Vol. 1, No. 30, July 12, 2003

H  E  A  L  T H  C  A  R  E     O  N  L  I  N  E

E D I T O R I A  L

Yours sincerely,

Editorial Team

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of its editor or SQUARE PHARMACEUTICALS LTD.   

Vit D & Cancer Cell

Researchers have found another benefit of vitamin D. A new study shows one form of the vitamin may enhance the effect of radiation treatment for breast cancer. Investigators compared tumor growth in mice treated with radiation alone to mice exposed to both radiation and EB 1089, a derivative of vitamin D. After treatment, the tumor volume in those women treated with EB 1089 was 50-percent lower than in the group that received radiation alone. EB 1089 is now in clinical trials in Europe for the treatment of cancer, but it is not being studied with radiation therapy.

SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Cancer Research, 2003;9:2350-2356

Hope for Eczema Patient

New research reveals hope for the millions of people throughout the world who suffer from chronic eczema. Researchers set out to determine if fluticasone propionate (as a cream or ointment) used twice weekly as part of an emollient based maintenance regimen would improve the overall condition of patients. Fluticasone propionate is a new topical corticosteroid with high anti-inflammatory effects and a low incidence of adverse effects. The study consisted of 376 patients recruited during a flare up of atopic dermatitis. These patients were initially treated with fluticasone propionate cream or ointment daily for four weeks to obtain stabilization. There were 295 patients who achieved remission and entered the maintenance phase. Researchers divided the patients into two groups: one applied the same formulation of fluticasone propionate as in the stabilization phase to all healed sites of potential remission twice weekly for up to 16 weeks while the other applied a placebo. Both groups applied an emollient twice daily during the course of their maintenance. Results from the study show an increase in the median time to relapse from six weeks for patients using the emollient only to more than 16 weeks for those adding fluticasone propionate to their maintenance regimen. Those using the cream were 5.8-times less likely to have a relapse than those using an emollient alone. Those using the ointment were 1.9-times less likely to have a relapse than emollient-only users. Researchers conclude that the addition of fluticasone propionate to the maintenance treatment of patients who have reached stabilization will significantly reduce their risk of relapse

SOURCE: British Medical Journal, 2003;326:1367-1370

Protein & Stroke Risk

New research shows having high levels of the protein CRP, C-reactive protein, could be a risk factor for stroke. Researchers studied more than 5,000 patients, aged 65 and older, to identify common risk factors for heart disease in the elderly. The participants were divided into four groups based on their CRP levels. Ten years after the study began, more than 450 patients suffered a stroke. Patients who had the highest levels of CRP were 60-percent more likely to have a stroke than those with the lowest levels of CRP. Participants in the group with the second-highest levels of CRP were 19-percent more likely to have a stroke. Thus, there was a significant correlation between high CRP levels and the risk of stroke. Researchers also found patients with thick artery walls have a higher risk of suffering a stroke. Patients who had thin artery walls showed no association between CRP levels and an increased risk of stroke. Researchers say monitoring CRP levels and measuring artery-wall thickness are not the only ways to determine stroke risk. Other risk factors include high LDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, and a history of smoking.

SOURCE: Ivanhoe Newswire

Gene & Angioplasty

Gene therapy may represent a safe means of boosting the success of surgery to open blocked blood vessels, according to preliminary study findings. Researchers discovered that patients who receiving gene therapy after angioplasty experienced no additional side effects and some gene therapy patients showed a significant improvement in blood flow to the heart muscle - a change not seen in patients who underwent angioplasty alone. The gene used in the treatment codes for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a substance may naturally produced in the body that promotes blood vessel formation. Boosting heart cell's production of VEGF may improve the success of angioplasty because the surgery can only clear up one or a few narrowed blood vessels and many more may be in trouble. After the surgery, the researchers transferred the VEGF gene into the bodies of 65 patients, using two different methods. In one method, an adenovirus -- a respiratory virus modified so that it would be unlikely to cause harm -- was used as a vector, or "vehicle,"  to transfer the VEGF gene to patients arteries. The other method used molecules called liposomes as the vector. Six months after the treatment, the researchers found that patients who received the adenovirus gene therapy showed an improvement in blood flow to the heart muscle. There was some improvement in blood flow, although not as significant, in patients who did not undergo gene therapy and in those who received the liposome - based gene therapy. All groups tended to show better exercise capacity.

Source: Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association 2003, 107

New Weight-Loss Drugs

The findings come in two separate reports. In the first study, obese people lost 13 pounds after 16 weeks of adding the epilepsy drug Zonisamide to a low-calorie diet. In the second study, the optimal dose of the experimental drug Axokine helped obese people lose nine pounds in 12 weeks. Zonisamide is already FDA approved. It's used to treat epilepsy. During clinical trials, epilepsy patients treated with the drug lost weight. Researchers put 60 obese volunteers on a low-calorie diet. Half also got Zonisamide; the others got a look alike placebo. After 16 weeks, those who got only the diet lost about two pounds. But those getting Zonisamide lost an average of 13 pounds. Side effects - mostly fatigue -- were mild. However, Zonisamide is known to cause dizziness, impaired thinking and sleepiness in epilepsy patients. The results of this short-term study provide preliminary evidence that in conjunction with diet, can be more effective than diet alone for obese patients seeking to lose weight. Axokine is a brand new drug with hopes of being a totally different kind of weight-lose drug. The drug affects a powerful brain system called the leptin pathway. Leptin is a chemical messenger that tells you when you've had enough to eat. Obese people have leptin resistance; they lose the ability to know when they're full. Axokine appararently bypassess this resistance and flips the fullness switch.

Source:WebMD

Fish & Eye Problem

New research shows that people who eat the most fish have the fewest eye problems. The first of these problems is age related macular degeneration. Analysis dietary data from 4,513 60- to 80 year old participants in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study. Those who ate fish more than twice a week were half as likely to get macular degeneration as those who ate no fish at all. More than one weekly portion of broiled/backed fish or tuna lowered the risk by a third. In the second study, research found that women whose diets had the most omega 3 fatty acids - as measured by how much fish they ate -- were least likely to have dry eye syndrome. Those diets had the most fish oil less likely to have dry eye syndrome than those whose diets had the least fish oil. Eating tuna was particularly helpful. Those that ate two to four servings of tuna a week had an 18% lower risk of dry eye syndrome than those who ate less tuna. Eating five or six four-ounce servings of tuna every week lowered this risk by a whopping 66%.

Source:WebMD

Source: WHO

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