Category Archives: Drug Side Effects

>>> we've got some good news to report tonight about fighting cancer . researchers found a new class of drugs that kill the cancer without ruining the patient's quality of life . chief science correspond nt robert bizell has the story of a woman with advanced breast cancer who now has a new lease on life. >> reporter: with two young kids always on the move, 47-year-old fern seidovitz is happy to have her energy and life back. far different picture from 2009 when her stage four breast cancer had spread to her body including her bones. her doctors gave her herceptin, that needs to be combined with standard chemotherapy drugs that have severe side effects , including hair loss . >> i felt nauseous, absolutely sick. >> reporter: the combination worked for a year but the cancer returned and when it did, doctors had a new experimental option called t-dm1. they covered the herceptin ant body with a powerful toxin. it delivers the poison directly, sparing the healthy cells and eliminating the need for additional thee mow therapy. >> the fact that we have been successful in proving that you can actually get chemotherapy straight to the cancer cells … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: Oral Transmucosal Drug Delivery http://www.reportlinker.com/p0870772/Oral-Transmucosal-Drug-Delivery.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Drug_Delivery_Technology In their search for alternative delivery methods that will enhance compliance and improve safety, drug developers and researchers are discovering that the permeability of mucous membranes provides a convenient route for the systemic delivery of new and existing therapeutic drugs. Transmucosal delivery offers the potential for once daily dosing of oral drugs and avoids the effects of first pass metabolism. On the provider side, the development of alternative methods of drug administration has improved the ability of physicians to manage specific problems. Practitioners now recognize the rapid onset, relative reliability, and the general lack of patient discomfort when drugs are administered by the transmucosal route. We expect this market to experience healthy growth through 2015 as buccal technology is applied to existing drugs and as transmucosal formulations become an important route of administration for an increasing number of new NCEs. Growth in this sector will also be driven by the pressure to extend market protection for numerous existing drugs with soon-to-expire patents. Highlights Analyzes and evaluates oral transmucosal drug delivery technology platforms and their impact … Continue reading →

Public release date: 31-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Soeren Kragh Moestrup sm@biokemi.au.dk (45) 28-99-22-82 Aarhus University Scientists at Aarhus University, Denmark in collaboration with the biotech company Cytoguide now publish a key to use glucocorticoid steroids in a kind of intelligent medicine that specifically hits the relevant cells. Data are based on rodent studies but if this principle is translated to humans it may greatly improve todays hazardous treatment with this type of potent steroids. This is the main perspective in the research now published in the recognized research journal Molecular Therapy in the Nature Publishing group. 50-fold higher potency Synthetic glucocorticoid steroid are used in many acute and chronic inflammatory diseases including many autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. This is the most potent anti-inflammatory medicine, but its use is hampered by serious side effects such as osteoporosis, loss in muscle mass, diabetes and immunosuppression. The new data from the scientists now show that they can target the drugs directly to he 'macrophage' immune cells. These cells play a main role in inflammation and their damaging effect on the surrounding tissues is strongly dampened by the glucocorticoid steroids. The new technology is based on the coupling … Continue reading →

FARMINGTON, Conn., May 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Global Information Inc is pleased to announce the immediate availability of two new market research reports from Greystone Research Associates examining the markets for Transmucosal Drug Delivery and Systemic Nasal Sprays. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120530/CG15754) Oral Transmucosal Drug Delivery MarketGreystone Research Associates' new market study "Oral Transmucosal Drug Delivery: Products, Players, Markets and Forecasts" is a comprehensive evaluation and analysis of the technology, products and participants providing the driving force behind this evolving segment of the healthcare sector. The report offers a detailed understanding of the products, markets and commercial opportunities for drug delivery films, sprays, lozenges, wafers and orally dissolvable tablets that are designed to be administered into the oral cavity and be absorbed systematically via the oral mucosa. The permeability of mucous membranes provides a convenient route for the systemic delivery of new and existing therapeutic drugs. Transmucosal delivery offers the potential for once daily dosing of oral drugs and avoids the effects of first pass metabolism. On the provider side, the development of alternative methods of drug administration has improved the ability of physicians to manage specific problems. Practitioners now recognize the rapid onset, relative reliability, and the general lack of patient … Continue reading →

Gordon Wiltsie / Getty Images A compound found in marijuana can treat schizophrenia as effectively as antipsychotic medications, with far fewer side effects, according to a preliminary clinical trial. Researchers led by Markus Leweke of the University of Cologne in Germany studied 39 people with schizophrenia who were hospitalized for a psychotic episode. Nineteen patients were treated with amisulpride, an antipsychotic medication that is not approved in the U.S., but is comparable to other medications that are. The rest of the patients were given cannabidiol (CBD), a substance found in marijuana that is thought to be responsible for some of its mellowing or anxiety-reducing effects. Unlike the main ingredient in marijuana, THC, which can produce psychotic reactions and may worsen schizophrenia, CBD has antipsychotic effects, according to previous research in both animals and humans. Neither the patients nor the scientists knew who was getting which drug. At the end of the four-week trial, both groups showed significant clinical improvement in their schizophrenic symptoms, and there was no difference between those getting CBD or amisulpride. (MORE: The Complex Link Between Marijuana and Schizophrenia) The results were amazing, says Daniel Piomelli, professor of pharmacology at the University of California-Irvine and a co-author … Continue reading →

Posted by Shezad Malik MD JDMay 30, 2012 1:09 PM According to medical experts, NuvaRing (etonogestrel/ethinyl estradiol vaginal ring) users are prone to serious and life-threatening NuvaRing blood clots, known as venous thromboembolism, and other dangerous NuvaRing side effects. Recently medical studies, by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the British Medical Journal, have found that NuvaRing raises the risk of deadly blood clots. The studies demonstrated that NuvaRing increased deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, when compared to older hormonal birth control pills. NuvaRing side effects include: Deep vein thrombosis Pulmonary embolism Heart attacks Strokes Wrongful death What is NuvaRing? NuvaRing is a hormonal contraceptive device that releases a combination of etonogestrel, a synthetic third generation progestin, and the estrogen, ethinyl estradiol. Merck & Co.s Organon subsidiary, released NuvaRing in 2001. NuvaRing is a small flexible ring that is designed to be inserted into the vagina once a month. NuvaRing prevents pregnancy by releasing controlled amounts of those hormones into the bloodstream. FDA October 2011 Study Continued here: Nuvaring Pulmonary Embolism and Deep Vein Thrombosis Risks … Continue reading →

KALAMAZOO, Mich., May 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A study published online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry(http://www.jbc.org/content/early/2012/05/23/jbc.M112.363960) showed a new drug to treat diabetes being developed by Metabolic Solutions Development Company, LLC (MSDC),MSDC-0602, improved insulin resistance and inflammation in obese mice.These findings by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Michigan and MSDC, suggest that MSDC-0602, a novel anti-diabetic drug which isin Phase 2 clinical trials,may constitute the first in a class of next generation insulin sensitizers that appear to work through a new biochemical mechanism to treat insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. "Currently-approved insulin sensitizing drugs are effective but their use is limited by side effectsbelieved to be caused bythe over-activationof theperoxisomeproliferator-activated receptorgamma (PPARg)," saidBrian N. Finck, PhD, Research Assistant Professor in Medicine, Division of Geriatrics & Nutritional Science, Washington University School of Medicine."Our findings provide the framework for the discovery and development of a new class of insulin sensitizers that can operate independent of the activation of PPARg." Previously, it was believed that both the anti-diabetic activity and the side-effects of these agents were mediated through activation of a nuclear receptor called PPARg. However, it is now generally accepted … Continue reading →

Fears about medicine pose health risk Olivia Olarte-Ulherr / 27 May 2012 Misconceptions about the side effects of lipid-lowering drugs, statin, are stalling many patients from reaching their cholesterol goals, putting them at risk of heart diseases and stroke, said a cardiologist. According to Dr Joseph Kurian, head of cardiology at Lifeline Hospital, patients are deterred from taking high doses of statin because of the side effects they read on the Internet. He explained that some of the side effects are not very serious compared to the risk of heart attack. The side effects are blown out of proportion, he stated, citing increase in muscle and liver enzymes as some of the side effects. When you give a statin, there could be a little increase in the liver enzyme and thats not a serious problem at all. That just shows you that the drug is working well. Nobody has died due to a liver failure from statin despite millions of people using it, he pointed out. He was speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Lifeline Hospitals first International Annual Conference in the Capital on Thursday. Citing the results of the CEPEUS study or Centralised Pan-European survey on … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (May 24, 2012) A team of scientists at McMaster University has discovered a drug, thioridazine, successfully kills cancer stem cells in the human while avoiding the toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments. "The unusual aspect of our finding is the way this human-ready drug actually kills cancer stem cells; by changing them into cells that are non-cancerous," said Mick Bhatia, the principal investigator for the study and scientific director of McMaster's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. Unlike chemotherapy and radiation, thioridazine appears to have no effect on normal stem cells. The research, published May 24 in the science journal Cell, holds the promise of a new strategy and discovery pipeline for the development of anticancer drugs in the treatment of various cancers. The research team has identified another dozen drugs that have good potential for the same response. For 15 years, some researchers have believed stem cells are the source of many cancers. In 1997, Canadian researchers first identified cancer stem cells in certain types of leukemia. Cancer stem cells have since been identified in blood, breast, brain, lung, gastrointestinal, prostate and ovarian cancer. To test more than a dozen … Continue reading →

Editor's Choice Main Category: Cancer / Oncology Article Date: 25 May 2012 - 13:00 PDT Current ratings for: 'New Drug For Destroying Human Cancer Stem Cells' 3.67 (3 votes) 3 (2 votes) Mick Bhatia, lead researcher of the study and scientific director of McMaster's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, said: "The unusual aspect of our finding is the way this human-ready drug actually kills cancer stem cells; by changing them into cells that are non-cancerous." Findings from the study could pave the way for the development of anticancer drugs in the treatment of various cancers. In addition to thioridazine, the team have identified another 12 drugs that also have good potential for the same response. The study is published in the journal CELL. Cancer stem cells were first identified in certain types of leukemia by Canadian researchers over a decade ago. Since then they have been identified in ovarian, prostate, lung, brain, breast, blood, and gastrointestinal cancer. The researchers developed an automated robotic system in order to identify different compounds of several drugs, including thioridazine. Bhatia explained: "Now we can test thousands of compounds, eventually defining a candidate drug that has … Continue reading →