Drug Research and Technology update :

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

Rifaximin meets two late-stage study goals in treating irritable bowel syndrome-

Reports state that a new version of an irritable bowel syndrome drug, called Xifaxan (rifaximin), met its goals in two late stage studies. The trials showed rifaximin was significantly more effective than a placebo at treating non-constipation irritable bowel syndrome and also was better at reducing bloating. The drug is approved as a treatment for traveler's diarrhea.

Research indicates metformin with doxorubicin may kill breast cancer stem cells-

According to a study published in the Journal of Cancer Research, the diabetes drug metformin, when combined with chemotherapy drug doxorubicin, may shrink breast-cancer tumors and keep them from coming back more effectively than chemotherapy alone. Researchers reported that the combination treatment killed cancer stem cells in addition to regular cancer cells.

The study details that, researchers treated mice with breast cancer with metformin and doxorubicin simultaneously. The mice showed reductions in tumor size in four types of breast cancer, as well as longer remission times. Notably, mice treated with the combination remained cancer-free for four months, unlike mice treated with either drug alone. The researchers also noted that metformin and standard chemotherapy may make each other work better, so metformin could be used with lower doses of chemotherapy.

Study suggests drugs that lower breast cancer risk may increase risk for other cancers, clots-

According to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, women who take drugs like raloxifene or tamoxifen can reduce their risk of developing invasive breast cancer by up to half, but they may be at greater risk for potentially serious blood clots. For the study, researchers assessed the risks and benefits of the drugs when used by healthy women who have never had breast cancer but are considered at greater risk for the disease.

Also, they examined numerous published studies, including randomized clinical trials and a head-to-head assessment of tamoxifen, raloxifene and tibolone. The study showed that all three reduced the risk for invasive breast cancer by 30 to 68 percent, but each carried its own level of side effects. In fact, tamoxifen and raloxifene boosted blood clots by 60 percent to 90 percent. Tamoxifen was also more likely than a placebo to lead to endometrial cancer and more likely to cause cataracts than was raloxifene.

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.

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.

Drug Research and Technology update :

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

Newer research pathways for Alzheimer's drug development -

Big drug companies since the 1990s have bet heavily on the concept that amyloid poisons brain cells and that blocking it will halt a patient's devastating decline" in Alzheimer's disease, but "even as their drugs move into final human trials, the evidence implicating amyloid is starting to look a little shaky. Additionally, researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City examined an old allergy drug from Russia that recently showed promising results in Alzheimer's victims and which "boosted short-term amyloid levels in animal and lab experiments, according to results reported at a big Alzheimer's conference.

Research indicates Rituxan may increase progression-free survival in patients with follicular lymphoma-

Roche Holding AG unit Genentech Inc and Biogen Idec . announced that Rituxan (rituximab) increased progression-free survival when taken alone by patients with follicular lymphoma who previously responded to Rituxan and chemotherapy together. The company might discuss the potential new indication with the USFDA. Extended course of preventive antiviral treatment may benefit transplant patients says a report from the researchers.

A longer period of preventive treatment after kidney transplant can help reduce the risk that the patient will become infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV)-

A Sept. 17 online publication of Journal of the American Society of Nephrology states, a longer period of preventive treatment after kidney transplant can help reduce the risk that the patient will become infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV). CMV disease increases the risk of morbidity, rehospitalization, and death after transplants, particularly those of the kidney.

For the study, the team "conducted a retrospective analysis of the incidence of CMV infection and CMV disease in 131 transplant patients who received valganciclovir for three months after surgery and 91 patients who received the medication for six months after surgery. Each patient received either a kidney or pancreas transplant between March 2002 and March 2007.

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.

Drug Research and Technology update :

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

Internet usage to research drug information doubles amongst people in north America -

Since 2005, the number of patients using the Internet to research prescription drug information has doubled to 102.3 million, according to a new study from Manhattan Research. The survey of 8,600 adults during the third quarter of this year also found that the major theme of the digital health landscape over the past four years is the increasing diversity of the overall patient media mix. In addition, health-related social media, in particular, has flourished in recent years with the increased popularity of online patient communities, social networking and health 2.0 applications.

Depomed Inc claims its extended-release form of gabapentin reduced post-shingles pain-

Depomed, Inc. Allegedly reported a successful late stage clinical trial of DM-1796, which is a drug intended to treat pain following the viral infection shingles. The company said that DM-1796 significantly reduced post-shingles pain compared to placebo after 10 weeks of treatment, and it plans to file for Food and Drug Administration approval by the end of March 2010. DM-1796 is an extended-release form of gabapentin, which is used to treat pain disorders and epilepsy.

Number of doctors using e-prescriptions will rise to more than double in 2010-

The number of physicians using electronic prescribing will have more than doubled in 2010,according to the e-prescribing network Surescripts. The company said more than 140,000 - 23 % of all office-based physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the United States are E-prescribing today and at the current pace, Surescripts projects that its active e-prescribers in 2010 will more than double the 74,000 that were e-prescribing at the end of 2008. In addition, with a patient's consent, prescribers can also access prescription history and use the Surescripts network to send e-prescriptions to any of 51,000 (84 %) retail pharmacies or six of the largest mail-order pharmacies.

EU approves sale of saxagliptin for diabetics-

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Press release stated that its new diabetes drug, Onglyza [saxagliptin], has been approved for sale in the European Union's 27 countries. Onglyza, a DPP-4 inhibitor, will compete with Merck & Co.s blockbuster diabetes drug Januvia both in the EU and in the United States, where the Bristol Myers drug was approved on July 31. Onglyza is expected to go on sale in the EU in this quarter, and was approved to be sold to improve blood sugar levels in combination with metformin, sulphonylurea or thiazolidinedione, when those drugs alone do not adequately control glycemic levels.

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.

Drug Research and Technology update :

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

Besides showing positive signs for good skin health and weight loss trigger...Resveratrol may lower blood sugar levels in mice, researchers say.

According to a study published online in the Journal of Endocrinology by researchers at University of Texas, medical center, "resveratrol...was found to lower blood sugar levels and improve insulin levels when injected directly into the brains of mice fed very high-calorie diets. The researchers examined whether injecting resveratrol directly into the brains of diabetic mice would activate a group of proteins known as sirtuins, which have been shown to have anti-diabetes properties in earlier animal studies. The researchers found that the insulin levels in...resveratrol-treated mice dropped significantly and were halfway to normal by the end of the five-week study," while "insulin levels among the placebo-treated mice continued to rise.

Quality and Safety Adverse drug events jumped in 2008, according to USFDA data statistics -

USFDA received 25 percent more reports of adverse drug events in 2008 compared with 2007, according to a new QuarterWatch report from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. In 2008, the FDA received reports of nearly 100,800 cases of serious injury related to drug use...compared with 80,600 in 2007, the largest over a one-year period since the FDA began collecting data in 1998.

Researcher says lidocaine patch as effective as pregabalin in relieving diabetics' neuropathic pain.

A dermal patch containing 5% lidocaine (Lidoderm) proved as effective as pregabalin (Lyrica) in relieving neuropathic pain in diabetic patients with dramatically fewer side effects, according to a researcher at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting. Only 3.8 percent of patients treated with the patch suffered drug-related adverse events, compared with 36.2 percent of those taking oral pregabalin in a 210-patient, four-week randomized trial. The researchers added that the lidocaine patch, formulated in a clear hydrogel, is currently approved for postherpetic neuralgia but not for other forms of neuropathic pain."

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.

Drug Research and Technology update :

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

Window for administering medications to limit damage from stroke may be wider :

Medications to limit damage from a stroke by dissolving blood clots must be given within three hours of the event, according to standard guidelines. However, a research paper from The Lancet Neurology indicates that, this window of opportunity may extend to 4.5hours.
Researchers in Germany reached that conclusion after conducting a secondary analysis of "data from the third European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study," in which the "use of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA, alteplase)" was evaluated among 821 patients. Apparently, the results showed a clear benefit from treatment with alteplase in all types of patients, including those younger and older than 65 years, men and women, and those with or without a history of diabetes, stroke, or high blood pressure."

USFDA extends indication for Colchicine.

USFDA has extended the indication for the gout treatment and mediterranean fever drug Colchicine (Colcrys) to include prevention of acute gout flares. The drug, is the only single-ingredient colchicine product approved for prophylaxis and remedy of gout flares and its efficacy of the new indication is based on two randomized clinical trials. Patients in uric acid-lowering therapy were given 0.6 mg of colchicine twice daily, which decreased the frequency of gout.

Researchers say aldosterone antagonists only prescribed to one-third of heart failure patients.
Journal of the American Medical Association., reports that "most hospitalized heart failure patients are sent home without widely recommended inexpensive pills, despite a program to get more doctors to follow treatment guidelines. Just one-third of 12,565 patients eligible for the drugs, aldosterone antagonists, got them”.

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.

Drug Research and Technology update :

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

FDA Approves Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Fluarix for Pediatric Use:

The USFDA has reportedly approved use of the seasonal influenza vaccine Fluarix for children ages 3 years to 17 years. Previously, this vaccine, which contains inactivated (killed) influenza A and B viruses, had been approved for use in adults, ages 18 years and older.

The safety and effectiveness of Fluarix for use in children ages 3 years and older has been documented in a U.S. study comparing 2,115 children who received Fluarix with 1,210 children who received Fluzone, a different influenza vaccine already licensed by the FDA for use in children ages 6 months and older.

Study results showed that children 3 years and older vaccinated with Fluarix and Fluzone produced similar amounts of antibodies in the blood at levels considered likely to be protective against seasonal influenza.

Fluarix is a seasonal influenza vaccine not intended to protect against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.

Further information is available at-

http://www.drugs.com/newdrugs/fda-approves-seasonal-influenza-vaccine-fluarix-pediatric-use-1695.html

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Votrient (pazopanib), the sixth drug to be approved for kidney cancer since 2005 :

Votrient is an oral medication that interferes with angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels needed for solid tumors to grow and survive. Votrient is intended for people with advanced renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer in which the cancerous cells are found in the lining of very small tubes (tubules) in the kidney. In 2009, approximately 49,000 people were diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma and 11,000 people died from the disease.

FDA approves expanded indication for Micardis:

The USFDA has expanded the indication for the antihypertension drug telmisartan (Micardis), making it the first angiotensin receptor blocker approved for primary prevention in high-risk patients unable to take an ACE inhibitor. The expanded indication follows the recommendations of the Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee advisory panel that met earlier this summer to discuss the new indication. That panel voted unanimously against expanding the indication for all high-risk patients and instead focused on those intolerant to an ACE inhibitor, namely ramipril. The FDA also granted new approval for Twynsta, a drug product containing telmisartan and amlodipine in combination.

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.

Drug Research and Technology update :

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

Studies happening on drug based on a snake venom for potential heart failure treatment !

The Wall Street Journal reported, researchers believed that a drug, currently known as CD-NP, based on venom from the Eastern Green Mamba snake may be used to help very ill patients with heart failure. Early research on the drug indicated that it increased kidney function but did not greatly reduce blood pressure.

Study suggests acetaminophen makes vaccines less potent-

A study report sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline and published in The Lancet states "studies done in the Czech Republic, found that acetaminophen makes some vaccines less potent." The authors wrote that "fever is part of the immune response, and suppressing it...appeared to impair the body's ability to make antibodies." While "the authors said their findings needed 'further assessment'," they "suggested that antifever medication not be given routinely but only when needed." CDC researchers said in an editorial that the "study offered 'a compelling case' against routine dosing but that the issue required more study.

European regulators grant orphan drug status to hepatocellular carcinoma treatment-

A leading Canadian medical journal published that, "Jennerex Inc.'s lead cancer drug called JX-594, could enjoy market exclusivity in Europe for a decade after a regulatory agency granted the company's product “orphan” drug status. The drug is being developed as "a treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma," and is "expected to enter a phase 3 trial in the second half of 2010."

FDA rejects Rituxan for patients with earlier stages of Rheumatoid Arthritis-

The USFDA has rejected an application to expand the use of rheumatoid arthritis treatment Rituxan [rituximab] for patients with earlier stages of the disease, biotech drug developers Genentech Inc. and Biogen Idec said Saturday. The FDA has allegedly declined to support the expanded use due to a risk for the potentially fatal brain disease, progressive multifocal leukeoencephalopathy, for which there is no reliable treatment. The companies "said that risk is rare," but they "have reports of three cases of this disease occurring in about 100,000 rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with Rituxan.

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.

Drug Research and Technology highlights

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

Nicotine vaccines- do experiments show failure to meet primary endpoint?

The Times "Booster Shots" blog reported that a company working on an "anti-smoking vaccine" similar to the much anticipated product undergoing testing by Nabi Pharmaceuticals "has not been so successful." Swiss-based Cytos Biotechnology Ltd. "said...that a trial of its NICO02 nicotine vaccine had failed to meet its primary endpoint." Although investigators are continuing their work, "apparently" the vaccine "did not stimulate high enough levels of antibodies to produce the desired response."

Studies see increased skin cancer risk in patients taking anti-TNF drugs.

Medical conference reports at the the American College of Rheumatology, stated that, "Rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with potent tumor necrosis factor inhibitors ran an increased risk of developing skin cancer." Still, the scientists said "that the absolute risk is still low and represents a small percentage of patients taking the medications." In the first study, "conducted by scrutinizing a United Kingdom national registry," researchers "observed a 70% increase in the number of cases of skin cancer among patients receiving the anti-TNF drugs, when compared with other treatments for the autoimmune disease." In a US study, "doctors scoured the Department of Veterans Affairs database," determining "that the incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer was 25.9 per 1,000 people each year among patients treated with anti-TNF drugs, compared with 19.6 per 1,000 people each year (p<0.0001).

USFDA issued warning for Dexferrum injection:

USFDA website reported that, "The FDA has strengthened the black box warning for injectable iron dextran (Dexferrum), cautioning physicians to try a test dose first, due to a risk of anaphalactic reactions and even death." The altered warning "cautions that fatal reactions have occurred even after the test dose was tolerated." Patients "with a history of drug allergy are most susceptible to these serious adverse affects," and they "are also more likely to occur with large doses of the drug, and may be delayed”.

Three-day antibiotic course may be sufficient for pediatric tonsillectomy patients -

According to a scientific publication reported in the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, three days of antibiotics after a tonsillectomy will put kids back on a normal diet and activity level. Several studies have demonstrated that postoperative antibiotics reduce pain, thought to be caused when normal oral bacteria colonize the tonsillar fossae and cause inflammation. And, for that reason, most otolaryngologists prescribe antibiotics after the procedure -- usually for seven days. But, after evaluating 49 pediatric patients, researchers at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical College found that - there was no difference between three and seven days of antibiotics in the time it took to get back to normal."

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.

Drug Research and Technology update :

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

Stedesa may help lower seizure frequency in patients with epilepsy :

Proceeding published from American Neurological Association reported, "Eslicarbazepine acetate (Stedesa), a European anti-epileptic drug not yet licensed in the US, reduced seizure frequency and was well tolerated as an add-on treatment in patients with refractory partial-onset seizures in a trial reported". The "placebo-controlled trial randomized 395 patients at 46 centers in 13 countries in Europe, South America, and Africa" and found that relative "reduction in seizure frequency was as great as 33% for the highest dose of the drug. The median relative reduction in seizure frequency during the maintenance period was 5% for placebo, 21% for 400 mg of Stedesa, 33% for 800 mg, and 33% for 1,200 mg."

Nortriptyline may be associated with increase in suicidal thoughts in men ?

There are press reports that state "the largest clinical trial to date comparing" nortriptyline, "an older, tricyclic antidepressant, with" escitalopram, "a newer antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class, find that the emergence of suicidal thinking was almost 10 times more common in men taking the older" medicine "than in those taking the newer medication."

In the study published in the British journal BMC Medicine, researchers from King's College London "gauged the responses to antidepressants of 811 persons ranging from 18 to 72 with depression”. This finding is "of particular concern, as it shows that there is little reason for either intensive monitoring over the first weeks, or for complacency later in the course of treatment, which could be an interpretation of current clinical guidelines," the authors concluded.

Infliximab may be associated with lower colectomy rates in UC patients.

According to a research paper published in J.Gastroenterology, "Infliximab treatment is linked to lower colectomy rates in patients with moderate to severe active ulcerative colitis”. The researchers observed that trend after looking at data on 728 UC patients who were randomly assigned to "placebo or infliximab (5 or 10 mg/kg) intravenously at weeks zero, two, and six, then every eight weeks through week 46 or week 22." Eventually, the drug "reduced the need for colectomy by 41 percent compared to patients treated with placebo." In fact, those "treated with infliximab also fared better vs. those receiving placebo in that they had fewer ulcerative colitis-related hospitalizations (40 vs. 20) and fewer surgeries or procedures (34 vs. 21) per 100 patient-years of treatment."

Cystic Fibrosis patients appear to be taking wide variety of medication ?

Cystic fibrosis, a killer disease, like drowning on the inside ! Lead author Dr. Frank J. Accurso from University of Colorado researchers has found that "patients with cystic fibrosis are taking a wide variety of medication." The "most commonly used classes of medications were short-acting beta agonists (83 percent), mucolytics (77 percent), and inhaled and intranasal corticosteroids (51 and 52 percent, respectively)." Even those "with mild lung disease was on roughly four to five medications in different classes," which surprised, researchers "because some of these medications are not well supported (for cystic fibrosis patients) in clinical trials."

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.

Drug Research and Technology update :

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

Folate-blocking drugs can increase birth defects if taken in first trimester-

The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology researchers report that, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev studied 84,832 babies born at the Soroka Medical Center in Beer-Sheva and analyzed all the data, including therapeutic abortions, and concluded that use of the folate-blocking drugs more than doubled the risk of congenital malformations of the fetus, including neural tube, cardiovascular and urinary tract defects. The drugs also increased the risk of spina bifida and malformations of the brain more than sixfold.

Harvard researchers call for five years of market exclusivity for brand-name biologics-

An online publication from Harvard Medical school reported, "Congress should limit the proposed period of market exclusivity for brand-name biologics to five years, rather than the 12 years pending legislation," They said that the "change would increase competition, promote access to approved biosimilars, and encourage subsequent innovation." Still, supporters of the 12-year exclusivity period in Congress "say it would take" that long "to conduct the research needed to prove both safety and efficacy," and "because of the high development costs for biologics."

FDA cracking down on flu treatment scams-

The US FDA published that it is cracking down on hundreds of products being peddled as swine flu treatments. In a season of high anxiety, the Food and Drug Administration says online scam artists are doing big business in counterfeit flu drugs. FDA They further cautioned that some people were selling pills that had no Tamiflu in it as Tamiflu and, in fact, if people are relying on that instead of going to the doctor they could wind up in trouble. The concerns are not limited to medications. Hundreds of online products claim to prevent or cure the swine flu, like these the FDA says are not approved."

E-prescribing impacts compliance ? an investigational study-

According to Healthcare IT digital new publication, "CVS Caremark and researchers from Harvard and Brigham and Women's Hospital are launching a study to investigate patient adherence to prescription drug therapies," and one of "the four key components of the study will look at how electronic prescribing impacts compliance." The researchers "will look at e-prescribing to determine how it impacts costs, compliance and safety," which they say "is especially important as Medicare has launched an initiative to drive electronic prescriptions. Physicians shall be pain around 3500 USD in annual financial incentives for e-prescribing and will impose penalties on those who do not e-prescribe by 2012."

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.

Important tips for your web portal -

In this age of web portfolios and digital job searching, website is a lifeline marketing tool. So how do we make our site informative and also attractive ?

Important Design tips for your web portal.

1. Colors and Images : Light text on white backgrounds and dark text on dark backgrounds is not the right combination. Especially if you have a lot of text, it is very important that it is easy to read and doesn't hurt people's eyes. It is better not to include images that are more than a few kilobytes. It is safer to use 10-12 kB images. This makes sure that your website does not take too much time to load.

2. Use less Eye Candy: Don't bother putting 'Eye Candy' on your site like menus with sounds. Some browsers don't support them. It is not necessary to incorporate several images in a webpage unless it is entirely meant for images. It is a good idea to strike a balance between an image and the content related to it.

3. Avoid Popup Window : They are extremely annoying and visitors don’t like to see them either. If your free web host gives you the option of a banner in a popup window or one at the top of the page choose the one on the page.

4. Keep Adverts To minimum : Too much adverts spoil the look and feel of your sites, and the visitors don’t like to see to many of them in screen. Although it may be tempting to have more adverts to try and make more money but just 2 or 3 highly targeted adverts will make you more money and your visitors won't give up and leave, either.

5. Hide Visitor Counter : It is extremely important to track your visitors, especially as your site grows, but showing the actual number of visitors serves no good purpose. If you have very few visitors then people who see that on your site will think it is unpopular, has no good content and will leave. If you have a lot of visitors then people won't really care about how many visitors you've had. It is better to use a good tracking service or hiding your counter.

6. Better Navigation : The visitors to your site won’t know where you put each piece of information. They need to be shown exactly where to find what they want. Use descriptive links. Always have an obvious link back to your homepage. If at all possible you should include a search function.

7. Don't Keep Moving Things : When designing a web site, the first thing you should remember is to keep a consistent design. The only page which can be different is the main page. If you keep moving around your site's navigation or if every page is completely different from the others, your visitors will get confused.

8. Visitors are Not Interested In You Or Your Awards : One of the mistakes that a lot of sites, especially smaller ones, make is to have too much on their website telling users about the person who built it and showcasing the awards the website has won. Most people on the web will be looking only for information. It is all right to have some information about you on a separate section of your site but don't make it a central part. Also, don't put awards all over your front page.

9. Don't Crowd The Screen : A very important thing to do when designing your website is to leave a bit of space. Even though screen space is precious and you should try and make the best use of it, try to leave some blank space. Leave margins, use shorter paragraphs and don't fill up the screen with animated GIFs. If there is space, your site will look 'clean' and 'open' and users will like it. Using animated GIFs will draw your users' attention away from your content, which is what they are at your site for. Never ever try images that come in multi-color that flash and blink comically.

10. Make Your Site Sticky : Some ways of making your site 'sticky' like this is to offer a service (like e-mail from Everyone.net), have a newsletter, update regularly or include news headlines on your site. It could save you a lot of time. Free E-mail Free News Headlines Care to add more.

Please add it as a comment. Thanks.

Drug Research and Technology updates

Here are some drug research updates from my reading-

Trichostatin A may prevent premature labor -

Trichostatin A, a cancer treatment, "may prevent premature labour," according to researchers from Newcastle University publication. They tested "trichostatin A on tissue taken from 36 women undergoing a caesarean," finding "an average 46 percent reduction in contractions for the spontaneously contracting tissue and an average 54 percent reduction in the oxytocin induced contractions."

Study indicates basal insulin regimen may be better for some patients with type 2 diabetes-

An online publication dated Oct. 22 in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that "patients with type 2 diabetes who require insulin on top of oral therapy to control glycated hemoglobin may do better if they start on a basal insulin versus biphasic insulin or prandial insulin."

Researchers examine use of resveratrol to affect type 2 diabetes?

According to a study published online in the Journal Endocrinology, reports are that a study in mice population suggests that resveratrol "may help the body fend off type 2 diabetes".

Is Liraglutide a better tool for weight loss than other obesity drugs ?

In a study published online in The Lancet, it has been published that "In the fight against obesity, the investigational diabetes drug liraglutide (Victoza) may be a better tool than some weight loss drugs, even for patients who don't have diabetes, researchers said". "In a clinical trial, more than 75 percent of obese nondiabetic patients on a high three-mg dose of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue lost more than five percent of their body weight," while "30 percent of those on placebo lost that much, and just 44 percent of those on orlistat (Alli, Xenical)," researchers said.

Do incidences of roravirus infection potentially seem to decrease with vaccinations ?

According to data published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report ,"Since routine vaccination of infants against rotavirus started in the United States in 2006, there's been a substantial reduction in the number of cases of rotavirus disease in children. Before 2006, rotavirus caused 20 to 60 deaths each year in the United States, along with 55,000 to 70,000 hospitalizations, 205,000 to 272,000 emergency department visits, and 410,000 outpatient visits among children younger than five." Yet, an "analysis of data from a national network of sentinel laboratories showed that the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 rotavirus seasons were both shorter and began later than pre-vaccine seasons (2000 to 2006)."

Disclaimer : The above information is for dissemination of knowledge only and should not be construed as medical advise. The scientific data presented here has been studied from leading publications already in public domain. The author however, assumes no responsibility regarding trueness of the data. Reference to stated journals and websites is encouraged in case of additional interest.

Update on Romidepsin formulation

Here is an update on drug product research from my reading -

On November 5, 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted approval to romidepsin for injection (ISTODAX, Gloucester Pharmaceuticals Inc.) for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) in patients who have received at least one prior systemic therapy.

The efficacy and safety of romidepsin were evaluated in two single-arm, multicenter, open label trials. Efficacy was assessed in 167 patients with CTCL treated in the United States, Europe, and Australia. Study 1 included 96 patients with CTCL who had received at least 1 prior systemic therapy. Study 2 included 71 patients with CTCL who received a median of 2 prior systemic therapies. In both trials, patients could be treated until disease progression. Overall response was evaluated according to a composite endpoint that included assessments of skin involvement, lymph node and visceral involvement, and Sézary cells.

The primary efficacy endpoint for both trials was the overall response rate (ORR) based on the investigator assessments, and defined as the proportion of patients with confirmed complete response (CR) or partial response (PR). The ORRs in these two trials were similar (34 and 35% in Study 1 and Study 2, respectively) and CR rates were the same (6%). The median response duration was 15 months in Study 1 and 11 months in Study 2.

Safety data was available and evaluated in 185 patients with CTCL. The most common adverse reactions in Study 1 were nausea, fatigue, infections, vomiting and anorexia. The most common adverse reactions in Study 2 were nausea, fatigue, anemia, thrombocytopenia, ECG T-wave changes, neutropenia and lymphopenia. Serious adverse reactions reported in > 2% of the patients in Study 1 were infection, sepsis, and pyrexia. Serious adverse reactions reported in > 2% of the patients in Study 2 were infection, supraventricular arrhythmia, neutropenia, fatigue, edema, central line infection, ventricular arrhythmia, nausea, pyrexia, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia.

The recommended dose and schedule of romidepsin is 14 mg/m2 intravenously over 4 hours on days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle.

For further information please contact :

http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/CDER/ucm082585.htm

Disclaimer : The above information is for dissemination of knowledge only and should not be construed as medical advise. The scientific data presented here has been studied from leading publications already in public domain. The author however, assumes no responsibility regarding trueness of the data. Reference to stated journals and websites is encouraged in case of additional interest.

Drug Research update : new anti-HIVs

Here is an update on drug research from my reading-

The drug industry’s response to the HIV epidemic is widely viewed as a story of sterling R&D

success. With nearly 30 drugs in five different classes and lifelong three-drug treatment as the standard of care, innovation now centers on developing fixed-dose combinations to minimize dosing requirements and the risk of HIV mutations. Given this primacy of combinations, it’s apt that GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer are doing a little combining of their own—by spinning off their separate HIV portfolios and pipelines into a single independent entity.

Called ViiV Healthcare, the subsidiary aims to catch entrepreneurial fire by operating like any other struggling biotech bankrolled entirely by its own portfolio. First year sales are projected to be $2.4 billion. The terms of the deal reflect the relative valuations of each firm’s HIV assets, with Glaxo at 85 percent equity and Pfizer at 15 percent. In fact, this so-called joint venture looks more like a Glaxo experiment in business development. ViiV CEO Dominique Limet is the former head of personalized medicine at the British firm, while eight of the nine members of the ViiV executive team are also Glaxo alums. Cynics have noted that Pfizer may have been only too happy to unload its lone HIV drug, Selzentry, on Glaxo, whose globe-trotting commercial HIV operation can handle the well-intentioned but star-crossed product.

ViiV Healthcare’s pipeline features five antiretrovirals in Phase II and one in Phase I, a spread of non-nukes, integrase inhibitors, and CCR5 antagonists. According to Shaw, the most promising is Glaxo’s integrase blocker, which has shown “impressive” efficacy; if it pans out, it could give Merck’s first-in-class Isentress a run for its money.

In the absence of any truly transformative approach to HIV—not to mention a cure—drug combinations will remain the key to meeting patient needs. And the competition is only intensifying. Gilead expects to launch two triple-combo, one-a-day pills over the next few years, one in collaboration with fellow biotech Tibotec. ViiV’s best strategy may be to focus on developing a franchise of nucleoside-sparing fixed-dose options or something a little wild and crazy like bundling its protease inhibitor, Lexiva, with an integrase inhibitor.

Reference-

http://pharmexec.findpharma.com/pharmexec/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=639343

Disclaimer : The above information is for dissemination of knowledge only and should not be construed as medical advise. The scientific data presented here has been studied from leading publications already in public domain. The author however, assumes no responsibility regarding trueness of the data. Reference to stated journals and websites is encouraged in case of additional interest.

Controlled release technology research article now available online- part 2

Research Article

Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Volume 82 Issue 12, Pages 1292 - 1295
Published Online: 17 Sep 2006
Copyright © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company
View all previous titles for this journal

Controlled-release isosorbide dinitrate pellets. Part II: In vivo studies
J. K. Lalla *, Shruti U. Bhat, D. M. Girappanavar

Department of Pharmaceutics, Principal K. M. Kundnani College of Pharmacy, Plot No. 47, Dr. R. G. Thadani Marg, Worii Sea Face, Bombay, 400018, India

or Shruti Bhat at http://www.drshrutibhat.com

*Correspondence to J. K. Lalla, Department of Pharmaceutics, Principal K. M. Kundnani College of Pharmacy, Plot No. 47, Dr. R. G. Thadani Marg, Worii Sea Face, Bombay, 400018, India.

Isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) capsules containing 20.0 and 40.0 mg of the drug (reported earlier in Part I of this series) were evaluated in vivo in eight healthy volunteers in a double-blind study with marketed sustained-release preparations containing 20.0 and 40.0 mg of ISDN. The results were normalized by administering placebo and four conventional ISDN tablets, each containing 5.0 mg of ISDN, to the same group of volunteers in a separate study. The blood pressure of the volunteers was monitored for 8 h. The results indicate that the capsules prepared in the laboratory with the new formulation gave controlled release when compared with the respective marketed SR product.

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/113293615/abstract

Controlled release technology research article now available online- part 1

Research Article

Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Volume 82 Issue 12, Pages 1288 - 1291
Published Online: 21 Sep 2006
Copyright © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company

Controlled-release isosorbide dinitrate pellets. Part I: Design and evaluation of controlled-release capsule dosage form

J. K. Lalla *, Shruti U. Bhat

Department of Pharmaceutics, Principal K. M. Kundnani College of Pharmacy, Plot No. 47, DR. R. G. Thadani Marg, Worii Sea Face, Bombay, 400 018, India

or Shruti Bhat at http://www.drshrutibhat.com

*Correspondence to J. K. Lalla, Department of Pharmaceutics, Principal K. M. Kundnani College of Pharmacy, Plot No. 47, DR. R. G. Thadani Marg, Worii Sea Face, Bombay, 400 018, India.

Design and evaluation of 8-h controlled-release isosorbide dinitrate capsules representing 20.0 and 40.0 mg of the drug are described. The formulation conforms to the total drug incorporated in the dosage form. In vitro dissolution studies indicate that the formulations behave as controlled-release dosage forms. Studies of storage at 30 ± 2 and 40 ± 2 °C at relative humidities of 72.0 and 90.0%, respectively, indicate that both temperature and humidity accelerate the degradation of the formulation. These results indicate the need of controlled packaging conditions during manufacture of these capsules.

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/113338157/abstract

What is RSS Feed ?

RSS is an acronym for Really Simple Syndication and also sometimes Rich Site Summary.

The word syndication indicates that the content, which may be in form of blogs, articles, news headlines, audio or videos, is submitted to several recipients in form of web feed formats. An RSS document is, in fact, called a feed or a web feed. It is like article syndication where the same article is submitted to several article directories for publication.
Its other full form, Rich Site Summary indicates that usually the feed is submitted in form of a summarized text. The whole process of submission of content takes place automatically.

Usually website content or blogs are updated to keep the content fresh and up-to-date, so, as soon as the content is updated, it reaches the audience instantly. Sometimes some subscribers to the RSS feed avidly wait for latest updates on their niches; they get it immediately without having to make enquiries about it.

RSS feeds can be read with the help of a special kind of software called RSS reader, feed reader or an aggregator. RSS reader can be read through the desktops or mobile devices. The information is published through a standardized XML file format and can be read through several different programs.

Any person can start subscribing to an RSS feed by entering the URL of the feed into the feed reader or by just clicking on RSS icon in the browser that starts the subscription process by asking for his name and email id. The RSS reader keeps checks on the updates in the content subscribed to by the user and provides an interface to monitor and read the feeds.

There are several advantages of RSS feeds both for the content creators as well as the subscribers.

Content creators can share their content online with thousands of subscribers almost free of cost. Once you create your content, it is automatically broadcasted to the subscribers. It is not like articles which you need to submit manually to scores of article directories. The whole process is very tiring, monotonous and time consuming.

It is an ingenious way of getting back links to your websites and promoting your products and services. RSS feeds are, therefore, a very useful platform for search engine optimization of your website.

No website can survive in the present scenario, if the content in it is not updated frequently to keep up with times. Quite often the webmasters are not good at creating the content. Hiring ghost authors proves costly. The best way for them, therefore, is to subscribe to RSS feeds of the niche of their sites. They can get content on regular basis.

If Adsense ads are the main source of revenue from your website, RSS feeds can come as boon. You get the content relevant to the subject of your site on regular basis. Google keeps inducting the Adsense ads while you continue to make money.

If you are running an online blog, magazine, newsletter or a newspaper, you do not need to run after the authors for writing content for you. You only need to subscribe to different RSS feeds connected with the content of your site.

You can be notified of the fresh arrivals in the shopping malls or stores of your choice. You do not have to log on the website of the store or the shopping mall. You can also receive weather alerts and news about other changing weather conditions.

Reference :

http://www.seotrafficspider.com/index.php

SEO mistakes to avoid during blogging :

There are several common mistakes that people tend to make frequently with regard to search engine optimization. Below is a list of the most common ones, which if avoided, can help you gain better results and profitability in the long run.

1) Optimizing the wrong keywords

The basic step for initiating SEO is choosing the keywords that are relevant to your site and optimizing them. However, if you end up selecting the wrong keywords, all the time and effort dedicated in achieving a top ranking will be wasted. While choosing keywords, there are two types of common mistakes that are made:

a) Selecting keywords that bring untargeted traffic

One of the biggest mistakes that people often make is concentrating their efforts on driving more traffic to their sites with little regard to the quality of traffic. By this we mean optimizing a website for keywords which have absolutely no relevance to the site. For example, since the keyword “cameras” is quite popular, several people may try to optimize their website for this particular keyword with the thought that if they can attain a good ranking “cameras,” their site will get huge amount of traffic. However, if your site does not deal with cameras but attracts people to your site due to the keyword popularity, it will only create a bad user experience. This is because users will return back when they notice that the site has no relevance to what they are looking for.

b) Choosing highly competitive keywords

This is another common mistake which many people make. While building a keyword list, you may want to use the most popular keywords that are searched by users. For instance, if your website promotes mortgages and loans, you may want to use the keyword “finance” as it is extremely popular. However, you may fail to realize that such keywords are highly competitive with several other advertisers competing for it and it will be very difficult to beat those sites and get the top ranking in the search results. A better option would be to choose less competitive keywords even though they may not be as popular as the competitive keywords.

2) Overstuffing meta keywords tag

It is often seen that people stuff too may keywords in the meta keywords tag in the expectation of achieving a high ranking. However, as far as search engine ranking is concerned, meta keywords tag does not hold the same value like before. By putting hundreds of keywords in it, it is not going to help you achieve a top ranking. To attain a high ranking it is important that you place your keywords in the content of your webpages.

3) Keyword repetition

Yet another common mistake people often make is continuously repeating their keywords in the content of their webpage. It is true that you may have to repeat your keywords in your text a number of times to achieve the best keyword density, however, it does not mean overloading your page with keywords placed endlessly everywhere without making any grammatical sense. Additionally, those practicing this technique stand to lose out in the long run because search engines may penalize their site for employing such practices which are considered unethical.

4) Creating multiple similar doorway pages

Another belief that people hold to be true is that different pages should be created for different search engines since each search engine has its own algorithm. This concept is good as far as theory goes, however, it is not helpful and considered unethical. Firstly, it would take up all your time and efforts to not only create several pages which would become difficult to manage but also to update them according to the changes in the search engine algorithms. Secondly, though you may create these pages for different search engines, they may end up being quite similar to each other. Also, since doorway pages are considered as a Black Hat SEO technique which is unethical, it can also lead to your site getting banned. The best idea would be to create a single page and optimize it for one keyword for all search engines.

5) Use of hidden text

This involves inserting text that is mostly repetitive use of keywords usually placed at the bottom of the page. This hidden text is text colored to blend with the background of the page and is invisible to the user visiting the page. In order to achieve a top search engine ranking, webmasters seek to create keyword rich webpages. However, you cannot repeat keywords in a webpage endlessly as it would appear very weird to the visitor. So to make sure that the page content does not come across as strange to the visitor, but at the same time the page is keyword rich, webmasters place keywords having the same color as the background color of the webpage. The concept behind this is that the search engine spiders can detect the hidden text even if people cannot see it, as these spiders read the page’s content through the HTML code. However, it would be in your best interest to avoid using this technique as it is considered unethical and can lead to your site getting penalized.

6) Creating graphical webpages

Search engines are mainly text driven and are oblivious to images, sounds, flash movies, java script, frames, directories, and similar stuff. Having lots graphics on your website may not be very helpful from the SEO point of view as these will not aid in achieving a high ranking. What you need to have on your site is a good amount of keyword rich content that can be crawled and indexed by search engine spiders.

7) Page Cloaking

Page Cloaking means using one webpage for the search engine that crawls the site and then altering the webpage to show another page to users. This alteration of web pages is used as a practice to trick the search engines and will deceive users about the content they will see when clicking on the search results. This technique is generally used either to prevent the competitors from viewing the source code of the optimized pages or to prevent users from seeing pages that are meant to be crawled and indexed by the search engines solely. This tactic makes it possible to prevent the search engines from spidering pages that users will see. It is recommended that you refrain from using this technique to prevent your site getting penalized or banned.

8) Too many page submissions per day

Another mistake most commonly made by people is making too many page submissions in a single day to the search engines. This can lead to overlooking of many pages from the site by the search engines. Preferably you should try submitting one page per day to search engines even though there are some search engines which accept more than one page submission from a specific domain. This will help you remain within the submission limits of all search engines, especially those which only accept one page in a day.

9) Using submission tools that are automated

It is a fact that manual submissions of sites to search engines require a lot of time and effort. Most often to save time, a lot of people use automated submission software or tools that can quickly submit sites to the search engines. However, it is important to understand that using such tools are not in the best interest of search engines and can lead to your webpages being penalized. Thus, it is better to either hire professionals who can do this for you and if budget is a constraint you can do it yourself as it would be worth your time and effort.

10) Dedicating too much time for search engine ranking

Another common mistake that people usually make is getting over obsessed to achieve high rankings to such an extent that they overlook the other important factors like their website quality, products and service quality, and so on that are equally important. No doubt search engine optimization is the best way to drive real time traffic to your site and requires you to devote a lot of time and effort to implement it but it may not be of much help to you if you lack in your product or service quality, customer satisfaction, etc. You may enjoy top rankings in the search engines but it is also crucial to devote considerable amount of time and efforts to your website as well because the ultimate goal of any business is conversions.

Reference :

http://www.seotrafficspider.com/index.php