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Quincy Bioscience Receives Patent for Jellyfish Protein Aequorin

February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment


Madison, Wis (Vocus) July 8, 2010

Quincy Bioscience, a research-based biotechnology company, announced the issuance of United States patent No.7,671,015. The patent covers the use of aequorin-containing compounds for the purpose of preventing and alleviating symptoms and disorders related to calcium imbalance.

?Quincy Bioscience continues to strengthen its position in developing this novel calcium-binding protein as a platform technology,? said Mark Underwood, president of Quincy Bioscience. ?The neuron?s ability to manage calcium and maintain homeostasis is fundamental to proper function. Research has proven the cell?s inability to regulate calcium is a key pathophysiological component in many different brain disorders, including Alzheimer?s disease. Based on our ongoing research of aequorin in various health conditions and what we know about the role of calcium in the body, we expect aequorin to be a vital protein in many aspects of healthy aging.?

Aequorin, which comes from a species of jellyfish called Aequorea victoria, is a calcium-binding protein. In humans calcium-binding proteins are utilized to maintain calcium balance which is critical to proper cell function. Aequorin has proven to be neuroprotective in pre-clinical studies performed at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and has shown to be effective at improving aspects of cognition such as spatial working memory and executive function in human studies conducted by Quincy Bioscience.

About Quincy Bioscience

Quincy Bioscience is a biotechnology company based in Madison, Wisconsin. Quincy Bioscience is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel compounds to fight the aging process. The company’s products focus on restoring calcium balance related to neurodegenerative disorders and other destructive age-related mechanisms.

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Contest Launches First Financial CU?s High-Performance Mobile App

February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Skokie, IL (PRWEB) February 21, 2012

Crowning a 75-year history of respected service to the Chicago area, Skokie-based First Financial Credit Union (FFCU) is introducing a financial app for smartphone users?in a way that has members buzzing and signing up by the hundreds to take advantage of an extensive menu of features. Members who download the app?an offering created by CU Mobile Apps?and share their impressions with a tweet or a post on First Financial?s Facebook page are eligible for a weekly $ 100 prize during the month of February.

Response has been phenomenal, reports Jennifer Kulkoski, FFCU Director of Marketing & Innovation. Less than a month after introducing the app, and two weeks into the promotion, over 1000 downloads have brought the app to the fingertips of delighted members who are happy to share their sentiments.

?There?s lots of activity on our Facebook wall,? reports Kulkoski. ?The app has been a fantastic tool in facilitating conversation with our members, and we?re extremely happy that they?re becoming increasingly comfortable with talking to us candidly about the services we offer. So far, people love the app?s ease of use, the freedom to complete transfers on the go, the timely credit union updates, and the ability to locate ATMs with the touch of a button.?

?It?s a nice, clean-looking product,? observes First Financial?s COO, Luis Reyes, ?and it?s been a good choice for us. Our primary focus is to make our operations as efficient as possible?and the way to do that is through technology,? he determined.

The new app builds on that high-tech focus by offering high-performance features that FFCU?s members are discovering?and demonstrably enjoying.

As part of the continuing investment in technology, Reyes points to their first stand-alone facility, a new branch office that is under construction at 2942 W. Peterson Ave., two blocks east of Lincoln Ave. ?Our marketing is now done almost exclusively on-line, and the new building will take us even further in a high-tech direction when it opens this spring.?

Instead of traditional teller lines, the new facility will offer teller pods and I-pad technology that enables more personalized, as well as more efficient, face-to-face service. ?We want to change the way people think of banking,? says Reyes. ?We want to be state-of-the-art in our pursuit of non-traditional methods of providing the best products and services to our members.?

CU Mobile Apps is a significant step in that direction and is the most recent product offered by Member Service Solutions, LLC, a Tennessee-based provider. It offers a competitive edge that?s essential in an increasingly beleaguered field, says MSS partner Tom Gray, a trainer, consultant, and creator of tailored profitability solutions for client companies nationwide.

?By providing small to medium-sized credit unions with a nominally-priced, yet sophisticated and professional high-performance app, we help our subscribers to be more competitive within their markets, creating a professional image that impresses their members and attracts new ones,? Tom Gray comments.

??User friendly? doesn?t begin to describe the abilities of this program,? says Rick Hargis, owner/partner of MSS. ?The product allows even inexperienced subscribers to easily upload images, choose colors, customize items displayed, and add or change content at any time?with the results accessible to their members and customers within 60 seconds.?

CU Mobile Apps is available through Member Service Solutions, LLC, a respected provider of insurance and financial solutions for credit unions and financial institutions. Additional information is available at http://www.cumobileapps.com and http://www.memberservicesolutions.com , or by calling (800) 537-9035, Ext. 105.

The FFCU app is available for download in the Apple App Store and Android Marketplace. FFCU will open its new facility by mid-2012. Additional information about the mobile app and the new facility progress can be found at http://www.firstfcu.org, or by calling (847) 676-8000.

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Scripps Center for Executive Health Now Offers Genetic Testing

February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment


La Jolla, CA (Vocus) July 8, 2010

The Scripps Center for Executive Health is one of an elite few executive health programs in the country to now offer its patients genetic risk analysis testing. In keeping with its mission of providing preventive healthcare strategies for its clients, this newly added service helps patients personalize their prevention strategies according to their genetic risks.

Using genetic analysis services offered through Navigenics

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Dean Esposito Attempts to Rebuild Teens with a Hammer

February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Coral Springs, Florida (PRWEB) February 19, 2012

Quite soon local construction sites will transform to include slightly leaner, shorter and younger builders.

City of Coral Springs announced in a flier sent to local residents that Dean Esposito, a local resident and owner of construction firm Tool Box, has begun accepting applications to join his summer outreach program. The program is designated for 15-18 teenagers interested in construction.

?This is a great method for local young men and women to get some hands-on experience in construction,” said Dean Esposito. “In addition, it keeps them active and out of trouble.”

Dean Esposito, 58, received ownership of Tool Box when his father passed away a decade ago. Since then he has transformed the once petite firm to a well-established city business. Tool Box specializes in residential construction and employs about 40 contractors.

“We are a prominent business in this community and it is important to me to contribute in some manner,” Dean Esposito said.

The summer program begins a week after the students begin their summer vacation and lasts until July 30. Applicants are asked to fill out an application and arrive at Tool Box for an interview, if Dean Esposito finds the candidate motivated and capable he will then ask for a medical form to be filled out by the teens family doctor. Once all paperwork is completed, the candidate will receive their yellow hard hat and tool belt.

“I ordered 80 yellow hats and already received 160 applications, it’s crazy,” Dean Esposito said.

“Students tend to sit at home and watch television,” said JP Taravella English teacher Mary Greenberg, “programs that cause them to move and keep busy are very important.”

The teens will complete tasks from hammering a nail to grading and preparing the site to drywall to roofing. All the teens will be supervised and paired with an experienced contractor.

“The program serves two hats ? one, the students learn from the experienced guys and second, they themselves will experience the great satisfaction of a tough labor day,” Dean Esposito said.

About Dean Esposito

Dean Esposito, 58, is a lifelong resident of Coral Springs, Florida. A graduate of UF with a degree in construction, he has three children and is married to his beloved wife, Mary, for 32 years. Tool Box was originally established in 1987 by Dean Esposito senior.

For additional information, interview and image requests contact VirtuosOnline.

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Dr. Silverman comments on July 11 AV-45 clinical presentation at the International Conference on Alzheimer?s Disease (ICAD)

February 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Honolulu, HI (PRWEB) July 11, 2010

MEDIA ADVISORY –Daniel Silverman, MD, PhD, attended ICAD and the Imaging Consortium and offers these comments based on the AV-45 news report from the ICAD meeting. He can be contacted for additional perspective.

As the head of the Neuronuclear Imaging Section at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Dr. Silverman is an internationally known researcher, specializing in nuclear medicine imaging studies for the improved diagnosis and treatment of many types of dementia, including AD.

In 2001, Dr. Silverman developed the first quantification software program for FDG-PET brain imaging (trade name NeuroQ

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Syntermed Launches NeuroQ 3.5 – Nuclear Medicine Diagnostic Program at Alzheimer?s Association 2010 International Conference

February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment


Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) July 12, 2010

At the Alzheimer?s Association 2010 International Conference (ICAD) July 10-14 in Honolulu, HI, Syntermed, Inc. launched NeuroQ? version 3.5, a nuclear medicine quantitative software platform for analysis and image display of brain FDG-PET scans. NeuroQ can increase physician accuracy in diagnosing and differentiating the many types of dementia, compared to visual interpretation alone of FDG-PET. The update adds ten new features that improve performance, processing, speed, and quality control and is compatible with Syntermed Live? for secure remote access to images and data.

The company is working on a module for NeuroQ to quantify PET amyloid imaging of the brain. Amyloid deposits in the brain are a hallmark of Alzheimer?s disease.

Syntermed also announced it is collaborating with Avid Radiopharmaceuticals and building a database of normal brain AV-45 PET images to integrate into NeuroQ. AV-45 is a radiopharmaceutical contrast agent developed by AVID that distinguishes with PET imaging amyloid deposits in the brain of living patients. Currently, Alzheimer?s can only be definitively diagnosed after death on autopsy when beta-amyloid plaque deposits are found.

Michael T. Lee, Chairman and CEO of Syntermed said, ?This is an exciting time for Syntermed. We have the leading tool available for use today to quantify FDG-PET scans. NeuroQ provides physicians and their patients the added measure of confidence to have an accurate differential diagnosis of dementia.?

He added, ?Our support for AV-45, as soon as it becomes commercially available, will offer physicians the next generation of a proven diagnostic tool to help them even more definitively diagnose Alzheimer?s from other dementias and monitor its pathology.?

There is a high rate of misdiagnosis of Alzheimer?s, the most common form of dementia. More than 40% of patients diagnosed with early dementia who are found on autopsy not to have Alzheimer?s disease, were misdiagnosed with AD during life. Other forms of dementia and conditions that can cause memory problems go undiagnosed and untreated.

FDG-PET is used in the diagnosis of dementia. Including all dementias, more than 30% of patients are misdiagnosed. Using FDG-PET in the diagnosis of dementia increases the accuracy of the diagnosis to approximately 90%. Expertise is required to interpret the complex and quantitative data in the scans. Most physicians do not frequently read these images.

Daniel Silverman, M.D., Ph.D., head of Neuronuclear Imaging section, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, said, ?For patients whose clinical work-up has not led to a definitive diagnosis, brain PET is currently our single best tool to differentiate dementias, especially in the early stages of the disease. Adding quantitative analysis to PET can further improve the ability to diagnose the cause of the dementia.?

NeuroQ goes beyond the visual read and provides valuable non-subjective diagnostic information. Metabolic levels in more than 240 pre-defined regions of the brain are rapidly compared to those in the normal database and quantified to show the degree of abnormality and statistical significance of the findings.

NeuroQ is the only brain-imaging program that can automatically analyze the difference between two FDG-PET studies of the same patient over time, creating a more exact region-by-region comparison throughout the brain.

It is compatible with Syntermed Live?, the company?s nuclear lab shared remote communications system. Reading and referring physicians can share and review high-resolution images and diagnostic reports securely from any PC/MAC at any time or place.

For clinical trials of new Alzheimer?s treatments or PET imaging agents, files from all sites can be transferred and securely stored, giving the core laboratory access to all data for analysis. Files are quickly and easily downloaded for both visual and quantitative blind reads.

Ken VanTrain, Syntermed President said, ?NeuroQ with Syntermed Live is especially attractive to companies conducting clinical trials. It offers a cost savings solution to quickly and securely manage data from the acquisition to the blind read sites, eliminating or minimizing the need for travel.?

Daniel Silverman, M.D., Ph.D., director of UCLA Medical Center?s Brain Imaging Clinic and Syntermed developed NeuroQ. It was the first quantitative program cleared by the FDA for analyzing PET scans to assist with the differential diagnosis of dementia.

About Syntermed, Inc.

Syntermed, a privately owned Atlanta-based nuclear medicine imaging and informatics software company, transformed the nuclear imaging field by being the first to offer PET and SPECT software programs untethered from imaging hardware. Its software powers more than 40 percent of the nuclear cardiology labs in the US; and its NeuroQ? is the most widely used commercially available Brain PET quantitation solution in the world. The company?s software is licensed to medical imaging companies including GE Healthcare, Siemens Medical Solutions, Philips Medical Systems, McKesson Information Solutions, and Cardinal Health; and is compatible with any nuclear medicine workstation or PC/MAC that supports Microsoft

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Syntermed Launches NeuroQ 3.5 – Nuclear Medicine Diagnostic Program at Alzheimer?s Association 2010 International Conference

February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment


Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) July 12, 2010

At the Alzheimer?s Association 2010 International Conference (ICAD) July 10-14 in Honolulu, HI, Syntermed, Inc. launched NeuroQ? version 3.5, a nuclear medicine quantitative software platform for analysis and image display of brain FDG-PET scans. NeuroQ can increase physician accuracy in diagnosing and differentiating the many types of dementia, compared to visual interpretation alone of FDG-PET. The update adds ten new features that improve performance, processing, speed, and quality control and is compatible with Syntermed Live? for secure remote access to images and data.

The company is working on a module for NeuroQ to quantify PET amyloid imaging of the brain. Amyloid deposits in the brain are a hallmark of Alzheimer?s disease.

Syntermed also announced it is collaborating with Avid Radiopharmaceuticals and building a database of normal brain AV-45 PET images to integrate into NeuroQ. AV-45 is a radiopharmaceutical contrast agent developed by AVID that distinguishes with PET imaging amyloid deposits in the brain of living patients. Currently, Alzheimer?s can only be definitively diagnosed after death on autopsy when beta-amyloid plaque deposits are found.

Michael T. Lee, Chairman and CEO of Syntermed said, ?This is an exciting time for Syntermed. We have the leading tool available for use today to quantify FDG-PET scans. NeuroQ provides physicians and their patients the added measure of confidence to have an accurate differential diagnosis of dementia.?

He added, ?Our support for AV-45, as soon as it becomes commercially available, will offer physicians the next generation of a proven diagnostic tool to help them even more definitively diagnose Alzheimer?s from other dementias and monitor its pathology.?

There is a high rate of misdiagnosis of Alzheimer?s, the most common form of dementia. More than 40% of patients diagnosed with early dementia who are found on autopsy not to have Alzheimer?s disease, were misdiagnosed with AD during life. Other forms of dementia and conditions that can cause memory problems go undiagnosed and untreated.

FDG-PET is used in the diagnosis of dementia. Including all dementias, more than 30% of patients are misdiagnosed. Using FDG-PET in the diagnosis of dementia increases the accuracy of the diagnosis to approximately 90%. Expertise is required to interpret the complex and quantitative data in the scans. Most physicians do not frequently read these images.

Daniel Silverman, M.D., Ph.D., head of Neuronuclear Imaging section, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, said, ?For patients whose clinical work-up has not led to a definitive diagnosis, brain PET is currently our single best tool to differentiate dementias, especially in the early stages of the disease. Adding quantitative analysis to PET can further improve the ability to diagnose the cause of the dementia.?

NeuroQ goes beyond the visual read and provides valuable non-subjective diagnostic information. Metabolic levels in more than 240 pre-defined regions of the brain are rapidly compared to those in the normal database and quantified to show the degree of abnormality and statistical significance of the findings.

NeuroQ is the only brain-imaging program that can automatically analyze the difference between two FDG-PET studies of the same patient over time, creating a more exact region-by-region comparison throughout the brain.

It is compatible with Syntermed Live?, the company?s nuclear lab shared remote communications system. Reading and referring physicians can share and review high-resolution images and diagnostic reports securely from any PC/MAC at any time or place.

For clinical trials of new Alzheimer?s treatments or PET imaging agents, files from all sites can be transferred and securely stored, giving the core laboratory access to all data for analysis. Files are quickly and easily downloaded for both visual and quantitative blind reads.

Ken VanTrain, Syntermed President said, ?NeuroQ with Syntermed Live is especially attractive to companies conducting clinical trials. It offers a cost savings solution to quickly and securely manage data from the acquisition to the blind read sites, eliminating or minimizing the need for travel.?

Daniel Silverman, M.D., Ph.D., director of UCLA Medical Center?s Brain Imaging Clinic and Syntermed developed NeuroQ. It was the first quantitative program cleared by the FDA for analyzing PET scans to assist with the differential diagnosis of dementia.

About Syntermed, Inc.

Syntermed, a privately owned Atlanta-based nuclear medicine imaging and informatics software company, transformed the nuclear imaging field by being the first to offer PET and SPECT software programs untethered from imaging hardware. Its software powers more than 40 percent of the nuclear cardiology labs in the US; and its NeuroQ? is the most widely used commercially available Brain PET quantitation solution in the world. The company?s software is licensed to medical imaging companies including GE Healthcare, Siemens Medical Solutions, Philips Medical Systems, McKesson Information Solutions, and Cardinal Health; and is compatible with any nuclear medicine workstation or PC/MAC that supports Microsoft

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Fembody? Introduces Formula Featuring New Breakthrough Raspberry Ketones To Help Increase Fat Breakdown

February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment


(PRWEB) February 16, 2012

Recently featured on a popular TV show, naturally-occurring Raspberry Ketones have been shown in an animal study published in Life Sciences? to increase the breakdown of fat. Fembody? is proud to introduce Slim Select 30/90?, a formula that features this new breakthrough enzyme found in red raspberries to assist in healthy weight management.*

Raspberry Ketones, the major aromatic compound of red raspberry, was shown in the study to have direct interaction with the fat cells in the body, and may help to induce fat burning and manage weight gain resulting from a high fat diet. Raspberry Ketones have been shown to increase fatty acid mobilization in cells.*.

Slim Select 30/90? delivers 200mg of Raspberry Ketones per serving.*

Slim Select 30/90? also features key ingredient GreenSelect

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Fembody? Introduces Formula Featuring New Breakthrough Raspberry Ketones To Help Increase Fat Breakdown

February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment


(PRWEB) February 16, 2012

Recently featured on a popular TV show, naturally-occurring Raspberry Ketones have been shown in an animal study published in Life Sciences? to increase the breakdown of fat. Fembody? is proud to introduce Slim Select 30/90?, a formula that features this new breakthrough enzyme found in red raspberries to assist in healthy weight management.*

Raspberry Ketones, the major aromatic compound of red raspberry, was shown in the study to have direct interaction with the fat cells in the body, and may help to induce fat burning and manage weight gain resulting from a high fat diet. Raspberry Ketones have been shown to increase fatty acid mobilization in cells.*.

Slim Select 30/90? delivers 200mg of Raspberry Ketones per serving.*

Slim Select 30/90? also features key ingredient GreenSelect

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New Model of Leukemia Sheds Light on Possible Novel Treatment Targets

February 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment


Manhasset, NY (Vocus) July 12, 2010

Scientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have created a clever model of how leukemia cells hide in the bone marrow niche and then grow and divide throughout the human body. Sarah R. Vaiselbuh, MD, and her colleagues figured out a way to create a human to human microenvironment in the laboratory so that they can study the disease process and eventually use the model to test new treatments. The finding is published in the July issue of Tissue Engineering.

Understanding how leukemia cells interact with the bone marrow microenvironment is key to understanding this common cancer. According to Dr. Vaiselbuh, leukemia cells hide in niches in the bone marrow where they take cover from chemotherapy. Once the storm is over, the dormant leukemia cells sneak out of their niches and begin growing and pushing beyond the territory of the bone marrow. The Feinstein scientists say that this might be one explanation for relapse in leukemia.

To test this theory, Dr. Vaiselbuh created an ectopic human leukemic stem cell niche by seeding a three-dimensional polyurethane scaffold (provided by Biomerix Corporation) with mesenchymal stem cells from normal human bone marrow. The mesenchymal stem cells in the scaffold create an ectopic human bone marrow microenvironment complete with fat cells and blood vessels.

To analyze whether the ectopic human microenvironment can support the growth of human acute myeloid leukemia cells in the laboratory model, they inject human myeloid leukemia cells onto the scaffold and watch what the cells do. They discovered that the leukemia cells need the support of the niche microenvironment to grow. Surprisingly up until three months after injection, the human myeloid leukemia cells grew locally in the niche, showing preference to the human microenvironment above the host environment. But by four months, they were invading bone marrow, spleen and liver of the host model.

“This model mimics the human pathophysiology of leukemia cells in the bone marrow,” said Dr. Vaiselbuh. She went on to study the genetic signature of the leukemia cells to help explain how the cells become invasive. The hope, she says, is to identify new oncogenic targets that can translate into novel therapeutic approaches to improve patient outcome.

She said that this model of the human leukemia stem cell niche could be used to develop novel ways to treat leukemia and prevent its relapse.

About The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

Headquartered in Manhasset, NY, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is home to international scientific leaders in cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer?s disease, psychiatric disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, sepsis, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, human genetics, neuroimmunology, and medicinal chemistry. Feinstein researchers are developing new drugs and drug targets, and producing results where science meets the patient, annually enrolling some 10,000 subjects into clinical research programs. For more information: http://www.feinsteininstitute.org/

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