Feature Channels: Pharmaceuticals

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Researchers at The University of Kansas Cancer Center have developed a first-of-its-kind organoid that mirrors the process of cancer spreading to the lung.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) announced that for a second year, it has been named a winner in the 2018 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® in the Nation. The honor identifies companies that deliver exceptional human resource practices and an impressive commitment to their employees.

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With a $3.34M grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is conducting research that could help physicians better understand how bacteria such as B. multivorans resist antibiotics, potentially leading to improved treatments.

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Houston Methodist scientists discovered a previously unknown trigger that turns run-of-the-mill strep infections into the flesh-eating disease childbed fever, which strikes postpartum moms and newborns, often leaving victims without limbs. Using an unprecedented approach, they looked at the interplay between the genome, transcriptome and virulence. This generated a massive data set, lending itself to artificial intelligence analysis. Through AI they unexpectedly discovered a new mechanism controlling virulence. The study appears Feb. 18 in Nature Genetics.

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Physicists at McMaster University have for the first time identified a simple mechanism used by potentially deadly bacteria to fend off antibiotics, a discovery which is providing new insights into how germs adapt and behave at a level of detail never seen before.

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Value in Health, the official journal of ISPOR, announced the publication of new research showing that the use of cost-effectiveness opinions issued by the French National Health Authority improved the information available to support the pricing decisions for new hepatitis C drugs.

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Michigan State University scientists have identified a master control mechanism on mast cells, a type of immune cell, that can prevent the immune system from overreacting in times of stress, potentially limiting, or even stopping allergic reactions from happening.

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Offering compensation can be an important tactic to attract potential participants for enrollment in research studies, but it might come at a cost. A new study conducted by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that up to 23 percent of respondents lied about their eligibility to participate in a survey when offered payment, even small amounts.

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In a randomized, controlled pilot trial published February 13, 2019 in PLOS ONE, UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers found that participants pre-treated with noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation experienced less pain after heat stimulus than mock-treated participants.

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Even as hospitals try to cut back on prescribing powerful but risky antibiotics called fluoroquinolones, a new study shows that many patients still head home with prescriptions for the drugs -- increasing their risk of everything from "superbug" infections to torn tendons. In fact, the hospitals that are actively trying to reduce inpatient fluoroquinolone use were twice as likely to discharge patients with a new prescription for one of them.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and the New Mexico Society of Anesthesiologists (NMSA) strongly oppose SB 222, which will remove physician involvement from anesthesia care in New Mexico and authorize nurse anesthetists to replace physician anesthesiologists.

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Important issues impacting evidence-based approaches to disaster preparedness and response will be the focus of the upcoming disaster symposium, “Disasters and Health: State of Science,” April 25-26, 2019, in Washington, D.C.

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University of Minnesota medical researchers and engineers have developed a way to study cancer cells which could lead to new and improved treatment. They have developed a new way to study these cells in a 3D in vitro model (i.e. in a culture dish rather than in a human or animal).

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Southern Research’s Stacey Kelpke, Ph.D., believes Birmingham is well equipped to become the next hub for the development of innovative medical devices, thanks to the city’s rich manufacturing heritage and its wide-ranging healthcare expertise,

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Philadelphia, February 11, 2019 - As marijuana legalization sweeps North America, use of the substance has been on the rise, and the public's attitude is shifting. An increasing number of people believe that "weed" is the safest recreational drug, one that carries health benefits that outweigh its risks.

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How can we support nuclear medicine efforts that help more than 40,000 people in the U.S. everyday? Researchers at the Oregon State University College of Engineering have developed a way to produce the much-needed radioisotope technetium-99m using small research reactors like the one here at the university.

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University of Delaware researchers are developing a medical brace to help children with cerebral palsy – the first lower extremity device designed to correct alignment or provide support using smart materials.

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A team of surgeons is working to identify the most effective strategy to treat acute pain after injury while minimizing the amount of opioids prescribed to trauma patients, building on a previous project that decreased use of the highly addictive class of drugs by 40 percent.

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In rural South Dakota where two-thirds of the counties have a health-care professional shortage and the nearest pharmacy might be an hour’s drive away, pharmacists can be key to helping patients ‘take their medicine.”

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Penn State College of Medicine researchers say some cannabinoid compounds may inhibit the growth of colon cancer cells in the lab.

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Minal Patel, assistant professor at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health, discusses prescription drug affordability

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Two University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) faculty members have been awarded a $15,000 mini-grant from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in support of the All of Us Research Program

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We rely on antibiotics to treat bacterial infections, but the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria forces doctors and patients to contend with shifting treatment plans. Furthermore, current laboratory tests to determine what bacteria is causing a particular infection takes days to complete and can be too late for the patient. Mechanical engineers in Korea recently developed a microchip antibiotic testing platform that takes only six to seven hours to determine the appropriate medication.

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In an effort to reduce chronic pain, many people look for hope by paying $20 to thousands of dollars for a tube of prescription topical pain cream or gel.

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Scientists have revealed the structure of a virus infecting bacteria that thrive in 160-degree hot springs in places like Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The discovery could lead to better targeted delivery of drugs into cells and new DNA sequencing technology, according to a study by Rutgers and other scientists in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Following a California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Independent Citizens Oversight Committee meeting held last week, University of California, Irvine (UCI) researchers learned they will receive $6 million in funding to support the continued development of a promising new treatment for Huntington’s disease (HD).

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Summaries of recent Fred Hutch research.

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. In an exhaustive search of microbes from more than 1,400 insects collected from diverse environments across North and South America, a UW-Madison research team found that insect-borne microbes often outperformed soil bacteria in stopping some of the most common and dangerous antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

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The first report from a phase II, multi-center clinical trial indicates that a newer, more aggressive form of radiation therapy — stereotactic radiation — can extend long-term survival for some patients with stage-IV cancers while maintaining their quality of life. The study is published in the January issue of International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics (Red Journal), the flagship scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

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Until now, researchers haven’t been able to accurately quantify a latent form of HIV that persists in patients’ immune cells. A new genetic technique is fast and 10 to 100 times more accurate than previous diagnostics.

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Researchers from the George Washington University , the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and industry leaders published in PLOS Biology, describing a standardized communication method for researchers performing high-throughput sequencing called BioCompute.

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The PhRMA Foundation has announced the recipients of $300,000 in funding for research projects that yield new, innovative strategies for assessing the value of medicines and health care services -- while improving patient outcomes and reducing inefficiency in health care.

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A new review by researchers from the University of Calabria (Italy) explores OCTNs, a small but intriguing group of transporters that are opening new frontiers in drug design research for improving drug delivery and predicting drug-drug interactions.

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Tad A. Gomez, RPh, MS, FASHP, has been named president of Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois, effective February 25, 2019.

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Many complex systems in biology can be conceptualized as networks. This perspective helps researchers understand how biological systems work on a fundamental level, and can be used to answer key questions in biology, medicine, and engineering.

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The first and most distinct consequence of daily mild stress is an increase in rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep, a new study in the journal PNAS reports. The research also demonstrated that this increase is associated with genes involved in cell death and survival.

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A Phase 1 clinical trial of investigational vaccines intended to protect against Zaire ebolavirus (Ebola) has begun in the United States at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The study is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

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From patent medicines to the discovery of the body's own endocannabinoid system - listen to Raphael Mechoulam as he talks about the history of cannabis research.

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Headlines filled with frightening news of opioid abuse, overdoses and reports that 90 percent of addictions start in the teen years could make any parent worry. Yet parents remain conflicted about opioids: while more than half express concern their child may be at risk for opioid addiction, nearly two-thirds believe opioids are more effective at managing their child’s pain after surgery or a broken bone than non-prescription medication or other alternatives, according to a nationwide survey commissioned by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).

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The focus for asthma treatment is often stepping up treatment, but clinicians need to know how to step down therapy when symptoms improve.

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Benzodiazepines (tranquilizers) are a large class of drugs with lots of potential uses from treating anxiety to other conditions including insomnia, seizures and neuropathic pain. This study used nationally representative data to examine patterns in outpatient prescribing of benzodiazepines and included more than 386,000 ambulatory care visits from 2003 through 2015.

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A novel “Enhanced Recovery After Surgery” (ERAS) protocol developed by Penn Medicine for patients undergoing spinal and peripheral nerve surgery significantly reduced opioid use. The new study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine showed that when an ERAS protocol was employed fewer patients needed pain medications one month after surgery.

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Using induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons from Alzheimer’s patients, UC San Diego researchers say cholesteryl esters — the storage product for excess cholesterol within cells — act as regulators of the protein tau, providing a new druggable target for the disease.

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A study published today in the American Journal of Public Health estimates that 1,857 people injected drugs in the last six months in Cabell County, W.Va., a rural county with a population of 94,958. This estimate is based on an innovative survey technique that public health officials can now use in their own rural communities to address the opioid epidemic.

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A team of Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers, working with the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA), has discovered genetic associations with blood pressure that could guide future treatments for patients with hypertension.

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Immune cells called CD4+ T cells could be important mediators of protection against the Zika virus, according to a study published January 24 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Sujan Shresta of the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, and colleagues. The findings support vaccine strategies that induce a protective CD4+ T cell response to the Zika virus.

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Scientists at the University of Kentucky have assembled the entire genome of the Mexican Axolotl, the key to unlocking the secrets of regeneration with potential for life-changing clinical applications down the road.

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Jimmy Kimmel, renowned philanthropist and comedian will speak at Keck School of Medicine of USC 2019 commencement ceremony.