A new analysis concludes that large numbers of patients in advanced stages of kidney disease are inappropriately being prescribed statins to lower their cholesterol - drugs that offer them no benefit and may increase other health risks such as diabetes, dementia or muscle pain. The findings, which were published in the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs as a review of multiple studies, raise serious questions about the value of cholesterol-lowering therapies in kidney disease.

New experiments conducted by researchers from the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) show that the amino acid arginine - found in a wide variety of foods such as salmon, eggs and nuts - greatly improves the body's ability to metabolise glucose. Arginine stimulates a hormone linked to the treatment of type 2 diabetes, and works just as well as several established drugs on the market. The research findings have just been published in the scientific journal Endocrinology.

While great strides have been achieved in cancer treatment, scientists are looking for the new targets and next generation of therapeutics to stop this second leading cause of death nationwide. A new platform for drug discovery has been developed through a collaborative effort linking chemists at NYU and pharmacologists at USC.

An assistant professor with the Virginia Tech - Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering has developed a flexible microneedle patch that allows drugs to be delivered directly and fully through the skin. The new patch can quicken drug delivery time while cutting waste, and can likely minimize side-effects in some cases, notable in vaccinations and cancer therapy.

Uncertainty persists regarding whether drugs that lower sugar reduce the risk of heart attack, with some concerns that diabetes drugs may actually raise the risks. The Saxagliptin Assessment of Vascular Outcomes Recorded in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus (SAVOR-TIMI 53) trial was a large international clinical trial that randomized patients to the diabetes drug saxagliptin (Onglyza), a selective dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, or to placebo in order to determine the effect on heart attack risk.

The search continues for an agent that increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and reduces arterial plaque, after the experimental apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1) inducer, RVX-208 failed to do so in the ApoA1 Synthesis Stimulation and Intravascular Ultrasound for Coronary Atheroma Regression Evaluation (ASSURE) study.

A new finding could lead to novel treatments to reduce bleeding in trauma and severe infections. The research, from Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) scientists Lijun Xia, M.D., Ph.D., Jianxin Fu, M.D., Ph.D., and Brett Herzog, Ph.D., appears in the most recent issue of the journal Nature.