Thursday, February 28, 2013

Positive health indicators associated with avocado consumption

We know that avocado (Persea americana) is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel. Avocado or alligator pear also refers to the fruit (botanically a large berry that contains a single seed) of the tree.


Avocados are commercially valuable and are cultivated in tropical and Mediterranean climates throughout the world. They have a green-skinned, fleshy body that may be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical. Commercially, it ripens after harvesting. Trees are partially self-pollinating and often are propagated through grafting to maintain a predictable quality and quantity of the fruit.

The fruit of horticultural cultivars has a markedly higher fat content than most other fruit, mostly monounsaturated fat, and as such serves as an important staple in the diet of various groups where access to other fatty foods (high-fat meats and fish, dairy products, etc.) is limited.
A ripe avocado yields to gentle pressure when held in the palm of the hand and squeezed. The flesh is prone to enzymatic browning; it turns brown quickly after exposure to air. To prevent this, lime or lemon juice can be added to avocados after they are peeled.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Tranylcypromine may also hold promise in treating sickle cell disease

In continuation of my update on Tranylcypromine

An antidepressant drug used since the 1960s may also hold promise for treating sickle cell disease, according to a surprising new finding made in mice and human red blood cells by a team from the University of Michigan Medical School.


The discovery that tranylcypromine, or TCP, can essentially reverse the effects of sickle cell disease was made by U-M scientists who have spent more than three decades studying the basic biology of the condition, with funding from the National Institutes of Health.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Monday, February 25, 2013

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Meloxicam recognizes and treats osteoarthritis in cats

Meloxicam is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with analgesic and fever reducer effects. It is a derivative of oxicam, closely related to piroxicam, and falls in the enolic acid group of NSAIDs. It was developed by Boehringer-Ingelheim.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Resistant starch kills pre-cancerous cells and reduces inflammation

Resistant starch (RS) is starch and starch degradation products that escape digestion in the small intestine of healthy individuals. Resistant starch is considered the third type of dietary fiber, as it can deliver some of the benefits of insoluble fiber and some of the benefits of soluble fiber.

Some carbohydrates, such as sugars and most starch, are rapidly digested and absorbed as glucose into the body through the small intestine and subsequently used for short-term energy needs or stored. Resistant starch, on the other hand, resists digestion and passes through to the large intestine where it acts like dietary fiber.

More...


Thursday, February 21, 2013

New Antibiotic May Treat Skin Infections in Shorter Time - Drugs.com MedNews


Torezolid (also known as TR-701 and now tedizoli) is an oxazolidinone drug being developed by Trius Therapeutics(originator Dong-A Pharmaceuticals) for complicated skin and skin-structure infections (cSSSI), including those caused by Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). 



Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Monday, February 18, 2013

Study describes pharmacological action of TZDs directly on pancreas

Study describes pharmacological action of TZDs directly on pancreas

Copper can protect against Alzheimer's disease

Copper can protect against Alzheimer's disease

Breakthrough in ovarian cancer: Selumetinib

In continuation  of my update on Seumetinab


We know that, Selumetinib (AZD6244) is a drug being investigated for the treatment of various types of cancer, for example non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). 
Mode of action : The gene BRAF is part of the MAPK/ERK pathway, a chain of proteins in cells that communicates input from growth factors. Activating mutations in the BRAF gene, primarily V600E (meaning that the amino acid valine in position 600 is replaced by glutamic acid), are associated with lower survival rates in patients with papillary thyroid cancer. Another type of mutation that leads to undue activation of this pathway occurs in the gene KRAS and is found in NSCLC. A possibility of reducing the activity of the MAPK/ERK pathway is to block the enzyme MAPK kinase (MEK), immediately downstream of BRAF, with the drug selumetinib. More specifically, selumetinib blocks the subtypes MEK1 and MEK2 of this enzyme....



The study was initially developed in 2007, with 52 patients enrolled for the Phase II clinical trial between December 2007 and November 2009. Patients were given 50 milligrams of selumetinib orally twice daily. Of those participants, eight had a measurable decrease in tumor size, seven had partial responses and 34 patients saw their tumors stabilize. The findings suggest that inhibitors of the MAPK pathway warrant further investigation in patients with low-grade ovarian cancer.

"There just aren't very good treatments for low-grade ovarian cancer, so this discovery opens up a lot of new exciting possibilities for us," Dr. Farley said. He added that Phase III of this trial is scheduled to begin in the next few weeks, with that trial to be the "definitive test" before the treatment becomes available to the general population.


Ref : http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(12)70572-7/fulltext



Breakthrough in ovarian cancer: Selumetinib

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Nitric oxide: A little molecule's remarkable feat -- prolonging life, worm study shows

FDA Approves Pomalyst for Advanced Multiple Myeloma

We know that, Pomalidomide (INN, originally CC-4047 or 3-amino-thalidomide, marketed as Pomalyst by Celgene), is a derivative of thalidomide that is anti-angiogenic and also acts as an immunomodulator. Pomalidomide was approved on February 8, 2013 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a treatment for relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma....