Sunday, August 23, 2009

Wearable Artificial Kidney good bye to dialysis !

I have seen people who had kidney failure and how its difficult to get dailysis & to mentain the sterile conditions to avoid infections. Now thanx to a group of researchers from David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA,  who have come up with a novel idea of developing wearable artificial kidney!. 
As per the claim by the researchers, the device—essentially a miniaturized dialysis machine, worn as a belt—weighs about 10 pounds and is powered by two nine-volt batteries. Patients don't need to be hooked up to a full-size dialysis machine, they are free to walk, work, or sleep while undergoing continuous, gentle dialysis that more closely approximates normal kidney function. Despite enduring long hours on dialysis every week—with major limitations in activities, diet, and other areas of life—dialysis patients face high rates of hospitalization and death and more over its a costly affair too. 
The Wearable Artificial Kidney is successful in preliminary tests, including two studies in dialysis patients. The new study provides important information on the technical details that made these promising results possible. Though further studies like 'long-term effect' has to be established its a great achievement  and hope the researchers will succeed in their endeavor....
Congrats,  Victor Gura et.al., 

Launch of Cobroxin for chronic pain relief.....

I used to read in magazines that,  there are people who sell Cobra venom (from India) for research purpose and there were many groups working on this field. Yes, now the dream has come true,  Nutra Pharma Corp, a biotechnology company that is developing treatments for Adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN), HIV and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), has announced recently  that,  it has launched an OTC- pain reliever, Cobroxin, for the treatment of Stage 2 (moderate to severe) chronic pain.  
As per the claim by the company, Cobroxin is the first OTC pain reliever clinically proven to treat Stage 2 (moderate to severe) chronic pain. The drug, which was developed by Nutra Pharma’s wholly-owned drug discovery subsidiary, ReceptoPharm, will be available as an oral spray for treating lower back pain, migraines, neck aches, shoulder pain, cramps and neuralgia and as a topical gel for treating repetitive stress, arthritis, and joint pain. More over the claims by the company (All Natural;Non-Addictive ;Non-Narcotic ;Non-Opiate ;More Potent than Morphine ; Long Lasting) are really encouraging and hope will become an alternative to the presently available NSAIDs (which have many side effects).
 
The mode of action claimed by the researchers, (peptides from the cobra venom) has many ways superior to the current opiate-based analgesics and those containing acetaminophen & there by help to overcome the side effects.
Hope in the days to come the people suffering from chronic pain will have a  relief....
For more details on cobroxin u can visit the site ...

Sunday, August 16, 2009

10 Mysteries of you: Dreams - 05 August 2009 - New Scientist

10 Mysteries of you: Dreams - 05 August 2009 - New Scientist

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Mini-magnet test makes things sticky for TB - tech - 07 August 2009 - New Scientist

Mini-magnet test makes things sticky for TB - tech - 07 August 2009 - New Scientist

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Spam stamper too good to be true? - opinion - 13 August 2009 - New Scientist

Spam stamper too good to be true? - opinion - 13 August 2009 - New Scientist

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Bhuvan- a satellite mapping tool - an alternate to Google earth ?

Though its premature to claim the advantage of Bhuvan over the Google earth, the comparison between the two like :

1. Google Earth-single layer information, whereas Bhuvan has multilayer info;

2. Google Earth: Images upgraded every 4 years , whereas Bhuvans' are updated every year;

3. Google Earth: No alternate viewing options, whereas  Bhuvan has options of viewing on different dates ;

make a superior option. 

Well done, ISRO and keep going like this and achieve success in ur future Mars Mission. Its really interesting to note the achievement on the eve of 62 nd Independance Day Celebrations....

Those interested can dowload the toolbar using the link.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

New journal devoted to gene therapy...

As for as my knowledge goes there was no exclusive journal totally devoted to gene therapy until last year. Yeah its really interesting to to see "The Gene Therapy Review" a journal totally devoted to gene therapy. In my opinion it is an important move and was the urgent need of the hour. Now the fields like antisense drugs & gene therapy will get its due importance and hope in the days to come, will bring together all those people to share and gain the knowledge..... Those interested can follow the blog also.....

URL : http://www.genetherapyreview.com/index.php

Blog : http://www.genetherapyreview.com/gene-therapy-blog.html




Sunday, June 28, 2009

Masitinib - a relief for arthritis patients ....


I know the sufferings of arthritis patients closely, (as my mother-in-law is having the problem) it makes patients' life miserable. Though there are a few drugs for the treatment, but are inadequate for patients suffering from active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) especially for those unresponsive to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), new and improved medication is need of the hour. In that aspect clinical trials of Mastineb, 4-[(4-Methyl-1-piperazinyl)methyl]-N-[4-methyl-3-[[4-(3-pyridinyl)-2-thiazolyl] amino] phenyl]benzamide carried out by Alain Moussey et. al., is of great importance.
The study evaluates the safety and efficacy of Masitinib, a potent and selective protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor of c-KIT, in the monotherapy treatment of DMARD-refractory RA.
We also know that, the orally bioavailable mesylate salt of masatinib, a multi-targeted protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor with potential antineoplastic activity selectively binds to and inhibits both the wild-type and mutated forms of the stem cell factor receptor (c-Kit; SCFR); platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR); fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3); and, to a lesser extent, focal adhesion kinase (FAK). As a consequence, tumor cell proliferation may be inhibited in cancer cell types that overexpress these receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), clinical trials also reported.
As per the conclusions by the authors, treatment with masitinib improved DMARD-refractory active RA. Following an initial high incidence of mostly mild to moderate side effects during the first 12 weeks of treatment, masitinib appears to be generally well tolerated. This, together with evidence of a sustainable efficacy response, suggests that masitinib is suitable for long-term treatment regimens. Since this was the first study of masitinib in a nononcologic pathology, the relatively high patient withdrawal rate observed can be partly attributed to a highly cautious response to adverse events. There is sufficient compelling evidence to warrant further placebo-controlled investigation. Congrats for the group...

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Antisense drug in combination with paclitaxel for prostate cancer..

I think when I was doing some reference work for my research in 1996, I read about this drug (taxol) [In 1994 the total synthesis has been achieved by Robert Holton of Florida University. He did spend 12 years to achieve the total synthesis because of the assymmtery involved in it [It was after 40 years' after the first exctract from the tree Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia) has shown anticancer activity and the key ingrediant identified was taxiol]. A diterpenoid, with androgen (a male hormone) blockade chemotherapy has played important role in the treatment of cancer.

Prostate cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in men after skin cancer. It is estimated there will be 218,890 new cases diagnosed in the U.S. this year(2009). Around 1 in 6 men will develop prostate cancer, a third to a half of whom will recur after local treatment and risk progression to metastatic prostate cancer. Metastatic disease invariably progresses to hormone refractory or castrate resistantprostate cancer (CRPC) if given enough time.

Prostate tumours are initially androgen (male sex hormone) dependent, and can be treated with androgen ablation therapy, however once the disease progresses to its most dangerous and aggressive form, CRPC, treatment options are limited and prognosis is poor. Treatment options depend on disease severity and include radiation and chemotherapy, which are designed to induce programmed cell death (apoptosis) of tumour cells. There is a pressing need for the development of new treatment options.

More interesting and significant results have been achieved by an Australian company (Antisense Therapeutics). i.e., in combination with taxol, antisense drug ATL1101 has yielded good results. ATL1101 is a second generation antisense inhibitor of the insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR) which as reported previously suppressed the growth of human prostate tumors in an animal model of prostate cancer, and slowed down transition to CRPC when used as a single agent.

The research is of great importance because of the fact that in cell culture experiments, the amount of Paclitaxel required to induce tumor cell apoptosis (cell death) was significantly reduced when used in combination with ATL1101. This ability to 'sensitize' tumor cells to the cytotoxic effects of Paclitaxel affirms ATL1101's potential as a chemo-sensitizing agent to be used in combination with existing prostate treatments to improve the outcomes for patients.

I did work for some of the intermediates (ologonucleotides) for ISIS (contract research) and am excited to see that this company has tie up with ISIS. In my opinion as ISIS , is an established company in this field of research, hope soon there will be relief for those patients for whom CRPC, treatment options are limited and prognosis is poor....

Ref: http://www.antisense.com.au/!upload_files%5Cattachment%5Casx%2009%2018%20June%202009_ATL1101.pdf



Sunday, June 14, 2009

Exenatide for weight reduction !...



Exenatide, ( 39-amino-acid peptide an insulin secreta gogue with glucoregulatory effects) a compound belonging to "incretin mimetics" was approved for the treatment of diabetes mellitus type 2 in April, 2005, but not for type 1.

Exenatide is a synthetic version of exendin-4, a hormone found in the saliva of the Gila monster. It displays biological properties similar to human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a regulator of glucose metabolism and insulin secretion. According to the package insert, exenatide enhances glucose-dependent insulin secretion by the pancreatic beta-cell, suppresses inappropriately elevated glucagon secretion, and slows gastric emptying, although the mechanism of action is still under study.
Recently it has been found that along with the treatment for type 2, the compound has been found to reduce the weight of non diabetic obese people.
Michael Trautmann, MD, a Principal Investigator with Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, recently reported that in combination with diet and exercise, the diabetes drug exenatide helped nondiabetic, obese individuals lose over three times more weight than those receiving a placebo, or dummy treatment, for 6 months. Drug therapy is considered important adjunctive treatment to diet and exercise in the successful management of obesity, Trautmann said. "To date, however, there are few effective drugs that help obese people lose weight", which is very important fact. and as the drug is already an established one, the only side effect like mild or moderate nausea and diarrhea are to be taken care off.
As per the claims of the authors : individuals who received exenatide lost more weight in 24 weeks than controls did. Those who received the medication lost an average of more than 11 pounds (5.06 kg), whereas the controls lost just 3.5 pounds (1.61 kg). This difference was statistically significant and noted as early as week 8. Only exenatide-treated subjects lost more than 10 percent of their body weight (seven of 73 subjects, or 9.6%). The plausible explaination for the action of this drug is "decreased food intake and increased feelings of fullness". Congrats Dr.Mikeand group....[these findings are being presented in the The Endocrine Society's 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., June 10 - 13th, 2009.]