A so-called "memory pill" that was originally designed to treat Alzheimer's disease could be available in a weaker form over-the-counter in the next few years.
Three pharmaceutical companies are working on their own versions of the drug - AstraZeneca and Targacept are collaborating on a version, and Epix Pharmaceuticals is working on its own. The drugs are aimed at older patients suffering from age-related memory loss.
But the London Telegraph quotes neurologist and former U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee member Steven Ferris predicting that a milder form of the medication could be available for otherwise healthy consumers as a "lifestyle pill."
There is evidence some prescription medication available today is being used to help cognitive function and to improve memory.
Narcolepsy drug Provigil is taken by some students to stay awake while studying, and Ritalin and Adderall XR, drugs taken for Attention Deficit Disorder, are often taken by people without the disorder to help them concentrate.
But Shire, the maker of Adderall XR, told the Times of London that the drug can raise blood pressure, so young people without ADD should not take it.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Pharmaceutical Companies Working On 'Memory Pill'
Study Says Men Better Able To Resist Food Temptation
Men may be better able to resist food temptation than women, according to a brain scan study released this week.
Researchers for the study, published in Monday's Proceedings of the National Academies of Science journal, scanned the brains of men and women who hadn't eaten in 17 hours. They then flashed food in front of them as they told the subjects to resist their hunger urges. Only the men showed a drop in brain activity in regions involved in motivation and emotion.
Paul Smeets, of the Image Sciences Institute at the University Medical Center Utrecht, in the Netherlands, said he theorizes the difference in brain activity when the food was presented demonstrates why women have a harder time sticking to diets than their male counterparts.
Smeets studies hunger issues using brain imaging, but was not involved in this latest study, CNN reported.
Researchers in the study scanned the brains of 23 "normal" weight people - 13 women and 10 men. They were asked what their favorite foods were, and these items were presented to them almost a full day after they ate their last meal.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 35.3 percent of American women and 33.3 percent of men were considered obese in 2006.
Antibiotic-Resistant Bugs Rising Among U.S. Children
Antibiotic-resistant head and neck viruses are on the rise among American children, according to a new report from Emory University.
The findings were reported in the Archives of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery. Emory University researchers say tougher strains of the bacteria staphylococcus aureus, known for its resistance to the antibiotic methicillin, are being found outside the confines of hospitals and into the community.
These viruses are collectively known as MRSA. There is a growing trend of community-based MRSA infections in prisons, nursing homes and chronically-ill patient centers, the Washington Post reported.
The study found that out of 21,000 pediatric infections observed between 2001 and 2006, 22 percent were antibiotic-resistant MRSA cases. Overall, MRSA head and neck infections had almost doubled, from 12 to 28 percent, during this time frame.
Most bugs are transferred through sneezing, but MRSA is typically spread by skin-to-skin contact with someone who has it, or by using a towel or razor that was used by someone with the virus.
Fewer People Dying In U.S. From First Heart Attacks
First-time heart attacks in the United States are becoming less severe, and fewer people are dying from them than did in past generations, according to a new study.
The study, published in Tuesday's Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, said that the trend is true across racial and gender lines.
The researchers from St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital of Columbia University in New York City, were not attributed to people getting to the hospital sooner because that rate remained the same since 1987.
Instead, the researchers say people are controlling their blood pressure and cholesterol more these days, which makes heart attacks less deadly.
Though the news is positive, the decreased mortality rate is only slightly statistically significant. The study looked at data from more than 10,000 first heart attacks that occurred in four separate parts of the country from 1987 to 2002. During that time, the amount of people dying from first-time heart attacks only went down a little more than 5 percent.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Heart Attack Rates Drop After City Bans Indoor Smoking
Hospital admissions for heart attacks in Pueblo, Colo. have reduced significantly three years after the city banned smoking in most indoor places, according to a study released this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study found there were 399 hospital admissions for heart attacks in Pueblo in the 18 months before the city's smoke-free ordinance took effect on July 1, 2003, compared to 237 heart attack hospitalizations in the similar period from 18 months to three years after this date, a CDC press release states.
The CDC said indoor smoking bans affect heart attack rates because they limit the amount of second-hand smoke non-smokers are exposed to and they reduce smoking altogether.
"This study adds to existing evidence that smoke-free policies can dramatically reduce illness and death from heart disease," Janet Collins, director of CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, said in a statement.
The CDC says long-term exposure to second-hand smoke is associated with a 25-percent to 30-percent increased risk of heart disease in adult non-smokers. The agency says it estimates second-hand smoke exposure causes an estimated 46,000 heart disease deaths a year in non-smokers.
Bird Flu Death Raises Concerns Of Outbreak In China
A 19-year-old woman in Beijing, China has died of the avian flu, the first human case in the country since February 2008, according to various press reports.
The World Health Organization released a statement that the woman likely became infected while preparing poultry. She died Monday morning of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, according to the Beijing health bureau.
A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Health said the government has forecast an increase in the amount of birds carrying the virus this year, making it possible more people in the country will become infected, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Avian influenza viruses typically don't infect humans, according to WHO's website. When they do, they cause severe respiratory problems. In most cases of human infection, the person has come into contact with contaminated poultry or with objects that came into contact with its feces.
Nine Asian countries have reported outbreaks of avian flu since 2003, and the virus has spread to parts of Europe, the Russian Federation and parts of neighboring Kazakhstan and Ukraine, according to WHO.
There were 115 human infections of H5N1 in 2006. Seventy nine of those were fatal. In 2008, there were 40 reported infections, 30 of those were fatal.
Tamiflu-Resistant Flu Strain Circulating the U.S.
A flu strain resistant to Tamiflu, the most frequently prescribed treatment for influenza, has become the most commonly circulated form of the illness in the U.S.
The inhaled powdered drug Relenza is effective in treating the H1N1 strain, but is not recommended for children under 7-years-old or with patients with lung disease.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending doctors treat H1N1 with a combination of Tamiflu, and an older flu drug, Flumadine, which the strain is not resistant to.
Since this combination does work in treating the strain, and because this year's flu season is slow compared to other years, health officials say they don't see a reason to panic. They believe Tamiflu lost its effectiveness against the strain because of its increased use worldwide to treat upper respiratory illnesses, the Washington Post reported.
The CDC also said that all strains of the flu circulating the United States are preventable if people received the flu vaccine.
First Baby Born Who Was Screened For Cancer Gene
A baby girl was born in England who was tested before conception for a gene that is a marker for developing breast cancer.
The girl is the first person born who was screened for the BRCA1 gene. Doctors say if she carried the gene, she would have had an 80-percent chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer later in life.
Three generations of women in the little girl's father were diagnosed with breast cancer in their 20s.
So-called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis is done by taking a cell from the embryo at the eight-cell stage of development - when the embryo is about three days old. Doctors then find an embryo that is free of BRCA1 and implant it back into the woman's womb.
The procedure could be used to prevent a child being born that carries the risk for other diseases like cervical cancer and cystic fibrosis.
But the practice has also raised ethical red flags. Josephine Quintaville, of the group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, told the BBC that the procedure goes too far.
"I hope 20 years down the line we have eradicated breast cancer - not eradicated the carriers," she told BBC News.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Toxic Effects Of Ash Dumps On Water Resources, Environment Raised
There are over 1,300 ash dumps across the U.S. which remain unregulated despite the sites having toxic materials like arsenic, lead, mercury, selenium and other byproducts of burning coal.
While these heavy metals were recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as threats to water supply and human health, there is hardly any tracking done on the effects of the ash dumps on the environment.
Coal ash is even used as construction materials and for mine reclamation. In 2007 50 tons of fly ash was used to improve soil's ability to absorb water even if the EPA, in 1999, warned about the high levels of arsenic in fly ash. The recycling of coal byproducts is partly due to its growing production, placed at 131 million tons in 2007 from less than 90 million tons in 1990.
Ash could leach toxic elements that cause cancer, birth defect and other health problems in humans and other creatures near ash dumps. In 2007, the EPA said 63 ash dump sites in 26 states had contaminated the water supply.
The growing menace of ash sites was highlighted last week after a judge approved a $54 million class-action settlement against Constellation Power Generation which used a sand and gravel put near Gambrills in Maryland as ash dump for over 10 years.
Meanwhile, the EPA is expected to issue soon a final national report on cruise ship discharges after the agency had gone over five waste streams from cruise ships. These are from its sewage, graywater, oily bilge water, solid waste and hazardous waste. Among the places where the EPA report will first be tested is Alaska's discharge standards for sewage and greywater for cruise vessels that dock in Alaska's ports.
Brain Implants Show Promise For Treating Parkinson's Disease
Deep brain stimulation therapy for Parkinson's disease, where a pacemaker device is implanted in part of the brain, showed more promise than medication in a recent study, but there were serious side effects.
The study, which appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association, concluded that patients treated with deep brain stimulation showed more improvements in movement and quality of life after six months compared with patients treated with medication.
But the study also found that these patients were at greater risk of developing serious side effects like depression, falls, heart problems and infections. One patient taking part in the study suffered a hemorrhage and died, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Deep brain stimulation, or bilateral deep brain stimulation, works by implanting leads into the subthalamic nucleus or the globus pallidus areas of the brain. Patients receiving the treatment in the study had an average increase of about five hours of normal movement, said lead researcher Frances Weaver of the Center for Management of Chronic Complex Care.
The part of the brain the device is implanted in contains dopamine-producing nerve cells that degenerate in Parkinson's patients. This causes the tell-tale symptoms of the disease, like tremors, stiffness, loss of coordination and slowed movement.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Errors Occur Frequently In Outpatient Cancer Treatments
Seven percent of adults and 19 percent of children undergoing chemotherapy treatment in outpatient clinics or at home were given the wrong dosage of medication or experienced other medical mishaps according to a recent study.
The investigation led by Kathleen E. Walsh, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and published in the January 1, 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
"As cancer care continues to shift from the hospital to the outpatient setting, the complexity of care is increasing, as is the potential for medication errors, particularly in the outpatient and home settings," says. Walsh.
An analysis of data on nearly 1,300 patient visits at three adult oncology outpatient clinics and 117 visits at one pediatric facility between Sept. 1, 2005 and May 31, 2006 showed that errors in medication were more common than previously reported by oncology patients.
Of the 90 medication errors involving adults, 55 had the potential to harm the patient and 11 did cause harm. The errors included administration of incorrect medication doses due to confusion over conflicting orders - one written at the time of diagnosis and the other on the day of administration.
Patients were also harmed by over-hydration prior to administration of medication, resulting in pulmonary edema and recurrent complaints of abdominal pain and constipation.
More than 50 percent of errors involving adults were in clinic administration, 28 percent in ordering of medications, and 7 percent in use of the drugs in patients' homes.
About 40 percent of the 22 medication errors in children could have potentially severely harmed with four children needing medical attention. The study further revealed that more than 70 percent of the errors involving children occurred at home.
Examples of pediatric errors included parents giving the wrong dose or the wrong number of doses per day of medicines because of a caregiver's confusion about instructions.
Popular Class Of Osteoporosis Drug May Be Linked To Throat Cancer and Jaw Disorder
Diane Wysowski of the FDA wrote in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that the agency has received 23 reports of people developing esophageal cancer between 1995, the year Fosamax debuted, and 2008. Of those patients, eight have died, Wysowski said.
The report did not link other bisphosphonates, like Boniva, Actonel and Didronel, to the disease, however, another recent study linked the class of drugs to a rare jaw bone disorder.
The study by the University of Southern California School of Dentistry, reported that there may be a higher risk than previously thought between taking bisphosphonates and developing osteonecrosis - a disorder where the jaw doesn't heal after trauma.
In December, the American Dental Association reported that patients taking bisphosphonates had a low risk of developing osteonecrosis.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Study Says Regular Use Of Paracetmol Will Have More Chances to Be Affected By Asthma
People who regularly use paracetamol are at three fold risk of having asthma, a new research has found.
Study author Dr. Seif Shaheen from Imperial College London and team questioned over 500 adults with asthma and over 500 people without asthma about the use of painkillers. Taking paracetamol weekly increases the risk of asthma three-fold, research has found.
When the study was conducted on children, it was found that those given the painkiller for fever in the first year of life had a 46 percent increased risk of asthma by the age of six or seven.
Analysis of current use in 103,000 children showed those who had used paracetamol more than once a month in the past year had a three-fold increased risk of asthma. The use of paracetamol was also associated with more severe asthma symptoms as well as the increased risk of eczema and hayfever five years later.
Experts said parents should still use the drug for high temperatures. The drug reduces levels of 'glutathione' in the lungs, which is needed to defend the delicate airways against damage from pollution and smoke, study says.
The same effect was not seen for other painkillers and experts have called for more research into the link.
FDA - Approved Degarelix as the New Prostate Cancer Drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new drug that treats advanced prostate cancer offering an additional option for treating the disease mostly afflicting men.
The federal agency said Monday the injectable degarelix of Parsippany, New Jersey-based Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. slows the growth and progression of prostate cancer by suppressing testosterone hormones. But unlike existing prostate cancer drugs, degarelix does not initially stimulate testosterone production before decreasing the amount of the hormone, a reaction which prompts rather than prevent tumor growth.
Clinical trials of the new drug has shown that testosterone levels of prostate cancer patients who took the drug are the same as those whose testes have been removed as part of the treatment of the disease.
Prostate cancer ranks as the second leading cause of cancer deaths among American men. In 2004, an estimated 29,000 American men from the 190,000 diagnosed with the disease died.
Study Says That Memory Can Be Developed By Exercise
Exercising to maintain healthy blood sugar levels could be a way of staving off lapses in memory that get more common as people age.
Scientists blame rising blood glucose levels -- in part -- for many age-related memory problems.
This is even true for people without diabetes, researchers of a new study say.
"This is news even for people without diabetes since blood glucose levels tend to rise as we grow older. Whether through physical exercise, diet or drugs, our research suggests that improving glucose metabolism could help some of us avert the cognitive slide that occurs in many of us as we age," lead investigator Dr. Scott A. Small, associate professor of neurology in the Sergievsky Center and in the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Medical Center, said in a statement.
Small said exercise is effective in lowering blood sugar, and it is beneficial to the part of the brain responsible for memory, the hippocampus
Worlds Youngest Man to Receive the Worlds Smallest Heart Pump
St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver had a medical milestone last weekend: 13-year-old Sikander Sakota surviving a potentially fatal heart disease, when he became the youngest patient in the world to receive the world's smallest heart pump.
Sahota started feeling ill last Saturday and was diagnosed with viral myocarditis, an infection that destroys heart muscle. A heart pump was inserted into his groin and threaded into his heart. From there, the pump began helping his heart push blood.
The pump stayed in the boy's heart and was removed after two days. Sahota described the procedure as "painful and strange."
Sahota's recovery is expected to take about two weeks, and was immediately advised that he is okay to play soccer again.
Cancer Wont Be prevented by Vitamins Alone
Taking supplements of vitamins rich in antioxidants will not prevent cancer development, according to a new Harvard University study.
The study looked at 8,171 women who were taking a supplement, a combination of supplements or a placebo, the Washington Post reported. The supplements were 500 milligrams of vitamin C, 600 International Units of vitamin E, and 50 milligrams every-other-day of beta carotene.
The women were all over the age of 40, and took part in the study from 1995 until 2005. All the women either had cardiovascular disease, or were at risk for it. A total of 624 developed cancer and 176 died from it.
The results led researchers to conclude that taking the supplements neither prevented nor increased the women's chances of getting cancer. The odds of developing cancer were no different from the women taking the supplements than they were for those taking the placebos, according to the study.
The study's lead researcher, assistant professor Jennifer Lin, said one reason the vitamins were ineffective, is that these women were well-nourished, and that supplements could be more effective in people who are not getting enough nourishment from their diets.
Andrew Shao, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs with the supplement trade group, Council for Responsible Nutrition, had some issues with the study.
He said the study may not have gone on long enough, and it was too narrowly focused, with the average age of the women being 60, and that they all either had or were at risk for cardiovascular disease.
Shao told WebMD that he agreed that vitamins alone should not be viewed as anti-cancer drugs, but are something that should be incorporated into their lifestyles.
The study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.