A widely used diabetes medication combined with an antihypertensive drug specifically inhibits tumor growth - this was discovered by researchers from the University of Basel's Biozentrum two years ago. In a follow-up study, recently published in Cell Reports, the scientists report that this drug cocktail induces cancer cell death by switching off their energy supply.
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Statins overprescribed for primary prevention
Even healthy people who don't suffer from a cardiovascular disease are prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs, known as statins, if they meet certain risk criteria. However, for years the use of statins for primary prevention has been hotly debated among experts. "Ultimately, this measure helps to prevent heart attacks or strokes in only a few cases. But all people who take statins are at risk of experiencing the side effects," says Milo Puhan, professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Zurich.
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Cannabis-based compound may reduce seizures in children with epilepsy
Interest has been growing in the use of cannabinoids - the active chemicals in cannabis or marijuana - for the treatment of epilepsy in children. A recent Epilepsia analysis of relevant published studies indicates that this strategy looks promising. The analysis included four randomized controlled trials and 19 non-randomized studies, primarily involving cannabidiol, a particular type of cannabinoid that does not have psychoactive effects.
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CAR-T cell update: Therapy improves outcomes for patients with B-cell lymphoma
In their phase-2 study of tisagenlecleucel (marketed as KYMRIAH®), to be published on-line Dec. 1, 2018 in the New England Journal of Medicine, an international team of researchers evaluated 93 patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). They found that 52 percent of those patients responded favorably to the therapy. Forty percent had a complete response and 12 percent had a partial response.
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When good macrophages go bad
Many factors affect cancer treatment outcome, such as the size and location of the tumor, availability of effective treatments, and timing of intervention. But some cancers are so aggressive that outcome is poor, even after early diagnosis and chemotherapy. Researchers have focused their attention on trying to understand what makes some cancers less treatable than others.
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91 percent response rate for venetoclax against newly diagnosed AML in older adults
Clinical trial results published in the journal Nature Medicine show 91 percent response rate to the combination of venetoclax with azacitidine in older adults newly diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Of 33 patients given combination venetoclax and azacitidine, 20 experienced a complete response (aka complete remission) and eight experienced a complete response but with continued low blood counts.
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New technique for identifying small molecules may speed up drug discovery, manufacturing
A UCLA-led team of scientists has developed a new technique that will enable researchers to easily and quickly determine the structures of organic molecules using very small samples. The work is already drawing significant attention in the scientific community: A preview of the paper that was posted on the website ChemRxiv was downloaded 19,000 times in 24 hours, shattering the site's previous record of 15,000 downloads in six months.
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