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Archive for the ‘disease classifications’ Category

The researchers, led by Dr. Atul J. Butte of Stanford University in California have reported their findings in two articles in the latest edition of ‘Science Translational Medicine. “Bringing a new drug to market usually cost around one billion dollars and many years of research and development,” said Dr. Rochelle M. Long, director of the NIH Pharmacologists Research Network, “If we can find ways to reuse drugs already approved, could improve existing treatments and save time and money.

The researchers drew their data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (National Center for Biotechnology Information), a public database containing the results of thousands of genomic studies in a wide range of fields, presented by researchers from around the world. Butte’s group focused on 100 diseases and 164 drugs, creating a computer program to search through thousands of potential drug-disease combinations, drug and disease gene whose expression patterns stalemate. For example, if a disease increases the activity of certain genes, the program tries to match it with one or more drugs that decrease this activity.

Many drug-disease combinations are known and in clinical use, supporting the validity of this approach. For example, the analysis correctly predicted that prednisolone can treat Crohn’s disease, a disease for which this medicine is a standard therapy. Other combinations are novel and surprising: a medicine to treat ulcers (cimetidine) coincided with lung cancer, and an anticonvulsant (topiramate) coincided with inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease.

To confirm the relationship of cimetidine with lung cancer, the team tested the drug on human cells of lung cancer in the laboratory and in cells implanted in mice. In both cases, the drug slowed the growth of cancer cells compared with control cells (or mice) that did not receive cimetidine. To test whether the anticonvulsant topiramate has an effect on inflammatory bowel diseases, the researchers gave the drug to rats who had symptoms of this bowel disease: diarrhea, inflammation, ulcers and microscopic damage in the colon. The drug reduced all these symptoms, sometimes even better than prednisolone.

In addition, scientists noticed that diseases with similar molecular processes (eg, those affecting the immune system) were grouped in the analysis. So did drugs with similar effects (for example, that slow down cell division). Researchers believe that by studying the unexpected members of these groups could learn more about the progress of certain diseases and the operation of some drugs at the molecular level. According to Long, “this research is still at an early stage, but it is a promising method for a creative, fast and affordable at the time of discovering new uses for drugs already have in our armamentarium.”

The enormous effort and investment to tackle malaria, with a view to eradicating one day be lost if you spread a form of the disease that is resistant to the drugs more accessible and widespread throughout the world, today warned the World Health Organization Health Organization (WHO).

To prevent this from happening, the organization presented a global plan to contain resistance to artemisinin, the plant that provides the basis for conventional treatments for type of malaria that causes more deaths.

“Our greatest weapon is threatened,” said WHO Director General Margaret Chan. That is why a plan is urgently needed because there are no other bad drugs that offer the same level of efficacy and tolerability among patients. In that sense, the organization seeks to intensify and coordinate efforts to prevent the spread of the disease in resistant version.

Chan said that recently it was confirmed that the core of the resistant form of malaria is on the border between Thailand and Cambodia, while another outbreak is suspected in the vast area that crosses the Mekong River.

He explained that the specific objective of the global plan to stop the outbreak presented unresponsive to artemisinin, which is currently controlling your home, and avoid or at least delay, international spread.

In the last decade, the number of malaria cases fell 40% in countries where the disease is endemic, so that in this period were saved 750,000 lives. Progress has been most noticeable since 2006, when widespread use of insecticide-treated nets and artemisinin-based treatments.

Among the objectives that trace the global plan are, first, stop the spread of resistant forms of the parasite, although this “will require additional resources,” said Chan. Specifically, it will take between 10 and $ 20 more per person in areas with confirmed resistance and between 8 and 10 dollars in risk areas, such as the Great Mekong.

WHO also considers it essential to intensify the monitoring and surveillance of resistance, because of the 75 countries should systematically undertake efficacy trials of treatments, only 31 comply with them.

“There is a risk that in the areas not under permanent surveillance of resistance to artemisinin resistance extends seamlessly,” according to the body.

Another key measure is to improve access to diagnostic tests for malaria, so that conventional treatments are applied rationally.

When a person who does not get malaria drugs against the disease-which occurs frequently in Africa in cases of fever, increases the risk that your body creates resistance.

Syndrome Post-Holiday Stress can cause sadness, apathy, depression, and tachycardia, shortness of breath, blood, muscle aches and stomach problems and, as experts estimate, affects young adults between 25 and 40.

Patricia Hanson Gabby, director of Hem era, Centre for Studies on Stress and anxiety, said, “A syndrome is defined as a pathological condition associated with a series of concurrent symptoms, usually three or more.” Gabby of Hanson remarked, “Post-holiday stress, as his words indicate, is the stress that comes after the holidays.”

“Although it is accepted as the major disease classifications, is being given increasing importance. Some authors think that this is just a temporary situation that disappears when the person passes the process of adapting to the new situation. For example again work and daily routines in the case of adults and children for back to school, “said the expert.

Also, the specialist said that when the adjustment process fails “generated a series of physical and psychological symptoms” and added that these symptoms, if they last over time, “can affect the quality of life of the sufferer.”

“This table insomnia with marked daytime sleepiness, poor concentration, apathy regarding the tasks that must be faced and anxiety. They can also appear sadness, apathy, depression, tachycardia, shortness of breath, blood, muscle aches and stomach problems, “he added.

Hanson Gabby emphasized that the main cause of this syndrome is the change in the daily rhythm disturbance of the biological clock “and that” during the holiday pace of life suffers a significant change. ““Generally we go to bed later and so does the time to get up. There is a total mess in our habits and our routine. The power varies as well as our social activity,” he said.

The specialist said, “Back to life every day means a sharp change for our organization.” “If we add to this lack of motivation at work or activities to be undertaken to return, the subjective experience can be very negative. The combination of both situations can lead to post-holiday syndrome,” he said.

The specialist said that the most exposed population is young adults “aged between 25 and 40 years.”

“Thumbelina Robles Ortega, a researcher at the University of Granada, said that 35% of Spanish workers have post-holiday syndrome,” he said.