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Researchers develop new approach to build better blood-brain barrier model

Delivering drugs to the brain is no easy task. The blood-brain barrier -a protective sheath of tissue that shields the brain from harmful chemicals and invaders - cannot be penetrated by most therapeutics that are injected into a person's blood stream.

6 Jun 2017

Recovery on the reservation: Montana sisters help peers stop using drugs

There’s a narrative about the meth epidemic in Montana that says the state tackled the problem in the 2000s yet it’s back with a vengeance because of super labs and drug cartels in Mexico. Within the Fort Belknap Indian Community, though, it never really went away.

6 Jun 2017

Bern researchers find new way to influence the endocannabinoid system

Endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids) play an important role in the brain and immune system. Bern researchers from the National Centre of Competence in Research "TransCure" have now found a new way to influence the endocannabinoid system.

6 Jun 2017

New findings highlight possibility of developing specific cancer drugs with fewer side effects

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden report that cancer cells and normal cells use different 'gene switches' in order to regulate the expression of genes that control growth.

6 Jun 2017

Greater gut bacteria diversity linked to longer progression-free survival in metastatic melanoma patients

The blend of bacteria in the digestive tract of metastatic melanoma patients is associated with disease progression or delay in patients treated with immunotherapy, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report at the 2017 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

6 Jun 2017

Researcher discovers treatment strategy to attack metastatic cancers that have spread to the brain

Rakesh Jain, PhD, Director of the Edwin L. Steele Laboratory for Tumor Biology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and supported by the National Foundation for Cancer Research, has discovered a novel mechanism behind the resistance to HER2- or PI3K-targeted therapies, and a treatment strategy that may overcome treatment resistance.

6 Jun 2017

Opioid use gradually increases few years after bariatric surgery, study shows

While the proportion of adults with severe obesity using prescription opioids initially declines in the months after bariatric surgery, it increases within a matter of years, eventually surpassing pre-surgery rates of patients using the potentially addictive pain medications, according to new research from a National Institutes of Health -funded multicenter study led by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

6 Jun 2017

Study: 1 in 6 patients on new blood-thinning medications may not be receiving recommended dose

Almost 1 in 6 of the millions of Americans on the new blood-thinning medications for atrial fibrillation, a common heart condition characterized by an irregular and often rapid heart rate, may not be receiving the recommended dose, new Mayo Clinic research finds.

5 Jun 2017

Older people with persistent pain more likely to develop dementia

Researchers at UC San Francisco have found that older people with persistent pain show quicker declines in memory as they age and are more likely to have dementia years later, an indication that chronic pain could somehow be related to changes in the brain that contribute to dementia.

5 Jun 2017

FDA approves expanded use of Sapien 3 THV as valve-in-valve treatment for high-risk patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved an expanded indication for the Sapien 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve (THV) for patients with symptomatic heart disease due to failure of a previously placed bioprosthetic aortic or mitral valve whose risk of death or severe complications from repeat surgery is high or greater.

5 Jun 2017

Researchers use gene-editing technique to develop new screening tool for Parkinson's disease

A team of researchers at the University of Central Florida is using breakthrough gene-editing technology to develop a new screening tool for Parkinson's disease, a debilitating degenerative disorder of the nervous system.

5 Jun 2017

Study shows effectiveness of 3 months of chemotherapy in colon cancer patients after surgery

After surgery for lymph-node positive colon cancer (stage III), some patients may only need half of the long-standing standard course of chemotherapy.

5 Jun 2017

New genomic sequencing approach could be first step toward blood tests for early cancer detection

In a study of 124 patients with advanced breast, lung, and prostate cancers, a new, high-intensity genomic sequencing approach detected circulating tumor DNA at a high rate.

5 Jun 2017

Cannabinoids used in combination with chemotherapy found to be effective in killing leukemia cells

New research has confirmed that cannabinoids - the active chemicals in cannabis - are effective in killing leukemia cells, particularly when used in combination with chemotherapy treatments.

5 Jun 2017

Symptom self-reporting web-based tool could be used to help extend oncology patients' lives, study finds

The study funded by the Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has found that a simple intervention such as a web-based tool that facilitates patients to report their symptoms in real time, triggering alerts to clinicians, can have major benefits such as longer survival.

5 Jun 2017

Many COPD patients struggle to pay for each medicinal breath

After a lifetime of smoking, Juanita Milton needs help breathing. She's tethered to an oxygen tank 24/7 and uses two drug inhalers a day, including Spiriva, which she called "the really expensive one."

5 Jun 2017

New targeted oral therapy results in durable responses across many kinds of cancer

Scientists may have developed the first targeted, oral, tumor-type agnostic therapy - a cancer medicine that works comparably well across many kinds of cancer, regardless of patient age. In clinical trials of adults and children with 17 different types of advanced cancer, larotrectinib treatment resulted in responses in 76% of patients.

5 Jun 2017

Positive results for AstraZeneca’s PARP inhibitor Lynparza in advanced breast cancer

A new study has shown that AstraZeneca's Lynparza (olaparib) can significantly slow the progress of breast cancer that is caused partially due to mutations of the culprit gene called BRCA. BRCA gene mutations are responsible for around 3% of all breast cancers. These cases of the disease that have a basis in the gene are notoriously difficult to treat and women who are tested positive for this gene may even opt for removal of their breasts before even the cancer strikes. Noted actress Angelina Jolie went for a similar prophylactic mastectomy.

5 Jun 2017

Doctors debate about physician-assisted suicide

Few issues in medicine have been more controversial in recent years than physician-assisted suicide, with medical experts and the general public unable to come to a consensus that balances the delicate issue of dying with dignity with the interests of the individual and society as a whole.

5 Jun 2017

Standard therapy plus abiraterone lowers relative risk of death in men with advanced prostate cancer

A clinical trial of nearly 2,000 men shows that adding abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) to a standard initial treatment regimen for high-risk, advanced prostate cancer lowers the relative risk of death by 37%.

5 Jun 2017

Drugs News and Research

Researchers develop new approach to build better blood-brain barrier model

Recovery on the reservation: Montana sisters help peers stop using drugs

Bern researchers find new way to influence the endocannabinoid system

New findings highlight possibility of developing specific cancer drugs with fewer side effects

Greater gut bacteria diversity linked to longer progression-free survival in metastatic melanoma patients

Researcher discovers treatment strategy to attack metastatic cancers that have spread to the brain

Opioid use gradually increases few years after bariatric surgery, study shows

Study: 1 in 6 patients on new blood-thinning medications may not be receiving recommended dose

Older people with persistent pain more likely to develop dementia

FDA approves expanded use of Sapien 3 THV as valve-in-valve treatment for high-risk patients

Researchers use gene-editing technique to develop new screening tool for Parkinson's disease

Study shows effectiveness of 3 months of chemotherapy in colon cancer patients after surgery

New genomic sequencing approach could be first step toward blood tests for early cancer detection

Cannabinoids used in combination with chemotherapy found to be effective in killing leukemia cells

Symptom self-reporting web-based tool could be used to help extend oncology patients' lives, study finds

Many COPD patients struggle to pay for each medicinal breath

New targeted oral therapy results in durable responses across many kinds of cancer

Positive results for AstraZeneca’s PARP inhibitor Lynparza in advanced breast cancer

Doctors debate about physician-assisted suicide

Standard therapy plus abiraterone lowers relative risk of death in men with advanced prostate cancer

Industry Focus eBook - Forensics & toxicology (2nd edition) eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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