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Highly focused radiation may slow disease progression in men with oligometastatic prostate cancer

Highly focused, intense doses of radiation called stereotactic ablative radiation (SABR) may slow progression of disease in a subset of men with hormone-sensitive prostate cancers that have spread to a few separate sites in the body, according to results of a phase II clinical trial of the therapy.

26 Mar 2020

Why hoarding of hydroxychloroquine needs to stop

A family of old antimalarial drugs — including one that some patients rely on to treat their lupus or rheumatoid arthritis — is becoming harder to get in the United States, pharmacists say, partly because of remarks President Donald Trump has made, highlighting the drugs as a potential treatment for COVID-19.

25 Mar 2020

Penn State engineers model genetic mutations causing drug resistance

Whether it is a drug-resistant strain of bacteria, or cancer cells that no longer react to the drugs intended to kill them, diverse mutations make cells resistant to chemicals, and "second generation" approaches are needed.

24 Mar 2020

Senators who led pharma-friendly patent reform also prime targets for pharma cash

Early last year, as lawmakers vowed to curb rising drug prices, Sen. Thom Tillis was named chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on intellectual property rights, a committee that had not met since 2007.

24 Mar 2020

The COVID-19 vaccine pipeline

Major nations are in a race to make an effective vaccine that could help treat the novel coronavirus infection COVID-19. As hundreds of thousands are infected across the world and over sixteen thousand killed, the pandemic shows no signs of relenting.

23 Mar 2020

CNIC scientists identify inflammatory regulatory circuit controlled by endothelial cells in the eye

Researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, working with an international network of scientists, have identified an inflammatory regulatory circuit in the eye controlled by a subtype of endothelial cells, the cells that line the interior of blood vessels.

21 Mar 2020

MILabs enhances preclinical diagnostic U-CT system for COVID-19 research

Based on recent scientific research, diagnostic X-ray CT is able to detect COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), in individuals with high clinical suspicion of the virus -- even in cases with negative initial DNA tests.

20 Mar 2020

Mask shortage straps pharmacists who need them to keep medicines pure

Pharmacy staff who prepare IV drugs inside hospitals are the latest health care workers decrying a shortage of masks as they scramble to prepare medications for patients with everything from cancer to COVID-19.

20 Mar 2020

Research aimed at increasing shelf life of radiation drugs offers hope for cancer patients

People with hard-to-reach cancers in the kidney, gut and prostate will have improved hope for early diagnosis and treatment with new research aimed at increasing the shelf life of revolutionary radiation drugs.

19 Mar 2020

Researchers identify new way to treat Danon disease using gene therapy

Danon disease is a very rare, life-threatening condition where the fundamental biological process of removing and recycling proteins does not work.

18 Mar 2020

mRNA vaccine against novel coronavirus goes on a trial in Seattle

A clinical trial for a vaccine to protect against the novel coronavirus commenced this Monday in the U.S.. If successful, this could mean an end to the current global pandemic of COVID-19 infections, feel experts.

16 Mar 2020

Study provides insights on evaluating hypertension in children

Results from a new study provide insights on evaluating high blood pressure in children. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of CJASN.

13 Mar 2020

Preserving kidney function in patients with diabetic kidney disease

Diabetic kidney disease, which affects between 20 to 40 percent of people with diabetes, is a serious complication that can ultimately lead to end-stage kidney disease--a life-threatening condition that requires either dialysis or kidney transplant.

13 Mar 2020

Heart Association puts halt to Bayer’s giant displays of baby aspirin

The large red-and-white bins at Walmart pharmacies across the country read, in bold all-caps type: "Approximately every 40 seconds an American will have a heart attack."

10 Mar 2020

Researchers uncover novel neurotransmitter system in the brain

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that transmit signals between neurons or from neurons to other cells. They interact with specific receptors found in the brain of humans and animals, controlling a variety of biological processes, e.g. fear, anger, pleasure, memory, energy, appetite and sleep.

5 Mar 2020

Big Pharma more profitable than most other large public firms

A large study published in the journal JAMA in March 2020 reports that large pharmaceutical companies make a much larger profit from their products than other large public companies. This is important because it indicates the potential to reduce drug prices while sustaining competitive and innovative drug development and marketing.

3 Mar 2020

The research and development costs of a new drug

Many recent studies have focused on how much it costs to bring a new drug to market in the light of increasing drug prices. Estimates range from $314 million to $2.8 billion. Most of this was based on proprietary data and was, therefore, not verifiable independently, attracting much criticism.

3 Mar 2020

A new report on health spending by Americans

There have been several studies showing that spending on health by Americans is on the rise, and around 18 percent of the US economy is individual spending on health. A study titled, “US Health Care Spending by Payer and Health Condition, 1996-2016,” was published in the latest issue of JAMA today.

3 Mar 2020

Challenges for translating pharmacomicrobiomics to personalized medicine

A new Commentary identifies three actionable challenges for translating pharmacomicrobiomics to personalized medicine in 2020.

2 Mar 2020

WFIRM scientists develop miniature organ model to test drug toxicity

Scientists at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicinehave developed the world's most sophisticated laboratory model of the human body, creating a system of miniaturized organs that can be used to detect harmful and adverse effects of drugs before they are prescribed to patients.

2 Mar 2020