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19-Sep-2013 1:20 PM EDT
Drug is Found to Eradicate HIV Permanently from Infected Cells
Rutgers University

The anti-fungal drug Ciclopirox causes HIV-infected cells to commit suicide by jamming up the cells’ powerhouse, the mitochondria, according to a study by researchers at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. And unlike current anti-HIV drugs, Ciclopirox completely eradicates infectious HIV from cell cultures, with no rebound of virus when the drug is stopped.

Released: 23-Sep-2013 2:00 PM EDT
Drug Fails to Reduce Diarrhea in Patients Receiving Radiation Therapy
Mayo Clinic

Sulfasalazine, a drug commonly prescribed to reduce diarrhea in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, does not reduce diarrhea in patients receiving radiation therapy for cancers in the pelvic area a Mayo Clinic-led study has found. The study also found that the medication may be associated with a higher risk of diarrhea than a placebo when used during radiation therapy to the pelvis. The results were presented today at the American Society of Radiation Oncology’s (ASTRO’s) 55th Annual Meeting in Atlanta.

Released: 22-Sep-2013 2:10 PM EDT
Study Shows Cisplatin Combined with High-Dose Brachytherapy for Advanced Cervical Cancer May Be More Beneficial
American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)

Adding the chemotherapy drug cisplatin to a treatment plan of radiation therapy (RT) and high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDRB) for stage IIIB cervical cancer is beneficial, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s (ASTRO’s) 55th Annual Meeting. The study also indicated that the combined treatments produced acceptable levels of toxicity.

Released: 22-Sep-2013 1:45 PM EDT
Sulfasalazine Does Not Reduce Diarrhea for Patients Receiving Pelvic Radiation Therapy
American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)

Sulfasalazine does not reduce diarrhea, according to research presented today at the American Society of Radiation Oncology’s (ASTRO’s) 55th Annual Meeting. The study also determined that the medication may be associated with a higher risk of diarrhea than placebo.

20-Sep-2013 1:00 PM EDT
Propofol Discovery May Aid Development of New Anesthetics
Washington University in St. Louis

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Imperial College London are the first to identify the site where the widely used anesthetic drug propofol binds to receptors in the brain to sedate patients during surgery.

Released: 18-Sep-2013 4:00 PM EDT
KaloBios' KB001 Anti-Pseudomonas Antibody Study Published in Pediatric Pulmonology
KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:KBIO) today announced the publication of Phase 1 study results for KB001, a first generation, anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) type III secretion system (TTSS) antibody, for use in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Data from this initial single dose clinical study supports the continuation of KaloBios' ongoing Phase 2 study of KB001-A, a second generation, anti-TTSS antibody in CF patients with chronic Pa infections.

11-Sep-2013 2:00 PM EDT
Varenicline Helps Smokers with Depression to Quit Smoking
UC San Diego Health

About half of smokers seeking treatment for smoking cessation have a history of depression. Compared with smokers who are not depressed, those who suffer from a major depressive disorder (MDD) have greater difficulty quitting.

Released: 12-Sep-2013 11:00 AM EDT
Research Treats the Fungus Among Us with Nontoxic Medicinal Compound
Kansas State University

A Kansas State University research team has found a breakthrough herbal medicine treatment for a common human fungal pathogen that lives in almost 80 percent of people. The team discovered a medicinal herb called Gymnema slyvestre is both nontoxic and blocks the virulence properties of a common fungus called Candida albicans.

Released: 12-Sep-2013 9:00 AM EDT
Codeine Could Increase Users' Sensitivity to Pain
University of Adelaide

Using large and frequent doses of the pain-killer codeine may actually produce heightened sensitivity to pain, without the same level of relief offered by morphine, according to new research from the University of Adelaide.

Released: 11-Sep-2013 3:20 AM EDT
Tiny Diamonds to Boost Treatment of Chemoresistant Leukemia
National University of Singapore (NUS)

Novel discovery by scientists from NUS and UCLA enhances delivery and retention of leukemia drug, paving the way for nanodiamonds to be used for chemotherapeutics.

Released: 5-Sep-2013 12:20 PM EDT
Molecular Marker Predicts Patients Most Likely to Benefit Longest From Two Popular Cancer Drugs
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Johns Hopkins scientists have identified a molecular marker called “Mig 6” that appears to accurately predict longer survival -- up to two years -- among patients prescribed two of the most widely used drugs in a class of anticancer agents called EGFR inhibitors.

Released: 3-Sep-2013 8:50 AM EDT
Two New Versions of the Flu Vaccine Arriving Soon
St. Louis College of Pharmacy

Some of this year's flu vaccine will protect against four strains of the virus. There will also be vaccines which protect against three strains of the virus as well. This is the first year the four strain flu vaccine is available.

Released: 3-Sep-2013 4:00 AM EDT
Can the Zebrafish Help US to Search for New Pain Drugs?
Sbarro Health Research Organization (SHRO)

A new published study in Journal of Cellular Physiology by a team led by Dr. Antonio Giordano and Dr. Gianfranco Bellipanni of Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine and Temple University (Philadelphia, USA) adds a new prospective on the research on pain perception.

Released: 30-Aug-2013 8:00 AM EDT
Researchers Find Promising New Angle for Drugs to Prevent Stroke and Heart Attack
University of North Carolina Health Care System

A new study — the first to apply a new screening technique to human platelets — netted a potential drug target for preventing dangerous blood clots in high-risk people.

Released: 28-Aug-2013 4:55 PM EDT
University of Maryland Pharmacy Researchers Develop Promising Chronic Pain Drug
University of Maryland, Baltimore

A recent Institute of Medicine report indicates that 116-million Americans live with some form of chronic pain. Historically, chemists have developed drugs aimed at just one biological target. Two drugs used together may metabolize differently or present other issues. This new drug, named UMB 425 by the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy research team, affects two different opioid receptors, providing diminished tolerance.

Released: 26-Aug-2013 3:40 PM EDT
UAB Part of Study of New Drug for Vasculitis
University of Alabama at Birmingham

A research consortium that includes UAB has shown that a new drug for vasculitis, a potentially life-threatening auto-immune disease which causes inflammation in blood vessels, is as effective as standard therapy over 18 months.

26-Aug-2013 7:00 AM EDT
Henry Ford’s Ideas May Cut the Cost and Speed Production of Medicines
American Chemical Society (ACS)

Ideas that Henry Ford taught a century ago about the advantages of continuous mass production are finding their way into the manufacture of one of the few remaining products still made batch-wise: the billions of tablets, capsules and other forms of medicine that people take each year. That was the topic of a keynote address here today at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

26-Aug-2013 7:00 AM EDT
University Nonprofit Poised to Bridge ‘Valley of Death’ and Spur Drug Development
American Chemical Society (ACS)

With the “Valley of Death” looming as an increasingly serious obstacle to introducing better ways of preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases, a noted scientist today described a new approach for moving promising drug compounds out of laboratories and into the hands of patients and physicians. He spoke at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, being held here this week.

26-Aug-2013 7:00 AM EDT
Translating Nature’s Library Yields Drug Leads for AIDS, Cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease
American Chemical Society (ACS)

An ingredient in a medicinal tea brewed from tree bark by tribal healers on the South Pacific island of Samoa — studied by scientists over the last 25 years — is showing significant promise as a drug lead in the long-sought goal of eliminating the AIDS virus from its sanctuaries in the body and thus eradicating the disease, a scientist said here today.

26-Aug-2013 7:00 AM EDT
Better Tests for Liver Toxicity Would Mean More Medicines — and Safer Medicines — for Patients
American Chemical Society (ACS)

How many breakthrough new drugs never reach patients because tests in clinical trials suggested a high risk of liver damage when the drug actually was quite safe? That question underpins major international research efforts to modernize tests for drug-induced liver injury, mentioned here today at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

20-Aug-2013 11:00 AM EDT
Pazopanib Shows Better Quality-of-Life in Advanced Kidney Cancer
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

An international study led by Dana-Farber scientists found that the oral targeted drugs pazopanib (Votrient) and sunitinib (Sutent), approved for metastatic kidney cancer worked equally well, but one proved superior in tolerability.

21-Aug-2013 12:40 PM EDT
Antipsychotic Drug Use in Children for Mood/Behavior Disorders Increases Type 2 Diabetes Risk
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Prescribing of “atypical” antipsychotic medications to children and young adults with behavioral problems or mood disorders may put them at unnecessary risk for type 2 diabetes, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study shows. Young people using medications like risperidone, quetiapine, aripiprazol and olanzapine led to a threefold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes within the first year of taking the drug, according to the study published Aug. 21 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

14-Aug-2013 8:00 AM EDT
Expanded Role for Pharmacists Is an Opportunity to Offer Better Patient Care
Universite de Montreal

The newly expanded role that pharmacists in Canada now have in helping manage the health of patients can benefit both patients and physicians, according to an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Released: 19-Aug-2013 9:00 AM EDT
Brain Cancer Survival Improved Following FDA Approval of Bevacizumab
Mayo Clinic

A new population-based study has found that patients with glioblastoma who died in 2010, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of bevacizumab, had lived significantly longer than patients who died of the disease in 2008, prior to the conditional approval of the drug for the treatment of the deadly brain cancer. Bevacizumab is used to treat patients with certain cancers whose cancer has spread. The study appears in the journal Cancer.

Released: 14-Aug-2013 4:30 PM EDT
Many Neurologists Unaware of Safety Risks Related to Anti-Epilepsy Drugs
Johns Hopkins Medicine

A study by Johns Hopkins researchers shows that a fifth of U.S. neurologists appear unaware of serious drug safety risks associated with various anti-epilepsy drugs, potentially jeopardizing the health of patients who could be just as effectively treated with safer alternative medications.

Released: 14-Aug-2013 12:00 PM EDT
Study Finds Prenatal Anti-HIV Meds Not Linked to Children’s Language Delays
University of Kansas, Life Span Institute

Typical combinations of anti-HIV medications do not appear to cause language delays in children who where exposed to HIV in the womb and whose mothers took the antiretroviral drugs during pregnancy.

12-Aug-2013 5:00 PM EDT
Sanford-Burnham Collaborates with Pfizer to Identify Targets for Treatment of Insulin Resistance and Diabetes
Sanford Burnham Prebys

Collaboration utilizes Sanford-Burnham drug discovery platform to find new therapeutic targets for treating complications of obesity and diabetes

Released: 8-Aug-2013 5:45 PM EDT
With Early, Obvious Benefit of a Targeted Cancer Drug, Should Expensive Clinical Testing Continue?
University of Colorado Cancer Center

Study: If the science behind a drug shows it to be rationally targeted at a cancer-causing genetic mutation, and if early clinical trials show the drug is safe and happens to be especially effective, should the drug be held to the same time-consuming and expensive testing standards of traditional chemotherapies? Or is the clinical trials process a relic from the time of earlier, highly toxic therapies?

Released: 8-Aug-2013 9:35 AM EDT
New Drug Improves Walking Performance for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Patients
Nationwide Children's Hospital

Results from a clinical trial of eteplirsen, a drug designed to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, suggest that the therapy allows participants to walk farther than people treated with placebo and dramatically increases production of a protein vital to muscle growth and health. The study, led by a team in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, is the first of its kind to show these results from an exon-skipping drug—a class of therapeutics that allows cells to skip over missing parts of the gene and produce protein naturally.

Released: 5-Aug-2013 4:00 PM EDT
Study Finds That More Intestinal Cells Can Absorb Larger Particles
Wayne State University Division of Research

A new study reports that the small intestine uses more cells than scientists had realized to absorb microspheres large enough to contain therapeutic protein drugs, such as insulin. The finding in rats, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is potentially good news for developing a means for oral delivery of such drugs.

Released: 1-Aug-2013 11:00 AM EDT
When Prescribing Antibiotics, Doctors Most Often Choose Strongest Types of Drugs
University of Utah Health

When U.S. physicians prescribe antibiotics, more than 60 percent of the time they choose some of the strongest types of antibiotics, referred to as “broad spectrum,” which are capable of killing multiple kinds of bacteria, University of Utah researchers show in a new study.

Released: 1-Aug-2013 8:30 AM EDT
Study Reveals Target for Drug Development for Chronic Jaw Pain Disorder
Duke Health

In a study in mice, researchers at Duke Medicine identified a protein that is critical to temporomandibular joint disorder pain, and could be a promising target for developing treatments for the disorder.

26-Jul-2013 10:00 AM EDT
Rituximab Therapy Effective for ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
Immune Tolerance Network

Immune Tolerance Network researchers demonstrate rituximab is as effective as the standard treatment protocol in ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Released: 24-Jul-2013 12:25 PM EDT
Improving Medicine Acceptance in Kids: A Matter of Taste
Monell Chemical Senses Center

Bitterness presents a key obstacle to the acceptance and effectiveness of beneficial drugs by children worldwide. A new review addresses this critical problem by highlighting recent advances in the scientific understanding of bitter taste, with special attention to the sensory world of children.

Released: 18-Jul-2013 9:00 AM EDT
Biochemical Mapping Helps Explain Who Will Respond to Antidepressants
Duke Health

Duke Medicine researchers have identified biochemical changes in people taking antidepressants – but only in those whose depression improves. These changes occur in a neurotransmitter pathway that is connected to the pineal gland, the part of the endocrine system that controls the sleep cycle, suggesting an added link between sleep, depression and treatment outcomes.

Released: 16-Jul-2013 2:20 PM EDT
MS Drug Shows Promise for Preventing Heart Failure
University of Illinois Chicago

A drug already approved to treat multiple sclerosis may also hold promise for treating cardiac hypertrophy, or thickening of the cardiac muscle--a disorder that often leads to heart failure, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine report.

Released: 15-Jul-2013 10:00 AM EDT
Drug Shows Dramatic Reduction in Seizures In Patients with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

A drug originally developed to prevent the rejection of transplanted organs has now been shown to dramatically reduce seizures in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) – a genetic disease characterized by benign tumors on multiple organ systems. TSC is estimated to affect more than a million individuals throughout the world.

10-Jul-2013 11:15 PM EDT
Drug Candidate Leads to Improved Endurance
Scripps Research Institute

An international group of scientists has shown that a drug candidate designed by scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute significantly increases exercise endurance in animal models.

5-Jul-2013 7:00 AM EDT
Novel Drug Acts in Unique Way to Protect Against Kidney Injury
American Society of Nephrology (ASN)

• A novel drug called Bendavia can help prevent acute kidney injury in animal models and is currently being studied in clinical trials for kidney disease. • Bendavia acts by protecting a unique compound called cardiolipin, which is only found in mitochondria and is essential for keeping cells alive and functioning.

Released: 10-Jul-2013 1:00 PM EDT
Mayo Clinic Expert Advice Related to FDA Warning on Common Blood Pressure Medication
Mayo Clinic

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulators have issued a warning on the blood pressure drug known generically as olmesartan medoxomil.

Released: 10-Jul-2013 10:30 AM EDT
Acid Reflux Drug May Cause Heart Disease
Houston Methodist

Drugs that help millions of people cope with acid reflux may also cause cardiovascular disease. It is the first time researchers have shown how proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, might cause cardiovascular problems.

8-Jul-2013 6:00 PM EDT
Improvement Needed of Prescription Drug Postmarketing Studies
JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association

“In 2007, Congress passed the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act (FDAAA), which authorized the FDA to require postmarketing studies for a prescription drug's approval and mandate adherence to study deadlines. We examined how fulfillment of these postmarketing studies has changed over time.”

Released: 3-Jul-2013 5:00 PM EDT
Cancer Drug Labels Missing Key Information About Patients’ Symptoms
University of North Carolina Health Care System

For patients facing treatment for cancer, it is essential to understand how their symptoms will be affected. Symptoms like pain, fatigue, or nausea can result from the cancer, or from treatment side effects. The best way to collect this information is from patients themselves in research studies. But almost no drug labels in the U.S. include this information. As a result, incomplete information is available to patients and clinicians to help with treatment decisions.

Released: 2-Jul-2013 12:00 PM EDT
Scientists Identify Promising Antiviral Compounds
Brookhaven National Laboratory

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified two promising candidates for the development of drugs against human adenovirus, a cause of ailments ranging from colds to gastrointestinal disorders to pink eye. A paper published in FEBS Letters, a journal of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies, describes how the researchers sifted through thousands of compounds to determine which might block the effects of a key viral enzyme they had previously studied in atomic-level detail.

Released: 2-Jul-2013 10:00 AM EDT
Gene Variants Predict Response to Breast Cancer Drugs
National Cancer Institute (NCI) at NIH

Scientists found genetic variations that could be used to identify women who are most likely to benefit from a certain type of breast cancer prevention drug—and who should avoid it.

Released: 1-Jul-2013 10:20 AM EDT
Mouse Study Predicts Cancer Drug Responsiveness in Human Tumors
University of North Carolina Health Care System

It’s a GEMM of a system. Genetically engineered mouse models that is. Using them allows scientists to study cancer in a way that more naturally mimics how human tumors exist within the complex environment of the body.

Released: 1-Jul-2013 6:00 AM EDT
Discovery Sheds Light on Why Alzheimer's Drugs Rarely Help
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

New research reveals that the likely culprit behind Alzheimer's has a different molecular structure than current drugs' target -- perhaps explaining why current medications produce little improvement in patients.

Released: 27-Jun-2013 2:50 PM EDT
Ritalin Shows Promise in Treating Addiction
Mount Sinai Health System

ADHD drug helps improve brain functional connectivity in cocaine addiction.

Released: 20-Jun-2013 8:00 PM EDT
New Research: Modified Citrus Pectin - A Potent Anti-Cancer Therapy
Better Health Publishing

A new review by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine highlights a large body of published research demonstrating how modified citrus pectin (MCP), works against cancer. The study, which was published on April 18 in the American Journal of Pharmacology and Toxicology, also examines MCP’s synergistic relationship with chemotherapy, as well as its ability to modulate immunity, safely remove heavy metals and block the pro-inflammatory protein galectin-3.

Released: 20-Jun-2013 9:45 AM EDT
Potential Drug Compound Attacks Parkinson’s on Two Fronts
Scripps Research Institute

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have found a compound that could counter Parkinson’s disease in two ways at once. In a new study published recently online ahead of print by the journal ACS Chemical Biology, the scientists describe a “dual inhibitor” that attacks a pair of proteins closely associated with development of Parkinson’s disease.

   


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