The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is tightening the potency specifications for levothyroxine sodium, used to treat underactive thyroid glands and other thyroid conditions, to ensure the drug retains its potency over its entire shelf life. This action is being taken in response to concerns that the potency of the drug may deteriorate prior to its expiration date.
A combination of two drugs can selectively block pain-sensing neurons in rats without impairing movement or other sensations such as touch, according to a new study by National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported investigators. The finding suggests an improved way to treat pain from childbirth and surgical procedures. It may also lead to new treatments to help the millions of Americans who suffer from chronic pain.
Following the President’s signature of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Amendments Act, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt praised the bill as an important step forward in ensuring the safety of drugs and medical devices.
Congressional support grows for FDA regulation of tobacco in US. Bill now sponsored by 55 senators, 200 representatives in America. The following is a statement of William V. Corr, Executive Director, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:
A multi-institution team led by USC faculty has received a five-year, $8.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for an ambitious effort to survey the genetic, physical and behavioral profiles of children with autism.
A combination of two drugs can selectively block pain-sensing neurons in rats without impairing movement or other sensations such as touch, according to a new study by National Institutes of Health-supported investigators. The finding suggests an improved way to treat pain from childbirth and surgical procedures. It may also lead to new treatments to help the millions of Americans who suffer from chronic pain.
New research from the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne has shown why mutation in a single gene can cause epilepsy in infants. Infants are more susceptible to seizures because their brains are developing at a rapid rate, making their brain cells ‘excitable’. Their neurons are growing and making new connections with other nerve cells, which can disrupt normal brain activity and results in epilepsy.
Flu vaccine delivered through painless microneedles in patches applied to the skin could soon be an alternative to delivery through hypodermic needles, according to researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Using new grants from the National Institutes of Health totaling approximately $11.5 million over five years, researchers from the two institutions plan to develop a new vaccine product using the microscopic needles.
Sidney Taurel, chairman and chief executive officer, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), in a speech at the Cleveland Clinic, called on the health care industry, medical community and U.S. government to actively collaborate on a health information technology system that would provide more rapid and useful insights on the effectiveness of medicines while improving drug safety.
Specialised bath products to relieve the symptoms of allergic (atopic) eczema are of “questionable” value, says the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB). The NHS forks out more than £16 million a year on bath emollients, equivalent to almost 40% of the total cost of eczema treatments prescribed for pre-school children, says DTB.