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Fluoxetine stimulates production of new neurons from L1-INP cells

The production of new neurons in the adult normal cortex in response to the antidepressant, fluoxetine, is reported in a study published online this week in Neuropsychopharmacology.

7 Jan 2013

Diabetes drug metformin works in different way than previously understood: Researchers

A team, led by senior author Morris J. Birnbaum, MD, PhD, the Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor of Medicine, with the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, found that the diabetes drug metformin works in a different way than previously understood.

7 Jan 2013

Reflecting on FDA approval of new TB drug

Noting "the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that it has approved a new treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) that can be used as an alternative when other drugs fail," Kim Lufkin, communications officer at the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), writes in the coalition's "Breakthroughs" blog, "There is a pressing and urgent need for even more new TB drugs, which makes this new FDA approval so significant."

7 Jan 2013

Biogen Idec files rFIXFc BLA with FDA for treatment of hemophilia B

Today Biogen Idec announced the company recently submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the marketing approval of recombinant factor IX Fc fusion protein (rFIXFc) for the treatment of hemophilia B.

7 Jan 2013

PharmaIN receives FDA orphan-drug designation for terlipressin to treat ascites

PharmaIN Corporation and LAT Pharma LLC today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted their request for orphan-drug designation for terlipressin for the treatment of ascites due to all etiologies except for cancer.

7 Jan 2013

ThromboGenics to launch JETREA in the U.S. on Jan. 14

ThromboGenics NV, an integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative ophthalmic medicines, confirms its JETREA US launch date of Monday January 14th, 2013.

4 Jan 2013

Confusion surrounds regulation of various types of drug makers

Far from triggering a quick fix, the deaths or illnesses of 620 people in 19 states that have been linked to a Massachusetts pharmacy have only underscored confusion over how to regulate the various types of drug-makers in the United States.

4 Jan 2013

Researchers uncover new way that some bacteria survive when under siege by antibiotics

Researchers have uncovered a new way that some bacteria survive when under siege by antibiotics.

4 Jan 2013

Thai health advocates work to protect special provisions on medicines under E.U. free trade agreement

Thailand and the European Union (E.U.) are expected to begin talks on a free trade agreement early this year, and Thai public health advocates have sent a letter to Joao Aguiar Machado, deputy director general for trade at the European Commission, "calling for the bloc to respect global trade rules' special provisions for developing countries," Inter Press Service reports.

4 Jan 2013

Scientists invent scalable method to make polyhydroxylated steroids

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have achieved a feat in synthetic chemistry by inventing a scalable method to make complex natural compounds known as "polyhydroxylated steroids." These compounds, used in heart-failure medications and other drugs, have been notoriously problematic to synthesize in the laboratory.

4 Jan 2013

Statin therapy affects muscles’ energy production

Up to 75 per cent of patients who take statins to treat elevated cholesterol levels may suffer from muscle pain. Scientists at the Center for Healthy Aging at the University of Copenhagen have now identified a possible mechanism underlying this unfortunate side effect.

4 Jan 2013

Optofluidics allow for new understanding of resistance to antibiotics

It's often difficult to completely eliminate a bacterial infection with antibiotics; part of the population usually manages to survive. We've known about this phenomenon for quite some time, dating back nearly to the discovery of penicillin. For more than 50 years, scientists have believed that the resistant bacteria were individuals that had stopped growing and dividing.

4 Jan 2013

March of Dimes book offers scientifically-based advice for pregnant women, tips for new parents

Taking a daily multivitamin containing the B vitamin folic acid is one of the best ways to prevent birth defects and an important step toward having a healthy baby, yet only about one-third of women know about it.

4 Jan 2013

Mayo Clinic researchers identify new target to improve treatment of pancreatic cancer

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida have identified a new target to improve treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cancer, which accounts for more than 95 percent of pancreatic cancer cases. This fast-growing, often lethal cancer is resistant to conventional chemotherapy.

4 Jan 2013

Paratek receives FDA QIDP designation for omadacycline to treat ABSSSI, CABP

Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated the Company's lead antibiotic candidate, omadacycline (formerly known as PTK 0796), as a Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) for both intravenous (IV) and oral formulations in the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) and community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP).

3 Jan 2013

FDA approves Abbott’s XIENCE Xpedition Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System

Abbott today announced that the XIENCE Xpedition Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and is launching immediately in the United States, providing physicians with a next-generation technology with the largest size matrix in the U.S. market.

3 Jan 2013

Longer looks: DIY abortions and the law; Helping other parents reach out to mentally ill children; Human growth hormone and Big Pharma

McCormack knew that an abortion would cost $400 to $2,000, depending on how far along she was. ... She couldn't come up with that kind of money. So she called her older sister, who owned a computer, and asked her to order abortion pills for her on the Internet.

3 Jan 2013

FDA grants accelerated approval to drug to treat MDR-TB

"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Johnson & Johnson's drug to treat a form of resistant tuberculosis that is uncommon in the U.S. but growing globally," the Wall Street Journal reports.

3 Jan 2013

New computer-based approach can predict adverse reactions of drugs

Side effects are a major reason that drugs are taken off the market and a major reason why patients stop taking their medications, but scientists are now reporting the development of a new way to predict those adverse reactions ahead of time.

3 Jan 2013

Adrenomed creates Adrecizumab to decrease death rates from sepsis

The German corporation Adrenomed AG today announced its intentions to contribute to the reduction of mortality from sepsis and septic shock. Sepsis is an advanced systemic infection that travels via the blood stream to many of the body's vital organs, which can lead to death and disability.

3 Jan 2013