Steroid News and Research

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Research roundup: Insurance coverage in the Great Recession; PCIP vs. CHIP

The researchers how physicians examined claims of lower back back pain and note that part of the "rising economic cost of this epidemic is the burgeoning use of indiscriminate imaging," specifically MRIs. Researchers divided patients into two groups and "the treating physician in group 1 patients was blinded to the MRI results, while the physician for group 2 patients decided on treatment after reviewing the MRI findings."

17 Dec 2011

Dendrimers offers a new way to treat age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa

Hitching a ride into the retina on nanoparticles called dendrimers offers a new way to treat age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. A study by investigators at Mayo Clinic, Wayne State University and Johns Hopkins Medicine shows that steroids attached to the dendrimers target the damage-causing cells associated with neuroinflammation, leaving the rest of the eye unaffected and preserving vision.

14 Dec 2011

Potential nanoparticle treatment for macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa

Hitching a ride into the retina on nanoparticles called dendrimers offers a new way to treat age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. A collaborative research study among investigators at Wayne State University, the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Medicine shows that steroids attached to the dendrimers targeted the damage-causing cells associated with neuroinflammation, leaving the rest of the eye unaffected and preserving vision.

14 Dec 2011

Indiscriminate expensive imaging has little clinical benefit in patients requiring epidural steroid injections

Johns Hopkins-led research suggests that routine MRI imaging does nothing to improve the treatment of patients who need injections of steroids into their spinal columns to relieve pain. Moreover, MRI plays only a small role in a doctor's decision to give these epidural steroid injections (ESIs), the most common procedure performed at pain clinics in the United States.

14 Dec 2011

New findings from Micromet's blinatumomab phase 1 trial on DLBCL

New findings from a phase 1 trial presented yesterday at the 53rd Annual American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting demonstrate Micromet's blinatumomab induces durable responses in patients with extensively pre-treated diffuse large B cell lymphoma.

12 Dec 2011

Gene therapy can reduce painful bleeding episodes in patients with hemophilia B

Symptoms improved significantly in adults with the bleeding disorder hemophilia B following a single treatment with gene therapy developed by researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis and demonstrated to be safe in a clinical trial conducted at the University College London (UCL) in the U.K.

12 Dec 2011

Progesterone can benefit women with catamenial seizures: Study

Seizures in women of childbearing age commonly show patterns of exacerbation that involve hormones as a factor. Investigators today reported the favorable outcome of a multicenter randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled phase III clinical trial of progesterone therapy in reducing these perimenstrually exacerbated (catamenial) seizures.

3 Dec 2011

Immune system stimulant used as suppressor to treat chronic graft-versus-host disease

In a study that seems to pivot on a paradox, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have used an immune system stimulant as an immune system suppressor to treat a common, often debilitating side effect of donor stem cell transplantation in cancer patients. The effect, in some cases, was profound.

1 Dec 2011

Herbicide atrazine linked to reproductive dysfunction

An international team of researchers has reviewed the evidence linking exposure to atrazine - an herbicide widely used in the U.S. and more than 60 other nations - to reproductive problems in animals. The team found consistent patterns of reproductive dysfunction in amphibians, fish, reptiles and mammals exposed to the chemical.

29 Nov 2011

Daily inhaled steroids comparable to use of intermittent steroid treatment for wheezing

Pediatricians often treat young children who have frequent bouts of wheezing with a daily dose of an inhaled steroid to keep asthma symptoms at bay. But results of a recent study are likely to change that.

29 Nov 2011

MRG releases 2012 report on US markets for ENT and bronchoscopy devices

According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, advances in procedures competing with functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) and nasal packing devices will have a significant positive effect on the ear, nose and throat (ENT) device market in the United States over the next few years.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 28 Nov 2011

TNF inhibitors may minimally increase risk of serious infections

Biologic drugs have revolutionized treatment of autoimmune diseases during the past decade despite belief there is an increased risk for serious infections from using them. But new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics reveals that a class of biologics called tumor necrosis factor antagonists, or TNF inhibitors, may only minimally increase risk compared to more traditional therapies.

17 Nov 2011

Ampion safe and effective for patients with nasal inflammation

Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company that discovers and develops new uses for previously approved drugs and new molecular entities, today announced that an IRB approved, randomized, vehicle-controlled, double-blinded study conducted at Centers for Allergy and Asthma in Denver, Colorado indicates that Ampion provides safe and effective anti-inflammatory relief when administered intranasally to patients with nasal inflammation.

11 Nov 2011

New data from Novartis' ACZ885 Phase III study on SJIA

Novartis announced today new pivotal Phase III data showing 45% of children with active systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) were able to substantially reduce their use of oral corticosteroids (often described as steroids) within 28 weeks of commencing treatment with ACZ885.

7 Nov 2011

First study to evaluate mycoestrogens in young girls

Puberty is a time in a girl's life considered highly sensitive to stimulation by the hormone estrogen and a critical window during which estrogen exposure could greatly influence the risk of breast cancer later in life. An early onset of puberty also has been consistently shown in studies to increase the risk of breast cancer.

2 Nov 2011

Colonoscopic FMT effective in treating IBD, C.difficile-associated diarrhea

Growing evidence for the effectiveness of fecal microbiota transplants as a treatment for patients with recurrent bouts of Clostridium difficile (C.difficile) associated diarrhea is presented in three studies -- including a long-term follow-up of colonoscopic fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) for recurrent C. difficile Infection that included 77 patients from five different states-- unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC.

1 Nov 2011

Topical corticosteroids show promise against bacterial corneal ulcers

A UCSF study gives hope to those suffering from severe cases of bacterial corneal ulcers, which can lead to blindness if left untreated. The use of topical corticosteroids in a randomized controlled trial was found to be neither beneficial nor harmful in the overall patient population in the study. However, it helped patients who had more serious forms of bacterial corneal ulcers, according to UCSF researchers.

19 Oct 2011

New form of respiratory distress syndrome in newborn mice

A discovery by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies might explain why some premature infants fail to respond to existing treatments for a deadly respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and offers clues for new ways to treat the breathing disorder.

19 Oct 2011

Researchers show how nuclear receptors battle each other during fruit fly metamorphosis

Growing up just got more complicated. Thomas Jefferson University biochemistry researchers have shown for the first time that the receptor for a major insect molting hormone doesn't activate and repress genes as once thought. In fact, it only activates genes, and it is out-competed by a heme-binding receptor to repress the same genes during the larval to pupal transition in the fruit fly.

7 Oct 2011

FDA grants 510(k) clearance to Carticept Medical's Navigator Delivery System

Carticept Medical, Inc., a developer of innovative products for the treatment of cartilage injuries and osteoarthritis, today announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to market its Navigator™ Delivery System (Navigator DS) in the United States.

4 Oct 2011