Life-extending drug for sufferers of lung disease caused by asbestos will finally be available on the NHS Pulmonary fibrosis sufferers will have chance to extend life by two years or more The condition caused by asbestos inhalation affects more than 15,000 Britons Desperate patients had turned to the internet, paying £3,000 for antifibrotics For the […]
The Australian government has pre-purchased 300,000 courses of an experimental antiviral oral drug called molnupiravir. Interim results announced by the company, US pharmaceutical Merck, show the drug halved the number of patients who ended up in hospital due to COVID. No patient who took the drug died from the virus. But the drug isn’t yet […]
A new industry-academic partnership between the University of Oxford and biopharmaceutical company NuCana as found that chemotherapy drug NUC-7738, derived from a Himalayan fungus, has 40 times greater potency for killing cancer cells than its parent compound. Oxford University researchers have worked in collaboration with industry leaders NuCana to assess a novel chemotherapy drug derived […]
Festival drug-related deaths are a growing public health concern. At present, there is limited evidence highlighting drug trends and harm-reduction practices among Irish festival attendees. One of the main health concerns for this cohort relates to the risks associated with high volumes of drugs being consumed as well as the combinations of substances used together. […]
The development of drugs to treat cognitive problems in patients with mental illness may be a step closer after a team of researchers discovered that an existing drug—used to treat constipation—may be able to boost our ability to think more clearly. Severe psychiatric disorders can have a devastating impact on a patient’s life. Cognitive impairments, […]
Zeroing in on specific brain regions when studying drug and alcohol abuse simplifies research but may leave out important insights. In fact, the landscape of the entire brain reorganizes during withdrawal, potentially hindering communication between regions, according to new research in mice published in eNeuro. Kimbrough et al. administered psychostimulant drugs to mice (cocaine, methamphetamine, […]
An early phase trial of a drug currently used to treat lung fibrosis has shown it may also help patients who suffer from a common form of heart failure. Trialed by University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust doctors and scientists, in conjunction with Liverpool Clinical Trials Centre, pirfenidone could offer a much-needed […]
An experimental drug can prevent intestinal damage caused by celiac disease, an early trial has found—raising hopes that it could become the first medication for the serious digestive disorder. With celiac disease, the immune system attacks the lining of the small intestine when a genetically susceptible person eats gluten—a protein found in wheat, rye and […]
New research being presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) being held online (9-12 July) identifies drugs that could potentially be repurposed for the treatment of gonorrhoea (Neisseria gonorrhoeae [Ng]): a sexually transmitted infection which is becoming increasingly resistant to existing antibiotics. The decreased susceptibility of the Ng bacterium […]
Weight-loss wonder drug that blitzes body fat may also reduce risk of heart attacks and strokes Rybelsus is a daily pill for obesity and diabetes, approved for use in UK last year It cuts calorie intake by mimicking the effects of naturally occurring hormones A third of those on high doses of the drug lose 20 […]
