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Mixed effects for vitamin E against respiratory infections

Vitamin E does not appear to have a beneficial effect on lower respiratory tract infections in elderly nursing home residents, but it may help them ward off upper respiratory tract infections, according to a study in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

18 Aug 2004

New guidelines urge early and long-term treatment with Aldosterone blockade therapy

Patients who have had a recent heart attack with ST-elevation (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction, or STEMI), complicated by heart failure should be treated with aldosterone blockers according to new guidelines issued recently by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA).

17 Aug 2004

Nasal cream effective in reducing the symptoms of allergic rhinitis

A nasal cream applied to the inside of the nose appears effective in reducing the symptoms of allergic rhinitis, according to an article in the August issue of The Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery.

16 Aug 2004

Smoking may be on the rise again

The statistics are alarming: About one in five high school seniors smoke cigarettes daily. Yet nearly half a million Americans die prematurely from tobacco-related disease and smoking is projected to in some way kill one third of all smokers.

15 Aug 2004

Scopolamine prevents and relieves motion sickness - but possibly with more adverse effects than alternatives

Researchers from the Cochrane Collaboration have analysed all trials of scopolamine for motion sickness. They found 12 trials, mostly done in healthy young men in the navy.

12 Aug 2004

No adverse side-effects have been observed in clinical trial of SARS vaccine

Sinovac Biotech has announced that all 36 subjects of the Phase I human clinical trial for its inactivated SARS vaccine have now been vaccinated with either SARS vaccine or placebo.

11 Aug 2004

Serious new side effects of performance enhancing drugs

As the countdown continues to the Athens Olympics, a new Australian study by a team of Southern Cross University (SCU) scientists has revealed serious new side effects of performance enhancing drugs.

11 Aug 2004

Wounds on hamsters without companionship don't heal as fast as those on hamsters with companionship

Researchers looked at the effect social contact had on wound healing in stressed hamsters. Results showed that skin wounds healed nearly twice as fast in the hamsters paired with a sibling. These animals also produced less of the stress hormone cortisol than unpaired hamsters.

9 Aug 2004

Clinical trial of lipase inhibitor for the treatment of obesity

Peptimmune, Inc. a privately held biotechnology company, announced that physicians have treated the first participant in a clinical trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of GT389-255, a lipase inhibitor conjugated to a fat binding polymer for the treatment of obesity.

9 Aug 2004

Approval of Cymbalta for treatment of major depressive disorder

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Cymbalta® (duloxetine HCl; pronounced SIM-BALL-TA), judging it a safe and effective treatment for major depressive disorder, Eli Lilly and Company have announced.

5 Aug 2004

Overactive brain circuit brings on depression

A brain imaging study by the NIH's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has found that an emotion-regulating brain circuit is overactive in people prone to depression – even when they are not depressed.

5 Aug 2004

Approval of cholesterol-lowering therapy Lipitor for the prevention of cardiovascular disease

Pfizer has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved its cholesterol-lowering therapy Lipitor® (atorvastatin calcium) for the prevention of cardiovascular disease by reducing heart attack risk in people with normal to mildly elevated cholesterol levels who have other cardiovascular risk factors.

5 Aug 2004

Children with mild asthma can lose lung function

About one quarter of children in a long-term study of mild to moderate asthma suffered a significant loss of lung function over the course of four to six years.

3 Aug 2004

Half of the complications and deaths due to in-hospital DVT can be prevented with once daily dalteparin

Current research supports the use of blood-thinners to help acutely ill, hospitalized patients minimize the risk of death from a pulmonary embolism (PE) and its precursor deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

3 Aug 2004

CV Therapeutics initiates approval-enabling trial of drug to treat chronic angina

CV Therapeutics has announced that it has initiated an approval-enabling study of Ranexa, which, if successful, could support approval of Ranexa for the treatment of chronic angina in a restricted patient population.

3 Aug 2004

New Drug Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Tarceva

OSI Pharmaceuticals and Genentech have announced that OSI completed the submission of a New Drug Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Tarceva (erlotinib HCl),

3 Aug 2004

Study evaluated the ability of vitamin E and Aricept, to delay the progression of mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease

Researchers in the neurology department in the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson participated in a study that evaluated the ability of vitamin E and donepezil hydrochloride, marketed as Aricept, to delay the progression of mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease.

2 Aug 2004

European recommended approval of Remicade for treatment of psoriatic arthritis

Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products has issued a positive opinion recommending approval of expanded labeling for REMICADE(R) (infliximab), in combination with methotrexate, for treatment of active and progressive psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in patients who have responded inadequately to disease modifying anti- rheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

2 Aug 2004

Requip significantly reduces periodic leg movements in patients with restless legs syndrome

New data published in the August issue of SLEEP shows that patients with primary Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and with periodic leg movements during sleep (PLMS), have fewer awakenings resulting from involuntary kicks when treated with GlaxoSmithKline's Requip (ropinirole HCl).

2 Aug 2004

Using topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve the pain of osteoarthritis is only beneficial for the first two weeks

Using topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) to relieve the pain of osteoarthritis is only beneficial for the first two weeks, finds a study available on bmj.com today.

29 Jul 2004

Placebo News and Research

Mixed effects for vitamin E against respiratory infections

New guidelines urge early and long-term treatment with Aldosterone blockade therapy

Nasal cream effective in reducing the symptoms of allergic rhinitis

Smoking may be on the rise again

Scopolamine prevents and relieves motion sickness - but possibly with more adverse effects than alternatives

No adverse side-effects have been observed in clinical trial of SARS vaccine

Serious new side effects of performance enhancing drugs

Wounds on hamsters without companionship don't heal as fast as those on hamsters with companionship

Clinical trial of lipase inhibitor for the treatment of obesity

Approval of Cymbalta for treatment of major depressive disorder

Overactive brain circuit brings on depression

Approval of cholesterol-lowering therapy Lipitor for the prevention of cardiovascular disease

Children with mild asthma can lose lung function

Half of the complications and deaths due to in-hospital DVT can be prevented with once daily dalteparin

CV Therapeutics initiates approval-enabling trial of drug to treat chronic angina

New Drug Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Tarceva

Study evaluated the ability of vitamin E and Aricept, to delay the progression of mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease

European recommended approval of Remicade for treatment of psoriatic arthritis

Requip significantly reduces periodic leg movements in patients with restless legs syndrome

Using topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve the pain of osteoarthritis is only beneficial for the first two weeks

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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