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PROTECT-1 Phase II/III Induction-Stage Results For ChemoCentryx's Traficet-EN(TM) Presented In Oral Session At DDW 2009 Conference
ChemoCentryx, Inc., announced that Phase II/III clinical data from the company"s PROTECT-1 (the Prospective Randomized Oral Therapy Evaluation in Crohn"s disease Trial) of Traficet-EN(TM) (CCX282-B) in patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn"s disease demonstrated evidence of clinical efficacy in the reduction of disease severity, as defined by a decrease from baseline in the Crohn"s Disease Activity Index (CDAI) score of at least 70 points over the course of 12 weeks; the more stringent criterion of at least a 100 point decrease in the CDAI score was also met by week 12. In addition, Traficet-EN treatment resulted in colonoscopic evidence of improvement. These data, reported from the Induction Stage of the ongoing PROTECT-1 trial, were presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2009 in Chicago, IL, by Satish Keshav, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Gastroenterology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University, in an oral session today.

GlaxoSmithKline Pledges $97M Investment In AIDS Drugs For Africa, Allows South African Drugmaker To Produce Generic Second-Line Treatment
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) on Tuesday announced plans to invest $97 million over 10 years "to improve research, development and access to AIDS drugs in Africa," Reuters reports. GSK also put forth "a new free voluntary licensing agreement for AIDS drug abacavir, or Ziagen with South African generic drugmaker Aspen Pharmacare." According to Reuters, Aspen will be able to "manufacture a cheaper generic version of the drug."
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Statistics Show Drop In Births, Lower Demand For Infertility Services During Recession
More people in the Atlanta area and across the U.S. are delaying pregnancy in a possible reaction to the current economic recession, leading to a decline in the number of couples seeking infertility treatments, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. According to the Journal-Constitution, 13 states saw a decrease in the number of recorded births in 2008 compared with 2007. The Georgia Hospital Association reports that there were 5,352 fewer recorded births in Georgia in 2008 than in 2007. Mark Perloe of Georgia Reproductive Specialists said there has been a 20% decline in the number of people seeking infertility services. To retain business during the economic downturn, Perloe said Georgia Reproductive Specialists is offering a discount on select services of as much as 70%.Elisabeth Burgess, a Georgia State University sociology professor who focuses on families, said, "In times of economic downturns, different people react in different ways." For some people, "[f]amily becomes more important, so you might decide to have a child." The Journal-Constitution reports that one cycle of treatment can cost $15,000 or more, which some people pay for through credit, retirement savings or home equity loans. Evelina Sterling, co-author of a book on budgeting finances for infertility treatments, said that 70% of infertility patients cover the costs of the treatments completely out of pocket. She added that some older infertility patients "can"t wait on" the economy to recover to start a family.Carol Hogue, a professor of maternal and child health at Emory University, said there has been a "very predictable" pattern of reduced births during periods of economic recessions dating back to the Great Depression. The Journal-Constitution reports that some people delay planned pregnancy because of concerns over job security, health insurance, income and the cost of raising a child. Statistics from USDA show that the average middle-class family will pay $11,000 to raise a child in the first year, with the largest portion of that cost going to child care. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported in 2007 -- the latest year for which data are available -- that prenatal care and routine delivery costs about $7,600 after insurance (Cash, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/24).
Diagnostics

Scents Really Can Soothe Stress

Feeling stressed? Then try savoring the scent of lemon, mango, lavender, or other fragrant plants. Scientists in Japan are reporting the first scientific evidence that inhaling certain fragrances alter gene activity and blood chemistry in ways that can reduce stress levels. Their study appears in ACS" Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication. In the new study, Akio Nakamura and colleagues note that people have inhaled the scent of certain plants since ancient times to help reduce stress, fight inflammation and depression, and induce sleep. Aromatherapy, the use of fragrant plant oils to improve mood and health, has become a popular form of alternative medicine today. And linalool is one of the most widely used substances to soothe away emotional stress. Until now, however, linalool"s exact effects on the body have been a deep mystery. The scientists exposed lab rats to stressful conditions while inhaling and not inhaling linalool. Linalool returned stress-elevated levels of neutrophils and lymphocytes - key parts of the immune system - to near-normal levels. Inhaling linalool also reduced the activity of more than 100 genes that go into overdrive in stressful situations. The findings could form the basis of new blood tests for identifying fragrances that can soothe stress, the researchers say. Article: "Stress Repression in Restrained Rats by (R)-(-)-Linalool Inhalation and Gene Expression Profiling of Their Whole Blood Cells" http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/jf900420g Michael Woods American Chemical Society


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