Scientists at the Queensland Brain Institute have uncovered a vital clue into how the brain is wired, which could eventually steer research into nervous system disorders such as Parkinson's disease and cognitive disorders including autism.

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Researchers from the vaccinology and applied microbiology department at the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research in Braunschweig, Germany, have now found a new molecule with the capacity of improving responses to vaccines. The synthetic compound, the so-called c-di-IMP, might be more than just a potent vaccine enhancer. The scientists expect to create new vaccination strategies based on c-di-IMP. The group's results have now been published in the current issue of the scientific journal Vaccine.

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WATERTOWN, Mass., March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the nomination of lead development candidate, EDP-239, from its NS5A hepatitis C virus (HCV) inhibitor program. EDP-239 has demonstrated picomolar potency against multiple genotypes of the virus and a preclinical pharmacokinetic profile amenable to once-a-day dosing.

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CombinatoRx's complex merger deal with Neuromed will pay off with a $40 million milestone earned with today's announcement that the FDA has approved Exalgo, a once-daily pain therapy. Covidien, which partnered on the program, will handle the commercial rollout and fork over the cash.

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PDS Biotechnology Corporation today announced that the company has been awarded a $1.28M phase 2 SBIR contract by the National Cancer Institute division of the US National Institutes of Health. The contract provides funding to complete studies required to file an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) with the FDA for the company's lead human papillomavirus (HPV)-cancer product late in 2010.

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An imaging technique combining ultrasound and specially modified contrast agents may allow researchers to noninvasively detect cancer and show its progression, according to research published in the March issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM). The technique enables researchers to visualize tumor activity at the molecular level.

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Dietary factors influence ovarian cancer survival rates

March 1, 2010

2009 estimates projected that in the United States alone 21,550 new cases of ovarian cancer would be diagnosed and 14,600 women would die of the disease. Often diagnosed in late stages, ovarian cancer has an asymptomatic onset and a relatively low 5-year survival rate of about 45%. Consequently investigation linked to survivorship is critical. A study published in the March 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, is among the first to evaluate possible diet associations with ovarian cancer survival. Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago determined that there is a strong relationship between healthy eating and prolonged survival.

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Flat Federal Funding and Cuts in States Put America's Health At-Risk WASHINGTON, March 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) today released a new report, Shortchanging America's Health: A State-By-State Look at How Public Health Dollars Are Spent, which finds federal spending for public health has been flat for nearly five years, while states around the country cut nearly $392 million for public health programs in the past year, which leaves communities around the country struggling to deliver basic disease prevention and emergency health preparedness services.

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Project with Microsoft HealthVault Shows that Technology May Improve the Way Healthcare is Delivered CLEVELAND, March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The use of at-home medical devices to connect doctors and patients via the Internet can help patients and their physicians work more efficiently together to manage chronic conditions, according to research at Cleveland Clinic. In December 2008, Cleveland Clinic and Microsoft collaborated on a pilot project that pairs the hospital's electronic medical records system with the software company's online HealthVault service to monitor patients' health conditions.

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Researchers from the Ohio State University have developed a rapid, multiplexed genotyping method to identify the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that affect warfarin dose. The related report by Yang et al, "Rapid Genotyping of SNPs Influencing Warfarin Drug Response by SELDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry," appears in the March 2010 issue of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

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