Glucocorticoid News and Research

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Glucocorticoid is a compound that belongs to the family of compounds called corticosteroids (steroids). Glucocorticoids affect metabolism and have anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects. They may be naturally produced (hormones) or synthetic (drugs).

Six-year data of reinforces efficacy and safety of Reclast injection in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis

Novartis announced today that new six-year data reinforce the long-term efficacy and safety profile of once-yearly Reclast (zoledronic acid) injection in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. The study of more than 1,200 women was presented this weekend at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) in Toronto, ON, Canada.

18 Oct 2010

Merck to appeal against jury verdict in retrial of federal FOSAMAX case

Merck & Co., Inc. today said it will appeal a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that reduced the jury verdict from $8 million to $1.5 million but denied Merck's request for judgment in its favor or a new trial in the case of Boles v. Merck, a retrial of a federal FOSAMAX case.

5 Oct 2010

Harbor BioSciences granted US patent for Triolex metabolic disease and anti-inflammation drug candidate

Harbor BioSciences, Inc. today announced that the company has received patent No. 7,776,845 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office which covers its lead metabolic disease and anti-inflammation drug candidate Triolex (HE3286). The patent claims cover compounds including Triolex and formulations that contain the drug or the other claimed compounds.

20 Sep 2010

CombinatoRx is now Zalicus

CombinatoRx, Incorporated today announced that it has changed its name to Zalicus Inc. The company will begin trading under the new ticker symbol ZLCS on the NASDAQ Global Market at market open on September 9, 2010.

9 Sep 2010

Endocrine Society releases new clinical practice guideline on congenital adrenal hyperplasia

Today, The Endocrine Society released a new clinical practice guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). The guideline features a series of evidence-based clinical recommendations developed by an expert task force.

7 Sep 2010

Release of cortisol with fixed regularity can help cope with stress better

If your body releases cortisol with fixed regularity then you can cope with stress better, says NWO-funded researcher Angela Sarabdjitsingh. She investigated the rhythm of corticosterone production in rats. This rat hormone is comparable to the human stress hormone cortisol. Rats deal considerably less well with stress if the pattern of corticosterone release changes. An irregular release pattern is a characteristic of chronic stress and stress-related diseases. It might therefore be possible to treat these by restoring the rhythm.

31 Aug 2010

Histone H1 phosphorylation involved in control of ribosomal RNA gene transcription

A protein that helps pack DNA into the cell nucleus has an important role in regulating gene activity, scientists report. The researchers found that the protein, histone H1, also takes part in the formation of ribosomes, the cellular workbenches on which all proteins are made.

2 Jul 2010

Merck challenges New York jury decision in federal FOSAMAX retrial

Merck & Co., Inc. today said it is challenging the decision returned by a New York jury in the retrial of a federal FOSAMAX case, Boles v. Merck. This case was the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee's top choice to take to trial and involved a Florida woman who blamed her dental and jaw problems on FOSAMAX. The first case to reach a verdict, Maley v. Merck, resulted in a defense verdict for Merck on May 5, 2010.

28 Jun 2010

Tolerx presents preclinical data on TRX518 anti-GITR immunotherapy for cancer

Tolerx, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer by modulating T cell activity, presented results from preclinical studies with TRX518, an early-stage agent Tolerx is developing as a treatment for cancer. TRX518 is a monoclonal antibody to glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor (GITR) and is designed to enhance the immune system's ability to attack tumors by activating and rendering T effector cells resistant to T regulatory cell suppression.

28 Jun 2010

Standard CRP test ineffective for detecting inflammatory bowel disease: Study

C-reactive protein (CRP) is used to assess disease activity in diverse inflammatory disorders including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, in IBD, a significant number of patients present with low CRP levels despite clinically active disease.

25 Jun 2010

Merck's DULERA Inhalation Aerosol for asthma receives FDA approval

Merck today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved DULERA® (mometasone furoate and formoterol fumarate dihydrate) Inhalation Aerosol, a new fixed-dose combination asthma treatment for patients 12 years of age and older. DULERA is not indicated for the relief of acute bronchospasm. DULERA combines an inhaled corticosteroid (mometasone furoate) with a long-acting beta2-agonist (formoterol fumarate).

24 Jun 2010

Some commonly used drugs cause bone loss: New research

New research helps to explain why some commonly used drugs come with a serious downside: They up your odds of breaking a bone. The drugs in question, glucocorticoids (e.g. cortisone and prednisone) and the insulin sensitizer rosiglitazone work through entirely different mechanisms as therapies for inflammatory diseases and diabetes respectively, and two studies in the June issue of Cell Metabolism now show that they lead to bone loss in different ways too.

9 Jun 2010

Harbor BioSciences reports encouraging results from Triolex Phase IIa trials

Harbor Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, metabolic and inflammatory diseases, today released an update to its development program for Triolex to treat obesity-induced insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

10 May 2010

$Inflammatory bowel disorders can raise risk of osteoporotic fractures$

Inflammatory bowel disorders can raise risk of osteoporotic fractures

A team of scientists from the University Hospitals of Geneva and Lausanne have shown that young people with inflammatory bowel diseases have low bone mass and poor bone architecture compared to healthy people of the same age, placing them at increased risk of fracture.

7 May 2010

Imprinted genes may be the root cause of gender specific diseases, says study

Pregnancy places competing demands on a mother's physiology: Her body wants to produce a strong healthy baby but not at the expense of her own health. Some of the genes that she passes on to her child therefore try to protect her own body from excessive demands from her child.

7 May 2010

Synergistic interactions of A2A Agonist and PDE Inhibitors as adjunctive therapy to GC for treating MM

“Glucocorticoids are a key component of combination therapy regimens in multiple myeloma and other hematological cancers. However, glucocorticoid use comes with substantial dose limiting toxicities. The ability to enhance glucocorticoid dependent effects while sparing associated toxicities may have important implications for the treatment of multiple myeloma and other B-cell malignancies”

15 Apr 2010

Merck’s MF/F Phase III study data presented at AAAAI annual meeting

Data from two Phase III studies of Merck’s investigational fixed-dose combinations of mometasone furoate and formoterol fumarate (MF/F) were presented by researchers today in two poster presentations at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) annual meeting.

3 Mar 2010

Isis Pharmaceuticals reports revenues of $32.3M for fourth-quarter 2009

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced its 2009 financial results and reviewed the highlights of the year. Isis achieved its 2009 financial guidance with pro forma net income of $166.9 million and a pro forma net operating loss (NOL) of $14.2 million compared with its guidance for the year of pro forma net income of more than $145 million and a pro forma NOL in the low to mid $20 million range. Isis also achieved its cash guidance by ending 2009 with $574.3 million of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments significantly in excess of the $550 million projected.

1 Mar 2010

Treating septic shock patients with intensive insulin therapy does not reduce risk of in-hospital death

Treating adults with septic shock with intensive insulin therapy to counter elevated blood glucose levels associated with corticosteroid therapy did not result in a reduced risk of in-hospital death, compared to patients who received conventional insulin therapy, according to a study in the January 27 issue of JAMA.

27 Jan 2010

Sangamo BioSciences initiates two new clinical trials of ZFP Therapeutics

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. announced the initiation of two new clinical trials of ZFP Therapeutics, a Phase 2b study in diabetic neuropathy (DN) and a Phase 1 trial in glioblastoma, as well as the renewal of $3.0 million in funding for the Phase 2b trial by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF).

11 Jan 2010