Drugs News and Research

RSS

Night blindness is a new clinical symptom of Chagas disease

"This is a new observation, a new clinical symptom of Chagas disease," said Levin, head of the Laboratory of the Molecular Biology of Chagas Disease at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Levin and colleagues report their findings in the March 2006, issue of the FASEB Journal.

1 Mar 2006

Hepatic arterial infusion versus systemic therapy for hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer

A new study shows that patients whose colorectal cancer has spread to the liver who received an approach called hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) - the administration of chemotherapy directly to the liver through a pump in the abdomen - fare better than those who received traditional, intravenous chemotherapy.

1 Mar 2006

Hand-held device for detecting illegal and legal drugs

A real-time sensor for detecting cocaine - made with inexpensive, off-the-shelf electronics - has been developed by a team of researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

1 Mar 2006

Crystal meth the new drug pandemic

According to a U.N. narcotics watchdog the synthetic drug methamphetamine is a bigger problem in the United States and other countries than either heroin or cocaine.

1 Mar 2006

Link between rheumatoid arthritis and cancer examined

Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease of the immune system and is thought to be linked to an increased risk of cancers of the lymphatic system.

28 Feb 2006

Clinical trial of new Bionovo menopause drug moves forward

Today, millions of women suffer from often-harsh symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes and night sweats -- and relief is nowhere to be found.

27 Feb 2006

Spinocerebellar ataxia and other neurodegenerative diseases might be treatable with drugs that alter the activity of potassium channels

For the first time, researchers have linked mutations in a gene that regulates how potassium enters cells to a neurodegenerative disease and to another disorder that causes mental retardation and coordination problems.

27 Feb 2006

Anabolic steroids flip the adolescent brain's switch for aggression

Anabolic steroids not only make teens more aggressive, but may keep them that way into young adulthood. The effect ultimately wears off but there may be other, lasting consequences for the developing brain.

27 Feb 2006

New tool to discover molecules that can enhance or block different kinds of tastes

Researchers from the Monell Chemical Senses Center have succeeded in growing mature taste receptor cells outside the body and for the first time have been able to successfully keep the cells alive for a prolonged period of time.

27 Feb 2006

Teatments based on behaviour could reduce prescription drug use

New psychological treatments - behavioural medicine - could significantly reduce the need for drug treatments for some conditions, cutting health system costs says an editorial in this week's British Medical Journal.

27 Feb 2006

Methotrexate re-use in rheumatoid arthritis is frequently effective despite earlier failures

A second course of methotrexate, the most commonly used drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis, is effective in nearly half of studied patients for whom a previous treatment with the drug was ineffective.

27 Feb 2006

New generation gold-based drugs for treating rheumatoid arthritis

Gold compounds have been used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases for more than 75 years, but until now, how the metals work has been a mystery.

27 Feb 2006

Steroids trigger long lasting aggression in teens

According to a U.S. study steroids may have a lasting effect on teenagers' brains, and could even flip the adolescent brain's switch for aggression which may last for at least two years.

27 Feb 2006

Study associates chronic, severe inflammation with increased lymphoma risk among RA patients

An inflammatory disease of the immune system, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with increased occurrence of lymphoma--or cancers of the lymphatic system, which plays an integral role in the body's ability to fight infection.

27 Feb 2006

Viagra could cure Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disorder which causes ulcerations in the gut and can make digesting food painful.

27 Feb 2006

$1 million of mesothelioma research funding

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF) has announced awards of almost $1 million in additional research funding aimed at curing mesothelioma.

24 Feb 2006

Link found between morphine addiction and the tendency to explore

The tendency to use drugs depends on each individual person. Not all those who have access to drugs become addicts, therefore there may be personality characteristics that influence their use.

24 Feb 2006

Trial of intermittent malaria treatment in children leads to 86% reduction in cases

A team of researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, working in partnership with colleagues from Senegal, has found that intermittent preventive malaria treatment of children under five has a dramatic impact on malaria frequency.

24 Feb 2006

Common practice of prescribing H2 blockers to treat acid reflux in premature infants should be discontinued

Researchers in an NIH network have found that premature infants given a common class of non-prescription drugs used to treat acid reflux are slightly more likely to develop a potentially fatal bowel disorder than are infants who are not treated with the drugs

24 Feb 2006

Study provides new evidence of the importance of reward pathways in the brain

Deleting a specific gene in the brain has the same effect that antidepressants do in mice that have been conditioned to be depressed, report researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

24 Feb 2006