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EU supports new collaborative research projects on tuberculosis

It's March 24th again and the World Tuberculosis Day reminds us that for almost 50 years no new drugs have been developed against this terrible disease, which is currently killing nearly two million people worldwide each year. It's a global problem because the emergence of drug resistant strains of this infectious disease - normally associated with poverty - is a growing problem even in high-income economies.

25 Mar 2011

Financial Times, other media outlets highlight key issues in Global TB fight

In recognition of World Tuberculosis Day on Thursday, the Financial Times published a series of stories on TB worldwide.

25 Mar 2011

Parkinson's disease drugs may lead to impulse control disorders

Mayo Clinic researchers found that dopamine agonists used in treating Parkinson's disease result in impulse control disorders in as many as 22 percent of patients.

25 Mar 2011

New discovery on fat metabolism in worms can lead to novel obesity treatment

Researchers exploring human metabolism at the University of California, San Francisco have uncovered a handful of chemical compounds that regulate fat storage in worms, offering a new tool for understanding obesity and finding future treatments for diseases associated with obesity.

25 Mar 2011

State roundup: Vt. closer to single payer plan

After a full day and evening of debate, the Vermont House gave preliminary approval to health care reform legislation that's designed to put the state on the path toward a single payer system. ... The heart of the bill is the creation of a five person Health Care Board, modeled after the Public Service Board, which will oversee virtually every aspect of health care in the state.

25 Mar 2011

Study finds risk of heart attack among patients with TIA

Patients who have suffered a "mini stroke" are at twice the risk of heart attack than the general population, according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

25 Mar 2011

Opinions: Using taxes to reduce poverty; fighting TB; meeting global food demands

To improve living standards and create jobs," African governments "need to provide their citizens with better health care, better education, more infrastructure. How to pay for this - in a way that is both fair and efficient - is a question that all governments face," Mark Plant, deputy director of the IMF's African Department, writes in a BusinessDay opinion piece where he describes how increased tax revenues in several African countries have led to "in-roads into poverty reduction."

25 Mar 2011

Researchers identify gene that can predict hypersensitivity to epilepsy drug

Research published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. A multinational team of scientists led by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the University of Liverpool has identified a gene that could indicate if epilepsy patients starting a common drug treatment are likely to experience side-effects ranging from a mild skin irritation to the potentially fatal Steven-Johnson Syndrome.

25 Mar 2011

Clinical trial to determine whether Crestor can prevent new colon tumors after surgery

Christiana Care Health System's Helen F. Graham Cancer Center is leading a national clinical trial to determine if Crestor, a cholesterol-lowering drug, can prevent new colon tumors from forming after colon cancer surgery.

25 Mar 2011

AltheRx purchases all assets related to Solabegron from GlaxoSmithKline

AltheRx Inc., a privately-held clinical development company, announced today that it has purchased all assets related to Solabegron from GlaxoSmithKline. Solabegron is a highly selective and potent beta3-adrenoceptor agonist that has demonstrated positive results in Phase II clinical programs for the treatment of Overactive Bladder in women and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

25 Mar 2011

Sitagliptin drug can slow onset of diabetes

Diabetes type 2 is caused by insufficient levels of insulin to keep blood glucose under control. Excessive levels of another hormone, glucagon, can also contribute to diabetes type 2 by causing the liver to flood the body with stored glucose.

25 Mar 2011

Positive results from Tarsa's oral calcitonin Phase III trial against postmenopausal osteoporosis

Tarsa Therapeutics today announced that the Phase III ORACAL trial of its oral recombinant salmon calcitonin in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis was successfully concluded and yielded statistically significant, positive top-line results.

25 Mar 2011

Serotonin influences sexual preference: Study

Researchers from Beijing's National Institute of Biological Sciences, China have found a chemical in the brain controls sexual preference in mice. The study published in the journal Nature said that male mice bred without serotonin lose their preference for females. This is the first study that shows that a neurotransmitter plays a role in sexual preference in mammals. However it is still a long way before similar conclusions can be drawn for humans the experts believe.

24 Mar 2011

MMRF hails new publication of multiple myeloma genome analysis in Nature journal

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation today hailed a new publication in Nature as a major step forward in the organization's efforts to advance a personalized medicine approach in multiple myeloma.

24 Mar 2011

Pharmacists seek delay of rule limiting amount of dispensed drugs

The National Community Pharmacists Association is pressuring Medicare officials to delay a regulation that they say will drive up labor costs for drug stores and increase the potential for dispensing errors. The proposed rule is expected to be finalized and take effect on Jan. 1, 2012.

24 Mar 2011

ASAM issues white paper to halt medical marijuana use

Citing the dangers of marijuana, the lack of clinical research on a controlled substance with a high potential for abuse, and the physician's oath to "first, do no harm," the American Society of Addiction Medicine today issued a white paper recommending a halt to using the weed as a medicine in states where it has been declared legal.

24 Mar 2011

Mother's gene variation can influence alcohol-related disorders in fetus

Exposure to alcohol in the womb doesn't affect all fetuses equally. Why does one woman who drinks alcohol during pregnancy give birth to a child with physical, behavioral or learning problems -- known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder -- while another woman who also drinks has a child without these problems?

24 Mar 2011

New insights into multiple myeloma research

Scientists have unveiled the most comprehensive picture to date of the full genetic blueprint of multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. A study of the genomes from 38 cancer samples has yielded new and unexpected insights into the events that lead to this form of cancer and could influence the direction of multiple myeloma research.

24 Mar 2011

Researchers create new computational model to understand animal cell behavior

Biological systems, including cells, tissues and organs, can function properly only when their parts are working in harmony. These systems are often dauntingly complex: Inside a single cell, thousands of proteins interact with each other to determine how the cell will develop and respond to its environment.

24 Mar 2011

House bill proposes immunity for negligent drug manufacturers

Rep. Johnathan Rhyne, Republican Chairman of the NC House Select Committee on Tort Reform, today launched an assault on patients rights, adding provisions to favor insurance companies and drug manufacturers to a controversial Senate bill.

24 Mar 2011