Public release date: 6-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Siok Ming Ong ong_siok_ming@a-star.edu.sg 65-682-66254 Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore Scientists from A*STAR's Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), together with clinical collaborators from London , discovered for the first time that children and young patients with chronic Hepatitis B Virus infection (HBV carriers) do have a protective immune response, contrary to current belief, and hence can be more suitable treatment candidates than previously considered. This discovery by the team of scientists led by Professor Antonio Bertoletti, programme director and research director of the infection and immunity programme at SICS, could lead to a paradigm shift in the current treatment of patients with chronic HBV. The findings were published in Gastroenterology on 1st September. Current guidelines from international liver associations recommend delaying therapy until HBV carriers show clear signs of active liver disease, which generally appear after the age of 30 . This is based on two assumptions. One, young patients are unable to react to treatment because they are immune-tolerant to the virus. This means that there is no protective immune response in their body to help them get rid of the virus, and therefore, … Continue reading →

Sept. 8, 2012, midnight Contact with amazing and inspiring breast cancer patients and their families is the best part of the job for newly appointed McGrath Breast Care Nurse Vanessa Hyland. Ms Hyland has been working one day a week at the Dubbo Community Health Centre for the past five years with Specialist Breast Care Nurse Margie Collins. Thanks to funding from the McGrath Foundation Ms Hyland now works four days a week as a McGrath Breast Care Nurse. Based at Dubbo Community Health Centre Ms Hyland has over 18 years experience and became a specialist breast care nurse in 2000. She will provide additional physical, psychological and emotional support for families experiencing breast cancer, from the time of diagnosis and throughout treatment. "My favourite part of the job is definitely the contact with the ladies and their families," she said. "They are amazing people and definitely inspiring." Everyday on the job is different, according to Ms Hyland, who completes tasks such as visiting women who are having surgery or undergoing treatment at the oncology unit, to making follow up phone calls to clients who live in smaller towns surrounding Dubbo. Thanks to the funding provided by the McGrath Foundation … Continue reading →

Shares of Elan (ELN) have been buoyed by two hopeful catalytic events, both of which appear to have gone away. As a result, this stock, which has nearly doubled in the last 18 months and carries a $6.8 billion market valuation, could be poised for a sharp fall. Hope that the company`s drug candidate, bapineuzumab, would become an important treatment for Alzheimer`s disease put momentum behind the shares. But recently, partner Pfizer (PFE) reported that the compound showed no effect in two landmark Phase III trials, snuffing out that dream. More significant is speculation that Elan`s partner for its multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment, Tysabri, could acquire the company for the other half of the drug`s profits. That partner is Biogen Idec (BIIB), which also awaits FDA approval for its next flagship product, BG-12, a revolutionary ORAL treatment for MS. BG-12 has demonstrated strong efficacy results in Phase III trials; is taken by mouth; and has a relatively favorable safety profile. Tysabri, on the other hand, is given by IV infusion and can have severe, even deadly side effects. So why would Biogen waste resources on ELN, when it could simply cannibalize Tysabri sales (50% economics to BIIB) with new sales … Continue reading →