About half of all drugs, ranging from morphine to penicillin, come from compounds that are from—or have been derived from—nature. This includes many cancer drugs, which are toxic enough to kill cancer cells. So how do the organisms that make these toxic substances protect themselves from the harmful effects? Scientists on the Florida campus of Scripps Research have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism—proteins that cells use to bind to a toxic substance and sequester it from the rest of the organism. “Thanks to this discovery, we now know something about the mechanisms of resistance that’s never been known before for the enediyne antitumor antibiotics,” says study senior author Ben Shen, Ph.D., professor and co-chair of the Scripps Research Department of Chemistry. The work has important implications for understanding how human cancer cells develop resistance to natural product-based chemotherapies. Furthermore, the microbiome may play a role in … [Read more...] about Study Provides New Clues to Improving Chemotherapies
Biotech
New Research Provides Expanded Insights into the Brain’s Response to Opioids
Opioids are powerful painkillers that act on the brain, but they have a range of harmful side effects including addiction. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB) in collaboration with researchers from the Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria, University of Innsbruck, and the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM), have developed a tool that gives deeper insights into the brain's response to opioids. Using mass spectrometry, they determined changes of proteins' phosphorylation patterns - the molecular switches of proteins - in five different regions of the brain and assigned them to the desired and the undesired effects of opioid treatment. Their results, which are published in the journal Science, will lead the way for identification of novel drug targets and design of a new class of painkillers with fewer side effects. The LKSOM team's participation in this research was led by Lee-Yuan Liu-Chen, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology in … [Read more...] about New Research Provides Expanded Insights into the Brain’s Response to Opioids
Study Examines First Birth Cohort to Receive HPV Vaccine: The Vaccine Works
Girls in the first birth cohort to be offered and receive the HPV vaccine showed a lower degree of dysplasia which may eventually lead to cervical cancer than a birth cohort from 1983. This is the conclusion of a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Copenhagen, who have been the first to study the vaccine’s effect on the general population. The effects of the HPV vaccine, which in 2009 became part of the Danish childhood vaccination programme, have been examined by researchers from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. And the conclusion is unmistakable: The HPV vaccine works. The new study, recently published in the scientific International Journal of Cancer, is the first to examine the effect of the vaccine in the population at large, say Professor Elsebeth Lynge and Ph.D. student Lise Thamsborg from the Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen. ‘It is the first study in the world to test the Gardasil-4 … [Read more...] about Study Examines First Birth Cohort to Receive HPV Vaccine: The Vaccine Works
Drug Shortages Pose a Public Health Crisis in the US
On June 12, the American Medical Association announced that drug shortages pose an urgent public health crisis. This crisis should be of concern to all Americans. The Food and Drug Administration defines a drug shortage as a “period of time when the demand or projected demand for a medically necessary drug in the U.S. exceeds its supply.” All too often, a shortage means that doctors cannot give the right drugs to patients when needed. Serious drug shortages are not a new phenomenon. The FDA recognized their prevalence and established a Drug Shortage Program back in 1999. The problem, however, persists. In short supply Currently, the U.S. is short on 182 drugs and medical supplies, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. The list includes IV bags, injectable morphine and other powerful painkillers, anesthetics, antibiotics, electrolytes, cancer drugs and much more. All of these are of critical importance to patients with serious illnesses. Why do drug … [Read more...] about Drug Shortages Pose a Public Health Crisis in the US
FDA Clears Wearable Device to Treat Opioid Addiction
DyAnsys Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared its auricular neurostimulation device, Drug Relief, to be used as an aid to reduce the symptoms of opioid withdrawal without narcotics. Drug Relief is available now for providers to prescribe for use during opioid detoxification. This wearable device sends electrical pulses through tiny needles inserted in the ear to alleviate symptoms such as anxiety, agitation, depression, nausea, opiate cravings and more. "This device offers hope to those who are suffering from opioid addiction," said DyAnsys Chief Executive Officer Srini Nageshwar. "We are in a full-blown crisis and we need non-narcotic options and alternatives like this that can make a significant difference for individual patients and their families." An estimated 11.5 million Americans age 12 and older misused prescription pain medicine in 2016, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. More than 2.5 million … [Read more...] about FDA Clears Wearable Device to Treat Opioid Addiction