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Thursday, October 8, 2009
Target gene ID'd in bone marrow disease
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - U.S. medical geneticists say they have
identified a possible new target gene for treatment of myelo-
dysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow disease. Van Andel Re-
search Institute scientists in Grand Rapids, Mich., said
their findings move science one step closer to finding new
ways to treat the disease that sometimes leads to acute
myeloid leukemia. Researchers said they found the gene RhoB
is important to the disease's progression and could prove to
be a therapeutic target for late-stage myelodysplastic syn-
drome. "Using our genetic models, we've been able to provide
a better understanding of underlying molecular defects that
drive the malignant progression of (the disease)," said Art
Alberts, who led the research. "The genes that we've focused
on in this study might have a role not only in leukemia, but
in solid tumors as well." The research was recently reported
in the online journal PLoS One.
New blood thinner effective as warfarin
CLEVELAND - A new drug protects against stroke, blood clot-
ting and bleeding as effectively as warfarin, but with fewer
side effects, U.S. and Spanish reviewers say. The reviewers
for F1000 Medicine -- Robert Ruff of the Louis Stokes Cleve-
land VAMC; Brian Olshansky of University of Iowa Hospitals;
and Luis Ruilope of Complutense University in Madrid -- said
the original paper compared the blood thinner Dabigatran to
the traditional used blood thinner warfarin in patients with
atrial fibrillation. The study by Neal Devaraj, Stuart
Connolly and colleagues, published in the New England Journal
of Medicine, says finding the correct dosage of warfarin re-
quires careful and laborious monitoring and the risk of major
bleeding has led to it being under used. With fewer side
effects and complications than warfarin, the reviewers say
dabigatran has many potential benefits. Olshansky says it is
"perhaps one of the important drug discoveries in the past
decade." "This oral anticoagulant prevents strokes and per-
ipheral embolic events in patients with atrial fibrillation
significantly better than that much older drug (warfarin) at
different doses. It is also safer than warfarin with respect
to major bleeding events," Ruilope says in a statement.
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FDA says heparin potency to be reduced
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says a
change in heparin manufacturing controls will reduce the
blood-thinning drug's potency. "To ensure the quality of
heparin and to guard against potential contamination, the
United States Pharmacopeia -- a non-profit standards-setting
organization -- adopted new manufacturing controls for hep-
arin," the FDA said in a statement. "These changes include
a modification of the reference standard for the drug's unit
dose." In an alert issued to healthcare professionals Thurs-
day, the FDA said: "The changes adopted by the USP for the
heparin unit dose match the World Health Organization's
International Standard unit dose definition that has been
in use in Europe for many years. The revised USP reference
standard and unit definition for heparin is about 10 percent
less potent than the former USP unit," the FDA said. Offi-
cials said for heparin, a unit dose is the measure of the
drug's ability to block the blood's natural clotting ability.
Heparin's potency is determined by the dose of the drug re-
quired to produce a specific level of anticoagulation. While
the USP manufacturing controls took effect Thursday, the FDA
said it has asked manufacturers not ship the new product to
customers until Oct. 8 or later so as to give healthcare
providers time to learn about the changes and to make adjust-
ments to their pharmacy procedures and dosing practices.
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Study may lead to new ulcer treatments
ZARAGOZA, Spain - Spanish scientists say they've identified
substances that can block a chemical pathway needed by bac-
teria that cause stomach ulcers and other diseases. Professor
Javier Sancho and colleagues at Zaragoza University said they
knew from past research that blocking flavodoxin, a key pro-
tein needed by Helicobacter pylori bacteria for survival,
could be the key to developing antibiotics specifically tar-
geting the gastritis- and ulcer-causing bacteria. Sancho's
team screened 10,000 chemicals for their ability to block
flavodoxin and identified four that showed promise. They
said they then showed three of the four substances killed
H. pylori in cell cultures and did not have any apparent
toxic effects in lab animals. "These new inhibitors consti-
tute promising candidates to develop new specific antibiotics
against H. pylori," the researchers said. The research is to
be reported in the Oct. 16 issue of the journal Chemical Bio-
logy.
231 new genes ID'd in head, neck cancer
SAN DIEGO - A U.S. study reports identifying 231 new genes
associated with head and neck cancer, which is responsible
for 2.1 percent of all U.S. cancer deaths. Researchers at
Henry Ford Hospital in San Diego said previously, only 33
genes were associated with head and neck cancer. "These new
genes should advance selection of head and neck-specific
gene targets, opening the door to promising new molecular
strategies for the early detection and treatment of head and
neck cancer," says study lead author Maria Worsham, director
of otolaryngology research at the hospital. "It also may
offer the opportunity to help monitor disease progression
and a patient's response to treatment." Results from the
study were presented last Sunday in San Diego during the
annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head
& Neck Surgery Foundation.
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