Pharmacology News and Research

Latest Pharmacology News and Research

Reducing iron levels in blood plasma may protect brain from changes related to AD

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is now the sixth leading cause of death among Americans, affecting nearly 1 in 8 people over the age of 65. There is currently no treatment that alters the course of this disease. However, an increasing amount of evidence suggests that changes in the way the body handles iron and other metals like copper and zinc may start years before the onset of AD symptoms. A new study shows that reducing iron levels in blood plasma may protect the brain from changes related to AD.

11 Apr 2012

First study to examine links between neurodevelopmental disorders and maternal metabolic conditions

A major study of the relationships between maternal metabolic conditions and the risk that a child will be born with a neurodevelopmental disorder has found strong links between maternal diabetes and obesity and the likelihood of having a child with autism or another developmental disability.

9 Apr 2012

NIMH honors SUNY Downstate professor with MERIT award

Todd C. Sacktor, M.D., distinguished professor of physiology and pharmacology and of neurology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, has received a MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) award from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) for his research on memory.

7 Apr 2012

USPTO issues patent to ChromaDex’s pterostilbene

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted patent #8,133,917 pertaining to the ingredient pterostilbene, which is licensed exclusively to ChromaDex Corp., an innovative natural products company that provides proprietary, science-based solutions and ingredients to the dietary supplement, food & beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, and marketer of BluScience, its new line of dietary supplements.

6 Apr 2012

Label-Free Technologies Conference to be held in Amsterdam

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announces the Label-Free Technologies Conference to be held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1-3 November 2012.

6 Apr 2012

Anti-ceramide antibody may prevent radiation gastrointestinal syndrome

A new study offers the first evidence of a drug capable of preventing lethal damage to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract caused by exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation, such as those occurring during a nuclear incident.

5 Apr 2012

CHD8, SNC2A and KATNAL2 gene mutations lead to ASDs

Mutations in three new genes have been linked to autism, according to new studies including one with investigators at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. All three studies include lead investigators of the Autism Sequencing Consortium.

5 Apr 2012

BIND presents results from BIND-014 Phase 1 trial on solid tumors at AACR 2012

BIND Biosciences, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of highly selective targeted therapeutics called Accurins, announced today the presentation of late-breaker clinical data for BIND-014, the lead drug candidate within a new class of targeted therapeutics that are programmed to concentrate at tumors, at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2012 Annual Meeting.

5 Apr 2012

Anti-TAK1 agents may hold hope against highly aggressive KRAS mutant colon cancers

Anurag Singh, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at Boston University School of Medicine has been invited to present his recent work on targeted therapeutics for colon cancer at the American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL.

4 Apr 2012

Researchers identify how neural cells build up resistance to opioid pain drugs within hours

Researchers at the University of Montreal's Sainte-Justine Hospital have identified how neural cells are able to build up resistance to opioid pain drugs within hours. "A better understanding of these mechanisms will enable us to design drugs that avoid body resistance to these drugs and produce longer therapeutic responses, including prolonged opioid analgesia", lead author Dr. Graciela Pineyro said.

4 Apr 2012

Two leading authorities partner to write and edit Stroke Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation

Stroke prevention, treatment and rehabilitation have come a long way in the time since Neurologist Dr. David Spence of Western University began treating patients. "My first day on call, I was paged to the emergency department for a patient with a stroke. When I answered the page, from the cafeteria, I was told to go ahead and finish my dinner. There was nothing that could be done for him."

4 Apr 2012

UT Southwestern molecular biologist to receive Steven C. Beering Award

Dr. Eric N. Olson, chairman of molecular biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, is the winner of the 2012 Steven C. Beering Award for outstanding advancements in biomedical or clinical science.

3 Apr 2012

Nektar commences dosing in NKTR-192 Phase 1 clinical study for treatment of acute pain

Nektar Therapeutics announced today that the first subjects were dosed last week in a Phase 1 clinical study to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and safety of NKTR-192, the company's novel short-acting mu-opioid analgesic candidate.

2 Apr 2012

Studies use three genes to reprogram fibroblasts into myocytes

The latest research developments to reprogram scar tissue resulting from myocardial infarction (MI) into viable heart muscle cells, were presented at the Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology (FCVB) 2012 meeting, held 30 March to 1 April at the South Kensington Campus of Imperial College in London.

2 Apr 2012

MEK1 mutation does not necessarily make BRAF mutant melanomas resistant to inhibitors

A second mutation found in the tumors of patients with BRAF-mutated metastatic melanoma does not contribute to resistance to BRAF inhibitor drugs, a finding that runs counter to what scientists expected to be true.

2 Apr 2012

Childhood onset temporal lobe epilepsy has a significant impact on brain aging

New research confirms that childhood onset temporal lobe epilepsy has a significant impact on brain aging. Study findings published in Epilepsia, a peer-reviewed journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), show age-accelerated ventricular expansion outside the normal range in this patient population.

2 Apr 2012

Three leading cancer researchers to chair symposia at ACCR meeting

Three leading cancer researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have been selected to chair symposia at this year's annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, which will be held in Chicago from March 31 to April 4.

31 Mar 2012

Starvation during childhood may increase risk of heart complications

Russians born during the Leningrad Siege in World War II, which was responsible for some of the greatest losses of civilian life in history, are giving scientists new strategies to identify people who experienced intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and starvation during childhood at greatest risk of developing long term heart complications.

31 Mar 2012

Research supports link between alcohol consumption and type II diabetes

Subjects in a cohort in Sweden, some of whom had been exposed to a community intervention program to prevent diabetes, were evaluated 8-10 years after baseline for the presence of diabetes mellitus or impaired glucose metabolism in relation to a baseline report of alcohol consumption.

30 Mar 2012

UTHealth, PLx Pharma to test phosphatidylcholine-enriched version of indomethacin in PDA model

PLx Pharma Inc, a Houston-based pharmaceutical company developing a medical discovery made at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, has been awarded $565,449 for the first year of a potential two-year $1,118,398 grant to conduct research designed to enhance a treatment for premature babies with a common congenital heart defect.

29 Mar 2012