Drugs News and Research

RSS

Discovery of tumour growth enzyme could lead to new cancer drugs

Scientists say a landmark study has revealed an enzyme which is vital to the growth of many cancers.

1 Sep 2008

Discovery of new genes for inflammatory bowel disease in children

Researchers have discovered two new genes that increase the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in childhood.

31 Aug 2008

Anti-itching drug clemizole shows promise against hepatitis C

The fight against the liver disease hepatitis C has been at something of an impasse for years, with more than 150 million people currently infected, and traditional antiviral treatments causing nasty side effects and often falling short of a cure. Using a novel technique, medical and engineering researchers at Stanford University have discovered a vulnerable step in the virus' reproduction process that in lab testing could be effectively targeted with an obsolete antihistamine.

31 Aug 2008

The BEAUTIFUL study: Ivabradine and the reduction of cardiovascular events

The results of the much awaited BEAUTIFUL (morBidity-mortality EvAlUaTion of the If inhibitor ivabradine in patients with CAD and left ventricULar dysfunction) trial have shown that coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with left ventricular dysfunction (LVD) and a heart rate more than 70 bpm have a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular death and other cardiovascular events and in these patients (heart rate above 70 bpm) treatment with ivabradine further reduces the risk of the most important coronary events such as fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction and coronary revascularisation by one third, even when these patients are already receiving optimal therapy.

31 Aug 2008

Sex differences found in response to common antidepressant

Women with depression may be much more likely than men to get relief from a commonly used, inexpensive antidepressant drug, a new national study finds. But many members of both sexes may find that it helps ease their depression symptoms.

31 Aug 2008

Medicare overpaid for prescription drugs with new generic versions because of delay in incorporating new prices into payment calculations

Medicare overpaid for irinotecan, a cancer drug sold by Pfizer under the name Campostar, by $6.5 million in March because of a delay in updating its pricing formula, according to a report released on Tuesday by the HHS Office of Inspector General, Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times reports.

29 Aug 2008

Uganda facing challenges with its efforts to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission

Mother-to-child HIV transmission rates remain high in Uganda, despite services made available by the government to prevent MTCT, IRIN/PlusNews reports. Government figures estimate 20,000 children contract the virus annually, accounting for 42% of all new cases in the country, according to IRIN/PlusNews.

29 Aug 2008

Ortho-McNeil to appeal patent ruling on Razadyne

Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it will appeal yesterday's decision by the U.S. District Court of Delaware, which ruled the patent for Razadyne (galantamine hydrobromide) is invalid.

28 Aug 2008

New beta-blocker for heart disease and angina

Researchers at The University of Nottingham have been awarded £2.8 million by the Wellcome Trust to develop a new drug that could ease the suffering of hundreds of thousands of heart disease patients who are unable to take beta-blockers.

28 Aug 2008

New cutting edge laser technology provides view into body's chemical messenger system

Researchers at The University of Nottingham have developed a unique technology that will allow scientists to look at microscopic activity within the body's chemical messenger system for the very first time, live as it happens.

28 Aug 2008

Low levels of 'brain derived neurotrophic factor' may lead to obesity

A brain chemical that plays a role in long term memory also appears to be involved in regulating how much people eat and their likelihood of becoming obese, according to a National Institutes of Health study of a rare genetic condition.

28 Aug 2008

Thiazolidinediones - diabetes drugs carry significant cardiovascular risks

A class of oral drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes may significantly increase the risk of serious cardiovascular events, according to an editorial published online in Heart Wednesday by two Wake Forest University School of Medicine faculty members.

28 Aug 2008

Antidepressants need new nerve cells to be effective

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered in mice that the brain must create new nerve cells for either exercise or antidepressants to reduce depression-like behavior.

28 Aug 2008

New role for Natural Killer cells

Scientists at the University of York have discovered a new role for a population of white blood cells, which may lead to improved treatments for chronic infections and cancer.

28 Aug 2008

Uganda's Makerere University receives AMANET grant for malaria vaccine trial

The College of Health Sciences at Uganda's Makerere University will receive a grant from the African Malaria Network Trust to begin trials of the malaria vaccine candidate GMZ2 in Uganda's Iganga and Mayuge districts, Wen Kilama, managing trustee of AMANET, said Monday at the opening of the sixth Basic Research Ethics Workshop for African Ethics Committees, the New Vision reports.

28 Aug 2008

Malawi reduces AIDS-related deaths with increased access to no-cost antiretrovirals

Increased access to no-cost antiretroviral drugs has contributed to a 75% decrease in AIDS-related deaths in Malawi in the last four years, a senior government official said Monday, Reuters reports.

28 Aug 2008

Diazepam effects nerve cells in the brain reward system

Addictions to medicines and drugs are thought to develop over a relatively long period of time. The process involves both structural and functional changes in brain nerve cells that are still poorly understood.

27 Aug 2008

Over 10 million Americans are taking opioids

Researchers from Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center have found that in a given week, over 10 million Americans are taking opioids, and more than 4 million are taking them regularly (at least five days per week, for at least four weeks). These findings appear in the August 31 issue of the journal Pain.

27 Aug 2008

Patients discontinuing statin medication following an acute myocardial infarction risk death

Patients discontinuing statin medication following an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) increase their risk of dying over the next year, say researchers at McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). Their study was published in a recent issue of the European Heart Journal.

27 Aug 2008

Discovery of genes that may predispose to anxiety disorders

Finnish scientists have identified genes that may predispose to anxiety disorders. Research conducted under the supervision of Academy Research Fellow Iiris Hovatta have focused on genes that influence human behaviour, and some of the studied genes show a statistical association with specific anxiety disorders. The work is carried out as part of the Academy of Finland Research Programme on Neuroscience (NEURO).

27 Aug 2008