Friday, November 5, 2010
FDA approves Afinitor drug for tuberous sclerosis complex
Thursday, November 4, 2010
FDA approves cancer drug Afinitor for treatment of rare genetic disorder
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Fight against Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia....
When I read an article from Emedicine, was surprised to see the analysis by the author. I quote the following lines...
Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is pneumonia that develops 48 hours or longer after admission to a hospital.
- Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is pneumonia that develops 48 hours or longer after mechanical ventilation is given by means of an endotracheal tube or tracheostomy.
- Health care–associated pneumonia is pneumonia that occurs in persons in one of the following groups:
- Patients who have been hospitalized in an acute care facility for 2 or more days within 90 days of the infection
- Residents of a nursing home or long-term care facility
- Patients who received intravenous antibiotic therapy, chemotherapy, or wound care within the last 30 days of the current infection
- Patients who receive hemodialysis in any setting
HAP is the second most common nosocomial infection. HAP increases a patient's hospital stay by approximately 7-9 days and can increase hospital costs by an average of $40,000 per patient. and
Frequency
VAP is a complication in as many as 28% of patients who receive mechanical ventilation. The incidence of VAP increases with the duration of mechanical ventilation. Estimated rates are 3% per day for the first 5 days, 2% per day for days 6-10, and 1% per day after day 10.
Mortality/Morbidity
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Telbivudine Given to Mothers with Hepatitis B Reduces Infection Rate in Infants
Friday, October 22, 2010
FDA and EMA accept regulatory submissions of vandetanib for advanced medullary thyroid cancer
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Turmeric component (curcumin) enhances chemotherapy's suppression of head and neck cancer
In continuation of my update on Curcumin, I found this info interesting to share with.., i.e., researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center have found, when combined with the drug Cisplatin, turmeric enhances the chemotherapy's suppression of head and neck cancer cell growth. Previous studies have shown it can suppress the growth of certain cancers. The study, done in cells in Petri dishes and then in mouse models is of great importance.
A 2005 study by Wang and Srivatsan first showed that curcumin suppressed the growth of head and neck cancer cells, first in cells and then in mouse models. In the animal studies, the curcumin was applied directly onto the tumors in paste form because it did not dissolve in saline, which would have allowed it to be injected. n need of a better way to deliver the curcumin, the team collaborated with Dr. Kapil Mehta of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and found that encapsulating the curcumin in a liposome, an artificially prepared vehicle that enclosed the spice component within its membrane, made the treatment injectable. The curcumin was injected into the tail vein of a mouse, where it circulated into the blood stream, slowing down and eventually stopping the cancer growth, a study in 2008 found.
"This was a very positive finding, developing an efficient way to deliver the treatment," Wang said. "Our study also showed that the curcumin was very well tolerated."
In this study, the team wanted to combine the curcumin with the chemotherapeutic drug Cisplatin, which is very toxic at the doses needed to fight head and neck cancers, damaging kidneys, the ears and the bone marrow. They hoped that if they added curcumin to the mix, they might be able to lower the Cisplatin dose and cause less organ damage. Their finding, that the curcumin made the Cisplatin work better, was very promising.
More....