New Drug Found Effective Against Rare Form of Basal Cell Skin Cancer

Targeted molecular therapy – taken orally – offers alternative to surgical removal

New York, NY (June 6, 2012) — A clinical study has demonstrated that a new drug, a targeted molecular therapy called vismodegib (trade name Erivedge™), can dramatically shrink basal cell skin cancers and prevent the formation of new ones, in patients with basal cell nevus syndrome (BCNS). This rare genetic condition causes dozens, and sometimes hundreds or thousands, of skin cancers on each patient’s body. The primary treatment option is surgical removal. These study results are significant as they indicate the possibility of an alternative treatment with oral medication; although side effects remain a consideration.

A 10-year multi-center study found that aspirin and the blood thinner warfarin (brand name Coumadin®) were equally effective at preventing a combined risk of death, stroke, and cerebral hemorrhage in heart failure patients with normal heart rhythm.

Study Identifies Potential Treatment for Lethal Childhood Leukemia

Penn Study Cautions Use of Drugs to Block "Niacin Flush" in Heart Patients

PHILADELPHIA — Niacin, or vitamin B3, is the one approved drug that elevates "good" cholesterol (high density lipoprotein, HDL) while depressing "bad" cholesterol (low density lipoprotein , LDL), and has thereby attracted much attention from patients and physicians. Niacin keeps fat from breaking down, and so obstructs the availability of LDL building blocks.

Continuous drug manufacturing offers speed, lower costs

Anne Trafton, MIT News Office

Researchers at the Novartis-MIT Center for Continuous Manufacturing built this drug-manufacturing prototype in an MIT chemical engineering lab. The system, which consists of six connected units, can transform raw ingredients into finished drug tablets. Photo: Dominick Reuter

New class of potential drugs inhibits inflammation in brain

Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have identified a new group of compounds that may protect brain cells from inflammation linked to seizures and neurodegenerative diseases.

Neurons staining bright green are a sign of damage induced by a prolonged seizure. Compounds that block the prostaglandin receptor EP2 can prevent this damage.

Interaction between molecules key to dangerous drug reaction, UF researchers find

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers have helped identify the underlying cause of a genetically derived, potentially fatal reaction to an anti-HIV medication, and have begun creating a less dangerous form of the drug.

Statins may protect against death from aneurysm, Yale study finds

By Helen Dodson

A study by Yale School of Medicine reveals that survival rates for patients with a thoracic aneurysm are significantly better, and complications are fewer, among patients who take statin cholesterol drugs than those who do not. The study appears in the American Journal of Cardiology.

Progesterone inhibits growth of neuroblastoma cancer cells

Scripps Research Scientists Develop Brand New Class of Small Molecules through Innovative Chemistry

Yale researchers discover promising anti-HIV agents

By Eric Gershon

Researchers at Yale University have discovered new chemical compounds that prevent HIV from replicating in human T-cells. These compounds could result in new, highly effective HIV treatments that are 10 to 2000 times more potent than HIV drugs now on the market.

Blood pressure-lowering drug after stroke aids recovery, study finds

Medication works possibly by helping the opposite brain side.

Writer: Kathleen Raven

Athens, Ga. - A commonly prescribed blood pressure-lowering medication appears to kick start recovery in the unaffected brain hemisphere after a stroke by boosting blood vessel growth, a new University of Georgia study has found.

Stopping arthritis before it starts

Anne Trafton, MIT News Office

New drug could cure nearly any viral infection

Anne Trafton, MIT News Office

Smokers Using Varenicline to Quit the Habit at Greater Risk of Heart Attack or Other Serious Heart Problems

Scripps Research and MIT Scientists Discover Class of Potent Anti-Cancer Compounds

LA JOLLA, CA, AND JUPITER, FL – March 7, 2011 – Working as part of a public program to screen compounds to find potential medicines and other biologically useful molecules, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have discovered an extremely potent class of potential anti-cancer and anti-neurodegenerative disorder compounds. The scientists hope their findings will one day lead to new therapies for cancer and Alzheimer’s disease patients.

Drug prototype points metabolism and stops the disease that limits bone marrow transplantation

ANN ARBOR, Michigan.— Un prototipo de medicamento que ya se ha mostrado prometedor en el tratamiento de trastornos autoinmunes, como lupus, artritis y psoriasis detiene la enfermedad de injerto versus anfitrión (GVHD por su sigla en inglés) en modelos con ratones de trasplante de médula ósea, según muestra una investigación de la Universidad de Michigan y la Universidad de Florida.

Chemists synthesize fungal compound with anti-cancer activity

Graphic courtesy / Mohammad Movassaghi
Structural diagram of (+)-11,11'-Dideoxyverticillin A. MIT chemists
recently synthesized the compound, which has shown anti-cancer activity,
for the first time.

New gel offers controlled drug delivery
Self-assembling hydrogel could help treat cancer and diabetes, among other diseases