International breast cancer prevention study launches in the United States and Canada
...mestane part of a class of drugs called aromatase inhibitors suppresses estrogen production, a key component i...among women in the treatment group. Aromatase inhibitors are currently being used to treat breast cancer in women around the world and results from a study p...Blacks less likely to get expensive, newer heart treatments
...ckers, clopidogrel, lipid-lowering therapy and ACE inhibitors if indicated as well as smoking cessation and diet...t of black patients received glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors within 24 hours compared to 35.7 percent of white patients. 32.1 percent of black patients receive...Drug therapy may be comparable to invasive cardiac procedures for elderly patients with heart attack
..., including aspirin, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors [ACE inhibitors], and beta-blockers [medications used to treat high blood pressure], as well as thrombolysis [therapy to reduce blood clots], reduces mortality (death) following AMI." Therese A. Stukel, Ph.D., from Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, ...Mayo Clinic discovers 'new pathway' against pancreatic cancer
...hese key molecular players with new small molecule inhibitors to block their action, effectively turning off molecules that promote pancreatic cancer growth. The finding may be applied to make pancreatic cells more sensitive to gemcitabine, the sole drug available for treating pancreatic cancer. This disc...Depression may explain higher risk of heart attack associated with antidepressants
...ed the newer class of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were over twice as likely to have a heart attack within the next seven days. But the increased risks of a heart attack were much lower among patients who took antidepressants for longer than a month. These risks disappeared after taking accou...Bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy prolongs survival for some patients with advanced lung cancer
...chanistic-based interventions such as angiogenesis inhibitors are making important contributions in improving cancer outcomes," said NCI Director Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D. "In combination with standard therapies, they can be used for a variety of cancers, leading to increased patient survival." A total of...2005 Basic Research in Periodontal Disease Award
... To examine the hypothesis that bacterial protease inhibitors can act as specific antimicrobials, the group has developed close collaboration with a biotechnology company, Medivir. This partnership aims to determine molecular targets for protease inhibitor design using a genome-screening approach. In the case o...Beta-blockers may help broader group of patients with heart problems
...ich might include aspirin, diuretics, digoxin, ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers. Beta-blockers were once thought risky for heart-failure patients. But the investigators found that after five years, 65 percent of patients treated with beta-blockers were alive, compared to 50 percent of those who received no beta...LRRK2 gene mutation causes Parkinson's disease in several families
...re already clinical trials of mixed-lineage kinase inhibitors that may be targeted at this form of the disorder. Our objectives are to understand the molecular events that cause Parkinson's disease and to target therapeutics to halt its progression."...Celecoxib safe for short-term use in patients with cirrhosis
Short-term use of selective COX-2 inhibitors may be safe for patients with cirrhosis of the liv...ation. "These results suggest that selective COX-2 inhibitors may be safer than nonselective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in these patients," the authors ...Scientists replicate hepatitis C virus in laboratory
...reen compounds with a cell-based assay to look for inhibitors of virus replication," says Liang. "We can also apply this technique to develop model systems for other similar viruses." HCV is a small, enveloped, single-stranded RNA virus in the family Flaviviridae. HCV is a major cause of liver disease in the ......ung cancer drugs. The drugs are so-called kinase inhibitors and inhibit the epidermal growth factor receptor (...led to the rapid development of alternative kinase inhibitors that work even against tumors with the resistance mutation. Similarly, the results by Pao and collea...Suicidal behaviour caused by antidepressants 'cannot be ruled out'
...e in this week's BMJ. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant, yet concerns have arisen that these drugs may induce or worsen suicidal feelings in vulnerable patients. Three studies published in this issue shed new light on the benefits and harms ...HIV patients may be at risk of heart problems when taking protease inhibitor drugs
...should not jeopardize the availability of protease inhibitors because these drugs are too important for the succ...'s research group earlier discovered that protease inhibitors affect "pore function" of "channels" in a specific cell type they were studying. Pore function in ch...Researchers confirm Vioxx nearly doubled cardiovascular risks in cancer prevention study
...s seen in Vioxx represents a class effect of COX-2 inhibitors or if this is an individual effect to this drug. I don't think we can tell this from this one trial or from the trials that are out there at the moment. That's going to be the real question." The investigators examined the use of cardio-protective as...COX-2 inhibitors associated with blood pressure elevation
...of 19 randomized controlled trials involving COX-2 inhibitors (selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors) suggests t...s been a significant preference to prescribe COX-2 inhibitors over conventional NSAIDs, even when patients do not meet specified criteria for treatment, according...COX-2 product offers good and bad news in 'test tube' strokes
...lar complications with long-term use of some COX-2 inhibitors are thought to be due to blocking effects of "good" prostaglandins, which are the downstream products of COX activity, potentially leading to heart attacks and strokes. "Defining which prostaglandin pathways are good and which promote disease would h...COX-2 inhibitor increases the risk of heart attack in elderly adults with no history of heart attack
...creased risk of heart attack with one of the COX-2 inhibitors used in elderly adults with no previous history of...ter risk of heart attack. "Many believe that COX-2 inhibitors increase the chance of a heart attack in high risk groups, for example people who have already suffe...Feb. 1, 2005, Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet
...ied aspirin, naproxen, and meloxicam and the COX-2 inhibitors rofecoxib and celecoxib. This study adds to the growing and consistent evidence that rofecoxib increases the risk of heart disease. It also contributes to the as yet inconsistent body of evidence about the heart risks of celecoxib: Some studies have ...Clinical trial of Etanercept for Wegener's disease shows no benefit
...t of a class of drugs called tumor necrosis factor inhibitors approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration fo...ertainly the potential for interaction between TNF inhibitors and cyclophosphamide - a drug known to cause several types of cancer. This potential association be...