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SUPERVALU PHARMACIES Aids Migraine Sufferers For A Cause
Summer isn"t any fun when you have a headache. But for many of the 30 million Americans who suffer from migraine headaches, solutions for soothing headache symptoms may be just around the corner.
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NPR Program Features Discussions On Several Topics Related To Abortion Rights
NPR"s "Talk of the Nation" on Tuesday included a discussion with NPR health policy correspondent Julie Rovner regarding abortion-rights policies and other reproductive health-related issues under the Obama administration. Rovner also discussed a recent Gallup poll that found more U.S. residents described themselves as "pro-life" rather than "pro-choice" for the first time. Rovner noted that public opinion on abortion "tends to be countercyclical to who"s in charge." For example, when the president and the majority in Congress both oppose abortion rights, supporters of those rights "tend to get kind of riled up," she said. Similarly, abortion-rights opponents often are more vocal when abortion-rights supporters occupy the White House and control the majority in Congress, "[s]o it wouldn"t be surprising that you would see ... more of a pro-life push in opinion polls." Rovner noted that the percentage of people who believe abortion should be always illegal or always legal has not changed significantly since 1975. The discussion included Obama"s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, and his administration"s proposal to repeal the Bush administration"s HHS "conscience" rule, which expanded the ability health care workers now have to refuse to provide services they find morally or religiously objectionable. Rovner said that a finalization of the Obama administration"s proposal on the refusal rule is expected in July, although she added that repealing the rule would "likely have little practical effect" because existing statutes already protect workers with moral and religious objections. When asked about whether Obama has lived up to the expectations of abortion-rights supporters who endorsed him as a candidate, Rovner said that the president has "tried very hard to steer middle ground on this issue, to say, really, there should be a way to find peace" (Conan [1], "Talk of the Nation," NPR, 6/9).Tuesday"s program also included a discussion on how some physicians decide whether they will perform abortions and how that decision affects their lives. Guests included Suzanne Poppema, board chair of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, and John Kelly, a retired surgeon who opposes abortion rights (Conan [2], "Talk of the Nation," NPR, 6/9).
News of the day
New Jersey Senator Proposes Plan To Avert HIV/AIDS Drug Copayments
New Jersey state Sen. Joseph Vitale (D) -- chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee -- earlier this week proposed a plan to temporarily reduce rebate checks to senior citizens earning $100,000 to $150,000 in an effort to alleviate the effects of possible budget cuts on certain populations, the Newark Star-Ledger reports. Vitale"s proposal also would avert planned $6 to $15 prescription drug copayments for people living with HIV/AIDS in the state (Livio, Newark Star-Ledger, 5/12). The copayments are part of Gov. Jon Corzine"s (D) $29.8 billion spending proposal for the state"s new fiscal year and would collect $1.36 million by creating copayments for HIV/AIDS drugs based on a sliding scale determined by income. The copayments would affect 9,000 people living with HIV/AIDS who have obtained no-cost medicine from the state because they do not qualify for other assistance programs. Advocates said that the copayments will hurt patients who are already struggling because of the poor economy (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/23). According to the Star-Ledger, Vitale"s proposal would save the state $15.7 million, including $9.7 million needed to allow 17,000 low-income families to enroll in the state"s health insurance program, FamilyCare. Senate Budget Committee Chair Barbara Buono (D) said that she does not believe it is possible to restore program cuts "given the collapse of revenues." According to the Office of Legislative Services, the current deficit for this year"s budget, which ends June 30, is at least $1.2 billon. Vitale said, "Our convictions are going to be tested as we come to terms with the fact that we simply don"t have enough money to fund all of the state"s priorities." He added, "But unless funding is restored for programs like NJ FamilyCare, Medicaid drug benefits and the AIDS Drug Distribution Program, I will be voting against the" fiscal year 2010 budget (Newark Star-Ledger, 5/12).
Diagnostics

Positive Results For First Disease-Modifying Compound Targeting Protein Misfolding

Discoveries by Scripps Research Institute scientists have led to a promising new drug candidate - the first in its class - for patients with a genetic protein-misfolding disease. In results announced by the biopharmaceutical firm FoldRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the new drug tafamidis significantly halts disease progression for patients with a disease called Transthyretin (TTR) amyloid polyneuropathy (ATTR-PN). "I"m very excited by the prospect of a drug to help patients suffering from TTR amyloid diseases," said Professor Jeffery Kelly, Ph.D., a co-founder of FoldRx. Kelly"s Scripps Research laboratory laid the groundwork for this therapeutic strategy and discovered the drug candidate. "Moreover, this is the first pharmacologic evidence that the biomedical researcher communities" hypothesis about the etiology of human amyloid diseases, including Alzheimer"s disease, is likely correct. The development of tafamidis - the first disease-modifying agent targeting the underlying cause of a human amyloid disease - was built on years of basic scientific research, funded by institutions including the National Institutes of Health (NIDDK), the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, and The Lita Annenberg Hazen Foundation." TTR amyloid polyneuropathy, a rare inherited protein misfolding disease also known as Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy, is a slowly progressive, multifaceted disease that causes loss of sensation, muscle weakness, and autonomic nerve dysfunction (including gastrointestinal disorders and urinary problems), ultimately leading to death. The only treatment currently available is liver transplantation. The results from FoldRx"s randomized, controlled Phase II/III clinical study show once daily oral treatment with tafamidis significantly halts disease progression and reduces the burden of disease after 18 months compared to placebo. The study also showed that tafamidis appears to be safe and well tolerated. "We are very excited by the results of the trial and look forward to bringing this innovative therapy to patients worldwide." noted Richard Labaudiniç¨re, Ph.D., President and CEO of FoldRx. "We plan discussions with the U.S. and European regulatory agencies later this year and we anticipate filing marketing applications in 2010." Following the Path of Positive Results TTR amyloidosis is a disease caused by the "misfolding" of proteins, which then cluster together in aggregates called amyloid fibrils. These fibrils then deposit in organs, interfering with their normal function. In the case of TTR amyloid polyneuropathy, a protein called transthyretin (TTR) "misfolds" and amyloid fibrils cluster in peripheral nerve tissues that serve limbs and organs. In the case of TTR amyloid cardiomyopathy, amyloid fibrils infiltrate the heart, leading to heart dysfunction. The predominant mutation, V122I, is present in approximately four percent of the U.S. African American population. Wild-type (normal) TTR can also form amyloid fibrils, particularly in the elderly; approximately 15 to 25 percent of individuals over the age of 80 have demonstrable deposition in the heart leading to a cardiomyopathy. In 2001, Kelly, who is chair of the Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, Lita Annenberg Hazen Professor of Chemistry, and member of The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at Scripps Research, and his colleagues published research showing that a "suppressor" TTR mutant subunit, when incorporated into a TTR protein otherwise composed of amyloid disease-associated TTR subunits, prevents the protein from dissociating, misfolding, and forming fibrils, apparently explaining why patients with a disease-associated TTR mutation and a suppressor mutation exhibit only mild pathology (Science, 293 (5539): 2459 - 2462, September 28, 2001). A year and a half later, the group published additional research demonstrating the efficacy of using small molecules to stabilize the normal "fold" of TTR, preventing this protein from misfolding by making the barrier for misfolding insurmountable. Using this method, researchers were able to inhibit the formation of amyloid fibrils by a mechanism mimicking that of the suppressor TTR subunit described in the previous study (Science, 299 (5607): 713 - 716, January 31, 2003). These basic research studies were made possible by the financial support of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at Scripps Research, and the Lita Annenberg Hazen Foundation, among other organizations. FoldRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., founded in 2003 and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, grew out of this groundbreaking research. Tafamidis, the company"s lead clinical program, was discovered at Scripps Research by Kelly"s colleagues Evan T. Powers, Ph.D., now an associate professor of chemistry at Scripps Research, and Hossein Razavi, Ph.D. Keith McKeown Scripps Research Institute


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