Healthcare industry

Prostate cancer is the most frequent malignant tumour in men. Researchers from Freiburg and Bonn have succeeded in developing the basics for new therapies in particular for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer.

Researchers led by a scientist at the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital in Heidelberg has identified a new gene variant as a risk factor for cerebral venous thromboses. 16.7 per cent of patients with cerebral venous thrombosis had the new variant compared to only 5.5 per cent of the healthy population.

Scientists at the German Cancer Research Centre DKFZ have now succeeded in generating peptides on a microchip - faster and thus cheaper than with previous methods.

A new report by European Commission scientists gives a full picture of preimplantation genetic diagnosis PGD. Parents need better information on genetic testing of IVF embryos.

What is a thought? First of all it is a firework of neuronal activity produced by the neurons which encode and transmit information as electrical impulses. However when we think or remember something there is not always an input from the environment.

In Germany every year 800000 people contract community acquired pneumonia and 50000 die of it. A new foundation based in Ulm is hoping to contribute to a better understanding of this unpleasant disease and to improve the therapy to combat it.

Article - 07/01/2008

Thomas Hirth becomes new director of the Fraunhofer IGB

Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth took over the management of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart. In 1992 he became a scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT in Karlsruhe.

In his profession age and experience are decisive advantages Dr. Mohamed Baccouche 57 consults pharmaceutical companies worldwide on the development and approval of new drug substances.

Nycomed grants Baxter International Inc. NYSE BAX exclusive rights to market and distribute Nycomeds TachoSil patch in the United States. The agreement is part of Nycomeds strategy to seek marketing and commercialisation partnerships for the US market instead of operating its own sales force.

The deadline for submitting applications is the 14th March 2008.

The method is elegant and cardiologists love it heart catheter examination. The number of catheter examinations carried out has continuously increased over the last few years. In 2005 in Germany an impressive number of 772000 heart catheter examinations were carried out.

The Albstadt-Sigmaringen University of Applied Sciences was the first to offer a pharmaceutical technology course back in 19871988. The course has become a great success and the graduates are sought after in both the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries.

The server-based Hospital Connector developed by InterComponentWare AG ICW has now been certified by the German company responsible for the operation and application of the national Electronic Health Card in the official health card test regions.

Only a few researchers combine different disciplines as effectively and with as much flair as Professor Dr.-Ing. Heinrich Planck director of the ITV Denkendorf. He combines mechanical textile and medical engineering both on the scientific and economic level at the same time as being a dedicated networker.

Nycomed filed a marketing authorisation application with the European Medicines Agency for an intranasal fentanyl spray in Europe. If approved the centralised filing could allow Nycomed to be the first to enter the market in 29 European countries with the fentanyl spray.

The microRNA miR-21 suppresses the production of tumour suppressor Pdcd4 which protects cells from developing cancer. Researchers at the DKFZ have now found out that colorectal cancer cells in particular lack Pdcd4 while these cells have an oversupply of miR-21.

According to experts the currently available cell lines are contaminated and cannot be used for the intended research purposes. Therefore the one-time shifting of the key date seems justifiable said Huber to the Passauer Neue Presse a german newspaper.

The University of Karlsruhe and the Karlsruhe Research Centre have set up the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT. The signing of the cooperation agreement is the first milestone on the way to a total merger which both partners hope will eventually become reality.

The German medical faculties and the associated university hospitals are now presenting their activities on the Internet by way of the Landkarte Hochschulmedizin University Medicine Map.

Nele Wellinghausen has always been interested in plants and animals. As a teenager she studied ferns and won the German Jugend forscht competition. Nowadays the medical expert carries out research on microorganisms specifically on pathogens that lead to sepsis.

About 500000 people in Germany suffer from dilatative cardiomyopathy DCM. Viral infections are the major cause of this myocardial disease. Its molecular and cellular mechanisms are being investigated in a transregional SFB project at the University of Tübingen.

Ulrike Müller professor at the Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology IPMB at Heidelberg University received the Alzheimer Research Prize 2008 from the Hans and Else Breuer Foundation for her achievements in molecular Alzheimers research.

The German Cancer Research Centre and the Centre for Molecular Biology Heidelberg have created a new type of cooperation between the university and the Helmholtz Society. They hope that this will help increase their attractiveness to high-calibre scientists.

The Baden-Württemberg Health Forum established in 2002 has officially recognised the course Medical Informatics jointly offered by the Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences and the University of Heidelberg as a beacon project.