Walter Jessen – Page 31

Biomarker Bulletin: October 10, 2011

October 10, 2011 | by Walter Jessen

Biomarker Bulletin is an occasionally recurring update of news focused on biomarkers aggregated at BiomarkerCommons.org. Biomarkers are physical, functional or biochemical indicators of normal physiological or disease processes. The individualization of disease management — personalized medicine — is dependent on developing biomarkers that promote specific clinical domains, including early detection, risk, diagnosis, prognosis and predicted response to therapy.

Recent Advances in Biomarker Discovery for Parkinson’s disease, a Satellite Symposium at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting
A satellite symposium, Recent Advances in Biomarker Discovery for Parkinson’s Disease, is being sponsored by Covance on November 13th, 2011 at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
NYAS Symposium: Biomarkers and Brain Imaging of Presymptomatic Alzheimer’s Disease
The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) will be holding an afternoon event in January 2012 that focuses on biomarkers and brain imaging of presymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.
NIH to Support Clinical Trial Implementation or Biomarker Clinical Evaluation Studies
Earlier this month, the National Institutes of Health announced that the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) Institute will support mission-relevant investigator-initiated Phase I, II, III or IV clinical trial cooperative agreement applications or biomarker evaluation studies that require prospective collection of clinical outcomes and clinical specimens.
NIH to Fund Studies that Adapt Adult Biomarkers to Children
The National Institutes of Health announced Thursday that the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) will support studies that propose adapting adult biomarkers to children.
CLC bio to Develop Bioinformatics Tools for Prostate Cancer Biomarker Project
CLC bio is participating in a $4 million Danish collaboration focused on the identification and validation of biomarkers of prostate cancer risk and aggressiveness.

Activation of the Immune System and the Nobel Prize for Medicine

October 4, 2011 | by Walter Jessen

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was announced on Monday. The prize was awarded to three scientists for their work on the body’s immune system.

The prize of 10-million-Swedish-krona (US$1.5-million) was divided, one half jointly to Bruce A. Beutler, age 54, at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, and Jules A. Hoffmann, age 70, at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology in Strasbourg, for their discovery of receptor proteins that can recognize bacteria and other microorganisms and activate innate immunity, and the other half to Ralph M. Steinman, age 68, at Rockefeller University in New York, for his discovery of dendritic cells of the immune system and their unique capacity to activate and regulate adaptive immunity, the later stage of the immune response during which microorganisms are cleared from the body.

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A Step Toward Personalized Asthma Treatment, Gene Variant Linked to Drug Response

September 26, 2011 | by Walter Jessen

Inhaled corticosteroids are used by millions of asthma patients every day. However, as with all treatments to control asthma, there is marked patient-to-patient variability in the response to treatment. New research published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has identified a genetic variant associated with the response to inhaled corticosteroids [1]. Investigators have found that asthma patients who have two copies of a specific gene variant responded only one-third as well to steroid inhalers as those with two copies of the regular gene.

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AAP Corrects Statements on HPV Vaccine Safety

September 13, 2011 | by Walter Jessen

The American Academy of Pediatrics released this statement today in response to statements made during the Republican Tea Party debate [1]:

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House Appropriations Subcommittee to Decide NIH Funding Friday

September 7, 2011 | by Walter Jessen

This Friday, the U.S. House appropriations subcommittee that determines funding for National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will make their funding recommendation for fiscal year 2012.

It is critically important that you urge your congressional members to fight for increased investment in medical research in FY 2012 (link below). Here’s why: biomedical research and the biotechnology industry is a major driver of the U.S. economy and has been for the past 30 years [1]. Despite budgetary constraints, America cannot afford to fall behind when it comes to investing in biomedical research and America’s future. These investments are crucial to overcome the health challenges facing our nation and to create the jobs that will help revitalize our economy.