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Folic acid intake during pregnancy could protect children from possible side-effect of antiepileptic drugs

If pregnant women take antiepileptic drugs, the child can develop autistic traits. The administration of folic acid preparations appears to be a suitable means of preventing this serious side-effect. This finding is suggested by a Norwegian study presented at the Congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Copenhagen.

1 Jun 2016

Vital compound in common anti-inflammatory drugs can combat cancer, inflammation

Scientists from the Gladstone Institutes have identified a new pathway by which salicylic acid--a key compound in the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs aspirin and diflunisal--stops inflammation and cancer.

1 Jun 2016

Antihypertensive adherence may only partly explain BP variability

Study findings strengthen the suggestion that visit-to-visit variability in blood pressure is at least partly accounted for by patients' adherence or otherwise to their antihypertensive medication.

1 Jun 2016

Betrixaban scores near miss for extended thromboprophylaxis

Extended thromboprophylaxis with the direct factor Xa inhibitor betrixaban just fails to show superiority to standard treatment with enoxaparin in acutely ill medical patients.

1 Jun 2016

Neurological problems can impair sexuality

Neurological disorders can impair sexuality on a much more massive scale than frequently assumed, leaving loss of desire, erection problems and infertility in their wake.

31 May 2016

Sixty-ninth World Health Assembly comes to end after approving many new resolutions

The Sixty-ninth World Health Assembly closed today after approving new resolutions on WHO's Framework for Engagement with Non-State Actors; the Sustainable Development Goals; the International Health Regulations; tobacco control; road traffic deaths and injuries; nutrition; HIV, hepatitis and STIs; mycetoma; research and development; access to medicines and integrated health services.

31 May 2016

Need for standardised guidelines to fight Alzheimer's disease

Some 47 million people worldwide suffer from some form of dementia. Scientists are working feverishly to find a cure for the most common form, Alzheimer's. At the Congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Copenhagen, Prof Gunhild Waldemar issued an appeal for researchers to work together and draw up standardised guidelines for early identification and treatment of the disease.

31 May 2016

Short-term use of opioids implicated in protracted pain, new study finds

Painkillers such as morphine, oxycodone and methadone could actually prolong and increase pain even after only a few days’ use, according to research conducted on rats by scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder in the US.

31 May 2016

Patients undergoing breast cancer surgery with non-opiate anaesthesia may need less painkillers

New research presented at Euroanaesthesia 2016 shows that patients undergoing breast cancer surgery need less painkilling medication post-surgery if they have anaesthesia that is free of opioid drugs.

31 May 2016

Improving regulatory environment and raising the role of self-care could relieve pressure on worldwide healthcare systems

A white paper, written by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and released today reports that greater regulatory harmonisation and access to non-prescription medicines as a whole could improve the ability of patients to care for themselves and reduce needless costs to society, health systems, individuals and companies. Consumer Health: time for a regulatory re-think?, which is based on in-depth interviews with international experts from industry bodies, regulators, academia and patient groups, concludes that self-care and the topic of consumer health regulation is not receiving sufficient attention.

30 May 2016

Trial results underestimate anticoagulant bleeding risk

A study in The BMJ demonstrates that estimates of major bleeding risk in patients taking anticoagulants in clinical trials are unlikely to reflect the reality of clinical practice.

28 May 2016

UTHealth's Mobile Stroke Unit fights stroke through research, technology and patient care

About 800,000 strokes occur in America each year; that's about one every 40 seconds. Houston resident Joe Carrabba experienced one of them.

28 May 2016

Researchers find Aspergillus as interesting target for discovery of novel drugs

The fungus Aspergillus fumigatus produces a group of previously unknown natural products. With reference to plant isoquinoline alkaloids, these substances have been named fumisoquins.

28 May 2016

Surrogate endpoints for cancer drug approval often lack formal empirical verification

Surrogate endpoints used to support the majority of new cancer drugs approved in the U.S. often lack formal study, according to the authors of a study published in the June issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

28 May 2016

New, simpler way for encapsulation-free controlled protein release

A U of T Engineering team has designed a simpler way to keep therapeutic proteins where they are needed for long periods of time. The discovery is a potential game-changer for the treatment of chronic illnesses or injuries that often require multiple injections or daily pills.

28 May 2016

Overcoming barriers to move beyond race-based treatment decisions

Prescribing certain medications on the basis of a patient's race has long come under fire from those uneasy with using race as a surrogate for biology when treating disease.

28 May 2016

New player in calcium signalling pathways acts as molecular brake to Orai activation

Information flow in cells relies on calcium as a key agent in several signalling pathways. Calcium dependent signalling is crucial in nearly every aspect of life - muscle movement, immune reactions, nerve function, light sensing and many such processes.

28 May 2016

Combining VCA with organ transplants improves patient outcomes

Simultaneous transplantation of a "composite" skull and scalp flap plus a kidney and pancreas—all from the same donor—provided excellent outcomes for a patient with a non-healing scalp defect and declining organ kidney and pancreas function, according to a report in the June issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

28 May 2016

Axumin approved for use in PET scans in patients with recurrent prostate cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Axumin, a radioactive diagnostic agent for injection. Axumin is indicated for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in men with suspected prostate cancer recurrence based on elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels following prior treatment.

28 May 2016

Zinbryta gets FDA approval for treating adults with relapsing forms of MS

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Zinbryta (daclizumab) for the treatment of adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Zinbryta is a long-acting injection that is self- administered by the patient monthly.

28 May 2016

Drugs News and Research

Folic acid intake during pregnancy could protect children from possible side-effect of antiepileptic drugs

Vital compound in common anti-inflammatory drugs can combat cancer, inflammation

Antihypertensive adherence may only partly explain BP variability

Betrixaban scores near miss for extended thromboprophylaxis

Neurological problems can impair sexuality

Sixty-ninth World Health Assembly comes to end after approving many new resolutions

Need for standardised guidelines to fight Alzheimer's disease

Short-term use of opioids implicated in protracted pain, new study finds

Patients undergoing breast cancer surgery with non-opiate anaesthesia may need less painkillers

Improving regulatory environment and raising the role of self-care could relieve pressure on worldwide healthcare systems

Trial results underestimate anticoagulant bleeding risk

UTHealth's Mobile Stroke Unit fights stroke through research, technology and patient care

Researchers find Aspergillus as interesting target for discovery of novel drugs

Surrogate endpoints for cancer drug approval often lack formal empirical verification

New, simpler way for encapsulation-free controlled protein release

Overcoming barriers to move beyond race-based treatment decisions

New player in calcium signalling pathways acts as molecular brake to Orai activation

Combining VCA with organ transplants improves patient outcomes

Axumin approved for use in PET scans in patients with recurrent prostate cancer

Zinbryta gets FDA approval for treating adults with relapsing forms of MS

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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