Pharmacology News and Research

Latest Pharmacology News and Research

Study reports increased risk of death in patients receiving anesthesia drug etomidate for surgery

Patients receiving the widely used anesthesia drug etomidate for surgery may be at increased risk or mortality and cardiovascular events, according to a study in the December issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

14 Dec 2013

Researchers discover completely new targets for treatment of blood cancers

A particularly aggressive form of leukemia is the acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). It is especially common among children and very difficult to treat. Researchers from the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna have now discovered completely new targets for the treatment of blood cancers.

13 Dec 2013

Brazilian study provides evidence to support effectiveness of Tecta in erosive GERD

Takeda Pharmaceuticals International GmbH announced today results showing pantoprazole magnesium 40 mg (Tecta) was as effective as esomeprazole 40 mg for achieving complete remission (defined as combined endoscopic healing and symptomatic relief) and the mucosal healing rate was high, whilst providing significantly higher symptom relief after 8 weeks.

13 Dec 2013

Z-endoxifen may provide better treatment for women with estrogen positive breast cancer

A Phase I trial of endoxifen, an active metabolite of the cancer drug tamoxifen, indicates that the experimental drug is safe, with early evidence for anti-tumor activity, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The findings indicate that Z-endoxifen, co-developed by Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute, may provide a new and better treatment for some women with estrogen positive breast cancer and, in particular, for those women who do not respond to tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors.

13 Dec 2013

NLST data provides vital information to better understand the benefits, risks of lung cancer screening

Data from the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial—conducted by the American College of Radiology Imaging Network and National Cancer Institute Lung Screening Study—provided researchers the opportunity to investigate the probability that a cancer detected with screening low-dose computed tomography would not have progressed to become life threatening. The results of this investigation published online today in JAMA Internal Medicine suggest that up to 18 percent of the cancers detected by LDCT may not have progressed enough to affect patient health if left undetected.

12 Dec 2013

Circulating nucleosomes and colorectal cancer diagnostics: an interview with Dr. Stefan Holdenrieder, University Hospital Bonn

For my MD thesis I modified and evaluated an immunological assay that detected the cell death products “nucleosomes” as a new blood-based cancer biomarker. As cell death processes are enhanced or suppressed during different stages of tumor development, it was assumed that they may enable stage-dependent detection of cancer disease.

12 Dec 2013

Scientists explore mechanisms of viruses' shells

Viruses are like small vessels containing an active component, the genetic material, that can infect a host cell. The vessel, called capsid or vector, is basically a shell that changes its shape when it penetrates a cell to infect it, and may even break into pieces.

12 Dec 2013

Researchers personalizing cancer treatments for young patients

The aim of personalizing cancer treatments by targeting genomic mutations in the cancer has seen rapid advances in recent years. However, many of these targeted cancer therapies have been more frequently identified for adult patients. Recognizing a need to further explore genomic profiling in pediatric malignancies, the Hugs for Brady Foundation has committed $300,000 to the precision medicine initiative at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey.

11 Dec 2013

Pronai Therapeutics reports positive results from PNT2258 Phase II study on lymphoma

ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc., a leader in developing nucleic acid therapeutics, presented safety and efficacy data from its ongoing Phase II study yesterday at the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Hematology (ASH) in New Orleans, Louisiana.

11 Dec 2013

High cholesterol fuels growth and spread of breast Cancer

Researchers at Duke Medicine conclude that high cholesterol may make breast cancer worse when they found that a byproduct of cholesterol functions like the hormone estrogen, leading to increases in the growth and spread of breast cancer. Studies have previously shown the link between obesity and breast cancer, but the exact cause of the increased risk had not been identified.

11 Dec 2013

Beta-carotene: An important and safe precursor for vitamin A

A Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine study in the November 22 issue of Journal of Biological Chemistry, explains how vitamin A is generated from beta carotene, its dietary precursors. The discovery sheds new light into how beta carotene’s enzymes are utilized differently contributing to the vitamin’s production. This insight will help guide solutions for vitamin A deficiency, a global public health problem affecting more than half of all countries, according to the World Health Organization.

11 Dec 2013

Researchers develop new technique to cure human diseases caused by misfolded protein molecules

A team led by a longtime Oregon Health & Science University researcher has demonstrated in mice what could be a revolutionary new technique to cure a wide range of human diseases - from cystic fibrosis to cataracts to Alzheimer's disease - that are caused by "misfolded" protein molecules.

9 Dec 2013

TAU researchers discover gene that may predict human responses to specific antidepressants

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly prescribed antidepressants, but they don't work for everyone. What's more, patients must often try several different SSRI medications, each with a different set of side effects, before finding one that is effective.

9 Dec 2013

Kolltan Pharmaceuticals signs license agreement with University of Toronto for novel anti-KIT antibodies

Kolltan Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biopharmaceutical company, today announced the Company has signed a license agreement with the University of Toronto for novel anti-KIT receptor tyrosine kinase antibodies identified in the laboratories of Dr. Sachdev Sidhu at the University of Toronto and the laboratory of Dr. Joseph Schlessinger of Yale University.

6 Dec 2013

Researchers discover biological mechanism that allows brain tumor cells to escape from drugs

Researchers from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered a biological mechanism that allows brain tumor cells to escape from the drugs designed to target them, resulting in drug resistance. The study was published in the December 5, 2013 online issue of Science.

6 Dec 2013

New program to investigate link between secondhand smoke and ADHD in children

Duke Medicine has established a new research program to investigate the relationship between exposure to environmental tobacco smoke during pregnancy and childhood and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.

6 Dec 2013

Study reveals that brain cancer cells resist therapy by dialing down gene mutation targeted by drugs

A team of scientists, led by principal investigator Paul S. Mischel, MD, a member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has found that brain cancer cells resist therapy by dialing down the gene mutation targeted by drugs, then re-amplify that growth-promoting mutation after therapy has stopped.

6 Dec 2013

Type 2 diabetes management: an interview with Professor Klaus Dugi, Corporate Senior Vice President Medicine, Boehringer Ingelheim

The rate of Type 2 Diabetes is rapidly increasing, particularly in Asian countries which make up more than 60 percent of the world’s diabetes population. So it’s really important physicians feel confident managing this chronic condition in their daily clinical practice.

5 Dec 2013

Findings suggest new approach for treating inflammatory bone diseases and skeletal metastases

The skeleton is constantly being remodelled by the breakdown of old bone by cells called osteoclasts and the formation of new bone by cells called osteoblasts. This coordinated activity is essential for maintaining healthy bone. However, excessive osteoclast activity leads to bone destruction in skeletal diseases such as osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer metastases in bone. A family of signaling enzymes known as phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases control diverse cell functions but, up until now, little was known about the function of specific PI3K isoforms in osteoclasts.

5 Dec 2013

18F-FDOPA imaging can help distinguish radiation-induced lesions in patients with brain metastases

Imaging with the molecular imaging tracer 18F-FDOPA can help distinguish radiation-induced lesions from new tumor growth in patients who have been treated with radiation for brain metastases, according to new research published in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. Using this amino acid tracer, researchers found that physicians could accurately differentiate the two types of lesions 83 percent of the time. Progression-free survival could also be predicted through evaluating the 18F-FDOPA imaging results.

4 Dec 2013

Pharmacology News and Research

Latest Pharmacology News and Research

Study reports increased risk of death in patients receiving anesthesia drug etomidate for surgery

Researchers discover completely new targets for treatment of blood cancers

Brazilian study provides evidence to support effectiveness of Tecta in erosive GERD

Z-endoxifen may provide better treatment for women with estrogen positive breast cancer

NLST data provides vital information to better understand the benefits, risks of lung cancer screening

Circulating nucleosomes and colorectal cancer diagnostics: an interview with Dr. Stefan Holdenrieder, University Hospital Bonn

Scientists explore mechanisms of viruses' shells

Researchers personalizing cancer treatments for young patients

Pronai Therapeutics reports positive results from PNT2258 Phase II study on lymphoma

High cholesterol fuels growth and spread of breast Cancer

Beta-carotene: An important and safe precursor for vitamin A

Researchers develop new technique to cure human diseases caused by misfolded protein molecules

TAU researchers discover gene that may predict human responses to specific antidepressants

Kolltan Pharmaceuticals signs license agreement with University of Toronto for novel anti-KIT antibodies

Researchers discover biological mechanism that allows brain tumor cells to escape from drugs

New program to investigate link between secondhand smoke and ADHD in children

Study reveals that brain cancer cells resist therapy by dialing down gene mutation targeted by drugs

Type 2 diabetes management: an interview with Professor Klaus Dugi, Corporate Senior Vice President Medicine, Boehringer Ingelheim

Findings suggest new approach for treating inflammatory bone diseases and skeletal metastases

18F-FDOPA imaging can help distinguish radiation-induced lesions in patients with brain metastases

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Pharmacology News and Research

Latest Pharmacology News and Research

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Automating research - solutions and best practices

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

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