"Health News - Medicine, Diet and Fitness"

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct 1, 2007 - Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc., the protein therapeutics discovery and development company, today announced that it has successfully achieved a target discovery milestone in its research collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim.

The research collaboration announced in April 2006, is a two-year alliance to discover novel therapeutic protein and antibody targets to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases. In this collaboration, FivePrime applied its proprietary discovery platform and screened the complete set of secreted proteins and receptors in several high-content, multiplexed, cell-based assays to identify protein therapeutic and antibody targets. Boehringer Ingelheim has exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize products and targets discovered.

(more…)

BASEL, Switzerland, 28 September 2007–Following a comprehensive feasibility study, Building 1 is now set to become the new centrepiece at Roche Basel.

The plans announced by Roche roughly a year ago for the further development of its Basel headquarters targeted the creation of some 2,400 workplaces on its main site in the Wettstein district of the city. With the feasibility study completed, the company’s Board of Directors and Corporate Executive Committee have now given the green light to the planned high-rise office scheme.

Roche submitted a development plan to the city of Basel last autumn and is now liaising with the municipal authorities on the statutory planning process. Meanwhile, the detail design work is proceeding apace, preparatory to the submission of a formal planning application.
(more…)

WORCESTER, Mass., Oct. 1 — In a collision of the best-selling weight-loss books, the neovegetarian fare pushed by the Ornish diet earned heart-healthy honors, according to the standards of an index that dices the risks of fats and carbohydrates.Action Points
Explain to patients that this study found that diets high in fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates were superior to the Atkins-style low-carbohydrate diets at reducing risk of future cardiovascular disease.

The investigators used the Alternate Men’s health (more…)

QuickVue(R) Influenza Test and Tamiflu(R) Antiviral Paired to Support 2007/08 German Influenza Season

SAN DIEGO–Sept. 26, 2007–Quidel Corporation (NASDAQ: QDEL), a leading provider of rapid point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tests, announced today an exclusive partnership to provide Roche Pharma AG with the QuickVue Influenza A+B rapid diagnostic test for its marketing and selling activities along with its Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) antiviral for the 2007 - 2008 influenza season in Germany. The agreement will leverage the strength and speed of the QuickVue rapid test to help characterize influenza infection (the flu) along with the Tamiflu treatment to improve patient recovery time.

(more…)

GENEVA, Switzerland, Oct. 1, 2007-Allosteric modulation company Addex Pharmaceuticals Ltd announced today that ADX10061 did not meet the primary efficacy endpoint in a Phase IIa smoking cessation trial; it did not demonstrate a treatment effect compared to placebo.

The inlicensed competitive “orthosteric” dopamine D1 receptor antagonist is the only product in the Addex pipeline that is not an internally discovered allosteric modulator.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled U.S. study included 145 subjects in the intent to treat population. The primary endpoint was to assess whether ADX10061 increased the number of patients with four weeks continuous smoking abstinence starting from the beginning of week four of treatment. There was no separation of ADX10061 treated patients from placebo treated patients on the primary endpoint.

(more…)

The effect of cinnamon cassia powder in type 2 diabetes mellitus.: J Med Assoc Thai. 2006 Sep;89 Suppl 3:S200-5 Authors: Suppapitiporn S, Kanpaksi N, Suppapitiporn S

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder and the incidence of cardiovascular is increased two- to fourfold in its complications. Cinnamon is expected to have some degree of anti-diabetic efficacy without troublesome side effects. The objective of the present study was to investigate the anti-diabetic effect of cinnamon cassia powder in type 2 diabetic patients MATERIAL AND METHOD: Sixty type 2 diabetic patients were randomized either 1.5 g/d of cinnamon cassia powder or placebo. Both groups were in combination with their current treatment (metformin or sulfonylurea) according to single blind randomized, placebo-control trial in a 12-week period. Efficacy was evaluated by HbA1c fasting plasma glucose, Lipid profile, BUN, creatinine, liver function test and adverse effects were recorded. RESULTS: After a 12-week period, HbA1c was decreased similarly in both groups from 8.14% to 7.76% in the cinnamon group and from 8.06% to 7.87% in the placebo group. This was not found statistically significantly different. However the proportion of patients achieving HbA1c < or = 7% was also greater in patients receiving cinnamon compared with patients receiving placebo, nevertheless, it was not found statistically significantly different (35% vs 15%, x2 = 3.14, p > (more…)

A journey of twenty-five years through the ecological biochemistry of flavonoids.: Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2007 Jun;71(6):1387-404 Authors: Tahara S

The ecological biochemistry of flavonoids, in which I have been engaged for 25 years, is summarized in this review article. The review covers (1) a survey of rare bio-active flavonoids in higher plants; (2) the fungal metabolism of prenylated flavonoids; (3) flavonoids antidoting against benzimidazole fungicides; (4) dihydroflavonol ampelopsin in Salix sachalinensis as a feeding stimulant towards willow beetles; and (5) flavones as signaling substances in the life-cycle development of the phytopathogenic Peronosporomycete Aphanomyces cochlioides, a cause of spinach root rot and sugar beet damping-off diseases. Finally recent trends in the ecological biochemistry of flavonoids are briefly described.

(more…)

BOSTON, Sept. 27 — In blood glucose responses to a white bread challenge, individual patients have significant variations from test to test, said investigators here.Action Points
Explain to patients that the glycemic index is a measure of a given food’s ability raise blood glucose, a risk factor for obesity and cardiovascular disease. This study suggests that the results of glycemic index testing may be more variable than originally thought.

There are also significant differences in blood glucose responses to a white bread challenge between different patients, reported Alice H. Lichtenstein, D.Sc., of Tufts University, and colleagues, in the October issue of Diabetes Care. They said the findings call into question the reliability of glycemic index values.

(more…)

The Future of Cannabinoids as Analgesic Agents: A Pharmacologic, Pharmacokinetic, and Pharmacodynamic Overview.: Am J Ther. 2007 September/October;14(5):475-483 Authors: McCarberg BH, Barkin RL

For thousands of years, physicians and their patients employed cannabis as a therapeutic agent. Despite this extensive historical usage, in the Western world, cannabis fell into disfavor among medical professionals because the technology available in the 1800s and early 1900s did not permit reliable, standardized preparations to be developed. However, since the discovery and cloning of cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) in the 1990s, scientific interest in the area has burgeoned, and the complexities of this fascinating receptor system, and its endogenous ligands, have been actively explored. Recent studies reveal that cannabinoids have a rich pharmacology and may interact with a number of other receptor systems-as well as with other cannabinoids-to produce potential synergies. Cannabinoids-endocannabinoids, phytocannabinoids, and synthetic cannabinoids-affect numerous bodily functions and have indicated efficacy of varying degrees in a number of serious medical conditions. Nevertheless, despite promising preclinical and early clinical data, particularly in the areas of inflammation and nociception, development challenges abound. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other CB1 receptor agonists can have an undesirable CNS impact, and, in many cases, dose optimization may not be realizable before onset of excessive side effects. In addition, complex botanically derived cannabinoid products must satisfy the demanding criteria of the U.S. Food and Drug Association’s approval process. Recent agency guidance suggests that these obstacles are not insurmountable, although cannabis herbal material (”medical marijuana”) may present fatal uncertainties of quality control and dosage standardization. Therefore, formulation, composition, and delivery system issues will affect the extent to which a particular cannabinoid product may have a desirable risk-benefit profile and acceptable abuse liability potential. Cannabinoid receptor agonists and/or molecules that affect the modulation of endocannabinoid synthesis, metabolism, and transport may, in the future, offer extremely valuable tools for the treatment of a number of currently intractable disorders. Further research is warranted to explore the therapeutic potential of this area.

(more…)

HONG KONG, Sept. 25 — What’s bad for the heart may also be bad for the colon, according to investigators here.Action Points
Explain to patients who ask that this study suggested that risk factors for coronary artery disease–diabetes, smoking, hyperlipidemia, sedentary lifestyle, a high-fat diet, obesity, and hypertension-predispose patients to polyps in the colon.

Patients newly diagnosed with coronary artery disease here had nearly twice the rate of colorectal polyps or other neoplasms than those free of heart disease, reported Annie On On Chan, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Hong Kong, and colleagues in the Sept. 26 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

(more…)