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Scientists reveal how psychostimulant drugs work to control hyperactivity

It has long been known that psychostimulant drugs have the paradoxical effect of reducing hyperactivity. [Psychostimulant drugs include methylphenidate - known by the trade names Ritalin, Concerta, and Methylin - and methamphetamine]. Since the mid-1950s, millions of children and adults have been prescribed stimulant medications to control attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

8 Feb 2012

U.N. says Asia Pacific region making strides against HIV/AIDS, must address social and legal barriers to treatment, prevention

The U.N. Economic and Social Commission for the Asia Pacific (ESCAP) on Monday in Bangkok "opened a three-day meeting lauding impressive gains in recent years in the fight against HIV/AIDS," but the body cautioned "there are still legal and social barriers that significantly set back eradication efforts," VOA News reports.

8 Feb 2012

GSK launches Medivir's Xerclear for OTC use in Europe

Medivir AB, the research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases, announces that its unique cold sore product Xerclear, which Medivir developed in-house, is now being launched for over-the-counter (OTC) use by its partner GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in Europe.

8 Feb 2012

Researchers discover how mutations in parkin gene cause PD

Parkinson's disease researchers at the University at Buffalo have discovered how mutations in the parkin gene cause the disease, which afflicts at least 500,000 Americans and for which there is no cure.

8 Feb 2012

Cefpodoxime not effective in treating uncomplicated cystitis in women

Short-term use of the antibiotic cefpodoxime for the treatment of women with uncomplicated cystitis (bladder infection) did not meet criteria for noninferiority for achieving clinical cure compared with ciprofloxacin, a drug in the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics for which there have been concerns about overuse and a resulting increase in resistance rates, according to a study in the February 8 issue of JAMA.

8 Feb 2012

Tips to understand drug-related recall

With the new year came many drug recalls. In the first six weeks of 2012, there were at least 13 drug-related recalls. Some were due to bacterial contamination. Eight distinct bacterial contaminants were identified in one over-the-counter product.

8 Feb 2012

Scientists study organ development in mice to unravel how breast cancers develop in people

Reviving a theory first proposed in the late 1800s that the development of organs in the normal embryo and the development of cancers are related, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have studied organ development in mice to unravel how breast cancers, and perhaps other cancers, develop in people. Their findings provide new ways to predict and personalize the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

8 Feb 2012

Tailoring TB treatment based on a patient's genetic sequence

A gene that influences the inflammatory response to infection may also predict the effectiveness of drug treatment for a deadly form of tuberculosis.

8 Feb 2012

Study highlights benefits of TKR in elderly patients with osteoarthritis

New research presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) highlights the benefits of total knee replacement (TKR) in elderly patients with osteoarthritis, including a lower probability of heart failure and mortality.

7 Feb 2012

Anticoagulation drugs can prevent PE, DVT after total joint replacement

Following a total joint replacement, anticoagulation (blood thinning) drugs can prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot deep within the extremities, or a pulmonary embolism (PE), a complication that causes a blood clot to move to the lungs.

7 Feb 2012

Forum for Collaborative HIV Research suggests new approach for conducting Phase 3 HIV clinical trials

As the war on HIV/AIDS begins its fourth decade, medical researchers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, patient advocates and government regulators face a new and unexpected scientific challenge: how to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of promising new antiretroviral drugs when the two traditional study designs – the superiority trial and the non-inferiority trial – are no longer useful in showing improvements in both "treatment experienced" patients and those who have never received drug therapy (treatment-naive patients).

7 Feb 2012

Roche’s new breast cancer drug Pertuzumab up for FDA review

U.S. health regulators, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has granted a priority review for an experimental Roche breast cancer drug that in clinical trials added six months to the time before the disease worsened. Pertuzumab approval decision is due by June 8th this year. It could be used with Herceptin in HER2-positive patients. This was announced by Roche Holding AG's Genentech unit on Tuesday.

7 Feb 2012

Vending machine to dispense “morning after pills” at college sparks debate

Now students at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania can get the “morning after” pill by sliding $25 into a vending machine, an idea that has drawn the attention of federal regulators and raised questions about how accessible emergency contraception should be.

7 Feb 2012

New guidelines for travellers to avoid DVT on long flights

New guidelines for travellers have been issued. Experts warn that those with a higher risk of serious blood clots who opt for the window seat on flights longer than four hours are potentially putting themselves in danger. People who should be most concerned are those who have recently had surgery, cancer patients, those with limited mobility, the severely obese, and travellers over 70. However, healthy women on the pill and those who are pregnant should also be careful, according to the guidelines by the American College of Chest Physicians.

7 Feb 2012

National Black HIV/AIDS Day brings new statistics

According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Blacks represent approximately 14 percent of the U.S. population, but accounted for an estimated 44 percent of new HIV infections in 2009. Over the same period, the rate of new HIV infections among black women was 15 times that of White women, and over 3 times the rate of Hispanic/Latina women.

7 Feb 2012

FDA reviews Amgen’s prostate cancer drug Xgeva

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) researchers say that an Amgen drug slowed the spread of cancer to the bone in men with hard-to-treat prostate cancer, though the drug did not extend life and carried significant side effects.

7 Feb 2012

Three new targeted drugs can lead to fatal cancer complications

Treatment with three relatively new "targeted" cancer drugs has been linked to a slightly elevated chance of fatal side effects, according to a new analysis led by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. They added that the risk remains low, but should be taken into account by physicians and patients.

7 Feb 2012

Cyclin D1 oncogene may promote chromosomal instability

A team of researchers at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center (KCC) led by Richard G. Pestell, M.D., PhD., FACP, Director of the KCC and Chair of the Department of Cancer Biology, have shown in a study published online Feb. 6 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that the oncogene cyclin D1 may promote a genetic breakdown known as chromosomal instability (CIN). CIN is a known, yet poorly understood culprit in tumor progression.

7 Feb 2012

Inhibiting MET signaling in glioblastoma has major therapeutic value

A recent discovery by Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) scientists enables the prediction of patient sensitivity to proposed drug therapies for glioblastoma - the most common and most aggressive malignant brain tumor in humans.

7 Feb 2012

Economic transformation in Latin America an opportunity to improve NTD strategies, DNDi regional director says

"The rise of emerging economies in Latin America is an opportunity to improve strategies for fighting neglected illnesses and increase the region's contribution to the global struggle against them, says" Eric Stobbaerts, the Latin America director of the independent Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), Inter Press Service reports.

7 Feb 2012