Drug Discovery & Technology News articles from February 2002

Drug Discovery & Technology News archives from February 2002

BASIC SCIENCE: Growth Hormone Keeps Old Rats Fit.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Growth-hormone therapy in elderly patients (or at least, in elderly rats) may increase hematopoietic cells vital to fighting disease. This conclusion is based on a study published in the February issue of the journal Endocrinology performed...

Too Many Bacteria Cause Ulcers.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Helicobacter pylori has received much attention as the cause of stomach ulcers, but new research by scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) at the University of Michigan shows that many other types of bacteria can cause the...

HIV-like Virus in Wild Chimps.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... An international team of researchers has identified a wild chimpanzee infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVcpz). The identification of the infected animal strengthens the scientific case that wild chimpanzees are the reservoir of...

Turning Off Inflammation.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Johns Hopkins (5601 Loch Raven Blvd., No. 507, Baltimore, MD, 21239-2905; Tel: 410/532-4646) researchers have found an "off- switch" for systemic inflammation, a gene regulator called stat3- beta. The findings may have implications for...

DRUG TARGETS: Water Transport in the Lung.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The movement of water across cell membranes in the lung has long been thought to be a passive process, but a team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (720 Rutland Ave., Baltimore, MD 21205-2196; Tel: 410/955-5000;...

RATIONAL DRUG DESIGN: Chloride Channel Structure Determined.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Using x-ray crystallography, a team of scientists led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Roderick MacKinnon at The Rockefeller University (1230 York Ave., New York, NY; Tel: 212/327-8000; Website: www.rockefeller.edu) has...

Hitting Structurally Conserved Domains.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A team of scientists led by Herbert Waldmann of the Max-Planck- Institute for Molecular Physiology (Dortmund, Germany) has developed a refined concept for a more efficient search for drug candidates. This "domain concept" aims at the...

PROTEOMICS: NanoFab Makes NanoProteomics Arrays.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Scientists at Northwestern University led by Chad Mirkin have developed a new detection technology on the nanometer scale that could lead to the next generation of proteomic arrays and new methods for diagnosing infectious diseases. A report...

DRUG DELIVERY: Hydrofluoroalkane for Delivering Drugs.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 1, 2002... 3M's (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, 3M Center, St. Paul, MN 55144; Tel: 651/733-1110, Fax: 651/736-2133; Website: www.3M.com) Drug Delivery Systems (DDS) division has announced the results of its initial evaluation of hydrofluoroalkane...

DIAGNOSTICS: Glutamine Synthetase Marks Alzheimer's.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Glutamine synthetase (GS) is a highly specific and highly sensitive brain biomarker for Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to a study by George Jackowski and his colleagues published in the February issue of Clinical Chemistry. Syn X Pharma...

Stool Test for Colon Cancer.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Scientists at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins (720 Rutland Ave., Baltimore, MD 21205-2196; Tel: 410/955-5000; Website: www.infonet.welch.jhu.edu) have developed a simple stool test that can detect the earliest,...

Detecting Infection by Subtraction.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Scientists at Dana Farber Cancer Institute (44 Binney St., Boston, MA 02115; Tel: 866/408-3324; Website: www.danafarber.org) have developed a method for detecting foreign bacteria and viruses in human tissue samples, even if the organisms...

Patterns Reveal Ovarian Cancer.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Results of a study published on The Lancet's website (www.thelancet.com) shows that a new method of assessing protein patterns in blood samples was able to detect 100% of ovarian cancer cases, even at the elusive early stage when the cancer...

NEW COMPOUNDS: Microspheres May Heal Foot Ulcers.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Polyheal, Ltd. (44 Bar-Yehuda St., P.O. Box 25205, Haifa, Israel 31250; Tel: 04-8207917, Fax: 04-8207919; Website: www.polyheal.co.il) has initiated a clinical study of Polyheal 1 for the treatment of chronic foot ulcers in diabetic...

Right Isomer Better than Wrong Isomer.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A new, large-scale study shows that levalbuterol, a purified form of the widely used asthma medication albuterol, is effective for children in much smaller doses with fewer side effects than the standard medication. Levalbuterol contains only...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Bush Budgets for Bioterror Measures.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Bush administration budget proposal for fiscal year 2003 includes $518 million to enhance preparedness at the nation's hospitals to respond to incidents of biological or chemical terrorism. The budget also includes another $100 million...

Private Accreditation for Human Clinicals.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has held its first meeting an advisory council that will provide guidance for the development of its planned accreditation program for human research protection (HRP) programs. NCQA recently...

CALENDAR.
February 1, 2002... March 4-5, 2002. 4th Annual Conference on New Technologies to Increase Drug Candidate Survivability. Contact: Strategic Research Institute; Email: gpascual@srinstitute.com or malexay@srinstitute.com March 7-10, 2002. The Molecular...