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UT Southwestern's chairman of pharmacology wins 2012 Rolf Luft Award

Dr. David Mangelsdorf, chairman of pharmacology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has been awarded the 2012 Rolf Luft Award for research that has advanced understanding of nuclear receptor pathways.

28 Feb 2012

TAK-875 as effective as glimepiride in treating type 2 diabetes

TAK-875, a new treatment for type 2 diabetes, improves blood sugar control and is equally effective as glimepiride, but has a significantly lower risk of creating a dangerous drop in blood sugar, called hypoglycemia, according to a new study.

27 Feb 2012

New drug improves glycaemic control with minimum risk of hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetics

27 Feb 2012

The Lancet publishes Takeda's TAK-875 Phase 2 data on type 2 diabetes

Phase 2 clinical data of an investigational type 2 diabetes therapy, TAK-875 of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, were published online first in The Lancet.

27 Feb 2012

New drug for Huntington's disease might operate via previously unknown mechanisms of action

A study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that a new drug for Huntington's disease - pridopidine or dopamine stabiliser ACR16 - might operate via previously unknown mechanisms of action. Researchers have found that at very low concentrations, ACR16 binds to the sigma-1 receptor, a protein in the brain important to neuronal function and survival.

24 Feb 2012

New Huntington's drug might operate via previously unknown mechanisms of action

24 Feb 2012

Unfolded end of Colicin N protein can kill antibiotic-resistant microbes

When bacteria wage a turf war, some of the combatants have an extra weapon. Certain strains of the bacteria E. coli produce proteins that kill competing E. coli and other like microbes, and researchers from Newcastle University in England have recently discovered something surprising about one of these lethal proteins: even after the toxic folded portion of the protein is removed, the unfolded end is still deadly.

24 Feb 2012

Scientists identify specific mechanisms by which vitamin D inhibits inflammation

Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered specific molecular and signaling events by which vitamin D inhibits inflammation. In their experiments, they showed that low levels of Vitamin D, comparable to levels found in millions of people, failed to inhibit the inflammatory cascade, while levels considered adequate did inhibit inflammatory signaling.

24 Feb 2012

Can-Fite receives FDA Orphan Drug Status for CF102 to treat hepatocellular carcinoma

Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd, a biotechnology company developing small molecule drugs for the treatment of inflammatory, and liver diseases, traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Status for its drug candidate, CF102, for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

23 Feb 2012

Dual regulation by similar proteins may degenerate in heart failure

Sudden cardiac death is a risk for patients with heart failure because the calcium inside their heart cells is not properly controlled and this can lead to an irregular heartbeat. New findings published in PLoS ONE, which reveal mechanisms that underlie this life-threatening risk, provide new possibilities for fighting it.

23 Feb 2012

Elevated levels of two TLRs can trigger heart disease and diabetes

UC Davis scientists have uncovered a key suspect in the destructive inflammation that underlies heart disease and diabetes. The new research shows elevated levels of a receptor present on leucocytes of the innate immune response in people at risk for these chronic diseases.

23 Feb 2012

New kind of on-off switch for cortisol release in the brain discovered

After we sense a threat, our brain center responsible for responding goes into gear, setting off a chain of biochemical reactions leading to the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands.

23 Feb 2012

Combination of key guideline-recommended heart failure therapies improve survival odds

A UCLA-led study has found that a combination of several key guideline-recommended therapies for heart failure treatment resulted in an improvement of up to 90 percent in the odds of survival over two years.

22 Feb 2012

OGF-OGFr axis discovery provides new insights into ovarian cancer

Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania have discovered that the presence and integrity of the opioid growth factor receptor (OGFr), which mediates the inhibitory action of opioid growth factor (OGF) on cell proliferation, is a key to understanding the progression and treatment of human ovarian cancer.

22 Feb 2012

New chemical compound to treat brain damage from stroke

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have designed, produced and patented a new chemical compound for the possible treatment of brain damage caused by stroke. The compound binds 1,000 times more effectively to the target protein in the brain than the potential drug currently being tested on stroke victims.

22 Feb 2012

GTx fourth quarter net loss increases to $10.7 million

GTx, Inc. today provided a Company update and reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2011.

21 Feb 2012

Study identifies USP15 as a critical protein in cancer

After years studying the molecular bases of glioblastoma - the most common brain tumor and one of the most aggressive of all cancers, the group led by Dr. Joan Seoane , Director of Translational Research at the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) and ICREA Research Professor has today published a study in Nature Medicine identifying USP15 as a critical protein in cancer which, thanks to its molecular characteristics, shows enormous therapeutic promise.

20 Feb 2012

Modified imatinib cancer drug prevents morphine tolerance in rats

By reformulating the common cancer drug imatinib (Gleevec), researchers have eliminated morphine tolerance in rats - an important step toward improving the effectiveness of chronic pain management in patients, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

20 Feb 2012

Clazosentan drug shows promise against TBI in rats

A new drug is showing promise in shielding against the harmful effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rats, according to a study that was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.

19 Feb 2012

Quit-smoking drug Chantix effective in cocaine and alcohol addiction

Varenicline is unique among anti-addiction medications in the way it affects the brain. Like nicotine, varenicline activates a specific receptor for a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, but it does so less intensely than the active ingredient of cigarettes does. The net effect is that the drug seems to help by both cutting cravings and making the formerly desired drug less pleasant — without making non-drug pleasures less intense. Alcohol works on the same chemical receptors in the brain as nicotine, and it may enhance the pleasurable effects of smoking.

18 Feb 2012