US Pharm.2008;33(12):HS-18.
Methadone Effective Against
Leukemia
In what may be a
breakthrough study, Claudia Friesen and colleagues of the Institute of Legal
Medicine at the University of Ulm in Germany said study data support the
finding that methadone, a drug generally used by drug addicts as a substitute
for heroin and other opioid drugs, appears to be a potent killer of resistant
leukemia cells. Their findings are published in Cancer Research.
According to the researchers,
methadone activates the mitochondrial pathway inside leukemia cells, which
switches on enzymes called caspases. These prompt a cell into
apoptosis, or a programmed cell death.
Diabetes Risk and Vitamin
C–Rich Diet
A 12-year study
conducted at Addenbrooke Hospital in Cambridge, England, uncovered that
increased blood levels of vitamin C may reduce the risk of developing diabetes
by as much as 62%.
According to lead author
Anne-Helen Harding, "The strong independent association observed in this
prospective study, together with biological plausibility, provides persuasive
evidence of a beneficial effect of vitamin C and fruit and vegetable intake on
diabetes risk." The findings are published in the Archives of
Internal Medicine.
Schizophrenia Symptoms
Improve With Estrogen Patch
Adding estrogen
patches to conventional antipsychotic therapies significantly reduces symptoms
in women with schizophrenia. According to a study done by Jayashri Kulkarni,
MBBS, MPM, PhD, and colleagues of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia,
women given 100 mcg/day of estrogen by patch plus standard drug therapy showed
reductions in positive schizophrenia symptoms, general psychopathological
symptoms, and overall scores on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scales. The
investigators' results are published in the Archives of General
Psychiatry.
FDA Warns Against Heart
Drugs Combination
The FDA warned the
public that combining simvastatin with the antiarrhythmia drug amiodarone
could result in rhabdomyolysis, a rare muscle injury that can lead to kidney
failure or death. According to the FDA, while all classes of statin
medications carry a potential risk of causing rhabdomyolysis, the risk seems
to be "more pronounced" when simvastatin is given with amiodarone.
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