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Frieden Takes Charge Of CDC Today
Known for his often controversial approach to public health issues, Dr. Thomas Frieden will take over as the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today, according to various news outlets.
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Drop In Access To Abortion Would Reward Antiabortion-Rights Violence, Opinion Piece Says
After the murder last month of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, "there is a very real danger" that the availability of abortion later in pregnancy "will end in this country -- not after public deliberation, legislative debate and majority vote, but because antiabortion absolutists on the fringe have intimidated and blacklisted doctors and successfully threatened violence against them," Jim Buie, author of the blog The Buie Knife, writes in a Newsweek.com opinion piece. Buie writes that his parents in the early 1950s chose to institutionalize his three-year-old-brother, who was born with severe Down syndrome, after their attempts to care for him left them with "severe emotional distress" and unable "to meet the needs of their healthy children."Buie continues that he "cannot say that the option of a late-term abortion would have been the right one for my parents." However, "some of the arguments advanced by pro-life forces disturb me," he says, especially a "tendency to romanticize, sentimentalize and idealize life with a cute, forever-young Down-syndrome "angel child."" Buie adds, "It"s an argument I find off-putting, especially when it"s espoused by people who have never been through the wringer trying to care for a child whose disability level is on the most severe end of the scale." He continues, "At the same time, it is very disturbing that until recently, the majority of Down-syndrome fetuses were aborted without expectant mothers receiving proper information or support."Because of Tiller"s murder, it is "possible there won"t be any doctors in the country willing to perform" abortion later in pregnancy, "even if prenatal tests indicate severe retardation," according to Buie, who adds that this would mean that "domestic terrorism could win." He concludes, "It would mean that parents like my own would no longer have a choice, and would instead be forced to endure the same harsh realities that were present in the 1950s" (Buie, Newsweek.com, 6/17).
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Isotopes, The Atomic Clues Used To Solve Crimes, Date Ancient Artifacts And Identify Chemicals
Whether it"s the summer grass that tickles your feet or the red Bordeaux smacking on your palette, nearly every part of the world around you carries special chemical markers. These markers, called isotopes, can tell scientists where the molecules that compose a substance are from, where they traveled, and what happened to them along the way. But doing these analyses has been complex and costly. Now, Stanford chemists have developed a new method to make isotopic analysis easier and less expensive.
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Altus Pharmaceuticals Reports Dosing First Patient In A Phase 2 Trial Of ALTU-238 For Pediatric Growth Hormone Deficiency

Altus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTU) announced that patient dosing in its Phase 2 trial for ALTU-238 in growth hormone deficiency pediatric subjects began on June 2, 2009. ALTU-238 is a long-acting, extended-release formulation of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH, somatropin), which is being developed utilizing Altus" proprietary protein crystallization technology. ALTU-238 is a ready-to-use liquid suspension of crystallized rhGH that preserves the structure of the rhGH molecule without the need for pegylation, polymerization, or encapsulation and enables administration through a fine gauge needle. The Phase 2 ALTU-238 pediatric trial is being conducted in approximately 18 clinical sites in the U.S. and targets enrolling 36 growth hormone deficient pediatric patients. ALTU-238 has been studied in a series of Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies in healthy and GH deficiency adults. "Moving this pediatric trial forward is an important step in re-establishing the value of the ALTU-238 program and Altus," stated Dr. Georges Gemayel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Altus Pharmaceuticals. "This Phase 2 pediatric trial is the fifth clinical study to evaluate ALTU-238. Previous ALTU-238 studies have demonstrated pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) profiles that are supportive of and consistent with a once-per-week dosing regimen." The Company is also announcing that Kenneth Attie, M.D., Vice President of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at Altus Pharmaceuticals, will be presenting results from a key Phase 1 study in the ALTU-238 development program at The Endocrine Society"s 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. at the Washington Convention Center on Wednesday, June 10, 2009. The Endocrine Society"s Annual Meeting (ENDO) is a leading forum for physicians and other clinicians who treat endocrine conditions, including growth hormone disorders. Dr. Ken Attie stated, "As we present this Phase 1 data and start the Phase 2 trial, we believe ALTU-238 has the opportunity to demonstrate its unique advantages compared to daily growth hormone products as well as the other long-acting growth hormone candidates that are in development." Dr. Attie will be presenting a poster entitled, "Pharmacokinetic, Pharmacodynamic and Safety Results of ALTU-238, a Long-Acting, Crystalline Recombinant Human Growth Hormone, in Healthy Adults." The ALTU-238 Phase 1 trial evaluated the safety and PK/PD profile of a single dose of weekly ALTU-238 compared to seven injections of daily growth hormone. ALTU-238 was well tolerated in the one-week study that included 36 healthy, adult subjects. In addition, the Phase 1 PK/PD data is consistent with prior ALTU-238 clinical studies that supported a once-per-week dosing regimen. The Phase 1 trial results also indicate that the ALTU-238 material, produced at the current increased manufacturing scale, performs similarly to the material used in previous ALTU-238 studies. Altus Pharmaceuticals Inc.


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