VitaminsHealth.net » Pharma

The Dirty Dozen: Produce with the Most Pesticides

admin — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:20:27 +0000

Every year, the Environmental Working Group tests the amounts of pesticides that remain on fruit and vegetables after they have been picked, power washed and stocked onto grocery store shelves.

Problems with Balance, Walking, Falling Can Be an Early Sign of Dementia

admin — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 13:52:00 +0000

Balance and walking problems often present before the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s or dementia… Alzheimer’s Reading Room When I first came to Delray Beach to take care of my mother, she was falling down all the time. Once, I found her laying in the parking lot and she could not get up. She was shaking like a leaf. Another time she fell down and broke her little finger. It took us over ten hours in the emergency room that time around. She would fall and couldn’t get back up. This might sound hard to believe, she has not fallen once in the last six years. I attribute this mostly to exercise on a treadmill, a balance exercise I developed, and the the loss of about 17 pounds. Now, my mother can barely walk without holding on to my hand, or grabbing whatever she can find to hold on to as she walks (like a chair or the wall). I am still grateful, and amazed, that she is not falling. My mother is not yet using a walker (which is another story in itself). Perhaps some of you can describe your own experiences with walking, balance and falling. I would suggest as soon as you see problems with walking, falling, or shuffling feet in an elderly person that you get their memory tested immediately. Subscribe to the Alzheimer’s Reading Room Enter your email address: Poor balance may indicate memory decline A simple balance test may help doctors predict a decline in memory and brain function in people with Alzheimer’s disease, research shows.

Original Source of Problems with Balance, Walking, Falling Can Be an Early Sign of Dementia

Alice in Afghaniland: Karzai gets bags of cash from Iran and US acquiesces/ CNN

admin — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:30:00 +0000

Why are we still turning Afghanistan into chopped liver?

Gleevec — Scientists Identify Protein that Spurs Formation of Alzheimer’s Plaques

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:42:00 +0000

Alzheimer’s Reading Room “Anti-amyloid therapeutic drugs represent a valid approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease, but their inability to accumulate in the brain has limited their usefulness,” says Greengard, who is head of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience. “The development of compounds that work like Gleevec, but have the ability to pass the blood-brain barrier and target GSAP, could revolutionize the treatment of this disease.” A version of the cancer drug Gleevec could form the basis of a new class of drugs that block the development of brain-damaging plaques in Alzheimer’s disease. The latest study shows γ-secretase activating protein (GSAP) increases the production of beta amyloid. Blocking the protein in genetically engineered mice kept Alzheimer’s brain plaques from developing. In Alzheimer’s disease, the problem is amyloid-β, a protein that accumulates in the brain and causes nerve cells to weaken and die. Drugs designed to eliminate plaques made of amyloid-β have a fatal problem: they need to enter the brain and remove the plaques without attacking healthy brain cells. A new breakthrough from the laboratory of Nobel Prize winner Paul Greengard, however, suggests that treatments modeled on the blockbuster cancer drug Gleevec could be the solution. The findings are reported in the September 2 issue of the journal Nature. Gleevec, it turns out, has the unique ability to bind to a protein that triggers the production of amyloid-β plaques. The new research from Greengard’s lab shows that this protein, called γ-secretase activating protein (GSAP), dramatically and selectively increases the production of amyloid-β peptide, which makes up the senile plaques found in the brains of most people with Alzheimer’s. GSAP works through a mechanism involving its interactions with γ-secretase, an enzyme that chops up the amyloid precursor protein, a large molecule produced naturally in the body and found in many different types of cells. “Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating disorder for which there are no satisfactory treatments,” says Greengard, Vincent Astor Professor and director of the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research at Rockefeller. “Our findings reveal that γ-secretase activating protein is a potential target for a new class of anti-amyloid therapies.” Greengard won the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research into how neurons communicate. Scientists have been searching for ways to reduce amyloid-β production in Alzheimer’s patients by blocking γ-secretase, but most γ-secretase inhibitors also block the cleavage of an important immune system molecule called Notch. Notch plays a pivotal role in the development of blood-forming organs and the immune system. Earlier research by Greengard and his colleagues showed that Gleevec, a drug used to treat leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumors, successfully inhibited the ability of γ-secretase to form amyloid-β without affecting the Notch pathway. In the new study, led by Gen He, a research associate in Greengard’s lab, the researchers showed that GSAP stimulates production of amyloid-β in cell lines, and that reducing GSAP reduces amyloid-β. The researchers also looked at GSAP’s action in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. They knocked down the gene that codes for GSAP using RNA interference, and found that levels of amyloid-β as well as plaque development decreased. Biochemical studies showed that Gleevec reduces amyloid-β production by binding to GSAP and preventing its activation of γ-secretase.

Original Source of Gleevec — Scientists Identify Protein that Spurs Formation of Alzheimer’s Plaques

GlaxoSmithKline and Human Genome Sciences announce FDA priority review designation for Benlysta®

admin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 05:00:00 +0000

GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) and Human Genome Sciences, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a priority review designation to Benlysta® (belimumab) as a potential treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Original Source of GlaxoSmithKline and Human Genome Sciences announce FDA priority review designation for Benlysta®

Ipilimumab Receives FDA Priority Review Designation

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted, for filing and review, the Biologics License Application (BLA) for ipilimumab for the treatment of adult patients with advanced melanoma who have been previously treated.

Original Source of Ipilimumab Receives FDA Priority Review Designation

Lilly Halts Development of Semagacestat for Alzheimer’s Disease

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) will halt development of semagacestat, a gamma secretase inhibitor being studied as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease,

Original Source of Lilly Halts Development of Semagacestat for Alzheimer’s Disease

FDA Proposes Withdrawal of Low Blood Pressure Drug

admin — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 05:00:01 +0000

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed to withdraw approval of the drug midodrine hydrochloride, used to treat the low blood pressure condition orthostatic hypotension, because required post-approval studies that verify the clinical benefit of the drug have not been done.

Original Source of FDA Proposes Withdrawal of Low Blood Pressure Drug

International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) launches Cell Therapy Industry Partnership

admin — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Many companies in the cell therapy regenerative medicine market including Roche, Genzyme, Athersys, Miltenyi Biotec, Hospira, Lonza and Life Technologies will join ISCT to launch a series of new initiatives that will create greater strategic alignment within the industry and drive late stage clinical development.

Original Source of International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) launches Cell Therapy Industry Partnership

Data on Electronic Sampling, Online Promotion, Tech-Enabled Reps, Customer Service, and iPads

admin — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Pharmaceutical and healthcare market research company Manhattan Research releases the tenth version of ePharma Physician®, its study focused on physicians connecting with pharmaceutical and biotech companies through the Internet, tech-enabled reps, and online promotion.

Original Source of Data on Electronic Sampling, Online Promotion, Tech-Enabled Reps, Customer Service, and iPads