UCLA researchers have developed a feedback control scheme that can search for the most effective drug combinations to treat a variety of conditions, including cancers and infections. The discovery could play a significant role in facilitating new clinical drug-cocktail trials.

The U.N.-affiliated drug control board claimed that marijuana vending machines in Los Angeles violate international treaties and demand that vending machines should be shut down.

Early identification of adverse effects of drugs before they are tested in humans is crucial in developing new therapeutics, as unexpected effects account for a third of all drug failures during the development process.

Naltrexone is one of four oral medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of alcoholism. A recent large multicenter research study of alcohol dependence supported by the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), the COMBINE Study, suggested that naltrexone produced a modest but significant benefit but another FDA-approved medication, acamprosate, was ineffective.

A gene discovered by scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine has been linked to lupus and related autoimmune diseases. The finding, reported in the current issue of Nature Genetics, is the latest in a series of revelations that shed new light on what goes wrong in human cells to cause the diseases.

A review of previous studies indicates that an increase in prescription drug cost sharing is associated with a decrease in drug spending and use of pharmacies; and for some chronic conditions, higher cost sharing is associated with greater use of expensive medical services, according to an article in the July 4 issue of JAMA.

A synthetic version of a molecule found in the egg cells of the Northern Leopard frog (Rana pipiens) could provide the world with the first drug treatment for brain tumours.

4SC AG (Frankfurt, Prime Standard: VSC) reported positive results for its drug candidate SC12267 in a preclinical proof of concept study for the treatment of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. In addition to the indication of rheumatoid arthritis, which is presently evaluated in a clinical phase IIa study, the company is thus opening up a further important autoimmune disease indication for this agent, which may significantly increase the substance's market potential.

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have determined a key mechanism by which the body regulates iron metabolism, a discovery that may provide new approaches for the treatment of anemia.

Irrational use of medicines is a major problem all over the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) and many other bodies are concentrating on improving the use of medicines. Problem-based teaching of Pharmacology and Therapeutics to undergraduate medical students has been recognized as a key intervention to improve the use of medicines.

In a ground-breaking study published in the top journal, Cell, Dr. James Dennis, senior investigator at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital, has discovered a new role for sugars on proteins.