Thursday, 27 February 2014
Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Human lungs successfully grown in a lab for the first time
Scientists
at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston have succeeded in
growing human lungs in the laboratory, using components from the lungs of
deceased children.
Taking lungs from
two children who had died from trauma (most likely a car accident), the
researchers stripped one of the lungs down to a bare "skeleton" of
just collagen and elastin - the main proteins in connective tissue.
Using this
stripped-down lung as a "scaffold," they then harvested cells from
the other lung, which were applied to the scaffolding.
This lung structure
was then placed in a chamber filled with a nutritious liquid, which was
described as "resembling Kool-Aid."
After
4 weeks of immersion, the team extracted a complete human lung from the liquid
- "just pinker, softer and less dense." The team then successfully
replicated the process using a second set of lungs.
Monday, 17 February 2014
Suven Life Sciences
gets three patents
Suven Life has received three product patents in Canada,
China and India for its new chemical entities for treatment of disorders
associated with neuro-degenerative diseases.
The granted claims of the patents include the class of
selective 5-HT compounds discovered by Suven and these patents are valid
through 2025. It may be noted here that the new chemical entities are being
developed as therapeutic agents and are useful in treatment of cognitive
impairment associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's
disease, attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Huntington's
disease, Parkinson and Schizophrenia.
With these new
patents, the company now has a total of 14 granted patents from Canada, 12 from
China and 17 from India.
The company also said
in a statement that products out of these inventions can be out-licensed at
various phases of clinical development.
Friday, 14 February 2014
Researchers
develop laser-based meningitis test
Several different types of bacteria can cause bacterial
meningitis - the onset of which can be rapid and severe - and as each is
sensitive to different antibiotics their speedy identification is crucial.
The researchers found that using a spectroscopic imaging
technique known as SERS (surface enhanced Raman scattering) - which basically
involves firing a laser into a sample that has been exposed to silver particles
- is able to identify more than one bacterium at a time, and thereby paves the
way for faster and more targeted treatment.
Combining the SERS technique with chemometrics – data-driven
extraction of information from chemical systems – allows for the amount of
bacteria in a sample to be measured while simultaneously identifying the
bacteria.
The test would be particularly useful "where
co-infection of multiple species is common and identifying the dominant
pathogen present would allow targeted treatment".
Thursday, 13 February 2014
Sun
Pharma secures DGCI approval for breast cancer drug
Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company has received the approval from Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) for its medicine to be used for the treatment of breast cancer. The company‘s medicine, Paclitaxel Injection Concentrate for Nano dispersion (PICN), was found to be equally effective and safe when compared to Abraxane in a clinical study.
The drug has been approved by the regulator both in the 260mg/m2 and 95mg/m2 doses to be administered every 3 weeks. This medicine offers the convenience of a quick and easy one-step dilution and infusion preparation for healthcare professionals. It can be administered in a short 30 minute infusion and unlike conventional Paclitaxel formulations it does not require pre-medication with steroids and anti-histamines. Also, this drug doesn’t lead to any significant hypersensitivity reaction in patients.
Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company has received the approval from Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) for its medicine to be used for the treatment of breast cancer. The company‘s medicine, Paclitaxel Injection Concentrate for Nano dispersion (PICN), was found to be equally effective and safe when compared to Abraxane in a clinical study.
The drug has been approved by the regulator both in the 260mg/m2 and 95mg/m2 doses to be administered every 3 weeks. This medicine offers the convenience of a quick and easy one-step dilution and infusion preparation for healthcare professionals. It can be administered in a short 30 minute infusion and unlike conventional Paclitaxel formulations it does not require pre-medication with steroids and anti-histamines. Also, this drug doesn’t lead to any significant hypersensitivity reaction in patients.
Monday, 10 February 2014
FDA approves Hetlioz for sleep-wake disorder in blind individuals
The FDA approved Hetlioz (tasimelteon), a
melatonin receptor agonist, to treat non-24- hour sleep-wake disorder (non-24)
in totally blind individuals. Non-24 is a chronic circadian rhythm (body clock)
disorder in the blind that causes problems with the timing of sleep. This is
the first FDA approval of a treatment for the disorder.
Non-24 occurs in persons who are completely
blind. Light does not enter their eyes and they cannot synchronize their body
clock to the 24-hour light-dark cycle. Those with the disorder may have
difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, and may wake up groggy or feeling
as if they need more rest. People with non-24 may find their sleep patterns
reversed—needing to sleep during the day and to be awake at night.
Pfizer and Merck to collaborate on innovative
anti-cancer combination studies
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) has
agreed with Merck & Co., Inc., known as MSD outside the United States and
Canada ("Merck"), through two Merck subsidiaries, to explore the
therapeutic potential of Merck's investigational anti-PD-1 therapy, MK-3475, in
combination with two Pfizer oncology assets. A Phase I/II clinical study will
evaluate the safety and anti-cancer efficacy of MK-3475 combined with Pfizer's
axitinib (INLYTA®) in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
Friday, 7 February 2014
Batch-19 students of ACRI, participated in Group Discussion.
Today's Group Discussion topic is "Legal and ethical issues in clinical research field in India''.
Thursday, 6 February 2014
Atherosclerosis
may be predicted by high blood pressure in early adulthood
Atherosclerosis is when plaque - made up of fat, cholesterol and calcium, among other
things - builds up inside a person's arteries. These plaque build-ups can limit
the flow of blood, leading to serious and potentially fatal problems, such as
disease of the heart or arteries.
Because
atherosclerosis does not usually cause symptoms until it blocks an artery, many
people do not know they have this condition until it causes a medical
emergency.
People who
have escalating levels of high blood pressure in early adulthood are more
likely to develop atherosclerosis and associated heart problems in later life.
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
Immune system kills spontaneous blood
cancer cells every day
Each and every one of us has spontaneous mutations in our immune B cells that occur as a result of their
normal function.
If cancerous B cells go on to form tumors they develop into B cell lymphomas, also known as
non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. B cells, a type of
white blood cell, undergo spontaneous changes that could lead to cancer if the
immune system does not carry out regular checks and kill them before they form
tumors.
The researchers found T cells of the immune
system carry out regular checks to find cancerous and pre-cancerous B cells.
Monday, 3 February 2014
Students of Batch-19, gave an excellent insight about the
real life scenarios of subjects in clinical trials, and rules and regulations
governing the clinical trials in India, by enacting the role-play on Bhopal gas
tragedy.
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