The News Review:

- With its mix of academic medical centers and its diverse population…
- Ancient Chinese herb tested as epilepsy medicine
- Clinical trials to be registered
- 222-Trichloro-N-({2-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]-13-dioxo-23-dihydro…
- The Importance f Vitamin D And Problems Caused When Deficient
- The Sun News n-line | national news

With its mix of academic medical centers and its diverse population…
Florida Times-Union – Jul 21, 2007
Being an urban center Jacksonville has the minority populations such trials need she said. The region’s academic centers like Mayo Clinic and Shands have the infrastructure clinical trials need to be effective. Shands for instance has about 70 clinical research coordinators who do nothing but recruit trials said Alan Berger assistant dean of research at the University of Florida in Jacksonville. Large academic centers have the sub-specialists like radiologists and oncologists needed to conduct the studies and the patients needed to participate in them. “We are routinely approached by NIH and pharmaceutical companies to participate in the leading stroke trials because we can fulfill the recruitment needs” Berger said. “We’re admitting between 700 and 1000 stroke [victims] a year. Why is this good for area residents?Clinical trials which are required before a drug or treatment can be made available to the general public are often the only hope for people with terminal illnesses or for whom existing treatments have failed.

Ancient Chinese herb tested as epilepsy medicine
emaxhealth.com – Jul 21, 2007
The ranks of epilepsy medications have expanded considerably in the past hundred years due mostly to the addition of pharmaceutically derived compounds. Still people with epilepsy who account for up to two percent of the population may continue to suffer either from seizures or from secondary effects associated with their medicines. "About two out of three people with epilepsy do not achieve the goal of therapy which is seizure freedom without side effects" said Steven Schachter associate director of clinical research at the HMS sher Institute and HMS professor of neurology and epileptologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Part of the problem is that epilepsy is a brain disorder that has several underlying mechanisms. A drug that works in one patient may not work in another. Yet all epileptic seizures are characterized by uncontrolled electrical activity. ne way to control them would be to block substances in the brain such as glutamate that cause neurons to fire.

Clinical trials to be registered
Hindu – Jul 21, 2007
Ganguly on Friday launched “The Clinical Trials Registry-India” (CTRI) where all clinical trials conducted in India would be registered before enrolment of the first participant. Introduced to improve transparency and restore public confidence in clinical research the registry will require 20 items to be declared at the time of registration. These items meet the requirements of the World Health rganisation International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. “There has been a slow but steady rise in clinical trials being conducted in India making our country a preferred clinical trial hub” said Prof. Ganguly adding “However as a series of incidences of unfortunate events associate with clinical trials came to light there has been a growing call for transparency accountability and accessibility of clinical trials and their results in order to re-establish public trust in clinical trial data. With the launch of this Registry India will be among the few select countries including Australia United Kingdom and the United States that are making researchers accountable through public disclosure.

222-Trichloro-N-({2-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]-13-dioxo-23-dihydro…
Environmental Science & Technology – Environmental Science & Technology – Jul 21, 2007
is a Clinical Research Fellow with the FNRS. * To whom correspondence should be addressed. Phone: +32 477 62 20 83. Fax: +32 23 32 53 35.

The Importance f Vitamin D And Problems Caused When Deficient
Medical News Today – Medical News Today (press release) – Jul 21, 2007
In utero and childhood calcium and vitamin D deficiency prevents the maximum deposition of calcium in the skeleton. Studies have shown people living at higher latitudes (where the angle of the sun’s rays are unable to sufficiently produce adequate amounts of vitamin D in the skin) are more likely to develop and die of Hodgkin’s lymphoma colon pancreatic prostate ovarian breast and other cancers. According to Holick both prospective and retrospective epidemiologic studies have also shown an association between low levels of vitamin D and an increased risk for Type 1. “However one can not obtain these amounts from most dietary sources unless one is eating oily fish frequently” says Holick.

The Sun News n-line | national news
Daily Sun – Jul 21, 2007
"A growing body of evidence is defining the biology behind fibromyalgia that causes such devastating and constant pain" said Dr. Jon Russell one of the study’s authors and associate professor of medicine in the division of clinical immunology and rheumatology and director of the university clinical research center at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. "A reduction in pain is critical for people living with this condition. With positive new data and new treatments on the horizon the outlook for people with fibromyalgia has never been better. " The 14-week placebo-controlled study included 745 patients with fibromyalgia who were randomized to receive Lyrica (300mg 450mg or 600mg) or placebo daily. Patients were asked to measure their pain on a scale of zero to 10; the baseline score for study participants was 6.