Metabolic Solutions Development Company has raised enough money to proceed with a clinical trial of its novel drug candidate that will target type 2 diabetes, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The company, which develops therapeutics to treat diabetes and other metabolic disorders, announced this week that it had raised $23.5 million, bringing the total raised since 2006 to $50 million. The funds will allow the company to conduct a Phase 2b double-blind clinical trial with more than 420 patients at 30 planned sites. MSDC-0160, the drug candidate, would significantly improve the safety...

Healthcare reform has been a buzzed-about topic in the U.S. since the mid-1990s – and for good reason, too. A recent survey found that patients in the U.S. have the worst health experience out of 11 developed countries. The survey, conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, looked at healthcare in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, and found that in nearly all measurements the U.S. came in dead last. For example, 20 percent of U.S. patients reported having trouble paying their medical bills, compared to rates of 9 percent...

Many cancer survivors complain of “chemo brain” – or a mental fog that causes them to forget things and impairs their ability to concentrate long after treatment ends. However, a new study suggests that this may not just be limited to chemotherapy patients. Analyzing data gathered from 2001 to 2006 by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey on 9,819 adults ages 40 and older, researchers found that individuals with a history of cancer were more than 40 percent more likely to report memory impairment. Treatments to fight these effects are currently being...

Infertility is a devastating medical condition, affecting more than 10 percent of couples worldwide. However, thanks to the work of Robert Edwards, a professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge – and this year’s Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine – for these individuals, the possibility to conceive a child is now a reality. While still a Ph.D. student at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Edwards got the idea for in vitro fertilization, which he later developed through a research partnership with gynecologist Patrick Steptoe. In July 1978, Edwards and...

Rarely does one see young people going through health screenings, which are expensive and time consuming. Although it may seem like a waste of time, such tests can actually be helpful. This also applies to cholesterol screening. According to a research released in an issue of the Annals of Family Medicine, despite having less than half of them are screened for high cholesterol. Coronary artery disease, better known as coronary heart disease, is an upsurge of plaque, fatty material and calcium in one’s arteries. It stops the regular flow of oxygen and blood to the heart, leaving the person...

The Native Medicinal Plant Research Garden in Kansas is part of a research plan at the university that aims to grow and harvest native plant life in search of medicinal compounds suitable for remedies, food, cosmetics, etc. Senior scientist Kelly Kindscher of the Kansas Biological Survey said that the world is in dire need of herbal antioxidants, preservatives or food. “If we can find some antioxidants from native plants, we can develop them into a commercial product that would be great for the Kansas economy,” he added. The Plant Research Garden is part of a program that is sponsored by...

Researchers from Austria tested 100 people suffering from tinnitus and 100 who were not suffering from it, and then compared this with mobile phone usage. They found out that the disease was about 70% likely to be in people who used their cell phone for about 10 minutes each day. The study was published in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine journal. However, according to the British Tinnitus Association, such a claim remains unproven. Despite drugs, intense noise and head trauma being common factors that trigger the risk of the ear disease, in several cases, the causes are...

Even with the advancement of medical technology, there remain a growing number of people who become skeptical of its capabilities and turn to natural remedies, homeopathic medicines and over-the-counter medications. Considering the tight economy the world is facing, it is no wonder that people are going for the cheapest way to get treated. Flexcin is one of those natural medicines that people prefer to take. In Denver, it doubled its sales since the beginning of 2010. Some believe that people are self-diagnosing instead of going to the doctor for a checkup. According to Cari Friesleben, a...

Experts have already cautioned parents of the risk of using domestic spoons in giving their kids medicines as it could result to overdose. The experts examined 49 tablespoons and 71 teaspoons gathered from 25 homes in Attica, Greece. The study showed that the capacity of the teaspoons were from 2.5mL to 7.3mL, with an average volume of 4.4mL. The tablespoons used had a capacity of 6.7mL to 13.4mL, with an average volume of 10.4mL and median 10.3mL. According to Alfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences Director Professor Matthew E. Falagas, there was a huge difference between the spoons’...

It was almost 50 years ago when antibiotics started to change the world of modern medicine. This almost forgotten drug was once described as close to being a cure-all. Doctors were prescribing their patients with the drug to remedy various medical problems. It was not until the discovery of chloramphenicol that they ceased prescribing it, as it contained very dangerous side effects. Now, there is effort seen in reviving the use of the medicine, as well as other related drugs, despite their dangers. This is due to scientists’ speculations that they might be the ones that suppress lethal...