Personalization is the New Name of the Game Precision medicine, also known as personalized medicine, is a concept of combining a drug with a test that is modified to a persons genetic disposition. The test has the ability to predict disease risk, diagnose disease and monitor therapeutic response. Given the huge problem of drug failure rates, the concept of companion diagnostics in the realm of precision medicine has gained huge momentum since 2010. Precision medicine involves the selection of diagnostic tests (companion diagnostics) that have the potential to identify changes in each patients cells. The use of that knowledge may help prevent and treat diseases through the development of treatment strategies to target these specific molecular alterations. Ultimately, the goal of precision medicine is to improve patient outcomes. Figure 1 shows the failure rates for drugs in several disease categories today. Personalized medicine can help save billions of dollars for the healthcare economy globally. How Big is the Opportunity? By 2020, the companion diagnostics market will experience a growth of 20.4 percent globally. In 2014, the market for test sales and test services alone was $2.4 billion and is expected to reach $6.9 billion globally. Figure 2 shows the percentage … Continue reading →

Brenda Simmons hugs her horse Little Brother at her ranch in Granby late last month. Simmons and Little Brother have had stem cell therapy on their legs, preventing debilitating issues for both. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post) Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers removed about 100 prairie dogs. (Courtesy Malia Reeves) Your daily resource for late-breaking news, upcoming events, the Denver weather forecast, Denver traffic information, and the stories that will be talked about on Wednesday, April 8, 2015. Download our iPhone, iPad and Android apps for breaking news throughout the day. 1. THE HORSE FIX IS IN The story of how researchers are using some horse sense to innovate stem cell joint therapies. Close to home, horses are leading humans into new territory, inspiring not only patients but researchers in regenerative therapies at Colorado State University in Fort Collins and the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver. 2. NOBLE TO CUT 100 ENERGY JOBS Noble Energy, Colorado's second largest oil producer, said Tuesday that in the face of low prices it is reorganizing its operations cutting 100 jobs in Denver and Greeley. 3. 100 SEIZED PRAIRIE DOGS IN RODENT LIMBO State wildlife agents and police officers seized about 100 prairie … Continue reading →

Freeport, Grand Bahama (PRWEB) April 08, 2015 Amy was searching for a way to get her type 1 diabetes under control when she was referred to Okyanos, the leader in cell therapy. After years of regular visits to the hospital for diabetes, neuropathy and fibromyalgia, she was looking for something that would help her lead a healthier, more normal life. No stranger to pain, Amy has had more than her share of treatments, including meditation, biofeedback, physical therapy and medications, getting her to a point of functional with very bad flare ups. Amy experienced a condition called diabetes burnout which can occur when one gets tired of the endless attention diabetes care requires. After such a period, just 19 and a sophomore in college, Amy woke up one day with swollen feet and persistent horrible pain. She went home to Florida for spring break and ended up in the hospital for six weeks with a neuropathy diagnosis. Neuropathy is common in older diabetics but at a young age, the diagnosis threatened what shred of normal she had left. I couldnt sleep with a blanket and it was hard to have anything on my feet. I had to shake the bed … Continue reading →

Working on a very small scale lets scientists give drugs abilities denied to larger molecules Harry Campbell A molecule of DNA, holding its blueprint for life, is about 2.5 billionths of a meter in diameter. Scientists now have the ability to push and pull and build molecules of that size, as well as to create devices that sense them with unprecedented precision. These skills, gained through painstaking work during the past decade, are leading to new medicines and ways of diagnosing disease. In this special report, Scientific American examines what nanomedicine is bringing us now, what is coming soon and what the future will likely hold. Right now chemotherapy is a major focus, and drugs that can slip into tumors because of their fine-grained construction are showing success where other medications fail patients [see Cancer Drugs Hit Their Mark, on page 44]. Diagnostic tests are also taking advantage of the small sizes, using probes of unusually shaped DNA that can detect cancer with remarkable accuracy. Next, in the near future, patients should be able to use smart bandages made with nano-sized molecules that enhance the healing of severe woundsor that signal doctors when healing is not happening [see A Smarter … Continue reading →