Health

Gene :: Fruit Fly Study Identifies Gene Mutation That Regulates Sensitivity to Alcohol

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have discovered a gene mutation in fruit flies that alters sensitivity to alcohol. The findings, reported in the October 6 issue of the journal Cell, may have implications for human studies seeking to understand innate differences in people?s tolerance for alcohol. The research was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Dementia :: Researchers Discover Misfolded Protein Clumps Common to Dementia, Lou Gehrig?s Disease

Scientists have identified a misfolded, or incorrectly formed, protein common to two devastating neurological diseases, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig?s disease), according to a report in the Oct. 6, 2006, issue of Science. The findings suggest that certain forms of FTD, ALS and possibly other neurological diseases might share a common pathological process.

DNA :: NHGRI Aims to Make DNA Sequencing Faster, More Cost Effective

Bethesda, Md. ? The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced the latest round of grant awards totaling more than $13.3 million to speed the development of innovative sequencing technologies that reduce the cost of DNA sequencing and expand the use of genomics in medical research and health care.

Muscular Dystrophy :: Drug Trichostatin A (TSA) Can Counteract Muscular Dystrophy

Scientists at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) and other institutions have demonstrated for the first time that a single drug can rebuild damaged muscle in two strains of mice that develop diseases comparable to two human forms of muscular dystrophy. This advance, which is reported online in Nature Medicine, is the latest from a research collaboration that began several years ago by the teams of Vittorio Sartorelli, M.D., at NIAMS and Pier Lorenzo Puri, M.D., Ph.D., now at Dulbecco Telethon Institute (DTI) in Rome, Italy and The Burnham Institute in La Jolla, Calif.

Schizophrenia :: Solvay pharmaceuticals and Wyeth – new drug for bifeprunox to treat schizophrenia

Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), announced today that a New Drug Application (NDA) was submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for bifeprunox, an investigational atypical antipsychotic for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Neuroma :: Anesiva – orphan drug status for pain drug 4975 to treat interdigital neuroma

Anesiva, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANSV) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted orphan drug status to product candidate 4975 for the treatment of a painful condition in the foot known as interdigital neuroma in patients who fail conservative treatments, such as foot pads, NSAID’s (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and injections of corticosteroids, that would otherwise require removing or chemically destroying the nerve that causes the pain. Orphan drug designation is granted by the FDA to encourage companies to develop products that treat rare diseases and conditions and includes incentives such as market exclusivity for seven years, tax credits on qualified clinical trial expenses and a waiver of the FDA prescription drug user fees.