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Scientists solve 60-year-old mystery of how thalidomide caused birth defects

More than 60 years after the drug thalidomide caused birth defects in thousands of children whose mothers took the drug while pregnant, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have solved a mystery that has lingered ever since the dangers of the drug first became apparent: how did the drug produce such severe fetal harm?

2 Aug 2018

How rival opioid makers sought to cash in on alarm over oxycontin’s dangers

As Purdue Pharma faced mounting criticism over deaths linked to OxyContin, rival drugmakers saw a chance to boost sales by stepping up marketing of similarly dangerous painkillers, such as fentanyl, morphine and methadone, Purdue internal documents reveal.

2 Aug 2018

Folic acid may prevent language delays in children of mothers with epilepsy

Women who take epilepsy drugs while they are pregnant may have a lower risk of having a child with delays in language skills if they take folic acid supplements before and early in pregnancy, according to a study published in the August 1, 2018, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

2 Aug 2018

Alzheimer's drug may prevent disease progression if used before symptoms appear

About 50 percent of people who reach the age of 85 will develop Alzheimer's disease. Most will die within about five years of exhibiting the hallmark symptoms of the disease - severe memory loss and a precipitous decline in cognitive function.

2 Aug 2018

Ketamine may be potential therapeutic option for adolescents with treatment-resistant depression

A new study has shown a significant average decrease in the Children's Depression Rating Scale among adolescents with treatment-resistant depression who were treated with intravenous ketamine.

2 Aug 2018

Peer comparison letters lead to persistent decrease in antipsychotic prescribing

A study led by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health has found that letters targeting high prescribers of Seroquel, an antipsychotic with potentially harmful side effects in the elderly, significantly reduced the number of prescriptions for patients in Medicare.

2 Aug 2018

RBC-hitchhiking method increases concentration of drugs ferried to selected organs

A new drug-delivery technology which uses red blood cells to shuttle nano-scale drug carriers, called RBC-hitchhiking, has been found in animal models to dramatically increase the concentration of drugs ferried precisely to selected organs, according to a study published in Nature Communications this month by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

2 Aug 2018

New treatment may be on the horizon for Parkinson's disease

More of us are susceptible to Parkinson's as we age, as evidenced by actor Alan Alda's recent diagnosis. A new treatment may be on the horizon.

2 Aug 2018

Exenatide treatment improves depression symptoms in PD patients

Non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease, such as depression, apathy, cognitive impairment, sleep disorders, and sensory symptoms, can have a greater impact on health-related quality of life than motor deficits.

1 Aug 2018

BIDMC researchers identify risk factors that increase risk of prolonged opioid use

Current research demonstrates that patients' exposure to opioids following medical care has contributed to the nationwide addiction epidemic.

1 Aug 2018

CFDA accepts Ascletis’ NDA for first all-oral HCV treatment

Ascletis announced today it has received the acceptance letter from the China Food and Drug Administration for Ravidasvir new drug application.

1 Aug 2018

To tame prescription prices, HHS dips a toe into drug importation stream

It came as something of a surprise when Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced that the administration was exploring the importation of prescription drugs to fight high domestic prices.

1 Aug 2018

New drug cocktails make targeted cancer therapies more efficient with less side effects

Mount Sinai researchers have discovered that certain drug cocktails help targeted therapies attack cancer more efficiently while lessening common side effects, according to a study published today in Cancer Research.

1 Aug 2018

Patients with chronic pain feel caught in an opioid-prescribing debate

It started with a rolled ankle during a routine Army training exercise. Shannon Hubbard never imagined it was the prologue to one of the most debilitating pain conditions known to exist, called complex regional pain syndrome.

1 Aug 2018

New AI approach can teach itself to design new drug molecules from scratch

An artificial-intelligence approach created at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy can teach itself to design new drug molecules from scratch and has the potential to dramatically accelerate the design of new drug candidates.

1 Aug 2018

Researchers engineer three cell lines to produce nonproprietary versions of NISTmAb

When the National Institute of Standards and Technology issued the world's first standardized monoclonal antibody in July 2016, the exhaustively analyzed protein known as NISTmAb was intended as a valuable tool for biopharmaceutical companies.

1 Aug 2018

New guidelines provide framework for responding to drug shortages and to improve patient care

Healthcare teams in patient care settings can develop policies and procedures to minimize the impact of drug shortages by incorporating new guidelines published today by ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists).

31 Jul 2018

European Commission approves Pfizer’s first oncology biosimilar

Pfizer Inc. today announced the European Commission has approved TRAZIMERA, a biosimilar to Herceptin (trastuzumab), for the treatment of human epidermal growth factor overexpressing breast cancer and HER2 overexpressing metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

31 Jul 2018

FDA approves first ever non-surgical treatment for rare neuroendocrine cancers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first ever non-surgical treatment for the rare neuroendocrine cancers pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma.

31 Jul 2018

New method to evaluate drug benefits may reduce health care costs

With the cost of drugs a critical issue in health care, health insurance companies and government payers need to understand how new and existing drugs compare in terms of benefits and risks.

31 Jul 2018