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Widespread prescription of levothyroxine medication may cause more harm than good

A study of patients in the United Kingdom suggests widespread prescribing of the medication levothyroxine sodium to boost thyroid function among patients with borderline high levels of the thyroid-stimulating hormone thyrotropin (a sign of low thyroid function), raising the possibility of overtreatment, according to a study published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

9 Oct 2013

Flumazenil reverses stress-triggered anxiety in methamphetamine dependant rats

SUNY Downstate Medical Center announced today that Sheryl Smith, PhD, professor of physiology and pharmacology, has published new findings demonstrating a reproducible pathology that may help shed light on anxiety and mood volatility in methamphetamine dependence.

9 Oct 2013

Researchers recently launched Collaborative Hepatitis Network in Africa

Although it does not receive as much attention as AIDS, hepatitis has long been one of Africa's most serious health problems.

9 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: Whether Americans will like health law is open question; GOP has 'nothing to show' for shutdown; Sebelius says demand derailed marketplace's debut

How absolutely bonkers. And yet how unsurprising. We're awash these days in metaphors as overworked as our political debate is overwrought, and it's impossible not to wonder how much one contributes to the other. When nuance and perspective exit the language, do they exit the conversation as well? When you speak in ludicrous extremes, do you think that way, too? Obamacare has proved to be not just ideologically divisive but linguistically fertile. There's seemingly no event or passage in American history to which it can't be compared (Frank Bruni, 10/7).

9 Oct 2013

Salk scientist receives Career Development Award for new research from JDRF

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation has given Salk scientist Mark Huising a five-year, $750,000 Career Development Award for his proposed study on how a novel network of receptors in human islets receives and integrates molecular signals. In pre-clinical models, activation of these receptors has proven to actually prevent diabetes.

9 Oct 2013

Janssen buys all rights from GSK to develop, commercialize hepatitis C compound

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the acquisition of the investigational compound GSK2336805, an NS5a replication complex inhibitor in Phase 2 development for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, from an affiliate of GlaxoSmithKline plc.

9 Oct 2013

FMCNA encourages dialysis patients to get vaccinated against flu

With early cases of seasonal flu already being reported in the U.S., Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), the nation's leading network of dialysis facilities, is strongly encouraging dialysis patients to get flu shots to protect themselves against this common infectious disease.

9 Oct 2013

Cost issues: Expensive patients; payoff from delaying aging; approving new treatments

Cost and quality issues in the news include research about the costliest U.S. patients, the potential that delaying aging instead of treating disease could have on extending life, and examining how the U.S. compares to other countries on approving new medical treatments.

9 Oct 2013

Bayer HealthCare receives FDA approval for Adempas tablets

Bayer HealthCare announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Adempas (riociguat) tablets for: (i) the treatment of adults with persistent/recurrent chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (WHO Group 4) after surgical treatment or inoperable CTEPH to improve exercise capacity and WHO functional class; and (ii) the treatment of adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (WHO Group 1) to improve exercise capacity, improve WHO functional class and delay clinical worsening.

9 Oct 2013

Arrowhead initiates Phase 1 study of ARC-520 for treatment against chronic HBV infection

Arrowhead Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ARWR), a biopharmaceutical company developing targeted RNAi therapeutics, today announced that it completed enrollment in a Phase 1 clinical trial of ARC-520, its RNAi-based candidate against chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

9 Oct 2013

MNK-795 for acute pain management: an interview with Dr Lynn Webster

MNK-795 is a product in development that is intended to be used for acute pain. It has some unique properties. First, it is an extended release formulation, meaning that it’s going to last more than three to four hours. It was studied to be dosed once every 12 hours, and that is unique for an acute pain formulation.

8 Oct 2013

Hypothyroidism linked to COPD exacerbation risk

Research shows that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with hypothyroidism have an elevated exacerbation frequency but, despite this, experience similar quality of life to patients with normal thyroid function.

8 Oct 2013

Boehringer Ingelheim’s interim data from Phase II HCV clinical collaboration with Presidio Pharmaceuticals accepted for presentation at AASLD

Boehringer Ingelheim today announced that interim data from its Phase II hepatitis C (HCV) clinical collaboration with Presidio Pharmaceuticals have been accepted for presentation as a late breaker poster at the 64th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), taking place 1-5 November in Washington, D.C. (1) The poster presentation will be on Monday 4 November.

8 Oct 2013

J&J's Janssen Buys Rights To Hepatitis C Compound From GSK

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8 Oct 2013

Only small proportion of adults receive formal diagnosis, treatment for ADHD

Up to two-thirds of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder find their disorder persists into adulthood yet only a small proportion of adults ever receive a formal diagnosis and treatment, research suggests.

8 Oct 2013

Study aims for new national standard on how doctors and pharmacies write prescriptions

Northwestern Medicine-, Walgreens, Alliance of Chicago community health centers and Merck are collaborating on a study with a deceptively simple goal: provide clear instructions on prescription medicine labels so patients don't make mistakes and overcomplicate taking their daily medications.

8 Oct 2013

Advergames promote foods that are full of fat, sugar and sodium, say researchers

Not only do some online video games promote a less-than-active lifestyle for children, the content of some of these games also may be contributing to unhealthy diets.

8 Oct 2013

Two gene alterations pair up to promote growth of leukemia cells

Two gene alterations pair up to promote the growth of leukemia cells and their escape from anti-cancer drugs, according to a study in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

8 Oct 2013

Lone atrial fibrillation in children has substantial symptomatic burden, recurrence rate

Atrial fibrillation (AF), characterized by a rapid and irregular heartbeat, is the most common chronic arrhythmia in adults, but is rare in children. In one of the first studies of pediatric "lone AF" (AF without associated heart disease), researchers found a nearly 40% recurrence rate and that AF in the young is accompanied by substantial symptoms.

8 Oct 2013

Research: Triathletes feel less pain than casual exercisers

Triathletes participate in a grueling endurance sport, swimming, bicycling, and running long distances without rest. In training and competitions, they regularly push their bodies beyond the limits most of us can endure. But while there is no doubt that triathletes are tough, very little is known about what gives them their exceptional abilities.

8 Oct 2013

Chronic News and Research

Widespread prescription of levothyroxine medication may cause more harm than good

Flumazenil reverses stress-triggered anxiety in methamphetamine dependant rats

Researchers recently launched Collaborative Hepatitis Network in Africa

Viewpoints: Whether Americans will like health law is open question; GOP has 'nothing to show' for shutdown; Sebelius says demand derailed marketplace's debut

Salk scientist receives Career Development Award for new research from JDRF

Janssen buys all rights from GSK to develop, commercialize hepatitis C compound

FMCNA encourages dialysis patients to get vaccinated against flu

Cost issues: Expensive patients; payoff from delaying aging; approving new treatments

Bayer HealthCare receives FDA approval for Adempas tablets

Arrowhead initiates Phase 1 study of ARC-520 for treatment against chronic HBV infection

MNK-795 for acute pain management: an interview with Dr Lynn Webster

Hypothyroidism linked to COPD exacerbation risk

Boehringer Ingelheim’s interim data from Phase II HCV clinical collaboration with Presidio Pharmaceuticals accepted for presentation at AASLD

J&J's Janssen Buys Rights To Hepatitis C Compound From GSK

Only small proportion of adults receive formal diagnosis, treatment for ADHD

Study aims for new national standard on how doctors and pharmacies write prescriptions

Advergames promote foods that are full of fat, sugar and sodium, say researchers

Two gene alterations pair up to promote growth of leukemia cells

Lone atrial fibrillation in children has substantial symptomatic burden, recurrence rate

Research: Triathletes feel less pain than casual exercisers

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

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