DANGEROUS DECEIT

Drug Resistant Avian Flu

Three patients infected with the new H7N9 bird flu have developed resistance to antiviral drug treatment, causing great concern among doctors. By Edyta Zielinska | May 29, 2013  The H7N9 strain of bird flu circulating in China appears to have easily developed resistance to antiviral drug treatment, according to the authors of a new study published today (May 29) in The Lancet. Three out of 14 patients treated with antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu, which had helped control infection in other flu patients, became resistant to the treatment and failed to respond. Antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu were administered, and in most patients, the drugs helped reduce viral load, leading to better outcomes. However, three patients did not respond to the treatments, and two of them died. The apparent ease with which antiviral resistance emerges in H7N9 viruses is concerning; it needs to be closely monitored and considered in future pandemic response plans,” the authors of The Lancet article wrote. 
                                        Fighting pain with venom                                               The first—and as yet, the only—approved venom-derived drug that acts on the nervous system is the painkiller Prialt, a chemically identical version of a peptide isolated from the cone snail (Conus magus). Approved in 2004, Prialt works is injected into the fluid around the spine, where it blocks a calcium ion channel in neurons and inhibits the cells’ ability to transmit pain signals to the brain. National Center of Scientific Research (CRNS) in Paris announced the discovery of two peptides isolated from black mamba venom that can block neuronal acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), which play a key role in the pain pathway. In mice, these peptides—dubbed mambalgins—showed potent analgesic effects, as powerful as morphine, with no obvious toxicity. The researchers are now developing mambalgins into a human pain therapeutic with the venom-focused pharmaceutical company Theralpha. Ironically, the properties that make venom deadly are also what make it so valuable for medicine. Many venom toxins target the same molecules that need to be controlled to treat diseases. Venom works fast and is highly specific. Its active components—those peptides and proteins, working as toxins and enzymes—target particular molecules, fitting into them like keys into locks. Most medicines work the same way, fitting into and controlling molecular locks to thwart ill effects. It’s a challenge to find the toxin that hits only a certain target, but already top medicines for heart disease and diabetes have been derived from venom. New treatments for autoimmune diseases, cancer, and pain could be available within a decade                                  RX CONFIDENTIAL BRING TO YOU BY                                                    PROFESSIONAL PHARMACY                                                                      32 STRAWBERRY HILL COURT STAMFORD,CT                                                              203-323-9988                                                                        A PHARMACIST’S TAKE ON THE OLD & NEW IN MEDICINE