A systematic review of research has revealed that the toxic effects on the lung of drugs commonly taken to treat a range of common conditions is much more widespread than thought. Though the 27 drugs treating a range of conditions including arthritis, cancer and the heart are successful for most patients, doctors, say the team,...
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A new drug lowers cholesterol. Can it spoil a multibillion-dollar market?
A small biotech company has a shot at shaking up a market roosted by giants, moving toward approval with a pill it believes can lower bad cholesterol at a discount to other medicines. On Sunday, Esperion Therapeutics said a combination of its once-a-day treatment and a maximum dose of statin lowered LDL cholesterol 18 percent...
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A Humira Prescription Costs $38,000 A Year Because Our Patent System Is Being Abused
Sue Lee, 76, has plaque psoriasis, an incurable, chronic skin condition that causes itchy, painful sores. To give her some relief, Lee’s doctor prescribed Humira, a patent-protected drug with no generic option. In 2012, the drug cost about $19,000 a year. Today, it costs more than $38,000 a year. Even with Medicare, Lee, who retired...
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Stem cells can differentiate into neurons and may be useful post-stroke therapeutics
Researchers have performed a careful comparison between locally generated, ischemia-induced, multipotent stem cells (iSCs) and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) in an effort to determine which cell type has greater central nervous system (CNS) repair capacity. Their results show that the iSC characteristics make them more promising candidates as CNS injury therapeutics. The study...
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Blood tests for rheumatoid arthritis: What to know
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation in the joints. A doctor will diagnose rheumatoid arthritis by asking a person about their symptoms, carrying out a physical examination, taking blood tests, and using imaging studies. Doctors may test blood samples for several inflammatory and immune system compounds that are usually present in a...
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Diagnosing strokes is complicated by ‘mimics’ and ‘chameleons’
Stroke specialists often see conditions known as stroke “mimics” and “chameleons” that can complicate accurate diagnoses, Loyola Medicine neurologists report in the November 2018 issue of Neuroimaging Clinics of North America. Stroke mimics are medical conditions that look like strokes, while chameleons are strokes that look like other conditions. Diagnostic accuracy “may be complicated by...
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New epilepsy warning device could save thousands of lives
A new high-tech bracelet, developed by scientists from the Netherlands detects 85 percent of all severe night-time epilepsy seizures. That is a much better score than any other technology currently available. The researchers involved think that this bracelet can reduce the worldwide number of unexpected night-time fatalities in epilepsy patients. They published the results of...
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A new way to detect hidden urinary tract infections
Researchers in infection biology have developed a new way to detect hidden urinary tract infections. The research was led by Professor Agneta Richter-Dahlfors, head of the Swedish Medical Nanoscience Center at Karolinska Institutet and published in NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes. Bacteria can persist in the urinary tract for prolonged periods of time, evading capture by...
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Pneumococcal vaccine recs cause confusion among docs
(HealthDay)—While primary care physicians overwhelmingly recommend pneumococcal vaccines, there is a gap in their knowledge of how to implement related vaccine recommendations, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. Laura P. Hurley, M.D., M.P.H., from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, and colleagues conducted...
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A man who received a stem-cell transplant for multiple sclerosis can walk and dance again after suffering from the disease for a decade
A man in England with multiple sclerosis can walk and dance for the first time in 10 years after receiving a stem cell transplant for the disease. Roy Palmer spent the last decade in a wheelchair without any feeling in his legs. He decided to undergo a procedure known as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) after seeing the results from a television program. Two days after receiving treatment, Palmer regained feelings in his legs. HSCT is still considered to be...