Novel H1N1 (referred to as “swine flu” early on) is a new influenza virus causing illness in people. This new virus was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009. Other countries, including Mexico and Canada, have reported people sick with this new virus. This virus is spreading from person-to-person, probably in much the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread.
Different formulations of the nonprescription drug Zyrtec (cetirizine HCl) is approved for the temporary relief of symptoms due to hay fever or other respiratory allergies (sneezing; runny nose; itchy, watery eyes; itchy throat or nose) in adults and children 2 years of age and older.
Harmful cosmetic eye products may increase the risk of optic nerve damage, macular edema, uveitis leading to decreased vision and blindness. At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Marshals seized 12,682 applicator tubes of Age Intervention Eyelash, a product that may, in some users, lead to decreased vision. Authorities said the sales value of the seized tubes is approximately $2 million.
Anticancer drug Nexavar raised survival period in inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma patients suffering from this kind of liver cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Nexavar (sorafenib) for use in patients with a form of liver cancer known as hepatocellular carcinoma, when the cancer is inoperable. Nexavar was originally approved in 2005 for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer.
Recently, scientists demonstrated the anti-cancer effects of silibinin, a major biologically active compound of milk thistle. Being widely used as a folk remedy for liver diseases, milk thistle is safe and well-tolerated, and it protects the liver from drug or alcohol-related injury. Silibinin is highly purified from milk thistle, with a defined chemical structure and molecular weight (C25H22O10, MW: 482.44).
A Mayo Clinic study of a drug that has shown promise in treating sarcoma, lung and brain cancers, demonstrates that the drug may also be effective in treating breast cancer, in particular the spread of breast cancer.
A new Mayo Clinic study found a nationwide decrease in the need for liver transplant in patients with hepatitis B, which coincides with the increasingly widespread use of oral antiviral medications to slow disease progression. The study will be presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in Boston.
Mayo Clinic researchers have shown that an immunosuppressive drug used in organ transplant cases is effective in reducing flare-ups in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). SLE results in inflammation of connective tissues and can involve the skin, joints and kidneys. Its cause is unknown. The findings were announced today at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Boston.
An exercise program that incorporates walking, strength training and stretching may improve daily function and alleviate symptoms in women with fibromyalgia, according to a report in the November 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. These benefits appear to be enhanced when exercise is combined with education about managing the disease.
Newly described proteins in drug-resistant strains of the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium attract and then destroy protective human white blood cells—a key process ensuring that S. aureus survives and causes severe disease, according to scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.