Metabolism News and Research

Latest Metabolism News and Research

Selective use of DHCA during surgery for CHD in infancy does not impair neurological outcomes

Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most common birth defects in humans, affecting 8 per 1000 live births with one third of affected children requiring intervention in early infancy. Increasing numbers of survivors combined with developmental expectations for independence, behavioral self-regulation and academic achievement have led to a growing identification of neurobehavioral symptoms in some survivors. A study now suggests that a cooling technique often used in heart operations does not impair neurological outcomes.

27 Jan 2010

Intercept Pharmaceuticals completes $25M Preferred Series B financing

Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for chronic fibrotic and metabolic diseases, today announced the completion of a $25 million Preferred Series B financing by its majority shareholder Genextra S.p.A.

27 Jan 2010

Pfizer becomes the latest customer of Benchware Discovery 360

Tripos®, a leading provider of drug discovery informatics products and services, today announced that Pfizer has become the latest customer of Benchware® Discovery 360 (D360). The novel license agreement allows Pfizer to deploy the capabilities of D360 to all scientists within its worldwide research sites.

27 Jan 2010

Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals closes $6.17M Series B-4 private equity financing

Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately held, clinical stage oncology-focused pharmaceutical company, has announced the closing of its Series B-4 private equity financing of $6,175,000. The Company plans to use the proceeds for its on-going phase I/II clinical trials of its lead cancer drug--CPI-613, research and development, and general corporate purposes.

27 Jan 2010

Obese children face increased risk of stroke and heart disease

By as early as 7 years of age, being obese may raise a child's risk of future heart disease and stroke, even in the absence of other cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

27 Jan 2010

FDA approves Victoza to treat type 2 diabetes in some adults

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Victoza (liraglutide), a once-daily injection to treat type 2 diabetes in some adults.

27 Jan 2010

Study: Warburg effect promotes rapid cell proliferation and tumor growth

A team of scientists led by Professor Adrian Krainer, Ph.D., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has discovered molecular factors in cancer cells that boost the production of an enzyme that helps alter the cells' glucose metabolism. The altered metabolic state, called the Warburg effect, promotes extremely rapid cell proliferation and tumor growth. Adrian Krainer, Ph.D.

23 Jan 2010

Dark chocolates may ease emotional stress

There may well be another important reason for giving your sweetheart sweets for Valentine's Day besides the traditional romantic one: The "chocolate cure" for emotional stress is now getting new support from a clinical trial published online in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research. It found that eating about an ounce and a half of dark chocolate a day for two weeks reduced levels of stress hormones in the bodies of people feeling highly stressed.

23 Jan 2010

The American Journal of Pathology: Highlights from February 2010 issue

A group led by Dr. Peter Lloyd Jones at the University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland; the University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO; and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA has demonstrated that tenascin-C affects proto-oncogene function in breast cancer. Their report can be found in the February 2010 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

22 Jan 2010

Findings may provide new insights into diabetes; suggest novel targets for drug intervention

The neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) makes cameo appearances throughout the body, but its leading role is as the opening act in the stress response, jump-starting the process along the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that CRF also plays a part in the pancreas, where it increases insulin secretion and promotes the division of the insulin-producing beta cells.

22 Jan 2010

Five questions for successful weight loss

The American Society of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP) works with physicians so they’re better prepared to deal with society’s obesity epidemic. Even though people focus on weight loss more in January than any other month, successful weight loss is a year-round long-term initiative that goes far beyond just diet and exercise. The ASBP has highlighted five questions everyone who needs to lose weight should ask their physician.

21 Jan 2010

Study links thyroid disease with human exposure to PFOA

A study by the University of Exeter and the Peninsula Medical School for the first time links thyroid disease with human exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). PFOA is a persistent organic chemical used in industrial and consumer goods including nonstick cookware and stain- and water-resistant coatings for carpets and fabrics.

21 Jan 2010

Medco Health Solutions launches Medco TRC for oncology patients

Medco Health Solutions, Inc. today announced the launch of the Medco Therapeutic Resource Center® (TRC) for oncology patients headquartered in Whitestown, Ind., where specialist pharmacists will manage the company's more than 850,000 patients currently living with cancer, one of the fastest growing segments of healthcare.

21 Jan 2010

Health Canada approves Novartis' Afinitor to treat patients with mRCC

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. (Novartis) announced today that Afinitor(R) (everolimus), a once-daily oral cancer treatment, has been approved by Health Canada for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), also known as advanced kidney cancer, after failure of initial treatment with VEGF-receptor targeted therapies Sutent(R) (sunitinib) or Nexavar(R) (sorafenib).

20 Jan 2010

New issue from Annals of Internal Medicine

Prescriptions of some opioids, such as oxycodone, have increased significantly over the past decade. As long-term opioid therapy for chronic noncancer pain becomes more common, the deaths associated with opioids increase.

19 Jan 2010

EMBL-EBI hosts drug discovery database

ChEMBLdb, a vast online database of information on the properties and activities of drugs and drug-like small molecules and their targets, launches today with information on over half a million compounds. The data lie at the heart of translating information from the human genome into successful new drugs in the clinic.

19 Jan 2010

Eating strategies can reduce cell damage and enhance sports performance

For a week Ms Gravina evaluated players from the first two Athletic teams (Superleague and National League), in order to observe their eating habits and where they could improve.

19 Jan 2010

Sunlight and vitamin D deficiency linked to 17 varieties of cancer

For humans, sunlight and vitamin D is critically important for the development, growth, and maintenance of a healthy body, from birth until death. "Humans make thousands of units of vitamin D within minutes of whole body exposure to sunlight. From what we know of nature, it is unlikely such a system evolved by chance," states Dr. John Cannell, Executive Director, Vitamin D Council.

18 Jan 2010

New genetic risk factor for Parkinson's disease identified

An international team of doctors and human geneticists has identified a new genetic risk factor for Parkinson's disease. The institutions involved in the study were the Institute of Human Genetics of Helmholtz Zentrum München and Technische Universität München, the Neurological Clinic of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (LMU) and the Mitochondrial Research Group of Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

18 Jan 2010

Molecules capable of reversing brain abnormalities in PD identified

Scientists identified several molecules capable of reversing the brain abnormalities of Parkinson's disease (PD), while also uncovering new clues for its origin in a study just published in the journal Disease Models and Mechanisms. PD is characterised by abnormal deposits of a brain protein called alpha-synuclein throughout the damaged brain regions, but exactly what they do there is not clear. The fact that their numbers and spreading are associated disease progression has made them, however, a major point of interest in PD research.

18 Jan 2010