Press releases and news stories reporting the results of randomized controlled trials often contain "spin" - specific reporting strategies (intentional or unintentional) emphasizing the beneficial effect of the experimental treatment - but such "spin" frequently comes from the abstract (summary) of the actual study published in a scientific journal, rather than being related to misinterpretation by the media, according to French researchers writing in this week's PLOS Medicine.
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Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation not associated with lower risk of major CVD events
In a study that included nearly 70,000 patients, supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids was not associated with a lower risk of all-cause death, cardiac death, sudden death, heart attack, or stroke, according to an analysis of previous studies published in the September 12 issue of JAMA.
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Physician's empathy directly associated with positive clinical outcomes
Patients of doctors who are more empathic have better outcomes and fewer complications, concludes a large, empirical study by a team of Thomas Jefferson University and Italian researchers who evaluated relationships between physician empathy and clinical outcomes among 20,961 diabetic patients and 242 physicians in Italy. The study was published in the September 2012 issue of Academic Medicine, and serves as a follow up to a smaller study published in the same journal in March 2011 from Thomas Jefferson University investigating physician empathy and its impact on patient outcomes.
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GE Healthcare launches modular biopharmaceutical factory, KUBio
GE Healthcare, the healthcare business of GE (NYSE: GE), introduced KUBioTM, an innovative off-the-shelf, modular factory designed to save manufacturers of biopharmaceuticals both time and money. KUBio's pre-made modules, which are assembled at a customer's chosen site to make a fully functional ready-to-run bioprocessing facility, are significantly faster to install than constructing a traditional factory. The modules are equipped with GE Healthcare's world-class technologies for the start-to-finish manufacture of biopharmaceuticals.
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Harnessing anticancer drugs for the future fight against influenza
Medical Systems Virology group at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) at the University of Helsinki, together with its national and international collaborators, developed a new cell screening method that can be used to identify potential anti-influenza drugs. The researchers were able to identify two novel compounds with anti-influenza activity, obatoclax and gemcitabine and prove the efficacy of a previously known drug saliphenylhalamide.
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NextPharma appoints three new senior team members
NextPharma Technologies Holding Limited, one of the leading contract manufacturers in Europe for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industries, is delighted to announce the appointment of two key additions to its executive team. Andrew Kelley has been appointed Chief Operating Officer and Pierre Delavaud has been appointed Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing. In addition, Matthew Wilder has been appointed Vice President US Sales and Marketing to help drive the company's business in the United States.
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Compound discovered that boosts effect of vaccines against HIV and flu
Oxford University scientists have discovered a compound that greatly boosts the effect of vaccines against viruses like flu, HIV and herpes in mice. An 'adjuvant' is a substance added to a vaccine to enhance the immune response and offer better protection against infection. The Oxford University team, along with Swedish and US colleagues, have shown that a type of polymer called polyethyleneimine (PEI) is a potent adjuvant for test vaccines against HIV, flu and herpes when given in mice.
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