Feature Channels: Pharmaceuticals

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval today of atezolizumab (Tecentriq®, Genentech) in combination with chemotherapy (carboplatin and etoposide) for the initial treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) marks the end of numerous failed attempts to improve survival for those with the deadly disease.

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Common medications prescribed to treat heartburn, acid reflux and ulcers are linked to increased risks for kidney failure and chronic kidney disease, found a recent University at Buffalo study.

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Stanley Chetcuti, M.D., co-author on the Evolut trial of low-risk TAVR/ interventional cardiologist at Michigan Medicine (University of Michigan) comments on importance of both late-breaking clinical trials re: low-risk TAVR (Evolut and Partner 3) at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions.

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A Cleveland Clinic-led research team has found that using an absorbable, antibiotic-eluting envelope when implanting cardiac devices like pacemakers and defibrillators can cut the rate of major infections by 40 percent. The research was presented today at the American College of Cardiology’s 68th Annual Scientific Session and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It will also be presented tomorrow at the European Heart Rhythm Association 2019 Congress.

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S. Chris Malaisrie, MD, a cardiac surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, associate professor of surgery (cardiac surgery) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and co-chair of the PARTNER 3 case review board, is available to comment on PARTNER 3.

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The 33 million people with atrial fibrillation worldwide not only suffer from bothersome symptoms, but also face a fivefold increased risk of stroke and a twofold increased risk of death. Research teams led by Mayo Clinic published three connected studies on Friday, March 15, clarifying the benefits of catheter ablation versus rate- or rhythm-control medications to treat atrial fibrillation.

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Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia that affects an estimated 30 million people worldwide. New research shows that catheter ablation, a common cardiovascular procedure, appears no more effective than drug therapy to prevent strokes, deaths and other complications in patients with atrial fibrillation. But patients who receive catheter ablation experience much greater symptom relief and long-term improvements in quality of life. And they have fewer recurrences of their atrial fibrillation and fewer hospitalizations than those who receive only drugs. You can learn more about this new research in the March 15 issue of JAMA.

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New findings, published today in AACC’s Clinical Chemistry journal, add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that no legal driving limit for cannabis can catch impaired recreational users without unfairly penalizing unimpaired regular or medicinal users.

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A biomedical engineer at Washington University in St. Louis is developing a therapeutic option that would prevent opiates from crossing the blood-brain barrier, preventing the high abusers seek.

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A synthetic DNA structure was used as bait to capture nuclear proteins, revealing previously unknown role of HNRNPD in the cellular response to DNA damage.

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The Jefferson College of Pharmacy has announced a new master’s degree in Population Health Pharmacy. One of the first of its kind, the Master’s in Population Health Pharmacy focuses on the impact of health determinants on outcomes associated with medication use.

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The first arm of a phase II clinical trial by a research team at Georgetown University Medical Center testing the use of nilotinib in patients with Parkinson’s disease demonstrates precisely how the agent increases levels of dopamine in the brains of study participants.

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There is no such thing as TMI (too much information) when it comes to communicating facts about your health with your physician anesthesiologist before surgery or a medical procedure. You might not think taking ginkgo biloba for memory, using medical marijuana for pain, smoking or snoring are relevant, but these supplements, drugs and conditions are among the eight things you should disclose for your own safety, notes the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).

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Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and colleagues have identified a gene that increases the risk for a severe and potentially life-threatening reaction to the commonly prescribed antibiotic vancomycin. Routine testing for this gene could improve patient safety and reduce unnecessary avoidance of other antibiotics, they reported in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

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An international panel of the foremost researchers on infectious disease and antimicrobials has formed new guidelines on the use of polymyxins, a class of antibiotics employed as a last resort to treat deadly, drug-resistant bacteria.

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• In a phase 3 clinical trial, tenapanor significantly lowered elevated blood phosphate in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis, resulting in an average reduction of 1.0–1.2 mg/dL over 8 weeks. • Side effects were largely limited to softening of stool and more frequent bowel movements.

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Antibiotics survival mechanism: UC San Diego researchers have discovered an unexpected mechanism that allows bacteria to defend themselves against antibiotics, a surprise finding that could lead to retooled drugs to treat infectious diseases.

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Researchers at The Wistar Institute have created a drug candidate for cancers associated with Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), the virus that causes infectious mononucleosis.

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Two older drugs, designed for other purposes, produced promising results in the treatment of mice with triple negative breast cancer.

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A new, first-of-its kind project from researchers at The University of Kansas Cancer Center aims to boost participation in urologic cancer clinical trials by partnering with community urologists.

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Papers on nuclear receptor function in zebrafish; and whether PCB 95 and dendritic arborization effects are sex-dependent are featured in latest issue of Toxicological Sciences.

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A team of researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Health Data Sciences Institute (HDSI) have harnessed the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to better match cancer patients with clinical trials. The researchers were one of ten teams to develop a digital tool to address complex challenges relevant to medical conditions such as cancer and Lyme disease as part of The Opportunity Project (TOP) Health Sprint, a 14-week effort sponsored by the Census Bureau, coordinated by the Department of Health and Human Services, and led by two Presidential Innovation Fellows.

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Chemists in Vienna find a method to replace hydrogen with fluorine in organic moleculesThe development and improvement of pharmaceuticals plays the central role in the ongoing battle against human disease. Organic synthesis is the field that enables these developments as it offers the toolbox to diversify chemical structures.

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As many as 50% of children with epilepsy and 20% of adults carry an ADHD diagnosis. Package inserts for ADHD medications warn of the drugs’ potential to lower the seizure threshold. However, there are few empirical data on the risk of seizures at therapeutic doses.

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Cognitive impairment affects more than 50 million people worldwide. In the United States alone, one in three seniors dies with some type of dementia. This creates a critical clinical need for safe and effective therapies for the treatment and prevention of cognitive impairment.

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Medical practitioners commonly treat organs in isolation, but Boston University physicist Plamen Ivanov wants to usher in a new paradigm. As he will describe at the 2019 APS March Meeting, “It’s time to view health and disease not only from the perspective of individual organs but from the point of view of their integration,” he said. “We need to show how the different systems communicate with each other and stay in sync.” Ivanov calls the field he’s pioneering “network physiology.”

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Vaccinations are the world’s frontline defence against infectious diseases yet despite decades of interventions, unsafe injection practices continue to expose billions of people to serious infection and disease. Now, new technology from the University of South Australia is revolutionising safe vaccination practices through antibacterial, silver-loaded dissolvable microneedle patches, which not only sterilise the injection site to inhibit the growth of bacteria, but also physically dissolve after administration.

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Pharmaceutical leader Cam Garner and his wife Wanda, a cancer workshop facilitator and philanthropic fundraiser, gave UC San Diego $2 million to establish the Garner Family Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Blood and Marrow Transplant.

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Announcement of the new Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre to deliver new treatments for rare diseases.

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• Payments by organ transplant recipients and Medicare decreased significantly following the introduction of generic immunosuppressive medications. • Large differences in out-of-pocket payments for immunosuppressive medications between Part D beneficiaries who did and did not qualify for the Medicare low-income subsidy suggest that recipients with resources just above the threshold to qualify for the subsidy may experience considerable financial strain.

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Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine have identified a clear group of characteristics that predict heightened risk for experiencing increased anxiety or worsening of mood that interferes with daily activities when using a smoking cessation drug. Results are published in the February 27 online edition of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

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Blocking two molecular pathways that send signals inside cancer cells could stave off esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), the most common esophageal malignancy in the United States, according to new research out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

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Researchers from the McKelvey School of Engineering and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are one step closer to delivering precise amounts of medication to exact location, repurposing an existing imaging "painting" method.

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Having a family member with persistent opioid use may be a risk factor for young adults continuing prescriptions long after their own surgeries, a new Michigan Medicine study suggests.

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Medically high-risk patients and communication breakdowns between providers contribute to the difficulty of medication management for older adults receiving home health care, finds a study led by researchers at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing.

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A new way to create proteins that can sneak through HIV’s protective coating may be a step toward understanding the key components needed for developing a vaccine for the virus, according to researchers.

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Infants exposed to antenatal corticosteroid therapy (ACT) to accelerate lung maturation have a clinically significant reduction in birth size, according to a new of study of 278,508 births published this week in PLOS Medicine by Alina Rodriguez of the University of Lincoln and Imperial College London, UK, and colleagues.

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New preclinical findings from extensive cell and animal studies suggest that cysteamine bitartrate, a drug already used for a rare kidney disease, could benefit patients with some mitochondrial disorders. No proven effective treatments yet exist for these complex conditions with severe energy deficiency

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and the Arkansas Society of Anesthesiologists (ARSA) strongly oppose SB 184 and HB 1283, which will dismantle the anesthesia care team model in Arkansas by allowing nurse anesthetists to administer anesthesia without physician supervision. HB 1283 will also allow nurse anesthetists to provide analgesics, opening the door for nurses to provide powerful pain-relieving drugs such as opioids.

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Nonprofit Clinical Research Pathways announces two new members of its Board of Directors, from the Atlanta area

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In a recent Rutgers study, 38 percent of patients discharged from the emergency department had at least one drug interaction resulting from a newly prescribed medicine.

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FINDINGS Researchers found that more than 97 percent of the surgeries for appendicitis were laparoscopic, or minimally invasive, and most patients were discharged the same day or the next day. Only 3 percent of the procedures resulted in complications. Rates of unnecessary surgery — removing a “normal” appendix — were low (less than 4 percent), but were much higher in people without imaging studies before their operation (nearly 20 percent).

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Healthcare providers depend on lab test results to help them diagnose and determine the most effective treatments for children—especially when treating children who are too young to communicate their symptoms. Join AACC and leading experts in laboratory medicine for a discussion about the need to develop precise pediatric reference intervals to improve lab testing for children, and the challenges that must be overcome before this can be accomplished.

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Nine out of 10 people who believe they’re allergic to the antibiotic either aren’t allergic or have only some intolerance, and eight of 10 people who had an allergic reaction to penicillin 10 or more years ago will now be fine.

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Scientists at the microbiology lab led by Javier Campos-Gómez, Ph.D., in Drug Discovery at Southern Research discovered that Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium responsible for severe, drug-resistant infections in humans, uses a family of fatty acids, known as “oxylipins,” in a cell-to-cell signaling language critical for its virulence.

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A new study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers found that U.S.-based patient advocacy organizations received a disproportionate amount of contributions made by the world’s 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in 2016.