Feature Channels: Pharmaceuticals

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In the search for an Alzheimer’s cure, the scientific community has focused on drugs to lessen the buildup of amyloid protein in the brain. But new research published today in Science Translational Medicine finds that targeting tau pathology shows promise.The discovery came by looking at what could make worms resistant to pathological tau protein. That’s when researchers discovered the role of the MSUT2 gene. The latest study applied to mice as well. And held true in autopsy samples of Alzheimer's patients.

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Students from Long Island, New York, high schools have collaborated across districts to decipher the atomic-level structures of two proteins involved in a variety of diseases. The students used very bright x-rays at the National Synchrotron Light Source II at Brookhaven National Laboratory to identify the 3-D arrangements of atoms that make up functional components of these proteins.

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Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have found a way to increase protein production in bacteria up to a thousandfold, a discovery that could aid production of proteins used in the medical, food, agriculture, chemical and other industries.

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Patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who are treated with anthracyclines are at a heightened risk of heart failure—most often within one year of exposure to the chemotherapy treatment.

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A major goal of tuberculosis (TB) research is to find a way to treat people with the latent (or inactive) form of the disease to keep them from developing symptomatic TB. A breakthrough study using a new animal model developed for this purpose showed a combination of two classes of antibiotics can wipe out this hidden threat.

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Moffitt Cancer Center researchers have developed a new platform for creating genetically engineered mice to study melanoma that is significantly faster than a normal mouse model approach.

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An experimental, off-the-shelf immunotherapy that combines a targeted antibody and chemotherapy can lead to potentially durable responses in multiple myeloma patients whose disease has relapsed or is resistant to other standard therapies

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Measuring changes in the speed of electrical signals along nerves connecting the eyes to the brain may accurately reflect recovery from myelin loss in multiple sclerosis (MS), according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and could be used to evaluate new treatments for the disease.

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A drug purified and developed from the sap of a tree in the Amazon rainforest is now being studied for the treatment of chronic idiopathic diarrhea in non-HIV patients at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) as part of a two-year pilot study.

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A clinical trial investigating the repurposed cancer drug nilotinib in people with Parkinson’s disease finds that it is reasonably safe and well tolerated. Researchers also report finding an increase in dopamine, the chemical lost as a result of neuronal destruction, and a decrease in neurotoxic proteins in the brain among study participants. Finally, they say nilotinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, potentially halts motor and non-motor decline.

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Mayo Clinic researchers will present findings at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Dec. 10–14 in San Antonio.

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• Among 1,018 children with newly diagnosed chronic kidney disease and 4,072 children with normal kidney function who were seen at primary care practices, 71% and 50%, respectively, received at least one medication that might be toxic to the kidneys over an average follow-up of 3.3 years. • The rate of such prescriptions was 4-times higher in patients with kidney disease than in those without.

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The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) applauded the U.S. Senate for voting today to confirm radiation oncologist Stephen Hahn, MD, FASTRO, as the next Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

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With the help of a $1.7 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, a team of researchers in Wayne State’s College of Engineering will explore ways to address urgent need for a safe and efficient oral delivery technology for insulin to improve the lives of diabetes patients.

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Using a targeted gene epigenome editing approach in the developing mouse brain, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers reversed one gene mutation that leads to the genetic disorder WAGR syndrome, which causes intellectual disability and obesity in people. This specific editing was unique in that it changed the epigenome — how the genes are regulated — without changing the actual genetic code of the gene being regulated.

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Results of a new study suggest that over the past decade (2005-2017), the prevalence of cannabis use in the United States has increased among persons with and without depression, though the increase is significantly more rapid among those with depression.

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Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center today reported study results showing the addition of tucatinib to capecitabine (Xeloda) and trastuzumab (Herceptin) significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer, with and without brain metastasis according to results of the HER2CLIMB clinical trial.

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Researchers hope to develop new imaging methods to improve the treatment of preeclampsia.

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A study combining low-dose chemotherapy with a monoclonal antibody is effective for older patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative ALL.

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New findings by Yale Cancer Center (YCC) and Smilow Cancer Hospital researchers show that as the use of the drug ibrutinib climbs in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), so do the rates of patients who stop taking the drug.

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Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have identified a protein that allows vancomycin-resistant enterococci to defy antibiotic treatment and immune system attacks. Their discovery opens the door for future treatment options in the fight against antibiotic resistance.

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Scientists using specialized beamlines at Argonne's Structural Biology Center (SBC), a facility for macromolecular crystallography at the Advanced Photon Source, derived insights that led to the discovery of a promising new drug for Ebola.

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A one-year follow-up study revealed a majority of patients with mantle cell lymphoma resistant to prior therapies may benefit from treatment with CD19-targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) .

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Two researchers from Penn State College of Medicine have received nearly $5 million from the National Institutes of Health to study whether an already-approved drug can be used to reduce cravings and prevent relapse in those struggling with opioid addiction.

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A new study by Yale Cancer Center (YCC) researchers shows understanding treatment patterns for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is vital to develop strategies to improve outcomes.

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A new study by Yale Cancer Center (YCC) and Smilow Cancer Hospital researchers suggests that the drug venetoclax aids therapy for relapsed/refractory myelodysplastic syndromes, especially when paired with azacytidine.

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A new study from scientists at UCLA helps explain why some people with advanced cancer may not respond to one of the leading immunotherapies, PD-1 blockade, and how a new combination approach may help overcome resistance to the immunotherapy drug.

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Scientists were surprised when they found out that metformin caused the secretion of GDF15, a protein which is known to suppress appetite.

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A Phase II study pairing azacitidine with enasidenib boosts complete remission in patients with AML with IDH2 mutations.

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Taking a baby aspirin every day to prevent a heart attack or stroke should no longer be recommended to patients who haven’t already experienced one of these events.

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For patients with high-risk myeloid cancers undergoing a donor stem cell transplant, adding the targeted drug venetoclax to a reduced-intensity drug regimen prior to transplant is safe and does not impair the ability of the donor cells to take root in recipients’ bodies, a study led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers suggests.

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A new, experimental immunotherapy can put patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) that is resistant to or has come back after multiple other therapies, including CAR T therapy, into remission.

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A study published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment of 799 patients in three locations found that methamphetamine use was associated with more than twice the risk for dropping out of treatment for opioid-use disorder.

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At an event Thursday at Rutgers, thought leaders from academia, health care, government and the pharmaceutical industry discussed the future of scientific and clinical trial innovation in the state, as a result of an innovative consortium between Rutgers University, Princeton University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

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A new technique reported in Science offers more detail, at the single cell level, on how large, pooled samples of various cells react to drugs or other agents. The data might reveal mode of action or the effect of genetic differences in varying responses.

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Altruism and a lack of access and affordability are three reasons why people with chronic illnesses are turning to the “black market” for medicines and supplies, new research shows. Scientists at University of Utah Health and University of Colorado ran surveys to understand why individuals are looking beyond pharmacies and medical equipment companies to meet essential needs. The reasons listed were many but centered on a single theme: traditional healthcare is failing them.

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New research in mice suggests that exposure to antibiotics before birth may impair lung development in premature infants. The study, the first to explore the gut-lung axis in prematurity, is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology and was chosen as an APSselect article for December.

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Two drugs already on the market to treat type two diabetes are being tested in nonhuman primates to see if they can impact the aging process. Researchers dosed marmosets with Metformin and Acarbose and found no adverse side effects

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First patient enrolled at The University of Kansas Cancer Center in expansion cohort study characterizing the safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of fosciclopirox in bladder cancer patients

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A single infusion of ketamine plus behavioral therapy helped alcohol-dependent individuals reduce their drinking, a new study finds.

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Researchers studying the brain found that women taking oral contraceptives, commonly known as birth control pills, had significantly smaller hypothalamus volume, compared to women not taking the pill, according to a new study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

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Long-term treatment with gabapentin, a commonly prescribed drug for nerve pain, could help restore upper limb function after a spinal cord injury, new research in mice suggests.

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DARPA-funded project called STOP PAIN aimed at the design of safer, more effective pain treatments Research to focus on understanding the biology of pain as a way to transform clinical care, help stem the public health crisis fueled by opioids Efforts will encompass expertise from fields including neurobiology, stem cell biology, artificial intelligence and computational and medicinal chemistry

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Using innovative RNA sequencing techniques, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) identified a promising novel treatment for lymphatic filariasis, a disabling parasitic disease that is difficult to treat.

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A research team led by Dr. Dean Tang at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has identified the molecule LRIG1 as an important endogenous tumor suppressor in prostate cancer.

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Evidence from 13 randomized trials of the treatment of migraine in 4,222 patients and tens of thousands of patients in prevention of recurrent attacks supports the use of high dose aspirin from 900 to 1,300 milligrams to treat acute migraine as well as low dose daily aspirin from 81 to 325 milligrams to prevent recurrent attacks. Aspirin is available without a prescription, is inexpensive, and has a relatively favorable side effect profile compared to alternative more expensive medications.

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Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have found that a protein involved in immune response to microbes, TBK1, also can fuel cancer development and suppress immune response to the disease.