Studies on statin use and fracture risk show mixed results
... in rodents and suggest that statins may be useful agents for osteoporosis. Clinical trials are needed to test the ability of potent statins to prevent fracture," write the authors....Carnegie Mellon uses AFM to discover effects of experimental drugs on Alzheimer's plaques
...not require specialized preparation or contrasting agents that could introduce artifacts. In addition, it allows to study the samples in liquids, under nearly physiological conditions, according to Kowalewski, who is now pursuing this kind of AFM studies to understand the interaction of antibodies and lipop...Study finds new antibiotic effective for diabetic foot infections
...SA and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), new agents have been developed. Linezolid is among the first new treatments for MRSA infections since vancomycin was introduced in the 1950s. Based on the results of the new trial, the FDA has now specifically extended the drug's use to most diabetic foot infec...Herceptin gives disappointing results in lung cancer trial
...h trastuzumab in combination with two chemotherapy agents gemcitabine and cisplatin, did no better than patients treated with gemcitabine and cisplatin alone. There was a hint in the results that there could be a very small subgroup of lung cancer patients who may benefit. These are patients with extremely ...Major cause of painful gastroenteritis under study at MCG
...that got it on the category B list of bioterrorism agents compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Washing and cooking chicken well are the best ways to prevent Campylobacter infection. Hydration is standard treatment for those infected; some patient...Medication provides effective treatment for moderate to severe psoriasis
...risks relative to established therapies, these new agents are best reserved for patients with severe disease...use as established systemic therapies should these agents be considered first-line treatments for psoriasis," he writes. (JAMA. 2003;290:3133-3135. Availabl...Study findings question COX-2 drug cost effectiveness
...s sought to validate the rate of co-prescribing of agents used to protect the gastrointestinal tract -- a key assumption made in prior COX-2 cost-effectiveness studies. COX-2 drugs offer greater protection from adverse gastrointestinal events than lower-cost, traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs...Mechanical support could increase survival of children requiring heart transplantation
...s: "Our ability to immunise against the infectious agents that can lead to acute heart failure is limited. Additionally, patients with familial and non-familial cardiomyopathy are also at risk. At present, we are not able to prevent acute heart failure in children. Goldman and colleagues' use of a dual stra...American Heart Association consensus statement
...icians and patients in the use of glucose-lowering agents known as thiazolidinones (TZDs). The statement ap...tes is a major risk factor for heart disease. TZD agents rosiglitizone maleate (Avandia) and pioglitazone hydrochloride (Actos) help doctors manage patients'...Novel gene therapy delivery uses stem cells that target, attack tumors
...an find tumors and then produce biological killing agents right at the cancer site, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, who have performed a number of successful "proof of concept" experiments in mice. Their novel treatment, presented at the annual meeting of the America...Beers criteria for medications to avoid in the elderly updated
...nternal Medicine . Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents such as Motrin and Advil, or ibuprofen, made a second list of medications to avoid in older adults with certain medical conditions; nonsteroidals and aspirin, known to increase the risk of bleeding, were listed as potentially inappropriate for people...EGFR status linked to poor survival in advanced breast cancer patients
... These data provide a rationale for studying these agents in selected patients with breast cancer," says Thomas Buchholz, M.D., associate professor of radiation oncology, who conducted the study. One such trial of the EGFR inhibitor drug, Iressa, combined with the endocrine therapy, Arimidex, will begin sho...Fertility worries common in young breast cancer survivors
...ut there is less information on newer chemotherapy agents and ways of administering the chemotherapy. When asked to estimate their odds, more than half of women under 30 thought they had a 40 percent or greater chance of becoming infertile, when in fact research have revealed that very few women in this ver...Major advance in chemotherapy in breast cancer
...d to determine if Taxotere, one of the most active agents in advanced breast cancer, would also have benefits for women with early stage disease. Study participants received either a post-surgery regimen of Taxotere, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), known as TAC, or the widely used...Mast cells to blame for allergic diarrhea
...ndent. The identified mechanism also suggests that agents such as anti-IgE, recently approved for the treatment of human asthma, and the c-kit inhibitor imatinib mesilate, recently approved for the treatment of various malignancies, may also have therapeutic utility for gastrointestinal allergy.......ndent. The identified mechanism also suggests that agents such as anti-IgE, recently approved for the treatment of human asthma, and the c-kit inhibitor imatinib mesilate, recently approved for the treatment of various malignancies, may also have therapeutic utility for gastrointestinal allergy. TITLE: Ma...Other highlights in the December 3 issue of JNCI
...tors and the combined use of epigenetic drugs with agents that target reactivated genes. The authors conclude that, "permutations of these approaches and continued advancement in understanding the mechanisms involved in epigenetic regulation and how they interact with genetic changes during tumor progressio...Glycerin may help skin disease, study finds
...the skin problems resolved. Other water-attracting agents didn't work so well, which gives the MCG researchers more fuel for their finding that glycerol also plays a key role in normal skin cell maturation and proliferation. They hope their findings will not only contribute to a better understanding of norm...Faulty wiring in the brain may cause early-onset schizophrenia
...fforts can be focused in production of therapeutic agents that speed up or restart the myelination process," she said. Co-authoring the study with Drs. Ashtari and Kumra are Marjorie McMeniman, Ph. D., Joshua Vogel, Alan Sloan Diamond, M.D., and Philip Szeszko, Ph.D....Patients starting cholesterol-lowering drugs in hospital take meds longer
...nformation in the article. Because lipid-lowering agents can improve cardiovascular health, strategies to i...nts (77 percent) who started taking lipid-lowering agents before hospital discharge continued taking therapy compared with 494 (25 percent) of those discharge...