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Added benefit of daclatasvir drug not proven for chronic hepatitis C infection

The drug daclatasvir (trade name Daklinza) has been available since August 2014 for the treatment of adults with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care examined in a dossier assessment whether this new drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy.

11 Dec 2014

New study reveals how COX-2 inhibitors can increase risk of heart attack in arthritis patients

A class of drug for treating arthritis - all but shelved over fears about side effects - may be given a new lease of life, following the discovery of a possible way to identify which patients should avoid using it.

11 Dec 2014

Enzymatic activity essential for vision may provide target for drug transport

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have uncovered the mechanism that enables the enzyme Lecithin: retinol acyltransferase (LRAT) to store vitamin A--a process that is indispensable for vision.

10 Dec 2014

Myriad Genetics highlights three new studies at SABCS 2014

Myriad Genetics, Inc. today announced results from a new study that demonstrated the ability of the myRisk Hereditary Cancer test to detect 105 percent more mutations in cancer causing genes than conventional BRCA testing alone. The Company also presented two key studies in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) that show the myChoice HRD test accurately predicted response to platinum-based therapy in patients with early-stage TNBC and that the BRACAnalysis molecular diagnostic test significantly predicted response to platinum-based drugs in patients with metastatic TNBC.

10 Dec 2014

Variations in ERAP1 enzyme could lead to Ankylosing Spondylitis

Scientists at the University of Southampton have discovered variations in an enzyme belonging to the immune system that leaves individuals susceptible to Ankylosing Spondylitis.

10 Dec 2014

Study calls for new protocols to treat women with high blood pressure

That blood pressure plays a role in human health has been known for quite a while. Hypertension - the medical term for high blood pressure - was first described as a disease in the early 1800s, and the inflatable cuff that's used in measuring blood pressure was invented in 1896.

10 Dec 2014

Chemical chaperone: A new therapeutic option for epilepsy

Researchers found out that the conformational defect in a specific protein causes Autosomal Dominant Lateral Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (ADLTE) which is a form of familial epilepsy. They showed that treatment with chemical corrector called "chemical chaperone" ameliorates increased seizure susceptibility in a mouse model of human epilepsy by correcting the conformational defect.

10 Dec 2014

Bayer, DNDi sign first agreement to develop new oral treatment for onchocerciasis

Bayer HealthCare and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) have signed an agreement under which Bayer will provide the active ingredient emodepside to support DNDi in its effort to develop a new oral drug to treat river blindness (or onchocerciasis). The world's second leading infectious cause of blindness, river blindness is a neglected tropical disease caused by a filarial worm.

10 Dec 2014

Targeted therapy with radiopharmaceuticals has great potential for cancer treatment

Cancer therapy can be much more effective using a new way to customize nuclear medicine treatment, researchers say in the December 2014 issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. The process could also be useful for other diseases that could benefit from targeted radiation.

10 Dec 2014

Drug proves effective at inhibiting growth of drug-resistant bacteria

A treatment pioneered at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research is far more effective than traditional antibiotics at inhibiting the growth of drug-resistant bacteria, including so-called "superbugs" resistant to almost all existing antibiotics, which plague hospitals and nursing homes.

10 Dec 2014

Clinical markers help identify PD patients with cholinergic deficits

Assessing patients for clinical markers of cholinergic system denervation is viable and can help identify suitable individuals for trials of new anticholinergic drugs, researchers believe.

9 Dec 2014

Quitting cannabis use during manic episodes improves outcomes

A post-hoc analysis of data from a prospective European study reveals that patients with bipolar disorder who stop using cannabis during a manic or mixed episode have similar clinical and functional outcomes to those who have never used the drug.

9 Dec 2014

Excess mortality in schizophrenia ‘not attributable to antipsychotics’

The relationship between antipsychotic use and mortality in people with schizophrenia shows a clear U-shape curve, with the highest risk of death seen in those with no antipsychotic exposure, a Swedish cohort study has found.

9 Dec 2014

Cannabis Science, CFA partner to improve health-related education infrastructure in Africa

Cannabis Science, Inc., a U.S. Company specializing in cannabis formulation-based drug development and related consulting, is pleased to announce its President & CEO, Mr. Raymond C. Dabney, along with CBIS's Senior Scientific Advisor, Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr., have initiated a partnership between CBIS and the Constituency for Africa to help improve the healthcare and health-related education infrastructure in Africa.

9 Dec 2014

Can-Fite to commence pre-clinical development program of CF602 drug for sexual dysfunction

Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd., a biotechnology company with a pipeline of proprietary small molecule drugs that address inflammatory and cancer diseases, today reported that it will initiate a pre-clinical development program of its next generation drug CF602 for the indication of sexual dysfunction. Upon successful completion, the company intends to file an IND with the FDA to allow human Phase I studies.

9 Dec 2014

ContraVir begins pharmacokinetic study of FV-100 for treating shingles

ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of targeted antiviral therapies, announced today that it has initiated a pharmacokinetic (PK) study of FV-100, the Company's clinical-stage antiviral for treating shingles.

9 Dec 2014

Arthritis drug baricitinib meets primary endpoint in Phase 3 RA-BEACON study

Eli Lilly and Company and Incyte Corporation today announce that the Phase 3 RA-BEACON study of the investigational medicine baricitinib met its primary endpoint of improved ACR20 response compared to placebo after 12 weeks of treatment.

9 Dec 2014

Study finds that disarray in methylation helps tumors adapt to changing circumstances

The genetic tumult within cancerous tumors is more than matched by the disorder in one of the mechanisms for switching cells' genes on and off, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard report in a new study.

9 Dec 2014

Leicester medical students create volunteer programme to support homeless people

Medical students at the University of Leicester have designed and developed an interprofessional, student-led, response system to support homeless people in Leicester supported by health and social care students from De Montfort University.

9 Dec 2014

Agent THZ1 shrinks human-like small cell lung tumors in mice

Small cell lung cancer - a disease for which no new drugs have been approved for many years - has shown itself vulnerable to an agent that disables part of tumor cells' basic survival machinery, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported.

9 Dec 2014