Category Archives: Drug Side Effects

Represents major milestone in malaria drug development University of Nebraska Medical Center researcher led development of new malaria drug; will save lives worldwide Newswise A powerful new drug to treat malaria the invention of a University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy researcher -- will help take the bite out of malaria. In the United States, a mosquito bite seems harmless, but in developing countries it means more than 655,000 deaths a year mostly in children. The new drug, SynriamTM, is considered a breakthrough, as traditional drugs are proving increasingly ineffective against the deadly malarial parasite because of acquired resistance to available drugs. Taken as a tablet once a day for three days, its more effective, cheaper, has fewer side effects and does not have to be taken with food. From 2000 to 2010, Jonathan Vennerstrom, Ph.D., a professor at the UNMC College of Pharmacy, led an international team that created the drug compound that led to the development of SynriamTM. Developed by Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Limited, the medication now is approved for treatment in adults in India. The company also is working to create a childrens formula and make the drug available in Africa, Asia and South America. Dr. … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (July 6, 2012) A powerful new drug to treat malaria -- the invention of a University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy researcher -- will help take the bite out of malaria. In the United States, a mosquito bite seems harmless, but in developing countries it means more than 655,000 deaths a year -- mostly in children. The new drug, SynriamTM, is considered a breakthrough, as traditional drugs are proving increasingly ineffective against the deadly malarial parasite because of acquired resistance to available drugs. Taken as a tablet once a day for three days, it's more effective, cheaper, has fewer side effects and does not have to be taken with food. From 2000 to 2010, Jonathan Vennerstrom, Ph.D., a professor at the UNMC College of Pharmacy, led an international team that created the drug compound that led to the development of SynriamTM. Developed by Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Limited, the medication now is approved for treatment in adults in India. The company also is working to create a children's formula and make the drug available in Africa, Asia and South America. Dr. Vennerstrom and his team received more than $12 million in grants from Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a … Continue reading →

Hamilton area patients will soon have access to a novel drug being tested here that targets cancer and avoids the side effects of chemotherapy. A study on SOR-C13 involving about 15 patients starts next month at Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre. Sloan-Kettering Institute in New York is the only other centre with access to the drug, made in New Brunswick and derived from the saliva of a shrew. Weve been getting calls from all over the country from people who are interested in travelling to Hamilton to come on the study, said Hamilton oncologist and lead researcher Dr. Hal Hirte. It has created a lot of excitement. The buzz around the drug is that it pinpoints only cancer cells. Traditional chemotherapy is indiscriminate and also kills off healthy cells. These smart drugs are a promising area of cancer research McMaster University is already pursuing. Hamiltons Dr. Mick Bhatia recently discovered that the antipsychotic drug Thioridazine targets cancer cells and plans to start a clinical trial within a year. Most chemotherapy is pretty much a shotgun approach, so its poisonous to all cells said Jack Stewart, chairman and chief scientific officer of Soricimed Biopharma Inc., which created SOR-C13. Its why chemotherapy … Continue reading →

"Direct medical harm would have been done" ... Professor Jon Jureidini. DRUG company GlaxoSmithKline will pay US authorities $3 billion for fraudulently promoting drugs for diabetes and mental illness, in the largest healthcare fraud settlement in US history. The drug company admitted it had promoted unproven use of an antidepressant, sold as Aropax here and Paxil overseas, for children, and did not disclose research linking it to suicidal thoughts. Australian researchers played a key role in exposing the illegal marketing of the drug, revealing significant flaws in a research paper used to promote it. Advertisement: Story continues below Aropex ... fraudulently promoted for the treatment of diabetes and mental illness. The company has also admitted to other such "off-label" marketing, as well as attempting to cover up the increased risk of heart problems linked to its diabetes drug, Avandia. But the record fine may have little impact on the UK drug behemoth, which had a total turnover last year of $42 billion, according to its annual report. The head of the department of psychological medicine at the Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital, Jon Jureidini, said it was distressing that even such record fines were a ''necessary cost of doing business''. … Continue reading →

Public release date: 28-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Peter Franklin 44-238-059-5457 University of Southampton Research carried out at the University of Southampton has concluded that participants in drug trials should be better informed about the potential significant benefits and possible side-effects of placebos. Placebos are traditionally thought of as 'inert' pills, given in trials to act as a yardstick or constant by which to measure the effects of new 'active' drugs, known in clinical trials as the 'target treatment'. However, placebos themselves have been shown to create substantial health changes in patients. "We believe the health changes associated with placebos should be better represented in the literature given to patients before they take part in a clinical trial. At the moment these effects are largely being ignored in the patient information leaflets," says lead researcher at Southampton and lecturer in psychology, Dr Felicity Bishop. She continues, "There is an important issue of consent here patients should be fully aware of possible health changes from all treatments in a trial before agreeing to take part." The research team, led by the University of Southampton in collaboration with Harvard Medical School and Northern Arizona University, examined the wording of … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (June 27, 2012) A new cancer drug with remarkably few side effects is dramatically improving survival in Hodgkin lymphoma patients who fail other treatments and are nearly out of options. Loyola University Medical Center oncologist Scott E. Smith, MD, PhD presented survival data for the drug, brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris), at the 17th Congress of the European Hematology Association. Smith is director of Loyola's Hematological Malignancies Research Program. The multi-center study included 102 Hodgkin lymphoma patients who had relapsed after stem cell transplants. Tumors disappeared in 32 percent of patients and shrank by at least half in 40 percent of patients. An additional 21 percent of patients experienced some tumor shrinkage. Only 6 percent of patients had no response to the drug. Sixty five percent of patients were alive at 24 months, and in 25 percent of patients, the cancer had not progressed at all. These are "encouraging results in patients with historically poor prognosis," researchers said. Loyola patient Michelle Salerno had failed two stem cell transplants -- one using her own cells and one using cells donated by her brother -- and multiple rounds of chemotherapy before going on brentuximab vedotin. After three or four infusions, she stopped suffering … Continue reading →

FRIDAY, June 22 (HealthDay News) -- A new report suggests that the common blood pressure drug olmesartan (Benicar) can cause symptoms that mimic celiac disease, leading to misdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment. It's not clear how often people who take the blood pressure-lowering drug will develop the gastrointestinal problems that are similar to those caused by celiac disease. For the moment, though, the side effects appear to be unusual, said Dr. Peter Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical School, who was not involved with the study. Still, Green noted, his center has seen patients who developed celiac disease-like symptoms while taking olmesartan and some have been quite ill. "One went into kidney failure and needed dialysis," he said. According to the new study from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., 22 patients -- aged 47 to 81, average age 70 -- had symptoms of chronic diarrhea and weight loss of an average of 40 pounds. Fourteen of the patients needed to be hospitalized. Tests showed that these patients didn't have celiac disease, a condition that causes gastrointestinal problems due to an allergy to gluten, which is found in products such as wheat and rye. However, all … Continue reading →

Free agent outfielder Marlon Byrd was suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for testing positive for an estrogen-blocking drug, tamoxifen, which is used to minimize side effects typical in steroid use. Tamoxifen is one of 200 substances on the banned substance list and is not a performance-enhancing drug. The unsigned Byrd will remain on the restricted list for the next 50 games. He was traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Boston Red Sox in April for right-handed pitcher Michael Bowden. Byrd's 2012 season salary of $6 million is being paid mostly by the Cubs. --Anthony Rizzo, the top prospect for the Chicago Cubs, will be in the lineup against the Mets on Tuesday. Rizzo won't officially be promoted until Tuesday. The Chicago Tribune reported Rizzo was removed from the Iowa Cubs' Monday game in the fourth inning and will arrive in Chicago later Monday. The slugging first baseman was hitting .345 with 23 home runs, 62 RBIs and 18 doubles in 69 games entering play Monday. --The Twins placed closer Matt Capps on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his right shoulder. The move is retroactive to June 24, and Capps' spot on the 25-man roster was … Continue reading →

EVANSVILLE A growing trend over the past 18 months is causing people to experiment with "bath salts," a synthetic drug that can have dangerous side effects. While the crystalline, granular substance is called bath salts, it has nothing in common with the cosmetic product. "They're not connected in any way shape or form," Cullum said. "'Bath salts' are never intended to be used in the bath tub." The drug has been marketed under different names, among them are ivory wave and vanilla sky. According to a 2011 U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration news release, the DEA decided to use its emergency authority to ban three ingredients used to make "bath salts" for at least one year with the possibility of a six-month extension. The illegal ingredients are mephedrone, MDPV and methylone. Dr. James Mowry, director of the Indiana Poison Center, said "bath salts" incidents have increased dramatically. In 2010, the center received four calls concerning the drug; in 2011 that number jumped to 361. "People take it so they can get hallucinogenic effects," Mowry said. "But the problem is it's also like an amphetamine, so it can cause rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure, anxiety and one of the biggest things … Continue reading →

The Aug. 12, 2005 file photo shows the logo of Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche at the headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. (AP) LONDON -- The European Medicines Agency is investigating "deficiencies" in the way drug maker Roche reported possible side effects in patients in the U.S., though it said there was no evidence patients are at risk. European authorities spotted the problems during a routine inspection of Roche by British regulators in May. They noticed about 80,000 reports of possible side effects for medicines sold in the U.S. had not been analyzed to see if they were truly suspected adverse effects that needed to be reported. The reports were collected in a patient program that helps people deal with health insurance issues in the U.S., like reimbursement for medicines. Dozens of drugs were involved, including many cancer drugs. In the reports of possible side effects, there were more than 15,000 deaths. The European Medicines Agency said it was unclear whether those deaths were linked to any Roche medicines. "The scale of it sounds big, but what is not known is how many of these deaths have already been reported in another way," said Monika Bernstetter, an EMA spokeswoman. "We need to … Continue reading →