Monthly Archives: May 2012

Cannabis fails to slow progress of MS in UK study

Posted: Published on May 29th, 2012

* No evidence of benefit in long-term clinical trial * Study tested capsules of active cannabis ingredient THC LONDON, May 29 (Reuters) - Cannabis capsules failed to slow the progression of multiple sclerosis in a large British study, dealing a blow to hopes that the drug could provide long-term benefits for patients with the debilitating nerve disease. Despite promising signs in earlier, shorter studies, researchers found patients who took capsules containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a key active ingredient in cannabis, fared no better than those given a placebo. The finding is a disappointment for researchers who thought cannabis might provide a viable therapy in the disease's secondary progressive stage, when patients have few treatment options. Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients were assessed in the trial known as CUPID (cannabinoid use in progressive inflammatory brain disease) on both a disability scale administered by neurologists and another based on their own reporting. "Overall the study found no evidence to support an effect of THC on MS progression in either of the main outcomes," researchers led by John Zajicek of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, Plymouth University, said. Results from the study, which was funded by Britain's Medical Research Council, will be presented … Continue reading →

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Napoli, Cruz homer for Rangers in 4-2 win over Ms

Posted: Published on May 29th, 2012

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Mike Napoli's three-run homer put the Texas Rangers ahead to stay. The catcher also blocked the plate to prevent a run and was in sync with pitcher Matt Harrison all night. Not a bad all-around effort. Nelson Cruz added a homer of his own and two outfield assists, combining with Napoli to deny Brendan Ryan an inside-the-park homer in the eighth inning, and Texas beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2 on Monday night. ''That was awesome,'' said Harrison, who tossed eight strong innings. Napoli and Cruz homered before Michael Saunders singled in the eighth for Seattle. Ryan followed with a liner to right-center that bounced over the glove of a diving Craig Gentry and rolled to the wall. While Saunders scored easily, Cruz ran down the ball and threw to second baseman Ian Kinsler, who made a perfect relay to the plate. Napoli tagged out the sliding Ryan. ''I'm never going to forget that as long as I live,'' Ryan said. ''I don't even know where to start with that. ... I never had the opportunity before. Loss aside and all that, it would have been pretty sweet. Kind of a baseball bucket list thing.'' Except Ryan never … Continue reading →

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Eisai Gains Positive CHMP Opinion for Fycompa® (perampanel) First in a New Class of Treatment for Partial Onset Epilepsy

Posted: Published on May 29th, 2012

HATFIELD, United Kingdom--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Eisai announced today that the European Medicines Agencys Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion for the use of Fycompa (perampanel) as an adjunctive treatment of partial-onset seizures, with or without secondarily generalised seizures, in patients with epilepsy aged 12 years and older. Perampanel has a different mechanism of action to current antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). As an AMPA receptor antagonist, perampanel is the first of a new class of AED.1 The neurotransmitter glutamate plays a major role in the mediating seizures and perampanel is the only agent that selectively targets the transmission of seizures by blocking post synaptic glutamate AMPA receptors.2,3 AMPA receptors are currently not selectively targeted by any other available AED.2,3,4 Based on todays recommendation, EU approval of the new therapy is anticipated within three months. In addition to the CHMP recommendation for the use of perampanel as an adjunctive treatment, Eisai received a positive CHMP opinion for Zonegran (zonisamide) as monotherapy for the treatment of partial seizures (with or without secondary generalisation) in adults with newly diagnosed epilepsy. Zonisamide is a second generation AED with multiple mechanisms of action and a chemical structure which is unrelated to … Continue reading →

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HRT boosts bones but raises cancer risk

Posted: Published on May 29th, 2012

HRT is tied with an increased risk of cancer and heart disease. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may lower the risk of bone fractures in older women but is also associated with a considerable increased risk of cancer and heart disease. A large US trial called the Womens Health Initiative found that using estrogen-only or estrogen-plus-progestin female hormones during menopause caused more heart attacks and strokes than it prevented. The findings published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, also highlighted that menopausal women who use HRT are also more likely to have a breast cancer than their counterparts who use non-hormonal methods to reduce their menopausal symptoms. The new 15-year study which followed more than 160,000 women confirmed that taking female hormone pills may prevent osteoporosis and lower symptoms such as hot flashes in menopausal women. However, the article added that the therapy also raises womens odds of developing different problems such as gallbladder disease, urinary incontinence and dementia. We looked at all the published studies on hormone therapy for the prevention of chronic disease, said Dr. Heidi Nelson, who led the update. What is new here is, we've taken all the results from the last 10 years and tried to … Continue reading →

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Hormone Therapy, The Pros And Cons – An Updated Report

Posted: Published on May 29th, 2012

Editor's Choice Academic Journal Main Category: Menopause Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology Article Date: 28 May 2012 - 17:00 PDT Current ratings for: 'Hormone Therapy, The Pros And Cons - An Updated Report' 3 (2 votes) This review, written by researchers from Oregon Health & Science University, and Providence Cancer Center, and published in Annals of Internal Medicine, was conducted to help USPSTF (US Preventive Services Task Force) issue its new recommendations on hormone therapy. As background information, the researchers explained that menopausal hormone therapy to prevent chronic diseases is not recommended today, because of the high risk of serious adverse events. The researchers set out to update evidence regarding how effective hormone therapy is in reducing the risk of developing chronic conditions, as well as studying the impact and severity of adverse effects. They also wanted to see what the outcomes might be among females in different subgroups. They gathered and analyzed data from MEDLINE (Jan 2002 - Nov 2011), the Cochrane Central Register for Controlled Database of Systematic Reviews (up to September 2011), Scopus and some other reference lists. They also looked at randomized, placebo-controlled trials of HRT (hormone replacement therapy) that had been published in … Continue reading →

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New study sounds warning on hormone replacement therapy

Posted: Published on May 29th, 2012

Women who are past menopause and healthy should not use hormone replacement therapy in hopes of warding off dementia, bone fractures or heart disease, says a new analysis by the government task force that weighs the risks and benefits of screening and other therapies aimed at preventing illness. The recommendation by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force does not necessarily apply to women who use hormone replacement therapy to reduce menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. The balance of harm and benefits for that use is expected to be addressed soon in a report by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The latest recommendation, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, comes from an organization accustomed to controversy. In recent months, the task force has recommended against routine breast cancer screenings for most women younger than 50. It has also urged abandonment of the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, test that has become a standard part of older men's yearly physicals. Its latest recommendation could be a bit less controversial but is likely to have detractors among physicians who believe that the dangers of hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women have been overblown. … Continue reading →

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donga.com[English donga]

Posted: Published on May 29th, 2012

A U.S.-based academic journal has withdrawn a paper written by a Seoul National University stem cell researcher over the latter`s inclusion of a photo that had previously been released by other scientists. Antacid Replication Service was confirmed Monday to have withdrawn four papers registered by Dr. Kang Soo-kyung, who is a member of 21st Century Frontier, a cell application research center, and a steady performer in stem cell research. Eight people requesting anonymity sent email messages to 10 international journals including Antacid raising suspicion over duplicate photo postings on papers that Kang participated in as corresponding author. A corresponding author is someone responsible for overall research. The informants made a 70-page slide on suspicions surrounding 14 papers Kang published as a corresponding author from 2006 to 2012. They claimed she used photos that had been posted earlier in other people`s papers, saying the same photo was used in a number of other papers. Antacid`s editorial team requested an explanation from Kang and erased the four papers, and is also examining if the photo posting was an error or intentional. In response, Kang claimed she made a mistake, saying, "This was a mistake I made in the process of announcing new … Continue reading →

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Makati Medical Center now offering stem cell therapy

Posted: Published on May 29th, 2012

THE MAKATI Medical Centers Cancer Center celebrated its first year anniversary and marked the occasion with the launch of its Cellular Therapeutics Laboratory. Present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Dr. Eric Flores, head, Spine Clinic and Stem Cell Lab; Rosalie Montenegro, Makati Medical Center president and CEO; Dr. ManuelO. Fernandez Jr., executive vice president and director, Professional Services; Dr. Remedios G. Suntay, director and treasurer, MDI Board; Dr. Benjamin N. Alimurung, medical director; Dr. Francis Chung, scientific officer, Stem Cell Lab; and Augusto P. Palisoc Jr., executive director, president and CEO, MPIC Hospital Group. MAKATIMEDS Cellular Therapeutics Laboratory is managed by experienced scientists with extensive training and is affiliated with the International Society for Cellular Therapy. Stem cell therapy is now being offered at Makati Medical Center (MMC) as potential cure for a wide range of illnesses, from various types of cancer and heart ailments to incurable diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons and Alzheimers. Stem cell therapy is believed to be effective in bone marrow transplant for leukemia patients, and with early intervention, yields desirable results among renal and prostate cancer patients. Launched in the first year anniversary of the hospitals cancer center, MMCs Cellular Therapeutics Laboratory is equipped … Continue reading →

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Good News for Oldest Stroke Victims

Posted: Published on May 28th, 2012

If you're a Boomer with an older spouse, or a Boomer charged with caregiving for elderly parents, listen up. An FDA-approved stroke treatment that the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association does not recommend for patients older than 80 has been shown to be effective for that age group. According to MedPage Today, lead researcher Peter Sandercock, DM from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland said that in his recent study, a subgroup analysis of 1,617 patients older than 80 suggested "greater benefit" from recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) in these patients, "contrary to expectations." The benefits were greatest iftreatment was administered within 3 hours, and that result did not appear to be lessened for elderly patients. Not only that, but MedPage Today reports that a second study by Joanna M. Wardlaw, MD and colleagues, also from the University of Edinburgh, corroborated that finding. Both of the studies were published May 23rd online in The Lancet. In an accompanying editorial, Didier Leys, MD and Charlotte Cordonnier, MD from Roger Salengro Hospital in Lille, France wrote that Wardlaw's team "found no difference in the number of events between those older and younger than 80, whether treated with thrombolysis or placebo." They added, … Continue reading →

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Stroke Survivors Benefit From Clot Buster

Posted: Published on May 28th, 2012

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Stroke Also Included In: Clinical Trials / Drug Trials Article Date: 28 May 2012 - 2:00 PDT Current ratings for: 'Stroke Survivors Benefit From Clot Buster' Led by the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, the international trial, known as IST-3, found that for every 1,000 patients that received the clot-buster within the first three hours of a stroke, 80 more survive and live without help from others, compared to patients not receiving the drug. The IST-3 collaborative group write about their findings in a paper that was published online in The Lancet on 23 May. Alongside the trial results they also present an analysis of all other drug trials of rt-PA conducted in the last 20 years. IST-3 stands for the third International Stroke Trial. Its aim was to find out whether a wider range than hitherto of patients treated within the first 6 hours from stroke onset might benefit. One of the IST-3 group members, Professor Peter Sandercock, is Chief Investigator at Edinburgh's Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences and Director of Edinburgh Neuroscience. He told the press: "Our trial shows that it is crucial that treatment is given as fast as possible to … Continue reading →

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