Seaweed extract containing fucoidan, a sulfated polysaccharide similar to heparin in chemical structure may eventually emerge as a lymphoma treatment, according to laboratory research presented at the second AACR Dead Sea International Conference on Advances in Cancer Research: From the Laboratory to the Clinic, held here March 7-10, 2010.
Link:http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/561946/?sc=rsmn
Source:Newswise

Scientists may have uncovered a mechanism for resistance to paclitaxel in ovarian cancer, microRNA-31, suggesting a possible therapeutic target for overcoming chemotherapy resistance.
Results of this study were presented at the second AACR Dead Sea International Conference on Advances in Cancer Research.
Link:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/aafc-sim030510.php
Source:EurekAlert

An orphan drug application with the Office of Orphan Products Development of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to have Orphan Drug Designation granted to IL13-PE38QQR (IL13-PE) for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) has been filed.
IL13-PE exclusively binds to the pulmonary fibroblasts, which express IL13 receptors for selective cytotoxicity, thereby ameliorating all the clinical and histopathological evidence of IPF.
Link:http://investor.neopharm.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=450729
Source:NeoPharm

In one of the first such studies involving human patients with schizophrenia, researchers at UC Davis have provided evidence that deficits in a brain chemical, the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA may be responsible for some of the debilitating cognitive deficits — poor attention, memory and problem-solving abilities — that accompany the delusions and hallucinations that are the hallmarks of the disorder.
The study is published online in the Journal of Neuroscience.
Link:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/uoc--udr030410.php
Source:EurekAlert

U.S. regulators said on Wednesday they have found no link between oral bisphosphonate osteoporosis medications such as Merck & Co Inc's Fosamax and certain thigh bone fractures.
Link:http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6295LZ20100310?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
Source:Reuters

Scientists in the US who undertook a large study to investigate what biological mechanisms might be behind the already established link between colorectal cancer and consumption of red and processed meat, confirmed that such a link exists and suggested the main players are three compounds: heme iron, nitrate/nitrite, and heterocyclic amines.
The paper is published online first 9 March issue of Cancer Research.
Link:http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/181874.php
Source:Medical News Today

Current drugs used to treat heart failure and arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat) have limited effectiveness and have side effects. New basic science findings suggest a way that treatments could potentially be refined so that they work better and target only key heart-related mechanisms.
The team showed in theory that it might be possible to use drugs that maintain the positive effects on heart function of a known enzyme called calmodulin kinase II (CaM kinase) while reducing its negative effects. The findings were published the week of March 1 in the Early Online Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Link:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/uoi-rpt031010.php
Source:EurekAlert

People whose "bad" cholesterol and risk of future heart disease stay too high despite cholesterol-lowering statin therapy can safely lower it by adding a drug that mimics the action of thyroid hormone. In a report published in the Mar. 11, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers say an experimental drug called eprotirome lowered cholesterol up to 32 percent in those already on statins, an effect equal to that expected from doubling the statin drug doses, without harmful side effects.
Link:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/jhmi-edt030810.php
Source:EurekAlert

Women's responsiveness to the second-line breast cancer drug fulvestrant may depend on whether the cancer cells are expressing two key proteins.
It is reported in this month's Cancer Biology & Therapy.
Link:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-03/iu-bcd031010.php
Source:EurekAlert

Several studies have shown that smokers have a lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease. A new study shows that it's how many years of smoking a person has under their belt -- rather than how much they smoke every day -- that matters.
It is published in Neurology, March 16, 2010.
Link:http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6294XH20100310
Source:Reuters