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Based On New Study, Tobacco Control Researchers Call On FDA To Require Complete Disclosure From Tobacco Companies Of Changes Made To Cigarettes
As President Obama prepares to sign a bill giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight of the tobacco industry, a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers shows that tobacco manufacturers have continually changed the ingredients and the design of their cigarettes over time, even if those changes have exceeded acceptable product variance guidelines. The result, say the researchers, is that consumers who buy the same brand of product are not made aware of how that product has been altered and what effect those alterations might have on their levels of addiction or harm.

FDA Approves First Canine Cancer Therapy
Pfizer Animal Health today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first canine cancer therapy in the U.S. - PALLADIATM (toceranib phosphate) - which was developed by Pfizer to treat mast cell tumors in dogs. Pfizer made the announcement to veterinarians attending the 2009 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) Forum and Canadian Veterinary Medical Association Convention.
News of the day
Electronic Health Records For The U.S. Difficult To Do, But Could Pay Off
"Creating an electronic health record for every American by 2014 is a big part of Obama"s agenda but it may be easier said than done," CNN Money reports. "For one, the cost can be prohibitive - easily running into the tens of millions of dollars. Getting physicians on board can be challenging. And the sheer magnitude of implementing the technology can be overwhelmingly cumbersome - translation: try creating a system for a hospital that serves 600,000 patients." The ambitious idea is to eventually create a network between hospitals and doctors offices all across the nation (Goldman, 7/31).
Cardiovascular

Researchers Identify New Function For Protein Missing In Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Researchers at the University of Minnesota and National Institutes of Health have identified a new function for the protein missing in people with the most common and ultimately lethal form of childhood muscular dystrophy. Patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy lack the protein dystrophin, which causes their muscles to become weak and eventually die. Since its discovery in 1987, research has shown that dystrophin protects muscle cells by directly connecting to two of the three filament types that give cells their shape and durability. The new study demonstrates that dystrophin also directly links to the third structural filament type named microtubules. Microtubules form a highly ordered lattice in muscle, and the new study finds that microtubules become disorganized when dystrophin is missing. "It"s remarkable that scientists have been intensively studying dystrophin for more than 20 years, yet we continue to identify new features that better define its important contribution to healthy muscle." said James Ervasti, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics, who directed the investigation. The new findings suggest that loss of microtubule organization might contribute to the devastating symptoms of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, information that will hopefully lead to the development of therapies to combat the disease. The study appears online Aug. 3, 2009 and will be published in the Aug. 10 issue of The Journal of Cell Biology. The research was funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Patty Mattern University of Minnesota


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