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All News Analyses by this Author

Cladribine results

May 11, 2009

Analysis of:Two-Year Phase III Data Presented At AAN 61st Annual Meeting Show Positive Outcome Of Cladribine Tablets In Patients With Multiple Sclerosis | www.medicalnewstoday.com

This is a promising oral treatment  and I would expect FDA Approval

Bivaracetam and Keppra

May 1, 2009

Analysis of:UCB announces first results from Phase III brivaracetam studies in epilepsy | www.pipelinereview.com

Keppra is getting near patent expiration.  This analog may have advantages for treatment of myoclonus.  Bivaracetam had gotten orphan drug status in Europe.  The phase iii studies are disappointing.

Nuvigil for Jet lag

April 21, 2009

Analysis of:Cephalon to apply for FDA approval for Nuvigil for jet lag | www.reuters.com

This is an isomer of Provigil, with evidence of being longer acting. Previous attempts to get approval for Provigil have failed. This is a very big market.  As a presctription drug, like Provigil, it could be prescribed of label that has been one of Cephalon's lead products but patent for it may run out soon.  Itis likely to be at least as effective4 as Provigil and generic modafinil may offer stiff competition. Melatonin, easily available OTC, has often been recommended and may have some merit.

Fullerine/NMDA antagonist action

March 23, 2009

Analysis of:TAU's New Treatment Could Revive Diseased Brain Cells In Multiple Sclerosis Sufferers | www.medicalnewstoday.com

Gozin was able to synthsize a C60 fullerene combined with an NMDA receptor antagonist (ABS-75). The experiments in Weiner's lab at Harvard, using this material were published in J Clin Invest. 2008 Apr;118(4):1532-43. They were able to show that fullerene ABS-75 treatment initiated after disease onset reduced the clinical progression of chronic EAE in NOD mice immunized with myelin-oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) and that it reduced axonal loss and demyelination in the spinal cord. They also showed that in vitro it protected neurons from oxidative and glutamate-induced injury.

Teva is deserving

February 12, 2009

Analysis of:Teva Announces Approval and Launch of Generic Imitrex(R) Tablets | www.pipelinereview.com

Imitrex was the first of its class and still has been one of the best sellers.  A much less expensive version will be a boon to many headache sufferers and will also provide significant competition to the remaining patent protected drugs of this group, perhaps forcing major price reductions for all of them, including Imitrex.

Brain enhancement - what are the implications?

December 10, 2008

Analysis of:Scientists back brain drugs for healthy people | www.washingtonpost.com

Enhancement of brain functions can be a key to success in many areas of social interactions. This is not a simple issue of pharmacology alone. Certainly, one must consider that such drugs might be used both for enhancing the abilities of what we must consider positive forces (both defenders of our way of life, e.g. police and armed forces or developers of scientific tools) and by terrorist or criminal elements. Aside from the fact that currently available drugs may have undesirable or addicting side effects, it must be considered that regulation alone has not been successful as is evidenced by their use on college campuses, whether legally or illegally. Also, it is obvious that they are easily procurable by the "dark side."

Miami Site May Succeed in Quick Recruitment of a Study Population

December 1, 2008

Analysis of:Miami Jewish Home and Hospital, Berma Research Group and Segal Institute for Clinical Research Enrolling Local Patients in Study of Investigational Therapy to Treat Alzheimer's Disease | pharmalive.com

The CONNECTION study is important in that Dimebon has a mode of action different from all other current treatments. If the results of the phase II study are corroborated, Dimebon may be an important, additional treatment modality.

Wild speculation

November 10, 2008

Analysis of:Autism linked with rainfall in study | www.boston.com

I do not believe that any conclusions can be drawn from these data unless they can be confirmed by a larger, more wide ranging population sampling.

Azilect

September 2, 2008

Analysis of:ADAGIO Trial Results Show Teva's AZILECT(R) 1 Mg Tablets Slow Progression Of Parkinson's Disease | www.medicalnewstoday.com

This is a well conceived study and totally convincing

Elan choices in Tysabri exploitation are clearly outlined

October 16, 2007

Analysis of:Elan Mulls Options for MS Drug Tysabri | www.smartmoney.com

Mush of Elan's future will depend on the efficient and reasonable marketing of Tysabri.  The fact that more than 33,000 patients now have been treated worldwide without any new cases of PML favors Elan's success.

Excellent, reliable study

October 16, 2007

Analysis of:ECTRMS: Family History Worsens MS Severity | www.medpagetoday.com

The MS research team at UCSF is one of the most authoritative and reliable groups in the world and Dr. Zivdanov is a prominent research neurologist.  This study provides valuable insights on the genetics of MS.

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