Pharmacology News and Research

Latest Pharmacology News and Research

Circulating fats kill transplanted pancreas cells

New findings by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers show that a byproduct of cholesterol metabolism interferes with the beneficial effects estrogen has on the cardiovascular system, providing a better understanding of the interplay between cholesterol and estrogen in heart disease.

18 Sep 2007

Byproduct of cholesterol metabolism blocks heart health benefits of estrogen

17 Sep 2007

World's longest-running study of the health effects of low levels of mercury exposure

The presence of mercury in dental amalgams, or fillings, is relatively common knowledge; however, whether its presence affects the neurological system is a debate that has been ongoing for 150 years.

13 Sep 2007

Analysis of aspartame

A report published in the September issue of Critical Reviews in Toxicology (Volume 37, Issue 8, pp. 629-727) systematically evaluates virtually all available scientific information about aspartame and concludes that the low calorie sweetener is safe.

12 Sep 2007

Scientists speed healing of bone damage

Blocking a naturally occurring inhibitor of bone formation accelerates healing of skull defects in mice, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. The finding advances the understanding of how the skeleton develops and opens new therapeutic avenues for many of the disorders that are expected to afflict aging baby boomers.

5 Sep 2007

Radiation and drug combo helps boost efficacy of lung-cancer treatment

Combining radiation therapy with a drug that helps destroy blood vessels nourishing malignant tumors has been shown in mice to be significantly more effective in treating lung cancer than either approach alone, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

5 Sep 2007

Improved dosing formula for warfarin (Coumadin)

Doctors prescribing blood thinners have had to go through a lengthy trial-and-error process to arrive at the optimal dose for their patients.

5 Sep 2007

Red wine for prostate cancer

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have found that nutrients in red wine may help reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. The study involved male mice that were fed a plant compound found in red wine called resveratrol, which has shown anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties.

3 Sep 2007

Radiation and drug combo helps boost efficacy of lung cancer treatment

3 Sep 2007

Genetic-based dosing in orthopedic patients beginning warfarin therapy

Doctors prescribing blood thinners have had to go through a lengthy trial-and-error process to arrive at the optimal dose for their patients. But now the process can be faster and safer, thanks to research conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

3 Sep 2007

Brain function is even more impaired in cirrhotic than non-cirrhotic alcoholics

Sustained exposure to alcohol can cause scarring and dysfunction of the liver, referred to as cirrhosis.

28 Aug 2007

Reported failure of vitamin E to prevent heart attacks may be due to underdosing

The findings, published early online in Free Radical Biology and Medicine, suggest that these earlier studies all had a fundamental flaw the doses used werent high enough to have a significant antioxidant effect.

24 Aug 2007

Rapamycin study is first stage in development of new treatment

Rapamycin isn't your ordinary potential anti-cancer drug…It had a long and somewhat exotic history before undergoing preclinical (laboratory-based) studies at St. Jude as part of a national Pediatric Preclinical Testing Program (PPTP) investigation of its anticancer activity.

23 Aug 2007

Antitumour drugs impede DNA uncoiling by topoisomerase I

The annoying bulges of an overwound telephone cord that shorten its reach and limit a caller's motion help explain why drugs called camptothecins are so effective in killing cancer cells, according to investigators led by Mary-Ann Bjornsti, Ph.D., at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Nynke Dekker, Ph.D., at Delft Technology University.

22 Aug 2007

Pomegranate juice does not impair clearance of oral or intravenous Midazolam

A study from the Tufts University School of Medicine published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology finds that pomegranate juice does not interact with oral or intravenous medication, contrary to previous information.

22 Aug 2007

Researchers discover how a protein modulates the inflammatory response in acute respiratory distress syndrome

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have discovered how a protein modulates the inflammatory response in sudden, life-threatening lung failure.

17 Aug 2007

FDA approves updated labeling for Warfarin (Coumadin)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced the approval of updated labeling for the widely used blood-thinning drug, Coumadin, to explain that people's genetic makeup may influence how they respond to the drug.

17 Aug 2007

Why is heart disease so prevalent among diabetics?

Heart disease hits people with diabetes twice as often as people without diabetes.

13 Aug 2007

Impaired energy production in heart muscle may underlie heart failure in some hypertensive patients

Many people with long-standing high blood pressure develop heart failure. But some don't. Daniel P. Kelly, M.D., and colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and other institutions are trying to figure out what could explain that difference.

13 Aug 2007