admin @ Tue, 2006-09-26 11:00
TWO cervical cancer vaccines are now en route to the UK. Gardasil, which has already been given to Australian girls, is the world's first cancer vaccine and will protect young women from the strains of HPV (human papillomavirus) known to cause cervical cancer.
Cevarix, a similar vaccine, is hot on its heels. HPV is passed on through sex and it's hoped that immunising girls before they become sexually active could reduce the UK death rate from 1,093 to just 262 cases a year.
ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL: Gardasil has just been granted a European licence and cevarix is expected to get its licence early next year. The Government must then decide whether all 12-year-old girls should be routinely vaccinated.
EVERY year thousands of UK women have surgery to remove pre-cancerous cells from their cervixes. But soon this condition may be treatable with a cream.
Experts at the University of Manchester have found that a drug given orally to HIV patients is effective against certain strains of HPV, the cause of most cervical cancers.
Group leader Dr Ian Hampson explains: "Research has only been done on cells in the lab so far so now we need to start clinical trials on women. However the fact that the drug is already licensed for use for HIV will speed up the process."
DIABETICS whose conditions can't be controlled by tablets need injections. But now Exubera, a new form of inhaled insulin, promises a viable alternative to the needle. It's hailed as "one of the biggest steps forward since the discovery of insulin in 1992" by charity Diabetes UK.
Studies show that a fear of or reluctance to use needles makes sufferers delay treatment for an average of four years, leading to complications such as heart disease, kidney failure or blindness.
However, there are fears that drug advisory body Nice (National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence) may only recommend its use for patients who have physical or mental problems. The drug isn't suitable for smokers, anyone with breathing problems or children.
ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL: Technically, it was launched last month but most doctors are waiting for Nice guidance, due in October, before prescribing.
CHAMPIX works by mimicking the effects of nicotine which eases withdrawal symptoms, and by blocking feelgood effects should you weaken and sneak a fag.
Clinical trials on 2,000 chronic smokers found that Champix helped nearly half quit after 12 weeks compared with just 30 per cent receiving the standard drug Zyban. Side-effects include nausea, vomiting, headache, insomnia and flatulence but that seems a small price for kicking a habit that has a one-in-two chance of killing you.
AGE-RELATED blindness affects a quarter of a million people in the UK and the wet form (or AMD, age-related macular degeneration), which affects 10 per cent of sufferers, can cause you to lose your sight in just three months. Lucentis, which was passed by the US drug-approval body in June this year, treats the underlying cause of AMD by inhibiting a protein that leads to this type of sight loss.
THE first pill designed to stop stammering is undergoing clinical trials at the University of California. Pagoclone, which is already used to treat anxiety, is thought to work by boosting a chemical brain messenger that plays a key role in speech function. In trials so far, more than half those treated experienced a significant decrease in stammering. "It's encouraging because it appears to have few of the side-effects such as drowsiness, weight gain, mood swings and uncontrolled movement that have been associated with previous potential drugs," says a British Stammering Association spokesperson.
A NEW vaccine, TA-CD, could help cure cocaine addicts. It doesn't stop the cravings but prevents users from experiencing a high when they take it. In US trials half the addicts stayed cocaine-free for six months.
However charity Drugscope is keen to emphasise that if underlying issues leading to addiction aren't addressed, the addict could simply switch to another addiction. Final trials begin next year.
THE sophisticated anti-allergy treatment SLIT (sublingual specific immunotherapy) involves self-administered medication in the form of drops under the tongue.
Currently patients with severe allergic conditions have to travel miles to their nearest specialist NHS allergy clinic for injections, along with lung function tests and hours of observation in case they have a life-threatening reaction to the drug.
"It's a huge plus that patients won't have to spend hours at a time at hospital," explains Muriel Simmons, chief executive of Allergy UK. Trials so far have been promising.
So far the drug, known as PBT2, has fared well in a 15-month trial on mice whose amyloid levels dropped by 60 per cent within just 24 hours. Their mental function also improved markedly in five days, shown by their ability to navigate a water maze.
ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL: Potentially within four years, according to Professor George Fink of Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria, Australia.
RESEARCHERS at Imperial College London have discovered that topping up levels of oxyntomodulin, a naturally occurring digestive hormone, tricks the body into thinking it's full.
During a four-week trial patients who were injected three times a day with the hormone lost just over 5lbs - twice as much as patients taking the obesity drug Acomplia (rimonabout).
Research leader Professor Stephen Bloom explains: "It's potentially safer than surgery or chemical drugs because it uses the body's natural signalling system."
AUSTRALIAN scientists claim to have developed what could become a miracle cure for inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. "We've made an antibody against one of the most inflammatory agents in the body and used it to cure arthritis in mice," explains Professor Charles Mackay, founder of drug company G2 Therapies.
Inflammation is the body's way of protecting itself from disease but when immune cells become overactive, as with rheumatoid arthritis, it makes the condition worse.
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