Pharmacology News and Research

Latest Pharmacology News and Research

New catalog brings interactions between pharmacological molecules and proteins

The three-dimensional structures of proteins determine how, when and where they bind to drugs and other compounds. In 2012 alone, thousands of structures like this were resolved.

3 Dec 2013

Soligenix initiates orBec Phase 2 study for GI manifestations of chronic GVHD

Soligenix, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products to treat serious inflammatory diseases where there remains an unmet medical need, as well as developing several biodefense vaccines and therapeutics, announced today that it has initiated a Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating orBec (oral beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate or BDP) as a treatment for the gastrointestinal manifestations of chronic Graft-versus-Host disease.

2 Dec 2013

Elevated cholesterol is associated with breast cancer risk

A byproduct of cholesterol functions like the hormone estrogen to fuel the growth and spread of the most common types of breast cancers, researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute report.

29 Nov 2013

Scientists identify new approach to fight malaria parasites

Using advanced methodologies that pit drug compounds against specific types of malaria parasite cells, an international team of scientists, including researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, have identified a potential new weapon and approach for attacking the parasites that cause malaria.

28 Nov 2013

Mutation in alpha-synuclein gene causes increased vulnerability to pesticides, leading to Parkinson's

A team of researchers has brought new clarity to the picture of how gene-environmental interactions can kill nerve cells that make dopamine. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that sends messages to the part of the brain that controls movement and coordination.

27 Nov 2013

Findings highlight possible new approach to combat malaria

An international team of scientists, including researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, has identified a key metabolic enzyme that common malaria parasites require for survival at each stage of infection in humans. The findings raise the possibility of a new approach to combating malaria, one of the world's deadliest diseases. The study was published today in the online edition of the journal Nature.

27 Nov 2013

US may be losing ground as the leader in biomedical research

The United States may be losing ground as the leader in biomedical research and within the next five years will be second to China in the funds it spends for R&D, according to Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D, director of the National Institutes of Health.

27 Nov 2013

Researchers reveal why some breast cancer cells are resistant to chemotherapy

Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine, working with cell lines in a lab, have discovered why some of the most aggressive and fatal breast cancer cells are resistant to chemotherapy, and UNC scientists are developing ways to overcome such resistance.

26 Nov 2013

Study investigates connections between sleep problems and neurodegenerative conditions

A new discovery may help explain the surprisingly strong connections between sleep problems and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.

26 Nov 2013

Scientists hope to find new treatments for traumatic brain injury

In the most wide-reaching project of its kind, scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch are expanding their research on traumatic brain injury, examining its progressive, chronic effects on the body in hopes of treating its immediate and long-term consequences. The project is funded by a three-year, $9 million grant from The Moody Foundation of Galveston.

22 Nov 2013

Research paves way towards personalized chronotherapy treatments

Cancer chronotherapy consists in administering treatment at an optimal time. Because the body is governed by precise biological rhythms, the efficacy of anti-cancer drugs can be doubled and their toxicity reduced five-fold depending on the exact timing of their administration.

22 Nov 2013

Probe to measure immune function could lead to determine nanoparticle-based drugs for cancer patients

The development of a probe to measure the body's immune function could lead to more accurate, individualized doses for cancer patients prescribed nanoparticle-based drugs, according to research conducted at the University of North Carolina.

21 Nov 2013

Caffeine in coffee may help small blood vessels work better

The caffeine in a cup of coffee might help your small blood vessels work better, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013.

20 Nov 2013

New approach may help researchers find new drugs for human diseases

A team of biochemists and mathematicians have developed a sophisticated geometric model to predict how a biological molecule will interact with water molecules, computing the results up to 20 times faster than other existing approaches. This new approach may help researchers find new drugs to treat human diseases, said the team, who described their theoretical approach in the Journal of Chemical Physics, which is produced by AIP Publishing.

20 Nov 2013

Long-term use of PDE3 inhibitors can lead to increased risk for sudden cardiac death

Drugs known as PDE3 inhibitors save many lives by helping failing hearts do a better job of pumping blood. But those same medications come with a sometimes deadly cost when taken for long periods: an increased risk for sudden cardiac death.

19 Nov 2013

Protein shed by HIV-infected brain cells alters synaptic connections between networks of nerve cells

A protein shed by HIV-infected brain cells alters synaptic connections between networks of nerve cells, according to new research out of the University of Minnesota. The findings could explain why nearly half of all patients infected with the AIDS virus experience some level of neurocognitive impairment.

16 Nov 2013

Scientists join patients to address Friedreich's Ataxia

The Spanish Federation of Ataxia (FEDAES)—in representation of the GENEFA Platform for a Friedreich's Ataxia cure—, the Babel Family association for biomedical research into Friedreich's Ataxia, the "Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa" (CMBSO), and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) have signed an agreement through which these patients' associations will fund, by means of donations, a 3-year research project addressing Friedreich's Ataxia.

16 Nov 2013

Research could refine next generation of drugs to help treat dementia

A £1.1 million grant to understand how one of the brain's key neurotransmitters called 'acetylcholine' influences brain activity has been awarded to University of Bristol researchers. The Wellcome Trust award will help scientists understand more precisely how the release of acetylcholine is changing brain cell activity to influence memory and cognition.

15 Nov 2013

Annexin A5 protein may have therapeutic potential for treatment of sepsis

Sepsis is the leading cause of in-hospital death and there is no specific treatment for it. Now, research led by Dr. Qingping Feng of Western University (London, Canada) suggests a protein called recombinant human annexin A5 may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of this disease. The paper is published in advance, online in Critical Care Medicine.

15 Nov 2013

Acquired resistance to cancer therapies: an interview with Dr Rajendra Kumari, Chief Scientific Officer at PRECOS

Cancer can be treated by a number of different ways depending on the location, grade and stage of tumour. A patient's age, medical history and lifestyle will also be taken into consideration and a combination of treatments will also be adopted to provide maximum effect.

14 Nov 2013