Pharmaceutical Companies Working On 'Memory Pill'

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.

Popular Class Of Osteoporosis Drug May Be Linked To Throat Cancer and Jaw Disorder

The Food and Drug Administration is warning there may be a link between taking a popular osteoporosis drug and the development of cancer of the esophagus.

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.

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.