Daily non-political popular news in brief.

Chemical maps hint at drug's effects on schizophrenia

05-15-2007 · EurekAlert!

Antipsychotic drugs do most of their work in the brain, but they also leave behind in the bloodstream a trail of hundreds of chemicals that may be used in the future to direct better treatment for schizophrenia and other psychiatric conditions, say Duke University Medical Center researchers.

Keywords: chemical, maps, hint, drug, effects, schizophrenia, map, effect

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Carbon monoxide counteracts one side-effect of an anti-cancer drug
11-21-2007 · EurekAlert!
Doxorubicin (DOX) is a red-colored anti-cancer drug that carries serious side effects for the heart. These cardio-toxic effects are due to inhibition by DOX of mitochondrial biogenesis, a term used to describe cellular energy generation. In a new study, it is now shown that mitochondrial biogenesis can be recovered in DOX-treated rodents by either inhalation of carbon monoxide or overexpression of the protein HO-1.
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Cough medicine fights dyskinesias in Parkinson's
11-07-2007 · EurekAlert!
A cough suppressant and a drug tested against schizophrenia curb dyskinesias, the involuntary movements that are disabling side effects of taking the Parkinson's disease medication levodopa, Portland scientists found. Dextromethorphan, used in such cold and flu medications as Robitussin and Sucrets, suppresses dyskinesias in rats. BMY-14802, a drug tested in people with schizophrenia, also suppresses dyskinesias in rats, and does so more effectively than dextromethorphan, suggesting BMY-14802 might block dyskinesias in people with Parkinson's.
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Stress triggers relapse in meth abuse, OHSU study finds
10-18-2006 · EurekAlert!
Oregon Health & Science University research showing stress triggers relapse of methamphetamine abuse in mice could be a step toward developing a drug to curb this frustrating obstacle to recovery. Results of the study not only validate earlier studies on the effects of stress on drug relapse in humans, they also show a compound researchers used to mimic metabolic changes that occur during stress creates a useful model for studying this effect in the laboratory.
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Scientists reveal first-ever global map of total human effects on oceans
02-14-2008 · EurekAlert!
More than 40 percent of the world's oceans are heavily affected by human activities, and few if any areas remain untouched, according to the first global-scale study of human influence on marine ecosystems. By overlaying maps of 17 different activities such as fishing, climate change, and pollution, the researchers have produced a composite map of the toll that humans have exacted on the seas.
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Abnormal proteins linked to schizophrenia found in body tissue
12-20-2006 · EurekAlert!
A new study suggests biochemical changes associated with schizophrenia aren't limited to the central nervous system and that the disease could have more encompassing effects throughout the body than previously thought. The findings, scheduled for publication in the January 2007 issue of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Proteome Research, could lead to better diagnostic testing for the disease and help explain why those afflicted with it are more prone to other chronic health problems.
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Combination HDL/LDL therapy has no effect on plaque build-up
03-26-2007 · EurekAlert!
Two RADIANCE studies presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 56th Annual Scientific Session assessed the effects of adding torcetrapib to atorvastatin among patients to improve their cholesterol levels. Although the ILLUMINATE study and other trials involving torcetrapib were recently stopped because of safety concerns, the effect of the drug on carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) may provide useful information on whether it slows the progression of atherosclerosis.
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Advance in understanding of blood pressure gene could lead to new treatments
02-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
Research by scientists at UCL (University College London) has clearly demonstrated for the first time the structure and function of a gene crucial to the regulation of blood pressure. The discovery could be important in the search for new treatments for illnesses such as heart disease, the UK's biggest killer. In a paper published online today in Nature Medicine, the team, led by Professor Patrick Vallance and Dr James Leiper, UCL Department of Medicine, reveal the role of the human gene dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), showing that loss of DDAH activity disrupts nitric oxide (NO) production. NO is critical in the regulation of blood pressure, nervous system functions and the immune system. The role of DDAH is to break down modified amino acids (Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and monomethyl arginine (L-NMMA)) that are produced by the body and have been shown to inhibit NO synthase. These molecules accumulate in various disease states including diabetes, renal failure and pulmonary and systemic hypertension, and their concentration in plasma (the fluid component of blood) is strongly predicative of cardiovascular disease and death. In a healthy human body, the majority of ADMA is eliminated through active metabolism by DDAH. Scientists have hypothesised that if DDAH function is impaired, NO production is reduced, and that this could be an important feature of increased cardiovascular risk. To examine this pathway in more detail, the researchers deleted the DDAH gene in mice. These mice went on to develop hypertension, or high blood pressure. They also designed specific inhibitors (small molecules) which bind to the active site of human DDAH. These small molecule inhibitors also induced hypertension in mice, confirming the importance of DDAH in the regulation of blood pressure. Dr Leiper, UCL Medicine, said: “These genetic and chemical approaches to disrupt DDAH showed remarkably consistent results, and provide compelling evidence that loss of DDAH function increases the concentration of ADMA and thereby disrupts vascular NO signalling. “There has been considerable scientific interest in this pathway and the role of ADMA as a novel risk factor, but so far there's been little evidence to support the idea that it's a cause of disease, rather than just a marker. Genes and their pathways are crucial to our understanding of cardiovascular disease and a better understanding of DDAH-1 could lead to important new treatments. “It could help us to establish if genetic variation predisposes certain people to these diseases, or whether environmental factors exert some of their effects through modulation of DDAH activity. “Our research also shows that this pathway could be harnessed therapeutically to limit production of NO in certain situations where too much nitric oxide is a bad thing; for example, hypotension and septic shock. These are some of the biggest problems in intensive care medicine and there is a huge unmet need for drug treatments.” The study, which was carried out at UCL's Rayne Institute, was funded by grants from the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "The unexpected finding in the 1980s that a simple gas, nitric oxide (NO), is made by cells in the blood vessel wall and is a powerful control of blood vessel relaxation led to the award of the Nobel Prize in 1998 to its discoverers. "More recently, there has been increasing evidence that impairment of NO production is likely to be an important factor in the development of heart and circulatory disease, but the mechanisms responsible are not fully understood. "This study suggests for the first time that the loss of the activity of the enzyme DDAH-1 leads to reduced NO production and may cause heart and circulatory disease. These findings are likely to be important in the search for new ways to optimise the health of our blood vessels." ### Notes for Editors 1. For more information, please contact Ruth Metcalfe in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 7679 9739, mobile: +44 (0)7990 675 947, out of hours: +44 (0)7917 271 364, e-mail: r.metcalfe@ucl.ac.uk2. 'Disruption of methylarginine metabolism impairs vascular homeostasis' is published in the February issue of the journal Nature Medicine. Advance online publication is embargoed to 18.00 GMT (13.00 US Eastern) Sunday 4 February 2007. Journalists can obtain copies of the paper by contacting the UCL Media Relations Office.3. The study was funded by the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. About UCL Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. In the government's most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 59 UCL departments achieved top ratings of 5* and 5, indicating research quality of international excellence. UCL is the fourth-ranked UK university in the 2006 league table of the top 500 world universities produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UCL alumni include Mahatma Gandhi (Laws 1889, Indian political and spiritual leader); Jonathan Dimbleby (Philosophy 1969, writer and television presenter); Junichiro Koizumi (Economics 1969, Prime Minister of Japan); Lord Woolf (Laws 1954, Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales); Alexander Graham Bell (Phonetics 1860s, inventor of the telephone), and members of the band Coldplay.
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Low dose of serotonin-acting chemical improves blood sugar tolerance
11-06-2007 · EurekAlert!
An appetite-suppressing chemical also improves glucose tolerance and lowers insulin levels in obese and diabetic mice, researchers report in the November issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press. Importantly, the researchers found, those effects of the drug occurred at a low dose that had no influence on feeding behavior, body weight, activity level, or energy expenditure.
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Study: Re-engineered Gleevec reduces heart risks
12-03-2007 · EurekAlert!
Using a new bottom-up approach for rational drug design, researchers at Rice University and the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have reengineered the powerful anticancer drug imatinib -- best known by its brand name Gleevec -- to more specifically target one type of cancer while potentially curbing a rare life-threatening cardiotoxic side effect. The re-design strategy employed in the study is broadly applicable to reducing side effects in other drugs.
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Coated nanoparticles solve sticky drug-delivery problem
01-24-2007 · EurekAlert!
The layers of mucus that protect sensitive tissue throughout the body have an undesirable side effect: They can also keep helpful medications away. To overcome this hurdle, researchers have found a way to coat nanoparticles with a chemical that helps them slip through this sticky barrier.
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