Seasonal Variation in Thyroid Hormone TSH May Lead to Overprescribing

By Miriam E. Tucker Seasonal variation in one of the hormones used to monitor thyroid function could in turn lead to false diagnoses of subclinical hypothyroidism and unnecessary prescriptions of levothyroxine, says Yale clinical chemist Joe M. El-Khoury, PhD. He says a Japanese study in more than 7000 healthy individuals showed that thyrotropin-stimulating hormone (TSH) varies widely throughout the seasons, peaking in the northern hemisphere’s winter months (January to February) with its low in the summer months (June to August); that paper was published last year in the Journal of the Endocrine Society. But free thyroxine (FT4) levels in the Japanese population remained relatively stable, he writes in a letter recently published in Clinical Chemistry. “If you end up with a mildly elevated TSH result and a normal FT4, try getting retested 2-3 months later to make sure this is not a seasonal artifact or transient increase before prescribing/taking levothyroxine unnecessarily,” advises El-Khoury, who is director of Yale University’s Clinical Chemistry Laboratory, ...

• Source: drugdu
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• April 26, 2023

New study of age-related macular degeneration finds causal genes, dispels previous assumptions

by Justin Jackson , Medical Xpress   A study led by the research center of Genentech in South San Francisco, published in Cell Genomics, has looked for drug targets that could address age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition at the center of vision problems for 200 million people worldwide. AMD can result in blindness. In the paper “A systems biology approach uncovers novel disease mechanisms in age-related macular degeneration,” the researchers describe the steps they took to identify genes targetable by treatment with a molecular atlas of AMD pathology development stages. The study resulted in the identification of 23 significant genome-wide loci that are differentially methylated in AMD. Over 1,000 differentially expressed genes were found across disease stages and distinct Müller cell states in AMD-affected eyes. The research highlights causal gene upregulations and underlying genetic risks for AMD. Researchers generated bulk-tissue and single-cell transcriptomics and epigenomics data from 85 unique human ...

• Source: drugdu
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• April 26, 2023

Walnuts Linked to Improved Attention, Psychological Maturity in Teens

By Batya Swift Yasgur, MA, LSW   Walnuts have been associated with better cognitive development and psychological maturation in teens, new research shows. Adolescents who consumed walnuts for at least 100 days showed improved sustained attention and fluid intelligence as well as a reduction in symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared with matched controls who did not consume the nuts. However, there were no statistically significant changes between the groups in other parameters, such as working memory and executive function. Clinicians should advise adolescents “to eat a handful of walnuts three times a week for the rest of their lives. They may have a healthier brain with better cognitive function,” senior investigator Jordi Julvez, PhD, group leader at the Institute of Health Research Pere Virgili and associated researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, told Medscape Medical News. The study was published online April 6 in Lancet Discovery Science (eClinicalMedicine). Rich Source of Omega-3s Adolescence ...

• Source: drugdu
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• April 26, 2023

BullFrog AI , Sage Group partner to develop oncology assets

Digital technology company BullFrog AI and Sage Group have entered into a strategic partnership to develop oncology assets. This partnership will focus on exploring joint venture (JV) opportunities for advancing a Phase II ready asset and the preclinical prodrug asset of BullFrog AI.  The Phase II ready asset targets glioblastoma, which is an aggressive form of brain cancer.  Through the collaboration, BullFrog AI will gain access to Sage Group’s capital resources, clinical and regulatory expertise, as well as contacts network, including innovators and large pharma.  BullFrog AI founder and CEO Vin Singh said: “Glioblastoma is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, with a five-year survival rate of less than seven percent.  “With the Sage Group’s support, we look forward to identifying the right partner to help us advance clinical development of our oncology programs globally in an effort to bring a revolutionary new treatment option to glioblastoma patients.” Recently, ...

• Source: drugdu
• 116
• April 25, 2023

Proper nutrition could boost recovery from traumatic brain injury

In the first few days after a traumatic brain injury (TBI), food is often an afterthought as clinicians focus on minimizing the damage to the brain. However, a new study suggests that getting enough calories can help boost the brain’s healing process, making nutrition an important consideration for improving TBI care. Researchers will present their work this week at the American Physiology Summit, the flagship annual meeting of the American Physiological Society (APS), in Long Beach, California.   “This evidence highlights the importance of ensuring proper nutrition for TBI patients during recovery. Specifically, formulations containing fuels that are preferred by the brain, such as lactate, should be prioritized during the acute and chronic phases of recovery from TBI.” Casey C. Curl, Doctoral Candidate, Exercise Physiology Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley   When a person comes to the hospital with a traumatic brain injury, many patients go for several days without ...

• Source: drugdu
• 138
• April 25, 2023

Drugmakers take sides in Amgen, Regeneron fight over antibody patents

Christopher Newman Editor “This is a showdown about whether the most valuable patents in the entirety of the patent system are valid,” one law expert said. The nearly decade-long patent feud between Amgen and rivals Sanofi and Regeneron has divided the biopharmaceutical industry, with drugmakers taking different sides in a U.S. Supreme Court case that could have far-reaching effects.  At issue are patents for powerful cholesterol-lowering medicines known as PCSK9 inhibitors. Regeneron and Sanofi brought the first, Praluent, to market in 2015. Amgen followed one month later with a similar medicine, called Repatha. The drugs work by boosting liver cells’ ability to hoover up LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol.   Amgen has long claimed Sanofi and Regeneron infringed on patents it secured for Praluent. The fight has slowly winded its way through the U.S. legal system to reach the Supreme Court. There, judges could disrupt the $160 billion-per-year market for antibodies by deciding how broadly ...

• Source: drugdu
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• April 25, 2023

A new report released by Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) reveals that women are looking to be better informed about sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The survey, conducted with cooperation from the Harris Poll, found that 77% of women feel they are knowledgeable about vaginal diseases such as yeast infections, yet only 60% know about diagnosis and treatment options available for STIs. The medtech company is responsible for testing kits BD Vaginal Panel and the BD CTGCTV2 assay, which screen for vaginitis and the three most common nonviral STIs in women who are symptomatic. The survey of 1,000 U.S. women over 18 years old revealed that almost half of them saw a healthcare provider for a routine gynecological exam within the past year or more. Another 40% of women said they’d had gynecological care within the past 12 months. Of the women who see healthcare providers for gynecological care, 82% felt ...

• Source: drugdu
• 121
• April 25, 2023

Too much insulin can be as dangerous as too little

Just over a century has passed since the discovery of insulin, a time period during which the therapeutic powers of the hormone have broadened and refined. Insulin is an essential treatment for type 1 diabetes and often for type 2 diabetes, as well. Roughly 8.4 million Americans use insulin, according to the American Diabetes Association. One hundred years of research have greatly advanced medical and biochemical understanding of how insulin works and what happens when it is lacking, but the reverse, how potentially fatal insulin hyper-responsiveness is prevented, has remained a persistent mystery. In a new study, published in the April 20, 2023 online edition of Cell Metabolism, a team of scientists at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues elsewhere, describe a key player in the defense mechanism that safeguards us against excessive insulin in the body. “Although insulin is one of the most essential hormones, ...

• Source: drugdu
• 120
• April 25, 2023

How alcohol consumption contributes to chronic pain

Chronic alcohol consumption may make people more sensitive to pain through two different molecular mechanisms—one driven by alcohol intake and one by alcohol withdrawal. That is one new conclusion by scientists at Scripps Research on the complex links between alcohol and pain.   The research, published in the British Journal of Pharmacology on April 12, 2023, also suggests potential new drug targets for treating alcohol-associated chronic pain and hypersensitivity.   “There is an urgent need to better understand the two-way street between chronic pain and alcohol dependence,” says senior author Marisa Roberto, Ph.D., the Schimmel Family Chair of Molecular Medicine, and a professor of neuroscience at Scripps Research. “Pain is both a widespread symptom in patients suffering from alcohol dependence, as well as a reason why people are driven to drink again.”   Alcohol use disorder (AUD), which encompasses the conditions commonly called alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence and alcohol addiction, ...

• Source: drugdu
• 119
• April 25, 2023

Apellis’ immune system drug hits a setback in ALS

Jacob Bell Senior Reporter In the latest setback for ALS research, Apellis Pharmaceuticals, a Massachusetts-based drug company, has discontinued a portion of a key clinical trial testing one of its medicines as a treatment for the nerve-destroying disease. The “MERIDIAN” trial began in the fall of 2020, ultimately enrolling around 250 participants who were given either a placebo or Apellis’ medicine, known as pegcetacoplan, over a two-year period. Following that period, participants could join a so-called “open-label extension” study, in which everyone would have access to the drug. But Apellis has chosen to stop that latter study, based on feedback from an external group of advisers who reviewed the data available and concluded further treatment with the drug was unwarranted. Analysts at the investment bank Mizuho Securities were the first to report this development. According to the analyst Graig Suvannavejh, Apellis announced the study discontinuation through a “company communication” that clarified that the ...

• Source: drugdu
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• April 25, 2023