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Ketamine’s role in treatment of depression: Study

The anaesthetic drug Ketamine has been shown to be beneficial in some cases of depression and suicidal ideation which have typically failed to respond to other standard antidepressant medications. A new study has explored the actual workings of ketamine in depression and found that the drug can act on the same receptors as opioid pain relievers.

30 Aug 2018

Ketamine's acute antidepressant effect requires opioid system activation, finds study

A new study appearing online today from the American Journal of Psychiatry finds that ketamine's acute antidepressant effect requires opioid system activation, the first time that a receptor site has been shown in humans to be necessary for any antidepressant's mechanism of action.

29 Aug 2018

Drug used for chest pain does not decrease chance of first occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias

A clinical trial of more than 1,000 patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators found that the drug ranolazine was safe but didn't significantly decrease the likelihood of the first occurrence of ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation or death in this high-risk population.

29 Aug 2018

Blood pressure lowering therapy and statins continue to improve survival in patients with hypertension

Blood pressure and cholesterol lowering drugs continue to improve survival in patients with hypertension after more than a decade, according to late breaking results from the ASCOT Legacy study presented at ESC Congress 2018 and published in The Lancet.

28 Aug 2018

Blood pressure medication slows enlargement of the aorta in patients with Marfan syndrome

Treatment with a drug to lower blood pressure slows enlargement (dilatation) of the aorta in children and young adults with Marfan syndrome, according to late breaking results from the AIMS trial presented today in a Hot Line Session at ESC Congress 2018.

28 Aug 2018

Daily use of aspirin does not reduce occurrence of major cardiovascular events, finds ARRIVE trial

The role of aspirin in preventing a first heart attack or stroke among people at moderate risk of heart disease remains unclear.

28 Aug 2018

Low dose Aspirin daily – benefits and risks measured in two studies

Low dose Aspirin has been advocated to reduce the risk of a second heart attack or a stroke or other heart problems in persons who have had one episode. A major new study published in the Lancet, has found that taking Aspirin to prevent the first heart attack fails to work. In fact the risks of taking low dose Aspirin to prevent the first heart attack outweigh the benefits.

27 Aug 2018

Amphetamine regimen does not improve post-stroke motor recovery

A pilot clinical trial exploring the benefit of d-amphetamine combined with physical therapy for stroke patients found no evidence that the regimen improved post-stroke motor recovery.

27 Aug 2018

Antithrombin drug does not reduce risk of myocardial infarction, stroke in heart failure patients

The antithrombin drug rivaroxaban does not reduce the risk of a composite endpoint of survival, myocardial infarction and stroke after an episode of worsening heart failure in patients with heart failure, sinus rhythm, and coronary artery disease, according to late breaking results from the COMMANDER HF trial presented today in a Hot Line Session at ESC Congress 2018 and with simultaneous publication in NEJM.

27 Aug 2018

Aspirin appears to cause major bleeds and have no effect on cancers

Aspirin prevented serious vascular events in patients with diabetes who did not already have cardiovascular disease, but it caused almost as many major bleeds and there was no effect on cancers.

27 Aug 2018

Oral anticoagulant use after hospital discharge may offer protection from non-fatal blood clots

The use of an oral anticoagulant medicine in medically ill patients for 45 days following their discharge from the hospital reduces the rate of non-fatal symptomatic blood clots with no impact on fatal blood clots, according to late breaking results from the MARINER trial presented today in a Hot Line Session at ESC Congress 2018 and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

27 Aug 2018

ARRIVE study assesses impact of daily aspirin on heart attacks, strokes

The jury is still out on whether people at moderate risk of a first heart attack or stroke should take daily aspirin to lower their risk, according to late breaking results from the ARRIVE study presented today in a Hot Line Session at ESC Congress 2018 and with simultaneous publication in the Lancet.

27 Aug 2018

Study demonstrates cardiovascular safety of weight loss drug

A weight loss drug does not increase cardiovascular events, according to late breaking results from the CAMELLIA-TIMI 61 trial presented today in a Hot Line Session at ESC Congress and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

27 Aug 2018

Fish oil supplements do not reduce risk of cardiovascular events in patients with diabetes

Fish oil supplements do not prevent heart attacks or strokes in patients with diabetes, according to late breaking results from the ASCEND trial presented today in a Hot Line Session at ESC Congress 2018 and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

27 Aug 2018

Weight loss pill Lorcaserin found to have low cardiovascular risk

Weight loss pills have been discovered and then withdrawn from the market because of the risks that they pose to the heart. Some of them have raised the risk of heart attacks, suicides, heart valve problems significantly and have been thus banned.

27 Aug 2018

UAB receives NIH grant to continue evaluation of new medication for IPF

The University of Alabama at Birmingham has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health totaling $8.9 million to fund a multiyear program evaluating the role of a new medication in a clinical trial for patients suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

24 Aug 2018

Researchers complete testing a new drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis

An international research group led by Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin has completed testing a new drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis.

23 Aug 2018

New research finds significant link between high Omega-3 Index and depression

New research published in the August edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology's Heart Failure issue found significant correlations between blood levels of EPA plus DHA omega-3s in "cognitive" depression among heart failure subjects.

22 Aug 2018

Research uncovers miscarriage cause, identifies potential targets for treatment

Tragic miscarriages for a couple have led to a discovery with potentially broad implications for future disease treatments, according to a team of researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. They identified a previously undiscovered gene mutation underlying hydrops fetalis – a fatal condition to fetuses due to fluid buildup in the space between organs.

16 Aug 2018

NIH begins first-in-human trial of experimental live, attenuated Zika virus vaccine

Vaccinations have begun in a first-in-human trial of an experimental live, attenuated Zika virus vaccine developed by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

16 Aug 2018

Placebo News and Research

Ketamine’s role in treatment of depression: Study

Ketamine's acute antidepressant effect requires opioid system activation, finds study

Drug used for chest pain does not decrease chance of first occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias

Blood pressure lowering therapy and statins continue to improve survival in patients with hypertension

Blood pressure medication slows enlargement of the aorta in patients with Marfan syndrome

Daily use of aspirin does not reduce occurrence of major cardiovascular events, finds ARRIVE trial

Low dose Aspirin daily – benefits and risks measured in two studies

Amphetamine regimen does not improve post-stroke motor recovery

Antithrombin drug does not reduce risk of myocardial infarction, stroke in heart failure patients

Aspirin appears to cause major bleeds and have no effect on cancers

Oral anticoagulant use after hospital discharge may offer protection from non-fatal blood clots

ARRIVE study assesses impact of daily aspirin on heart attacks, strokes

Study demonstrates cardiovascular safety of weight loss drug

Fish oil supplements do not reduce risk of cardiovascular events in patients with diabetes

Weight loss pill Lorcaserin found to have low cardiovascular risk

UAB receives NIH grant to continue evaluation of new medication for IPF

Researchers complete testing a new drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis

New research finds significant link between high Omega-3 Index and depression

Research uncovers miscarriage cause, identifies potential targets for treatment

NIH begins first-in-human trial of experimental live, attenuated Zika virus vaccine

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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