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Competition among pharmacies could spur change in industry

The competition among pharmacy retailers such as Walgreen and Wal-Mart "to create more efficient business plans for pricing and selling prescription drugs has the potential to spur change across the pharmacy industry," the Wall Street Journal reports.

5 May 2009

U.S. 'investing every resource necessary' to address H1N1 flu emergency, Obama says

President Obama on Saturday during his weekly radio and Internet address said that his administration is working to address the recent public health emergency involving the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, also known as swine flu, The Hill reports.

5 May 2009

Discovery of genetic marker linked to the risk of acetaminophen-induced liver injury

Acetaminophen (Tylenol and generics) is one of the most commonly used over-the-counter drugs in the United States. While generally safe, acetaminophen is known to cause severe liver injury if taken in high doses. But likely due to genetics, even the recommended dose can induce serious liver damage in a significant number of people.

4 May 2009

Sustainability of ongoing interventions key to successful schistosomiasis control

A decade after the conclusion of a schistosomiasis control program in Mali, prevalence of the disease had regressed to pre-intervention levels, according to a study published May 5 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

4 May 2009

Protein kinase JNK1 identified as treatment target for retinopathy in premature babies

Results of a study in mice by researchers at the University of California, San Diego strongly suggest that the protein kinase JNK1 plays a key role in the development of retinopathy in premature infants.

4 May 2009

Scientists discover pattern of genetic faults to predict cancer drug success

A pattern of genetic defects in tumours could indicate whether ovarian cancer patients will respond to common chemotherapy drugs before treatment starts, reveals a Cancer Research UK study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today (Monday).

4 May 2009

New, more effective and less costly method for testing drugs for potential toxicity

Adverse reactions to drugs represent one of the leading causes of death in the United States. But there may be a way to predict who is most likely to suffer a toxic side effect to a drug before they have even taken it.

4 May 2009

oct3 protein key to Parkinson's, drug addiction

Scientists have identified a protein that appears not only to be central to the process that causes Parkinson's disease but could also play a role in muting the high from methamphetamine and other addictive drugs.

4 May 2009

Tiny gold particles home in on tumors

It has long been known that heat is an effective weapon against tumor cells. However, it's difficult to heat patients' tumors without damaging nearby tissues.

4 May 2009

New understanding on how DNA repair works

One can have a dream, two can make that dream so real, goes a popular song. Now a Weizmann Institute study has revealed that it takes two to perform an essential form of DNA repair.

4 May 2009

Australians warned to remain on guard against 'swine flu'

Even though 91 people have been tested for swine flu in Australia, to date there have been no confirmed cases but health officials are warning Australians not to become complacent and to remain on guard against a possible influenza A(H1N1) - swine-flu - epidemic.

3 May 2009

Discovery of gene associated with narcolepsy

Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health have identified a gene associated with narcolepsy, a disorder that causes disabling daytime sleepiness, sleep attacks, irresistible bouts of sleep that can strike at any time, and disturbed sleep at night. The gene has a known role in the immune system, which strongly suggests that autoimmunity, in which the immune system turns against the body's own tissues, plays an important role in the disorder.

3 May 2009

New kind of treatment for sexually transmitted diseases

Yale researchers describe a breakthrough in safe and effective administration of potential antiviral drugs - small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules that silence genes - the first step in development of a new kind of treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The work is reported May 4 as an advance online publication of Nature Materials.

3 May 2009

Warning on fraudulent 2009 H1N1 influenza products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission are alerting the public to be wary of Internet sites and other promotions for products that claim to diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat or cure the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.

3 May 2009

Research model shows best way to deal with a flu pandemic

According to the latest available research, should a global influenza pandemic become a reality, small stockpiles of a secondary flu medication, provided they are used early enough in local outbreaks, could extend the effectiveness of large primary stockpiles of drugs such as Tamiflu.

30 Apr 2009

Sebelius, Obama take action on swine flu

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday held two press conferences and briefed congressional lawmakers on the recent public health emergency involving swine flu, also known as the "2009 H1N1 influenza virus," CQ HealthBeat reports (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 4/29).

30 Apr 2009

Canadian Court to determine constitutionality of law preventing supervised drug-injection sites

The British Columbia Court of Appeals this week is hearing a case to decide whether certain sections of Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that prevent injection drug users from accessing services at the supervised drug-injection facility Insite in Vancouver, British Columbia, are constitutional, Toronto's Globe and Mail reports (Stueck, Globe and Mail, 4/28).

30 Apr 2009

Drugs News and Research

Competition among pharmacies could spur change in industry

U.S. 'investing every resource necessary' to address H1N1 flu emergency, Obama says

Discovery of genetic marker linked to the risk of acetaminophen-induced liver injury

Sustainability of ongoing interventions key to successful schistosomiasis control

Protein kinase JNK1 identified as treatment target for retinopathy in premature babies

Scientists discover pattern of genetic faults to predict cancer drug success

New, more effective and less costly method for testing drugs for potential toxicity

oct3 protein key to Parkinson's, drug addiction

Tiny gold particles home in on tumors

New understanding on how DNA repair works

Australians warned to remain on guard against 'swine flu'

Discovery of gene associated with narcolepsy

New kind of treatment for sexually transmitted diseases

Warning on fraudulent 2009 H1N1 influenza products

Research model shows best way to deal with a flu pandemic

Sebelius, Obama take action on swine flu

Canadian Court to determine constitutionality of law preventing supervised drug-injection sites

Early initiation of antiretroviral therapy improves HIV survival rates, study says

Out-of-pocket costs reduce patients' willingness to start treatment for their chronic illnesses

Stem cell focus for inflammatory bowel disease wound healing

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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