Eisai reports upbeat results from PhIII epilepsy study

Two years after dumping its research program for perampanel as a possible new therapy for Parkinson's, Eisai says that it has reaped positive Phase III data for the drug in epilepsy. Researchers say that E2007 reduced median seizure frequency while increasing the percentage of patients who experienced a big drop in seizure frequency. Investigators said that they tracked a statistically significant response for patients taking both the 4 mg and 8 mg doses compared to placebo. Two more Phase III...

Jazz fibromyalgia drug nixed by FDA panel

An FDA advisory panel meeting Friday poured cold water on Jazz Pharmaceuticals' bid to market JZP-6 as a treatment for fibromyalgia as the drug contains a form of gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), the so-called "date rape" drug. Jazz's narcolepsy drug Xyrem contains the same active ingredient as the proposed fibromyalgia treatment. Panelists figured that it would be too risky to make JZP-6 available to a population of up to 12 million people in the U.S....

UT team tackles therapeutic Parkinson’s vaccine

Investigators engaged in preclinical studies have already seen how blocking a particular protein can reduce the level of nerve damage associated with Parkinson's disease. Now researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston want to see if that same approach can be used to develop a therapeutic vaccine for the debilitating ailment....

FDA panel backs new epilepsy drug from GSK, Valeant

GlaxoSmithKline and Valeant got a solid endorsement for their new epilepsy drug Potiga (ezogabine) from the FDA's panel of experts, putting them on track to a likely approval. The experts unanimously agreed that the drug would benefit epilepsy patients whose meds couldn't stop seizures. And they agreed that careful monitoring would flag patients who experience an inability to urinate while taking the drug. Two of the experts abstained on the main safety issue, which is typically reversible once...

FDA staffers weighs risks, rewards of new epilepsy drug

Staffers at the FDA have red-flagged their concern about cases of urinary retention tracked in some patients taking Valeant Pharmaceutical's experimental new epilepsy medicine Potiga (ezogabine), which comes before an advisory panel on Wednesday. But the staff review also noted that the drug appears to be effective and most cases of an inability to urinate were reversible. Valeant is looking for an FDA approval to use the medicine as part of a combinational approach to...

Overtime work is bad for the heart

Working overtime is bad for the heart according to results from a long-running study following more than 10,000 civil servants in London (UK): the Whitehall II study.read...

Neuroscientist steers research into neurological disorders

Scientists at the Queensland Brain Institute have uncovered a vital clue into how the brain is wired, which could eventually steer research into nervous system disorders such as Parkinson's disease and cognitive disorders including...

A mother’s sensitivity may help language growth in children with autism spectrum disorder

A new study by researchers from the c. Although parenting styles are not considered as a cause for autism, this report examines how early parenting can promote resiliency in this population. The study entitled, "A Pilot Study of Maternal Sensitivity in the Context of Emergent Autism," is published online this month and will appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental...

Dementia in extreme elderly population expected to become epidemic

Researchers found that the incidence rate for all causes of dementia in people age 90 and older is 18.2 percent annually and significantly increases with age in both men and...

Mouse model may provide insight into the schizophrenic brain

Schizophrenia is an incredibly complex and profoundly debilitating disorder that typically manifests in early adulthood but is thought to arise, at least in part, from pathological disturbances occurring during very early brain development. Now, a new study published by Cell Press in the February 25 issue of the journal Neuron, manipulates a known schizophrenia susceptibility gene in the brains of fetal mice to begin to unravel the complex link between prenatal brain development and maturation...