Cardiologist Links Erectile Dysfunction To Future Heart Diseases

Dr Nick Gerning, a renowned cardiologist links erectile dysfunction to future cardiovascular (heart related) disease. He independently surveyed his patients who were treated, in past, for vascular problem or heart problem. Dr Nick found 60% of the patients who suffered heart attack had had erectile dysfunction problem before the heart attack.

Hence, Erectile dysfunction could be an early sign of heart diseases. "Given that penal artery is much smaller in size than main heart arteries, it is the first that gets blocked which results in difficulty in erection." He explains.

More concerning fact is only 10 percent of the total ED patients reports or seeks medical consultation with physician. This, as Dr nick believe, was how most of the heart events were difficult to predict. But if men are made aware of this relation between ED and heart disease they more are likely to discuss their problem with doctor. Usually men with ED problem starts taking erectile dysfunction medication such as viagra or cialis rather than consulting doctor.

Dr Nick emphasizes on a programme that includes awareness amongst physicians for this link so that they can educate their patients.

Many research and studies have found viagra effective in heart diseases. Since viagra dilates blood vessles it helps to lower blood pressure also.

Retinopathy can be Prevented by Fibrate and Statin Drugs

Retinopathy can best be prevented by controlling sugar as well as lipid level in blood. After studying hundreds of eye photos, Dr Ronald Danis concluded that reducing lipid level (or cholesterol level) slows down the diabetic retinopathy progress.

Dr Ronald Dains is MD and professor at Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Wisconsin, Madison.

Eye photos of more than 3000 patients of type 2 diabetes were evaluated. These patients were, in future, at risk of cardiovascular disease such as stroke and heart attack. Findings were presented at New England Journal of Medicines.

The study, named ACCORD Eye study (abbreviation of Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes Eye Study), was intended to find out most effective therapy to reduce risk of cardiovascular diseases caused by diabetes.

Three methods that were examined were; First: intensive blood sugar level control, Second: intensive blood pressure control, Third: both i.e. intensive blood pressure (with the help of cholesterol lowering drugs such as lipitor) as well as blood sugar level control.

It showed that intensive blood sugar level control was more effective than standard sugar control to slow down diabetic retinopathy. However, it increased the risk of death by 22%. Only intensive blood-pressure control did not affect progression of retinopathy.

Study also suggests that administration of fibrate and statin drug (both are lipid lowering drugs) together is more effective to curb retinopathy than that of statin drugs without fibrate drugs.

The findings are believed to be important given the fact retinopathy is major cause of blindness and most common eye problem in diabetic patients across the world.

Also Dr Danis' work may pave the way to research and development of new drug that will have combined effects of fibrate and statin drugs.

Future Depression Medication May Help Control Obesity

Theoretical study published in American Journal of Public Health suggests that depression and obesity are correlated. Two findings that study revealed were; Depression may lead to weight gain and Obesity may not lead to depression.

Belinda Needham, Ph.D and a professor at University of Alabama, used a study named Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA). CARDIA included 5,115 males and females of ages between 18 and 30. It was intended to identify the health condition(s) that eventually results into cardiovascular disease.

Professor Needham used data of the study to find out relation between depression and abdominal obesity. BMI, abbreviation of Body Mass Index, and depression level were calculated to establish relation between the two most wide spread health conditions.

Conclusions were:

People who were reported to have depression gained weight faster than people without depression,

People were not prone to develop depression regardless of weight gain or weight loss.

"Conclusions of the study are important when a patient is looking to control weight, obesity, that subsequently invites other cardiovascular or diseases related to obesity".

Dr Needham assumes that supposedly relations between stress hormone, depression and obesity will be targeted by future depression medication.

Publised Study Link

Hair Loss Linked to Defective Protein Folding

Taiwanese scientists found that modification of a protein could be the cause of health issues such as hair loss and osteoporosis. Scientists came to this conclusion after studying results of a research conducted on mice.

A mice that showed symptoms of osteoporosis; severe hair loss; cachexia and amyloidosis, was having defective attachment of proteins. Such process of attachment is known as Palmitoylation in medical language.

The palmitoylation is the process where attachment takes place between fatty acid and proteins at molecular level. Researchers noticed that ZDHHC 13 gene caused such faulty palmitoylation which eventually lead to hair loss and osteoporosis and other protein based diseases.

More study on that mice model would be helpful for further research and development of possible hair loss drugs and osteoporosis drugs. Currently there is only one FDA approved drug, Propecia, to treat alopecia in male and no drug for female hair loss.

Scientists are hopeful to prevent defective attachment by identifying proteins that are being targeted by ZDHHC 13.

The outcome of study is believed to be first step towards proper understanding of molecular attachments between proteins in alopecia and osteoporosis patients.

Result of study was published in June 10 edition of international scientific journal PLoS Genetics by Chen Yuan-tsong and Jeffrey Yen. Chen Yuan-tson is director of Academia Sinica's Institute of Biomedical Sciences.

Female Sexual Desire Booster Drug To be Dicussed by FDA

Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee of FDA is due to discuss the request made by Boehringer Ingelheim (A giant german pharmaceutical) to approve Flibanserin to increase libido in women. In pharmaceutical inductry the drug is known as female Viagra. Flibanserin, whose proposed names are Ectris and Girosa, may be the first of its kind medicine that stimulates and increases sex desire in females.

Desire of sex in women is outcome of more complex events than that of men. Apperently, Flibanserin won't work like viagra and it won't increase blood flow in female genital region. Flibanserin works by altering the chain of chemical reactions in the brain that finally result in increased sexual desire.

Unlike other proposed treatment such Intrinsa that releases testosterone through the skin into the blood, Flibanserin manipulates events of several reactions and that is why it is believed to be more effective.
Amy Allina, a member of National Women's Health Network, advocates the importance of such drug saying that sex life can be a problematic issue for some women in order to sustain healthy sex life and thereby happy marriage life.

Market of female viagra drug is estimated to be billions of dollars as its been more than 10 years since viagra was launched and no similar drug for females since then.

Lung Cancer is Linked to Defetive ALK Gene

Use of living matters in medicines is believed to be new way to treat cancers. ALK inhibitors (a type of gene inhibitors) are likely to be new class of drug alongside others such as Monoclonal antibodies and molecule inhibitors.

Non small-cell lung cancer or NSCLC is found in 8 to 9 out of 10 cases of all lung cancers. Defective rearrangment of ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) is found to be triggering event to cause NSCLC. A study conducted at University of Colorado and represented at joint conference of AARC and IASLC says that normal rearrangements of chromosomes interrupt the ALK gene causing its fusion with another gene which triggers creation of oncogenic ALK fusion genes. This event initiates cell growth.

A drug, named Crizotinib in experiments, by Pfizer has shown positive result in lung tumers. Experiments showed reduction of tumor by 57% and progression of tumor stopped in 87% of the patients.

Crizotinib is said to be only drug that is intended to target defective gene. The drug could pave the way for new therapeutic mechanism in drugs used for cancer.

Alice Shaw, a thoracic cancer specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston explains how rearrangements turns into cancer: Normal chromosomal arrangement of defective ALK gene breaks and part of broken gene gets fused with other gene. Such rearrangements cause growth of cells out of control.
Crizotinib is under experiments and could hit the market in 2013 if found positive results in later large scale studies.

Genertic Hormone causing Hair Loss in Women is Found

Genome project, that is being carried out by U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health would enable to cop up every single disease, be it mal-functioning of human organs or any hereditary defect. By the time the project is fully finished, some scientists across the world are mapping DNA, albeit on smaller scale, independently for particular health condition.

A research result represented by Australian scientists, at University of Melbourne, may lead to cure for baldness or hair loss in women. As per their claim a gene responsible to cause hair loss in women is found. The study included DNA mapping and comparison of two groups of females. Group one included women suffering from baldness and second group of women who were not suffering from hair loss.

Scientists concluded from the result of mapped DNA that DNA of women with hair loss defect has a gene called ESR2, a beta receptor of oestrogen. ESR2 gene causes hair loss by increasing hair follicles' sensitivity to the level of oestrogen in body.

However, the outcome of the study is in contrast of the belief that higher oestrogen level actually stops hair loss in women and stimulates hair growth as oestrogen ( a hormone found in females only) is opposite-counter-part of male hormone that causes male pattern hair loss.

The belief was cemented by articulating two facts that hair strands are found thicker when women are pregnant (oestrogen is at highest level during pregnancy) and hair loss occurs during post pregnancy especially during breastfeeding (oestrogen level is lower in breastfeeding time). But Prof Sinclair, co-author of research along with Dr Collins, points out that post pregnancy hair loss is temporary. Prime cause of hair loss in women is because of genetic and hormonal factors.

There is no approved cure in market that treats women hair loss. Baldness caused by male pattern hair loss can be treated by FDA approved hair loss drugs, such as propecia. Some of the other drugs like Proscar and Avodart are believed to be more effective than propecia and men are using them despite it is not approved drug for hair loss.

Research study

Nasal Spray To Relieve Pain

Recently FDA has approved Sprix (with ketorolac tromethamine as active ingredient) to treat acute pain. Proposed use of Sprix is to relieve kind of pain that is required to treat without any opiod pain killer medications. It comes as better option to avoid opiod medicines which are highly addicative in nature. Sprix is NSAIDs, ketorolac is a non-selective COX inhibitor.

Current use of Ketorolac as injectable medicine to manage pain is widely accepted by physicians in hospitals. Being in a convenient form (nasal spray) Sprix is expected to be popular as instant pain killer remedy. Because of the way of uptake Sprix shows fast effects. It is absorbed fast in blood and acts as rapidly as to its injection counterpart.

Being rapid in action and fast effects, Sprix is classified as prescription medication. Physicians warn against its use in terms of self-medication. Even little overdose may cause serious side effects. Its use is strictly limited to 5 days.

Nasal pain killer spray is designed to provide ambulatory patients a convenient, highly effective, and rapid action alternative to treat acute moderate to moderately severe pain. Ketorolac tromethamine is a currently administered in USA hospitals as non-narcotic injectable pain killer for moderately severe pain.

Biosimilar (of Rituxan) Under Trial For Rheumatoid arthritis

Teva pharmaceutical has annousced to develop biosimilar of Rituxan. Rituxan, first introduced by Roche, treats in new unique way called Monoclonol Antibody Therapy. Since specific mAb can be created for most of diseases, mAb therapy is seen as future to counter dangerous diseases such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis medications.

Roche is selling MabThera (brand name for Rituxan) as cancer therapy outside of USA. Teva has confirmed hiring arthritis patients for trial to test biosimilar of MabThera (Rituxan) for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Drug by Teva will be biosimilar to Rituxan not the generic version. A biosimilar is the drug made up of biologics derived from the brand drug. Unlike generic drug which is formulated with same chemical compound (active ingredient) to its brand drug, biosimilars or biologics are made up of living matters. It represents similarities but not exact copy. Like generic drugs, biosimilar drugs too have to follow patent rights and can only be produced after the patent expires.

Teva's biosimilar of Rituxan will be the first biosimilar drug to hit USA market after biosimilar legislations passed in 2009.

Prolia (Denosumab) Approved in Europe For Osteoporosis

Amgen has acquired FDA approval for Denosumab to sell in Europe. Last stage trial of Denosumab is expected to finish soon and may get approval for USA market too. Prolia is propsed brand name of Denosumab. Amgen will team up GlaxoSmithKline to start commercial production of the drug.
Like other best inventions Denosumab also discovered by accident while scientists were performing experiments on mice at Amgen's lab. A mice grew up big when an experiment, related to gene disabling research, was performed on it. Scientists observed remarkable growth of mice bones.

Europe FDA has approved Denosumab for the treatment of osteoporosis medications. The drug is talk of the town in biomedical industry for its strong effects. Experts believe it to be the best medication ever produced for patients who are at high risk of fractures caused by bone disease. Denosumab can also be used by women in post-menopausal and prostate cancer patients.

Amgen is focused on development of new treatment for bone diseases such as osteoporosis. It is during the part of one such research when they found this drug. Denosumab works by preventing a specific protein that is responsible for bone related diseases. Prolia selectively targets RANK Ligand, a protein, that regulates osteoclasts cells. Prolia reduces the risk of fracture through a convenient injection given every six months. In USA, this drug is most waited drug in pharmaceutical market.

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