Pharmacology News and Research

Latest Pharmacology News and Research

Research findings offer new insights into pathophysiology of PTSD

Researchers at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System and University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in New York and the United Kingdom, have identified genetic markers, derived from blood samples that are linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The markers are associated with gene networks that regulate innate immune function and interferon signaling.

11 Mar 2015

InMed, University of Debrecen partner to develop novel therapies to treat ocular allergies

InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. announces it has formed an exclusive strategic collaboration with the University of Debrecen, Hungary, to develop novel phytocannabinoid-based therapies to treat ocular allergic symptoms.

10 Mar 2015

Naturally-occurring protein in the brain can curb binge alcohol drinking

A new study led by University of North Carolina School of Medicine researchers has found that a naturally-occurring protein in the brain can act to suppress binge alcohol drinking, a major public health problem estimated to cost the U.S. more than $170 billion each year.

10 Mar 2015

Researchers develop robust screening method for routine measurement of drugs in exhaled breath

Drug testing is most commonly performed using urine samples. The methodology and regulations for reliable urine testing are well developed and can be considered the current gold standard for drug testing.

9 Mar 2015

CPRIT awards research and recruitment grants to improve cancer research

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) has awarded UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers more than $7.5 million in research grants to improve diagnostic and therapeutic services and research relating to cancers of the brain, breast, throat, and bone, as well as to improve scientific understanding of cancer biology.

9 Mar 2015

Severe mortality-associated diseases less prevalent in members of long-lived families

Recent research from the Long Life Family Study (LLFS) confirms that severe mortality-associated diseases are less prevalent in the families of long-lived individuals than in the general population. The Journals of Gerontology, Series A will publish these findings in the article titled, "Are Members of Long-Lived Families Healthier than Their Equally Long-Lived Peers? Evidence from the Long Life Family Study" on March 5, 2015.

6 Mar 2015

Non-viral gene therapy provides relief for diabetics with constant foot pain

Walking barefoot on sand "felt like walking on glass" for Keith Wenckowski, who has lived with type-one diabetes for more than two decades.

6 Mar 2015

GeneSight test better predicts antidepressant outcomes for patients with depression

The combinatorial, multi-gene GeneSight test has been found to better predict antidepressant treatment outcomes for patients with depression, and their use of health care resources, than any of the individual genes that comprise the test, according to a peer-reviewed analysis by investigators from the Mayo Clinic and Assurex Health, and published online by The Pharmacogenomics Journal.

5 Mar 2015

Oxytocin may be a potential therapeutic target for improving social function in psychiatric disorders

Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have shown inducing the release of brain oxytocin may be a viable therapeutic option for enhancing social function in psychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia.

4 Mar 2015

Symbiomix Therapeutics announces positive results from SYM-1219 Phase 1 clinical program

Symbiomix Therapeutics, a late-stage, privately held biopharmaceutical company developing innovative medicines for serious women's health infections, today announced results from its Phase 1 clinical program demonstrating that its lead product candidate, SYM-1219, was safe and well tolerated and had predictable pharmacokinetics (PK), and that contraceptive efficacy for birth control pills would not be altered by SYM-1219 administration.

4 Mar 2015

Novel drug mechanism shows promise against glioma cells

Researchers at UC Davis have developed and characterized a molecule that interferes with the internal regulation of cancer cells, causing them to self-destruct. This novel mechanism was found to be effective against glioma cells - responsible for a usually fatal type of brain cancer - and could be applicable to other highly aggressive cancers.

4 Mar 2015

Study on spider venom may lead to new class of potent painkillers

New research shows that seven compounds of the countless found in spider venom block a key step in the body's ability to pass pain signals to the brain. The hunt for a medicine based on just one of these compounds, which would open up a new class of potent painkillers, is now a step closer according to new research published in the British Journal of Pharmacology.

4 Mar 2015

Existing drug could help treat MS, other neurological diseases

Damage to myelin, the fatty insulator that enables communication between nerve cells, characterizes multiple sclerosis (MS) and other devastating neurological diseases.

3 Mar 2015

Modified measles vaccine effective against Chikungunya virus, study finds

A modified, conventional measles vaccine has the potential to act against the Chikungunya virus. This is the result of a study at the University Clinic for Clinical Pharmacology of the MedUni Wien (Medical University of Vienna), which has now been published in the top journal "The Lancet Infectious Diseases".

2 Mar 2015

U-M researchers reveal key role of two enzymes that help the body to remove cholesterol, other lipids

With the aid of X-ray crystallography, researchers at the University of Michigan have revealed the structures of two closely related enzymes that play essential roles in the body's ability to metabolize excess lipids, including cholesterol.

2 Mar 2015

Neuroprotective compounds can limit damage to the brain during ischemic stroke

In the 1990s, neuroscientists identified a class of drugs that showed promise in the area of stroke. NMDA receptor antagonists could limit damage to the brain in animal models of stroke. But one problem complicated testing the drugs in a clinical setting: the side effects included disorientation and hallucinations.

28 Feb 2015

Ninety percent of patients at risk of CHD fail to receive statins

The study, published in Current Medical Research and Opinion, provides the first ever real-world view of the treatment landscape for patients at risk of CHD[1], with a sample of two million patients. But the results paint a bleak picture of prescribing patterns with the majority not being given the potentially life saving drug.

27 Feb 2015

Scientists find new links between inflammation and tissue regeneration

Almost all injuries, even minor skin scratches, trigger an inflammatory response, which provides protection against invading microbes but also turns on regenerative signals needed for healing and injury repair - a process that is generally understood but remains mysterious in its particulars.

26 Feb 2015

Beneficial effects of statin treatment exaggerated, say researchers

Hailed as miracle drugs when they hit the market two decades ago, statins, the cholesterol-lowering drugs prescribed to prevent heart attacks, are not as effective nor as safe as we have been led to believe, say Dr. David M. Diamond, a professor of psychology, molecular pharmacology and physiology at the University of South Florida, and Dr. Uffe Ravnskov, an independent health researcher and an expert in cholesterol and cardiovascular disease.

23 Feb 2015

Betaretrovirus may infect patients with primary biliary cirrhosis

In a new study published in Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, researchers at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry have shown that a betaretrovirus which resembles a mouse mammary tumor virus infects patients with the rare liver disease, primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).

20 Feb 2015