Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is an adult-onset neurodegenerative disease that causes paralysis and ultimately death when the nerves enervating the lungs cease to carry the signals needed for breathing. The disease has what is called a “focal onset,” where paralysis starts with an arm or a leg and spreads throughout the body as motor […]
Merck reports surging sales of vaccines and key cancer drug
Surging sales of vaccines and the cancer immunotherapy drug Keytruda led to a quadrupling of profit at Merck during the first quarter as it blew past Wall Street expectations. Sales of Keytruda jump 55% to $2.27 billion, about one-quarter of its total revenue. During the quarter, the injected biologic drug racked up U.S. approvals as […]
In first for EU, anti-skin cancer drug approved
French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi on Friday said the European Medicines Agency had conditionally approved its anti-cancer drug Libtayo, the first drug of its kind to be authorised for use in the EU. The tumour-reducing drug is aimed at patients with the second most common form of skin cancer—cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC)—whose cancer is advanced, […]
FDA-approved drug effectively treats rare chronic immune disorders
A drug approved to treat a severe form of asthma dramatically improved the health of people with rare chronic immune disorders called hypereosinophilic syndromes (HES) in whom other treatments were ineffective or intolerable. This finding comes from a small clinical trial led by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part […]
A ‘low dose aspirin’ for dementia? Drug ready for first in-human testing
Alzheimer’s disease wreaks emotional havoc on patients, who are robbed of their memories, their dignity, and their lives. It’s financially devastating as well: care for Alzheimer’s patients is predicted to top $1 trillion by about the time children born today are having children of their own. To date, there have been very few successes in […]
Despite risk of birth defects, HIV drug should be considered for women in South Africa
Although a woman’s use of the HIV drug dolutegravir at conception may increase the risk of often-fatal neural tube defects in her child, a new study suggests that the risk may be offset by the drug’s ability to decrease deaths among women and prevent HIV transmission to their children and sexual partners. The report, led […]
Here's What To Know About the First Drug For Postpartum Depression
In a move that has the potential to help millions of women, the FDA has approved the first drug to treat postpartum depression (PPD). The perinatal mood disorder, which affects one in seven new moms, causes anxiety, fear, irritability, and despair — as though it’s not tough enough navigating the ups, downs, and sleepless nights […]
Study explaining side effects of statins finds drug can have unexpected benefits
While investigating why cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins cause negative side effects such as blurred vision, short-term memory loss or increased risk for diabetes, cellular chemists at The University of Toledo discovered several previously unknown benefits. It is well-established statins can help lower the risk of heart attack by lowering blood cholesterol, but statins also may […]
Using an anti-smoking drug to control neurons
An anti-smoking drug now has a new job—as a chemical switch to turn select neurons on or off. The drug latches on to designer proteins, called ion channels, that control whether or not a neuron will send a message. By putting those proteins only in certain groups of neurons, scientists can target modulation of specific […]
FDA approves first immunotherapy drug for breast cancer
(HealthDay)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given its blessing to the first immunotherapy regimen for breast cancer. The combination of immunotherapy (Tecentriq) and chemotherapy (Abraxane) was given accelerated approval for triple-negative breast cancer that is locally advanced or has metastasized, cannot be surgically removed, and is programmed death-ligand 1-postive, CNN reported. A study published […]