Clipmarks | Clinical trials Clips

aussie survey

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:59:27 GMT

clipped by: zadoz
clipper's remarks: shows attitudes changing

Australians back medical marijuana, heroin injecting rooms

MOST Australians would support clinical trials of cannabis for medical use, a new survey of more than 23,000 people has found.

Almost half the respondents said they would support regulated heroin-injecting rooms.

The nationwide survey found overwhelming support for legalising cannabis for medical reasons, backed by nearly 70 per cent, while approval of clinical trials for cannabis approached 75 per cent.

Most people also looked favourably on needle and syringe programs, supported by more than 65 per cent.

When it came to tobacco, there was firm support across the board for bans on smoking in workplaces, pubs and clubs.

More than 80 per cent of Australians wanted smoking banned in the workplace, with Canberrans most strongly in favour at close to 85 per cent.

And more than 75 per cent of respondents wanted smoking banned from pubs and clubs.

Tags: australia, pot, tobacco, drugs, survey

cannabis is effective against drug-resistant infections

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:49:57 GMT

clipped by: Lexica
clipper's remarks: Yet more evidence that cannabis is effective against a multitude of conditions. It's also safe and, if decriminalized, is easy and fairly inexpensive to grow.

Clip Source: arstechnica.com

Pharmacists and chemists have found another use for the multipurpose cannabis as a source of antibacterial chemicals for multidrug resistant bacteria.

All five cannabinoids (THC, CBD, CBG, CBC, and CBN) were potent against bacteria. Notably, they performed well against bacteria that were known to be multidrug resistant, like the strains of MRSA that plagued U.K. hospitals.

Besides identifying antibacterial capability, the researchers wanted to figure out why these cannabinoids are so good at killing bacteria.

Unfortunately, even after extensive work at modifying the cannabinoids and comparing their activities, that targeting mechanism remains a mystery.

These cannabinoids are promising enough to warrant rigorous clinical trials. They are applicable as topical antiseptics, biodegradable antibacterial compounds for cosmetics, and systematic antibacterial agents.

Tags: cannabis, medicine, research

Exoskeleton help humans walk again

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:44:17 GMT

clipped by: maquser
clipper's remarks: cool

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Human exoskeleton suit helps paralyzed people walk

The device, called ReWalk, is the brainchild of engineer Amit Goffer, founder of Argo Medical Technologies, a small Israeli high-tech company.

Something of a mix between the exoskeleton of a crustacean and the suit worn by comic hero Iron Man, ReWalk helps paraplegics -- people paralyzed below the waist -- to stand, walk and climb stairs.

The ReWalk is now in clinical trials in Tel Aviv's Sheba Medical Centre and Goffer said it will soon be used in trials at the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute in Pennsylvania.

Tags: biomedical engineering, robotics, walking

health

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:28:09 GMT

clipped by: DW29JW
clipper's remarks: could be a good thing

Clip Source: technutnews.com

Anti-aging pill to turn back the clock

A DRUG that slows the ageing process and prevents cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s, could be on sale within five years, scientists claim.

The drug is made up of chemicals that mimic resveratrol, a compound found in the skins of red grapes.

Previous research has shown resveratrol reduces the impact of a high-fat diet, doubles stamina and extends the lifespan of mice.

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals has developed a pill based on two chemicals that act in the same way and the first human clinical trials have begun.

Trial of anti-AIDS vaccine in lab a success

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 04:07:04 GMT

clipped by: kitsua

Clip Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Trial of anti-AIDS vaccine in Chennai lab a success

CHENNAI: India's HIV vaccine programme got a major boost with scientists of the Tuberculosis Research Centre (TRC) here reporting significant progress in the first phase of clinical trials for a vaccine to prevent AIDS.

Preliminary results of phase one trial have successfully proved the vaccine's safety and its ability to stimulate immune response (that might provide protection against infection), the centre's head told TOI.

Confirming the development, TRC director V D Ramanathan said: "The trial was to check the vaccine’s safety and also whether it fulfilled the secondary objective of stimulating immune response. We will announce the results to the world soon after we have the complete analysis of the data."

Tags: aids vaccine

Drug tries to offset 10,000 years of evolution

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:59:14 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Gene therapies, expected some time between 2015 and 2020, promise to correct this genetic problem caused by nature, but many obese people do not want to wait. They are hoping that Nastech’s new nasal spray can provide a solution now.

Within 20 to 35 minutes after taking a whiff, this new drug moves quickly through the nasal lining and into the bloodstream, sending a message to the brain that our tummy is full. So far the drug has had no negative side effects.

PYY is undergoing clinical trials now, and is expected to be in drug stores by 2009 or 2010. Obesity is the 2nd leading cause of preventable death in America, so this drug offers a great chance for more people to improve their health and get ready to enjoy our “magical future”.

Clip Source: memebox.com

Squirting a little nasal spray up the nose before mealtime is helping obese people shed an average of 50 lbs in a year.

Nastech Pharmaceutical Company of Bothell, WA said its compound, known as PYY, addresses obesity and other ailments suffered by overweight patients – diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, arthritis, and cancer.

In an Associated Press interview, Nastech CEO Steven Quay stated that in tests, PYY reduced patients’ daily calorie intake by 30 percent.

PYY is a naturally occurring hormone that our body sends to the brain 45 minutes after eating to tell us we’re full. This mechanism kept our ancestors from eating too much, but it doesn’t kick in fast enough for people eating today’s high-calorie, high-fat foods. Obesity, researchers say, is a direct result of our inherited genes.

But while our diet has changed radically over the last 10,000 years, our genes remain unchanged. We are still designed to feed a hunter-gatherer who gets a ton of exercise every day

Tags: obesity, gene therapy, biotechnology, diet

The Kanzius Machine: A Cancer Cure?

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:19:21 GMT

clipped by: dewitte
clipper's remarks: Video on the site with more info

Clip Source: www.cbsnews.com

What if we told you that a guy with no background in science or medicine - not even a college degree - has come up with what may be one of the most promising breakthroughs in cancer research in years?

Well it's true, and if you think it sounds improbable, consider this: he did it with his wife's pie pans and hot dogs.

His name is John Kanzius, and as correspondent Lesley Stahl first reported last April, he's a former businessman and radio technician who built a radio wave machine that has cancer researchers so enthusiastic about its potential they're pouring money and effort into testing it out.

Here's the important part: if clinical trials pan out - and there's still a long way to go - the Kanzius machine will zap cancer cells all through your body without the need for drugs or surgery and without side effects. None at all. At least that's the idea.

Tags: cancer, kanzius, 60 minutes

Vaccine Death

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:11:37 GMT

clipped by: bakdr

Clip Source: articles.mercola.com

12 Babies Die During Vaccine Trials in Argentina

At least 12 infants who were part of a clinical study to test a pneumonia vaccine have died in Argentina over the course of the past year.

The study was sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, and uses children from poor families. According to the Argentine Federation of Health Professionals, the families are "pressured and forced into signing consent forms”.

The vaccine trial is still ongoing despite the denunciations.

Sources:

Trading Markets July 10, 2008

12 Babies Die During Vaccine Trials in Argentina

At least 12 infants who were part of a clinical study to test a pneumonia vaccine have died in Argentina over the course of the past year.

Prostate eze

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:26:26 GMT

clipped by: RONKFL2008

Clip Source: www.ivlproducts.com

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Oxygen may ease headache and migraine

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:59:03 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: Breathing oxygen as opposed to what? I wonder if it has anything to do with the air being clean. Perhaps fresh air would have a similar effect. Fresh air is getting harder to find these days

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Amy Norton

Some forms of oxygen therapy may help manage two types of debilitating headache pain, a new research review suggests.

A review of nine small clinical trials, headed by Dr Michael Bennett, of Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, found that hyperbaric oxygen therapy showed promise for halting pain during migraine attacks.

It also found that normobaric, or normal-pressure, oxygen therapy, eased pain in people suffering from cluster headaches.

The findings are published in the Cochrane Library, a publication of the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organisation that evaluates medical research

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a sealed, pressurised chamber

normobaric oxygen therapy, patients breathe pure oxygen from a portable unit under normal conditions.

Normal-pressure oxygen has long been used for severe headache pain, and there is some evidence that hyperbaric oxygen could be helpful, but few controlled clinical trials have evaluated the therapies.

Drug for deadly prostate cancer

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:25:32 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Sounds almost too good to be true. Wonderful.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Scientists are hailing a new drug to treat aggressive prostate cancer as potentially the most significant advance in the field for 70 years.

Abiraterone could potentially treat up to 80% of patients with a deadly form of the disease resistant to currently available chemotherapy, they say.

The drug works by blocking the hormones which fuel the cancer.

Aggressive prostate cancer has a poor prognosis

The Institute of Cancer Research hopes a simple pill form will be available in two to three years.

An advanced clinical trial involving 1,200 patients around the world is currently under way, with more trials likely later this year.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men.

It is estimated that up to 10,000 men a year in the UK are diagnosed with the most aggressive - and almost always lethal - form of prostate cancer.

Typical life expectancy following chemotherapy is no more than 18 months.

Tags: medical

BREAST self-examinations do not save lives

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:23:37 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad

Clip Source: www.dailyme.com

BREAST self-examinations do not save lives and may cause unnecessary harm to women who undergo redundant treatment and suffer increased anxiety, research shows.

Breast Cancer Foundation health educator Ginny Harwood said the research, which revealed a "minuscule" difference between the death rates of women who did and did not do self-examination, made the foundation change its guidelines.

"It hasn't always been what the foundation has promoted, but certainly in light of research and clinical trials that have come out, that is the message now," she said.

"We want women to be breast aware, get to know what they feel like and for them to know themselves."

Each year about 2400 New Zealand women and 20 men are diagnosed with breast cancer.

More than 10 women a week die from the disease. The foundation says the survival rate among women is about 85 per cent.

A strict regime of self- examination could lead to unnecessary examinations and increased anxiety.

Emerging from the Drug War Dark Age: LSD and Other Psychedelic Medicines Make a Comeback

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:16:17 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

"We talk about the veterans suffering PTSD, but it's really a culture-wide phenomenon," he said. "We're at a place where technology and the structure of contemporary life have taken us so far away from our emotions as to create pathological conditions. The systemic violence and selfishness and greed that are in our society need treatment."

Doblin was one of the first to break through that wall of obstinacy and challenge the Inquisition. He got the U.S. government to approve clinical trials of MDMA-assisted therapy for returning veterans and victims of violent crime or abuse who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

A headline in the May issue of the staid British medical journal The Lancet -- known for challenging the Pentagon's Iraq casualty numbers -- read, "Research on Psychedelics Moves into the Mainstream."

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, was an acid enthusiast, promoting LSD as a "gateway to an accelerated spiritual awakening."

Tags: government, i-policy, i-repression, i-decrease

Microbicides could lead to tougher HIV

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:57:53 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: An estimated 33 million people have HIV. 66% in Africa. More than 61% of Africans with HIV are women who have been infected by their partners.
They have found tougher HIV is not as likely to be transmitted. Microbicides work with consistent application, and in conjunction with anti HIV medication, which may not be taken.
Reminds me of how Penicillin was once considered to be the the cure for many known diseases. It wasn't long before bacteria developed that were resistant, and the next generation of antibiotics needed to be developed. Now we have the top of the line Methycillin, and MRSA-Methycyllin resistant Staphylococcus Aureas -Golden Staph, and we're reaching the end of this line.. We tried to beat nature, and nature caught us and beat us back. As penicillin was a natural by product of a microorganism, it stands to reason that as many other species have natural antibiotics and defense mechanisms, we can find the next generation of antibiotics by following natures lead.

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Maggie Fox

A new mathematical model shows that microbicide gels currently being developed to prevent HIV infection in women could lead to enhanced HIV drug resistance, and paradoxically offer more protection to men.

David Wilson of the University of New South Wales and colleagues developed a virtual clinical trial to explore the effects of new treatments under development and determine what parameters might lead to drug resistance.

researchers present their findings in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Several phase III clinical trials are underway to test the efficacy of various microbicides, targeted for release in five to ten years.

Blower says drug-resistant HIV is less likely to be transmitted from one person to another, therefore male sex partners of such women might be protected from the virus.

What we found out that was interesting or surprising or paradoxical, was that under some conditions males would actually benefit a lot more than females

new drugs

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:58:46 GMT

clipped by: zadoz
clipper's remarks: it all starts with viagra

Clip Source: www.greatguy.com

"With Viagra such a hit, Pfizer is bringing forth a whole line of drugs oriented towards improving the performance of men in today's society...

PROJECTRA - Men given this experimental new drug were far more likely to actually finish a household repair project before starting a new one.

COMPLIMENTRA - In clinical trials, 82% of middle aged men administered this drug noticed that their wives had a new hairstyle. Currently being tested to see if its effects extend to noticing new clothing.

FLYAGRA - This drug has been showing great promise in treating men with O.F.D. (open fly disorder) Especially useful for men on Viagra.

LIAGRA - This drug causes men to be less than truthful when being asked about their sexual affairs. Will be available Regular, Grand Jury and Presidential Strengh versions.

NEGA-VIAGRA - Has the exact opposite effect of Viagra. Currently undergoing clinical trials on sitting US presidents.

Tags: viagra