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Eye Movements Of Parkinson's Disease Patients During Sentence Comprehension Support Subcortical Role In Processing Syntax
The study of the neural basis of language has largely focused on regions in the cortex - the outer brain layers thought by many researchers to have expanded during human evolution. Research at Brown University"s Department of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, reported in the September Issue of Cortex, published by Elsevier, adds to evidence that deeper, subcortical regions are also critical by pinpointing when Parkinson"s disease patients have difficulty while processing grammatically complex sentences. In Parkinson"s disease, degeneration of subcortical dopamine-secreting neurons leads not only to motor symptoms but often also to cognitive deficits.
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Lixte Biotechnology Holdings' Lead Compound, LB-1.2, Enhances The Effectiveness Of Standard Cancer Chemotherapy In Animal Models
Lixte Biotechnology Holdings (OTC Bulletin Board: LIXT) announced that investigators of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health and Lixte reported that its novel compound, LB-1.2, enhances the effectiveness of two standard chemotherapy drugs in mouse models of human cancers. This research is being conducted under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between NINDS and Lixte. The report was published online in the early edition (June 29) of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (US). The print version will appear July 14.
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Mayo Researchers Find Anesthesia Not Harmful For Babies During Birth Process
Mayo Clinic researchers have found that children exposed to anesthesia during Cesarean section are not at any higher risk for learning disabilities later in life than children not delivered by C-section. These findings are reported in the current issue of the journal Anesthesiology.
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UK Patients To Benefit From Access To Innovative Lung Cancer Treatment

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) have today published their recommendation for the use of the innovative chemotherapy pemetrexed (Alimta), in combination with cisplatin - a platinum based chemotherapy, as a 1st-line treatment for patients with adenocarcinoma or large-cell carcinoma non-small cell lung cancer* (NSCLC)1 within their Final Appraisal Determination (FAD). Final Guidance on the use of pemetrexed and cisplatin within this indication is anticipated to be published in September 2009 as a result of the FAD. Lilly welcomes this FAD decision which means that UK patients with adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma NSCLC are to benefit from publicly funded access to the combination as 1st line treatment. Lung cancer is the UK"s biggest cancer killer2 and the second most common cancer in the UK after breast cancer2, accounting for one in 20 of all deaths nationwide. Treatment with pemetrexed and cisplatin represents a significant development in non-squamous NSCLC treatment as it has shown to extend life beyond one year in certain patients**3. In addition, pemetrexed with cisplatin offers improved tolerability for non-squamous NSCLC patients3 when compared to the most widely prescribed treatment combination, gemcitabine and cisplatin. In clinical trials comparing the two treatment combinations, patients receiving pemetrexed and cisplatin required fewer transfusions, experienced lower incidence of neutropenia (a disorder leading to a low white blood cell count) and half the number of patients encountered hair loss.3 Professor Nick Thatcher, Professor in Medical Oncology at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust said: "This decision is truly significant and is fantastic news for lung cancer patients in the UK and the clinicians who have been campaigning for access. "It is NICE"s first FAD incorporating the use of histology. A histological diagnosis, the microscopic analysis of a tumour biopsy, allows the determination of exactly which type of NSCLC is present***, thereby allowing treatments to be more targeted and therefore more effective. "This "targeting" of patients has helped NICE confirm that pemetrexed and cisplatin is a clinically and cost effective treatment in patients with a confirmed diagnosis of adenocarcinoma or large-cell carcinoma." "The decision reflects the advancement pemetrexed in combination with cisplatin brings, with clinicians being able to target the right patients with the right treatment based on histological diagnosis. NICE should be commended on allowing UK patients to be the first to have funded access to this combination for the 1st line treatment of non-squamous NSCLC. "We now need to work hard to ensure that there is equitable access to this medicine throughout the UK." Pemetrexed and cisplatin are administered as an infusion every three weeks, providing an additional benefit of reducing the frequency of hospital visits and medication when compared with other treatments.4 The full FAD documentation can be found on the NICE website www.nice.org.uk. Final guidance on the use of pemetrexed and cisplatin for the 1st line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous NSCLC is expected in September 2009 and will also be published on the NICE website. Notes * For patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) ** In patients with adenocarcinoma *** Of the three types of NSCLC, pemetrexed has been shown to be more effective in two types, adenocarcinoma and large cell carcinoma (referred to as non-squamous NSCLC). These two types of NSCLC represent approximately 55% of all NSCLC cases References 1 - National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Pemetrexed for the 1st line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. Final Appraisal Determination: http://guidance.nice.org.uk/TA/Wave18/25 2 - Cancer Research, UK. Cancer Stats, Key Facts on Lung Cancer and Smoking. http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/lung/ (Accessed July 2009) 3 - Scaglotti GV et al. Phase III study comparing cisplatin plus gemcitabine with cisplatin plus pemetrexed in chemotherapy-naive patients with advanced-stage non-small-cell lung cancer. J Clin Oncol; 2008 Jul 20;26(21):3543-51. Epub 2008 May 27 4 - Alimta SmPC Eli Lilly and Company Limited


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