A dangerous heart condition associated with muscular dystrophy could one day be treated with a gene therapy that protects the heart under stress. Researchers at the University of Missouri are conducting a preclinical study to develop a gene therapy that could be used for treating other heart conditions, the institution announced last week.

In a direct visual and quantitative comparison of F-18 FET and F-18 DOPA in primary glioma, FET provided more quantitative characterization, but both were successful for tumor delineation, according to a review published Aug. 14 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Chronic pain is associated with a reduction in reward seeking, but not just because people are hurting and do not feel up to the task. New Stanford brain research is providing a more comprehensive picture of how molecular changes in the brain dictate loss of motivation in painful settings.

It is easy to create generics from conventional drugs, but not so for biologics, which involve active biological ingredients such as proteins that can be leveraged to treat cancer and a range of other diseases. Biosimilars, which mimic biologics as closely as possible, could be the next big thing in the U.S., but a hot debate has been pitched over what to name these drugs.

Varian Medical Systems, makers of radiation oncology technology announced Aug. 18 that the company’s board of directors authorized an additional repurchase of six million shares of common stock until December 31, 2015.

A $1.5 million contract for the development of an investigative, monoclonal-antibody based PET radiotracer that can detect pancreatic cancer has been awarded to Telik, the Palo Alto-based pharmaceutical company announced today.

A treatment for stroke involving optogenetics fires up neurons in the motor cortex by way of a beam of light. This treatment has been shown in preclinical research to improve movement and coordination after a stroke, say researchers at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif.

An investigational cancer immunotherapy leverages the power of nanotube-polymer composites to create an environment where immune cells can be incubated and made significantly stronger outside the body and then injected back into the blood to blast off a stronger offense against cancer, Yale University announced Aug. 13.