Hormone News and Research

RSS

A hormone is a chemical released by one or more cells that affects cells in other parts of the organism. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism. It is essentially a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one cell to another.

BMI indicates breast cancer risk in women using postmenopausal hormone therapy

Using postmenopausal hormone therapy for more than 15 years increases a woman's risk of developing breast cancer, particularly among leaner women according to research at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC).

12 Aug 2010

WCRF statistics: Breast cancer rates are higher in the UK

Breast cancer rates are more than four times higher in the UK than they are in eastern Africa, figures show. Statistics published by the World Cancer Research Fund show that 87.9 per 100,000 women in the UK were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, compared to just 19.3 per 100,000 in eastern Africa.

11 Aug 2010

Repros receives US patent for Androxal

Repros Therapeutics Inc. today announced the US Patent and Trademark office has issued U.S. Patent No. 7,759,360 for Androxal, the Company's lead program for the treatment of low testosterone in men. This patent specifically claims methods and materials for the treatment of testosterone deficiency in men with secondary hypogonadism. Repros has over 35 issued or pending US and European patents involving Androxal.

11 Aug 2010

Common soluble proteins become insoluble and form aggregates while aging: Study

In neurodegenerative diseases, clumps of insoluble proteins appear in patients' brains. These aggregates contain proteins that are unique to each disease, such as amyloid beta in Alzheimer's disease, but they are intertwined with small amounts of many other insoluble proteins that are normally present in a soluble form in healthy young individuals. For years, these other proteins were thought to be accidental inclusions in the aggregates, much as a sea turtle might be caught in a net of fish.Now, in a surprising new finding, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, report that many of the proteins present as minor components of disease aggregates actually clump together as a normal part of aging in healthy individuals.

11 Aug 2010

Study finds hormone replacement therapy increases breast cancer risk

A new analysis of the California Teachers Study, which analyzed hormone replacement therapy use among 2,857 women for almost 10 years, underscores the need for personalized risk-benefit discussions before women begin hormone therapy."This is evidence that the story is complicated," said Tanmai Saxena, an M.D./Ph.D. student at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. "The benefits of hormone therapy for relief of postmenopausal symptoms among women are clear, but the risks are more complicated than we had previously thought."

11 Aug 2010

NovoSeven RT in 8 mg vial for hemophilia A or B with inhibitors receives FDA approval

Novo Nordisk announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved NovoSeven® RT (Coagulation Factor VIIa [Recombinant] Room Temperature Stable) in an 8 mg vial size, making the hemophilia A or B with inhibitors treatment available in 1, 2, 5 and 8 mg vials. The 8 mg vial allows a rapid initiation and administration of this medication for those patients who need a larger dose. In addition, FDA has also approved the extension of shelf life for all vial sizes from 24 months to 36 months at room temperature (at or below 77 degrees Fahrenheit).

11 Aug 2010

Clarient receives patent for Mammostrat breast cancer prognostic test

Clarient, Inc. a premier technology and services resource for pathologists, oncologists and the pharmaceutical industry, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the European Patent Office have allowed patents covering the technology behind Clarient Insight Dx Mammostrat, a test designed to aid in the classification of the risk of recurrence of breast cancer following surgery and initial treatment.

11 Aug 2010

Progestins have tumor-stage specific effects that determine promotion, suppression: Study

Progestins are used in hormone replacement therapies to counteract the negative effects of estrogen on the uterus and reduce the risk of uterine cancer. However, evidence in recent studies and clinical trials has demonstrated that progestins increase the risk of breast cancer. Now, University of Missouri researchers have compared four types of progestins used in hormone replacement therapies and found significantly different outcomes on the progression of breast cancer in an animal model depending on the type of progestins used.

11 Aug 2010

Medivation net loss decreases from $8.9M in second-quarter 2010 to $7.2M in second-quarter 2011

Medivation, Inc. today provided a corporate update and reported its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

10 Aug 2010

Scientists suggest daily intake of vitamin D helps to reduce disease frequency

Anthony Norman, a leading international expert in vitamin D, proposes worldwide policy changes regarding people's vitamin D daily intake amount in order to maximize the vitamin's contribution to reducing the frequency of many diseases, including childhood rickets, adult osteomalacia, cancer, autoimmune type-1 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity and muscle weakness.

10 Aug 2010

Aragon initiates dosing in ARN-509 Phase 1/2 clinical trial for castration-resistant prostate cancer

Aragon Pharmaceuticals today announced the dosing of the first patient in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of the company's lead compound, ARN-509, in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

9 Aug 2010

GTx second-quarter net loss increases to $12.9 million

GTx, Inc. today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2010. The net loss for the quarter ended June 30, 2010 was $12.9 million compared with a net loss of $11.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2009. The net loss for the second quarter of 2010 included a $1.7 million non-cash impairment charge related to the conclusion of the Phase III clinical trial of toremifene 20 mg.

9 Aug 2010

Repros Therapeutics receives positive feedback from FDA for Androxal

Repros Therapeutics Inc. today announced that the Company has received positive written feedback from the FDA (the "Agency") regarding the Company's drug candidate Androxal. The Agency concurred with Repros' indication statement for the use of Androxal in the treatment of secondary hypogonadism in men wishing to preserve fertility.

9 Aug 2010

Shlomo Melmed appointed to Independent Citizen's Oversight Committee

Shlomo Melmed, M.D., senior vice president for academic affairs and dean of the medical faculty at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, has been appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Independent Citizen's Oversight Committee, the governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

7 Aug 2010

Surgery offers high survival rate for prostate cancer patients: Study

Surgery for localized prostate cancer offers a significantly higher survival rate than either external-beam radiation or hormonal therapies, according to a new study led by researchers at UCSF.The differences among therapies were more prominent at higher levels of cancer risk, and suggest, the researchers say, that in many cases surgery should play a greater role in treatment strategies for patients with prostate cancer that is likely to recur or spread.

7 Aug 2010

OncoGenex reports net income in second-quarter 2010 against loss last year

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported unaudited financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2010 and reviewed the Company's highlights for the second quarter of 2010.

7 Aug 2010

Scientific findings reveal combination antibiotic therapy effective for ulcerative colitis

The link between Hormone Replacement Therapy and reduced risk of distal large bowel cancer in women; a promising combination antibiotic therapy for ulcerative colitis patients; and the high-rate of alcoholic liver disease mortality, are among the scientific findings featured in the August issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

6 Aug 2010

Patheon, Dendreon announce signing of technology transfer agreement

Patheon, a global provider of drug development and manufacturing services to the international pharmaceutical industry, announced today that it has signed a technology transfer agreement with Dendreon Corporation for commercial supply of proprietary density gradient solutions required during the PROVENGE (sipuleucel-T) manufacturing process.

6 Aug 2010

$Aeterna Zentaris announces $1.5M NIH award for AEZS-108 Phase 1/2 study in refractory prostate cancer$

Aeterna Zentaris announces $1.5M NIH award for AEZS-108 Phase 1/2 study in refractory prostate cancer

Aeterna Zentaris Inc., a late-stage drug development company specialized in oncology and endocrine therapy, today announced that the National Institutes of Health ("NIH") has awarded Dr. Jacek Pinski, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of Southern California, a grant of about US$1.5 million over three years to conduct a Phase 1/2 study in refractory prostate cancer with the Company's doxorubicin LHRH receptor targeted conjugate compound, AEZS-108.

5 Aug 2010

New volume on Growth hormone therapy

Growth hormone (GH) has been used therapeutically for over 50 years. Since the development of a nearly unlimited supply of recombinant human GH in the mid-1980s, children with less severe GH deficiency can also profit from GH replacement therapy.

5 Aug 2010