Upcoming clinical trials for Ebola treatments

An international consortium has recently been approved to test Ebola treatments.  However, these studies will not have a randomized design or an untreated control group leading many to question whether the results will be informative http://www.sciencemag.org/content/346/6212/908.full

Patients in the spare Ebola treatment unit in Kenema, Sierra Leone, in August

J Cohen, and K Kupferschmidt Science 2014;346:908-911

The source of the current Ebola outbreak?

This article describes the efforts to identify the source of the current Ebola outbreak, this individual may have contracted the disease and how this has impacted his relatives and community http://www.the-scientist.com//?articles.view/articleNo/41353/title/Patient-Zero-Identified-/

Nobel prize winners weigh in on side effects

Here is a video of interviews with Nobel prize winners on the side effects of drugs and whether or not they can be eliminated http://bcove.me/i7c07hox.  You will probably not be surprised to hear that our genetics are involved.

NSAIDS in the environment and compliance and ethics in clinical trials

Some important pharmacological issues that have been discussed this week center on  environmental problems and clinical trials issues.  The use of anti-inflammatory drugs known as NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) in farm animals is having a signficant impact on those higher up in the food chain-vultures http://www.nature.com/news/poisoned-vulture-could-herald-european-bird-crisis-1.16161.

Issues in the clinical trials arena include compliance, that is, how do we know that the participants in the clinical trials are actually taking the drugs like we think they are? http://www.sciencemag.org/content/346/6207/288.full.

Finally, the global concerns regarding how we can rapidly develop drugs to effectively treat Ebola continues to raise ethical issues http://www.sciencemag.org/content/346/6207/289.full

Should clinical trials always include a placebo control group?

In this article, some are questioning whether the use of a placebo control in clinical trials performed to test the effectiveness of potential Ebola therapies is ethical http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/13/us-health-ebola-drugtrials-idUSKCN0I20W520141013.

Drug metabolizing enzymes and coffee intake

As recent study has shown that variations in genes involved in the metabolism and disposition of caffeine (AHR, CYP1A1, POR and ABCG2) can influence how much coffee we drink (http://www.the-scientist.com//?articles.view/articleNo/41167/title/Java-Genes-/)

The new U.S.commitment to Ebola and the ecology of fear

The Ebola news this past week includes the announcement by President Obama that the U.S. will provide troops, engineers to build new treatment centers and training for healthcare workers

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/16/world/africa/obama-to-announce-expanded-effort-against-ebola.html?_r=0.

As these efforts progress, two essays remind us  1) of the historical ecology of fear associated with our involvement with disease in Africa http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1411244?query=TOC and 2) the need to do solid science and perform ethical field clinical studies http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1409817?query=TOC.

Problems associated with drug therapy in senior citizens.

In class, we will be discussing how different population groups respond to drugs.  In this article, the impact of over medicating senior citizens with dementia is described http://www.scpr.org/blogs/health/2014/09/09/17271/advanced-dementia-patients-often-prescribed-unnece/.  This second article reports on use of drugs in pilots (many who are older) who were involved in fatal crashes http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/10/us/pilot-drug-use-plane-crashes.html

Update on drugs being developed to treat Ebola

This article gives a very nice overview on where we currently are with respect to developing drugs to be used for treating Ebola http://www.ddn-news.com/index.php?newsarticle=8771&

More on the Ebola Crisis

The current Ebola outbreak has raised many issues pertaining to our current drug development and approval process.  The WHO has issued a statement regarding the ethics for use of experimental drugs in patients infected with Ebola (http://www.nature.com/news/should-experimental-drugs-be-used-in-the-ebola-outbreak-1.15698).  A major concern is whether or not these drugs are effective (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/business/drug-used-for-ebola-related-virus-shows-promise.html?_r=0).  Unfortunately, cases of fraudulent claims have been reported by the FDA (http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/pressannouncements/ucm410086.htm).  Since our current supply is limited, what criteria should be used in deciding which patients will receive the drug (http://www.nature.com/news/scale-up-the-supply-of-experimental-ebola-drugs-1.15736)?.  Finally, how do we better protect the health care workers (http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/40864/title/Ebola-s-Toll-on-Healthcare-Workers/)?

Ebola virus and the Kentucky Connection

This past week, the Ebola epidemic has reached home as two healthcare workers have transported from Africa to Emory University Hospital.  Their treatment, which is still considered to be experimental, is described here as a "three anibody cocktail"  http://www.the-scientist.com//?articles.view/articleNo/40700/title/Serum-to-Stop-Ebola-/.  The drug was generated in Owensboro Kentucky using tobacco plants to generated the antibodies http://www.kentucky.com/2014/08/04/3365612/drug-given-to-american-ebola-victims.html.  This will be the first time the drug has been tested in humans.

Hit hard and hit fast....how to kill bacteria

This news story recently published in PNAS gives a very nice, brief review on the history of antibiotics and a few strategies that may be used for developing new ones-http://www.pnas.org/content/111/31/11227.full.

Is Sovaldi worth its $84,000 price tage?

One of the biggest healthcare issues that is being discussed especially in the United States is cost and in particular, whether newly developed drugs are worth their relatively high cost.  In other words, does the new drug bring a significant improvement in our ability to treat diseases  that is justified by its cost to the patient and/or to society.  One of the most recent drugs that enters into this realm of discussion is Sovaldi that has been developed to treat hepatitis.  http://nyti.ms/1ojC07D

The Pill linked to breast cancer risk for younger women

A number of studies have been performed to try to determine whether taking oral contraceptives impacts a woman's risk for developing breast cancer.  Despite the attention grabbing headlines of this most recent study, the scientists who were interviewed do not think we should be overly concerned that taking the pill will increase risk of developing breast cancer.  Why is that?? It is important to consider how we interpret risk.   The Pill linked to breast cancer risk for younger women

Big Marijuana — Lessons from Big Tobacco — NEJM

Big Marijuana — Lessons from Big Tobacco — NEJM

Article on circadian regulation of response to tamoxifen

Our understanding of how circadian rhythms regulate response to drugs is yet emerging.  This study ( http://www.the-scientist.com//?articles.view/articleNo/40591/title/Light-s-Dark-Side/) indicates that in women with breast cancer who are being treated with the anti-estrogen tamoxifen are exposed to light, the anti-tumor effects of the drug are decreased.  This has significant implications for women who work the night shift, travel extensively or perhaps even just a normal night owl.

Recent article on detecting dementia

Dementia 'predicted by slow walking speed and memory problems'

To read the full article, please go to:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/280237.php

Celebrating Women In Science - Video Series

Celebrating Women In Science - Video Series