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Slowing aging by cleaning away old cells: Study

Researchers have found a novel way of reversing the aging process. They found that a special category of cells, known as senescent cells, are bad actors that promote the aging of the tissues. Cleansing the body of the cells, they hope, could postpone many of the diseases of aging. This could pave the way for drugs that would keep human tissues healthier longer, but it is unclear until further testing is done whether such drugs could eventually help people live longer.

3 Nov 2011

The brain and the heart may not be so different after all

What do heart disease and dementia have in common? Perhaps more than meets the eye, according to researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

3 Nov 2011

USC Professor receives NSF's new Innovation Corps award

Last month, for the first time in 11 years, USC Associate Professor Ellis Meng found herself raising her hand and asking questions in the classroom - not answering them.

3 Nov 2011

First Edition: November 3, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about a bipartisan group of lawmakers who are urging the super committee to consider "all options."

3 Nov 2011

ARIAD reports net income of $13.9 million for third quarter 2011

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the third quarter of 2011 and provided an update on its corporate developments.

3 Nov 2011

New study in fruit flies offers clues to delay human aging

One of the few reliable ways to extend an organism's lifespan, be it a fruit fly or a mouse, is to restrict calorie intake. Now, a new study in fruit flies is helping to explain why such minimal diets are linked to longevity and offering clues to the effects of aging on stem cell behavior.

3 Nov 2011

FDA EMDAC votes to recommend approval of Merck's VYTORIN for pre-dialysis CKD

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unanimously voted to recommend approval of Merck's VYTORIN (ezetimibe/simvastatin) for use in patients with pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease.

3 Nov 2011

Study outlines evolution of malaria, leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis

One of the most comprehensive analyses yet done of the ancient history of insect-borne disease concludes for the first time that malaria is not only native to the New World, but it has been present long before humans existed and has evolved through birds and monkeys.

3 Nov 2011

Synthetic artemisinin discovery could make malaria treatments more affordable, accessible

"Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, and the biotech start-up Amyris have developed a process to manufacture artemisinin, a crucial ingredient in first-line malaria drugs that until now had to be extracted from a natural crop called sweet wormwood," PBS NewsHour reports.

3 Nov 2011

Exenatide's rapid anti-inflammatory effect may inhibit atherosclerosis

Exenatide, a drug commonly prescribed to help patients with type 2 diabetes improve blood sugar control, also has a powerful and rapid anti-inflammatory effect, a University at Buffalo study has shown.

3 Nov 2011

Novel indirect screener can identify women at risk for illicit drug use

A team of researchers at Wayne State University's Parent Health Lab in the School of Medicine have developed a novel indirect screener that identifies women at risk for drug use by evaluating correlates of illicit drug use rather than drug use itself. In phase I testing, this new screener proved to be more sensitive than any alternative approach at detecting recent drug use.

3 Nov 2011

UC Merced professor designs powerful chemical inhibitor against HIV

In a significant step toward reducing the threat of HIV, UC Merced Professor Patricia LiWang has designed what may be the most effective chemical inhibitor against infection of the virus.

3 Nov 2011

Nicotine might prime the brain to enhance behavioral effects of cocaine

A landmark study in mice identifies a biological mechanism that could help explain how tobacco products could act as gateway drugs, increasing a person's future likelihood of abusing cocaine and perhaps other drugs as well, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study is the first to show that nicotine might prime the brain to enhance the behavioral effects of cocaine.

3 Nov 2011

IP-K and Sanofi form new HBV research collaboration

One of the most common and serious infectious diseases, Hepatitis B, is to be targeted in a new collaborative venture between the internationally-renowned translational research institute, Institut Pasteur Korea (IP-K), and the Korean arm of the leading global healthcare company, Sanofi-Aventis Korea. The goal is to develop and validate a high throughput assay to screen IP-K's chemical libraries for novel compounds that can be developed as new drugs.

3 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: GOP intransigence on super committee; taxing health benefits would backfire; the need for care in defining essential benefits

There may be logic to Speaker John Boehner's insidious intransigence. Republicans keep saying no and Democrats keep offering more concessions. Super committee Republicans suggested instead a package based largely on cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, combined with magical hundreds of billions they say would be produced by slashing assistance to the elderly and the vulnerable, by selling off government assets, and by the growth sparked by tax cuts.

3 Nov 2011

Nmnat1 protein may help prevent brain damage in babies with cerebral palsy

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that a protein may help prevent the kind of brain damage that occurs in babies with cerebral palsy.

3 Nov 2011

Resveratrol holds key to reducing obesity and associated risks: Study

A new study shows that when taken regularly a natural compound known as resveratrol, found in red wine and grapes, mulberries and peanuts, can offer similar benefits to low-calorie diets and endurance training.

2 Nov 2011

ADHD drugs don’t raise risk for heart attacks or stroke: Study

Drugs known as stimulants, that are used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder do not increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes or sudden death, U.S. researchers said on Monday. This study finding should reassure millions of parents whose children take the drugs.

2 Nov 2011

Americans overdosing on prescription pain killers

According to figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 40 Americans die from prescription painkiller abuse each day. Overdoses of opioid prescription drugs now kill more people in the U.S. than do overdoses from heroin and cocaine combined the report says. Twelve million Americans say they abused prescription drugs in the last year.

2 Nov 2011

Isis commences ISIS-GCGRRx and ISIS-GCCRRx Phase 1 studies for type 2 diabetes

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has initiated Phase 1 clinical studies for ISIS-GCGRRx and ISIS-GCCRRx, antisense drugs Isis is developing for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

2 Nov 2011