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Drugs to treat anxiety, depression and insomnia may increase risk of driving accident

Drugs prescribed to treat anxiety, depression and insomnia may increase patients’ risk of being involved in motor vehicle accidents, according to a recent study, published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. Based on the findings, the researchers suggested doctors should consider advising patients not to drive while taking these drugs.

13 Sep 2012

Predicting breast cancer drug response by 20/20 GeneSystems’ PredicTOR test

20/20 GeneSystems, Inc. will present results this week at the Breast Cancer Symposium 2012 (San Francisco) of a 45 patient study showing the usefulness of its PredicTOR test in predicting response of breast tumors to the drug Herceptin.

13 Sep 2012

Pathogens and Global Health highlights current debate on counterfeit medicine

The latest issue of Pathogens and Global Health highlights the current debate surrounding the under-investigated, and politically sensitive, issue of counterfeit medicine. Issue 106.2 includes an interview with Dr Paul Newton, Head of the Laos arm of the Wellcome Trust's Major Overseas Programmes, and a number of articles highlighting the technological innovations and field initiatives that are challenging this threat to global health.

13 Sep 2012

ICREA researcher updates latest findings in applied epigenetics

The research team led by Manel Esteller, director of the Cancer Epigenetics and Biology Program at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), professor of genetics at the University of Barcelona and ICREA researcher, has updated the latest findings in applied epigenetics in a review paper published in Nature Reviews Genetics.

13 Sep 2012

NDC to advance study and treatment of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases

The Neurodegeneration Consortium (NDC), a transformative multi-institutional initiative, will advance the study and treatment of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, thanks to an inaugural $25 million gift from the Robert A. and Renee E. Belfer Family Foundation to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

13 Sep 2012

Case Western Reserve researcher discovers new antivirulence drugs against MRSA and strep

Menachem Shoham, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has discovered novel antivirulence drugs that, without killing the bacteria, render Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and Streptococcus pyogenes, commonly referred to as strep, harmless by preventing the production of toxins that cause disease.

13 Sep 2012

Positive results from Edison’s EPI-743 phase 2A study on Leigh Syndrome

Edison Pharmaceuticals today announced positive results of a recently completed phase 2A study entitled, "Prospective Open Label Study of EPI-743 in Children with Leigh Syndrome (Subacute Necrotizing Encephalomyelopathy)."

13 Sep 2012

Changes in physical characteristics of regulatory T cell can predict MDS progression risk

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues have discovered that changes in the physical characteristics of the effector memory regulatory T cell can predict the progression risk of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) to acute myeloid leukemia. The finding could improve prognostication for patients with MDS and better inform therapeutic decision making.

13 Sep 2012

Synthetic biology pioneer wins 2012 Heinz Award

Jay Keasling, a leading authority and pioneer on synthetic biology who has engineered microbial "factories" to manufacture an affordable version of a frontline antimalarial drug and biofuel substitutes for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, has won a 2012 Heinz Award, which is presented by the Heinz Family Foundation and carries with it a cash prize of $250,000.

13 Sep 2012

More evidence supporting cardiac danger of painkillers after MI

Heart attack survivors who use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have an increased risk for long-term mortality or a second heart attack, research suggests.

12 Sep 2012

Acupuncture therapy remains a prickly matter

Acupuncture may actually be effective for treating some types of chronic pain, a systematic review in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows.

12 Sep 2012

TPP trade agreement could threaten access to medicines

"Right now, in Leesburg, Va., the office of the U.S. Trade Representative is negotiating a so-called 'trade agreement' -- the 'Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement' -- that could put the lives of millions of innocent civilians at risk" by potentially limiting access to life-saving medications, including antiretroviral drugs, Robert Naiman, policy director at Just Foreign Policy, writes in the Huffington Post Blog.

12 Sep 2012

AusAID draft strategy includes more support for research into neglected diseases

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) "is planning to boost support for medical research, technology and innovations," as well as "encourage collaboration and capacity building aimed at poverty-related and neglected tropical diseases," SciDev.Net reports.

12 Sep 2012

Researchers identify novel genes that make some children cope with malaria

Researchers from Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center and University of Montreal have identified several novel genes that make some children more efficient than others in the way their immune system responds to malaria infection.

12 Sep 2012

Interventions can help prevent older people from falling

There is now strong evidence that some interventions can prevent falls in people over the age of 65 who are living in their own homes. However, the researchers who reached this conclusion say that care is needed when choosing interventions, as some have no effect. The full details are published this month in The Cochrane Library. This is an update of a previous report that contains data from 51 additional trials, enabling the authors to reach many more conclusions.

12 Sep 2012

Ethypharm, Ampio enter definitive agreement to manufacture Zertane

Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMPE), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, with repurposed drugs and new molecular entities (NMEs) that treat inflammatory diseases, including osteoarthritis, diabetic macular edema (DME) and sexual dysfunction announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Ethypharm Ltd for the manufacturing of Zertane, Ampio's drug for the treatment of premature ejaculation.

12 Sep 2012

Bioengineers design nanoparticles that can safely and predictably infiltrate deep into the brain

The brain is a notoriously difficult organ to treat, but Johns Hopkins researchers report they are one step closer to having a drug-delivery system flexible enough to overcome some key challenges posed by brain cancer and perhaps other maladies affecting that organ.

12 Sep 2012

Bruker launches BioPharmaCompass 1.1 software

At the 2012 CASSS 9th Symposium on the Practical Applications of Mass Spectrometry in the Biotechnology Industry, Bruker today launches the first software solution to encompass the complete biopharmaceutical characterization challenge, including glycoforms, impurities and modifications.

From Bruker BioSpin Group 12 Sep 2012

Study evaluates distribution and severity of pain in sexual assault victims

A majority of sexual assault victims experience severe pain in the early aftermath of the crime but less than a third of these victims receive pain medications, according to research in The Journal of Pain, the peer review publication of the American Pain Society.

12 Sep 2012

Novel method could help advance fight against persistent 'HIV latency'

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have gotten us one step closer to understanding and overcoming one of the least-understood mechanisms of HIV infection-by devising a method to precisely track the life cycle of individual cells infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

12 Sep 2012