http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Sleeping sickness kills tens of thousands of people in Africa each year. Current chemotherapies are subject to various limitations, including resistance. Rhodesain, an enzyme of the parasites that cause this illness (human African trypanosomiasis), has emerged as a target for new drug candidates. Scientists led by F. Diederich (ETH Zürich) studied the molecular recognition properties of rhodesain and developed a series of triazine nitrile inhibitors as lead compounds using structure-based molecular modeling. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-awakening-drugs-sickness.html Cancer Fri, 17 May 2013 07:54:03 EST news287996023 Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have created a mouse model of muscular dystrophy in which degenerating muscle tissue gives off visible light. The observed luminescence occurs only in damaged muscle tissue and in direct proportion to cumulative damage sustained in that tissue, permitting precise monitoring of the disease's progress in the mice, the researchers say. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-firefly-protein-degenerating-muscles-aiding.html Medical research Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:00:02 EST news286022685 (Medical Xpress)—A research team including members of the Department of Bioengineering in the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science has discovered that drug intervention to reduce intercellular signaling between astrocytes following traumatic brain injury reduces cognitive deficits and damage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-therapeutic-traumatic-brain-injury.html Neuroscience Tue, 09 Apr 2013 07:30:01 EST news284710693 For the first time, researchers have mapped the genomes of tapeworms to reveal potential drug targets on which existing drugs could act. The genomes provide a new resource that offers faster ways to develop urgently needed and effective treatments for these debilitating diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-tapeworm-dna-drug-weak.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:00:08 EST news282395537 Each time we use an antibiotic, the weaker strains of infection are killed off while the stronger, more virulent strains are left behind to multiply. In the past, this has not caused much concern, as there has always been a new drug available to fight the infection. Now however, we are running out of options. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-drugs-ocean.html Medications Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:35:44 EST news281262936 When motors break down, getting where you want to go becomes a struggle. Problems arise in much the same way for critical brain receptors when the molecular motors they depend on fail to operate. Now, researchers reporting in Cell Reports on February 7, have shown these broken motors induce stress and anxiety in mice. The discovery may point the way to new kinds of drugs to treat anxiety and other disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-brain-broken-motors-anxiety.html Medical research Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:00:08 EST news279458685 Scientists at Heriot-Watt University are working towards creating the world's first artificial human livers for drug testing to drastically cut the number of live animals used and get life-saving medicines into the clinic faster. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-artificial-liver-animal-potential-drugs.html Medical research Tue, 13 Nov 2012 06:30:02 EST news272009298 A new prototype for medicated chewing gum has been developed for motion sickness that may offer many advantages over conventional oral solid dosage forms. About 33 percent of people are susceptible to motion sickness in mild circumstances and 66 percent are affected in more severe conditions. This research is being presented at the 2012 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Chicago, Ill., Oct. 14 – 18, an international event anticipating more than 8,000 attendees. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-gum-motion-sickness.html Medications Wed, 17 Oct 2012 10:36:45 EST news269688997 (Medical Xpress)—University of Rochester Medical Center scientists believe they are the first to identify genes that underlie the growth of primitive leukemia stem cell, and then to use the new genetic signature to identify currently available drugs that selectively target the rogue cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-genetic-signature-leukemia.html Cancer Mon, 27 Aug 2012 08:47:16 EST news265276030 Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have for the first time transformed skin cells—with a single genetic factor—into cells that develop on their own into an interconnected, functional network of brain cells. The research offers new hope in the fight against many neurological conditions because scientists expect that such a transformation—or reprogramming—of cells may lead to better models for testing drugs for devastating neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-skin-cells-brain-lab.html Medical research Thu, 07 Jun 2012 12:04:16 EST news258280588 (Medical Xpress) -- Innovative technology being pioneered at Cardiff to speed up the discovery of new drugs to tackle lung diseases could also dramatically reduce testing on animals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-breakthrough-drug-discovery.html Medical research Fri, 25 Nov 2011 06:10:42 EST news241423834 The influenza virus remains a worldwide threat to humans, causing an average of 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations each year in the United States alone. As health care professionals prepare for another flu season, a University of Missouri scientist is studying how two enzymes could be used to stop the virus in its tracks. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-mu-scientist-eyeing-enzymes-flu.html Medical research Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:21:38 EST news240747681 A new discovery by Californian scientists may lead to a pharmaceutical breakthrough for a wide range of illnesses that involve the hydration of cells that line the inner surfaces of our body's organs and tissues. In a new report appearing in the FASEB Journal, the researchers describe how they used high-throughput screening to identify small-molecule drug candidates which help cells bypass defective channels that normally move salt and water through cell membranes. These drug candidates work by activating an alternative chloride channel called "TMEM16A" that might be effective in treating conditions such as cystic fibrosis, dry eye and dry mouth diseases and slow-transit constipation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-scientists-drug-candidates-cystic-fibrosis.html Medications Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:16:20 EST news239361372