Duke Medicine researchers have identified biochemical changes in people taking antidepressants – but only in those whose depression improves. These changes occur in a neurotransmitter pathway that is connected to the pineal gland, the part of the endocrine system that controls the sleep cycle, suggesting an added link between sleep, depression and treatment outcomes.
A drug already approved to treat multiple sclerosis may also hold promise for treating cardiac hypertrophy, or thickening of the cardiac muscle--a disorder that often leads to heart failure, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine report.
A drug originally developed to prevent the rejection of transplanted organs has now been shown to dramatically reduce seizures in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) – a genetic disease characterized by benign tumors on multiple organ systems. TSC is estimated to affect more than a million individuals throughout the world.
An international group of scientists has shown that a drug candidate designed by scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute significantly increases exercise endurance in animal models.
• A novel drug called Bendavia can help prevent acute kidney injury in animal models and is currently being studied in clinical trials for kidney disease. • Bendavia acts by protecting a unique compound called cardiolipin, which is only found in mitochondria and is essential for keeping cells alive and functioning.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulators have issued a warning on the blood pressure drug known generically as olmesartan medoxomil.
Drugs that help millions of people cope with acid reflux may also cause cardiovascular disease. It is the first time researchers have shown how proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, might cause cardiovascular problems.
“In 2007, Congress passed the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act (FDAAA), which authorized the FDA to require postmarketing studies for a prescription drug's approval and mandate adherence to study deadlines. We examined how fulfillment of these postmarketing studies has changed over time.”
For patients facing treatment for cancer, it is essential to understand how their symptoms will be affected. Symptoms like pain, fatigue, or nausea can result from the cancer, or from treatment side effects. The best way to collect this information is from patients themselves in research studies. But almost no drug labels in the U.S. include this information. As a result, incomplete information is available to patients and clinicians to help with treatment decisions.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified two promising candidates for the development of drugs against human adenovirus, a cause of ailments ranging from colds to gastrointestinal disorders to pink eye. A paper published in FEBS Letters, a journal of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies, describes how the researchers sifted through thousands of compounds to determine which might block the effects of a key viral enzyme they had previously studied in atomic-level detail.
Scientists found genetic variations that could be used to identify women who are most likely to benefit from a certain type of breast cancer prevention drug—and who should avoid it.
It’s a GEMM of a system. Genetically engineered mouse models that is. Using them allows scientists to study cancer in a way that more naturally mimics how human tumors exist within the complex environment of the body.
New research reveals that the likely culprit behind Alzheimer's has a different molecular structure than current drugs' target -- perhaps explaining why current medications produce little improvement in patients.
ADHD drug helps improve brain functional connectivity in cocaine addiction.
A new review by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine highlights a large body of published research demonstrating how modified citrus pectin (MCP), works against cancer. The study, which was published on April 18 in the American Journal of Pharmacology and Toxicology, also examines MCP’s synergistic relationship with chemotherapy, as well as its ability to modulate immunity, safely remove heavy metals and block the pro-inflammatory protein galectin-3.
Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have found a compound that could counter Parkinson’s disease in two ways at once. In a new study published recently online ahead of print by the journal ACS Chemical Biology, the scientists describe a “dual inhibitor” that attacks a pair of proteins closely associated with development of Parkinson’s disease.
Latest results of Phase 2 study confirm high rate of response, remission
Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug, and more than half take two, Mayo Clinic and Olmsted Medical Center researchers say. Antibiotics, antidepressants and painkilling opioids are most commonly prescribed, their study found. Twenty percent of patients are on five or more prescription medications, according to the findings, published online in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
University of Iowa ophthalmologists have tested a new drug to treat age-related macular degeneration in older patients. The researchers report that half of the eyes treated responded to the new drug, Eylea, with reduced fluid in the eyes, while one in three had improved vision after six months. Results appear in the American Journal of Ophthalmology.
NitroMemantine is the first drug to halt the progression of synaptic loss and to even restore these connections between nerve cells. The combination drug is now headed for clinical trials.
A new drug called pyrvinium pamoate inhibits aggressive forms of prostate cancer that are resistant to standard drugs, according to a study conducted in an animal model. The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
An investigational new drug significantly improved a common and debilitating circadian rhythm sleep disorder that frequently affects people who are completely blind, a multicenter study finds. The results were presented Monday at The Endocrine Society’s Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
Consuming 10 milligrams (mg) daily of S-equol delivered via a new fermented soy-based nutritional supplement alleviated menopausal symptoms, particularly the frequency of hot flashes and severity of neck or shoulder muscle stiffness, without impacting thyroid and certain sex hormone levels, according to clinical data presented at the annual meeting of The Endocrine Society, (ENDO) 2013.
A drug that mimics the activity of thyroid hormone significantly increases the amount of energy burned by fat tissue and promotes weight loss, an animal study of metabolism finds. The results were presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
Short-term use of antidepressants, combined with stress and a high-fat diet, is associated with long-term increases in body weight, a new animal study finds. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
A type of drug normally used to treat heart failure and high blood pressure helped prevent weight gain and other complications related to a high-fat diet in an animal study. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
A new osteoporosis drug hinders the growth of estrogen-sensitive cancer that has become resistant to treatment with tamoxifen, a study in mice shows.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins report that hospitalized patients do not receive more than one in 10 doses of doctor-ordered blood thinners prescribed to prevent potentially lethal or disabling blood clots, a decision they say may be fueled by misguided concern by patients and their caregivers.
Multiple drug classes commonly prescribed for common medical conditions are capable of influencing the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Most teens have unsupervised access to their prescription drugs at home, including drugs with potential for abuse, finds a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
A collaboration of scientists at Sanford-Burnham and the University of California, Santa Barbara, finds that rod-shaped particles, rather than spherical particles, appear more effective at adhering to cells where they’re needed.
Mice suffering from age-related heart disease saw a significant improvement in cardiac function after treatment with the FDA-approved drug rapamycin for just three months. Research at the Buck Institute shows how rapamycin impacts mammalian tissues, providing functional insights and possible benefits for a drug that can extend lifespan in mice as much as 14 percent. Researchers at the Mayo clinic are now recruiting seniors with cardiac artery disease for a clinical trial involving the drug.
Researchers at Whitehead Institute have identified a key target protein of glucocorticoids, the drugs that are used to increase red blood cell production in patients with certain types of anemia, including those resulting from trauma, sepsis, malaria, kidney dialysis, and chemotherapy. The discovery could spur development of drugs capable of increasing this protein’s production and thus increased numbers of red blood cells without causing the severe side effects associated with glucocorticoids.
A re-analysis of the data from a pivotal study of rosiglitazone found no increased risk of cardiovascular events associated with the controversial diabetes drug, according to researchers at the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI).
A team of researchers has made a significant discovery which may have a dramatic impact on children stricken with Tay-Sachs disease, a degenerative and fatal neurological condition that often strikes in the early months of life. Available drugs may dramatically ease a child’s suffering, say scientists.
When injected into mice immediately following a traumatic event, a new drug prevents the animals from developing memory problems and increased anxiety that are indicative of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists utilized mouse studies to suggest that a receptor called Oprl1 is altered in mice with PTSD-like symptoms. They then worked with a group at the Scripps Research Institute who had previously developed the Oprl1-targeted drug to examine its effects on fear memory modulation.
A newfound genetic marker promises to better predict warfarin dose in African-Americans, according to a study published online today in The Lancet.
In the first GWAS to focus on warfarin dose requirement in African-Americans, researchers have identified a common genetic variation that can help physicians estimate the correct dose of the widely used blood-thinning drug warfarin.
Eighty-three percent of cancer doctors report that they’ve faced oncology drug shortages, and of those, nearly all say that their patients’ treatment has been impacted, according to a study from researchers at the Abramson Cancer Center and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania that will be presented today at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Abstract #CRA6510). The results showed that shortages – which have hit especially hard among drugs to treat pediatric, gastrointestinal and blood cancers – have left physicians surveyed unable to prescribe standard chemotherapies for a range of cancers.
Adding bevacizumab (Avastin) to standard chemotherapy and radiation treatment does not improve survival for patients newly diagnosed with glioblastoma, a very aggressive form of brain cancer, researchers have found. The results of the large, multicenter study are being presented today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.
A Radiation Therapy Oncology Group trial found that adding bevacizumab to initial treatment for glioblastoma did not improve patient overall survival or progression-free survival,. Results were reported June 2 at the plenary session of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2013 Annual Meeting.
Gene panel may help personalize therapy for aggressive brain tumors.
Many glioblastoma patients treated with bevacizumab (Avastin®) have significant deterioration in neurocognitive function, symptoms and quality of life.
On Wednesday, 5/29/13, the Wall Street Journal published an article titled “Africa’s Malaria Battle: Fake Drug Pipeline Undercuts Progress.” The piece outlines a counterfeit pharmaceutical problem that is top of mind at Saint Mary’s College where chemistry researchers have developed Paper Analytical Devices (PADs) that can screen whether an antimalarial drug is real.
Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.P.H. and colleagues from around the world, under the direction of the Clinical Trial Service and Epidemiology Studies Unit at the University of Oxford, conducted a world-wide meta-analyses using individual participant data from 280 trials of NSAIDs vs. placebo and 474 trials of NSAID vs. another NSAID, which involved a total of 353,809 participants and a total of 233,798 person-years. These results address risks and benefits of drugs used for relief of inflammatory arthritis including cardiovascular disease and other relevant outcomes such as gastrointestinal effects.
New guidelines to ensure the safe and effective use of blood thinners have been developed and endorsed by the Anticoagulation Forum.
A drug commonly used to treat depression and anxiety may improve a stress-related heart condition in people with stable coronary heart disease, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.
Among patients with stable coronary heart disease and mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia (MSIMI), 6 weeks of treatment with the antidepressant escitalopram, compared with placebo, resulted in a lower rate of MSIMI, according to a study in the May 22/29 issue of JAMA.
A novel approach to obstructing the runaway inflammatory response implicated in some types of asthma has shown promise in a Phase IIa clinical trial, according to U. S. researchers.
A new study of both computer-created and natural proteins suggests that the number of unique pockets – sites where small molecule pharmaceutical compounds can bind to proteins – is surprisingly small, meaning drug side effects may be impossible to avoid.
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