Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Friday, November 18, 2005
Dry Skin Moisturizer
Renew Intensive Skin Therapy is a therapeutic moisturizer that delivers hours of moisturizing relief. The only dry skin therapy of its kind, Renew combines allantoin with the soothing, penetrating power of T36-C5 Melaleuca Oil. Allantoin, an herbal extract found in comfrey, pulls moisture deep into your skin, so it won't wash off. As it penetrates, allantoin helps to actually form a protective seal against moisture loss. The unique properties of T36-C5 Melaleuca Oil help naturally soothe dry skin irritation. Renew Intensive Skin Therapy absorbs quickly and completely-leaving no greasy residue. It keeps working... even after repeated washing.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Tumeric May Improve Psoriasis
"We know that it's an effective preventive at low doses," said Dr. Bharat Aggarwal, of the experimental therapeutics department at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. "The question is whether larger doses can be therapeutic" for disease sufferers.
At least a dozen clinical trials on humans are under way in the United States, Israel and England to test the safety and dosages of turmeric's main ingredient, curcumin. It's a hot topic in health journals, too, cited 967 times since 2000 in articles reported on PubMed, the National Library of Medicine's research service.
The University of Maryland Medical Center has a briefing on turmeric: www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsHerbs/Turmericch.html
The online encyclopedia Wikipedia offers objective information on turmeric: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turmeric
Abstracts of research on turmeric and curcumin: www.PubMed.org and type in those words as search terms.
Recipe sites
McCormick Spice : www.mccormick.com. Search for turmeric.
Epicurious.com : www.epicurious.com. Search for turmeric.
International Recipes Online : www.internationalrecipesonline.com/recipes. Click on "recipes," then enter turmeric as a keyword and click on "Search."
The spice, which is a relative of ginger, comes from the stems of the root of a large-leafed plant widely grown in Asia, especially in the province of Maharashtra in southwest India. The stems are boiled, dried and crushed to a powder with a bitter woody taste that's widely used as a spice and in folk medicines to cure stomach ailments and skin lesions. Turmeric was in use when the first Westerner, Marco Polo, visited the region in the 13th century.
Dietary link suspected
Low rates among Indians for colorectal, prostate and lung cancers as well as coronary heart disease and Alzheimer's first drew Western researchers to curcumin. While genetics might have explained the low incidences, the rise in rates among Indians whose parents had moved to Western countries suggested a dietary cause. Subsequent lab tests on diseased cells and in mice strengthened claims for curcumin.
It's been demonstrated in animals to protect the liver, inhibit tumors, reduce inflammation and fight some infections. Curcumin has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, according to researchers, and may help lower cholesterol.
Unlike newly invented pharmaceuticals, "we know a lot about curcumin because it's been used widely for many years," said Dr. Christopher Goss of the University of Washington Medical Center. He's recruiting cystic fibrosis patients for a Phase I study of curcumin's safety and efficacy. The patients will take up to three grams daily — six of the biggest pills that U.S. pharmacies sell. That's more than 50 times the amount of curcumin in a portion of curry.
Goss also will be seeking insight into findings reported last year in the journal Science that curcumin corrects the cystic fibrosis defect in mice. The defect, which suppresses a mutant protein essential to cell health, results in thick mucous that fatally clogs the lungs and pancreas. Researchers from Yale University and the University of Toronto found that curcumin treatment released the protein and enabled cells and membranes to function normally, at least in mice.
Quite a difference
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, a nonprofit drug-research arm, sponsored this study and Goss' work. Among Indians and Pakistanis living in England, the cystic fibrosis rate is 1 in 10,000, according to an epidemiological study. That compares with 1 in 2,500 among Caucasians. Rates in India and Pakistan are unknown.
The U.S. National Institute on Aging has launched a clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of curcumin for individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. A report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry in December found that in mice injected with a chemical that mimics Alzheimer's, curcumin reduced by half the buildup of knots in the brain called amyloid plaques, which have been linked to Alzheimer's.
M.D. Anderson, the Houston cancer center, has small trials under way testing curcumin on pancreatic and bone marrow tumors. Colon-cancer studies using curcumin are under way elsewhere.
All trials are in the earliest and easiest of four stages, preceding any Food and Drug Administration approval of a curcumin-based pharmaceutical by many years. Many drugs that look promising in mice fail to deliver in humans or prove to have dangerous side effects.
Curcumin's side effects are less of a concern, because it's been so widely used for so long. But there's an issue with it that doesn't arise with drugs created in labs:
Curcumin consumed in small amounts from an early age may ward off some Western ailments, Aggarwal said. But once someone's contracted these diseases, curcumin's ability to counteract them is largely unproved.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Amevivie Slows Joint Damage In Psoriatic Arthritis
In February, the biotechnology firm presented data from the first part of the study showing that its Amevive drug significantly improved the signs of symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. That data came from 185 patients given Amevive plus a common anti-inflammatory over 6 months, compared with those give the anti-inflammatory alone.
Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen added Tuesday that x-rays of patients hands and feet showed that joint damage had progressed more slowly in those who took Amevive for 24 weeks. However, follow-up tests after another 6 months were inconclusive. The second-half of the study was "open label," meaning that patients were aware they were taking Amevive.
Psoriasis and associated psoriatic arthritis are disorders that are believed to result when the immune system begins acting abnormally, attacking healthy cells and causing inflammation.
Amevive works by suppressing some of the immune system's ability. The drug has led to serious liver injury in some patients.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
HIV Positive Individuals Should Avoid Amevive
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Canadian Company Completes Phase III Clinical Trials
This data supports that ISA247, at therapeutic doses, is efficacious with minimalside effects." The overall decrease in PASI scores at 24 weeks for the low (0.2 mg/kgtwice daily), mid (0.3 mg/kg twice daily) and high (0.4 mg/kg twice daily)dose groups were 41%, 55% and 70%, respectively. For the placebo patients thatconverted to the mid dose group at 12 weeks the overall decrease in PASI scorewas 62%. The PASI 50 scores at 24 weeks for the mid (0.3 mg/kg twice daily)and high (0.4 mg/kg twice daily) dose groups were 56% and 70%, respectively.PASI 75 scores for the mid and high dose groups were 26% and 49% at 24 weeks.
Patients treated in the mid dose group and low dose group (0.2 mg/kg twicedaily) experienced a continual increase in efficacy over the 24 week periodwith minimal effect on renal function. Both the PASI 50 and PASI 75 scoreswere statistically significant (p less than 0.05) versus placebo. In all dosegroups, PASI scores exhibited good efficacy. Following 24 weeks of treatment, there were no clinically significantchanges noted in the following parameters; hypertension, cholesterol,triglycerides and infectious complications which is consistent with thepreviously released interim report. Additionally, the incidence oftreatment-related adverse events in patients receiving ISA247 was notdifferent to those receiving placebo. The mean decrease in glomerular filtration rate at 24 weeks in the low,mid and high dose groups was 3.0%, 2.8%, and 6.0%, respectively. This meanpercentage change is not clinically significant as it is within normalanalytical and physiological variation. There were no progressive changes inrenal function from 12 to 24 weeks in all dose groups. Of the 451 patientsenrolled in the trial a total of 7 patients, (six in the high dose (7%) andone in the mid dose (1%)) experienced two consecutive greater than 30%decreases in glomerular filtration rate. Patients originally receiving placebothat were subsequently crossed over to the mid-dose group at 12 weeks showedno change in kidney function. Dr. Robert Bissonnette, a principal investigator involved in thePhase III SPIRIT trial stated, "Results from patients treated with ISA247 for24 weeks confirm its safety and efficacy profile in the treatment ofpsoriasis. These results suggest that ISA247 could become one of our firstline systemic treatments for moderate to severe psoriasis." Management will provide an overview of the unblinded Phase III data thismorning at 8:00 a.m. EST/ 6:00 a.m. MST. All Interested parties can access thelive web cast (listen only mode) by going tohttp://www.newswire.ca/en/webcast/index.cgi?companyID=815958378.Alternatively, you may access the web cast through our corporate Web site athttp://www.isotechnika.com. The web cast will be archived for a six month periodthrough the web cast archives at http://www.newswire.ca. The Canadian Phase III Psoriasis (SPIRIT) trial commenced on December 2,2004. The trial was conducted at 32 sites over a 24 week period using orallyadministered ISA247 in psoriatic patients. This randomized, double-blind trial examined the efficacy of three dosing groups of ISA247 (0.2 mg/kg, 0.3 mg/kgand 0.4 mg/kg) administered twice daily compared to placebo with equal numbers of patients assigned to each of the four treatment groups. The 24 week results outlined below are based on a total of 451 patients.
Friday, November 04, 2005
Seborrheic and Psoriasis
Seborrhoeic dermatitis has some differences from psoriasis. Its scale is usually diffuse throughout the scalp, as opposed to the raised, well defined plaques associated with psoriasis. It also tends to localize on the face and front of the chest. When these symptoms are combined with the symptoms of psoriasis, Sebopsorias results.
Sebopsoriasis has a more yellowish, greasy scale than the typical silvery, dry scale associated with psoriasis. It will occur not only on the scalp, but on the face and chest - similar to the pattern associated with that of seborrhoeic dermatitis. It is deeper red in color, has more defined margins, and a thicker scale than seborrhoeic dermatitis alone.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
A Link Between Heart Disease And Psoriasis?
A Swedish study found that patients hospitalised with the skin disorder were 50% more likely to die from a heart condition than expected.
The extra risk increased sharply as patients got younger, rising to 162% for those admitted under the age of 40.
For severe psoriasis sufferers aged 40-59 when they were hospitalised, the risk was 91% higher than in the average population.
However the same trend was not seen in less seriously affected individuals who were not admitted to hospital.
The findings emerge from a Swedish study of almost 9,000 psoriasis patients admitted to dermatology wards and more than 19,000 outpatients.
They suggest a genetic defect linking the skin condition and heart problems.
Serious psoriasis sufferers are known to have raised levels of blood cholesterol, which is a chief indicator of heart and artery disease.
Previously this was blamed on the age of older patients or the long term effect of drugs used to treat the disorder.
But the Swedish researchers found high cholesterol levels in a group of 600 newly diagnosed patients who had been suffering from psoriasis for less than a year.