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Senate Finance Committee discusses funding for health reform in final 'walk through' meeting

The Senate Finance Committee met Wednesday to discuss potential funding mechanisms for health reform legislation but indicated that no concrete decisions had been reached, The Hill reports.

22 May 2009

Protein discovery provides new targets for drugs that could extend the healthy years of life

A protein that plays a key role in tumor formation, oxygen metabolism and inflammation is involved in a pathway that extends lifespan by dietary restriction.

22 May 2009

MRI analysis software helps identify early Alzheimer’s disease

Analyzing MRI studies of the brain with software developed at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) may allow diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and of mild cognitive impairment, a lesser form of dementia that precedes the development of Alzheimer's by several years.

21 May 2009

Aspirin and an anti-clotting drug ‘combo’ reduces risk of dialysis access failure

For the first time, a combination of aspirin and the anti-platelet drug dipyridamole has been shown to significantly reduce blockages and extend the useful life of new artery-vein access grafts used for hemodialysis, according to a study by the Dialysis Access Consortium (DAC).

21 May 2009

Study offers new insights into morphine-induced tolerance and increased pain sensitivity

A study published in the June issue of Anesthesiology has shown that a drug metabolite of the opioid morphine may be a key factor in the paradoxical increased sensitivity to pain caused by chronic morphine use. For the first time, this metabolite (called morphine-6 glucuronide, or M6G) was shown to act independently of the pain receptors typically targeted during morphine administration.

21 May 2009

Money worries make women spend more

At times of crisis women are more inclined to spend themselves out of misery than at stable times, a new survey suggests. Psychologists say that the recession could force more women to overspend or increase their risk of mental illness.

20 May 2009

A new slow-release hydrogen sulfide donating molecule may hold the key to the development of new anti-inflammatory drugs

Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter have synthesized a new molecule which releases hydrogen sulfide (H2S) - the gas that gives rotten eggs their characteristic smell and which has recently been found to be produced naturally in the body - and discovered that it could in time lead to a range of new, safer and effective anti-inflammatory drugs for human use.

20 May 2009

United States should increase its commitment to improving the health of developing nations, IOM report says

To fulfill America's humanitarian obligations as a member of the international community and to invest in the nation's long-term health, economic interests, and national security, the United States should reaffirm and increase its commitment to improving the health of developing nations, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

20 May 2009

People with Down syndrome may have more cancer-protective genes

Most cancers are rare in people with Down syndrome, whose overall cancer mortality is below 10 percent of that in the general population. Since they have an extra copy of chromosome 21, it's been proposed that people with Down syndrome may be getting an extra dose of one or more cancer-protective genes.

20 May 2009

Methylene blue in combo with new malaria drugs curbs the spread of malaria parasites

New combinations of agents based on the oldest synthetic malaria drug, the methylene blue stain, can curb the spread of malaria parasites and make a significant contribution to the long-term eradication called for by the international "Roll Back Malaria Initiative."

20 May 2009

Comparative effectiveness necessary to weigh new drugs against old ones, opinion piece says

Patients and physicians "need to know not just whether a new drug outperforms a placebo, but whether it's a real advance on what's already on the market," Richard Friedman, a professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

20 May 2009

Good advice for a healthy pregnancy

Women can increase their chances for a healthy pregnancy by eating right, exercising, not smoking, and getting early medical care, says a podcast featuring a National Institutes of Health obstetrician who oversees research on pregnancy and birth.

20 May 2009

NIH to develop therapeutics for rare and neglected diseases

The National Institutes of Health is launching the first integrated, drug development pipeline to produce new treatments for rare and neglected diseases. The $24 million program jumpstarts a trans-NIH initiative called the Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases program, or TRND.

20 May 2009

Genentech and Biogen Idec submit applications to FDA for Rituxan in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Genentech, Inc. and Biogen Idec today announced that the companies submitted two supplemental Biologics License Applications (sBLAs) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Rituxan (rituximab) plus standard chemotherapy for people with previously untreated or treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

20 May 2009

Experts warn of dangers of swine flu with almost 10,000 now infected, forecasts 4.9 billion doses needed

The latest figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has the worldwide influenza A H1N1 (swine flu) tally fast approaching 10,000 human cases.

19 May 2009

Cancer Research UK and Glaxosmithkline join forces to trial new anti-cancer drug

Cancer Research UK and Cancer Research Technology (CRT) today announced they will begin a phase I clinical trial of an anti-cancer drug from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

19 May 2009

Blood pressure lowering drugs should be offered to anyone old enough to be at risk of a heart attack or stroke

Blood pressure lowering drugs should be offered to anyone old enough to be at risk of a heart attack or stroke (or who is otherwise known to be at risk), regardless of their blood pressure, according to the largest analysis of blood pressure trials to date, published on bmj.com today.

19 May 2009

'Singing brains' offers hope for better treatments for epilepsy and schizophrenia

Studying the way a person's brain 'sings' could improve our understanding of conditions such as epilepsy and schizophrenia and help develop better treatments, scientists at Cardiff University have discovered.

19 May 2009

Sixteen States, DOJ join whistle-blower lawsuits alleging Wyeth defrauded Medicaid programs

The U.S. Department of Justice and 16 states have joined two whistle-blower lawsuits filed in federal District Court in Massachusetts alleging that Wyeth defrauded the government by not offering the same discounts on two medications to Medicaid that it offered to hospitals, the Wall Street Journal reports.

19 May 2009

Study shows decreased risk of death from opportunistic infections with earlier antiretroviral treatment

HIV-positive people with opportunistic infections who receive earlier antiretroviral treatment lower their risk of death compared with people who delay treatment, according to a new study conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine and published in PLoS One, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

19 May 2009

Drugs News and Research

Senate Finance Committee discusses funding for health reform in final 'walk through' meeting

Protein discovery provides new targets for drugs that could extend the healthy years of life

MRI analysis software helps identify early Alzheimer’s disease

Aspirin and an anti-clotting drug ‘combo’ reduces risk of dialysis access failure

Study offers new insights into morphine-induced tolerance and increased pain sensitivity

Money worries make women spend more

A new slow-release hydrogen sulfide donating molecule may hold the key to the development of new anti-inflammatory drugs

United States should increase its commitment to improving the health of developing nations, IOM report says

People with Down syndrome may have more cancer-protective genes

Methylene blue in combo with new malaria drugs curbs the spread of malaria parasites

Comparative effectiveness necessary to weigh new drugs against old ones, opinion piece says

Good advice for a healthy pregnancy

NIH to develop therapeutics for rare and neglected diseases

Genentech and Biogen Idec submit applications to FDA for Rituxan in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Experts warn of dangers of swine flu with almost 10,000 now infected, forecasts 4.9 billion doses needed

Cancer Research UK and Glaxosmithkline join forces to trial new anti-cancer drug

Blood pressure lowering drugs should be offered to anyone old enough to be at risk of a heart attack or stroke

'Singing brains' offers hope for better treatments for epilepsy and schizophrenia

Sixteen States, DOJ join whistle-blower lawsuits alleging Wyeth defrauded Medicaid programs

Study shows decreased risk of death from opportunistic infections with earlier antiretroviral treatment

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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