Researchers discover that anti-malaria drugs can fight pulmonary disease
A research team at Colorado State University has discovered that drugs used to treat malaria are also effective at treating a pulmonary disease similar to tuberculosis. Their findings were featured on the cover of the Feb. 23 issue of Science Translational Medicine. The study is a significant development in the fight against infections caused by […]
Do ‘behavioral psychedelics’ help patients make lasting, positive change?
Despite their reputation as illicit drugs, psychedelics may find new, legitimate roles in treatment for anxiety, depression, stress disorders, addiction, and other mental and behavioral health problems. But ensuring they do requires developing rigorous, standardized methods to study and apply the results, according to a new report. In a perspective published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, […]
New target may help protect bones as we age
Drugs we take like prednisone can weaken our bones and so can aging, and scientists working to prevent both have some of the first evidence that the best target may not be the logical one. They are finding that in aging bone, the mineralocorticoid receptor, better known for its role in blood pressure regulation, is […]
Diet trumps drugs for anti-aging and good metabolic health
A study comparing the impact of diet versus drugs on the inner workings of our cells has found nutrition has a much stronger impact. The pre-clinical study by the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre suggests the makeup of our diet could be more powerful than drugs in keeping conditions like diabetes, stroke and heart […]
Scientists discover 14 genes that cause obesity: Findings could decouple overeating from harmful health effects
Promising news in the effort to develop drugs to treat obesity: University of Virginia scientists have identified 14 genes that can cause and three that can prevent weight gain. The findings pave the way for treatments to combat a health problem that affects more than 40% of American adults. “We know of hundreds of gene […]
Different Taxanes, Similar Outcomes in Advanced HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
Final results from a routine-practice comparison of taxane agents showed that the drugs offered comparable safety and efficacy in advanced HER2-positive breast cancer. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was about 21 months and median overall survival (OS) was 65 months with dual anti-HER2 therapy and was similar among patients who received paclitaxel or docetaxel, as well […]
Do some diabetes drugs reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s? Study finds people taking the drugs have fewer biomarkers, slower cognitive decline
People taking certain drugs to lower blood sugar for type 2 diabetes had less amyloid in the brain, a biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease, when compared to both people with type 2 diabetes not taking the drugs and people without diabetes. The new study, published in the August 11, 2021, online issue of Neurology, the medical […]
Fuzzy OS Benefits in Drug Labels; Zantac Suit Dismissed; Cancer Deaths Drop For Now
The overall survival benefits associated with use of many newly approved cancer drugs are often not clearly communicated in drug labels. (JAMA Internal Medicine) A reduced-dose CT scan of 0.3 mSv can safely be used to detect lung nodules in children with cancer without sacrificing diagnostic accuracy. (American Journal of Roentgenology) A federal judge has […]