While some teenagers may puff on cigarettes to 'self-medicate' against the blues, scientists have found that smoking may actually increase depressive symptoms in some adolescents.
It is published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.
Link:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/uom-sid082710.php
Source:EurekAlert

The long-term study involved a global consortium, including Johns Hopkins researchers from the Center for Inherited Disease Research who performed genome-wide association studies on more than 4,000 DNA samples — half from unrelated patients with Parkinson's and half from healthy "controls." The team confirmed that a gene in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region was strongly linked with Parkinson's disease; this region contains a large number of genes related to immune system function.
It is published in Nature Genetics.
Link:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/jhmi-npg082710.php
Source:EurekAlert

Scientists have identified a genetic basis for determining the severity of allergic asthma in experimental models of the disease.
The disease process appears to begin when airway exposure to environmental allergens causes dysfunctional regulation of a gene called complement factor 3 (C3), which works through a part of the immune system called the complement activation cascade. This leads to overzealous production of IL-17A by airway cells and sets off what the scientists describe as an "amplification loop," when IL-17A in turn induces more C3 production at the airway surface.
It is reported in the Aug. 29 Nature Immunology.
Link:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/cchm-spt082410.php
Source:EurekAlert

A world-wide collaboration of researchers has identified the first-ever genetic risk factor associated with common types of migraine. The researchers, who looked at the genetic data of more than 50,000 people, have produced new insights into the triggers for migraines attacks and they hope their research will open the door for novel therapeutics to prevent migraine attacks.
The team found that patients with a particular DNA variant on Chromosome 8 between two genes – PGCP and MTDH/AEG-1 – have a significantly greater risk for developing migraine.
It is published in Nature Genetics.
Link:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/wtsi-fgl082610.php
Source:EurekAlert

Sanofi-Aventis's new heart rhythm drug Multaq or dronedarone should be considered as a first-line treatment option for patients with atrial fibrillation, a common arrhythmia, according to medical guidelines released on Sunday.
Link:http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE67S04R20100829
Source:Reuters

It's never too late for smokers to do their hearts good by kicking the habit -- even after a heart attack has left them with significant damage to the organ's main pumping chamber, a new study suggests.
It is reported in American Journal of Cardiology, published online August 13.
Link:http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67P3UO20100826
Source:Reuters

A committee advising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will discuss Boehringer Ingelheim's Pradaxa pill based on the active ingredient dabigatran etexilate
on Sept. 20, raising the prospect of a speedy market entry for the first drug in a new class of blood thinners.
The date for the FDA panel's meeting puts Boehringer firmly on track to become the first to bring its product to the U.S. market for the prevention of strokes in patients suffering from atrial fibrillation, a common form of irregular heartbeat.
Link:http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNLDE67P1TI20100826?rpc=44
Source:Reuters

A new genetic substudy of PLATO (A Study of PLATelet Inhibition and Patient Outcomes) showed that the effects on a combined primary endpoint of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke seen in Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS) patients who received the investigational oral antiplatelet treatment, ticagrelor (BRILINTA), were maintained, whether or not they had the genetic variability that has been previously shown to affect a patient’s response to clopidogrel.  The substudy is the first to look at both efficacy and bleeding endpoints of ACS patients treated with ticagrelor who carry variations in the CYP2C19 and ABCB1 genes. The data were presented today at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress in Stockholm, Sweden and simultaneously published in The Lancet.
Link:http://www.astrazeneca.com/media/latest-press-releases/brilinta-plato-substudy?itemId=11163238
Source:AstraZeneca

A committee advising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will discuss Boehringer Ingelheim's Pradaxa pill based on the active ingredient dabigatran etexilate
on Sept. 20, raising the prospect of a speedy market entry for the first drug in a new class of blood thinners.
The date for the FDA panel's meeting puts Boehringer firmly on track to become the first to bring its product to the U.S. market for the prevention of strokes in patients suffering from atrial fibrillation, a common form of irregular heartbeat.
Link:http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNLDE67P1TI20100826?rpc=44
Source:Reuters

Sanofi-Aventis SA said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepted for review its application to extend the indication of its Menactra vaccine to infants.
The vaccine protects against meningococcal disease, Sanofi said in a statement on PRNewswire.
Link:http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aHxA3S4QP3pM
Source:Bloomberg