Although moderate alcohol intake is associated with lower risk for myocardial infarction (MI), guidelines generally suggest that adults seek other lifestyle measures to reduce cardiovascular risk. Physical activity, smoking, and diet, moderate alcohol intake is associated with lower risk for MI.
A person suffering from tennis elbow may not have to look any further than his or her own body for the most effective treatment, according to a study published in the November issue of The American Journal of Sports Medicine. Specially prepared platelets taken from the patient which are then re-injected into the tendon of the affected elbow provides more relief than more commonly-used therapies which have failed to yield results, often resulting in surgery, concludes study authors Allan Mishra MD and Terri Pavelko, PAC, PT, of the Menlo Medical Clinic, Stanford University Medical Center, Menlo Park, Calif.
In another important milestone, Glivec? (imatinib) has received US regulatory approval to help patients with five distinct and potentially life-threatening disorders, representing the first time that a regulatory authority has ever simultaneously approved one targeted medicine for so many disorders. With today’s decision, and in only five years, Glivec has now been approved in the US for seven diseases, including two solid tumors and five blood disorders with molecular targets known to be inhibited by the drug.
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) and Flamel Technologies (NASDAQ:FLML) announced FDA approval of once-a-day Coreg CR (carvedilol phosphate) extended-release capsules, for the treatment of three cardiovascular conditions: 1. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension. 2. A heart attack that has reduced how well the heart pumps (known medically as post-myocardial infarction left ventricular dysfunction). 3. Mild to severe heart failure.
AVI BioPharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVII), presented data and analysis from four NeuGene? antisense clinical studies at the second annual meeting of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society at Rockefeller University in New York. The studies showed that AVI-4557 inhibited the metabolic enzyme cytochrome P450 (CYP), a liver enzyme responsible for the metabolism or breakdown of approximately half of currently marketed drugs.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval of a new 300 mg single capsule formulation of REYATAZ? (atazanavir sulfate) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults as part of combination therapy. Taken once daily along with ritonavir and food as part of a anti-HIV drug regimen, the REYATAZ 300 mg single capsule formulation can replace two REYATAZ 150 mg capsules for: patients who have previously received anti-HIV medicines, patients who will be receiving tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, and patients who have never taken anti-HIV medicines that require SUSTIVA? (efavirenz) as part of their anti-HIV drug regimen. The REYATAZ single capsule formulation will be available in the United States within seven business days.
Array BioPharma Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRY) announced that its first-in-class MEK inhibitor for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, ARRY-438162, has met its primary objectives in a single ascending dose clinical study involving 20 healthy volunteers. These results were presented by Array?s President and Chief Scientific Officer, Kevin Koch, Ph.D., at the 14th International Inflammation Research Association Conference in Cambridge, Maryland.
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY, TSX: SHQ) today reported that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) issued a positive opinion recommending approval of ELAPRASE for the long-term treatment of patients with Hunter syndrome (Mucopolysaccharidosis II). The EU Marketing Authorisation is expected early in 2007 and will result in unified labelling that will be valid in the current EU 25 member states as well as in Iceland and Norway.
A team of scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has identified a human protein that helps varicella-zoster virus, the cause of both chickenpox and shingles, spread from cell to cell within the body.
Taking supplements of the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone, better known as DHEA, does not improve body composition, physical performance, insulin sensitivity, or quality of life in elderly adults, according to a report in The New England Journal of Medicine. The new findings strongly contradict advertisements promoting these supplements as anti-aging compounds, lead author Dr. K. Sreekumaran Nair, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues conclude.