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DPP-4 inhibitors may reduce risk of autoimmune diseases

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors commonly used to control blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes may also reduce the risk of autoimmune diseases in these patients, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Diego.

28 Oct 2013

Study shows low uptake of HPV vaccination among patients with autoimmune diseases

The number of children and young adults with autoimmune diseases receiving the HPV vaccination is profoundly low despite studies showing the vaccine to be safe and effective, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Diego. Given the increased incidence of HPV in people with autoimmune diseases, this research suggests that increased public health efforts are needed.

28 Oct 2013

Anti-tumor necrosis factor drugs modestly reduce risk of acute coronary syndrome

Tumor necrosis factor inhibitor drugs (commonly called Anti-TNFs) modestly reduce the risk of acute coronary syndrome, such as heart attacks and angina, in rheumatoid arthritis patients whose inflammation places them at higher risk of developing coronary heart disease, according to new research findings presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Diego.

28 Oct 2013

Study confirms the "seed and soil" theory of metastasis

Oncologists have long puzzled over the fact that after cancer treatment, single cancer cells that are dispersed throughout the body - so-called disseminated tumor cells - are quick to grow and form secondary tumors called metastases in certain organs, while in other organs they metastasize more slowly, sometimes decades later. Such is the case with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells, which remain dormant when lodged in bone marrow but rapidly form tumors when they make their way into the lungs.

28 Oct 2013

Stroke prevention study: Medication plus lifestyle changes safe, effective than surgical interventions

The final results of a stroke prevention study in patients with narrowed brain arteries confirm earlier findings: Medication plus lifestyle changes are safer and more effective at preventing stroke than a surgical technique called stenting.

28 Oct 2013

International researchers identify 11 new genes linked to Alzheimer's disease

An international group of researchers has identified 11 new genes that offer important new insights into the disease pathways involved in Alzheimer's disease. The highly collaborative effort involved scanning the DNA of over 74,000 volunteers-the largest genetic analysis yet conducted in Alzheimer's research-to discover new genetic risk factors linked to late-onset Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of the disorder.

28 Oct 2013

Rutgers scientists provide new information about rare genetic childhood disorder

Scientists at Rutgers University studying the cause of a rare childhood disease that leaves children unable to walk by adolescence say new findings may provide clues to understanding more common neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and developing better tools to treat them.

28 Oct 2013

NHMRC awards over $6M for Griffith University research projects

Griffith University research projects have been awarded just over $6m in research funding by the prestigious National Health and Medical Research Council.

28 Oct 2013

Scientists develop new drug to treat obstructive airway diseases

Scientists have developed a new drug (RPL554) that could treat obstructive airway diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in two ways at once, according to new research published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

25 Oct 2013

Study compares incidence, impacts of stroke between countries on global scale

Stroke, a condition traditionally associated with old age, is increasingly affecting young and middle aged people, according to a major new analysis from the Global and Regional Burden of Stroke in 1990-2010 study, published in The Lancet.

25 Oct 2013

Research brings hope of new treatment for asthma patients resistant to corticosteroids

New research from Japan brings hope of a new treatment for asthma patients resistant to corticosteroids. In a study published today in the journal Nature Communications, researchers from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences and Keio University in Japan report that a type of lymphocytes called natural helper ells plays a critical role in corticosteroid resistance and demonstrate that the anti-psychotic drug Pimozide can be used to overcome resistance to steroids in severe asthma patients.

25 Oct 2013

Potentially active forms of HIV hiding in infected immune T cells may be 60-fold greater, say experts

Just when some scientists were becoming more hopeful about finding a strategy to outwit HIV's ability to resist, evade and otherwise survive efforts to rid it from the body, another hurdle has emerged to foil their plans, new research from Johns Hopkins shows.

25 Oct 2013

Research: Neurotoxin provides more relief from pain in dogs with bone cancer

By the time bone cancer is diagnosed in a pet dog, it is often too late to save the animal's life. Instead, the goal of treatment is to keep the dog as comfortable and free of pain as possible for as long as possible.

25 Oct 2013

Study finds persistent deficiency in new therapeutics for neglected diseases

In a study published today in the open-access journal The Lancet Global Health, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative and other researchers report a persistent deficiency in truly new therapeutics for neglected diseases, despite nominal progress and an acceleration in research and development efforts. This continued 'fatal imbalance' in medical R&D points to the urgent need to develop and deliver groundbreaking new treatments for the world's poorest and most neglected patients.

25 Oct 2013

MIT researchers design stealth drug delivery system to attack TNBC cells

Some of the most dangerous cancers are those that can outmaneuver the very drugs designed to defeat them, but researchers are now reporting a new Trojan-horse approach. In a preliminary study in the journal ACS Nano focusing on a type of breast cancer that is highly resistant to current therapies, they describe a way to sneak small particles into tumor cells, lower their defenses and attack them with drugs, potentially making the therapy much more effective.

25 Oct 2013

Rice University research reveals 3-way genetic switch for cancer metastasis

Cancer researchers from Rice University have deciphered the operating principles of a genetic switch that cancer cells use to decide when to metastasize and invade other parts of the body. The study found that the on-off switch's dynamics also allows a third choice that lies somewhere between "on" and "off." The extra setting both explains previously confusing experimental results and opens the door to new avenues of cancer treatment.

25 Oct 2013

Research unlocks secrets of mouse behavior to help identify promising psychiatric drugs

Developing psychiatric medications is a long and complex process. Candidate drugs are evaluated and assessed based on their effects on the behavior of animals, usually rats or mice. Each class of drugs, from antidepressants to antipsychotics, is tested differently - often in a labor-intensive process that leaves plenty of room for human error. And there is a growing consensus that current procedures fail to effectively produce new medications.

25 Oct 2013

"One-two punch" disables tumors' defenses

An aggressive form of breast cancer known as "triple negative" is very difficult to treat: Chemotherapy can shrink such tumors for a while, but in many patients they grow back and gain resistance to the original drugs.

25 Oct 2013

Whitehead Institute scientists identify novel Parkinson's disease drug target

Using a discovery platform whose components range from yeast cells to human stem cells, Whitehead Institute scientists have identified a novel Parkinson's disease drug target and a compound capable of repairing neurons derived from Parkinson's patients.

25 Oct 2013

HIV-positive patients with high CD4 cell counts are not at increased risk for heart attacks

Patients who are HIV-positive and have high CD4 cell counts - or have a high number of white blood cells that fight infections - aren't at an increased risk for heart attacks compared to patients who are HIV-negative, according to a Kaiser Permanente study that appears in the current online issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

25 Oct 2013

Drugs News and Research

DPP-4 inhibitors may reduce risk of autoimmune diseases

Study shows low uptake of HPV vaccination among patients with autoimmune diseases

Anti-tumor necrosis factor drugs modestly reduce risk of acute coronary syndrome

Study confirms the "seed and soil" theory of metastasis

Stroke prevention study: Medication plus lifestyle changes safe, effective than surgical interventions

International researchers identify 11 new genes linked to Alzheimer's disease

Rutgers scientists provide new information about rare genetic childhood disorder

NHMRC awards over $6M for Griffith University research projects

Scientists develop new drug to treat obstructive airway diseases

Study compares incidence, impacts of stroke between countries on global scale

Research brings hope of new treatment for asthma patients resistant to corticosteroids

Potentially active forms of HIV hiding in infected immune T cells may be 60-fold greater, say experts

Research: Neurotoxin provides more relief from pain in dogs with bone cancer

Study finds persistent deficiency in new therapeutics for neglected diseases

MIT researchers design stealth drug delivery system to attack TNBC cells

Rice University research reveals 3-way genetic switch for cancer metastasis

Research unlocks secrets of mouse behavior to help identify promising psychiatric drugs

"One-two punch" disables tumors' defenses

Whitehead Institute scientists identify novel Parkinson's disease drug target

HIV-positive patients with high CD4 cell counts are not at increased risk for heart attacks

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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