Antidepressant, TCP (Trabylcypromine) could help the workings of anticancer drug used in leukemia...

A new study shows that an antidepressant could be crucial in helping cancer treatment drugs reach their full potential.

The study by scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research found that tranylcypromine (TCP - cis and trans iosmers - below structures) – which can be used to treat psychotic depressive states - can make cancer cells vulnerable to the effects of a vitamin A- derivative drug called ATRA (above structure).

Retinoids are a class of chemical compounds related chemically to vitamin A. ATRA is already used successfully to treat a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but up until now, has not been effective against other types of the disease. ATRA works by encouraging leukemia cells to mature and die naturally, but the researchers lead by Ar. Arthur Zelent say that the reason many AML patients do not respond to the treatment is because the genes that ATRA normally attacks are switched off by an enzyme called LSD1. The scientists discovered that using TCP to block this 'off switch' could reactivate these genes, making the cancer cells susceptible to ATRA.

The team has already joined forces with the University of Munster in Germany to start a Phase II clinical trial of the drug combination in AML patients. The authors also commented that both the retinoid ATRA and the antidepressant TCP are already available in the UK and off-patent, so these drugs should not be expensive for the health service. 

Ref : http://www.icr.ac.uk/research/new_research_highlights/research_highlights/22625.shtml

New RAGE inhibitor shows promise against Alzheimer's

In continuation on drug discovery for Alzheimer's disease....
New RAGE inhibitor shows promise against Alzheimer's: Researchers have taken another crack at a promising approach to stopping Alzheimer's disease that encountered a major hurdle last year. In research published this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, scientists have developed a compound that targets a molecular actor known as RAGE (Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products), which plays a central role in mucking up the brain tissue of people with the disease.

Anti-inflammatory drugs may offer novel treatment for CHD

Anti-inflammatory drugs may offer novel treatment for CHD: A large international study indicates that anti-inflammatory drugs may become a new tool for preventing and treating coronary heart disease (CHD), the leading global cause of death.

H. pylori bacteria associated with elevated levels of HbA1c

In continuation of my update on H.Pylori

H. pylori bacteria associated with elevated levels of HbA1c: A new study by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center reveals that the presence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria is associated with elevated levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), an important biomarker for blood glucose levels and diabetes.

Prazosin drug shows promise against PTSD-related nightmares

Prazosin drug shows promise against PTSD-related nightmares: Mayo Clinic researchers this week will announce the use of the blood pressure drug prazosin as an effective treatment to curb post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-related nightmares.

Ivabradine could save thousands of heart failure patients

In continuation of my update on Ivabradine

Ivabradine could save thousands of heart failure patients: Researchers behind a major trial of Procoralan believe the pill could save 10,000 lives a year in Britain alone. Ivabradine works by slowing the beating of the heart, helping it to pump blood more efficiently.

Berry fruits help the brain stay healthy in several ways

Berry fruits help the brain stay healthy in several ways: Strong scientific evidence exists that eating blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and other berry fruits has beneficial effects on the brain and may help prevent age-related memory loss and other changes, scientists report.

Experimental Drug Shows Promise Against Cushing's Disease

Experimental Drug Shows Promise Against Cushing's Disease: WEDNESDAY, March 7 -- An experimental drug called pasireotide reduced levels of the "stress hormone" cortisol and improved symptoms in patients with Cushing's disease, a new study found.

New FDA approved drug to treat infants with respiratory distress syndrome

New FDA approved drug to treat infants with respiratory distress syndrome: Scientific advances at The Scripps Research Institute have led to a new drug Surfaxin (lucinactant), approved today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat infant respiratory distress syndrome.

Experimental Drug Shows Promise Against Type 2 Diabetes

In continuation of my update on TAK 875

Experimental Drug Shows Promise Against Type 2 Diabetes: An experimental drug improves patients' blood sugar control without increasing the risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to the results of a phase 2 clinical trial.

Type 2 diabetes is...

Rigosertib drug shows promise against advanced pancreatic cancer

Researchers from University of Colorado, lead by Antonio Jimeno, have found that, a new drug, Rigosertib,  allows pancreatic cancer cells to rush through replication - and then stops them cold, killing them in in the middle of a step called M phase. Healthy cells that don't rush are unharmed.

Data from a phase I clinical trial of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer and additional solid tumors recently published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research shows the strategy has promise. While the goal of any phase I trial is to establish the dosage that best balances effectiveness against side effects, 11 of the 19 patients treated achieved stable disease, which lasted for a median of 113 days.

"Really, the drug takes one of cancer's greatest strengths and turns it into a weakness," says Wells Messersmith, MD, co-leader of the Developmental Therapeutics Program at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and the clinical trial's national principal investigator.

Instead of going with the flow of the natural cell cycle, cancer cells amplify two signals - PLK1 and PI3K - which allows them to blast through the cell cycle and divide much more quickly. In the process, they break this step of the natural cell cycle, known as the G1 regulatory mechanism, and thus depend on the kick of PLK1 and P13K to push at a frenzied pace through replication...

More...

New Drug, Ruxolitinib May Help Fight Rare Bone Marrow Disorder

In continuation of my update on ruxolitinib

New Drug May Help Fight Rare Bone Marrow Disorder: WEDNESDAY, Feb. 29 -- Two new studies confirm that the new drug ruxolitinib can help people with the rare bone marrow disorder called myelofibrosis.

While the drug, marketed in the United States under the brand name Jakafi, won't cure...

New drug improves glycaemic control with minimum risk of hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetics..

TAK-875, a new treatment for type 2 diabetes, improves blood sugar control and is equally effective as glimepiride, but has a significantly lower risk of creating a dangerous drop in blood sugar, called hypoglycemia, according to a new study. TAK-875 is a novel oral medication designed to enhance insulin secretion in a glucose-dependant manner, which means that it has no effect on insulin secretion when glucose levels are normal, and as such has the potential to improve the control of blood sugar levels without the risk of hypoglycemia.

In the study, Charles Burant, M.D., Ph.D., professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Health System, and colleagues randomly assigned 426 patients with type 2 diabetes who were not achieving adequate glucose control through diet, exercise or metformin treatment to one of five doses of TAK-875, a placebo, or glimepiride, a conventional diabetes treatment. The primary outcome was change in hemogloblin A1c from the start of the study.

At 12 weeks, all doses of TAK-875 resulted in significant drops in HbA1c compared with placebo, a similar reduction occurred in patients given glimepiride.

At a TAK-875 dose of 25 mg or higher, about twice as many patients (33 to 48 percent) reached the American Diabetics Association target of HbA1c less than 7 percent within 12 weeks, compared with placebo (19 percent) and was similar to glimepiride (40 percent).

Ref : http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(11)61879-5/fulltext

Skin cancer drug, vemurafenib may prolong survival in advanced cases: Study

In continuation of my update on vemurafenib...

According to an international study a new treatment for advanced skin cancer almost doubles survival times. Researchers say 132 patients in the U.S. and Australia who were given the drug vemurafenib gained several extra months of life. The treatment is one of two drugs for late-stage melanoma, approved on fast-track in the US last year, which offer hope for patients with advanced melanoma. Vemurafenib is suitable for about half of patients with advanced melanoma as it targets tumors that express a certain gene mutation. Before that, there had been no new drugs for the cancer for more than a decade...

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FDA panel votes in favor of earlier rejected anti-obesity drug Qnexa

In continuation of my up date on Qnexa

FDA panel votes in favor of earlier rejected anti-obesity drug Qnexa: Qnexa took a step closer to approval on Wednesday, when outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 20-to-2 in favor of approval. The panel also recommended the company conduct a study to scrutinize even more closely any risk of heart problems. That study may be required after the drug is approved. Should the FDA ask for further data on heart risks before any approval, it would delay Qnexa's launch further.