Physicians increasingly too busy to see pharm sales reps

January 16, 2020 Given the common complaint that they do not have enough time to spend with patients, busy doctors are making less time to meet with pharma representatives, according to the annual ePharma physician report from Decision Resources Group, a healthcare research and consulting company. As physicians increasingly struggle to balance their time with … Read more

Many cancer drugs do not hit their intended targets

January 14, 2020 After examining the mechanisms of 10 cancer drugs that were thought to target one of six (6) proteins, Jason Sheltzer and colleagues at CSHL made the unexpected discovery that the drugs may indeed kill tumor cells, but not by blocking their intended targets.  The medicines they scrutinized came from companies that included Celgene … Read more

Apple unveils large-scale research studies tracking activities, hearing and women’s health

January 09, 2020 Conducted in partnership with academic and healthcare institutions, the studies aim to tap nearly any Apple product customer as a potential research participant.  The tech giant’s planed to make its Research app available as a free download in late 2019.  Apple’s previous heart-focused study canvassed more than 400,000 people in the U.S. … Read more

Could gene therapy be the solution to obesity and diabetes?

January 02, 2020 When the researchers inhibited FABP4 in white adipose tissue — commonly known as the unhealthy white fat—they observed a reduction in lipid storage.  Then they tried it in mice that had been fed a high-fat diet, injecting them twice a week with the CRISPR interference system.  The mice lost 20% of their … Read more

Laser-charged gold nanoparticles destroy prostate tumors in first-in-human study

December 31, 2019 After one (1) year, 14 out of the 16 treated lesions tested negative for signs of cancer, according to procedure developer Nanospectra Biosciences.  The company’s gold-silica particles, dubbed AuroShells, are designed to absorb wavelengths of light that approach the infrared spectrum and are still able to pass through tissue.  When charged up … Read more

Too tough to clean: FDA urges industry transition to disposable duodenoscopes

December 26, 2019 The FDA named several models from Olympus, Fujifilm and Pentax as ones to avoid in the future, all designed with fixed, rigid end caps. These can contain tight crevices that can be difficult to fully clean and may harbor potentially dangerous infections between uses.  Instead, the FDA is urging duodenoscopes be designed … Read more

Sidestepping failing retinas by linking cameras straight to the visual cortex

December 24, 2019 Currently being developed under the BRAIN Initiative of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the OBServ system includes glasses that not only film the scene in front of a person but also track their eye movement to see where they are focusing their gaze.  Though AMD is a leading cause of blindness … Read more

Eye-tracking tests can help diagnose, gauge severity of concussions

December 19, 2019 “Concussion is a three-legged stool.  When you get assessed, you get assessed for eye movement — ‘follow the tip of my finger’ — and you get assessed for cognitive and memory issues.  You also get assessed for balance,” said Melissa Hunfalvay, co-founder and Chief Science Officer at RightEye, a company that markets … Read more

Building a human brain ‘parts list’ for better treatments

December 17, 2019 The team used single-nucleus RNA sequencing to classify neuronal cells in a region of human cortex that plays a key role in many cognitive functions.  The 75 distinct cell types identified are similar to cells in the mouse brain; however, there are also some crucial differences, the researchers reported in a study published … Read more