Med-Chemist : "Quintessential Medicinal Chemistry"
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Soy isoflavone intake decreases risk of invasive breast tumor.....
Genistein Daidzein
Increased phytoestrogens commonly found in dietary soy may modify the risk of some types of breast cancer, according to findings presented at the Ninth Annual AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held Nov. 7-10, 2010.
Anne Weaver and colleagues evaluated 683 women with breast cancer and compared them with 611 healthy women. Dietary data patterns were observed using a food frequency questionnaire and isoflavones were measured as a dietary, rather than supplemental, intake. Isoflavone (as for as my knowledge goes, above two isoflavones- see structures are present in soya) intake was divided into three groups. Those women with the highest isoflavone intake had an approximately 30 percent decreased risk of having an invasive breast tumor, and an approximately 60 percent decreased risk of having a grade 1 tumor. Among premenopausal women, the highest intake of isoflavones had a 30 percent decreased risk of stage I disease, a 70 percent decreased risk of having a tumor larger than 2 cm, and a 60 percent decreased risk of having stage 2 breast cancer. These connections were not seen among postmenopausal women...
Ref : http://www.buffalo.edu/news/fast-execute.cgi/article-page.html?article=120510009
Monday, December 13, 2010
Pioglitazone, may halt the growth of cysts in Polycystic Kidney Disease....
Recently, researchers from the schools of Science and Medicine at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic reported that drug Pioglitazone, (see structure Enantiomers) commonly used to treat diabetes may also retard the growth of fluid-filled cysts of the most common genetic disorder, polycystic kidney disease.
Using a rat model that has the same genetic mutation as a form of human PKD, the two research groups independently tested a pioglitazone treatment regimen and found that it slowed down both kidney and liver cyst growth by inhibiting a chloride channel in the cells of these organs. Authors claim that the, though the idea of using a chloride channel inhibitor to treat PKD is not new, but usage of an insulin sensitizing agent like piogltiazone inhibits chloride channels is new. The finding that pioglitazone, which has already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for diabetes, can halt cyst progression and may be an effective and well-tolerated treatment for this chronic disease, is exciting. Confirmation of these results in other animal models of PKD would be a useful next step.....
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
New malaria drug Artesunate, can save millions of lives....
A landmark trial (AQUAMAT trial) showed that the replacement of the standard malaria drug Quinine with the newer drug Artesunate (Artesunate contains artemisinin, which was discovered by a Chinese researcher in 1972 in a project to follow up advice found in ancient Chinese medicine : see structure) for children with severe malaria could save 100,000 lives a year. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended that artesunate derived from a Chinese plant called sweet wormwood, replace the four-century-old remedy of quinine for treating severe malaria in adults in 2006. Similar recommendations were not made for children with further trial results pending.
The trial shows that using artesunate reduced death from severe falciparum malaria among African children by 22.5 per cent compared to quinine. The trial spanned over nine African countries, in which 5,425 badly-infected children aged under 15 were given either artesunate or quinine. There were 230 deaths (8.5 percent) in the artesunate group and 297 deaths (11 percent) in the quinine group, the study authors reported. Artesunate was better tolerated than quinine. There was a lower risk of coma or convulsion or serious dropping of blood sugar as occurred with quinine. Hope this trial (a change in treatment policy from quinine to artesunate) will lead to a solution for severe malaria (most common admission diagnosis in febrile children) and can save thousands of children's lives…...
Ref : http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2810%2961924-1/fulltext
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