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New methods may contribute to future structure-based drug design

Many pharmaceuticals work by targeting what are known as "G-protein-coupled receptors". In a new study, scientists from Uppsala University describe how they have been able to predict how special molecules that can be used in new immunotherapy against cancer bind to these receptors.

24 Jun 2020

Chemist develops new drug to treat type 2 diabetes without undesired side effects

Syracuse University chemistry professor Dr. Robert P. Doyle has developed a new drug lead to treat type 2 diabetes in millions of patients who are seeking to better control their blood sugar without the common side effects of nausea, vomiting, and in select cases, undesired weight loss.

23 Jun 2020

Inhaled corticosteroids have no effect on COVID-19 mortality, say researchers

A study conducted by UK researchers has found no evidence to support the hypothesis that regular use of inhaled corticosteroids may have a beneficial effect on mortality outcomes among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

22 Jun 2020

Researchers find prothrombotic antibodies in patients with COVID-19

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the world, researchers are still trying to understand the many ways in which it can manifest and its pathogenesis. A new report published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020 shows that one possible mechanism of disease in COVID-19 is the production of antiphospholipid antibodies.

19 Jun 2020

Steroidal drugs subvert SARS-CoV-2 interaction with ACE2 receptors

A new study by Italian researchers and published online on the preprint server bioRxiv* in June 2020 reports the ability of several existing steroidal drugs to reduce the binding of the SARS-CoV-2 to the ACE2 receptor. This could help define newer strategies using viral entry blockers to reduce viral load.

14 Jun 2020

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation awards $3.2 million to early-career physician-scientists

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named four new Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators.

12 Jun 2020

Beta adrenergic agonists can help decrease risk of graft vs. host disease in alloBMT recipients

New preclinical work by a team of researchers from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center's Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program suggests that the risk of developing acute graft vs. host disease during allogeneic blood/marrow transplant - a potentially curative treatment for selected patients with hematologic disorders - can be decreased using an existing class of drugs called beta adrenergic agonists.

12 Jun 2020

Turning autoimmunity drugs into anti-cancer treatments

Professor Mark Cragg speaks to News-Medical about his research which involves turning autoimmunity drugs into anti-cancer treatments.

11 Jun 2020

New methods to study the impacts of puberty suppression in brains of transgender youth

A new set of expert consensus-based recommendations lays out how best to study possible neurodevelopmental impacts of pubertal suppression treatment in transgender youth.

11 Jun 2020

Kidney enzyme renalase a potential therapy for severe COVID-19

Researchers from Yale School of Medicine have discovered that a low blood level of an enzyme called renalase is associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

7 Jun 2020

‘Terminator’ protein suppresses tumorigenesis

Essential processes in mammalian cells are controlled by proteins called transcription factors. For example, the transcription factor HIF-1 is triggered by a low-oxygen situation to cause the cell to adapt to decreased oxygen.

3 Jun 2020

Journal publication supports Synlogic’s first clinical immuno-oncology program, SYNB1891

Synlogic, Inc., a clinical-stage company applying synthetic biology to beneficial microbes to develop novel, living medicines, today announced the publication in Nature Communications of preclinical data supporting its first clinical immuno-oncology program, SYNB1891, which is being evaluated in Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with advanced solid tumors or lymphoma.

2 Jun 2020

New drug combinations could help overcome genetic immunotherapy resistance

A new study from researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center helps explain how disruptions in genes can lead to the resistance to one of the leading immunotherapies, PD-1 blockade, and how new drug combinations could help overcome resistance to the anti-PD-1 therapy in a mechanistically-based way.

28 May 2020

Simple molecular 'switch' transforms autoimmunity drugs into powerful anti-cancer treatments

Scientists from the Antibody and Vaccine group at the University of Southampton have discovered a way to transform antibody drugs previously developed to treat autoimmunity into antibodies with powerful anti-cancer activity through a simple molecular "switch".

21 May 2020

Drug combination could eliminate side effects of largely abandoned diabetes treatment

A new UT Southwestern study shows how an effective but largely abandoned treatment for Type 2 diabetes could be used again in combination with another drug to eliminate problematic side effects.

20 May 2020

A promising treatment for chronic inflammatory liver disease

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare, chronic, inflammatory disease of the bile ducts and is difficult to treat.

14 May 2020

ED clinicians do not show readiness to offer opioid use disorder therapy

A new study by Yale researchers looking at nearly 400 clinicians at four urban academic emergency departments found that, despite scientific evidence supporting the benefits of buprenorphine for opioid use disorder, just 21% of emergency department clinicians indicated readiness to offer it to patients in need.

11 May 2020

Study: Scant proportion of hospitalized patients with opioid use disorder receive treatment

Despite a national opioid-related overdose epidemic that continues to claim tens of thousands of lives annually, a new nationwide study shows that a scant proportion of hospitalized patients with opioid use disorder receive proven life-saving medications both during and after they're discharged.

8 May 2020

Study: Financial incentive can dramatically increase physicians’ training in opioid treatment medication

A new study shows that a financial incentive can dramatically increase the number of emergency department physicians trained to prescribe a potentially life-saving medication that prevents patients from fatal opioid overdose.

6 May 2020

French scientists suggest nicotinic agonists could treat COVID-19

Contrary to the warnings issued by health agencies worldwide against cigarette smoking amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a new paper suggests the possibility that nicotine, a component of tobacco, could prevent coronavirus infection.

28 Apr 2020