Pharmacology News and Research

Latest Pharmacology News and Research

Certain SSRI medications fail to achieve same selectivity for prevention of SUDEP

Scientists from Southern Illinois University today reported the results of a study evaluating the potential effect of two selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressant medications in reducing the risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).

4 Dec 2012

DFG to establish 11 Collaborative Research Centres in Jan 2013

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) will establish eleven Collaborative Research Centres (CRCs) as of 1 January 2013. This was decided by the responsible Grants Committee during its fall session in Bonn.

30 Nov 2012

Study shows how cancer cells control ON/OFF switch of EMT program

A team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has shown for the first time how cancer cells control the ON/OFF switch of a program used by developing embryos to effectively metastasize in vivo, breaking free and spreading to other parts of the body, where they can proliferate and grow into secondary tumors.

30 Nov 2012

Two Sanford-Burnham projects win International Space Station Research Competition

Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) today announced that two of the Institute's research teams have won Space Florida's International Space Station (ISS) Research Competition. Eight teams were selected from a pool of international applicants to send experiments to space in late 2013.

30 Nov 2012

Microglia might play a key role in protecting brain from Alzheimer's

A new experimental study carried out in mice shows that microglia, immune cells of the brain, might play a key role in protecting the brain from Alzheimer's disease (AD).

29 Nov 2012

Researchers discover alternative mechanism for Ras protein activation

The protein Ras plays an important role in cellular growth control. Researchers have focused on the protein because mutations in its gene are found in more than 30 percent of all cancers, making it the most prevalent human oncogene.

28 Nov 2012

National Taiwan University Hospital, PAREXEL establish alliance

PAREXEL International Corporation a leading global biopharmaceutical services provider, and the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) announced today that they have established an alliance. Under the agreement, PAREXEL and NTUH will collaborate to provide drug development services in Taiwan.

From Parexel 27 Nov 2012

Liver disease therapies: an interview with Eric Halioua, CEO of Promethera Biosciences

Liver disease is a very broad family of diseases. There are two main categories of liver disease:

27 Nov 2012

Scientists discover telomerase as cause of chronic inflammation in human cancers

A*STAR scientists have identified the enzyme, telomerase, as a cause of chronic inflammation in human cancers. Chronic inflammation is now recognized as a key underlying cause for the development of many human cancers, autoimmune disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes.

22 Nov 2012

GVK Biosciences receives AERB approvals to carry out 3H and 14C synthesis activities

GVK Biosciences, Asia's leading Drug Discovery Research & Development organization, has received approvals from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), Government of India, to carry out 3H and 14C synthesis activities.

19 Nov 2012

Anesthesia & Analgesia Case Reports to be published in 2013

A new journal dedicated to sharing and discussion of informative clinical experiences is coming soon, with the launch of Anesthesia & Analgesia Case Reports, the newest publication of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

17 Nov 2012

S100A4 protein triggers repair processes in the brain after injury

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have found that a protein, known for causing cancer cells to spread around the body, is also one of the molecules that trigger repair processes in the brain.

17 Nov 2012

Tanshinones protect against sepsis: Study

Researchers at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered that tanshinones, which come from the plant Danshen and are highly valued in Chinese traditional medicine, protect against the life-threatening condition sepsis. The findings are published in the December issue of Biochemical Pharmacology.

16 Nov 2012

Viewpoints: Obama must tell allies that entitlements can't be excluded from fiscal deal; Medical device tax will thwart innovation

As bipartisan negotiations over avoiding the "fiscal cliff" draw nearer, many of President Obama's core Democratic supporters are urging him to fix the debt through defense cuts and tax increases rather than by tackling Social Security, Medicare and other federal entitlement programs. It's a reprise of progressive resistance to the entitlement trims Mr. Obama contemplated during the abortive debt-reduction negotiations with House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) last year.

15 Nov 2012

Irregular sleep patterns may trigger schizophrenia symptoms

Neuroscientists studying the link between poor sleep and schizophrenia have found that irregular sleep patterns and desynchronised brain activity during sleep could trigger some of the disease's symptoms. The findings, published in the journal Neuron, suggest that these prolonged disturbances might be a cause and not just a consequence of the disorder's debilitating effects.

15 Nov 2012

Brevetoxin-2 stimulates nerve cell growth and plasticity in cultured mouse neurons

A new study using brevetoxin-2, a compound produced naturally by marine algae, stimulated nerve cell growth and plasticity in cultured mouse neurons. This research advances a potentially new pharmacological treatment to aid recovery of brain function following a stroke or other traumatic brain injury.

14 Nov 2012

Combination of hormones may effectively treat obesity with few side effects

Scientists at Indiana University and international collaborators have found a way to link two hormones into a single molecule, producing a more effective therapy with fewer side effects for potential use as treatment for obesity and related medical conditions.

14 Nov 2012