A drug in the same realm as Viagra could treat and perhaps even prevent certain kinds of dementia. Powerful drugs used as a vascular therapy for diabetic patients also may be put to the task, officials from the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) and the Alzheimer’s Society UK announced yesterday.

For the last five years, a wave of legislation has swept through states from coast-to-coast mandating that women be notified if they have dense breast tissue that not only increases cancer risk, but also makes cancers harder to spot on mammography. But will a study questioning the cost-effectiveness of supplemental ultrasound screening reverse the tide?

Bavarian Nordic A/S (OMX: BAVA, OTC: BVNRY) announced today that it has reached the planned enrollment of 1,200 patients in the PROSPECT Phase 3 clinical study of its targeted active immunotherapy candidate, PROSTVAC®, in the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Patients were enrolled at 214 sites in 15 countries.

Online mammography education materials are often written well above the average American’s reading level, according to a new study published Dec. 5 online in Academic Radiology.

One of the biggest challenges in medicine today is getting effective diagnostic and therapeutic drugs through the regulatory process unscathed. Judit Rius, the U.S. manager and legal policy adviser for Doctors Without Borders has words of wisdom to share about how to improve FDA reviews and incentives for the development of treatments for much needed drugs, including those for neglected tropical diseases.

Dual human and preclinical PET scans shine a light on treatments for tuberculosis (TB) and aid in drug discovery and selection, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. University officials announced on Dec. 3 the results of a pivotal study noting that quantitative PET was earmarked for future clinical trials.

Quantitative PET using agents like FDG could predict the outcome of chemotherapy for patients with particularly tricky cases of advanced breast cancer, according to a study published Dec. 4 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Dual-energy spectral CT (DESCT) helps providers better differentiate between lung cancer and inflammatory masses, according to a study published online Dec. 6 in Academic Radiology.