e-SQUARE, January 2009

Features

Antidepressants And Fibromyalgia !

Treadmill Helps PAD Patients !

Brain Tumor Alert !

Colon Cancer Defense !

Cancer Fighter !

GERD Relief !

New Products of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

EDITORIAL TEAM

OMAR AKRAMUR RAB

MBBS, FCGP, FIAGP,

P G Dip. Business Management

MAHFUZUR RAHMAN, MBBS

EDITORIAL

Dear Doctor,

Happy New Year !

We welcome you to the first issue of "e-SQUARE", 2009 !

Firstly, we thank you for your feedback and support in the past years ! We sincerely hope we can look forward to your continued support in 2009 as well.

In this issue, we focused on some interesting features like -
"Antidepressants And Fibromyalgia !", "Treadmill Helps PAD Patients !", "Brain Tumor Alert !", "Colon Cancer Defense !",
"Cancer Fighter !", "GERD Relief !".

In our regular feature, we have some new products information of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd. as well.

Please send your feedback ! We always value your comments !

On behalf of the management of SQUARE, we wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous life.

Click on to reply mode.

Yours sincerely,

Editorial Team

Reply Mode : e-square@squaregroup.com

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

Antidepressants and Fibromyalgia !
Antidepressants May Help Fibromyalgia Patients
Researchers found that the use of antidepressants on patients with fibromyalgia, a disease defined by chronic pain, tenderness, fatigue, and sleep difficulties, can reduce pain, sleep disturbances, and improve the depressed mood. According to the American College of Rheumatology, fibromyalgia affects between 2 and 4 percent of the population, mostly women; but the disease has high direct and indirect related costs. In order to improve the lifestyle of those suffering from the disease, 1,427 patients were tested to see the effects of antidepressants. Research shows that monoamine oxidase inhibitors, serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and tricyclic antidepressants were helpful in reducing pain and fatigue. The antidepressants helped in lifting the mood of patients and allowing a better nights rest. As the long-term effects of the use of antidepressants are still unknown, doctors are waiting to initiate treatment. Individual patient characteristics must still be studied to determine the positive and negative therapeutic outcomes. Researchers must still determine whether the benefits outweigh the negative effects, but there is hope for the future.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe Newswire, January 2009	Return to top

Treadmill Helps PAD Patients !
Treadmill Walks Help PAD Patients
Research shows that those with Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) can better their walking performance, endurance, and quality of life through supervised treadmill exercise. It's a disease that affects one in 16 adults above the age of 40. The disease can cause pain in the legs; however, the treadmill exercises can help those with or without classic symptoms of pain in leg muscles. One-hundred-and-fifty-six patients with PAD were randomly assigned to treadmill exercise or to a control group for six months. The treadmill group was tested on a six-minute walk performance, a health survey of physical functioning, a short physical performance battery, and a change in the diameter of an artery in the arm. Those in the supervised treadmill exercise group improved their physical functioning score and walking performance. Evidence also shows those in the treadmill exercise group increased significantly in the amount of average walking time at the six month follow up in comparison to the control group. "Based on the findings in this trial, physicians should recommend supervised treadmill exercise programs from PAD patients, regardless of whether they have class symptoms," study authors suggested.
SOURCE: JAMA, January 2009	Return to top

Brain Tumor Alert !
Eliminating Brain Tumors
New approaches to gene therapy have been found that help eradicate brain tumors and boost the power of the immune system. Scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles found that HMGB1, a protein released from deteriorating tumor cells, activates dendritic cells and stimulates anti-tumor responses by attaching to an inflammatory receptor known as toll-like receptor 2, TLR2. Evidence shows that toll receptors are responsible for not only recognizing bacterial components, but also prompting a response against tumors. The combined gene therapeutic approach works by releasing tumor protein, HMGB1, which activates TLR2, resulting in the activation and expansion of tumor-antigen cells. The result of the new therapy: regression of brain tumors and increased survival time by six months. "The discovery of a central role for HMGB1 and TLR2 in overcoming immune ignorance to brain tumor antigens provides a new therapeutic approach in the fight against brain tumors," according to the Director of the Gene Therapeutics Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai. Traditional approaches to cancer treatment, such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, have fallen short of providing improvements for long term survival. Immunotherapy, the eradication of brain cancer cells by using the patient's immune system, is the future. The new gene therapy has only been tested in laboratory and animal studies but testing in a human clinical trial will take place later this year.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe Newswire, January 2009	Return to top

Colon Cancer Defense !
Natural Defense against Colon Cancer
New evidence showed maslinic acid, a compound found in olive oil, can provide a natural defense against cancerous cells. Researchers at the University of Granada and University of Barcelona have demonstrated maslinic acid, a triterpenoid compound that regulates cell growth, can be used to treat colon carcinoma. Triterpenoids are responsible for the obstruction of carcinogenisis -- the creation of cancer. By inhibiting cell proliferation, maslinic acid is able to cause the destruction of human HT29 colon cancer cells. The study is the first to hone in on the anti-tumoral effects of maslinic acid as an inexpensive cancer treatment. The agent is found in most people's daily diet. "The results of the study could contribute to the development of maslinic acid for use as cancer chemotherapeutic or chemopreventive agents," according to the study authors.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe Newswire, January 2009	Return to top

Cancer Fighter !
Black Raspberries Fight Cancer
Black raspberries not only taste delicious, and now scientists say they may also help ward off cancer. A study by the Ohio State Comprehensive Center revealed black raspberries contain the cancer fighting agent known as anthocyanins, a class of flavonoids that inhibit the growth of esophageal cancer in rats. "Our data provide strong evidence that anthocyanins are important for cancer prevention," according to a professor in the department of internal medicine at Ohio State University. Rats were fed an extract from black raspberries rich in anthocyanin and found it was nearly as effective in preventing esophageal cancer in rats as whole black raspberries were. The researchers have previously studied whole berry powder in patients, but that required a dose of up to 60 grams a day of the substance. "Now that we know the anthocyanins in berries are almost as active as whole berries themselves, we hope to be able to prevent cancer in humans using a standardized mixture of anthocyanins," the scientist explained.
SOURCE: Cancer Prevention Research, January 2009	Return to top

GERD Relief !
Surgery-Free Treatments for GERD
Two non-surgical treatments may bring relief to patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). At present the available treatments range from costly long-term drug therapies to surgery. But recently, endoluminal therapies -- entering through natural passages in the body to repair the underlying causes of GERD -- have become available. The first is full-thickness plication, a process that tightens the junction between the esophagus and the stomach with sutures using a long, narrow endoscope. The second is a radiofrequency therapy that delivers energy waves to the muscles of the esophagus and stomach, improving the function of the valve between the two. Six-month follow-up data revealed that among patients who underwent radiofrequency treatment, reports of moderate to severe heartburn decreased from 55 percent to 22 percent. Decreases were also seen in medication use, swallowing difficulties, voice symptoms and cough. Among full-thickness plication patients, reports of moderate to severe heartburn decreased from 95 percent to 43 percent, with additional decreases in regurgitation, voice symptoms and swallowing difficulties. "Our experience indicates that radiofrequency and full-thickness plication are both effective, providing symptomatic relief and reduction in proton pump inhibitor use," the authors wrote. "For patients whose chief complaint is regurgitation, full-thickness plication may be the preferred procedure. Further study is needed to determine the long-term effectiveness of endoluminal treatments."
SOURCE: Ivanhoe Newswire, January 2009	Return to top

New Products of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

	Product	Anril^® Spray
	Generic Name	Nitroglycerin USP
	Strength	400 mcg/spray
	Dosage form	Sublingual Spray
	Therapeutic Category	Antianginal
	Product	Seclo^® DR 20
	Generic Name	Omeprazole BP
	Strength	20 mg
	Dosage form	Delayed Release Tablet
	Therapeutic Category	Antiulcerant
	Product	Panodin^® SR
	Generic Name	Etodolac USP
	Strength	60 mg
	Dosage form	SR Tablet
	Therapeutic Category	Antirheumatic Non-Steroid

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Healthcare online	Keeping you up-to-date
VOL. 7 ISSUE: 1 January 27, 2009	Medical Services Department **SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd.**