During a study of 234 male athletes at one university, it was found that college athletes using performance enhancing drugs, ranging from steroids to stimulants to weight-loss supplements, are at an increased risk of using heavy drinking and using drugs like marijuana and cocaine in the future.

Study co-author Dr. Robert J. Pandina, director of the Center of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, said that most of the athletes are not only toying with recreational drugs and alcohol but also facing severe consequences as well.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Until now, it had been unclear whether college athletes who use performance enhancers might have any higher risk of misusing other substances. On one hand, Pandina explained, many athletes might avoid habits that could threaten their performance on the field. On the other, athletes drawn to performance-enhancing substances might have certain traits — such as a propensity toward “sensation seeking” — that make the misuse of alcohol or other drugs more likely.

In their study, the researchers, led by Dr. Jennifer F. Buckman, assistant research professor at the Center of Alcohol Studies, found that nearly one third of the athletes acknowledged using a performance-enhancing substance in the past year. The list included banned substances like steroids, creatine, “Andro,” stimulants and weight-loss aids.

The finding was disclosed in a new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs and the athletes in this study came from a large, NCAA Division I university where performance pressure is quite high.

Tags: creatine, Performance enhancing drugs, recreational drugs, steroids, supplements

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An existing drug for osteoporosis, Teriparitide, has been found as the first drug to prevent loss of cartilage from osteoarthritis after an incident of joint injury. This drug is also capable of regenerating a portion of cartilage lost because of osteoarthritis.

These findings were reported at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research in Denver.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Cartilage can become damaged by many kinds of injury and by mechanical stresses that come with age. Over time, damaged cartilage deteriorates to cause osteoarthritis (OA), with its attendant joint inflammation and pain. Currently available drugs like steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (e.g. Advil, Aleve) reduce pain but do not address the loss of cartilage behind the osteoarthritis, which is projected to afflict more than 50 million Americans by 2020.

Cartilage forms the sponge-like, shock-absorbing layers that keep the impact of running and jumping and lifting from grinding bones against each other in joints. The cell type at the heart of osteoarthritis is the chondrocyte, the cartilage-producing cell responsible for maintaining the integrity of joint cartilage.

This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and conducted by Randy Rosier, M.D., Ph.D., professor within the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at the University of Rochester Medical Center in collaboration with Erik Sampson, Todd O’Brien, Di Chen, Susan Bukata, J. Edward Puzas, Regis O’Keefe and Michael Zuscik within the Department of Orthopaedics and by Hani Awad in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Tags: joint injury, osteoporosis, steroids, teriparitide

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Walter Wahli and colleagues at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, have been able to identify a new mechanism that underlies the differential expression of proteins in male and female mice.

The difference is in relation to expression of liver proteins controlling a large number of whole-body processes such as energy generation and steroid hormone production.

From Sciencedaily.com:

The protein PPAR-alpha is able to enter the nucleus, where it acts to control the expression of a large number of genes. In the study, PPAR-alpha was found to repress the expression of many liver genes responsible for making proteins involved in immunity and steroid production and turnover only in female mice. One of the genes most strongly repressed in female mice by PPAR-alpha was Cyp7b1, which generates a protein involved in drug breakdown and the generation of cholesterol, steroids, and other fats. Detailed analysis revealed the mechanism by which PPAR-alpha repressed Cyp7b1 expression, it was modified by a process known as sumoylation.

Importantly, this only occurred in female mice. As PPAR-alpha–mediated repression protected female mice from estrogen-induced intrahepatic cholestasis, the most common liver disease during pregnancy, the authors suggest that PPAR-alpha agonists might provide a new approach to prevent this disease.

The research appeared in the Sept. 1, 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Tags: steroid, steroid hormone, steroids, sumoylation

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A worldwide warning of the possible lethal complications of herbal medicines when taken in large quantities, injected, or combined with prescription drugs has been issued by a forensic pathologist from the University of Adelaide.

This finding was made by Professor Roger Byard, the pathologist, and published in the US-based Journal of Forensic Sciences outlining the highly toxic nature of many herbal substances that are considered as safe by many.

From Sciencedaily.com:

In his paper he cites the case of an epileptic patient on prescription medicine who had also ingested a Chinese herbal preparation and lapsed into a coma. Cushing’s syndrome, a hormonal disorder, has also been linked to the ingestion of steroids and herbal cures mixed together.

Some herbal medicines may also have a variety of effects on standard drugs, according to Professor Byard. St John’s Wort can reduce the effects of warfarin and cause intermenstrual bleeding in women taking the oral contraceptive pill.

Gingko and garlic also increase the risk of bleeding with anticoagulants and certain herbal remedies such as Borage Oil and Evening Primrose Oil lower the seizure threshold in epileptics.

Professor Byard says the American Society of Anesthesiologists has recommended its patients discontinue using herbal medicines at least two weeks before surgery because of the risks of herbal and drug interaction, including an increased chance of hemorrhaging.

It was remarked by Professor Byard that the safe-considered substances can result in serious illnesses, exacerbate pre-existing health problems or even death when taken in excess or injected rather than ingested.

Tags: herbal medicines, prescription drugs, steroids

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A new generation of lens could greatly enhance the capabilities of radar or telecommunication system for providing a wide field of view and greater detail.

This lens was created by engineers at the Duke University and has the appearance of a miniature set of tan Venetian blinds.

From Sciencedaily.com:

“We’ve come up with what is in essence GRIN on steroids,” said Smith, whose team used similar metamaterials to create one of the first “cloaking” devices in 2006. “This first in a new class of lenses offers tantalizing possibilities and opens a whole new application for metamaterials.

“While these experiments were conducted in two dimensions, the design should provide a good initial step in developing a three-dimensional lens,” Smith said. “The properties of the metamaterials we used should also make it possible to use infrared and optical frequencies.”

The researchers say a single metamaterial lens could replace traditional optical systems requiring vast arrays of lenses and provide clearer images. They could also be used in large-scale systems such as radar arrays to better direct beams, a task not possible for traditional lenses, which would need to be too large to be practical.

This research was supported by the Army Research Office’s Multiple University Research Initiative (MURI).

Tags: optical systems, steroids

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Corticosteroids have been hailed as powerful drugs for treating inflammatory conditions such as asthma. Although the anti-inflammatory drugs offer instant relief to the patients, they bring severe side effects.

But the hope of drugs without adverse side effects has been realized by a team spearheaded by Dr. Henry J. Lee who has led antedrug research in anti-inflammatory, anti-AIDS and anti-cancer drugs for nearly 30 years.

These drugs, known as antedrugs, have been developed in a lab at Florida A&M’s College of Pharmacy.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Antedrug design is a new approach to create safer drugs that attack a problem such as inflammation then quickly become inactive before they can cause damage. The primary objective of this study was to synthesize a new group of corticosteroids that have anti-asthmatic and anti-inflammatory properties without adverse side effects.

The researchers synthesized new antedrugs, isoxazoline derivatives, from prednisolone. They then tested the derivatives in a test tube and found that antedrugs effectively reduced inflammation. In fact, they found isoxazoline derivatives were five times more potent than prednisolone in binding affinities to the cell corticosteroids receptors and reducing inflammation.

This study entitled as Anti-Inflammatory Activities of New Steroidal Antedrugs Isoxazoline Derivatives was conducted by Drs. Henry J. Lee, Younes J. Errahali, LeeShawn D. Thomas, Brenda G. Arnold and Glory B. Brown, all of the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tallahassee, Florida.

Tags: antedrugs, Asthma, corticosteroids, prednisolone

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Ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite, can be used as an effective option for offering relief to older women suffering from clinical frailty. This finding was revealed by a study presented by Penn Medicine researchers at ENDO, The Endocrine Society’s 91st Annual Meeting.

Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome that is characterized by unintentional weight loss, exhaustion, weakness, and low levels of anabolic hormones prompting increase in risk of falls, hospitalizations, disability, and even death.

From Sciencedaily.com:

In the pilot study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and Penn’s Institute on Aging, five frail women and five healthy women, all over the age of seventy, were randomized to receive an infusion of the hormone ghrelin or placebo. After a ghrelin transfusion, frail women in the study had a stronger, healthy appetite and increased anabolic hormone activity. The only side effect reported during the treatment was a transient sense of warmth that occurred in four women who received the ghrelin transfusion.

Now that safety and initial efficacy has been proven in this pilot study, larger follow-up studies will look at the potential therapeutic role of ghrelin or ghrelin mimetic agents in the frail population. At this time, these agents are only available for research use.

Anne Cappola, MD, ScM, Assistant Professor of Medicine in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, said that efforts to identify ways for preventing or treating common geriatric conditions has become highly important today due to the associated severe health consequences.

Tags: anabolic, anabolic hormones, frailty, ghrelin, placebo

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Vitamin D can prove its efficacy when it comes to slowing down the progressive decline in the ability to breathe occurring in asthmatic patients due to human airway smooth muscle (HASM) proliferation, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

It was found by the involved group that calcitriol, a form of vitamin D synthesized within the body, has the ability to reduce growth-factor-induced HASM proliferation in cells in asthmatic as well as non-asthmatic people.

From Sciencedaily.com:

With its anti-inflammatory qualities and its ability to inhibit smooth muscle proliferation, Dr. Damera said, calcitriol may become an important new therapy, used alone or in combination with already prescribed steroids, for treating steroid-resistant asthma.

Dr. Damera and his colleagues have also conducted experiments to determine the mechanism by which calcitriol retards HASM proliferation. They believe the vitamin works by inhibiting activation of distinct set of proteins responsible for cell-cycle progression.

The investigators have also conducted experiments to determine whether calcitriol, which is currently used to treat psoriasis, could be an effective therapy for COPD. Although preliminary, their data shows that calcitriol appears to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine secretions in COPD. As with asthma, the researchers believe, calcitriol may also have the added benefit of slowing, if not stopping, the progression of airway remodeling. Others in the field believe calcitriol may also have the potential to inhibit the development and growth of several types of cancer.

The researchers are now planning for a randomized control trial of calcitriol in patients with severe asthma with expectations of trial data in a year’s time as part of the University of Pennsylvania‘s Airway Biology Initiative.

Tags: Asthma, calcitriol, HASM, psoriasis, steroids, Vitamin D

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Asthma is one of most common chronic diseases and a major reason for admissions to hospitals in young children yet 26-45 percent of children face inadequate asthma control, as per a review in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

The review was produced as an initiative of the Canadian Thoracic Society and incorporated the latest scientific information obtained from randomized controlled trials since the Canadian Pediatric Asthma Consensus Guidelines were published in 2003.

From Sciencedaily.com:

The review provides key points for distinguishing between transient asthma and chronic asthma in preschoolers and information on managing both types.

For children with intermittent asthma, using inhaled corticosteroids only during attacks does not appear to be effective. Regular therapy with inhaled steroids should be used for children with more severe intermittent or persistent symptoms. Treatment with leukotriene receptor antagonists during the viral season may help to reduce symptoms and visits to health care providers. The possibility of another condition should be considered if children do not respond to optimal therapy.

It was stated by the authors that more research is required for evaluating the effectiveness of treatment options in young children.

Tags: Asthma, chronic asthma, corticosteroids, Inhaled steroids, steroids, transient asthma

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A human trial of a new osteoporosis drug is about to be initiated by Endocrinologists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC. The trial is expected to offer significant relief to osteoporosis patients suffering from weakened bones.

Principal investigator Mara J. Horwitz, M.D., an assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Pitt School of Medicine, and a practicing metabolic bone specialist at UPMC, said that 105 participants will be randomly assigned to receive either teriparitide, FDA-approved drug, or an experimental agent known as parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP).

From Sciencedaily.com:

Another kind of agent works on the other end of the bone metabolism see-saw: it promotes the creation of new bone. Teriparitide, a form of naturally occurring parathyroid hormone, currently is the only FDA-approved anabolic or bone-building agent in the United States. The experimental drug PTHrP, another protein made naturally by the body, also is an anabolic agent and appears to be unique in its ability to stimulate bone formation without simultaneously increasing bone breakdown. Both drugs are given as daily injections.

“When we studied PTHrP several years ago in small numbers of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, we found that bone density increased by nearly 5 percent after only three months of treatment,” said senior investigator Andrew F. Stewart, M.D., professor and chief of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Pitt School of Medicine. “And even at the highest doses, the side effects were negligible.”

In findings published online last week in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Drs. Horwitz and Stewart and their colleagues identified the maximum tolerable dose and therapeutic window of PTHrP. In this study, they were also able to show that PTHrP, at the tolerable doses, stimulated bone formation after only three weeks of treatment.

This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the University of Pittsburgh Clinical Translational Sciences Award.

Tags: anabolic, osteoporosis, PTHrP, teriparitide

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