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Faster chemo technique increases survival in children with neuroblastoma

Chemotherapy given with shorter intervals between treatments than conventional chemotherapy increases survival rates by two thirds in children with high-risk neuroblastoma , according to a study published in the Lancet Oncology * today (Tuesday).

27 Feb 2008

Drug for anemic cancer patients raises risk of death

Millions of cancer patients take drugs to boost their red blood cells and health when they become anemic after chemotherapy.

27 Feb 2008

Anemia drug linked to blood clots, death in cancer patients

Treating anemia with a class of drugs known as erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (blood clots in the deep veins of the legs or in the lungs) and death among patients with cancer, according to an article in the February 27 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

27 Feb 2008

Adding therapy helps adolescents with depression not responding to SSRIs

For adolescents with depression not responding to an initial treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI; a class of antidepressant drugs), switching medications and adding cognitive behavioral therapy resulted in an improvement in symptoms, compared to just changing medications, according to a study in the February 27 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

27 Feb 2008

Tenofovir gel safe for daily use over an extended period

A vaginal microbicide that incorporates an antiretroviral (ARV) drug normally used to treat people with HIV is safe for sexually active HIV-negative women to use every day over an extended period, suggest results of a clinical trial of tenofovir topical gel.

27 Feb 2008

Scientists identify proteins that help bacteria put up a fight

Scientists have identified the role of two proteins that contribute to disease-causing bacteria cells' versatility in resisting certain classes of antibiotics.

27 Feb 2008

Discovery of new receptor complex in brain - better understanding of how hallucinations occur

Mount Sinai researchers have identified a new receptor complex in the brain that responds to several types of antipsychotic drugs used to treat schizophrenia and also reacts to hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD.

27 Feb 2008

Leptin which suppresses hunger could be the way to beat obesity

Australian scientists say a hormone that suppresses hunger may be far more powerful when it comes to weight loss than first thought.

26 Feb 2008

PolyTherics and Celtic Pharma sign agreement to explore technologies for improved drug performance

PolyTherics Limited, a biopharmaceutical spin-out company from Imperial College London and the London School of Pharmacy, and Celtic Pharma Development Services Bermuda Ltd, a subsidiary of Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings LP, a global private equity investment fund focused on the biopharma industry, today announced that they have entered into a broad research collaboration agreement.

26 Feb 2008

Mail order pharmacies growing more popular

Of Americans who buy prescription drugs, the proportion who purchase them from mail order pharmacies rose from just under 9 percent in 2000 to just over 13 percent in 2005, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

26 Feb 2008

Mechanism of blood clot elasticity revealed in high definition

Blood clots can save lives, staunching blood loss after injury, but they can also kill. Let loose in the bloodstream, a clot can cause a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism.

26 Feb 2008

New gene discovered that determines hair texture and density in humans

A Columbia University Medical Center research team has discovered a new gene involved in determining hair texture in humans.

26 Feb 2008

Experimental anti-HIV gel is safe for women to use on a daily basis

An experimental anti-HIV gel is safe for women to use on a daily basis, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

26 Feb 2008

SSRI anti-depressants found to offer little clinical benefit

According to new research from Britain, new generation anti-depressants could be for many patients a waste of time and money and offer little clinical benefit.

26 Feb 2008

Call for more to be done to curb teen binge drinking

According to a major new report commissioned by the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD), alcohol is the most widely used substance by young people with the exception of tobacco.

26 Feb 2008

New clues to bacterial antibiotic resistance

A team of scientists from the University Paris Descartes has solved the structure of two proteins that allow bacteria to gain resistance to multiple types of antibiotics, according to a report in EMBO reports this month.

26 Feb 2008

Small protein discovered that specifically recognizes tumors responding to chemotherapy

A technique that specifically "tags" tumors responding to chemotherapy may offer a new strategy for determining a cancer treatment's effectiveness within days of starting treatment, according to a new study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators.

26 Feb 2008