New study on Hepatitis C drug treatment in vivo and in vitro
- Details
- Category: Research
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection affects about 4.1 million in the United States and is the primary cause of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Current therapy against HCV is suboptimal. Daclatasvir, a direct acting antiviral (DAA) agent in development for the treatment of HCV, targets one of the HCV proteins (i.e., NS5A) and causes the fastest viral decline (within 12 hours of treatment) ever seen with anti-HCV drugs.
Patient-specific cancer cell lines designed to predict chemotherapy sensitivity
- Details
- Category: Research
In laboratory studies, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed a way to personalize chemotherapy drug selection for cancer patients by using cell lines created from their own tumors. If the technique is successful in further studies, it could replace current laboratory tests to optimize drug selection that have proven technically challenging, of limited use, and slow, the researchers say.
Frequently prescribed drug used in concerning ways with harmful side effects
- Details
- Category: Research
Previous studies have linked benzodiazepines - a medication class that may be used in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to treat symptoms of insomnia, depression, anxiety and shortness of breath - with adverse outcomes, but until now there has been little information on how frequently it's prescribed or who is using it.
Vitamin C is beneficial against the common cold
- Details
- Category: Research
Vitamin C seems to be particularly beneficial for people under heavy physical stress. In five randomized trials of participants with heavy short-term physical stress, vitamin C halved the incidence of the common cold. Three of the trials studied marathon runners, one studied Swiss school children in a skiing camp and one studied Canadian soldiers during a winter exercise.
Diclofenac used and recommended globally, despite cardiovascular risks
- Details
- Category: Research
A study in this week's PLOS Medicine finds that the painkiller diclofenac (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) in the same class as aspirin) is the most commonly used NSAID in the 15 countries studied and is included in the essential medicines lists of 74 low-, middle- and high-income countries, despite its known tendency to cause heart attacks and strokes in vulnerable patients.
International study suggests improved treatment alternative for lymphoid leukemia
- Details
- Category: Research
Discovering what they call the "Achilles' heel" for lymphoid leukemia, an international research team has tested a possible alternative treatment that eradicated the disease in mouse models. Reporting their results in the journal Cancer Cell, the scientists said the targeted molecular therapy described in their study could have direct implications for current treatment of Acute Lymphoid Leukemia (ALL) in people.
Compound stimulates tumor-fighting protein in cancer therapy
- Details
- Category: Research
A compound that stimulates the production of a tumor-fighting protein may improve the usefulness of the protein in cancer therapy, according to a team of researchers. TRAIL is a natural anti-tumor protein that suppresses tumor development during immune surveillance - the immune system's process of patrolling the body for cancer cells.
More Pharma News ...
- Fighting fat with fat: Stem cell discovery identifies potential obesity treatment
- Low vitamin D levels may increase risk of Type 1 diabetes
- Just 11 percent of adults, 5 percent of children participate in medical research
- Erectile dysfunction drug also helps men ejaculate and orgasm
- Discrepant analyses of industry-sponsored clinical trials
- Clinical trials with nonblinded outcome assessors have high observer bias
- New drug protects against side effects of chemotherapy