Category Archives: Drug Side Effects

Category: Science & Technology Posted: June 12, 2012 11:53AM Author: Guest_Jim_* As I watch television and come across an ad for some medication, it is almost impressive the number of side effects one drug can have. Each one of those effects has been carefully studied before the drug came to market, top ensure it is not too dangerous. In fact, unacceptable side effects are the second most common reason a drug does not come to market, with effectiveness being the number one reason. Developing a drug to the state that it can be tested for approval is not cheap though with some estimates putting the cost at $1 billion across fifteen years, and other estimates at $4-12 billion, per successfully approved drug. To help cut costs and increase our understanding of these drugs, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have created a computer model to identify side effects. The model was given 656 drugs that have already been carefully studied and documented and identified unintentional targets half of the time. Medications work by attaching to specific targets in the body. These targets are not always unique to the intended target though, so the drug does more than expected. … Continue reading →

Public release date: 11-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Kristen Bole kristen.bole@ucsf.edu 415-502-6397 University of California - San Francisco A new set of computer models has successfully predicted negative side effects in hundreds of current drugs, based on the similarity between their chemical structures and those molecules known to cause side effects, according to a paper appearing online this week in the journal Nature. The team, co-led by researchers in the UCSF School of Pharmacy, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) and SeaChange Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a UCSF spinoff company launched by two of the paper's authors set out to test how well a computer model could help researchers eliminate risky drug prospects by identifying which ones were most likely to have adverse side effects. Drugs frequently interact with more than one target, with hundreds of these targets linked to the side effects of clinically used therapeutics. Focusing on 656 drugs that are currently prescribed, with known safety records or side effects, the team was able to predict such undesirable targets and thus potential side effects half of the time. That's a significant leap forward from previous work, which has never tackled hundreds of compounds at once, according to … Continue reading →

Atherosclerosis, resulting in a narrowing of the arteries and the development of cardiovascular disease, is the leading cause of death worldwide. Until now, no treatment could target diseased areas exclusively, in order to increase drug efficacy and reduce side effects. To help bridge this gap, a group of Swiss researchers from UNIGE, HUG and the University of Basel have developed a veritable 'time bomb,' a treatment that can recognize the diseased areas and treat only them. In Switzerland, more than 20,000 people (37% of all deaths) die of cardiovascular disease caused by atherosclerosis each year. Treatment options are currently available to people who suffer from the disease but no drug can target solely the diseased areas, often leading to generalized side effects. Intravenous injection of a vasodilator (a substance that dilates blood vessels), such as nitroglycerin, dilates both the diseased vessels and the rest of our arteries. Blood pressure can thus drop, which would limit the desired increased blood flow generated by vasodilatation of diseased vessels and needed for example during a heart attack. In order to increase the effectiveness of treatments against atherosclerosis and to reduce side effects, a team of researchers from UNIGE, HUG and the University of … Continue reading →

05-06-2012 09:41 To read the entire article, click here: To find out more about this and other unsafe products and drugs, click here: See the article here: Ocella Drug Side Effects - Video … Continue reading →

Monday, June 04, 2012 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. A four-drug combination of chemotherapy drugs scored high marks as a highly effective treatment for patients newly diagnosed with the blood cancer multiple myeloma, according to results from a Mayo Clinic-led study. The multidrug regimen, called CYCLONE (comprised of Cyclophosphamide, Carfilzomib, Thalidomide and Dexamethasone), boasted strong results in the phase II trial, most notably for how quickly and effectively it worked and how well tolerated it was by the study recipients. VIDEO ALERT: click here for footage of Dr. Mikhael. "Within only four cycles of treatment, 96 percent of patients responded favorably to the therapy," says lead researcher Joseph Mikhael, M.D., a hematologist at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. "Furthermore, 75 percent experienced a very good partial remission meaning there was a 90 percent reduction of their tumor. A third of the patients experienced a complete remission, where the tumor was no longer detectable." Dr. Mikhael is presenting the study at an American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago. The study participants also experienced fewer side effects compared to currently available therapies, Dr. Mikhael adds. Side effects associated with multiple myeloma treatment typically involve the nerves of the body, and include numbness, tingling and … Continue reading →

03-06-2012 19:04 An experimental cancer drug successfully shrank tumors in patients with different kinds of cancer, including typically hard-to-treat lung cancers, according to a new study. Oncologists said the research was encouraging, but more study was needed to know whether the drug would prolong life for cancer patients. The study, led by Dr. Suzanne Topalian, was presented today at the Super Bowl of cancer professionals, a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In a small, early phase study, researchers used a drug targeting a portion of the body's immune system, a pathway called PD-1, which usually works to stop the body from fighting cancerous tumors. By shutting down the pathway, the drug stokes the body's immune system to fight tumor cells. Researchers gave the drug to nearly 240 patients with advancedmelanoma, colorectal, prostate, kidney and lung cancers. All the patients had tried up to five other treatments, which failed. After up to two years on the drug, tumors shrank in 26 of 94 patients with melanoma, nine of 33 patients with kidney cancer and 14 of 76 patients with lung cancer. For more on this story: Here is the … Continue reading →

Newswise Drugs for type 2 diabetes can contribute to weight gain, bone fractures and cardiovascular problems, but in mice, an investigational drug appears to improve insulin sensitivity without those troublesome side effects, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown. The experimental medicine works through a different pathway, which could provide additional molecular targets for treating insulin resistance and diabetes. The new study appears online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Current diabetes medications activate a receptor that improves insulin sensitivity, but unfortunately also contributes to side effects that make some people discontinue the medication, contributing to other health problems, says principal investigator Brian N. Finck, PhD. So even though these drugs are effective, wed really like to find new insulin-sensitizing therapies that would avoid activating the same receptor. Finck, a research assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science, worked with colleagues at the University of Michigan and at the drug discovery company Metabolic Solutions Development Co., LLC. The scientists studied one of the companys investigational drugs, MSD-0602, focusing on its effects in obese mice. The drug improved blood glucose levels and insulin tolerance in the mice, as did the two … Continue reading →

03-06-2012 12:33 My review of One Piece Episode 550 😀 This episode we find out the side-effects of taking the Energy Steroid the new fishman pirates are constantly taking to get more power Read this article: One Piece Episode 550 Review - The Evil Drug's True Power - Video … Continue reading →

A woman doing a self-check for breast cancer. By E.J. Mundell HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) -- Even in the field of cancer treatment, sometimes newer isn't necessarily better. That may be the case for patients with advanced breast cancer, who appeared to fare better in a new study when they took an older drug, Taxol (paclitaxel), instead of two newer and more expensive rivals. Both of those newer medications, Abraxane and Ixempra, failed to outperform Taxol in terms of either survival without progression of disease or the level of the most noxious side effects, the study of almost 800 breast cancer patients found. [Health Buzz: Worldwide Cancer Incidence Predicted to Rise.] "These data suggest that similar patients may be appropriately treated with weekly paclitaxel [Taxol]," said study author Dr. Hope Rugo, director of breast oncology and clinical trials at the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Francisco. She spoke at a news briefing Sunday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago. The study, which was funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, is to be formally presented on Monday. Taxol has been used for years to … Continue reading →

Attorney (866) 735-1102 Ext 305 Senator Patrick Leahy has recently introduced new legislation in hopes to restore the rights of citizens and hold drug manufacturers of generic brand drugs accountable for failing to warn adequately regarding the side effects which can be associated with the generic medication. This legislation will help restore and protect citizen rights. We strongly encourage you and your family to contact your representatives in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to ask for them to support this new legislation. According to a recent Press Release, Senators Richard Blumenthal, Jeff Bingaman, Sheldon Whitehouse, Christopher Coons, Sherrod Brown, and Al Franken have cosponsored the legislation. The new legislation is titled the Patient Safety and Generic Labeling Improvement Act. The reason for the introduction of this legislation comes after a 2011 Supreme Court case, Pilva v. Mensing, where the Court found in a 5-4 majority opinion that generic drug manufacturers cannot be held liable under state tort law for failing to warn consumers even when the companies know the label on the drug is inadequate. This decision does not make sense when compared to a 2008 case where the Supreme Court held that manufacturers of brand name drugs … Continue reading →