StemCell Therapy

Take a close look at the athletes competing in this year's Summer Olympic Games in London --their musculature will tell you a lot about how they achieved their elite status. Endless hours of training and commitment to their sport played a big role in building the bodies that got them to the world's premier athletic competition. Take an even closer look--this one requires microscopy--and you'll see something else, something embedded in the genetic blueprints of these young men and women that's just as important to their success. [More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/sciam/topic/gene-therapy

From Nature magazine

[More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/sciam/topic/gene-therapy

One day in early 1995 a man named bob massie walked into my office at the outpatient clinic of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Massie told me he had been infected with HIV--the virus that causes AIDS--for 16 years and yet had never shown any symptoms. My physical examination confirmed he was healthy, in stark contrast to all other patients I saw that day. At that time, a new combination of drugs was being tested that would eventually slow the progressive decline in immune function that HIV caused. In 1995, however, most people who had been infected with HIV for a decade or more had already progressed to AIDS--the stage marked by the inability to fight off other pathogens. The young man standing before me had never taken anti-HIV medication and strongly believed that if I learned the secret to his good fortune, the information could help others to survive what was then generally thought to be a uniformly fatal disease.

[More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/sciam/topic/gene-therapy

Tears and a runny nose can be unpleasant on a windy day, but these mucosal secretions play a vital role in protecting the body from viruses and other malicious microbes. Unfortunately, mucus is also adept at washing away medication designed to treat infections and inflammation that occur when an infectious agent is successful in penetrating the body's defenses [More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/sciam/topic/gene-therapy

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/kxltqj/gene_therapy_marke) has announced the addition of the "Gene Therapy Market to 2018 - Product Development Slowed by Clinical Failures, Close Regulatory Surveillance and High Compliance Standards" report to their offering.

Gene Therapy: the Next Big Step in Cancer Treatments.

The fight against cancer is leading a new movement in gene therapy, as the failure of conventional cancer therapies is fuelling demand for new treatments, according to a new report by healthcare experts GBI Research.

The new report* states that gene therapy technology is still in its nascent stage, and high levels of regulatory surveillance in clinical development is affecting progress. However, the increasing potential of upcoming treatments and shortcomings in traditional therapies is gradually leading to broader acceptance of gene therapy in medicine.

Therapies such as chemotherapy and hormone therapy control the progression of diseases, but are often associated with severe side effects, such as nausea, hair loss and abnormal blood cell counts. Once administered, the drugs induce systemic action throughout the body, and patients often die due to the side effects of treatment rather than the cancer itself. The inability of these conventional therapies to cure diseases has created a significant unmet need in the treatment of cancer, as well as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), autoimmune diseases, and viral infections.

Targeted therapies such as monoclonal antibodies, stem cell therapies, Ribonucliec Acid (RNA) therapies and gene therapies have initially shown better efficacy and safety profiles compared to chemotherapies.

Gene therapy has several promising drug candidates, which are likely to drive the growth of the gene therapy market if clinical trials are successful. Collategene by AnGes MG, Cardium Therapeutics' Generx, and Vical Incorporation's Allovectin-7 are in development for a wide range of cancer indications, and are expected to compete in the oncology therapeutics market as the market acceptance of gene therapy improves over time.

Companies Mentioned

- ReGenX Biosciences

The rest is here:
Research and Markets: Gene Therapy Market to 2018 - Product Development Slowed by Clinical Failures, Close Regulatory ...

Public release date: 6-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dr. Changfa Guo guo.changfa@zs-hospital.sh.cn Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine

Dr Changfa Guo, Professor Chunsheng Wang and their co-investigators from Zhongshan hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China have established a novel hyperbranched poly(amidoamine) (hPAMAM) nanoparticle based hypoxia regulated vascular endothelial growth factor (HRE-VEGF) gene therapy strategy which is an excellent substitute for the current expensive and uncontrollable VEGF gene delivery system. This discovery, reported in the June 2012 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, provides an economical, feasible and biocompatible gene therapy strategy for cardiac repair.

Transplantation of VEGF gene manipulated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has been proposed as a promising therapeutic method for cardiac repair after myocardium infarction. However, the gene delivery system, including the VEGF gene and delivery vehicle, needs to be optimized. On one hand, long-term and uncontrollable VEGF over-expression in vivo has been observed to lead to hemangioma formation instead of functional vessels in animal models. On the other hand, though non-viral gene vector can circumvent the limitations of virus, drawbacks of the current non-viral vectors, such as complex synthesis procedure, limited transfection efficiency and high cytotoxicity, still needs to be overcome.

Co-investigators, Drs. Kai Zhu and Hao Lai, said "Hypoxia response elements were inserted into the promoter region of VEGF gene to form HRE-VEGF, which provided a safer alternative to the conventionally available VEGF gene". "The HRE-VEGF up-regulates gene expression under hypoxic conditions caused by ischemic myocardium and turns it off under normoxia condition when the regional oxygen supply is adequate."

The hPAMAM nanoparticles, which exhibit high gene transfection efficiency and low cytotoxicity during the gene delivery process, can be synthesized by a simpler and more economical one-step/pot polymerization technique. Drs. Zhu and Lai, said "Using the hPAMAM based gene delivery approach, our published and unpublished results explicitly demonstrated that it was an economical, effective and biocompatible gene delivery vehicle".

Dr Guo concluded that "Treatment with hPAMAM-HRE-VEGF transfected MSCs after myocardium infarction improved the myocardial VEGF level, which improved graft MSC survival, increased neovascularization and ultimately improved heart function. And this novel VEGF gene delivery system may have clinical relevance for tissue repair in other ischemic diseases".

Dr. Steve Goodman, Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Biology and Medicine said "Guo and colleagues have provided an exciting new nanoparticle based gene therapy for cardiac repair. This novel approach has great promise for repair of the heart after myocardial infarction."

###

Experimental Biology and Medicine is the journal of the Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine. To learn about the benefits of society membership visit http://www.sebm.org. If you are interested in publishing in the journal please visit http://ebm.rsmjournals.com/

Excerpt from:
An economical, effective and biocompatible gene therapy strategy promotes cardiac repair

Halfway around the world in India, Sivaprakash Ramalingam had heard of Johns Hopkins researchers using a promising new technique for gene therapy that he hoped to integrate with stem cells to cure diseases.

After getting a doctorate in biochemistry in his native country, he came to Baltimore four years ago to study under the technique's pioneer, Srinivasan Chandrasegaran, at Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health. Ramalingam's research has led him down the path of seeking a cure for sickle cell anemia, a painful, life-shortening blood disorder that afflicts many in his home region in southern India. In the United States, the disease affects 70,000-100,000 people, mostly African-Americans, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

"I couldn't have done this type of research in India," said Ramalingam. "I wanted to use this technique with stem cells to treat disease."

Ramalingam's research was given a lift last month by the state. He was one of 17 researchers who was funded by the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission, a state entity that has doled out roughly $10 million to $12 million a year in taxpayer funds since its founding in 2006.

The program helps keep Maryland competitive in stem cell research when other states have instituted similar ones to lure scientists and biotechnology companies. More than 100 researchers applied for funding from the program, many from Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland.

"There's definitely a great demand for the awards," said Dan Gincel, the commission's director. "We're trying to figure out how to fund so many researchers."

Gincel said Ramalingam's work is interesting because his approach could have applications beyond sickle cell anemia. It could be used to treat other diseases and, for instance, modify plants and crops to make them resistant to pests.

Ramalingam received a $110,000 award two years ago from the commission to help fund his post-doctoral fellowship; the commission invested more money in his work this year because he was continuing to progress with it, Gincel said.

"The approach can be translated to many other diseases, which is what we want to see with stem cells," said Gincel.

Ramalingam is applying a relatively new technique called zinc finger nuclease, or ZFN, to try to cure sickle cell anemia. With ZFN, Ramalingam is able to target and replace specific, problem-causing sequences of the human genome with healthier genetic material.

Go here to see the original:
Researcher hunts for sickle cell anemia cure with gene targeting, stem cells

Public release date: 25-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, June 25, 2012Gene therapy to replace the protein missing in Pompe disease can be effective if the patient's immune system does not react against the therapy. Targeted delivery of the gene to the liver, instead of throughout the body,suppresses the immune response, improving the therapeutic effect, according to an article published in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The article is available free online at the Human Gene Therapy website.

"The current unmet medical need in Pompe disease is for prevention of immune responses against standard-of-care enzyme replacement therapy," says coauthor Dwight Koeberl, MD, PhD. "However, we foresee a future application of the dual vector strategy described in this paper, including a liver-expressing vector along with a ubiquitously expressing vector, which might achieve much higher efficacy than either vector alone."

In the article "Immunodominant Liver-Specific Expression Suppresses Transgene-Directed Immune Responses in Murine Pompe Disease," Ping Zhang and coauthors from Duke University Medical Center (Durham, NC), targeted a gene delivery vector carrying the therapeutic gene to the livers of mice with Pompe disease. Not only did the liver-specific expression of the protein induce immune tolerance, but when combined with non-targeted delivery of the therapeutic gene it also boosted the overall effectiveness of the treatment.

###

About the Journal

Human Gene Therapy, the Official Journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, British Society for Gene Therapy, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, German Society of Gene Therapy, and five other gene therapy societies is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online that presents reports on the transfer and expression of genes in mammals, including humans. Related topics include improvements in vector development, delivery systems, and animal models, particularly in the areas of cancer, heart disease, viral disease, genetic disease, and neurological disease, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory issues related to the gene transfer in humans. Tables of content and a free sample issue may be viewed online at the Human Gene Therapy website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells and Development, and Cellular Reprogramming. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. website.

Read this article:
Targeted gene therapy enhances treatment for Pompe disease

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/skdhnn/translational_rege) has announced the addition of the "Translational Regenerative Medicine - Oncology, CNS and Cardiovascular-Rich Pipeline Features Innovative Stem Cell and Gene Therapy Applications" report to their offering.

More Guidelines Needed to Grow Regenerative Medicine Market, Report Finds

Standardized research guidelines are needed to control and encourage the development of gene therapy and stem cell treatments, according to a new report by healthcare experts GBI Research.

The new report* shows how regenerative medicine is seen as an area with high future potential, as countries need ways to cope with the burden of an aging population.

The stem cell market alone is predicted to grow to around $5.1 billion by 2014, while gene therapy has also shown promise despite poor understanding of some areas of regenerative medicine and a lack of major approvals (the only approvals to date being made in Asia).

Up until now, securing research within clinics has been difficult, with a high number of failures and discontinuations throughout all phases of clinical study. Stem cell therapy uses bone marrow transplants as an established treatment method, but the development of the therapy into further applications and has not yet become common practice.

Similarly, tissue engineering has been successful in the areas of skin and bone grafts, but translation into more complex therapies has been an issue for researchers. Although scientific possibilities are ever-increasing, the true potential of regenerative medicine has yet to be demonstrated fully.

A desire to discover new and innovative technologies has encouraged governments in the UK and Singapore to focus directly on regenerative medicine as a future potential economy booster.

Companies Mentioned:

Read this article:
Research and Markets: Translational Regenerative Medicine - Oncology, CNS and Cardiovascular-Rich Pipeline Features ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

bluebird bio, a leader in the development of innovative gene therapies for severe genetic disorders, announced today that both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have granted an orphan drug designation to its investigational gene therapy product for the treatment of adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD). The product consists of the patients own CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells transduced with bluebird bios lentiviral vector, Lenti-D, encoding the human ABCD1 cDNA. Based on promising early clinical proof of concept results, bluebird bio plans to initiate a Phase 2/3 clinical study in childhood cerebral ALD in both the United States and Europe in 2013.

Receiving orphan drug designation is a positive step forward in our efforts to bring hope to ALD patients and their families, said David Davidson, M.D., chief medical officer of bluebird bio. We believe our lentiviral technology has the potential to be a one-time transformative therapy for patients suffering from rare genetic disorders like ALD for whom there are limited treatment options. bluebird is committed to advancing the clinical and commercial development of our gene therapy platform because of the dramatic benefit it may have on the lives of patients.

Orphan drug designation, which is intended to facilitate drug development for rare diseases, provides substantial benefits to the sponsor, including the potential for funding for certain clinical studies, study-design assistance, and several years of market exclusivity for the product upon regulatory approval.

About ALD

Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is a rare X-linked, inherited neurological disorder that, in its most severe form, causes damage to the myelin sheath (an insulating layer of membranes that surrounds nerve cells in the brain) and progressive dysfunction of the adrenal glands. Also known as Lorenzo's Oil disease, ALD is estimated to affect one in every 21,000 boys worldwide. In the childhood cerebral form (CCALD), symptoms usually occur between the ages of 4 and 10. Boys afflicted with this form of ALD develop normally until the onset of symptoms. The symptoms of this disorder often progress rapidly and, in a matter of years, can lead to a vegetative state and, ultimately, death. Current treatment options are limited to allogeneic stem cell transplantation when there is an appropriate donor. Allogeneic transplants carry a significant risk of serious morbidity and death.

About bluebird bio's CCALD Product Development

bluebird bios CCALD product program has the potential to halt the progression of CCALD by providing a functional ABCD1 gene to the patients own stem cells. These stem cells proliferate, and some of the progeny cells travel to the brain where they become microglial cells incorporating the corrective gene. Data from the first clinical study treating X-linked CCALD patients with the companys lentiviral gene therapy product demonstrated continued stable expression of the transgene and the corresponding ABCD-1 protein for over four years in two CCALD patients, resulting in prolonged disease stabilization. bluebird bio plans to initiate a Phase 2/3 clinical study in CCALD in both the United States and Europe in 2013.

About bluebird bio

bluebird bio is developing innovative gene therapies for severe genetic disorders. At the heart of bluebird bios product creation efforts is its broadly applicable gene therapy platform for the development of novel treatments for diseases with few or no clinical options. The companys novel approach uses stem cells harvested from the patients own bone marrow into which a healthy version of the disease causing gene is inserted. bluebird bios approach represents a true paradigm shift in the treatment of severe genetic diseases by eliminating the potential complications associated with donor cell transplantation and presenting a one-time potentially transformative therapy using a patients own stem cells. bluebird bio has two later stage clinical products in development for childhood cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CCALD) and beta-thalassemia/sickle cell anemia. Led by a world-class team, bluebird bio is privately held and backed by top-tier life sciences investors, including Third Rock Ventures, TVM Capital, ARCH Venture Partners, Forbion Capital Partners, Easton Capital and Genzyme Ventures. Its operations are located in Cambridge, Mass. and Paris, France. For more information, please visit http://www.bluebirdbio.com.

View post:
bluebird bio Receives U.S. and European Orphan Drug Designation for Novel Gene Therapy to Treat Adrenoleukodystrophy

Public release date: 18-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, June 18, 2012A single-dose vaccine capable of providing immunity against the effects of cocaine offers a novel and groundbreaking strategy for treating cocaine addiction is described in an article published Instant Online in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com) The article is available free online at the Human Gene Therapy website (http://www.liebertpub.com/hum).

"This is a very novel approach for addressing the huge medical problem of cocaine addiction," says James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, and Director of the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.

In the article "AAVrh.10-Mediated Expression of an Anti-Cocaine Antibody Mediates Persistent Passive Immunization That Suppresses Cocaine-Induced Behavior," (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/hum.2011.178) a team of researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College (New York, NY), The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, CA), and Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) used a virus-based delivery vehicle in mice to transfer a gene that produces a protein capable of binding to cocaine present in the blood, preventing the cocaine from crossing into the brain. The protein is a monoclonal antibody that sequesters cocaine, making the vaccinated mice resistant to the drug's effects. Whereas unvaccinated mice exhibited hyperactivity when exposed to intravenous cocaine, the immunized mice showed no effects, according to authors Jonathan Rosenberg, et al.

###

About the Journal

Human Gene Therapy (http://www.liebertpub.com/hum), the Official Journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, British Society for Gene Therapy, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, German Society of Gene Therapy, and five other gene therapy societies is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online that presents reports on the transfer and expression of genes in mammals, including humans. Related topics include improvements in vector development, delivery systems, and animal models, particularly in the areas of cancer, heart disease, viral disease, genetic disease, and neurological disease, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory issues related to the gene transfer in humans. Tables of contents and a free sample issue may be viewed online at the Human Gene Therapy website (http://www.liebertpub.com/hum).

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells and Development, and Cellular Reprogramming. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. website (http://www.liebertpub.com).

More here:
Anti-cocaine vaccine described in Human Gene Therapy Journal

Editor's Note: Read our blog series on psychiatry's new rulebook, the DSM-5.

[More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/sciam/topic/gene-therapy

Editor's Note: Read our blog series on psychiatry's new rulebook, the DSM-5.

[More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/sciam/topic/gene-therapy

By Ewen Callaway of Nature magazine

[More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/sciam/topic/gene-therapy

The Advances news section in April's issue of Scientific American included stories on digital textbooks, the promise of using gene therapy to fight blindness and how fragile orchids survive. To learn more about any of the stories, follow these links.

[More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/sciam/topic/gene-therapy

By Ewen Callaway of Nature magazine

[More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/sciam/topic/gene-therapy

Public release date: 2-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Holly Auer holly.auer@uphs.upenn.edu 215-200-2313 University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

PHILADELPHIA -- HIV patients treated with genetically modified T cells remain healthy up to 11 years after initial therapy, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report in the new issue of Science Translational Medicine. The results provide a framework for the use of this type of gene therapy as a powerful weapon in the treatment of HIV, cancer, and a wide variety of other diseases.

"We have 43 patients and they are all healthy," says senior author Carl June, MD, a professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Penn Medicine. "And out of those, 41 patients show long term persistence of the modified T cells in their bodies."

Early gene therapy studies raised concern that gene transfer to cells via retroviruses might lead to leukemia in a substantial proportion of patients, due to mutations that may arise in genes when new DNA is inserted. The new long-term data, however, allay that concern in T cells, further buoying the hope generated by work June's team published in 2011 showing the eradication of tumors in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia using a similar strategy.

"If you have a safe way to modify cells in patients with HIV, you can potentially develop curative approaches," June says. "Patients now have to take medicine for their whole lives to keep their virus under control, but there are a number of gene therapy approaches that might be curative." A lifetime of anti-HIV drug therapy, by contrast, is expensive and can be accompanied by significant side effects.

They also note that the approach the Penn Medicine team studied may allow patients with cancers and other diseases to avoid the complications and mortality risks associated with more conventional treatments, since patients treated with the modified T cells did not require drugs to weaken their own immune systems in order for the modified cells to proliferate in their bodies after infusion, as is customary for cancer patients who receive stem cell transplants.

To demonstrate the long-term safety of genetically modified T cells, June and colleagues have followed HIV-positive patients who enrolled in three trials between 1998 and 2002. Each patient received one or more infusions of their own T cells that had been genetically modified in the laboratory using a retroviral vector. The vector encoded a chimeric antigen receptor that recognizes the HIV envelope protein and directs the modified T cell to kill any HIV-infected cells it encounters.

As is standard for any trial, the researchers carefully monitored patients for any serious adverse events immediately after infusion -- none of which were seen. Additionally, because of the earlier concerns about long-term side effects, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also asked the team to follow the patients for up to 15 years to ensure that the modified T cells were not causing blood cancers or other late effects. Therefore, each patient underwent an exam and provided blood samples during each of the subsequent years.

Now, with more than 500 years of combined patient safety data, June and colleagues are confident that the retroviral vector system is safe for modifying T cells. By contrast, June notes, the earlier, worrying side effects were seen when viral vectors were used to modify blood stem cells. The new results show that the target cell for gene modification plays an important role in long-term safety for patients treated. "T cells appear to be a safe haven for gene modification," June says.

View post:
Genetically modified T cell therapy shown to be safe, lasting in decade-long study of HIV patients

A little more than three years ago a medical team from Berlin published the results of a unique experiment that astonished HIV researchers. The German group had taken bone marrow--the source of the body’s immune cells--from an anonymous donor whose genetic inheritance made him or her naturally resistant to HIV. Then the researchers transplanted the cells into a man with leukemia who had been HIV-positive for more than 10 years. Although treatment of the patient’s leukemia was the rationale for the bone marrow transplant therapy, the group also hoped that the transplant would provide enough HIV-resistant cells to control the man’s infection. The therapy exceeded the team’s expectations. Instead of just decreasing the amount of HIV in the patient’s blood, the transplant wiped out all detectable traces of the virus from his body, including in multiple tissues where it could have lain dormant. The German researchers were so surprised by the spectacularly positive results that they waited nearly two years before publishing their data.

[More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/sciam/topic/gene-therapy

Antidepressants restore well-being to many people, but sometimes at the cost of such side effects as weight gain or loss of interest in sex. And these side effects can be just part of the frustration. As Robin Marantz Henig wrote in " Lifting the Black Cloud ," in the March issue of Scientific American , the drugs that have long dominated the market--the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and the serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)--"do not help everyone and eventually fail in more than a third of users. A pill that seems to be working today might well stop helping tomorrow. And the drugs can take several weeks to start having a marked effect." Equally disturbing, some major pharmaceutical houses, such as GlaxoSmithKline , are pulling back from developing psychiatric medicines.

[More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/sciam/topic/gene-therapy

A young woman who calls herself blue­berryoctopus had been taking anti­depressants for three years, mostly for anxiety and panic attacks, when she recounted her struggles with them on the Web site Experience Project. She said she had spent a year on Paxil, one of the popular SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), but finally stopped because it destroyed her sex drive. She switched to Xanax, an ­antianxiety drug , which brought back her libido but at the cost of renewed symptoms. Then Paxil again, then Lexapro (another SSRI), then Pristiq, a member of a related class of antidepressants, the SNRIs (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors). At the time of the post, she was on yet another SSRI, Zoloft, plus Wellbutrin (a cousin of SNRIs that affects the activity of dopamine as well as norepinephrine), which was intended to counteract the sexual side effects of Zoloft. “I don’t notice much of a difference with the Wellbutrin, but I’m on the lowest dose now,” she wrote. “I’m going back to my psychiatrist next week, so maybe he’ll up it. Who knows.”

[More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/sciam/topic/gene-therapy