Toxicology News and Research

Latest Toxicology News and Research

Bisphenol A tainted money and receipts

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been found in many household items and other common objects and is known to be an endocrine disruptor linked to infertility, genital abnormalities, cancer and more. Now it has been detected on ‘cash’. Since BPA is used to make plastic, manufacturers use about 8 billion pounds of BPA that is moulded, cooked or poured into toys, baby products and other merchandise each year. On these products BPA is chemically bonded but it is simply applied in a powdery film to paper, making it easy to rub off with a touch.

8 Dec 2010

OXIS introduces ErgoFlex for relief of joint pain

OXIS International, Inc. announces the market launch of ErgoFlex™, a unique new dietary supplement for the relief of joint pain. It is the first in a series of commercial products planned by OXIS. ErgoFlex is the only joint health complex containing the powerful antioxidant Ergothioneine (ERGO), and is specifically formulated to help the body fight the pain of joint inflammation and maintain optimal joint health.

7 Dec 2010

Bright-colored toys can pose a dangerous health risk to children

The right toy can make the Christmas season the most wonderful time of the year for children and their parents.But the wrong toy can make this season a time of pain, grief and regret for families with children who suffer severe injuries or death from toys they never should have been given in the first place, according to medical experts at Loyola University Health System in Maywood, Ill.

7 Dec 2010

NCI director ignorant of cancer prevention, says coalition

On October 22, 2010, Senator Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, wrote to Dr. Harold Varmus, who was appointed director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) by President Obama three months previously. The Senator raised questions on the amount of "sponsored travel," sometimes a dozen or more trips a year and almost exclusively to international conferences paid for by outside organizations or companies, taken in recent years by "numerous NCI employees, notably senior leadership."

4 Dec 2010

3M announces availability of TLR compounds for nonvaccine use in pharmaceutical industry

3M announces the availability of immune response modifier compounds for nonvaccine use in the pharmaceutical industry. The toll-like receptor (TLR) compounds, that activate through TLR7 and TLR8, show promise for the treatment of conditions including cancer, dermatologic diseases and atopic diseases, such as allergy and asthma.

3 Dec 2010

FDA accepts IND application to initiate human clinical trial to evaluate BNC

QR Pharma, Inc., a developer of novel drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD), announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the Investigational New Drug application (IND) to begin human clinical trials and evaluate the safety and efficacy of the company's second product, bisnorcymserine (BNC).

3 Dec 2010

Research may lead to new treatment strategies for Graves' disease

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have identified a compound that prevents overproduction of thyroid hormone, a finding that brings scientists one step closer to improving treatment for Graves' disease.

2 Dec 2010

Exposure to BPA during perinatal development impairs reproductive capacity of female offspring

Exposure to a ubiquitous environmental chemical during pregnancy may impair reproductive capacity of female offspring, according to a study published online in advance of print on December 2 in Environmental Health Perspectives. Fertility decreased over time in female mice that had been exposed during fetal and neonatal (perinatal) development to doses of bisphenol-A (BPA) that were lower than or equal to human environmental exposure levels.

2 Dec 2010

Metabolon announces publication of diabetes study in PLoS ONE journal

Metabolon, Inc., leaders in global metabolomics, biomarker discovery and biochemical analysis, announces the publication of "Metabolic Footprint of Diabetes: A Multiplatform Metabolomics Study in an Epidemiological Setting" in PLoS ONE.

1 Dec 2010

Merck announces initial results from ISENTRESS Phase III study in HIV-1

Merck today reported initial results from the Phase III study investigating the efficacy and safety of a treatment regimen including ISENTRESS® (raltegravir) Tablets once daily in treatment-naïve adult patients infected with HIV-1. ISENTRESS is indicated in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced adults.

29 Nov 2010

Mercury from dental fillings exceeds Reference Exposure Level: Report

A new risk assessment report submitted by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology this month to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that mercury from dental fillings is estimated to cause 67.2 million Americans to exceed the Reference Exposure Level (REL) of 0.3 ug/m3 established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) in 1995.

25 Nov 2010

Agilent's GeneSpring Bioinformatics Solution integrated with GeneGo's MetaCore

GeneGo, Inc., a leading provider of databases, software and services in systems biology and chemistry, and Agilent Technologies, Inc., the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in chemical analysis, life sciences, electronics and communications, announced today that they have integrated Agilent's GeneSpring Bioinformatics Solution with MetaCore.

22 Nov 2010

VYTORIN reduces major vascular events in patients with chronic kidney disease

In a new investigational study of VYTORIN, the cholesterol-lowering medicine from Merck, VYTORIN 10/20 mg reduced the incidence of first major vascular events defined as non-fatal heart attacks or cardiac death, stroke or any revascularization procedure by a highly statistically significant 16.1 percent compared to placebo, Study of Heart and Renal Protection study involved more than 9,000 patients who, on average, had advanced or end-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD)

22 Nov 2010

New editorial dispel doubts about Lou Gehrig's ALS diagnosis

A recent study suggesting that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may be attributed to repetitive head trauma experienced in collision sports lacks scientific epidemiological evidence to support this claim.

20 Nov 2010

Advanced Life Sciences submits application to FDA for ALS-886 to treat ARDS

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, oncology and respiratory diseases, today announced that the Company has applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for orphan drug designation for ALS-886, a novel therapy to reduce and prevent tissue damage, for the treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).

19 Nov 2010

Sekisui enters asset purchase agreement to acquire Genzyme's Diagnostic products

Genzyme Corporation today announced that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement under which Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. will acquire Genzyme's Diagnostic products business for $265 million in cash.

19 Nov 2010

Nanoparticles in everyday products can affect lungs: Study

Tiny particles used in a range of everyday products from computers to shampoo can adversely affect the lungs in very different ways, a study has shown.

18 Nov 2010

Merck announces FDA Advisory Committee approval of GARDASIL for anal cancer and AIN treatment

Merck announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee has advised that the data presented support an indication for GARDASIL® [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16, and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] for the prevention of anal cancer and anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) in both males and females 9 through 26 years of age.

18 Nov 2010

FDA warns manufacturers of caffeinated alcoholic beverages

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today warned four companies that the caffeine added to their malt alcoholic beverages is an "unsafe food additive" and said that further action, including seizure of their products, is possible under federal law.

18 Nov 2010

Review: Mercury likely plays role in development of AD

Mercury likely plays a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease, according to a review of relevant scientific literature published this month in The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. Joachim Mutter of Germany, Dr. Richard Deth of the United States, and other esteemed researchers collaborated on the groundbreaking article Does Inorganic Mercury Play a Role in Alzheimer's Disease? A Systematic Review and an Integrated Molecular Mechanism, which clarifies the need for continuing research to understand the cause of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's.

16 Nov 2010