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Research sheds light on how E. coli thrive in the intestine of people with IBD

Scientists have long puzzled over why "bad" bacteria such as E. coli can thrive in the guts of those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), causing serious diarrhea. Now UC Davis researchers have discovered the answer-one that may be the first step toward finding new and better treatments for IBD.

10 Feb 2013

Health law provisions saved seniors $5.7B on Rx drugs

Seniors have saved about $5.7 billion on prescription drugs since January 2011 because of provisions in the 2010 health care law meant to close the Medicare "doughnut hole," the government plans to announce today.

10 Feb 2013

Celgene's Pomalyst receives FDA approval for treatment of multiple myeloma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Pomalyst (pomalidomide) to treat patients with multiple myeloma whose disease progressed after being treated with other cancer drugs.

10 Feb 2013

Broken motors induce stress and anxiety in mice

When motors break down, getting where you want to go becomes a struggle. Problems arise in much the same way for critical brain receptors when the molecular motors they depend on fail to operate. Now, researchers reporting in Cell Reports, a Cell Press publication, on February 7, have shown these broken motors induce stress and anxiety in mice. The discovery may point the way to new kinds of drugs to treat anxiety and other disorders.

10 Feb 2013

Shire commences ABH001 Phase 3 study in Epidermolysis Bullosa

Shire plc, today announced the initiation of a Phase 3 study designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ABH001, its dermal substitute therapy, for the treatment of non-healing wounds in patients with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a group of rare genetic skin disorders that begin to manifest at birth or early childhood and occur in approximately 19 per 1 million live births in the US.

10 Feb 2013

First Edition: February 8, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about Marilyn Tavenner's nomination to run Medicare and the Catholic bishops' rejection of the Obama administration's contraception plan announced last week.

9 Feb 2013

Drugs that target retromer pathway could help prevent or treat Parkinson's

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have identified a protein trafficking defect within brain cells that may underlie common non-familial forms of Parkinson's disease.

9 Feb 2013

Older adults with COPD more frequently use benzodiazepines

A popular class of drugs commonly used to treat sleep and mood symptoms continues to be frequently prescribed despite being known to have potentially life-threatening side effects.

9 Feb 2013

Nerve stimulator may be new option for migraine sufferers

Wearing a nerve stimulator for 20 minutes a day may be a new option for migraine sufferers, according to new research published in the February 6, 2013, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

9 Feb 2013

Metabolic syndrome risk factors prevalent in bipolar disorder

People who have bipolar disorder are at a high risk for developing the metabolic syndrome and related cardiovascular disorders, say researchers.

8 Feb 2013

Novel combination of ibrutinib and bortezomib could be effective new therapy for blood cancers

Laboratory experiments conducted by scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center suggest that a novel combination of the drugs ibrutinib and bortezomib could potentially be an effective new therapy for several forms of blood cancer, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

7 Feb 2013

Washington Post examines relationship between counterfeit drugs, rise of drug-resistant TB

The Washington Post examines the emergence of drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB) around the world, writing, "One culprit in the rise of untreatable TB is counterfeit drugs, which can undermine treatment efforts by packing insufficient active ingredients to fully kill off bacteria, breeding new, stronger super-strains of the disease."

7 Feb 2013

Cantor calls for repeal of medical device tax; Bipartisan Senate bill seeks to end generic drug delays

In a speech, the House majority leader criticized the health law but focused his attention on the overhaul's taxes. Meanwhile, the Senate measure would prohibit companies that make brand-name drugs from paying generic manufacturers to keep their products off the market.

7 Feb 2013

Researchers identify an exceptional mouse model of schizophrenia

Researchers at the Institute for Comprehensive Medical Science, Fujita Health University and the National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Japan, along with colleagues from 9 other institutions, have identified an exceptional mouse model of schizophrenia.

7 Feb 2013

Basis of antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive therapy found

Through a series of investigations in mice and humans, Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a protein that appears to be the target of both antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive therapy. Results of their experiments explain how these therapies likely work to relieve depression by stimulating stem cells in the brain to grow and mature.

7 Feb 2013

Innovative drug discovery in Europe supported by Bayer

Bayer HealthCare initiated and will coordinate a newly founded pan-European consortium, named European Lead Factory, which has been launched to enhance early drug discovery addressing the need for innovative drugs. The new five-year project will create an exceptional small molecule library collection allowing drug discovery on innovative and promising targets from pharma companies and academia.

7 Feb 2013

Ramipril puts spring in step of patients with intermittent claudication

Six months of treatment with the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor ramipril produces notable improvements in the walking ability of patients with peripheral artery disease and intermittent claudication, shows a large randomized trial.

6 Feb 2013

More than £6M funding awarded to enhance development of biopharmaceuticals

More than £6M of funding has been awarded to enhance the development of biopharmaceuticals. In total £6.5M will fund 12 projects to deliver commercially important results, such as industrial-scale production of antibodies, stem cell preservation at room temperature, biopharmaceutical production using microbes and commercial scale stem cell therapy.

6 Feb 2013

TB vaccine candidate trial results are 'landmark' in fight against disease

"Today marks an important landmark for the fight against tuberculosis (TB)," with the publication in the Lancet of clinical trial results showing the TB vaccine candidate MVA85A "was no more effective in protecting infants from developing pulmonary TB than" the standard Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, Peggy Johnston, senior program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes in the foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog.

6 Feb 2013

Researchers assess complete landscape of kinome expression in cancer

When it comes to gene sequencing and personalized medicine for cancer, spotting an aberrant kinase is a home run. The proteins are relatively easy to target with drugs and plenty of kinase inhibitors already exist.

6 Feb 2013