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Single dose of LSD shows promise against alcoholism

Forty years ago, LSD was used in the treatment of alcoholics - with good results. Perhaps it's time to look at it again? In the 1950s, '60s and '70s, researchers in many places in the world experimented with LSD in the treatment of various disorders, including alcoholism. Not all experiments were scientifically tenable by today's standards, but some were.

9 Mar 2012

Enhanced linkage-to-care strategy helps HIV patients receive, remain in care, study shows

At the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) on Wednesday, Gabriel Chamie of the University of California, San Francisco "discussed outcomes in a routine linkage-to-care strategy versus and an enhanced strategy for accelerated antiretroviral therapy (ART) start in rural Uganda," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

9 Mar 2012

FDA clears Hospira's Symbiq 3.13 infusion device

Hospira, Inc., the world's leading provider of injectable drugs and infusion technologies, announced today that the company has received regulatory clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Symbiq 3.13 infusion device, the enhanced version of the company's advanced infusion system platform.

9 Mar 2012

HDAC inhibitors flush latent HIV infection from hiding

A team of researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have successfully flushed latent HIV infection from hiding, with a drug used to treat certain types of lymphoma.

9 Mar 2012

New hybrid aspirin shrinks tumors, curbs cancer cell growth

The humble aspirin may soon have a new role. Scientists from The City College of New York have developed a new aspirin compound that has great promise to be, not only an extremely potent cancer-fighter, but even safer than the classic medicine cabinet staple.

9 Mar 2012

Moderate wine intake appears to have favorable effect on lung function

A research team from the Netherlands assessed the impact of wine and resveratrol (a natural polyphenol found in high quantities in red wine) on lung function. It also looked at genetic factors and mechanisms by which resveratrol might be absorbed by the body and its possible effect on longevity of life.

9 Mar 2012

XMetA can control blood glucose levels in patients with diabetes

XOMA Corporation announced that its study of XMetA, the company's fully-human allosteric monoclonal antibody to the insulin receptor, is available online and will be published in the May issue of the American Diabetes Association's journal Diabetes.

8 Mar 2012

Get ready for Be Medicinewise Week 2012

Building on the success of last year’s inaugural event, the week will urge all Australians to stop, think and learn more about the medicines they are using and encourage them to seek information to make better decisions about their health.

8 Mar 2012

Heart rate lowering drug may reduce “implicit” racial prejudices: Study

It was found that volunteers given the beta-blocker, used to treat chest pains and lower heart rates, scored lower on a standard psychological test of “implicit” racist attitudes. They appeared to be less racially prejudiced at a subconscious level than another group treated with a “dummy” placebo pill.

8 Mar 2012

Study investigates knowledge about khat among medical students in Yemen

A new study conducted by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers shows that a majority of medical students in Yemen believe that chewing the plant khat is harmful to one's health but they would not advise their patients to quit.

8 Mar 2012

AARP study details price increases of popular drugs

The prices of drugs used most widely by older Americans rose by nearly 26 percent from 2005 to 2009 - nearly twice the rate of inflation - according to a report issued Tuesday by AARP.

8 Mar 2012

Study highlights challenges of adherence in successful deployment of PrEP interventions

"Data presented from the FEM-PrEP trial by Dr. Lut Van Damme Tuesday at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle highlighted the challenge that adherence plays in successfully deploying effective Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) interventions," HIV Medicine Association Executive Director Andrea Weddle writes in this guest post in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog.

8 Mar 2012

Reducing consumption of antimicrobial agents reduces resistance: DANMAP

Antimicrobial agents are the most important weapons in the fight against bacterial infections in humans and animals, but these agents can lose their potency. When bacteria are exposed to antimicrobial agents they can develop resistance. This would make it more difficult to treat common diseases such as pneumonia and other infections.

8 Mar 2012

Australian TGA approves Bayer's EYLEA for treatment of wet AMD

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Bayer HealthCare today announced that Bayer HealthCare has received approval from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for EYLEA (aflibercept) Injection for the treatment of patients with neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) at a recommended dose of 2 milligrams (mg) via intravitreal injection per month for three consecutive months, followed by 2 milligrams via intravitreal injection every two months.

8 Mar 2012

Some top researchers no longer think of glaucoma solely as an eye disease

A new paradigm to explain glaucoma is rapidly emerging, and it is generating brain-based treatment advances that may ultimately vanquish the disease known as the "sneak thief of sight." A review now available in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, reports that some top researchers no longer think of glaucoma solely as an eye disease.

8 Mar 2012

Queen's receives NICH&S grant to create vaccine against Pseudomonas

Queen's University Belfast scientists working on a vaccine to combat Pseudomonas have received a financial boost from Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke.

8 Mar 2012

Combining radiation therapy with ipilimumab shows promise against melanoma

Research published today in the New England Journal of Medicine by scientists at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) showed that combining targeted radiation therapy with immunotherapy (ipilimumab), fostered a strong immune response and a favorable clinical outcome in a patient with melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer.

8 Mar 2012