 2004 issue of the periodical "European Journal of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Biology". Suggestion that obstetric care can do more to prevent cerebral damage in preterm babies; Main risk factors associated with cerebral palsy.

Discusses the abstract of the article "Luteal phase defect: myth or reality," published in the 2004 issue of the periodical "Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America". Yale University reproductive endocrinologists' assertion that there's "no convincing evidence" that luteal phase defect (LPD) causes reproductive problems; Diagnosis of LPD in clinical practice.

Reports on the study from Brazil which found that oxidative stress in atherosclerosis-prone mouse is due to low antioxidant capacity of mitochondria. Assertion that mitochondria are the main intracellular sties of reactive oxygen species generation and are also targets for oxidative damage; Methods used to show that mitochondria from certain mice have oxidative phosphorylation efficiency; Data that provide the first evidence of how oxidative stress is generated in LDL receptor defective cells.

Discusses an abstract of the study "Postmenopausal hormone therapy-Lessons from observational and randomized studies," by G.M.C. Rosano and colleagues, Tosinvest Sanita, Rome, and published in the journal "Endocrine". Study design and methods; Objectives and findings of the study.

The article reports that in two studies, published in the journal "Human Reproduction," specialists addressed the issue of relevant standards of successful assisted reproduction techniques. The importance of embryo cryopreservation was emphasized in both the two studies. Researcher M. Germond and colleagues said that national and international registries are essential tools for establishing new standards and comparing success rates, but they do not take into account the total pregnancy/delivery rate per oocyte recovery. Researcher A. Tiitinen and colleagues said that an optimal standard should reflect both the risk aspects and the effectiveness of the treatment.

The article cites a study on optimal dialysis for the end-stage renal disease patient with cardiovascular disease. The study was conducted by researcher F. Dumler and P.A. McCullough. Dumler and McCullough published their report in the journal "Advances in Chronic Kidney Disease." The increasing incidence and prevalence of end-stage renal disease that requires renal replacement therapy has placed a focus on the dialysis procedure itself with respect to its hemodynamic and cardiovascular complications. Researchers explores the intradialytic complications of hemodialysis as they relate to the cardiovascular system and highlights opportunities for research and improved quality of care.

The article cites the findings of a study, which provides insight into the functional role of Rhesus proteins, clinically significant to the process of matching donor blood types to transfusion recipients. These findings indicate that Rhesus-associated glycoprotein (RhAG) plays an important role in maintaining pH balance in red blood cells and provide a basis for looking at related proteins in other cell types, such as kidney and liver, where such proteins may play an integral role in detoxification and systemic acid-base balance.

Reports on the prevention of postsurgical adhesions.

Reports that the Center for Information Therapy in Washington, D.C. has released a statement detailing how Group Health Cooperative (GHC) is re-engineering its delivery system around information therapy and patient-centered informatics. Description of information therapy; Accessibility of information on dosing, frequency and side effects for medication prescriptions; Disclosure of the best practices of GHC such as the creation of a transparent health care system.

Details preclinical data supporting a novel and patented mechanism to induce presentation of a full spectrum of antigenic epitopes by a tumor to T-helper cells of the patient, in reference to a study published in "Cancer Treatment Reviews."

Examines the role of zinc in the formation of amyloid plaques in the blood vessels of the brains people with Alzheimer disease. Reaction of zinc to amyloid beta; Clinical benefits of the interaction between metals and amyloid protein; Solubility of amyloid protein.

Examines how different strains of Escherichia coli can outcompete one another in a three-way dominance pattern. Production of toxins that kill other closely related strains by some E. coli strains; Administration of the study to mice fed with colicin-producing (C) strains, or with other E.coli that were either sensitive (S) or resistant (R) to the toxins; Findings on the pattern of dominance tended to cycle from S to C, to R and back to S.

Reports on research by Trevena Moore and colleagues which suggests that fathers should play a greater role in making sure their children stay healthy.

Announces the publication of "Changing How We Think: HIV Prevention Policy in the U.S.", by the AIDS Project Los Angeles. Content of the publication; Main thrust of the publication; Vital issues addressed in the publication.

Cancer Research UK scientists have revealed one of the cancer-causing secrets of the notorious Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV). Researchers in Manchester have discovered precisely how the virus, which plays a role in several children's and adults' cancers, removes a key safeguard against uncontrolled cell division. The findings, published in the 2003 issue of the 'Journal of Cell Biology,' bring scientists closer to understanding how the virus can cause cancer in some individuals, while leaving the vast majority of those it infects unharmed. Researchers hope the advance could lead to ways of protecting people from the effects of infection or treating patients with EBV-related cancers.

Reports on the development of a method for poliovirus sampling using sodium dodecyl sulfate/EDTA-pretreated chromatography paper strips, by U.S. researchers. Usability of SDS/EDTAtreated chromatography paper strips to collect and transport poliovirus-containing stool samples; Amplification of poliovirus RNA using real-time polymerase chain reaction; Dilutions of poliovirus containing feces and stored at different temperatures.

The article reports on the release of a white paper to help health care providers better understand and justify the need for customer relationship management (CRM) by Customer Potential Management Marketing Group Inc. The document is based on decades of experience and success in the health care industry with more than 100 clients nationwide. The document also outlines reasons health care organizations adopt CRM, which include improving business strategy to attract desired business, increasing and proving the value of personalized marketing, and enhancing long-term customer loyalty.

Reports on a study which evaluated the validity of the pencil-and-paper measure of perimenopausal menorrhagia. Findings published in a 2004 issue of "Women's Health Issues".

Reports on a clinical paper presented at the International Symposium for Endovascular Therapy which suggest that patients after 3 years following treatment with the company's Powerlink System will experienced decreases in aneurysm sac diameter and volume and less angulation of the aorta. Changes in the aneurysm sac anatomy during 3-year period in patients treated with a Powerlink System; Features of Powerlink device; Comments of Paul McCormick, CEO of Endologix, Inc., on the success rating of Powerlink System.

Discusses an abstract of the study "Evaluation of a norovirus sampling method using sodium dodecyl sulfate/EDTA-pretreated chromatography paper strips," by E. Wollants and colleagues, and published in the "Journal of Virological Methods". Study design and methods; Objectives and findings of the study.

The article reports that NanoMarkets LC has announced the release of two white papers that address the role of nanotechnology in drug discovery and drug delivery. As the pharmaceutical industry matures, meeting Wall Street's aggressive growth expectations becomes increasingly difficult. Many companies will continue to grow via merger and acquisition activity and through internal development of high-value compounds. Nonetheless, over the next decade, several blockbuster drugs will go off patent, resulting in an estimated loss of $30-$40 billion in annual product revenues as generic drugs enter the market. This change is accelerating the industry's constant need to "build the pipeline" of new compounds, and to rapidly enter new markets.

Reports on Philips, TAGSYS and Texas Instruments' collaboration on a white paper on supply chain management in the pharmaceutical industry.

Reports on WebMD Corp.'s release of a white paper on the implementation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in the U.S.

Reports that Satori Labs Inc. has developed products and technology to help physicians and nurses address the problem of bad information in the healthcare environment. Ability of FusionForm for Healthcare technology to capture patient information, validate and double-check the information at the time of entry; Transmission of information wirelessly to back-end electronic medical record systems in hospitals and physician practice environments.

Reports on the online publication of "Stem Cells and Development" periodical.

This article reports that Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc. announced the publication of a research paper in the journal "Neuron" showing promising new results in a depression research study using a method of deep brain neurostimulation. The paper, authored by noted clinical researchers including the inventors, reports "a striking and sustained remission of depression in four of six patients." ANS acquired the exclusive rights to this intellectual property over a year ago. The investigators studied whether electrical stimulation of that region could reduce the elevated activity and produce clinical benefit. Six patients with refractory depression were implanted and followed for 6 months.

Scientists in London, England have made an important advance in growing human cells outside the body. In a recently published paper, Ilham Saleh Abuljadayel of TriStem Corp., London, describes a technique for reprogramming adult blood cells and causing them to develop into other cell types. Although cells capable of turning into a variety of forms were known to exist in the bone marrow, such cells have never been found in the circulating blood. In order to get these so-called stem cells, doctors have relied on bone marrow transplants to save the lives of patients with diseases such as leukemia. Collecting the bone marrow is an invasive operation, requiring a general anesthetic for the donor, and causes considerable pain. The paper was published in the July 2003 issue of the journal 'Current Medical Research & Opinion.' This is the first time that cells from adult circulating blood have been shown to be able to be transformed into other types of blood cell, and even into other tissue types altogether.

This article cites a study conducted by neurobiologists Richard H. Kramer and Dirk Trauner at the University of California, investigating the ability to detect light of "blind" nerve cells, paving the way for an innovative therapy that could restore sight to those who have lost it through disease. Researchers inserted a light-activated switch into brain cells normally insensitive to light, enabling the researchers to turn the cells on with green light and turn them off with ultraviolet light. They suggest that this trick could potentially help those who have lost the light-sensitive rods and cones in their eyes because of nerve damage or diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa or agerelated macular degeneration. Results of this study were published on November 21, 2004, in a paper published online in the journal "Nature Neuroscience."

This article cites a study showing that rifampicin, an antibiotic used to treat leprosy and tuberculosis, can prevent the formation of protein fibrils associated with the death of brain cells in people with Parkinson disease. The research was carried out by a team of scientists in Fink's lab, including postdoctoral researchers Jie Li, Min Zhu and Sudha Rajamani and research associate Vladimir Uversky. Li is first author of a paper describing their results in the journal "Chemistry and Biology," published online on November 29, 2004. Researchers studied the effects of rifampicin in test tube experiments and are currently doing studies with cell cultures and mice to see if the same effects occur in living cells. Findings suggest that rifampicin and related compounds might be effective in preventing fibril formation and associated neurological damage in patients with Parkinson disease.

This article reports that a group of scientists at the Scripps Research Institute, the University of California, San Diego in California, and the Oregon Hearing Research Center and Vollum Institute at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered a key molecule that is part of the machinery that mediates the sense of hearing. In a paper published in the March 28, 2004, online issue of the journal Nature, the team reported that a protein called cadherin 23 is part of a complex of proteins called "tip links" that are on hair cells in the inner ear. These hair cells are involved in the physiological process called mechanotransduction, a phenomenon in hearing in which physical cues are transduced into electrochemical signals and communicated to the brain.

A team of researchers has published a paper appearing in the journal 'Nature' that explains how pathogens as different as viruses and bacteria can have such a common bottom line. Bacteria and viruses are completely different classes of pathogens, and not surprisingly the body uses completely different molecular "receptors" to detect them in order to mount an immune defense. Paradoxically, while the detection systems are different, the actual immune defenses the body employs to clear the system of viral or bacterial infection are much the same. As are the symptoms - fighting off bacteria or viruses can produce the same fatigue, inflammation, or hacking cough. The proximal reason for similar symptoms is a single protein. This protein, called Trif, associates with different "receptors" that detect a virus or a bacterium on the surfaces of human cells. Trif could be a potential target for intervening in diseases in which the innate immune system plays a role, such as sepsis.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that researchers from Columbia University and Regeneron Research Laboratories have reported that Regeneron's vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) trap caused shrinkage of established, growing tumors and their metastases in a mouse model of anaplastic Wilms tumor, a highly aggressive kidney tumor that occurs most commonly in children. In the experiments described in the paper, tumor shrinkage appeared to be caused by the collapse and eventual elimination of blood vessels within the tumors. Collapse of tumor blood vessels was seen within a day of beginning treatment with the VEGF trap and was followed by marked tumor regression over a period of a few weeks, including regression of lung micrometastases which were present at the start of treatment. Researchers created tumor models by injecting cultured human Wilms tumor cells into mice and allowing the animals to grow for five weeks until large tumors formed.

Stroke victims may retain more motor coordination than previously thought, according to a research led by Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Findings of the study challenge current understanding of brain function and open new possibilities for aiding the physically challenged. Researchers found that the cerebellum may not be as fully responsible for the timing of "continuous" motions, such as drawing circles repeatedly on paper, as it is for "discontinuous" motions that have a more start-stop nature. Under the right and left hemispheres of the cerebrum, which handles higher thinking processes, lies a smaller and more ancient section of the brain, the cerebellum. It is here that motor skills, which include movements from walking to blinking to catching a ball, are governed. Strokes can leave damaging lesions on the cerebellum that make it difficult for victims to control their muscles, especially when it comes to activities that require a sense of timing. A potential problem with these findings is that researchers have based them on a rather small number of test subjects. This invites the criticism that the study does not conclusively illustrate how the cerebellum is organized.

Being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer is like receiving a death sentence - one that, for many patients, is carried out within weeks or months of their cancer's discovery. Less than 20% of patients are diagnosed in time to qualify for the only known cure - an arduous operation - and only 3% of all patients live even 5 years. But a team of researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center hopes to overturn that death sentence, through studies that zero in on the genes and proteins that help pancreatic cancer grow and spread. In a new paper in the journal 'Cancer Research,' and through work funded by a $2.36 million grant, as well as a new patient care program, the team aims to find new ways to improve diagnosis and treatment of the deadly disease.

The article cites a study regarding end-stage renal disease (ESRD) system of payment, conducted by researcher Jonathan Himmelfarb and colleagues, published in the December 2004 issue of the "Journal of the American Society of Nephrology." This paper, a result of discussions among last winter's working group of healthcare providers, doctors, researchers and government policy officials, examines the ESRD system of payment and whether this system can be modified to promote quality-based care delivery. The most significant issue addressed within the paper is the need to define and measure quality care to facilitate improvement in desired patient outcomes.