Foot Blog News this Week- Issue 11
Oculus Announces Initial Sites for Phase II Clinical Trial of Microcyn® Technology in Treatment of Mild Diabetic Foot Infections
PR Web (newswire) - Oculus Innovative Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCLS) announced today that it has received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval from six sites within the United States targeted to participate in its Phase II clinical trial which will evaluate the preliminary safety and efficacy of topical Dermacyn® Wound Care versus systemic oral antibiotics for the treatment of mild diabetic foot infections. Dermacyn is a non-irritating solution containing oxychlorine compounds manufactured using Oculus’ proprietary Microcyn® Technology.Petaluma, Calif., (Vocus/PRWeb ) March 29, 2007 — Oculus Innovative Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCLS) announced today that it has received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval from six sites within the United States targeted to participate in its Phase II clinical trial which will evaluate the preliminary safety and efficacy of topical Dermacyn® Wound Care versus systemic oral antibiotics for the treatment of mild diabetic foot infections. Dermacyn is a non-irritating solution containing oxychlorine compounds manufactured using Oculus’ proprietary Microcyn® Technology.
New Peptide Boosts Body’s Own Immunity Against MRSA, VRE and Salmonella
Medical News Today – Imagine the desperation of trying to fight lethal infections when antibiotics fail to work.
That scenario – commonly found with “hospital superbugs” – may well improve thanks to a discovery by a research team at the University of British Columbia, in collaboration with UBC spin-off company Inimex Pharmaceuticals, that has identified a peptide that can fight infection by boosting the body’s own immune system.
“Antibiotics are now under threat because of the explosion in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. A third of all deaths on this planet are the result of infection so there is an urgent need to create new therapies,” says Robert Hancock, principal investigator and Canada Research Chair in Pathogenomics and Antimicrobials. “The beauty of this peptide is that it acts on the host to trigger a protective response and doesn’t act on bacteria directly. That means it’s unlikely bacteria will become resistant to it.”
The team found that a peptide, or chain of amino acids, they have dubbed innate defense regulator peptide (IDR-1), can increase innate immunity without triggering harmful inflammation, and offer protection both before and after infection is present.
Current Opinion in Orthopaedics Highlights Foot Related Articles this Month
CO - March 2007 Issue:
The current issue of Clinical Opinions in Orthopedics highlights Foot and Ankle topics in this month’s issue.
- Foot injuries in the sports population
- Extracorporeal shock wave therapy in the treatment of chronic plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinopathy
- Surgical treatment of hallux valgus: a review
- The pes cavovarus foot: update on current advances
- Fractures of the calcaneus
- Fractures of the ankle and foot in the diabetic population
- Charcot neuroarthropathy: update and treatment options
- Recent advances in lower-extremity amputations
- Update in pedorthics and orthotics designs, advance in materials
- Recent concepts in patellofemoral instability
- Leg Pain in Runners
- Osteochondral lesions of the talus: current opinions on diagnosis and management
Pfizer Issues DrugWarning for Zyvoxx®
Pfizer - Pfizer issued and important drug warning for Zyvox® (linezolid njetion, tablets and oral suspension) resulting from findings from an investigational clinical study in seriously ill patients with catheter-related bloodstream infections, including those with catheter site infections.
Although the study met its primary endpoint (microbiologic cure in gram-positive infections), a moratlity imbalance was seen in patients treated with linezolid relative to comparator (vancomycin/dicloxacillin/oxacillin).
Inimex Product Candidate Is First Immune Defense Regulator To Cure Infections Without Causing Harmful Inflammation
Medical News Today – Inimex Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s product candidate IDR-1 is the first immune system trigger to cure infections without causing harmful inflammation, according to a paper published in the April 2007 issue of Nature Biotechnology.
The paper, which highlights the work of Inimex and its co-founders Dr. Bob Hancock and Dr. Brett Finlay, shows that IDR-1 protected mice against Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA) and Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus (VRE) infections. With as little as one dose, IDR-1 increased the levels of key immune system fighter cells, which caused prolonged enhancement of the host immune system’s response to these antibiotic-resistant pathogens. A key finding was that the product eradicated the infections without increasing the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines that are typically present during the first stage of immunity.
Advancis Pharmaceutical Resubmits New Drug Application For Once-Daily Amoxicillin PULSYS
Medical News Today – Advancis Pharmaceutical Corporation (NASDAQ: AVNC), a pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel anti-infective products, today announced it has resubmitted a New Drug Application (NDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for its once-daily Amoxicillin PULSYS product for the treatment of adolescents and adults with pharyngitis/tonsillitis (commonly referred to as strep throat) via the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway.
“We are very pleased to be resubmitting our Amoxicillin PULSYS NDA so quickly after conducting our clarifying meeting with the FDA last month,” said Dr. Edward Rudnic, Advancis president and CEO. “We are grateful to the Agency for their clear guidance on what additional information they are requiring in our application, and we believe that we have responded to their requests fully and directly. We now are looking forward to working with the Agency as we move through the regulatory approval process and to our anticipated NDA target action date in January 2008.”
MRI Drives Magnetic Beads (Not Robots) Through Arteries
MedGadget – Scientists continue to find new ways to explore the human body. This time, Canadian doctors used an MRI machine to steer microscopic metal beads down a pig’s arteries, a technique they hope will some day help guide the delivery of medications directly to tumors. Microscopic medical devices could one day be steered through a patient’s bloodstream using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, Canadian research suggests. In the study, researchers were able to move small magnetic beads through the arteries of live pigs using the magnetic coils inside an MRI device.
GlaxoSmithKline Announces Altargo® Receives Positive Opinion In Europe For Treatment Of Impetigo And Other Skin Infections
Medical News Today – GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) today announced that its new, novel topical antibiotic ALTARGO® (retapamulin ointment, 1%) received a positive opinion from the European Committee for Human Medicinal Products (CHMP) for the treatment of impetigo and infected small lacerations, abrasions or sutured wounds. Impetigo is a superficial skin infection most commonly seen in children. The CHMP’s positive opinion will now be proposed for final marketing approval by the European Commission.”ALTARGO is predicted to have a valuable clinical role in treating uncomplicated skin infections,” said Dr Lynn Marks, Senior Vice President, Infectious Diseases Medicines Development Centre at GSK. “By providing both efficacy and tolerability in a simple and short treatment regimen, ALTARGO is a favorable treatment option for patients and is an example of GSK’s ongoing commitment to the management and treatment of infectious diseases.”
FDA Extends Marketing Exclusivity For LEVAQUIN®
Medical News Today – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted LEVAQUIN® (levofloxacin) an additional six months of marketing exclusivity, known as “pediatric exclusivity.” The action attaches to the U.S. patent covering LEVAQUIN®, extending exclusivity from December 2010 to June 2011. This decision was based on five, company-sponsored pediatric studies conducted at the request of the FDA.The studies included trials to determine the pharmacokinetic profile and the efficacy and safety of LEVAQUIN® in children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and recurrent and/or persistent acute otitis media. The studies were conducted in close collaboration with leaders in the pediatric and infectious disease communities and in consultation with the FDA. LEVAQUIN® is not indicated for use in children and adolescents (under 18 years of age).
Reminding Doctors Which Antibiotics To Prescribe Cuts C. Difficile Infection Rates
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A study published today in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy1 provides the best available evidence that cases of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) one of the most common and increasing types of hospital-acquired infection can be reduced in hospital wards if doctors prescribe narrow-spectrum antibiotics rather than broad-spectrum agents.
Researchers at the Royal Free Hospital in London, which now has the lowest CDI rates of any teaching hospital in the UK, investigated the best way to encourage doctors to make the switch from broad spectrum to narrow spectrum agents. They found that use of a pocket-sized laminated card telling doctors which antibiotics to prescribe combined with feedback on antibiotics use and CDI rates led to a significant drop in prescriptions of broad-spectrum agents, and an accompanying fall in CD infections.
Japan experts link osteoarthritis to gene variant
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Researchers in Japan have identified a gene variant that may be responsible for osteoarthritis, a painful condition in the joints that affects more than 200 million people worldwide.
Osteoarthritis usually happens in old age, when there is a breakdown and loss of cartilage in the joints, leading to swelling and pain, and restricting mobility.
The scientists said in the journal Nature Genetics they had analyzed DNA from two groups of Japanese patients with hip osteoarthritis and found that the gene variant showed up more frequently in them than in a group that did not suffer from the disease.
Chocolate improves blood vessel function: study
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – Chocoholics were given further reason to rejoice on Saturday when a small clinical study showed that dark chocolate improves the function of blood vessels.
While the researchers cautioned against bingeing on bon bons, they said the findings of the trial were clear and called for larger such studies to confirm the results.
“In this sample of healthy adults, dark chocolate ingestion over a short period of time was shown to significantly improve (blood vessel) function,” said Dr. Valentine Yanchou Njike of Yale Prevention Research Center, a co-investigator of the study.
Diabetic News This Week
- Treatment of children with diabetes improving
- Active self-care improves blood sugar control
- Study: Type 2 diabetes linked to Parkinson’s
- Sedentary behavior linked to high blood sugar
- Study Reveals “Missing Link” Between Pre-Diabetes & Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
- JANUVIA® Approved In EU For Type 2 Diabetes Treatment – First DPP-4 Inhibitor To Be Adopted By European Commission
- Novel Peptide Could Boost Availability And Success Of Islet Cell Transplant For Type-1 Diabetes
- Report Spells Out ‘rights’ On Diabetes Information, UK
- Diobex Announces Successful Completion Of Phase 2a Trial Of DIO-902, A Novel Cortisol Synthesis Inhibitor For Type 2 Diabetes
- New Web-Tool For Diabetes Touted As Great Resource For Advocacy And Policy
- Type 2 diabetes high in Jamaican youth
