Pharmacology

There's been plenty of research showing that when people inhale oxytocin, they tend to have more positive social behavior: trust, generosity,empathy and communication. But if taking one whiff of oxytocin can make younicer, will taking oxytocin regularly keep you nicer? If you take a biggerdose, will it make you even nicer? U.C. Davis researchers wanted to find out the long-term effects of taking oxytocin, so they studied prairie voles, the monogamous rodents that first demonstrated the positive social effects of this brain chemical. The U.C. Davis research team, led by Karen L. Bales,…

New data from the RELY-ABLE study have provided additional support to the safety profile and efficacy of Pradaxa(R) (dabigatran etexilate) for stroke prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) over a period in excess of 2 years.[*][1] The new long-term results presented at the American Heart Association's (AHA) Scientific Sessions, are consistent with the findings from the RE-LY trial[*]. The rates of stroke and haemorrhage observed during an additional 2.3 years of blinded follow-up in RELY-ABLE correspond to the initial RE-LY results, with the benefit of both doses of…

The European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion for HUMIRA® (adalimumab) for the treatment of pediatric patients aged six to 17 years with severely active Crohn's disease (CD) who failed, are intolerant to or have contraindications to conventional therapy. Pediatric CD is a chronic, debilitating condition of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract that affects up to 200,000 children worldwide(i,ii) CD most commonly involves the end of the small intestine and the beginning of the large intestine.(iii) In addition to symptoms such as chronic abdominal…

Winston Churchill liked his chocolate and he liked it rich and dark. At least that is what Hitler must have been convinced of as he decided to lure the British prime minister not with cigars but with dark chocolate. Churchill barely escaped his death by chocolate and went on to win the Nobel Prize in literature. Coincidence? According to New York cardiologist Dr. Franz Messerli: maybe not. Messerli dares to ask the question "How much chocolate does it take to win a Nobel?" and does not shy away from providing us with an answer. No kidding. We are talking research reported in the most…

New data shared today with Europe's epilepsy community at the 10th European Congress on Epileptology (ECE) in London, demonstrated the efficacy of Fycompa(R) (perampanel) in reducing partial-onset seizures, the most common form of epilepsy, and its effectiveness and flexibility of use as add-on therapy.  The successful treatment of partial-onset seizures (the most common form of epilepsy) remains a significant challenge in some patients and the incidence of uncontrolled partial epilepsy remains high, despite many existing anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs); between 20 - 40% of patients with…

CSL Limited has developed a new drug candidate that is able to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes and reverse its progression in animal models of the disease. The drug candidate blocks signaling by protein Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor B (VEGF-B) and this prevents fat from accumulating in the "wrong" places, such as in muscles and in the heart. As a result, cells within these tissues are once again able to respond to insulin and blood glucose is restored to normal levels.  They say this represents an entirely new approach to the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The research is…

BOTOX(R) has been licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for the management of urinary incontinence in adult patients with neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO) due to subcervical spinal cord injury (SCI) (traumatic or non-traumatic) or multiple sclerosis (MS), who are not adequately managed with anticholinergics.  The marketing authorisation is specific for Allergan's botulinum toxin type A product and is a key milestone in bringing this innovative treatment to people living with MS or SCI who have urinary leakage, providing them with a long-term…

Oh, for those days of 2007, when the miracle vegetable story of the week - maybe the year - was instead about the super powers of chocolate. The science underpinning those claims was sparse but the usually-reputable AAAS even had an entire panel on it at its annual meeting, populated by only one researcher who was not funded by the Mars chocolate empire. Still, long after the hype had died and people had moved onto acai berries and other wonder foods, researcher have still examined flavonoids, and most recently one in particular that is in chocolate, Epicatechin (epi). Figuring out how a…

The muscle-building dietary supplement creatine helps women battling depressions, according to a study from South Korea and the University of Utah. It reports that women with major depressive disorder (MDD) who augmented their daily antidepressant with 5 grams of creatine responded twice as fast and experienced remission of the illness at twice the rate of women who took the antidepressant alone. Creatine is an amino acid made in the kidneys, liver and pancreas that is also found in meat and fish. Inside the body it is converted into phosphocreatine and stored in muscle. During high-…

Is oxytocin really evil? No, oxytocin is not evil. But not all of its effects turn you into an angel of bliss. Science bloggers had a blast a few weeks ago, caviling at Paul Zak's Moral Molecule thesis, digging up an old study showing that soldiers defending their own troops had elevated levels of oxytocin. Now, a new study, cleverly named The Herding Hormone, finds that oxytocin makes it more likely we'll conform to our group's standards. First, men in the study were divided into two groups. Half the study participants inhaled oxytocin and half placebo. Then, they were shown photographs and…