FDA staff questions Cephalon drug for ADHD
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Some U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff reviewers have raised questions about Cephalon Inc.‘s bid to market its Sparlon drug to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to documents made public on Wednesday.
The staff reports were released ahead of an FDA advisory panel meeting on Thursday to discuss the new use of the drug, which is already sold as Provigil to treat sleep disorders.
Chest pain equally common in women and men
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Women have a similarly high incidence of stable angina—chest pain due to inadequate blood flow to the heart—as men, the results of a study released today indicate.
Moreover, “angina in women appears to be more serious than many doctors, or indeed the general public, realize,” study chief Dr. Harry Hemingway from University College London Medical School told Reuters Health. “Angina in women is associated with an increased risk of dying from heart disease.”
Breast cancer deaths higher among black women
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African American women are more likely to die from breast cancer, and minorities in general do not receive the best treatment for the disease compared with white women, according to two studies published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Researchers found that African American women, even after adjusting for socioeconomic differences, are 19 percent more likely than white women to die of breast cancer, said lead author Dr. Lisa Newman, Director of the Breast Care Center at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
A second study found that women in minority groups, including Hispanics, are half as likely to receive complete follow-up treatment for the disease.
Governments blamed for health staff brain drain
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Increasing nurses’ pay in Britain and ensuring that the supply of U.S. doctors meets demand could stem the brain drain of healthcare workers from poor countries to rich ones, researchers said on Tuesday.
The exodus of doctors and nurses seeking better pay has caused a crisis in low-income nations, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where HIV/AIDS has put an added burden on already limited resources.
Kuwait court refuses to recognise sex change
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Kuwait’s highest court has upheld a ruling refusing to recognise as female a man who underwent sex-change surgery almost six years ago, judicial sources said on Tuesday.
They told Reuters the court late on Monday upheld a lower court’s ruling against Kuwaiti national Ahmed Dousari, in his 30s, barring any official recognition of his new gender.
EU agrees to alternatives to animal drug tests
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The European Union has approved six alternative drug-testing methods to replace experiments on animals in a move that will help to save up to 200,000 rabbits each year, its executive arm said on Tuesday.
The change will also increase the accuracy of the tests, thereby making the products concerned safer, the European Commission said.
Exercise can help reduce depression after stroke
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Stroke patients who partake in a therapeutic exercise program may experience a reduction in depressive symptoms, according to the results of a study published the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Along with physical disability, depression is common in stroke patients, Dr. Sue-Min Lai, of the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, and colleagues point out. Previous studies have found that physical exercise can reduce symptoms in depressed patients, but the effect of exercise on stroke patients is unknown.
To further investigate, Lai and her associates assessed the effect of physical exercise on depressive symptoms in 100 stroke survivors who had completed rehabilitation. The patients were randomly assigned to participate in an exercise program or to receive the usual care.
Early blood pressure treatment with candesartan may postpone hypertension
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A new study offers intriguing insight into the possibility of postponing hypertension among the 59 million Americans whose blood pressure is slightly high.
If confirmed, the concept may offer a chance to keep many people from facing the high risk of heart disease and stroke that currently confronts the 65 million Americans with hypertension. But for now, the researchers call it a “proof of principle” result and note that this is the first study to address the issue thoroughly.
The results come from a rigorous four-year study of 772 people with a condition called pre-hypertension, in which blood pressure is elevated over normal levels but not high enough to meet the criteria for a formal diagnosis of hypertension.
Study shows that cell transplantation therapy may improve brain receptor function in patients
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Study shows that cell transplantation therapy may improve brain receptor function in patients who suffered from cerebral stroke
Japanese researchers have found a piece of the “missing link” about how bone marrow stromal cells restore lost neurologic function when transplanted into animals exhibiting central nervous system disorders, according to a study in the March issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
“Our study showed that cell transplantation therapy may improve brain receptor function in patients who suffered from cerebral stroke, improving their neurological symptoms,” said Satoshi Kuroda, M.D., Ph.D., who is with the department of neurosurgery at Hokkaido University School of Medicine in Sapporo, Japan. “How the transplanted bone marrow stromal cells restore the lost neurologic function is not clear,” added the co-author of “Improved Expression of c-Aminobutyric Acid Receptor in Mice With Cerebral Infarct and Transplanted Bone Marrow Stromal Cells: An Autoradiographic and Histologic Analysis.”
Rapamycin (sirolimus) may be effective in treating kidney disease
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A widely available drug may be effective in treating kidney disease, report scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They describe the discovery in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.
The drug is rapamycin, also called sirolimus, and is currently used as an immunosuppressant, to help prevent rejection of a new, transplanted kidney.
Underweight black women risk preterm delivery
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Being underweight - as evidence by a low body mass index (BMI)—before pregnancy raises the risk of preterm birth in black and Hispanic women to a greater extent than in white women, new research shows. Being underweight also increases the risk of vaginal inflammation in black women.
“These data suggest that there are racial differences in how nutritional status, as represented by BMI, might influence…the risk of spontaneous preterm birth,” Drs. Hyagriv N. Simhan and Lisa M. Bodnar of the University of Pittsburgh write in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Low BMI has been tied to increased risk of early delivery across ethnic groups, the researchers note, while black women are twice as likely as whites to deliver prematurely. It is “biologically plausible” that BMI could increase preterm birth risk via effects on immunity and inflammation, they add.
Bereavement, Marital Status Affect Response to Flu Shot in Elderly
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Flu shots do not work as well in older adults who have recently experienced the death of a family member or close friend, a new study shows.
On the other hand, older adults who are happily married show stronger responses after flu shots than those who are unmarried, especially those who are widowed.
Bereavement and marriage “are the most key factors for older adults, rather than general life-events stress and social support, which have been related to immune response in previous studies of young adults,” said lead researcher Anna C. Phillips, Ph.D., of the University of Birmingham in England.
Dietary folate may lower pancreatic cancer risk
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Increased levels of dietary folate from food, but not from supplements, appears to reduce the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, according to results of a large population-based study of Swedish men and women.
Folate, also known as folic acid, is a B vitamin that is naturally found in fruits and vegetables. The US government recently mandated that manufacturers fortify grain products with folic acid, adding it to flour, rice, pasta and cornmeal.
Previous studies have suggested that folate may protect against colorectal and breast cancer, Dr. Susanna C. Larsson and colleagues note in their report, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Protein differences may explain drug reaction
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Differences between a cell signaling protein in humans and animals may explain the unexpected severe reaction in six young men given a new drug in a clinical trial in Britain, an expert said on Sunday.
The previously healthy men were the first humans to receive the drug, designed to treat leukemia and chronic inflammation disorders. Shortly after receiving the treatment last week, they suffered massive inflammation and excruciating pain.
Two are still critically ill, one is on organ support, and the other three are recovering.
White House wants more drug tests in students
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Student athletes, musicians and others who participate in after school activities could increasingly be subject to random drug testing under a program promoted by the Bush administration.
White House officials say drug testing is an effective way to keep students away from harmful substances like marijuana and crystal methamphetamine, and have held seminars across the country to promote the practice to local school officials.
