Doctors’ Opinions of Information Provided by Libyan Pharmaceutical Company Representatives.

Doctors’ opinions of information provided by Libyan pharmaceutical company representatives.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Libyan J Med. 2012; 7:
Alssageer MA, Kowalski SR

To examine the opinions of Libyan doctors regarding the quality of drug information provided by pharmaceutical company representatives (PCRs) during detailing visits.An anonymous survey was conducted among 1,000 doctors from selected institutes in Tripoli, Benghazi and Sebha. Doctors were asked questions regarding the quality of information provided during drug-detailing visits.A questionnaire return rate of 61% (608 returned questionnaires out of 1,000) was achieved. The majority (n=463, 76%) of surveyed participants graded the quality of information provided as average. Approximately, 40% of respondents indicated that contraindications, precautions, interactions and adverse effects of products promoted by PCRs were never or rarely mentioned during promotional visits, and 65% of respondents indicated that an alternative drug to the promoted product was never or rarely mentioned by the representatives. More than 50% of respondents (n=310, 51%) reported that PCRs were not always able to answer all questions about their products. Only seven respondents (1%) believed that PCRs never exaggerated the uniqueness, efficacy or safety of their product. The majority of respondents (n=342, 56%) indicated that verbal information was not always consistent with written information provided. Seven per cent of respondents (n=43) admitted that they did not know whether or not the verbal information provided by PCRs was consistent with written information.Doctors believe that the provision of drug information by PCRs in Libya is incomplete and often exaggerated. Pharmaceutical companies should ensure that their representatives are trained to a standard to provide reliable information regarding the products they promote.
HubMed – drug

 

Bak is a key molecule in apoptosis induced by methanol extracts of Codonopsis lanceolata and Tricholoma matsutake in HSC-2 human oral cancer cells.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Oncol Lett. 2012 Dec; 4(6): 1379-1383
Shin JA, Kim JS, Hong IS, Cho SD

Since the 5-year survival rate of oral cancer remains low, more effective and non-toxic therapeutic and preventive strategies are required. Certain natural products possess anti-cancer properties. The present study investigated the effects of the methanol extracts of Codonopsis lanceolata (MECI) and Tricholoma matsutake (METM) and identified the molecular target in HSC-2 human oral cancer cells. The results revealed that MECI and METM inhibited growth and induced apoptosis, as demonstrated by poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage and nuclear condensation and fragmentation. The compounds also increased Bak protein expression, while Bax, Bcl-XL and Mcl-1 were not affected. The results of the present study show that MECI and METM induce apoptosis to inhibit tumor growth of HSC-2 cells by modulating the Bak protein and suggest that Codonopsis lanceolata and Tricholoma matsutake are potential anticancer drug candidates for oral cancer.
HubMed – drug

 

Sphere-forming tumor cells possess stem-like properties in human fibrosarcoma primary tumors and cell lines.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Oncol Lett. 2012 Dec; 4(6): 1315-1320
Liu WD, Zhang T, Wang CL, Meng HM, Song YW, Zhao Z, Li ZM, Liu JK, Pan SH, Wang WB

Fibrosarcoma is a malignant soft tissue tumor of mesenchymal origin. Despite advances in medical and surgical treatment, patient survival rates have remained poor. According to the cancer stem cell hypothesis, tumors are comprised of heterogeneous cell populations that have different roles in tumor formation and growth. Cancer stem cells are a small cell subpopulation that exhibits stem-like properties to gain aggressiveness and recurrence. These cells have been identified in a variety of cancerous tumors, but not in human fibrosarcoma. In this study, we observed that HT1080 cells and primary fibrosarcoma cells formed spheres and showed higher self-renewal capacity, invasiveness and drug resistance compared with their adherent counterparts. Moreover, we demonstrated that the cells showed higher expression of the embryonic stem cell-related genes Nanog, Oct3/4, Sox2, Sox10 and their encoding proteins, as well as greater tumorigenic capacity in nude mice. In conclusion, our data suggest the presence of a stem-like cell population in human fibrosarcoma tumors, which provides more evidence for the cancer stem cell hypothesis and assistance in designing new therapeutic strategies against human fibrosarcoma.
HubMed – drug

 

Tagged and untagged TRAIL show different activity against tumor cells.

Filed under: Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Oncol Lett. 2012 Dec; 4(6): 1301-1304
Zhao K, Wang Y, Wang X, Wang Y, Ma Y

The tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL/Apo2L) is a novel cytotoxic ligand belonging to the TNF superfamily which is currently being developed as a cancer therapeutic drug. Here, we observed the different functions of recombinant TRAIL protein with a foreign protein label and non-labeled TRAIL. We used a prokaryotic expression system to prepare two different versions of the extracellular TRAIL 114-281aa protein: TRAIL-HS, a protein modified with 6xHis-Tag and S-Tag; and TRAIL-FT, which had no foreign protein. The proteins were purified using Ni-NTA chromatography (TRAIL-HS) and cation ion-exchange column chromatography (TRAIL-FT) and identified by SDS-PAGE and western blot analysis. We compared the abilities of the proteins to bind to death receptor 5 (DR5) by ELISA and to induce apoptosis in a normal liver cell line (Chang liver) and a human T-lymphocyte leukemia cell line (Jurkat) by MTT assay, GR staining and FACS. The results indicate that the biological functions of TRAIL-FT were superior to those of TRAIL-HS in binding and the induction of apoptosis, and may be useful to further the development and applications of TRAIL.
HubMed – drug

 

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