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Novo Nordisk reports positive data from Novoeight phase 3 study in people with haemophilia A

Today, Novo Nordisk announced a new analysis of phase 3 data demonstrating people with haemophilia A who had the highest annualised bleeding rate (ABR) during initial treatment with Novoeight (Antihemophilic Factor [Recombinant]) showed the largest reduction in bleeding over the duration of treatment.

From Novo Nordisk 7 Dec 2014

Study: Key protein may help prevent tumor growth, promote wound healing

A key protein may represent a new way to use the immune system to speed healing and counter inflammatory, infectious and autoimmune diseases, according to study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published in the December issue of Cell Reports.

7 Dec 2014

Comb-shaped polymers efficiently protect proteins in vivo

An enzyme that usually triggers strong allergic reactions now circulates in the veins of a group of mice without alerting the immune system. As INRS Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre Professor Marc A. Gauthier explains in an article published in the journal Nature Communications, a polymer was used to camouflage the enzyme before it was injected into the rodents. This was achieved by coating the enzyme to avoid an immune response in a manner that does not compromise its activity.

6 Dec 2014

Research findings may lead to new ways to thwart drug resistance

Penicillin, the wonder drug discovered in 1928, works in ways that are still mysterious almost a century later. One of the oldest and most widely used antibiotics, it attacks enzymes that build the bacterial cell wall, a mesh that surrounds the bacterial membrane and gives the cells their integrity and shape. Once that wall is breached, bacteria die -- allowing us to recover from infection.

6 Dec 2014

Researchers suggest new strategy to control cellular identity and fate

A team of scientists that included researchers from UCLA has discovered a novel mechanism of RNA regulation in embryonic stem cells. The findings are strong evidence that a specific chemical modification, or "tag," on RNA plays a key role in determining the ability of embryonic stem cells to adopt different cellular identities.

6 Dec 2014

FDA Advisory Committee votes in favor of Actavis' ceftazidime-avibactam

Actavis plc today announced that the Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee convened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has voted to recommend approval of Actavis' New Drug Application (NDA) for ceftazidime-avibactam, an investigational antibiotic being developed to treat hospitalized patients when limited or no treatment options are available for complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI) (in combination with metronidazole) and complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI) (including acute pyelonephritis) caused by Gram-negative pathogens.

5 Dec 2014

Endocrine disrupting chemicals can alter thyroid levels in pregnant women, may affect fetus

A new study led by biologist R. Thomas Zoeller of the University of Massachusetts Amherst provides "the strongest evidence to date" that endocrine disrupting chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) found in flame retardant cloth, paint, adhesives and electrical transformers, can interfere with thyroid hormone action in pregnant women and may travel across the placenta to affect the fetus.

5 Dec 2014

Researchers identify biochemical mechanism that could lead to 'chemo brain'

UNC School of Medicine researchers have found for the first time a biochemical mechanism that could be a cause of "chemo brain" - the neurological side effects such as memory loss, confusion, difficulty thinking, and trouble concentrating that many cancer patients experience while on chemotherapy to treat tumors in other parts of the body.

4 Dec 2014

Researchers find way to prevent noise-induced hearing loss

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College and the Gladstone Institutes have found a way to prevent noise-induced hearing loss in a mouse using a simple chemical compound that is a precursor to vitamin B3. This discovery has important implications not only for preventing hearing loss, but also potentially for treating some aging-related conditions that are linked to the same protein.

3 Dec 2014

Co-enzyme Q supplement lowers age-associated damage that leads to heart disease

New research involving rats, and published in the December 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal, suggests that if you were born at a low birth weight, supplemental co-enzyme Q (CoQ) may lower your risk for heart disease.

2 Dec 2014

Mayo Clinic recommends genetic screening for patients with triple-negative breast cancer

Most patients with triple-negative breast cancer should undergo genetic testing for mutations in known breast cancer predisposition genes, including BRCA1 and BRCA2, a Mayo Clinic-led study has found.

2 Dec 2014

New approach can prevent chronic marijuana use, relieve mood, anxiety disorders

Replenishing the supply of a molecule that normally activates cannabinoid receptors in the brain could relieve mood and anxiety disorders and enable some people to quit using marijuana, a Vanderbilt University study suggests.

2 Dec 2014

Promising new therapeutic strategy for chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects at least one in four Americans who are older than 60 and can significantly shorten lifespan. Yet the few available drugs for CKD can only modestly delay the disease's progress towards kidney failure. Now, however, a team led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has found an aspect of CKD's development that points to a promising new therapeutic strategy.

1 Dec 2014

Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca begin AZD3293 Phase II/III study for treatment of early Alzheimer's disease

Eli Lilly and Company and AstraZeneca today announced enrollment of the first patient into AMARANTH, a Phase II/III study of an oral beta secretase cleaving enzyme (BACE) inhibitor currently in development as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

1 Dec 2014

Study provides proof of concept for developing antibodies against human pathogens

Scientists investigating the potentially deadly hantavirus have used a novel approach to developing protective antibodies against it. Their work, published in today's online edition of Science Translational Medicine, provides proof of concept for producing antibodies against a broad range of human pathogens.

28 Nov 2014

Researchers identify key molecule that drives excess protein production in Fragile X patients' brain

People affected by a common inherited form of autism could be helped by a drug that is being tested as a treatment for cancer.

27 Nov 2014

Improving dietary fiber content in bread

There are two main types of bread, wholemeal, or brown, and white. But most people in Europe prefer white bread. That is a problem because white bread contains very little fibres. And the lack of dietary fibres in the European diet causes serious diseases like diabetes, obesity and even cancer.

27 Nov 2014

HIV drugs could be harnessed to treat leading cause of blindness

An established class of drugs, traditionally used to control HIV/AIDS infections, could soon be harnessed to treat the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in the UK, for which currently there exists no cure.

27 Nov 2014

Proper copper levels essential to health of the brain at rest, new study finds

In recent years it has been established that copper plays an essential role in the health of the human brain. Improper copper oxidation has been linked to several neurological disorders including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Menkes' and Wilson's.

27 Nov 2014

TET1 enzyme may be important target for cancer diagnostics, treatment

Mutations in the KRAS gene have long been known to cause cancer, and about one third of solid tumors have KRAS mutations or mutations in the KRAS pathway. KRAS promotes cancer formation not only by driving cell growth and division, but also by turning off protective tumor suppressor genes, which normally limit uncontrolled cell growth and cause damaged cells to self-destruct.

27 Nov 2014