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Hormone therapy findings suggest a complex relationship between marketing, scientific evidence and prescribing patterns

Pharmaceutical companies slashed their promotional spending for hormone therapies by more than a third following reports in July 2002 of health risks associated with the drugs, but within the year they beefed up their marketing efforts to promote lower-dose forms of the medications

1 Nov 2004

First home-testing device for phenylketonuria (PKU) patients

Home-testing kits have made it easier for diabetics and hypertension patients to track their conditions, but such self-monitoring hasn’t been possible for people with phenylketonuria (PKU).

1 Nov 2004

Warning on Alzheimer drug mix up

Janssen Pharmaceutica, manufacturer of the Alzheimer drug galantamine (Reminyl), says it has learned of 10 cases in which individuals who should have gotten Reminyl accidentally received the diabetes drug glimepiride (Amaryl).

1 Nov 2004

Gene silencing may provide hope for leukemia sufferers

Ever since the approval of Gleevec in 2001, a cancer-cell-specific drug used to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), the field of cancer therapeutics has been rushing full speed into the era of so-called "targeted" medicines.

1 Nov 2004

Researchers are one step closer to understanding how blood cells develop through the use of human embryonic stem cells

This process is also significant because the blood cells were developed without the use of animal serum, which was previously thought to be essential for blood cell development. Instead, specific growth factors are added to guide the cell differentiation.

1 Nov 2004

Pegasys with ribavirin combo may best for reducing hepatitis C viral levels

Interim study results indicate a certain drug combination treatment may suppress the hepatitis C virus more quickly than another.

1 Nov 2004

Gel significantly increases sexual activity in surgically menopausal women

BioSante Pharmaceuticals today announced the presentation of new Phase II clinical data on LibiGel™ (transdermal testosterone gel) at the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH) Annual Meeting in Atlanta.

1 Nov 2004

Scientists have found that a protein present in normal body tissues can prevent tumour growth

A team led by Dr Dave Bates, British Heart Foundation Lecturer, and Dr Steve Harper, Senior Research Fellow in the Microvascular Research Laboratories, in the Department of Physiology at Bristol University, have discovered that a type of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) found in normal tissue, including blood, can prevent cancers from growing.

1 Nov 2004

Uterine fibroid treatment option 'safe and effective'

Boston Scientific Corporation today welcomed an announcement by the Interventional Procedures Advisory Committee (IPAC) of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), confirming the safety and efficacy of uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), an innovative treatment for fibroids.

1 Nov 2004

First ever study in hemodialysis patients to show stable hemoglobin levels

New data confirm that subcutaneous injection of the innovative new anti-anemia agent CERA (Continuous Erythropoietin Receptor Activator) delivers rapid, sustained and stable correction of anemia in a broad spectrum of patients with chronic kidney disease at dosing intervals of up to 4 weeks.

1 Nov 2004

Discovery of new method for visual impairment treatment

The patients suffering from visual impairment can be helped if a healthy donor’s cerebrospinal fluid is introduced to the parent’s vertebral canal – this method is called liquortransfusion.

1 Nov 2004

Drug-loaded contact lenses to treat eye diseases

When a person suffers from eye ailments today, nine times out of ten, he will be prescribed eye drops to treat his illness or relieve his discomfort.

29 Oct 2004

Routine screening of blood samples would reduce the risk of disease transmission among transplant recipients

Results of a study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggest that routine screening of blood samples to detect viral RNA among organ and tissue donors who do not have obvious signs of clinical disease would reduce the risk of disease transmission among transplant recipients.

29 Oct 2004

Genetic evidence to support an inherited tendency to retain salt

Researchers at the University of Chicago have found genetic evidence to support the sodium-retention hypothesis, a controversial 30-year-old theory that the high rate of hypertension in certain ethnic groups is caused, in part, by an inherited tendency to retain salt.

29 Oct 2004

New evidence to explain why mental function becomes less efficient with ageing

Dementia and milder forms of loss of mental ability affects millions of older people every year, but the causes are unclear. Previous research using brain scanning has shown that brain shrinkage and changes in the brain's white matter 'wiring', are associated with mental function slowing down in old age.

29 Oct 2004

Controversial theory about how diabetes causes extensive tissue damage

A controversial theory about how diabetes causes extensive tissue damage will appear in the November issue of Diabetes. At stake in the heated debate over the theory are researchers' efforts to find new ways to reduce loss of vision, kidney failure, heart damage and other side effects of diabetes.

29 Oct 2004

DASH diet may have health benefits that go beyond lowering people's risk of heart disease

The popular DASH diet, established by the National Institutes of Health as a way to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, may have health benefits that go beyond its stated purpose of lowering people's risk of heart disease, according to research published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

29 Oct 2004

Test used to diagnose B12 deficiency may be inadequate

A test that generally is used to measure the amount of vitamin B12 in the body is not sensitive enough to detect a deficiency of the vitamin, which has been linked to several neurological conditions, according to Saint Louis University research.

28 Oct 2004

Babies who are breastfed have a lower risk of developing childhood leukemia

The paper, to be published November in the journal Public Health Reports, found that breastfeeding was linked to lower risks of both acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common of the childhood cancers, and acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML).

28 Oct 2004