http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Since the discovery of Prontosil in 1932, sulfonamide antibiotics have been used to combat a wide spectrum of bacterial infections, from acne to chlamydia and pneumonia. However, their side effects can include serious neurological problems like nausea, headache, dizziness, hallucinations and even psychosis. In a recent Science publication, EPFL researchers have shown for the first time how sulfonamides can interfere with a patient's nervous system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-antibiotics-sulfonamide-nervous-side-effects.html Medical research Thu, 23 May 2013 14:00:09 EST news288536311 Using a new stem-cell based drug screening technology with the potential to reinvent and greatly reduce the cost of the way new pharmaceuticals are developed, Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers have found a compound more effective in protecting the neurons killed in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – Lou Gehrig's disease – than two drugs that failed in human clinical trials after hundreds of millions of dollars had been invested in them. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-reinventing-drug-discovery-als.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:20:45 EST news285506437 In a London ceremony today, Wyss Founding Director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., received the NC3Rs 3Rs Prize from the UK's National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) for his innovative Lung-on-a-Chip—a microdevice lined by human cells that recapitulates complex functions of the living lung. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-lung-on-a-chip-prize-potentially-animal.html Medical research Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:38:21 EST news281101092 A research group at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA) at Japan's Kyoto University has successfully recapitulated amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-associated abnormalities in motor neurons differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) obtained from patients with familial ALS, a late-onset, fatal disorder which is also known for Lou Gehrig's disease. In a drug screening assay using the disease model, the team further found that the chemical compound anacardic acid can rescue some ALS phenotypes in vitro. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-drug-screening-platform-als.html Medical research Thu, 02 Aug 2012 09:33:54 EST news263118654 Two studies appearing in a recent issue of Cell Transplantation (20:11-12), now freely available online, evaluate stem cells derived from dental tissues for characteristics that may make them therapeutically useful and appropriate for transplantation purposes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-cell-transplantation-impact-dental-stem.html Medical research Tue, 08 May 2012 15:24:56 EST news255709488 Harvard stem cell researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have taken a critical step in making possible the discovery in the relatively near future of a drug to control cystic fibrosis (CF), a fatal lung disease that claims about 500 lives each year, with 1,000 new cases diagnosed annually. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-big-advance-cystic-fibrosis.html Medical research Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:53:33 EST news252859925 Researchers have identified promising new therapies for ependymoma, a rare tumor with few treatment options. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators led the effort, which used a new, faster drug development system that combines the latest drug screening technology with the first accurate animal model of the tumor. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-strategy-drug-rare-cancers.html Cancer Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:08:13 EST news235321674 Researchers from A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (IME) have developed a lateral silicon-based drug screening tool that has demonstrated simultaneous capture of 12 individual cells – 12 times higher throughput than conventional patch clamping. The device can be scaled up to allow 1536 cell-recordings simultaneously, permitting 16 times higher throughput than existing planar patch clamp approach. The chip enables compact design and automation, thanks to the lateral layout that allows microfluidic integration. When tested with two different anti-diabetic drugs, corresponding electrophysiological readings could be determined by the device, showing its potential for multiple drug screening. With automation, the proposed device can dramatically shorten drug development cycle for rapid screening of ion-channel drug candidates. The world-wide ion channel drug market is estimated to be worth USD 12 billion. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-drug-shortened-silicon-based-screening-tool.html Medical research Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:56:00 EST news230399749