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Friday, January 25, 2013
F.D.A. Panel Recommends Restrictions on Hydrocodone Products Like Vicodin
[unable to retrieve full-text content]An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration voted 19 to 10 to recommend increased restrictions on hydrocodone products, the country?s most widely used narcotic painkillers.
Low vitamin D levels linked to high risk of premenopausal breast cancer
Jan. 24, 2013 ? A prospective study led by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has found that low serum vitamin D levels in the months preceding diagnosis may predict a high risk of premenopausal breast cancer.
The study of blood levels of 1,200 healthy women found that women whose serum vitamin D level was low during the three-month period just before diagnosis had approximately three times the risk of breast cancer as women in the highest vitamin D group. The study is currently published online in advance of the print edition of the journal Cancer Causes and Control.
Several previous studies have shown that low serum levels of vitamin D are associated with a higher risk of premenopausal breast cancer. "While the mechanisms by which vitamin D could prevent breast cancer are not fully understood, this study suggests that the association with low vitamin D in the blood is strongest late in the development of the cancer, "said principal investigator Cedric Garland, DrPH, FACE, professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at UC San Diego.
Analyses of vitamin D levels measured more than 90 days before diagnosis have not conclusively established a relationship between serum levels and risk of premenopausal breast cancer in the present cohort. However, this new study points to the possibility of a relevant window of time for cancer prevention in the last three months preceding tumor diagnosis -a time physiologically critical to the growth of the tumor.
According to Garland, this is likely to be the point at which the tumor may be most actively recruiting blood vessels required for tumor growth. "Based on these data, further investigation of the role of vitamin D in reducing incidence of premenopausal breast cancer, particularly during the late phases of its development, is warranted," he said.
The new study drew upon 9 million blood serum specimens frozen by the Department of Defense Serum Repository for routine disease surveillance. The researchers thawed and analyzed pre-diagnostic samples of serum from 1,200 women whose blood was drawn in the same time frame -- samples from 600 women who later developed breast cancer, and from 600 women who remained healthy.
A 2011 meta-analysis by Garland and colleagues estimated that a serum level of 50 ng/ml is associated with 50 percent lower risk of breast cancer. While there are some variations in absorption, those who consume 4000 IU per day of vitamin D from food or a supplement normally would reach a serum level of 50 ng/ml.
Garland added that a consensus of all available data has shown no known risk associated with this concentration of vitamin D, which is measured as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D. But he urges patients to ask their health care provider to measure their serum 25(OH)D before substantially increasing vitamin D intake.
"Reliance should not be placed on different forms of vitamin D, such as vitamin D2, and megadoses should be avoided except those ordered by a doctor for short-term use," Garland added.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California, San Diego Health Sciences.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Sharif B. Mohr, Edward D. Gorham, John E. Alcaraz, Christopher I. Kane, Caroline A. Macera, J. Kellogg Parsons, Deborah L. Wingard, Ronald Horst, Cedric F. Garland. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and breast cancer in the military: a case?control study utilizing pre-diagnostic serum. Cancer Causes & Control, 2013; DOI: 10.1007/s10552-012-0140-6
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/fYY_U52rZK8/130124183446.htm
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Thursday, January 24, 2013
Research on Deadly Bird Flu to Resume After Safety Debate
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Experiments that were halted after H5N1 was made more contagious will start up again in a number of countries.
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Guess Who Alec Baldwin Wants to Play on 'Girls'?
When Alec Baldwin leaves 30 Rock, he may be headed to Brooklyn. During a conversation with Lena Dunham on his radio show Here's the Thing, Baldwin, 54, told the Girls creator that he'd love a part on her HBO comedy. Listen to the full interview here:
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Merck CEO says jury out on raising good cholesterol
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - The jury is still out on the benefits of increasing "good" HDL cholesterol, but the strategy remains worth pursuing, despite recent setbacks, the chief executive of Merck & Co said on Thursday.
Confidence in the HDL thesis suffered a fresh blow last month when a major clinical trial of Merck's Tredaptive medicine failed. That followed earlier failures with two other HDL-boosting drugs from Pfizer and Roche.
The Pfizer and Roche drugs worked differently to Tredaptive, by inhibiting a protein called CETP, and Merck is also developing a key experimental product in this area.
Merck CEO Ken Frazier, speaking in Davos on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, said the U.S. drugmaker would continue to press ahead with clinical research on HDL raising, even though the scientific case so far remained inconclusive.
"The Tredaptive failure is another piece of evidence on the side of the scale that says HDL raising hasn't yet been proven," he said.
"I don't think by any means, though, that the question of HDL raising as a positive factor in cardiovascular health has been settled."
Tredaptive, which is now being taken off the market in those countries where it was sold, combined an extended release form of niacin, to raise HDL, with a drug to cut the incidence of facial flushing that is a side effect of niacin therapy.
Merck is developing another drug called anacetrapib, which targets CETP and raises HDL cholesterol by much more than niacin, to see if it can reduce risks of heart attacks and stroke.
If that trial succeeds, anacetrapib would address a huge market, and the medicine could be a decisive factor in Merck's commercial success in the years ahead.
But investors' confidence in the whole approach of lifting HDL is shaky.
"It's certainly not a slam dunk, but I believe that given the properties of the drug, it is an experiment well worth conducting," Frazier said of the ongoing anacetrapib trial.
Anacetrapib belongs to the same cholesterol-ester transfer protein (CETP) class as Pfizer's high-profile drug torcetrapib, which was ditched in 2006 due to adverse side effects, and Roche's dalcetrapib, which was dropped last year due to lack of efficacy.
On both those fronts, Frazier believes the Merck product has an edge, since there is no evidence that it causes the unwanted side effects seen with torcetrapib, and it is also able to lower "bad" LDL, which Roche's product did not.
Another similar drug, evacetrapib, is under development from Eli Lilly.
(Editing by Will Waterman)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/merck-ceo-says-jury-raising-good-cholesterol-090016329--finance.html
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Stem cell therapy to repair damaged knee cartilage
Jan. 24, 2013 ? Rush University Medical Center is conducting the nation's first clinical study of an innovative stem cell drug, Cartistem, to repair knee cartilage damaged by aging, trauma or degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis.
Cartistem is manufactured from mesenchymal stem cells derived from allogeneic (donor) umbilical cord blood. Umbilical cord blood is a readily accessible source of high-quality stem cells, is associated with minimal health risks and carries relatively few ethical concerns.
The stem cells are mixed with hyaluronan, a natural polymer that plays a major role in wound healing and is a building block of joint cartilage. Cartistem is surgically administered into the area of cartilage damage following an arthroscopic surgery as an adjunct to microfracture, a commonly used technique used to repair cartilage damage.
The principal investigator on the study is Dr. Brian Cole, a professor in the department of orthopedics and anatomy and cell biology at Rush University Medical Center. Dr. Cole is the head of Rush's Cartilage Restoration Center and is also the head team physician for the Chicago Bulls. Cole and his co-researchers will assess the drug's safety as well as its ability to regenerate cartilage repair tissue and reduce pain in patients with localized cartilage loss in the knee.
Treating cartilage damage can be problematic because the tissue does not contain blood vessels or nerves and therefore has a limited ability to re-grow. Various treatments for cartilage degeneration, such as drug therapy, arthroscopy and joint replacement, yield mixed results and are unable to regenerate damaged tissue.
"Finding a biological solution for cartilage regeneration in orthopedics is one of the fastest growing areas of research and development in our specialty, said Cole. "Rush is spearheading this field of research with the ultimate goal of safely improving outcomes and sparing patients from having more complicated surgery at a relatively young age."
The two-year, phase I/IIa study will enroll a total of 12 participants aged 18 years and older, with a body mass index of less than 35. Initially, six individuals with lesions sized 2 to 5 centimeters will be recruited into the study; an additional six volunteers with lesions larger than 5 centimeters will be enrolled sequentially. Each participant will undergo eligibility screening followed by a 12-month observation period to determine the safety and efficacy of the drug with an additional long-term follow-up evaluation at 24 months.
"With a burgeoning aging, yet active population, our patients are looking for effective non-joint replacement solutions to treat their damaged knee cartilage," said Cole. "This research is significant in that it utilizes a commonly performed operation (microfracture) in an effort to improve upon variable outcomes."
"Notably, this is a treatment for patients with localized cartilage damage and not for patients who are diagnosed with diffuse or bone on bone arthritis who have otherwise been told they require a knee replacement." said Cole.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rush University Medical Center.
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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/JQLYRyKO9fM/130124163246.htm
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John Kerry ready for confirmation hearing
Democratic Sen. John Kerry, on a smooth path to confirmation as secretary of state, is likely to face friendly questioning when he testifies before the committee that he's served on for 28 years and led for the past four.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman will sit at the witness table Thursday when he appears before the panel, a month after President Barack Obama said he wanted him to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clinton is stepping down.
The five-term Massachusetts senator is widely expected to win overwhelming bipartisan support from his colleagues, and that notion was reinforced by the list of people who will introduce him: Clinton, Massachusetts freshman Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Republican Sen. John McCain.
McCain and Kerry are friends who have worked closely on national security issues. They're also decorated Vietnam War veterans and former presidential candidates who know the sharp sting of defeat.
At the conclusion of a Capitol Hill news conference Tuesday, McCain joked about Kerry's hearing and the tough tactics that won't be employed.
"We will look forward to interrogating him at his hearing ? mercilessly," McCain said to laughter. "We will bring back, for the only time, waterboarding to get the truth."
The hearing is the first of three for Obama's national security nominees and the least controversial.
Former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, nominated for defense secretary, will face tough questions about his past statements on Israel, Iran, nuclear weapons and defense spending at his confirmation hearing next Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee. John Brennan, the president's choice for CIA director, will be quizzed about White House national security leaks and the use of unmanned drones at his hearing next month.
The job of the nation's top diplomat would be the realization of a dream for Kerry, whom Obama passed over in 2008 when he chose Clinton. When Joe Biden became vice president, Kerry replaced the former Delaware senator as chairman of the committee. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the incoming chairman, will preside at Kerry's hearing.
Obama nominated Kerry after Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, removed her name from consideration following criticism from Republicans over her initial comments about the attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Kerry, 69, is the son of a diplomat and has served as Obama's unofficial envoy, using his skills of persuasion with leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Although a rough hearing is unlikely, Kerry will be pressed about the civil war in Syria and other hot spots, foreign aid and the Keystone XL oil pipeline, about which he'll have a major say.
More than half the Senate has urged quick approval of the pipeline, increasing the pressure on Obama to move forward on the project despite concerns from environmentalists.
"We urge you to choose jobs, economic development and American energy security," wrote 53 senators, who added that the pipeline "has gone through the most exhaustive environmental scrutiny of any pipeline" in U.S. history.
The $7 billion project would carry tar sands oil from Canada to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.
The Obama administration has twice thwarted the 1,700-mile pipeline, which Calgary-based TransCanada first proposed in late 2008. The State Department delayed the project in late 2011 after environmental groups and others raised concerns about a proposed route through environmentally sensitive land in Nebraska.
The State Department said this week it does not expect to complete a review of the project before the end of March. The State Department has jurisdiction over the pipeline because it crosses a U.S. border.
In the past, Kerry has played a major role on climate change legislation and has warned of the environmental dangers.
In advance of his hearing, Kerry said he plans to divest holdings in dozens of companies in his family's vast financial portfolio to avoid conflicts of interest if he is confirmed.
He notified the State Department earlier this month that within 90 days of his confirmation he would move to sell off holdings in three trusts benefiting him and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry. In the Jan. 8 letter to the department's Office of the Legal Adviser, Kerry said he would not take part in any decisions that could affect the companies he has holdings in until those investments are sold off.
Kerry is the wealthiest man in the Senate, worth more than $184 million, according to a 2011 Senate disclosure.
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Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Stephen Braun contributed to this report.
Also ReadSource: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-field-questions-panel-chairs-080523261.html
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