Pharmacology News and Research

Latest Pharmacology News and Research

New bacterial defense mechanism revealed as potential tool for genome editing

Scientists who have described in a new study the step-by-step details of a bacterial defense strategy see the mechanism as a promising platform for development of a new genome-editing method.

29 Aug 2024

Unraveling the mystery of viral evolution

All organisms - from fungi to mammals - have the capacity to evolve and adapt to their environments. But viruses are master shapeshifters with the ability to mutate greater than any other organism. As a result, they can evade treatments or acquire resistance to once-effective antiviral medications.

28 Aug 2024

NIH funds study on psychedelics' potential to treat methamphetamine addiction

John McCorvy, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW); Adam Halberstadt, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and Director of the UCSD Center for Psychedelic Research; and Kevin Murnane, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Neuroscience and Director of Basic Science Research for the Louisiana Addiction Research Center at LSU Health Shreveport, were recently awarded a five-year, $2.4 million research grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to uncover critical insights into how psychedelics could be used as a therapeutic to treat methamphetamine addiction.

27 Aug 2024

Study identifies Gα13 as a key tumor suppressor in ER+ breast cancer

In looking for new ways to fight breast cancer, scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School have unmasked a surprising role of a protein generally associated with cancer growth. They have discovered that in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer, this protein acts as a tumor suppressor instead. ER+ breast cancer constitutes about 80 percent of all breast cancer diagnoses, yet nearly 50 percent of women diagnosed with it experience a relapse after initial treatment.

27 Aug 2024

Kynurenine pathway blockade shows promise for restoring brain metabolism in Alzheimer's

Among the many ways neuroscientists think Alzheimer's disease may strip away brain function is by disrupting the glucose metabolism needed to fuel the healthy brain.

22 Aug 2024

Long-term low-dose cannabis reverses brain aging in mice

A low-dose long-term administration of cannabis can not only reverse aging processes in the brain, but also has an anti-aging effect.

22 Aug 2024

Breakthrough compound targets appetite and tau protein in obesity and Alzheimer's

Scientists on the team of Dr Lenka Maletínská have developed a promising new compound derived from one of the peptides naturally occurring in the brain.

21 Aug 2024

Study identifies natural molecule that reduces pain sensitivity

Rutgers researchers have found a new way to manage the receptors that control the sense of touch, which could lead to treating chronic pain more effectively.

21 Aug 2024

UofL researchers receive $3.6 million to study the role of arsenic exposure in causing health problems

University of Louisville researchers have received $3.6 million in new grant funding to study the role of arsenic exposure in causing cancer and other major health concerns.

20 Aug 2024

New insights into COVID-19 spike protein offer hope for universal vaccines

A team led by Jose Onuchic at Rice University and Paul Whitford at Northeastern University, both researchers at the National Science Foundation Physics Frontiers Center at the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics (CTBP) at Rice, has made a discovery in the fight against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for COVID-19.

16 Aug 2024

Ketogenic diet can boost efficacy of pancreatic cancer therapy

A study of fasting and the ketogenic diet reveals a new vulnerability of pancreatic tumors to an existing cancer drug.

14 Aug 2024

Common oral antibiotics tied to increased risk of severe drug-induced rashes

Two classes of commonly prescribed oral antibiotics are associated with the greatest risk for severe drug rashes that can lead to emergency department visits, hospitalizations and even death, according to a new study.

8 Aug 2024

Alcohol use disorders in parents linked to accelerated aging in children

Researchers at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) have discovered that parents who struggle with alcohol use disorders can pass along symptoms of early aging to their children, affecting them well into adulthood.

8 Aug 2024

New $11.3 million grant to explore endothelial cell dysfunction in cardiovascular disease

With a new $11.3 million Program Project grant from the National Institutes of Health, experts from the Vascular Biology Center at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University are working to better understand the underlying mechanisms of cardiovascular disease.

8 Aug 2024

Breakthrough MS drug uses green mamba venom discovery to promote myelin repair

Ten years of work, and a little help from the green mamba snake, has resulted in a promising new drug that is already being tested in clinical trials.

5 Aug 2024

UCLA launches groundbreaking clinical trial for vaccine targeting aggressive pediatric brain cancer

In an effort to combat one of the most lethal forms of pediatric brain cancer, researchers at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center are launching a first-of-its-kind clinical trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a cancer vaccine targeting H3 G34-mutant diffuse hemispheric glioma, a highly aggressive brain tumor that is typically found in adolescents and young adults.

5 Aug 2024

Study elucidates mechanisms behind G protein selectivity and efficacy in adenosine A2A receptor

In a groundbreaking study, a multinational research team led by Dr. Adnan Sljoka (RIKEN) and Prof. Akio Kitao (Tokyo Tech), in collaboration with Prof. Scott Prosser (University of Toronto), has carried out experimental and computational studies to elucidate the mechanisms behind G protein selectivity and efficacy in the human adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR).

1 Aug 2024

FDA clears UAB startup's TIX100 for clinical trials

The University of Alabama at Birmingham startup TIXiMED, Inc., has obtained clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration to proceed to clinical trials under an Investigational New Drug for TIX100, its novel oral Type 1 diabetes drug.

31 Jul 2024

2024 is shaping up to be “the year of iPSCs"

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From Axol Bioscience Ltd 31 Jul 2024

Specialized medication management improves care for elderly patients

Ensuring older hospital patients receive specialized medication management could reduce their stay in hospital and potentially lower their risk of death, according to new research conducted by Flinders University in collaboration with Flinders Medical Centre.

31 Jul 2024