Pharmacology

Antidepressants are commonly prescribed for depression but their efficacy is questionable -   many people don't experience symptom relief. The National Institute of Mental Health's STAR*D study, the largest and longest study ever conducted to evaluate depression treatment, may have a better way;  identifying predictors of antidepressant response. f Approximately one-third of patients responded within their initial medication trial and approximately one-third of patients did not have an adequate clinical response after being treated with several different medications. Identifying…

Consumption of extra virgin olive oil has been linked to reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its benefit may lie in one component of olive oil that helps shuttle the abnormal AD proteins out of the brain. Alzheimer's disease affects about 30 million people worldwide but the prevalence is lower in Mediterranean countries - thus the correlation with olive oil. Scientists once attributed it to the high concentration of healthful monounsaturated fats in olive oil, which is consumed in large amounts in the Mediterranean diet. Recent research also suggested that the actual protective…

A new paper in Molecular Pharmacology describes how 'reverse pharmacology', enabled by Heptares Therapeutics StaR(R) technology, can be applied to and accelerate GPCR-based drug discovery. The paper utilized the study of isolated GPCRs locked in conformations that correspond to agonist or antagonist pharmacology, and the elucidation of their respective 3D structures. These StaRs and structures can be used to select and design compounds with specific pharmacologies, such as inverse agonist, partial agonist or full agonist, based on their ability to bind differentially to the agonist and…

Coffee may help lower your risk of having a stroke, especially if it is a regular part of your diet, according to research published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Green tea also, though it's unclear how green tea affects stroke risks. A compound group known as catechins may provide some protection. Catechins have an antioxidant anti-inflammatory effect, increasing plasma antioxidant capacity and anti-thrombogenic effects.  Some chemicals in coffee include chlorogenic acid, thus cutting stroke risks by lowering the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. Researchers…

A culture that digs up dead female corpses to bury with single deceased men has unsurprisingly embraced probiotics. Starting in the 1990s,  the fast-growing yogurt, supplement, pharma and feed sectors are expected to reach $5 billion despite any benefit.   There are several hundred kinds of nutritional foods and ingredients containing probiotics currently sold in the Chinese market, such as fermented milk (yogurt), fermented cheese or cream, fermented soy milk, probiotics supplement and pharma products.  Key players in the China probiotics market are assessed in "China…

Researchers have reported the results of a 10-year, double-blind randomized controlled trial in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and  found that the infants of mothers who were given 600 milligrams of the omega-3 fatty acid DHA during pregnancy weighed more at birth and were less likely to be very low birth weight and born before 34 weeks gestation than infants of mothers who were given a placebo. This result greatly strengthens the case for using the dietary supplement during pregnancy. A follow-up of this sample of infants is ongoing to determine whether prenatal DHA…

A routine step in preparing for cleft palate surgery in a child led to an unusual case of lung inflammation (pneumonitis), according to a report in the The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery.   Drs. Kyle J. Chepla and Arun K. Gosain of University Hospitals–Case Medical Center, Cleveland , describe their experience with Betadine-induced pneumonitis in a seven-year-old girl undergoing surgery for a persistent cleft palate deformity. After a breathing tube was placed and anesthesia was induced, the patient underwent routine surgical prep—including scrubbing and rinsing the nose and mouth…

In the UK, pharmaceutical innovation seems to be dying. The supply of new medicines has conspicuously dwindled in recent decades but that is not due to innovation issues, it is because regulations have caused the costs of drug development to soar, along with the time it takes to bring a new drug to market: from 3 years in 1960 to 12 in 2000.  The UK is historically the second largest source of new drug development, generating more than 10% of all new medicines around the globe. The US has historically been the runaway leader though output looks bleak in America as well, for similar…

Tranylcypromine, TCP, is an antidepressant drug used since the 1960s but may also hold promise for treating sickle cell disease, according to a new finding in mice and human red blood cells.  They found that TCP can essentially reverse the effects of sickle cell disease.  The findings pave the way for a clinical trial now being planned for adult patients who have the life-threatening condition. The discovery may also lead to other treatments for the disease, which leads misshapen red blood cells to cause vascular damage and premature death. They caution it is too soon for the drug…

Neurim Pharmaceuticals has announced positive results from a phase II clinical study evaluating the efficacy and safety of Piromelatine (Neu-P11), a novel investigational multimodal sleep medicine developed for the treatment of patients with primary and co-morbid insomnia. The new results are from a recent double-blind, randomized, placebo controlled, parallel group, non-confirmatory, sleep-laboratory study. The study evaluated piromelatine compared to placebo in 120 adult primary insomnia patients, ages 18 years and older.  Piromelatine 20/50mg treatment for 4 weeks resulted in…