Drugs News and Research

RSS

How cells control the great divide

A scientist whose work is key to understanding how cancer cells divide and spread in the body is to present advances in his latest research at a public forum to be held at the University of Leicester.

22 Apr 2009

Discovery of agents that speed up destruction of amyloid beta proteins

Taking a new approach to the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease, a research team led by investigators at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida has shown that druglike compounds can speed up destruction of the amyloid beta (A-beta) proteins that form plaque in the brains of patients with the disorder.

22 Apr 2009

Acetylsalicylic acid plus clopidogrel reduces heart attack risk in patients with acute ischaemia

In order to better prevent blood clots, clopidogrel can be prescribed to patients with acute ischaemia of the heart muscle, in addition to acetylsalicylic acid (ASA).

22 Apr 2009

Early treatment for hepatitis C offers a good chance of a cure

Australian researchers say as many as 70% of hepatitis C carriers can possibly be cured of the disease with early treatment - this is excellent news as hepatitis C, if left untreated can lead to serious liver disease.

22 Apr 2009

The effect of tea polyphenols on paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity

Paracetamol is one of the most widely used, studied, and arguably the most notorious hepatotoxic drugs, which is safe at therapeutic doses but causes liver failure when overdosed.

21 Apr 2009

New drug to target tumor cells and blood vessels

Researchers at the University of Southern California have identified a new drug compound that appears to target tumor cells and surrounding blood vessels without the negative side effects typically associated with Cox-2 inhibitors.

21 Apr 2009

Experimental agent shows promise for advanced biliary cancer

An experimental agent has shown promising results in people with advanced biliary cancer, according to a multi-institutional clinical trial led by cancer researchers at the Ohio State University.

21 Apr 2009

Study findings have implications for development of pain-relieving drugs

Morphine and other opioids are widely used to treat both acute and chronic pain – yet their benefits are often limited because some people experience side effects or do not respond to them efficiently.

21 Apr 2009

New drug to target tumor cells and blood vessels

21 Apr 2009

Pancreatic cancer cells targeted with combo therapy

A combination of two targeted therapies packs a powerful punch to kill pancreatic cancer cells in the laboratory, Mayo Clinic cancer researchers report.

21 Apr 2009

New drug use screening tools for physicians

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, today unveiled its first comprehensive Physicians' Outreach Initiative, NIDAMED, which gives medical professionals tools and resources to screen their patients for tobacco, alcohol, illicit, and nonmedical prescription drug use.

20 Apr 2009

Brain manufactures proteins that act like marijuana

U.S. and Brazilian scientists have just proven that one of Bob Dylan's most famous lines - "everybody must get stoned" - is correct.

20 Apr 2009

New hope for Huntington disease sufferers

Researchers from the University of Southern California have taken an important first step toward protecting against Huntington disease using gene therapy.

20 Apr 2009

Humanized mouse infected with HIV vaginally and rectally allows testing

The "humanized mouse" developed by Dr. J. Victor Garcia-Martinez has allowed the University of Texas Southwestern physician-scientist to conduct HIV/AIDS studies that would have been impossible without such a small animal model of HIV infection.

20 Apr 2009

Grapefruit juice boosts efficacy of drug rapamycin

In a small, early clinical trial, researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center have found that combining eight ounces of grapefruit juice with the drug rapamycin can increase drug levels, allowing lower doses of the drug to be given.

20 Apr 2009

Fulvestrant influences the effects of chemotherapy drugs on breast cancer cells

Researchers from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) are converging on Denver for the 100th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) to share their findings on a combined treatment targeting breast cancer that is stimulated by the hormone estrogen (estrogen receptive positive).

20 Apr 2009

First noninvasive technique to accurately predict mutations in human brain tumors

Donald O'Rourke, MD, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and colleagues, were able to accurately predict the specific genetic mutation that caused brain cancer in a group of patients studied using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

20 Apr 2009