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Nanoparticles may provide safe pain control on the battlefield

University of Michigan scientists have received a pilot grant of nearly $1.3 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to test whether nanoparticles can solve a pressing problem in battle zones like Iraq: how to administer sustained, safe doses of the most effective painkillers to injured soldiers, long before they can reach expert medical help.

1 Aug 2007

New oral contraceptive means 365 period free days a year

Women in the United States can now access the first low-dose combination contraceptive pill which stops their periods.

31 Jul 2007

Majority of FDA panel votes in favor of Avandia

GlaxoSmithKline has welcomed the nearly unanimous recommendation of an U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) advisory committee to support Avandia's (rosiglitazone maleate) continued availability to patients in the U.S.

30 Jul 2007

Tonsil epithelial factors may influence oropharyngeal HIV transmission

Current research demonstrates that the tonsils may possess the necessary factors to act as a transmission site for the spread of HIV.

27 Jul 2007

Dexamethasone steroid treatment shows no benefit for kids with bronchiolitis

DMC Children's Hospital of Michigan has found that a common steroid treatment often prescribed for kids with bronchiolitis has no impact on improving their symptoms or in reducing hospitalization.

26 Jul 2007

ZARS starts phase 3 trial of ThermoProfen

ZARS, Inc., has announced that it commenced the first of two Phase 3 clinical trials of ThermoProfen in patients with mild to moderate osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee on June 26, 2007.

26 Jul 2007

Metformin gets top grade for diabetes

A type 2 diabetes drug taken orally and in widespread use for more than a decade has been found to have distinct advantages over nine other, mostly newer medications used to control the chronic disease, according to a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins.

26 Jul 2007

FDA advisory committee recommends that FDA wait for overall survival results from Satraplatin phase 3 trial

GPC Biotech AG has announced that the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended (12-0) that the FDA should wait for the final survival analysis of the SPARC trial before deciding whether the satraplatin application is approvable for the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer patients whose prior chemotherapy has failed.

25 Jul 2007

Cannabis drug for MS - don't hold your breath!!

Medicine regulators have been accused of dragging their feet over a cannabis drug for people with multiple sclerosis.

23 Jul 2007

Koronis Pharmaceuticals issued U.S. patent for KP-1461 therapeutic in development for treatment of HIV

Koronis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 7,244,732 that discloses the composition of KP-1461 -- the Company's lead antiviral therapeutic currently in a Phase 2 trial for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

23 Jul 2007

Computers pass dosage test for thrombosis drugs

The largest ever study into the administration of blood thinning drugs like Warfarin has concluded that dosages calculated by computer are at least as safe and reliable as those provided by trained medical professionals.

From The University of Manchester 20 Jul 2007

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals submits NDA for investigational HIV treatment

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has announced the submission of a New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for TMC125 (etravirine), an investigational non- nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI), being studied for use with other antiretroviral (ARV) agents as a treatment for people infected with HIV- 1.

19 Jul 2007

Review of Rosiglitazone for type 2 diabetes mellitus

Little evidence supports using rosiglitazone (Avandia) to improve the quality or length of life among adults with diabetes, according to a systematic review of data by German researchers.

18 Jul 2007

$900 million for public health emergency response

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced that the department has provided another $896.7 million to the states, territories, and four metropolitan areas to improve and sustain their ability to respond to public health emergencies.

18 Jul 2007

Impact of food-cancer drug interactions

A commentary in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) urges researchers to explore an intriguing approach to reduce the dose, and therefore the cost, of oral targeted cancer therapies.

18 Jul 2007

Short course of corticosteroids after asthma attack beneficial

Giving patients a short course of corticosteroids after they have been discharged from hospital for an asthma attack reduces the chances of a relapse, a Cochrane Systematic Review has found. Giving the steroids also reduces their use of inhalers.

18 Jul 2007

Paracetamol for pain relief after surgical removal of lower wisdom teeth

The commonly used and inexpensive analgesic acetaminophen (Tylenol or paracetamol) is an effective pain reliever after surgical removal of lower wisdom teeth, according to a new systematic review of 21 studies.

18 Jul 2007

Drug-drug or drug-food interactions may offer opportunities to lower costs

Exploiting interactions between food and drugs could dramatically lower the rapidly rising costs of several anticancer drugs, and perhaps many other medications, two cancer-pharmacology specialists suggest in a commentary in the July 16, 2007, issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

17 Jul 2007

Taste loss after tonsillectomy unusual

In a small study of patients undergoing tonsillectomy, or removal of the tonsils, none reported an ongoing dysfunction in their sense of taste following the procedure, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Otolaryngology?Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

17 Jul 2007

Biota and MedImmune announce clinical trial for respiratory syncytial virus antiviral drug

Biota Holdings Limited and MedImmune Inc. today announced the start of a Phase Ia clinical trial for their respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) antiviral drug, BTA9881, with the goal of providing a treatment for RSV-infected infants and adults.

17 Jul 2007