Tag Archives: drug
Are less expensive “biosimilar” drugs as effective at treating ankylosing spondylitis?
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of arthritis caused by inflammation, in which the main symptom is back pain. When a substance called tumour necrosis factor (TNF) is over-active in the body, it causes inflammation and damage
Can a doughnut-shaped molecule help design new drugs?
Some of the most advanced and modern medicines, such as those used in the treatment of cancer rely heavily on their selective, high affinity targeting of cancerous cells in order to be effective medicine. However, some drugs
Clues for innovative therapies targeting the c-ring of the F1FO-ATP synthase
Increasing evidence points out that the ATP synthase/hydrolase, also known as F1FO-complex, can be the key enzymatic switch between cell life and death. So, the enzyme complex, which bears the task of building most cellular ATP, the
A new drug target for healthful aging
With the aging population of the United States increasing every year, there is an increasing need to develop new therapeutic modalities to provide for healthful aging. Although longevity is generally considered positively in most families, and of
Special molecular mechanism makes CD147 an interesting drug target in cancer or autoimmune diseases
T cells are important players of the immune system, recognizing foreign or dangerous agents with their unique receptors. They defend the body from these agents either directly by killing or by recruiting or regulating other immune system
An international team opens new avenues toward PKU therapy
When a baby is born, a simple blood test reveals whether the child has PKU, which is a recessive genetic disorder where the body fails to regulate the amount of phenylalanine (Phe) in blood. Phe is a
The apothecary inside us
New drugs might be found right under our noses or, more precisely, in our guts as we learn more about the ways metabolites from intestinal bacteria modulate human metabolic and immunity pathways. Our recently published paper in
Using computers to understand the deposition of pollutant and therapeutic aerosols in the human lungs
In an urban setting, suspended pollutant particles enter our lungs along with air we inhale. A good portion of them gets deposited on our airways, often inducing toxic effects. A young child or an elderly patient facing
Continuing the age of discovery in cardiovascular disease
A rare genetic defect involving the heart muscle is leading to early heart failure and potentially lethal heart rhythms for patients in Saudi Arabia. This disease, called Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy/Dysplasia or ARVC/D, involves healthy heart muscle
Prompt resolution of essential drug intolerance
The gut is nowadays seen as a site of cross-talk and interchange between the inner body (supposed to be sterile, namely free of viable harmful bugs) and the outer contaminated world, mainly entering the digestive tract through
Drugs and drowning
Electrical activity of the heart is commonly monitored by the electrocardiogram (ECG). Such electrical activity depends on certain proteins called ion channels. These channels control the timing and the flow of electrically charged particles (ions) in and
Improving nature’s own communication system to fight cancer
Our bodies are composed of trillions of different cells, which communicate with each other in order to keep us healthy. There are several ways in which messages can be sent back and forth between cells. One of
A promising novel drug for breast cancer
The reason cancer is so difficult to treat is that cancer cells are our own cells running wild, which means that they generally do not make any protein or other molecule that normal cells don’t make. This
Neurophysiological biomarkers as a method to evaluate effects of drugs
When it comes to treatment of brain diseases not affecting the motor-system, drug development has proven difficult, because the majority of tests of drug-effects in animal experiments rely on changes in the behavior of the treated subject.
Medicines – allergic reactions to antiepileptic drugs
Around 1% of the global human population – ca. 65 million – suffer from epilepsy – a chronic neurological disease with one of the most prominent symptoms being so called epileptic seizures. With a range of antiepileptic
A transcriptomic approach for cardiac (heart) safety assessment
New drug discovery relies on several phases of safety assessment. One such prominent in vitro safety assessment assay is the “hERG potassium channel assay” for cardiac safety. If a compound blocks the hERG potassium channel in a
New systems capable of stimuli-controlled release of drugs
The search for new medical strategies with high therapeutic efficiencies and reduced adverse side-effects remains a challenge for the scientific community. The development of new drug delivery systems (DDS) to generate new solid forms of active pharmaceutical
BC007, first steps of this new drug on the way for future treatment of patients with cardiomyopathy
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a disease of the heart in which the heart chambers stretch and thin (dilate). Under this condition, the heart and cannot pump enough blood needed by the other organs need. DCM presents as
Multiple tasks for the c-ring of the F1FO-ATP synthase
The F1FO-ATP synthase is the only enzyme in nature endowed with bi-functional catalytic mechanism of synthesis and hydrolysis of ATP. The enzyme complex is hosted in the inner mitochondrial membrane in eukaryotes and in the plasma-membrane in
Rare disease day; 500 years ago
A rare disease is a life-threatening or chronically debilitating condition with a very low prevalence. Several institutions such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medical Agency (EMA) and Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) have put in place
