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Positive results from Metabolex arhalofenate plus febuxostat study on hyperuricemia, gout

Metabolex announced positive results from its clinical study of arhalofenate in combination with febuxostat. A key goal in the treatment of gout is to address the patient's underlying hyperuricemia by treatment with drugs that lower serum uric acid.

9 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Politics overtakes Plan B; Gingrich's entitlement plans; Cheeseburgers and death

Once again, the politics of birth control have trumped science and sound public policy. On Wednesday, the Obama administration overruled a carefully reasoned decision by the Food and Drug Administration to make the so-called morning-after pill available without prescription to adolescent girls below the age of 17.

9 Dec 2011

Scientists discover mechanism that controls 'fat switch' in the body

Scientists at Warwick Medical School have made an important discovery about the mechanism controlling the body's 'fat switch', shedding new light on our understanding of how proteins regulate appetite control and insulin secretion.

9 Dec 2011

Toxins in Danish mushroom are effective against cancer cells

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have explored the active principles of a Danish mushroom and found that some of the substances it contains are particularly toxic towards cancer cells. The goal is to synthesise and refine substances in the mushroom that may be useful in future drug development.

9 Dec 2011

Galectin Therapeutics to initiate GM-CT-01 Phase 1/2 combination study in advanced MM

Galectin Therapeutics, the Cancer Centre at the Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) announced today that they will initiate a Phase 1/2 safety and efficacy trial testing a novel treatment combination in patients with advanced metastatic melanoma.

9 Dec 2011

Breakthrough advance in tackling dangerous 'bad' cholesterol in the body

Scientists from the University of Leicester and University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have announced a breakthrough advance in tackling dangerous 'bad' cholesterol in the body.

9 Dec 2011

FDA advisory panel OKs anemia drug peginesatide

Once approved by the FDA, the once-monthly injection could capture a share of the $3 billion U.S. market for anemia drugs used for kidney dialysis patients, currently dominated by Amgen Inc's blockbuster Epogen. Affymax, which developed the drug with partner Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, is also expected to price its product below Epogen.

8 Dec 2011

Breast cancer risks and management updates

A new report that looks at the environmental factors that affect risk of breast cancer is out. It suggests that women can reduce their risk by avoiding unnecessary medical radiation, forgoing hormone treatments for menopause that combine estrogen and progestin, limiting alcohol intake and minimizing weight gain.

8 Dec 2011

Clues to underlying causes of atherosclerosis

By changing the behavior of certain cells within human blood vessels, Cornell University researchers have discovered important clues as to the underlying causes of atherosclerosis - a discovery researchers hope can lead to more targeted drug therapies for the prevention of the disease.

8 Dec 2011

Young women who binge drink are at high risk of sexual assault

Many young women who steer clear of alcohol while they're in high school may change their ways once they go off to college. And those who take up binge drinking may be at relatively high risk of sexual assault, according to a University at Buffalo-led study in the January issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

8 Dec 2011

H. pylori bacterium produces urease to neutralize gastric acid

A research team led by scientists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong is releasing study results this week showing how a bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, that causes more than half of peptic ulcers worldwide and that has been implicated in stomach cancer has managed for eons to turn the acidic environment of the human gut into one in which it can thrive.

8 Dec 2011

Ixabepilone-sunitinib combination holds potential against chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer

The use of two drugs never tried in combination before in ovarian cancer resulted in a 70 percent destruction of cancer cells already resistant to commonly used chemotherapy agents, say researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida.

8 Dec 2011

NIH, EPA and FDA collaborate to move science forward

A high-speed robotic screening system, aimed at protecting human health by improving how chemicals are tested in the United States, begins today to test 10,000 compounds for potential toxicity. The compounds cover a wide variety of classifications, and include consumer products, food additives, chemicals found in industrial processes, and human and veterinary drugs.

8 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Insurance safety net; Orszag on shift in health plans

In this country, three subjects that are guaranteed to generate a heated debate are religion, politics and, you guessed it, health insurance. Of the first two, Mark Twain observed that "people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand."

8 Dec 2011

Animal study offers insights into possible drug targets to improve memory as we age

Drugs that affect the levels of an important brain protein involved in learning and memory reverse cellular changes in the brain seen during aging, according to an animal study in the December 7 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The findings could one day aid in the development of new drugs that enhance cognitive function in older adults.

8 Dec 2011

Combination of two anti-estrogen drugs extends survival time of women with breast cancer

Post-menopausal women with hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer may have a new treatment option that could lengthen their lives, according to results of a study by the SWOG clinical trials network that were presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

8 Dec 2011

Israeli Nobel Laureate receives AvH's Humboldt Research Award

The Israeli Nobel Laureate Aaron Ciechanover has been named one of the recipients of the Humboldt Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

8 Dec 2011

BCX4945 proves effective at clearing malaria infections

An antimalarial agent developed by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University proved effective at clearing infections caused by the malaria parasite most lethal to humans - by literally starving the parasites to death. The novel research, carried out on a small number of non-human primates, could bolster efforts to develop more potent therapies against one of the world's leading killers.

8 Dec 2011

ISARIC aims to prepare clinical research community for next influenza pandemic

An international consortium aimed at ensuring that the clinical research community is better prepared for the next influenza pandemic or other rapidly emerging public health threat is launched today by leading funders of medical research from across the globe.

8 Dec 2011

PrEP shows promise against HIV infection

A new weapon has emerged to prevent HIV infection. Called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, it is a strategy of providing medications to at-risk people before they are exposed to the virus. Having shown great promise in recent phase 3 clinical trials, PrEP may soon be rolled out for public use.

8 Dec 2011