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Free public lecture to reveal new insights into brain cells linked with stroke, cerebral palsy

A free public lecture at the University of Leicester is to discuss how the white matter of the brain could be the key to understanding and treating brain disorders - not grey matter as previously thought.

21 Sep 2011

Antivirals from shark cartilage compound squalamine

A unique compound originally isolated from sharks could prove to be a promising treatment for hepatitis B and C and other viral diseases, researchers say. Known as squalamine, the drug has not yet been tested as an antiviral agent in humans, but it has been given to hundreds of people enrolled in clinical trials designed to test its usefulness for other conditions. Researchers say they hope to begin human trials to test the compound’s antiviral activity within the next year.

21 Sep 2011

Tips for recognizing stroke symptoms

Drs. Savita Khanna and Cameron Rink, both assistant professors of surgery in the College of Medicine at The Ohio State University Medical Center are part of a research team that has been working for more than a decade to identify ways to reduce brain injury during stroke.

21 Sep 2011

Positive results from Orexo's OX219 clinical study on opioid dependence

Orexo AB (STO:ORX) today announced that it has obtained positive results in a clinical study with OX219, which is being developed for the treatment of opioid dependence.

21 Sep 2011

Matrix receives FDA's tentative approval for novel co-packaged version of HIV/AIDS therapy

Mylan Inc. today announced that its subsidiary Matrix Laboratories Limited has received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for its New Drug Application (NDA) for Lamivudine / Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate Tablets, 300 mg/300 mg, co-packaged with Nevirapine Tablets, 200 mg.

21 Sep 2011

Financial and political commitments to improve health of women and children

In only one year, more than 100 countries, foundations, multilateral organizations, the UN, the private sector, and academic and professional associations have made unprecedented financial and political commitments to greatly improve the health of women and children.

21 Sep 2011

Beta-blocker drugs may improve survival time for melanoma patients

Beta-blocker drugs, commonly used to treat high blood pressure, may also play a major role in slowing the progression of certain serious cancers, based on a new study.

21 Sep 2011

Gilead’s new 4 in 1 combo HIV pill works

Gilead Sciences Inc's four-drug experimental HIV pill worked as well as a regimen containing protease inhibitor Reyataz in the second pivotal trial of the drug, the company announced this Monday. Although the trial succeeded, it did not show the experimental pill, called the Quad, was superior to the Reyataz regimen and Gilead shares fell less than a percentage point.

20 Sep 2011

Exercise helps teens quit smoking

Research has shown that a program that combines counseling with physical activity may offer teens a more effective way to stop smoking. Less than 5 percent of those who were assigned to a brief smoking cessation intervention had quit smoking after three months. But, in the group of teens that received smoking cessation counseling coupled with physical activity, almost 14 percent were off cigarettes at the three-month mark. And, the findings were most dramatic for boys. Nearly a quarter of the boys in the combination group had quit smoking at the end of three months.

20 Sep 2011

Regulatory bias against taking oral anti-cancer medications with food places patients at risk of overdose

A regulatory bias against taking oral anti-cancer medications with food places many patients at increased risk for an overdose and forces them to "flush costly medicines down the toilet," argues Mark Ratain, MD, an authority on cancer-drug dosing.

20 Sep 2011

Minute levels of banned substances in dietary supplements cause athletes to fail doping tests

Minute levels of banned substances in some dietary supplements are leaving athletes susceptible to failed drugs tests according to Loughborough University Professor of Sport and Exercise Nutrition Ron Maughan.

20 Sep 2011

New trick of tumors

Tumors have an arsenal of tricks to help them sidestep the immune system. A study published on September 19 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine reveals a new trick—the ability to keep tumor-fighting T cells out by disabling a T cell-attracting protein within the tumor core.

20 Sep 2011

Multimodal analgesia important for effective control of pain

Efforts to effectively control pain in hospitalized patients with opioid (narcotic) analgesics can lead to unintentional sedation and respiratory depression, which are serious adverse events affecting the quality of recovery for patients.

20 Sep 2011

U-M Professor to review data from three prominent studies on heart failure

Roughly 5 million people in the United States live with heart failure, a condition in which the heart is unable to pump blood around the body effectively. The causes and types of heart failure vary greatly, and treatment must be tailored to each patient. In some cases, doctors will prescribe a class of diuretic drugs called aldosterone antagonists.

20 Sep 2011

Liposomes block HIV infection in early tests

Could engineered fatty particles help prevent AIDS? Liposomes block HIV infection in early tests; could be a cost-effective preventive for developing countries

20 Sep 2011

UBC Graduate School of Journalism launches 'The Pain Project' site

In advance of a United Nations conference today on the global challenges of treating cancer and other diseases, the UBC Graduate School of Journalism has launched an ambitious multimedia site, The Pain Project, which documents one of the greatest challenges to treating chronic illnesses: severely constrained access to morphine.

20 Sep 2011

Medication non-adherence interventions should be based on personal systems approach

For medications to be effective, they must be taken in the correct dosage at the right time, as prescribed by healthcare providers. The World Health Organization estimates that half of patients take their medications incorrectly, costing the U.S. health care system and consumers about $300 billion each year.

20 Sep 2011

Scientists discover how liver destroys immune T-cells

Scientists at the Centenary Institute in Sydney have seen for the first time (in mice) how the liver goes independent, engulfing and destroying the body's defence troops-T-cells.

20 Sep 2011

University of Colorado, SuviCa complete license agreement for CU cancer drug screening technology

SuviCa Inc. of Boulder and the University of Colorado recently completed an exclusive license agreement for a CU drug screening technology to identify novel therapies for cancer.

20 Sep 2011

Global trade negotiations must consider inequalities in access to medicines

Some of the issues to be addressed at the U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) taking place this week in New York "are controversial, including those relating to intellectual property rights for new medicines, diagnostics and medical devices," James Love, director of Knowledge Ecology International, writes in an Al Jazeera opinion piece.

20 Sep 2011