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In science news around the world this week, outbreaks of H5N1 continue in poultry in south and southeast Asia—and the human death toll mounts; the University of Tokyo plans to shift the start of its school year from April to autumn; researchers are looking for signs of life in the Tissint meteorites; the Natural History Museum in London is under fire for its scientific cooperation with an Israeli company that conducts research in the occupied West Bank; Marco Antônio Raupp will become Brazil's new minister of science, technology, and innovation; and NASA's twin moon orbiters were officially christened Ebb and Flow. (Source: Science: Current Issue)

(Reuters) - Pfizer's Inlyta drug for patients with advanced kidney cancer got the nod from U.S. regulators on Friday, boosting the company's plans to offset plunging Lipitor sales. (Source: Reuters: Health)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Inlyta (axitinib) to treat patients with advanced kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma) who have not responded to another drug for this type of cancer. (Source: Food and Drug Administration)

In the U.S., Keppra® has been approved as adjunctive therapy for partial onset seizures in adults and children aged four years and older with epilepsy. However the UCB recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now approved to lower the age restriction to include infants from the age of one month and older with epilepsy. Professor Dr. Iris Loew-Friedrich, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President UCB â�¨declared: â�¨"As a leader in epilepsy UCB has a responsibility to develop effective medicines that address unmet medical needs... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

(Reuters) - Infinity Pharmaceuticals pulled the plug on a mid-stage trial of its experimental pancreatic cancer drug as it failed to show benefit over a placebo, wiping off over 41 percent of its market value. (Source: Reuters: Health)

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Conclusion: The laparoscopic management of gastric GISTs is safe and effective with short hospital stays and good results over a mean follow-up of 13.3 months. We believe that it should be the preferred technique offered to patients. PMID: 22269221 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Canadian Journal of Surgery)

Conclusion: Participants in a short course focusing on EBM and clinical research methodology had significant improvements in scores on tests of knowledge gained. Widespread implementation of similar courses may bridge knowledge gaps for surgeons, surgical trainees and health professionals. Whether shorter knowledge gain sare retained in the longer term remains unknown. PMID: 22269302 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Canadian Journal of Surgery)

Conclusion: Individuals seriously injured in MVCs in Nova Scotia were more likely to be admitted to tertiary care after the implementation of a province-wide trauma system. There was a trend toward decreased mortality, but further research is warranted to confirm the survival benefit and delineate other contributing factors. PMID: 22269307 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Canadian Journal of Surgery)

FDA Approves New Drug for Type 2 Diabetes Erin Brockovich Takes on High School Girls' Mystery Illness H1N1 'Swine' Flu Cases Increase in Mexico Spinal Cord Injury Treatment Tested on Dogs High Heels Affect Biomechanics: Study Fake News Sites for Acai Berry Pills Shut Down by FTC (Source: Primary Care News - Doctors Lounge)

Adding to the copious data about transradial PCI, a meta-analysis published in the February issue of Heart found that using the transradial access site during PCI slashed mortality, major adverse cardiac event rates and major access site complications compared with the transfemoral approach for STEMI patients. (Source: Cardiovascular Business News)

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Checklists of symptoms have become a critical part of every major pharmaceutical marketing campaign, making it easy for patients to diagnose their own ailments -- and making it easy for drug makers to sell drugs. (Source: NYT Health)

(Source: Food and Drug Administration--Enforcement Report)

European hospital pharmacists must be vigilant about the use of antimicrobials to halt crisis (Source: Pharmacy Europe)

Public Agenda (Accra)-A section of cardiothoracic staff of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and patients of cardio say they want Prof. Frimpong Boateng back at the Cardio Centre. Some of them say, the absence of Prof Boateng has created a vacuum at the Centre. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)

MedWorm Message: Please support the Doctors In Chains campaign for the medics tortured and sentenced for up to 15 years in Bahrain. #FreeDoctors

(Reuters) - Infinity Pharmaceuticals said it stopped a mid-stage trial of its experimental pancreatic cancer drug following an interim analysis that showed it would not meet its main goal. (Source: Reuters: Health)

Head and neck cancers respond well to the anti-cancer drug erlotinib when it is administered before surgery and a stronger dose is given to patients who smoke, according to a study presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by AHNS, ASCO, ASTRO and SNM. Erlotinib is an oral anti-cancer drug that can slow a tumor's growth and spread by inhibiting specific growth receptors on the surface of the cancer cells. Early detection of a patient's response to EGFR inhibitors, such as erlotinib, is critical to personalizing head and neck cancer treatments... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

A select subgroup of advanced head and neck cancer patients treated with radiation therapy plus the chemotherapy drug cisplatin had more positive outcomes than patients treated with radiation therapy alone and continued to show positive results 10 years post-treatment, according to a study presented at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, sponsored by AHNS, ASCO, ASTRO and SNM. Researchers analyzed two subgroups totaling 410 patients who had advanced head and neck cancer and received radiation therapy or radiation therapy plus cisplatin... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

This article describes the process of root cause analysis (RCA), the theories of error that underlie the concept of systemic or latent factors that allow errors to occur or to be propagated without correction; the difference between the process in health care and those found in high-reliability organizations; and suggests some ways to augment the standard health care RCA into a more robust and helpful process. (Source: Surgical Clinics of North America)

This article discusses the limitations of root cause analysis (RCA) for surgical adverse events. Making sense of adverse events involves an appreciation of the unique features in a problematic situation, which resist generalization to other contexts. The top priority of adverse event investigations must be to inform the design of systems that help clinicians to adapt and respond effectively in real time to undesirable combinations of design, performance, and circumstance. RCAs can create opportunities in the clinical workplace for clinicians to reflect on local barriers and identify enablers of safe and reliable outcomes. (Source: Surgical Clinics of North America)

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To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the CTAG device for the endovascular repair of traumatic aortic transections. A prospective, nonrandomized, multicenter trial was conducted at 21 sites. Primary study end points included 30-day all-cause mortality and major adverse events. The efficacy end point was freedom from a major device event (MDE) requiring reintervention through 1-month follow-up. (Source: Journal of Vascular Surgery)