Public release date: 11-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Mary Jane Gore mary.gore@duke.edu 919-660-1309 Duke University Medical Center DURHAM, N.C. A team of researchers at Duke University has determined the structure of a key molecule that can carry chemotherapy and anti-viral drugs into cells, which could help to create more effective drugs with fewer effects to healthy tissue. "Knowing the structure and properties of the transporter molecule may be the key to changing the way that some chemotherapies, for example, could work in the body to prevent tumor growth," said senior author Seok-Yong Lee, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry at Duke. The article was published in Nature online on March 11. The transporter molecule, called a concentrative nucleoside transporter, works by moving nucleosides, the building blocks of DNA and RNA, from the outside to the inside of cells. It also transports nucleoside-like chemo drugs through cell membranes. Once inside the cells, the nucleoside-like drugs are modified into nucleotides that are incorporated into DNA in ways that prevent tumor cells from dividing and functioning. "We discovered the structure of the transporter molecule, and now we believe it is possible to improve nucleoside drugs to be better recognized by a … Continue reading →

By Claire Bates UPDATED: 07:07 EST, 10 March 2012 A common heart disease drug may have the unusual side-effect of combating racism, a new study suggests. Volunteers given the beta-blocker, used to lower heart rates, scored lower on a standard psychological test of 'implicit' racist attitudes. They appeared to be less racially prejudiced at a subconscious level than another group treated with a 'dummy' placebo pill. Unusual finding: A heart drug was found to have the unusual side-effect of reducing racist feeling in participants Scientists believe the discovery can be explained by the fact that racism is fundamentally founded on fear. Propranolol acts both on nerve circuits that govern automatic functions such as heart rate, and the part of the brain involved in fear and emotional responses. The drug is also used to treat anxiety and panic. Experimental psychologist Dr Sylvia Terbeck, from Oxford University, who led the study published in the journal Psychopharmacology, said: 'We wanted to study the neurobiology of prejudice. 'Our results offer new evidence about the processes in the brain that shape implicit racial bias. 'Implicit racial bias can occur even in people with a sincere belief in equality. Given the key role that such implicit … Continue reading →

Posted by Shezad Malik MD JDMarch 10, 2012 5:19 PM The first three federal Pradaxa injury and death cases in the United States were recently filed. The first three landmark federal court Pradaxa lawsuits filed this week include: Lege et al v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc et al, Cause No. 6:12-cv-00572, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana; Bivens et al v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc et al, Cause No. 3:12-cv-00103, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Northern Division; and Hawkins et al v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc et al, Cause No. 6:12-cv-45, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, London Division. There is an ongoing U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigation into Pradaxa and its potentially deadly side effects. The FDA is now investigating post-marketing reports of serious bleeding events and deaths in patients taking Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate). Pradaxa History Pradaxa was approved in October 2010 by the FDA for the prevention of stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm condition in the world. Patients with atrial fibrillation require blood-thinning medications like warfarin. Pradaxa was the first … Continue reading →