News by Subject Medicine & Health

Despite near unanimous objection from its advisory panel, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted aducanumab approval to treat Alzheimer's disease on June 7, 2021. In a commentary published in Annals of Internal Medicine, a member and former Chair of the advisory panel and an aducanumab site investigator explain why this unprecedented "accelerated approval" is problematic for clinical research and patient care.

A study performed by researchers at the Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC) from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in collaboration with Stony Brook University (USA) proposes a new strategy for the development of new drugs based on the inhibition of tyrosine kinase enzymes, molecules that activate and trigger many cellular processes. The results have been published in the Chemistry - A European Journal.

Scientists are already preparing for a possible next coronavirus pandemic to strike, keeping with the seven-year pattern since 2004. In future-looking research, scientists have identified a novel target for a drug to treat SARS-CoV-2 that also could impact a new emerging coronavirus. "God forbid we need this, but we will be ready," said the lead Northwestern scientist.

In the first study to validate conflicting theories, a University of Houston researcher has confirmed that the zinc actually does inhibit and promote the growth of kidney stones at the same time.

Artemisone is a promising substance in the fight against malaria. However, the active ingredient has yet to be used due its instability and because it is not easily absorbed by the body. A team from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has now pushed this a bit further. They have developed a very simple method for preparing the active ingredient that makes it easier to administer and store.