Medicine

For three years, Oraya Therapeutics out of California has been developing and fine-tuning a stereotactic device to treat diseases of the eye.

They call it the IRay system, by which researchers deliver low-energy X-rays to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which--as the leading cause of vision loss in people older than 50--afflicts some 25 million to 30 million people worldwide, according to AMD Alliance International.

This week, the IRay has been granted the CE mark, certifying that the IRay system conforms to European Union safety, health, and environmental requirements.

"The CE mark requirements for an early stage medical … Read more

It's getting harder and harder to hide from your doctor.

Researchers at the University of Florida today unveiled the tattletale pills, standard pill capsules that come with microchips and digestible antennas to alert caregivers, family members, etc., when the pill has been ingested.

"It is a way to monitor whether your patient is taking their medication in a timely manner," says Rizwan Bashirullah, assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Florida, in the school's news report.

Developed in part to improve medication compliance in clinical trials, where failure to take experimental drugs … Read more

The eye condition glaucoma, which afflicts some 67 million people and is second only to cataracts as the world's leading cause of blindness, is often treated with eye drops that relieve the unusually high pressure inside the eye.

Contact lenses with vitamin E, however, just might deliver more medication to treat glaucoma almost 100 times longer than current lenses, says Anuj Chauhan, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville who helmed the research team investigating this new treatment:

"The problem is within about 2 to 5 minutes of putting drops in the eye, tears … Read more

Australian diagnostics company HealthLinx Limited, along with researchers at the University of Liverpool, have just gotten word from the journal Clinical Science that their manuscript detailing the identification of a novel biomarker in ovarian cancer patients has been accepted for publication.

This means the company is now cleared to reveal the biomarker: anterior gradient protein 2 (AGR2). HealthLinx says its performance will be further tested in a forthcoming international biomarker study led by the company. Based on early data, however, this biomarker could increase the performance of the company's OvPlex diagnostic test to greater than 97 percent accuracy.

Here … Read more

As a bit of a health nut, I've kept quiet about something I didn't start consuming regularly until moving to Portland, Ore., aka Beervana. Yes, that something is beer. That bastion of bad health. The oh-so-tasty temptress. The barren wasteland of big bellies.

Or maybe beer has gotten a worse reputation than it deserves. In recent years, researchers have extolled several healthy side effects of beer (in moderation, of course), from its role in limiting kidney stones and gallstones to lowering the risk of adult-onset diabetes and even, due to its folate content, helping prevent cancer.

And that'… Read more

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will donate $10 billion over the next decade to fund new vaccines that can be used to fight diseases in poor countries worldwide.

The $10 billion pledged is in addition to $4.5 billion that the foundation has already devoted to the research, development, and launching of vaccines. The couple made the announcement Friday in Switzerland at the 40th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, a nonprofit that tries to tie together material progress with social development.

In pledging the $10 billion, the foundation hopes to close gaps in current funding for research … Read more

If you have the poor fortune of suffering from both migraines and needle phobia, I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that five months after receiving FDA approval, the Sumavel DosePro sumatriptan delivery system--due to hit the shelves this month--manages to be both subcutaneous and needle-free, and can bring relief from migraines in as few as 10 minutes without having to push in any needles.

The bad news is that the drug delivery system may be more painful than using a good old-fashioned needle. In order to deliver the migraine pain reliever sumatriptan through the skin without the aid of a small, quick, sharp needle, this delivery system uses a high burst of nitrogen to shoot the drug through the skin. Umm, ouch?

One reviewer of the delivery system says people are reporting that the system is painful and can result in bruising, swelling, bleeding, and the like. If your fear of needles is extreme, this lack of a needle may be worth the fuss. But if your fear is mild, this may not be the approach for you.… Read more

Let's say you find a lump somewhere and decide to go in for an exam. And let's say there was a little box to check that allows you to get a shot that targets and kills cancerous cells right then and there, no surgery, no waiting, and possibly no radiation or chemo therapy down the road. Would you check the box?

Since time matters when it comes to cancer, the creation of a single nanoparticle--traceable in real time via MRI--that tags and zaps cancer cells all in one procedure has a team of researchers raising their eyebrows in … Read more

If you're the kind of person who feels bewildered in a pharmacy, here's a free app to test drive.

Evincii's new Pickka Med app is designed to function like an "expert pharmacist in your pocket," where people are able not only to search by phone for the best over-the-counter FDA-approved medicine in any given participating pharmacy but in the process avoid touching all the germ-addled bottles lining the shelves of the one place where sick people invariably shop.

Previously, Silicon Valley-based Evincii installed kiosks at hundreds of retail stores, providing guided-search technology to help shoppers … Read more