| OK from the FDA for synthetic marijuana drug |
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Despite saying quite recently that it does not support the use of marijuana for medical purposes, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given marketing approval for a drug which is a synthetic version of the active ingredient in marijuana.
The drug Cesamet is intended for use in treating the nausea and vomiting resulting from cancer chemotherapy and in particular for those patients who have failed to respond to conventional anti-emetic treatments.
The approval comes seventeen years after the drug was withdrawn from U.S. markets.
Cesamet is a synthetic cannabinoid that is thought to work by interacting with the cannabinoid receptor, CB1, which is present throughout the nervous system and regulates nausea and vomiting.
Cesamet is significantly different from conventional anti-emetics and has a long duration of action, which allows for less frequent dosing, typically twice daily.
It is a Schedule II drug, indicating a high potential for abuse.
The 1-milligram tablets are meant to be taken twice daily before cancer patients undergo chemotherapy and up to 48 hours following treatment.
The side effects can include euphoria, drowsiness, vertigo and dry mouth.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International who manufacture Cesamet hope the drug will be on sale shortly.
Cesamet is already on sale in Canada under the name Nabilone.
The drug will be in competition with Marinol, made by Belgium company Solvay. Marinol is synthetic version of tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana which is more commonly known as THC.
The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be nearly 1.4 million new cancer cases in 2006.
Approximately 70 to 80 percent of patients receiving chemotherapy experience stomach upset and a strong urge to vomit and though the use of anti-emetic agents decreases the incidence and severity of the symptoms, they continue to occur in 40 to 60 percent of patients.
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| Long Sittings can be Fatal for Travelers - May 17, 2006 10:34 IST |
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Researchers in Scotland have ruled out reduced cabin pressure on long-haul flights as a reason of the potentially disastrous condition deep vein thrombosis (DVT). In other words, reduced cabin pressure and low oxygen during long airplane flights does not appear to increase the risk of possibly mortal blood clots in healthy passengers, the study suggests.
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| Working Moms are healthier than the stay-at-home mothers - May 16, 2006 12:12 IST |
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According to new research carried out in Britain, married mothers who also hold jobs, in spite of having to juggle career and home, enjoy better health than their underemployed or childless peers.
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| FDA approves Pfizer’s Smoking Cessation Drug - May 12, 2006 11:28 IST |
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FDA has given a formal approval on Thursday, to the use of Pfizer’s new smoking cessation pill, to help smokers quit by reducing nicotine cravings and lessening withdrawal symptoms once they stop. Around 70 % of the 45 million American smokers want to give up the smoking habits, and for the first time in almost a decade, there is a new prescription option to help them.
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| "Fatal Contact"- a cautionary tale of H5N1 strain - May 10, 2006 16:42 IST |
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An alarmist ABC television network movie "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America" aired in the U.S. on Tuesday, May 9 at 8 p.m., has aroused an abdomen-clinching sense of fear among the American public.
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| deCode discovers Genetic Variant Responsible for Prostate Cancer - May 8, 2006 12:12 IST |
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Researchers at deCODE genetics along with fellow academic researchers in Iceland, the US and Sweden today reported the discovery of a common genetic variant that predisposes to prostate cancer.
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| Sanofi-Aventis named in Class Action Suit - May 6, 2006 19:47 IST |
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Sanofi-Aventis, which makes the drug Ambien has been named in a class action lawsuit by Patrick J. Kennedy who claims that the drug cause him to awake in a trance like state, and met with an accident.
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| Vaccine Makers get Federal Funding - May 6, 2006 2:21 IST |
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The US government on Thursday awarded more than US$ 1 billion ($ 1.296 billion) to five drug manufacturers that are developing technology for speedier mass production of better influenza vaccines in case of a pandemic.
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| US Elementary Schools Ban Fizzy Drinks - May 4, 2006 13:7 IST |
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Most fizzy drinks will be cast-out from thousands of primary and secondary schools by the 2009-2010 school year under a beverage-industry agreement brokered by former President Bill Clinton.
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| Britons are healthier than Americans - May 3, 2006 12:52 IST |
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Middle-aged Americans are considerably sicker than their British counterparts even though the United States spends more than twice as much per person on health care as Britain, researchers said Tuesday.
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| Woman with first Partial face transplant has full feeling - May 1, 2006 12:43 IST |
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A resident of Valenciennes, Northern France who received the world’s first partial face transplant five months ago, says she has complete feeling in the new tissue.
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