Drug Research and Technology highlights

Anti-clotting drugs may lower risk of prostate cancer recurrence in men undergoing radiation-
According to research presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology,"The use of anti-clotting drugs, including aspirin, appears to lower the odds that cancer will recur in men undergoing radiation treatment for prostate cancer," in a study of 662 men with prostate cancer undergoing radiation treatment. The researchers found that "cancer recurred in only nine percent of men taking an anti-clotting medication, compared with 22 percent of those who weren't taking the drugs." Notably, "the benefit was most pronounced in men with high-risk aggressive cancers that had not yet spread (metastasized) at the time of radiation treatment." Data indicated that among this group, "cancer recurred in 18 percent of men on anticoagulants vs. 42 percent of men not taking the drugs."

Gonorrhea drug may curb tumor growth, researchers say-
According to research appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, "a gonorrhea medication developed in the 1930s," called acriflavine, "may work as a cancer therapy." In a study on "mice who were engineered to develop cancer," researchers found that "the drug has the ability to stop the growth of new blood vessels, which may then curb tumor growth." The drug works by inhibiting "the function of a protein called HIF-1, which promotes new blood vessel formation."

Natalizumab may significantly reduce hospitalization rates for Crohn's disease patients-
According to an analysis of three studies by investigators at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Natalizumab significantly reduces hospitalization rates during both induction and maintenance treatments for patients with moderate to severe Crohn's disease compared with placebo,.After identifying 109 "Crohn's disease–related hospitalizations, the researchers noted that "in the patients receiving natalizumab, the rate was reduced by 31 percent during the induction period and 58 percent during the maintenance period." The rates "were also reduced in a subset of patients previously treated with anti-tumor necrosis factor...therapy."

References- http://www.pharm-education.com/2009/12/drug-research-and-technology-updates_09.html

Disclaimer : The above information has been cited from literature in public domain. This is for research purpose/ dissemination of knowledge only and should not be construed as medical advise.