Pharmaceuticals News and Research

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Governments considering reclassifying some drugs from prescription to over-the-counter status

Governments in several countries with public Pharmacare and in a few provinces in Canada are considering reclassifying some drugs from prescription to over-the-counter status. In a Canadian Medical Association Journal essay, Lynd and colleagues comment on the economic effects of such changes.

27 Sep 2005

Experimental radioactive compound can show images of heart damage up to 30 hours after a brief interruption of blood flow and oxygen

The discovery may help physicians in emergency rooms and in their offices determine whether a patient's chest pain, which may have subsided hours earlier, is related to heart disease or something else, such as indigestion.

27 Sep 2005

Pursuit of potential drugs and small molecules that target the IGF-1 receptor

Pharmaceutical companies around the world still come knocking on Renato Baserga, M.D.,'s door. And for good reason.

27 Sep 2005

Pulsing heart cell provides clues into how heart disease develops

A pulsing heart cell is giving Oregon Health & Science University researchers insight into how it sends and receives signals, and that's providing clues into how heart disease and other disorders develop.

27 Sep 2005

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have identified three new genetic mutations in brain tumors

...a discovery that could pave the way for more effective cancer treatments.

27 Sep 2005

Testing for drug resistance in HIV-infected patients at the time of diagnosis may increase patients' life expectancy

Resistance to antiretroviral therapy, even in patients who have never received treatment, is a growing concern. However, genotype resistance testing, which involves looking for the presence of resistance genes, is not a standard procedure at the time a patient is diagnosed with HIV, probably due to lack of data on its benefits and its relatively high cost compared with other routine blood tests.

26 Sep 2005

Deep-sea sponges harbor toxins that potentially can act as powerful anti-cancer drugs

Vibrantly colored creatures from the depths of the South Pacific Ocean harbor toxins that potentially can act as powerful anti-cancer drugs, according to research findings from University of Wisconsin-Madison biochemists and their Italian colleagues.

26 Sep 2005

Increlex - first major innovation in 20 years for the treatment of growth failure

Rush University Medical Center is participating in a clinical trial to evaluate the potential benefit of the first major innovation in 20 years for the treatment of growth failure.

26 Sep 2005

Potential oral drug for rheumatoid arthritis

A potential oral drug for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may encourage women to treat their condition earlier rather than later because it is less arduous than currently available treatments. Early treatment is important because RA most often develops between the ages of 35 and 50 and is two- to three times more prevalent in women.

26 Sep 2005

Microchip system aims to reduce the number of animals used in the development of new drugs

Reducing the number of animals used in the development of new drugs is a priority for the pharmaceutical industry

26 Sep 2005

Pharmacists can play a vital role in bridging the care gap for patients with cystic fibrosis

Patients with cystic fibrosis typically take large numbers of medicines and are managed by healthcare professionals in both primary and secondary care. Most of patients' regular medication is prescribed by general practitioners, whereas complex and new treatments are initiated and provided through hospital outpatient clinics.

26 Sep 2005

Clinical trial participants may not be as unrepresentative of general clinical populations as often reported

It is often suggested that the results of clinical trials are affected by the fact that the patients who volunteer for a trial are more likely to take their medication effectively than those in standard care. This supposition is, however, strongly refuted in the results of a new study revealed at the British Pharmaceutical Conference in Manchester.

26 Sep 2005

Pharmacists can drastically reduce patients worries about using steroids

For those people who suffer from eczema, the use of topical corticosteroids is high up on their list of concerns: How should they be used? And are they safe?

26 Sep 2005

New study into the health-related quality of life for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients

Pharmacists in Wales have conducted a new study into the health-related quality of life for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients. The surprising results were revealed at the British Pharmaceutical Conference in Manchester.

26 Sep 2005

Raf Kinase Inhibitor Protein plays a role in controlling the active movement of cells

University of Illinois at Chicago researchers report that a protein that regulates key signaling pathways in cells also plays a role in controlling the active movement or migration of cells. The finding may suggest new pharmaceutical therapies for treating a variety of diseases, including cancer.

26 Sep 2005

Prediction of new polymorph of the Alzheimer's drug, piracetam

A challenge, presented at last year's e-Science All Hands meeting, has resulted in an e-Science project achieving one of the holy grails of the pharmaceutical industry - the computational prediction of a previously unidentified crystal structure, or polymorph, of a drug molecule.

22 Sep 2005

Presence of environmental chemicals in human milk does not necessarily indicate health risks for infants

"We strongly emphasize that the mere presence of an environmental chemical in human milk does not indicate that a health risk exists for breast-fed infants," said Cheston M. Berlin, Jr., M.D., Penn State University professor of pediatrics and pharmacology.

22 Sep 2005

Effects of 10 commonly prescribed second-generation antidepressants studied

Because clinical depression is so disabling and affects more than 16 percent of adults in the United States at some time in their lives, researchers have worked hard to develop more effective treatments. But how much better are the newer pharmaceuticals?

21 Sep 2005

Simple organism can produce 10 trillion varieties of a single protein

A team led by University of California, San Diego biochemists has discovered the mechanism by which a simple organism can produce 10 trillion varieties of a single protein, a finding that provides a new tool to develop novel drugs.

21 Sep 2005

Enhanced imaging techniques could improve medical diagnosis

Chris Wyatt is a Virginia Tech electrical engineer who is attempting to provide the medical community with better, quicker, and more relevant images of the human body. The side effects are not bad either - lower medical costs, new treatments, and earlier disease detection.

19 Sep 2005

Pharmaceuticals News and Research

Governments considering reclassifying some drugs from prescription to over-the-counter status

Experimental radioactive compound can show images of heart damage up to 30 hours after a brief interruption of blood flow and oxygen

Pursuit of potential drugs and small molecules that target the IGF-1 receptor

Pulsing heart cell provides clues into how heart disease develops

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have identified three new genetic mutations in brain tumors

Testing for drug resistance in HIV-infected patients at the time of diagnosis may increase patients' life expectancy

Deep-sea sponges harbor toxins that potentially can act as powerful anti-cancer drugs

Increlex - first major innovation in 20 years for the treatment of growth failure

Potential oral drug for rheumatoid arthritis

Microchip system aims to reduce the number of animals used in the development of new drugs

Pharmacists can play a vital role in bridging the care gap for patients with cystic fibrosis

Clinical trial participants may not be as unrepresentative of general clinical populations as often reported

Pharmacists can drastically reduce patients worries about using steroids

New study into the health-related quality of life for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients

Raf Kinase Inhibitor Protein plays a role in controlling the active movement of cells

Prediction of new polymorph of the Alzheimer's drug, piracetam

Presence of environmental chemicals in human milk does not necessarily indicate health risks for infants

Effects of 10 commonly prescribed second-generation antidepressants studied

Simple organism can produce 10 trillion varieties of a single protein

Enhanced imaging techniques could improve medical diagnosis

Drug Discovery - Second Edition eBook

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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