Drug Research and Technology update :

Here are some updates on drug research and technology from my reading-

Study shows valomaciclovir may reduce severity of mononucleosis-

A report of study presented at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco, University of Minnesota researchers found that students who receive an antiviral medication, valomaciclovir, early in the course of (mononucleosis) become less sick than those offered the standard advice to rest for several weeks. The results are similar to a previous study by the same researchers on a different antiviral drug. In the study of 23 university students who had mononucleosis and had been sick for less than two weeks, the patients were given either, valomaciclovir or a placebo for three weeks. The students taking the antiviral medication reached a 50 percent improvement in symptoms in 7.6 days, compared with 11.1 days for the placebo group.

Bevirimat may cut drug-resistant HIV as much as 50-fold in two weeks ?

Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s experimental AIDS drug, bevirimat dimeglumine, is the first in a new class of medicines for drug-resistant HIV, known as "maturation inhibitors," and cut the virus as much as 50-fold in two weeks. The study involved 32 men in Australia who took one of two doses of bevirimat twice daily for two weeks. Investigators found that among 26 patients who hadn't previously been treated for HIV and received the highest dose of bevirimat, the drug reduced blood-levels of the virus more than 20-fold on average. The study also showed that overall, the drug cut the virus six-fold on average.

Migraine drug failed to meet key goals in midstage study-

Migraine treatment, called AZ-104, or staccato loxapine, failed to meet key pain relief goals in a midstage study. It is reported that the drug did not meet its goal of reducing migraine pain over a two-hour period when compared with placebo in the 366-person study. In all, 125 patients received placebo, while 121 patients received a 1.25-milligram dose and 120 patients received a 2.5-milligram dose.

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.