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Diabetes drug metformin works in different way than previously understood: Researchers

A team, led by senior author Morris J. Birnbaum, MD, PhD, the Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor of Medicine, with the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, found that the diabetes drug metformin works in a different way than previously understood.

7 Jan 2013

Researchers show that protein p62 balances metabolism in fat tissue

In many cases, obesity is caused by more than just overeating and a lack of exercise. Something in the body goes haywire, causing it to store more fat and burn less energy. But what is it? Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have a new theory-a protein called p62.

7 Jan 2013

PharmaIN receives FDA orphan-drug designation for terlipressin to treat ascites

PharmaIN Corporation and LAT Pharma LLC today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted their request for orphan-drug designation for terlipressin for the treatment of ascites due to all etiologies except for cancer.

7 Jan 2013

Link between Parkinson's and benomyl

For several years, neurologists at UCLA have been building a case that a link exists between pesticides and Parkinson's disease. To date, paraquat, maneb and ziram - common chemicals sprayed in California's Central Valley and elsewhere - have been tied to increases in the disease, not only among farmworkers but in individuals who simply lived or worked near fields and likely inhaled drifting particles.

6 Jan 2013

Statin therapy affects muscles’ energy production

Up to 75 per cent of patients who take statins to treat elevated cholesterol levels may suffer from muscle pain. Scientists at the Center for Healthy Aging at the University of Copenhagen have now identified a possible mechanism underlying this unfortunate side effect.

4 Jan 2013

18F-FDG PET/CT may become important distant staging modality in patients with breast cancer

New research published in the January issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that 18F-fludeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) imaging offers significant prognostic stratification information at initial staging for patients with locally advanced breast cancer. When compared to conventional imaging, 18F-FDG PET/CT more accurately showed lesions in the chest, abdomen and bones in a single session, changing management for more than 50 percent of the patients in the study.

3 Jan 2013

Genetic differences in enzyme CYP2D6 play a key role in effectiveness of tamoxifen for breast cancer

For nearly a decade, breast cancer researchers studying the hormone therapy tamoxifen have been divided as to whether genetic differences in a liver enzyme affect the drug's effectiveness and the likelihood breast cancer will recur.

27 Dec 2012

Juxtapid receives FDA approval for treatment of rare cholesterol disorder

On Dec. 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Juxtapid (lomitapide) to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, total cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, and non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH). Juxtapid is intended for use in combination with a low fat diet and other lipid-lowering treatments.

27 Dec 2012

SVR associated with prolonged overall survival in patients with chronic HCV infection

Among patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection and advanced hepatic fibrosis (development of excess fibrous connective tissue), sustained virological response (SVR) to interferon-based treatment was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality compared with patients without SVR, according to a study in the December 26 issue of JAMA.

26 Dec 2012

Hair ethyl glucuronide detects even modest drinking

Hair ethyl glucuronide can be reliably used to detect moderate levels of alcohol consumption in the previous 28 days in patients with liver disease, show study results.

24 Dec 2012

High-dose rifampicin combination could improve meningitis survival

A treatment regimen including high-dose rifampicin administered intravenously in addition to standard or high-dose moxifloxacin has an acceptable safety profile and could improve survival for patients with tuberculous meningitis, indicate phase II trial results.

22 Dec 2012

Researchers reveal genetic basis for fundamental differences between humans and other vertebrates

University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine researchers have uncovered a genetic basis for fundamental differences between humans and other vertebrates that could also help explain why humans are susceptible to diseases not found in other species.

21 Dec 2012

Targeting PCS may help improve health of patients with chronic kidney disease

Insulin resistance, or prediabetes, in individuals with kidney disease may be caused by the progressive retention of certain compounds that are normally excreted by the kidneys in healthy individuals, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

21 Dec 2012

Researchers track adipose tissue-derived stromal cells after transplantation

Using mesenchymal stromal cells derived from adipose (fat) tissues, genetically modified to express a bioluminescent marker, researchers in Italy have tracked cells after transplantation. The cells were followed from their injection into the spleen of mice modeling liver disease, to their characterization as "hepatic precursors," and to their subsequent migration through the spleen before engrafting at regenerating sites in the liver by bioluminescent imaging.

21 Dec 2012

Combination of diet and exercise may prevent breast cancer in obese, postmenopausal women

Obese, postmenopausal women are at greater risk for developing breast cancer and their cancers tend to be more aggressive than those in lean counterparts.

20 Dec 2012

Top-line results from Medivir's simeprevir phase III trials on genotype 1 HCV infection

Medivir AB today announced top-line results from three pivotal phase III trials examining the one pill, once-daily, investigational protease inhibitor, simeprevir (TMC435), administered with pegylated interferon and ribavirin.

20 Dec 2012

AAV-based gene therapy cocktail may help extend lives of children with Canavan disease

Results of a clinical trial that began in 2001 show that a gene therapy cocktail conveyed into the brain by a molecular special delivery vehicle may help extend the lives of children with Canavan disease, a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder.

20 Dec 2012

Few alcohol-related story ideas from The Methodist Hospital

The holidays are a time to consume -- food, gifts, and spirits. Here are a few alcohol-related story ideas from The Methodist Hospital. Because alcohol's effects on human physiology are complex, advice about is often contradictory.

20 Dec 2012

SR9238 compound can reverse effects of fatty liver disease

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed the first synthetic compound that can reverse the effects of a serious metabolic condition known as fatty liver disease. True to its name, the disease involves an abnormal buildup of fat in the liver.

20 Dec 2012

Changes in cholesterol metabolism induced by diet can alter the gut flora

For more than half a century, researchers have known that the bacteria that colonize the gastrointestinal tract of mammals influence their host's cholesterol metabolism. Now, Jens Walter and colleagues of the University of Nebraska show that changes in cholesterol metabolism induced by diet can alter the gut flora.

19 Dec 2012

Liver News and Research

Diabetes drug metformin works in different way than previously understood: Researchers

Researchers show that protein p62 balances metabolism in fat tissue

PharmaIN receives FDA orphan-drug designation for terlipressin to treat ascites

Link between Parkinson's and benomyl

Statin therapy affects muscles’ energy production

18F-FDG PET/CT may become important distant staging modality in patients with breast cancer

Genetic differences in enzyme CYP2D6 play a key role in effectiveness of tamoxifen for breast cancer

Juxtapid receives FDA approval for treatment of rare cholesterol disorder

SVR associated with prolonged overall survival in patients with chronic HCV infection

Hair ethyl glucuronide detects even modest drinking

High-dose rifampicin combination could improve meningitis survival

Researchers reveal genetic basis for fundamental differences between humans and other vertebrates

Targeting PCS may help improve health of patients with chronic kidney disease

Researchers track adipose tissue-derived stromal cells after transplantation

Combination of diet and exercise may prevent breast cancer in obese, postmenopausal women

Top-line results from Medivir's simeprevir phase III trials on genotype 1 HCV infection

AAV-based gene therapy cocktail may help extend lives of children with Canavan disease

Few alcohol-related story ideas from The Methodist Hospital

SR9238 compound can reverse effects of fatty liver disease

Changes in cholesterol metabolism induced by diet can alter the gut flora

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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