This past week there has been a new drug discovery that assists in the clotting of platelets. This drug is effective for treating a rare blood disorder that is related to hemophilia and that can cause excessive bleeding that can lead to death.

The good news is that, the Food and Drug Administration said that the new drug discovery from researchers at Amgen can be ready for distribution and sale in the United States.

This is an inject able drug that helps simulate bone marrow. It mimics bodily functions to fool the brain into thinking the body can produce platelet, The idea is that that the body thinks it is producing blood platelets and acts normally in response to a cu tor an injury and thereby compensates for the disorder.

The specific rare blood disorder that it can assist is called h chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura. The disease destroys platelet ceils and the lower platelet levels trigger bleeding. People with condition are also more like to bruise very easily and this new drug discovery is also apt for preventing that condition as well.

The release of this drug is fortuitous as there are not many drugs currently available that do successfully treat this disease.

There is one caveat however. The FDA approved its use for patients only as a last resort and after other available treatments fail to help. This means that already approved ITP treatments include steroids, immune-suppressing drugs or surgery to remove the spleen would be tried first.

In terms of cost the drug is expected to be comparable in cost to other standard treatment regiments.

GlaxoSmithKline is putting out a rival drug, Promacta, or eltrombopag, faces an FDA approval decision by September 19. Angen is the first company to actually register the drug.

Angen says that it will seek approval for the drug in other countries including Canada, Switzerland, Australia and countries in Europe.

Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a new medication for fighting flu and cold symptoms. It is a liquid  made from aloe vera that when sprayed into the nose turns into a proactive layer of jelly.

This is a part of a larger directive to try and fight the bird flu epidemic that scientists have been predicting will be the next epidemic and be a threat in the near future. The vaccine also has the potential for other uses such as preventing other types of viruses such as the common cold and also protecting people (such as nurses and doctors) in hospitals.

The jelly is not just a physical layer of protection. It is also an absorbable vaccine. This unique drug discovery is funded by a six million dollar grant from the NIH (National Instates of Health) and is being developed by DelSite Biotechnologies in conjunction with the Texas teams. The key to this drug’s success has largely to do with how the vaccine is being delivered into the body. It is key to the success of using aloe vera leaves. The aloe vera is machinated into a powder so that it is chemically pure. It is then combined with the flu vaccine and sprayed up the nostrils where the jelly forms the protective layer. This jelly is very natural and is absorbed very easily and naturally into the body. It gives it more staying power and time to do its work.

All that will be needed in the future to protect the body from the flu is two or three puffs of this stuff into the nose. It is more effective than a normal spray because it stays inside the nose and lines the nostril. A powder form of the aloe vera plant was also experimented with but it also was not ery effective. However it can be stored in a powdered form and then mixed up when needed to put into the nose. This is good because it means millions of doses can be stored and used in an emergency in the case of a pandemic case of bird flu.

Scientists are on their way to a new prescription drug discovery that might help fight bird flu. The drug might also be beneficial for treating other strains of flu as well.

Researchers have managed to figure out the structure of the influenza A virus that is similar to the proteins in the virus expected to be in the bird flu virus. This protein is what suppresses a person’s defenses and makes them vulnerable to additional illnesses. Including virulent ones like the upcoming Bird Flu. The Bird Flu is classified as an influenza A just like the other “plague viruses” that came before it including the virus that characterized the pandemic flu in 1918.

These researchers have discovered how to prevent this protein found in A type flu viruses from binding to human cells and thereby preventing infection completely. Once bound to NS1 the human protein can no longer generate molecules needed to suppress flu virus replication. The drug will, in a sense be able to locate the Achilles heel of the infection and combat it completely.

The discovery of this protein and how it could be used to create a new drug appears in PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) Early Edition and will be published in an upcoming issue of the PNAS print edition.

This project was supported by two different institutes at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). As in many other countries these two studies are complimenting each other. Support for the research was provided by the Protein Structure Initiative (PSI) of the NIH Institute of General Medical Sciences

These studies are also part of follow-on to the human genome project, which is providing large numbers of protein samples and three-dimensional structures of biologically important proteins to the broad scientific community so they can do valuable research with regards to fighting plague type viruses and potential pandemics.

According to the blogger at Mind Hacks a new drug has been created to treat a new disorder that few of us have hardly heard of. Mind Hacks is a blog that is somewhat suspicious if any type of diagnosed psychological disorder and also psychiatric diagnosis and it is a bit dubious about the legitimacy of DSCACDAD, The blog implies that this is one of these disorders that was actually created to help sell a drug.

The life changing new prescription drug is called Havidol. The proper chemical name for this drug is Avafynetyme HCl) and you could find it marketed or prescribed under either name in the future. It is probably going to be expensive so remember the generic name for it as well.

So just what exactly does having this disorder entail? The symptoms are very broad and include feeling nervous or tense for no reason, worrying all the time about life, being fatigued, being controlling, obsessing about weight, obsessing at aging, feeling stress at work or all of the sudden. Skeptical types simply describe this as being part of the human condition and are not impressed by the disorder in the least. Many of the concerns that are actually symptoms are legit imitate worries such as worrying about one’s weight. Should this type of symptom really be treated as an illness? Should life issues really be treated with meds.

The drug works by targeting the recently discovered hormone called heroine. Hedonine works by boosting the brain’s reward system. It is a solution for when “feeling better is

Havidol joins other next generation drugs Fukitol, Panexa, Progenitorivox and Proloxil as medications that not only affect the brain, but also seem to be treated to create life issues, psychologal issues and matters to do with spirituality.

There is a new type of drug being released by a company called Biodelivery Sciences. According to Biz Journals, U.S. drug regulators are on the verge of approving a drug called Onsolis.

The approval is taking a long time because there are more trials to-do with the drug than expected. The FDA has sent the company a letter promising that it will be approved once tweaks are made to the application for approval. The drug, which will be very helpful to the mitigating the pain suffered by cancer patients.

The drug waiting approval is called Onsolis and it is a painkiller for cancer sufferers. It is a patch that is attached o the inside of the mouth and then releases a painkiller called fentanyl.

This is a very powerful painkiller and it is used to treat what is called break through pin in cancer victims. Sometimes this is also noted as pain that is experienced on top of the chronic pain felt by many people who are stricken with cancer.

During the FDA review there were no problems found with the drug itself. Instead the drug company was asked to create a new risk management plan for the drug . This is because the application that Biodelivery Sciences created did not meet changes to FDA regulations.

Basically, the U.S. Federal Food and Drug Administration want Biodelivery Sciences to develop what’s known as a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy. A REMS, as the plan is known for short, is a plan to help employ a drug with a known risk or side effect. The known side effect in this case is the risk of addiction because the drug is opiate based.

Despite snarls of red tape the drug is expected to be fully approved once the company makes amendments to all of the paperwork and submits the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy. The drug is expected to be related in late 2009.

According to Bloomberg.com Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. It has done testing on a medication it already developed some years called Azilect.

Researchers working for Teva found that drug can slow down the progress of Parkinson’s Disease. Azilect is normally used for depression but according to Teva, who announced the results at a medical conference in Madrid in late August, it can be used to treat this serious neurological disorder as well.

Parkinson’s is incredibly widespread across the world and if this drug is approved the new prescription drug development company stands to make billions. The disease is lethal and dehabilitating and destroys all of the nerve functions.

The pill is is the result of a very large research study involving patients who took the pill over a period of eighteen months right at the outset of symptoms tended to recover better than those who started the drug later. In other words, starting this drug as soon as possible is the most effective way to use it.

Azilect is an older drug. In fact it was the second drug to be developed by this company. Teva first released it in 2005. This news that Azilect might have a second application is very significant because it might bail Teva out of some financial trouble. Not all of the drugs this innovative company has developed in the past few years have been that successful. The drug is considered important because if it can help Parkinson’s Disease further research may also reveal that it can assist with other conditions as well that qualify as being afflictions of the central nervous system.

The company needs investment in further research which is why the news about Azilect was delivered in front of an audience of doctors.

Today’s data may increase Azilect’s share of the $3.68 billion global market for Parkinson’s disease medicines.

According to an article in Science Daily, researchers at The University of Nottingham have received an almost four million dollar grant from the drug company Wellcome to discover a drug that could ease the pain and suffering of heart and lung sufferers who cannot tolerate beta blocker drugs.

In the UK it is estimated that 2.6 million people are afflicted with heart disease and most can have their suffering alleviated through the prescribing of beta blocker drugs. They work by halting the production of beta blocker drugs which prevent the body from producing adrenaline. This in turn stops the heart from working too hard.

Unfortunately beta blockers have side effects to do with breathing. Many people simply develop asthma. People who already have respiratory conditions are also not able to take the usual beta blockers.

A three-year study is in the works to develop a modified type of beta-blocker that will treat heart disease and angina without making any underlying respiratory problems worse than they have to be.

This drug could become the medicine of choice for patients because there will be a reduced chance of side effects. One side effect that will likely be addressed is the way the muscles in the lungs tighten and naked breathing more difficult in some patients who have a pre-existing lung problem.

People who have asthma have never been able to take these heart drugs but now they can. This new prescription drug simply does not jeopardize the respiratory system in the same way that the beta blockers do — this means that smokers with heart problems can be treated as well.

Unfortunately this is also one of those prescription drug discoveries that is quite a few years away from being approved but the good news is that once all of the clinical trials have been completed they probably will be.

There has been a new prescription drug discovery and that is that some drugs prescribed for people with HIV work quite well to treat drug addiction as well. Canadian researchers prevented this new researching in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The information was presented at an international AIDS conference in Mexico City.
The discovery that HIV addicts could benefit from HIV drugs came as the result of a concern that drug addicted sick people were not receiving the same kind of treatment as non addicted ones. In fact a large number of studies have show that because of a lack of address, phone and other problems that most drug addicts have trouble getting the full benefits of HIV drugs (a cocktail known as HAART)
The study was done in Vancouver where drug addiction is a serious problem at the University of British Columbia and St. Paul’s hospital in Vancouver, Canada.
Over three thousand addicted individuals were studied at Canadian Clinics from 1996 to 2006. One quarter of these people in the try were injecting users of heroin.
They all got highly active antiretroviral therapy or HAART — the cocktails of drugs that help control human immunodeficiency virus. These drugs do not cure AIDS or HIV but they help manage the symptoms.
Each participant in the trial was administered the HIV cocktail for as long as they lived. After five years of taking the drug cocktails only 26 percent of the drug abusers. Twenty two percent of people infected another way died. The difference was not statistically that significant as similar death rates were found in groups that did not take these drugs.
However it still could not be ruled that the cocktail was useless. For whatever reason it seemed to extend the life span of addicts.

According to Healthday News several types of prescription drugs are about to be marketed for a new purpose pending U.S. FDA approval. That is because research has shown that some medications that affect the memory might be able to prevent drug addiction. This is because it prevents the junky from remembering pleasurable experiences to do with the drug and thus blocks drug cravings.
Researchers in the United Kingdom did experiments with rats by blocking their brain messages through the administration of doses of an NMDA type glutamate receptor that is already found in all kinds of different drugs. These are essential for learning and memory as well as the recall of drug associated memories.
Researchers have known for a very long time that memories of having a good time on drugs or environmental triggers and cures have a lot to do with provoking a relapse.
In the study that was published in the Journal of Neuroscience on August 13th it was found that rats addicted to cocaine responded positively to these transmitters. The researchers used a light flashing so the rats could associate cocaine with light. The rats would constantly reactivate the lights trying to get the cocaine until they were given the NMDA type glutamate receptor. In just as a single treatment this brain blocker reduced or outright stopped the drug seeking behavior for up to a month.
The findings suggest combining existing psychological and group therapy with properly timed use of NMDA receptor inhibitors may help addicts kick their habits forever
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration already has approved several NMDA receptor inhibitors, including the cough suppressant dextramethorphan and the Alzheimer’s disease drug memantine for use with hard core addicts.

According to an article in Science Alert mankind is one step closer to developing a cure for cancer with a prescription drug discovery that represents the first step in developing new anti-cancer medications. These drugs might activate a gene that is shown to block the growth of cancer causing cells. This would do a great service to humanity in the long run if only a new prescription drug could be made that could employ use of this gene.

In order for cancer cells to be slowed down a gene called the His5 gene must be slowed down. Scientist have recently screened a collection of drug-like molecules and identified a number of compounds that can increase the levels of this gene. The problem now is how to take it through the number of trials it needs to get it through to FDA clinical trials and then through to the stage where it can be defined as a new drug.

The discovery of a medication that can slow down the development of cancer cells can be very encouraging for both doctors and cancer patients. The actual tumor suppressing abilities of the His5 gene were discovered in 2004 but as is typical of drug discoveries research and funding for this project has been happening very slowly.

The study on this tumor slowing gene was started at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) by Director Professor Peter Kline, Part of the research has also including identifying other compounds and drug like compounds that also increase the efficiency of the Hls5 gene when it comes to slowing down these tumors.

It has also been revealed that people who don’t have this gene are more susceptible to rapidly killing cancers.

In addition to this basic research the researchers have screened over seventy thousand other compounds to see if they have a similar ability to fend off tumors. Many of these compounds have drug like qualities that will be soon taken through progressive phases of laboratory testing with the ultimate goal of seeing if these molecules can be used to slow the growth of cancer cells in people.