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FISH technology accurate in measuring the HER-2 receptor in human breast tumors

The debate on how to select patients who will respond best to costly drug treatments for aggressive breast cancer now favors fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to measure the HER-2 receptor found in human breast tumors, according to a leading pathologist presenting at the Association for Molecular Pathology annual meeting.

20 Nov 2009

Ligand Pharmaceuticals' SARM LGD-4033 study data presented at the Gerontology Society of America meeting

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that data from a preclinical study on its selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) LGD-4033 was featured in a poster presentation at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Gerontology Society of America in Atlanta. LGD-4033 exhibited desirable in vivo efficacy on skeletal muscle and bone measurements in animal models of male hypogonadism and postmenopausal osteoporosis.

20 Nov 2009

Quest Diagnostics reports sharp downward trends in cocaine and methamphetamine use

New data released today by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the nation's leading provider of employment-related drug testing services, reveal that drug testing of hair specimens from employees and job applicants in the general U.S. workforce has tracked sharp downward trends in cocaine and methamphetamine use from 2005 to the first half of 2009 that mirror similar drops shown by urine testing.

From Quest Diagnostics 20 Nov 2009

Study examines temporal association between media coverage and opioid-related deaths

Increases in deaths from opioid drugs such as OxyContin may be linked to the volume of coverage such deaths receive in the news, according to a study from Children's Hospital Boston and the University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill. The study compared patterns of opioid deaths and patterns of news coverage between 1999 and 2005, during which time mortality rates from opioid abuse doubled.

20 Nov 2009

Alzheimer Research Forum reports on the highlights of the Society of Neuroscience conference

Between 17-21 October 2009, the 39th annual conference of the Society of Neuroscience drew some 30,500 people to the great city of Chicago, which was more balmy than windy for the occasion. Your Alzforum reporters have been busy roaming the halls, buttonholing scientists for their comments on the presentations, and putting together reports on the most significant advances.

20 Nov 2009

Positive short term results from combined surgical and electrophysiological approach to treat AF

nContact Surgical, Inc., a leader in the investigation of devices for minimally-invasive treatment for heart conditions, announced that data from a poster was presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Orlando. The study demonstrated that the convergent approach, which combines surgical and electrophysiological expertise, appears to be a good strategy to achieve short term success in patients with long standing persistent atrial fibrillation (AF).

20 Nov 2009

Scientists anticipate new approaches in drug development to combat prion infection

The regulating protein Srebp2 drives cholesterol formation, which prions need for their propagation, in prion-infected neuronal cells. With these findings, published in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München and Technische Universität München anticipate new approaches in drug development to combat prion infection.

20 Nov 2009

Global initiative battles online supply of dangerous and illegal medicines

In response to an ever-increasing number of websites supplying dangerous and illegal medicines, Operation Pangea II, involving 24 countries, was coordinated by INTERPOL and the World Health Organization's International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT) to highlight the dangers of buying medicines online.

20 Nov 2009

Significant increases in IT use have not reduced drug review process

Drug approvals are taking just as long as they ever did despite increased expenditure on new information technology at the Food and drug Administration. So says a statistical analysis of approval intervals from 1997 to 2006, published in the International Journal of Electronic Healthcare.

20 Nov 2009

Health care reform will not impact America's pharmaceutical research industry

A recent Reuters article reported that America's pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies don't expect an industry increase as a result of broader insurance coverage proposed in health care reform.

20 Nov 2009

Purchasing prescription drugs in a three-month supply reduce cost of drugs for patients

Purchasing prescription drugs in a three-month supply rather than a one-month supply has long been regarded as a way to reduce the cost of drugs for patients and third-party payers. New research from the University of Chicago quantifies the savings for the first time.

20 Nov 2009

Antimalarial drug resistance endangers malarial control measures

Evidence of resistance to the antimalarial drug artemisinin and its derivatives threatens efforts to control malaria in Southeast Asia, and experts fear artemisinin resistance may spread from the Thailand-Cambodia border to affect other malaria endemic countries. Evidence to such effect was presented today at the 58th annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).

20 Nov 2009

TGen Drug Development and IPC collaborate to speed up research discoveries for cancer patients

TGen Drug Development (TD2) and the Institut Paoli-Calmettes (IPC) have forged a strategic alliance that will enable both to maximize their worldwide contributions in the treatment of cancer patients.

20 Nov 2009

FDA completes IIWA to curb illegal actions involving medical products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today completed a coordinated, weeklong, international effort, called the International Internet Week of Action (IIWA), intended to curb illegal actions involving medical products.

20 Nov 2009

High blood pressure: A major risk factor for stroke and heart disease

Today, Jamieson Laboratories, in partnership with the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON), is holding a one day Blood Pressure Blitz in Toronto's underground PATH system in an effort to educate consumers about the number one risk factor for stroke and a major risk factor of heart disease.

20 Nov 2009

University of Leeds scientists' discovery could lead to new treatment route for BSE and CJD

A new treatment route for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and its human form Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (CJD) could be a step closer thanks to a discovery by scientists at the University of Leeds.

20 Nov 2009

Study shows 'scale of craving' and previous heroin abuse are factors in people falling back into cocaine habit

Drug dependency is a recurrent but treatable kind of addiction. However, not all people who are drug dependent progress in the same way once they stop taking drugs. A new study shows that, in the case of cocaine, a high score on the so-called 'scale of craving', an antisocial personality type and previous heroin abuse are the factors most commonly involved in people falling back into the habit.

20 Nov 2009

Data from second positive pivotal study of PSD502 for treatment of PE presented

At the annual meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA), Inc. in San Diego, Sciele Pharma, Inc., a Shionogi Company and Plethora Solutions Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Plethora Solutions Holdings PLC ("Plethora")., today presented data from its second positive pivotal study of PSD502 for the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE).

20 Nov 2009

WPI researchers develop new model system to study fungal infections

A team of researchers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park has developed a new model system to study fungal infections. The system can be a powerful tool for screening potential drug targets for conditions like thrush, athlete's foot and vaginal yeast infections, which affect millions of people each year but are difficult to treat with existing medications. Using the new model, the researchers also identified a gene that may be a promising target for a new anti-fungal drug.

20 Nov 2009

Sleep apnea is associated with cardiovascular risk factors among kidney transplant patients

Sleep apnea is common in individuals who receive a kidney transplant and is associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease or stroke, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN).

20 Nov 2009

Drugs News and Research

FISH technology accurate in measuring the HER-2 receptor in human breast tumors

Ligand Pharmaceuticals' SARM LGD-4033 study data presented at the Gerontology Society of America meeting

Quest Diagnostics reports sharp downward trends in cocaine and methamphetamine use

Study examines temporal association between media coverage and opioid-related deaths

Alzheimer Research Forum reports on the highlights of the Society of Neuroscience conference

Positive short term results from combined surgical and electrophysiological approach to treat AF

Scientists anticipate new approaches in drug development to combat prion infection

Global initiative battles online supply of dangerous and illegal medicines

Significant increases in IT use have not reduced drug review process

Health care reform will not impact America's pharmaceutical research industry

Purchasing prescription drugs in a three-month supply reduce cost of drugs for patients

Antimalarial drug resistance endangers malarial control measures

TGen Drug Development and IPC collaborate to speed up research discoveries for cancer patients

FDA completes IIWA to curb illegal actions involving medical products

High blood pressure: A major risk factor for stroke and heart disease

University of Leeds scientists' discovery could lead to new treatment route for BSE and CJD

Study shows 'scale of craving' and previous heroin abuse are factors in people falling back into cocaine habit

Data from second positive pivotal study of PSD502 for treatment of PE presented

WPI researchers develop new model system to study fungal infections

Sleep apnea is associated with cardiovascular risk factors among kidney transplant patients

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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