Patients with chronic hepatitis C can benefit by drinking coffee

Patients with chronic hepatitis C and advanced liver disease who drink three or more cups of coffee per day have a 53% lower risk of liver disease progression than non-coffee drinkers according to a new study. The study found that patients with hepatitis C-related bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis who did not respond to standard disease treatment benefited from increased coffee intake. An effect on liver disease was not observed in patients who drank black or green tea.

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Patients with chronic hepatitis C can benefit by drinking coffee

Mangosteen Juice for diabetic obese patients?

The Purple Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), colloquially known simply as "the mangosteen", is a tropical evergreen tree, believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas of Indonesia. The tree grows from 7 to 25 m (20–80 ft) tall. The rind (exocarp) of the edible fruit is deep reddish purple when ripe. Botanically an aril, the fragrant edible flesh can be described as sweet and tangy, citrusy with peach flavor and texture.

Mangosteen is typically advertised and marketed as part of an emerging category of novel functional foods sometimes called "superfruits" presumed to have a combination of 1) appealing subjective characteristics, such as taste, fragrance and visual qualities, 2) nutrient richness, 3) antioxidant strength and 4) potential impact for lowering risk against human diseases.

Though the antioxidant strength was known earlier, a recent study by Dr. Jay Udani and co workers is interesting and as per the claim by the authors, mangosteen juice has anti-inflammatory properties which could prove to be valuable in preventing the development of heart disease and diabetes in obese patients. For people drinking over half a liter of mangosteen juice a day, the degree of reduction in CRP levels was statistically significant – a reduction of 1.33mg/L compared to an increase of 0.9mg/L in the placebo group. Inflammation, as measured here by CRP, is a predictor of cardiovascular disease and a precursor of metabolic syndrome. Reducing inflammation in obese people is a treatment goal, and a natural treatment may be preferable to other treatments which may carry the risk of side effect. Though further studies with a larger population are required to confirm and further define the benefits of this juice, which was safe at all dosages tested its a good achievement. More...

Researchers Find Candidates For New HIV Drugs...

Researchers Find Candidates For New HIV Drugs

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Imatinib for the treatment of Scleroderma ?

We know that Imatinib (its mesylate salt, Novartis) is a drug used to treat certain types of cancer. It is used in treating chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) and a number of other cancers. It is the first member of a new class of agents that act by inhibiting particular tyrosine kinase enzymes, instead of non-specifically inhibiting rapidly dividing cells.

More over the discovery of this compound itself is interesting & its one drug obtained via, High Throughput Screening (HTS). Chemists used a HTS of chemical libraries to identify the molecule 2-phenylaminopyrimidine. This lead compound was then tested and modified by the introduction of methyl and benzamide groups to give it enhanced binding properties, resulting in imatinib. More interesting part of this drug is a recent discovery, i.e., GLEEVEC^® (imatinib mesylate) can be used to treat Scleroderma. As per the claim by the researchers, until now no drug has been shown to be effective in treating scleroderma in a clinical trial. Several years ago, a small study provided some evidence that a chemotherapy drug called cyclophosphamide may help scleroderma patients, but the benefit was minimal and this drug causes side effects including infertility and secondary cancers.

The investigators reported an interim analysis of their results, although the study is ongoing. At one year, the investigators saw a 23 percent improvement in skin scores. The researchers also saw an improvement in forced vital capacity scores by 9.6 percent and diffusion capacity scores by 11 percent in the 18 patients who had completed one year of treatment. The lung function data was really exciting,” Dr. Spiera said. “In patients with scleroderma, you usually see lung function tests getting worse over time, and if doctors try a therapy for a year and a patient doesn’t get any worse, we get pretty excited. What is amazing to me in this study is that we actually saw improvements in both lung function tests. Congrats for this remarkable achievement.....

Ref : http://www.hss.edu/newsroom_drug-provide-treatment-scleroderma.asp

Using RNAi-based Technique, Scientists Find New Tumor Suppressor Genes In Lymphoma...

In one of my earlier blog about RNAi, I did mention about the award of USPTO notices to RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation. But these results are really interesting, the CSHL team’s discovery stems from their use of a powerful technology called RNA interference (RNAi), which suppresses gene activity. The scientists employed RNAi to screen hundreds of candidate tumor-suppressors in living mice, using small hairpin-shaped RNA (shRNA) molecules that attach to specific genes with exquisite specificity and switch them off. In the newly reported experiments, this process revealed more than 10 genes whose deactivation accelerates the development of deadly lymphomas tumors of the immune system in the mice.

The CSHL team’s high-throughput screening strategy to functionally identify cancer genes has thus not only provided insights into cancer development but has also pointed the way toward therapeutic refinements. The team is planning a broader RNAi-based screen that will expand into other tumor models. For details...

ECG For The Mind, Could Diagnose Depression In An Hour !

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ECG For The Mind' Could Diagnose Depression In An Hour....

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Relationship between H pylori and gastric cancer

In my earlier blogs, I have covered lots of news about the Helicobacter pylori, (H. pylori a gram negative bacterium which infects about 50% of the world population). H. pylori colonization causes a strong systemic immune response. Various tools have been employed to identify the relationship between H pylori and gastric cancer, including c-DNA microarrays. However, most of these methods did not consider the systematic interaction of biological components. While reading science daily, I found this interesting info.

A research team from South Korea studied the complex reaction of gastric inflammation induced by H. pylori in a systematic manner using a protein interaction network.

The researchers drew a conclusion that immune-related proteins activated by H. pylori infection interact with proto-oncogene proteins. The hub and bottleneck proteins are potential drug targets for gastric inflammation and cancer.

Their study showed how a systematic approach such as the network construction produces meaningful information. It also offered a relatively easy and simple framework to understand the complexity of cellular interactions having functional importance. Therefore, the application of this tool may be an alternative to find important genes and drug targets in other diseases and in complex biological systems....

Ref : http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/15/4518.asp

Fabled 'Vegetable Lamb' Plant Contains Potential Treatment For Osteoporosis

Fabled 'Vegetable Lamb' Plant Contains Potential Treatment For Osteoporosis

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Glucokinase activators, new class of drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes .....

Glucokinase activators (GKAs) represent a promising new class of drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes that act directly on both the pancreas and the liver. Glucokinase (GK) is a key enzyme in glucose-sensing tissues that regulates glucose homeostatasis. GKAs lower glucose levels by enhancing the ability of pancreatic beta cells to “sense glucose” and increase insulin secretion in a glucose-dependent manner. Simultaneously, GKAs increase the uptake and disposal of glucose in the liver, while simultaneously reducing the amount it produces.

For more details, read the link 
Drug Pipeline

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Happy & Prosperous Diwali

I wish everyone "A Prosperous and Happy Diwali".

Small amounts of funding can produce big results !

I agree with the author if planned and executed his ideas in a systematic manner, one could achieve miracles. Though, Southern Research Institute, Birmingham (for its High Throughput Studies for drug resistant TB) tried the same idea (by paying some money for the newly synthesized chemicals), the approach suggested by the author is far relevant now than it was in those days.....

Read more :Big banks, big pharma, big problems - opinion - 12 October 2009 - New Scientist

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Human milk oligosaccharides protect infants against infection

An innovative process developed by Jennewein Biotechnologie GmbH allows for the first time ever the production of these scarce sugar molecules (Human milk oligosaccharides) for use as an ingredient in baby food and in additional food products. For details, read the link..

Human milk oligosaccharides protect infants against infection

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