Pharmacology News and Research

Latest Pharmacology News and Research

Varenicline may reduce smoking rates before people try to quit

Smokers planning to kick the habit may have more success if they begin using a cessation medication several weeks before they actually try to quit.

6 Jan 2012

Scientists identify how dihydromyricetin counteracts acute alcohol intoxication

UCLA researchers have identified how a component of an ancient Chinese herbal anti-hangover medicine called dihydromyricetin, isolated from the plant Hovenia, counteracts acute alcohol intoxication and withdrawal symptoms.

6 Jan 2012

Ipsen, Oncodesign partner to discover and develop LRRK2 kinase inhibitors against PD

Oncodesign, a Drug Discovery company and Oncology pharmacology service provider, and Ipsen, a global specialty-driven pharmaceutical company, announced today that the two companies have entered into a research collaboration to discover and develop innovative LRRK2 kinase inhibitors as potential therapeutic agents against Parkinson's Disease and for potential additional uses in other therapeutic areas.

5 Jan 2012

Positive results from Alkermes ALKS 5461 phase 1/2 study on MDD

Alkermes plc today announced positive topline results from a phase 1/2 study of ALKS 5461, a novel drug compound for major depressive disorder (MDD) in patients who have an inadequate response to standard therapies for clinical depression.

5 Jan 2012

Alteration in ISG15 pathway triggers breast cancer metastasis

Research led by Shyamal Desai, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has discovered a key change in the body's defense system that increases the potential for breast cancer to spread to other parts of the body.

4 Jan 2012

Scientists identify molecular player critical to proper working of important health proteins

Half the drugs used today target a single class of proteins - and now scientists have identified an important molecular player critical to the proper workings of those proteins critical to our health.

28 Dec 2011

Tyrosine kinases play greater role in mitochondria than previously recognized

Cancer cells tend to take up more glucose than healthy cells, and researchers are increasingly interested in exploiting this tendency with drugs that target cancer cells' altered metabolism.

From Cell Signaling Technology 23 Dec 2011

LincRNAs play key roles during embryonic brain development

Whitehead Institute scientists have identified conserved, long intervening non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) that play key roles during embryonic brain development in zebrafish. They also show that the human versions of the lincRNAs can substitute for the zebrafish versions, which implies that the functions of these non-coding RNAs have been retained in humans as well as fish.

23 Dec 2011

Botox can have unsuspected 'systemic' effects on muscles

Botulinum neurotoxin type A—better known as Botox—has previously unsuspected 'systemic' effects on muscles other than the ones it's injected into, reports a study in the January issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

23 Dec 2011

ASCs need to develop policies for management of malignant hyperthermia

As the number of surgical procedures performed outside hospitals continues to increase, ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) need to develop policies for managing malignant hyperthermia—a rare but serious reaction to anesthetics, according to an expert panel report in the January issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

23 Dec 2011

New way to awaken paternal Ube3a allele linked with Angelman syndrome

Results of a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill may help pave the way to a treatment for a neurogenetic disorder often misdiagnosed as cerebral palsy or autism.

22 Dec 2011

Researchers map every apparent physical interaction of HIV virus with human cells

In perhaps the most comprehensive survey of the inner workings of HIV, an international team of scientists led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco has mapped every apparent physical interaction the virus makes with components of the human cells it infects—work that may reveal new ways to design future HIV/AIDS drugs.

22 Dec 2011

Phase I clinical study of Selexys SelG1 for sickle cell disease completed

Selexys Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has completed a Phase I clinical study of its lead compound SelG1, an antibody specific for the pro-inflammatory cell adhesion molecule P-selectin.

19 Dec 2011

GSK initiates rhACE2 phase IIa study for Acute Lung Injury

APEIRON Biologics AG announced today that GlaxoSmithKline, exclusive, worldwide licensee for Apeiron's new investigational recombinant human Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (rhACE2, name: GSK2586881, formerly APN01), has initiated a phase IIa study in patients suffering from Acute Lung Injury.

19 Dec 2011

Scientists identify how cells reduce tissue damage from inflammation in ALI model

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found in an animal model of acute lung injury a molecular mechanism that allows cells of the immune system to reduce tissue damage from inflammation.

16 Dec 2011

Six UNC faculty members named AAAC fellow

Six University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty members have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

16 Dec 2011

Acetylcholine can weaken synaptic connections between neurons in brain

Researchers from the University of Bristol have discovered that a chemical compound in the brain can weaken the synaptic connections between neurons in a region of the brain important for the formation of long-term memories.

14 Dec 2011

Researchers discover how statins promote breakdown of plaque in arteries

In a new study, NYU Langone Medical Center researchers have discovered how cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins promote the breakdown of plaque in the arteries. The study was published online by the journal PLoS One on December 6, 2011.

14 Dec 2011

GW scientist to identify molecular mechanisms that define embryonic OE stem cells

Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology and Director of the GW Institute for Neuroscience in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences has been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to identify molecular mechanisms that define embryonic olfactory epithelium (OE) stem cells.

14 Dec 2011

Lifestyle and environmental factors may increase risk of cancer

It has been well established that certain lifestyle habits relate to the risk of certain cancers (e.g., smoking and lung cancer). In a well-done analysis, the authors estimate the proportion of cancer in the population associated with a variety of lifestyle and environmental factors. They find that smoking has, by far, the largest effect on the risk of cancer, with 19.4% of cancer cases in the UK attributable to tobacco use.

14 Dec 2011