Archive for July, 2010

The Gold Coast Titans youngster, Travis Drought, returned a positive drug test for the banned performance enhancing drug, Nandrolone.

Drought, a product of the Northern Rivers, started at May at Manly before he returned home to join the Titans in mid-season.

From Foxsports.com.au:

The Northern Rivers product started the year at Manly before he returned home and joined the Titans mid-season.

It is understood he was drug tested after he joined the Titans.

Last month, Manly Toyota Cup second-rower Shane Gray tested positive to Clenbuterol.

The Gold Coast Titans said they could not comment on the issue but would follow the appropriate channels.

Nandrolone is a steroid-based drug derived from testosterone, which is prohibited both in and out of competition by the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA).

A penalty of two years may be imposed on Drought if the positive dope results are confirmed by the results of a second test.

When it comes to preventing or eliminating the formation of estrogens especially after the end of a steroid cycle, Nolvadex or Tamoxifen Citrate is one of the most trusted of all antiestrogens.

Nolvadex or Tamoxifen Citrate is considered by many as the best antiestrogen in town as it can easily increase the serum levels of testosterone besides eliminating or reducing the formation of “harmful” estrogens, especially after the end of a steroid cycle. This antiestrogen is also used for improving the levels of luteinizing hormone and Follicle-stimulating hormone. The antiestrogen is also used to treat breast cancer and promoting effective functioning of both HDL and LDL lipid profiles.

The fact that Nolvadex only eliminates the “harmful” estrogens and not all estrogens (some estrogens are good for building muscles and normal body functioning) is something unique to this antiestrogen. This antiestrogen is admired by professional sportsmen such as bodybuilders and strength athletes making use of harsh or aromatizable steroids, which lead to estrogenic side effects such as gynecomastia and fluid retention that can be effectively treated with an antiestrogen as potent as Nolvadex.

The recommended dose of Nolvadex is 20-40 mg per day for beginners and 35-50 mg per day for experienced steroid users. The active ingredient in Nolvadex tablets is tamoxifen citrate and its inactive ingredients are carboxymethylcellulose calcium, magnesium stearate, mannitol, and starch.

When of a low grade or abused, use of Nolvadex can lead to side effects such as hot flashes, depression, dizziness, headache, and vaginal dryness.

Delivery in expectant mothers with severe preeclampsia can be delayed with a drug presently recommended and used for treating patients afflicted with heart diseases. Digibind, the drug, is presently being tested for this purpose by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

The testing, if successful, will be pivotal in providing relief to women who are suffering from this life endangering disorder.

From News-Medical.Net:

“Preeclampsia is the No. 1 killer of pregnant women in the world, and there is no cure except delivery,” said Dr. George Saade, chief of maternal–fetal medicine at UTMB. “When it is severe and occurs early in the pregnancy, delivery in order to protect the mother results in a premature baby. That’s why this study is important, because if the medication works, then we can protect the mom while allowing the baby to grow and develop without delivering early.”

The clinical trial will test whether Digibind reverses or prevents the abnormalities that occur with preeclampsia and allows the fetus to remain in the womb longer. This would give doctors more time to administer steroids to prevent respiratory complications in premature births and reduce the need for costly and lengthy neonatal intensive care.

Dr. Nicole Ruddock, the study’s principal investigator and an instructor in UTMB’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, termed this study as groundbreaking.

A Cochrane Systematic Review has suggested that the risk of an asthma attack relapsing is reduced considerably when a short course of corticosteroids is administered to asthmatic patients after being discharged from the hospital post-attack.

It is was disclosed by the study that administration of steroids could be effective for reducing the use of inhalers besides revealing that such benefits can hold good for a period of three weeks.

From News-Medical.Net:

This updated finding was drawn after reviewing data in six trials that together involved 374 people.

Between 12% and 16% of people who are discharged from hospital after having an asthma attack have a relapse within two weeks. “There is considerable debate about the best way of treating people who have asthma attacks, including the dose, method of delivery and timing of delivery of corticosteroids. Our research found clear evidence that people who arrived at a hospital with acute asthma and were well enough to be discharged benefited from the addition of corticosteroid therapy,” says lead author Professor Brian Rowe, who works at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada.

Carol Spooner, the review colleague, said that the use of systematic corticosteroids for treating outpatients after getting discharged from the hospital after asthma attack is strongly endorsed by the systematic review.

According to a study published in Nature Medicine journal highlighting a discovery by scientists at the University of Edinburgh, patients suffering from inflammatory conditions such as chronic diseases of the joints, lung, and other organs can expect new ray of home can expect relief with specific cancer drugs.

It was disclosed by the study that specific drugs that are currently tested for treating cancer can be helpful in minimizing the level of tissue inflammation.

From News-Medical.Net:

Professor Chris Haslett, Head of the Queen’s Medical Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh, expects the study to lead to trials of these drugs in human inflammatory diseases. Professors Adriano Rossi and Haslett, who have led this new study with other colleagues from the QMRI, said: “This study offers new hope for patients with severe inflammatory diseases. Specific treatment for such conditions is poor, and the use of steroids is fraught with potential difficulties. We have adopted a different strategy by using non-biological treatments, but this study needs urgently to be translated into trials and we are now seeking major funding to research further how these drugs work.”

CDK inhibitors such as Roscovitine have the abilities of reducing inflammtion level in the models of rheumatoid arthritis and the fatal ailment called fibrosing alveolitis, as suggested by lab tests in the past.

The FDA-approved drug presently used for providing relief in terms of withdrawal symptoms from substance abuse, Naltrexone, can be used for providing relief to patients suffering from Crohn’s disease.

The drug is presently used for easing down drug and alcohol abuse symptoms and can prove to be an effective drug for Crohn’s disease, as per a Pilot study by Penn State College of Medicine.

From News-Medical.Net:

Typical treatment for Crohn’s involves using steroids or corticosteroids, which suppress the immune system and can have other toxic side effects. Treatment is often time-intensive and expensive, as well.

“This is a novel approach to treating a common disease, and it’s simple, it’s safe, and it costs far less than current standards of treatment,” Smith said. “We don’t yet know the exact mechanisms involved in how it works, but we’re working on that as well.”

Smith initiated the study using a Dean’s Feasibility Grant — a program designed to encourage investigators to design trials in their area of expertise and seek outside funding. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded the College of Medicine $500,000 for the team to continue the study.

Jill P. Smith, a gastroenterology specialist and researcher at the College of Medicine and Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Los Angeles at the National Association of Gastroenterologists annual Digestive Diseases Week conference, presented the findings.

According to a study by researchers from the UT Southwestern Medical Center, pneumonia patients can expect more benefits coming their way than what could have been attained with the use of antibiotics alone with steroids.

A combination of steroids and antibiotics could be one of the best ways to provide relief to patients suffering with pneumonia, as per the study. The combination holds good even in midst of an asthma attack (M pneumoniae infection).

From News-medical.net:

Adding corticosteroids to traditional antimicrobial therapy might help people with pneumonia recover more quickly than with antibiotics alone, UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists have found.

Unlike the anabolic steroids used to bulk up muscle, corticosteroids are often used to treat inflammation related to infectious diseases, such as bacterial meningitis. Used against other infectious diseases, however, steroid therapy has been shown to be ineffective or even harmful.

In a study available online and in a future issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, researchers at UT Southwestern show that mice infected with a type of severe bacterial pneumonia and subsequently treated with steroids and antibiotics recovered faster and had far less inflammation in their lungs than mice treated with antibiotics alone.

Dr. Robert Hardy, Study’s Senior Author & Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, said that clinical trials will soon start for confirming findings of the study.

Infectious disease specialists at the UT Southwestern Medical Center have been able to map genetic profiles of children who have been struggling against severe staphylococcus aureus infections.

Dr. Monica Ardura, instructor of pediatrics at UT Southwestern and lead author of the study available online in PLoS One, the Public Library of Science’s online journal, said that the first-hand account of the response pattern is within the immune system. The findings were termed by Dr. Ardura as very consistent, very intense, and very reproducible.

From News-Medical.net:

Researchers used blood samples collected between 2001 and 2005 from 77 children – 53 hospitalized at Children’s Medical Center Dallas with invasive S aureus infections and 24 controls. The control samples were collected from healthy children attending either well-child clinic or undergoing elective surgical procedures. Children with underlying chronic diseases, immunodeficiency, multiple infections, and those who received steroids or other immunomodulatory therapies were excluded from the study.

The children ranged in age from a few months to 15 years and included 43 boys and 34 girls. Those with S aureus infections – both methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) – were matched with healthy controls for age, sex and race. The researchers also characterized the extent as well as the type of infection in each patient to make sure that the strain of bacteria didn’t influence the results.

Dr. Ardura stressed that more research is needed because the results represent a one-time snapshot of what’s going on in the cell during an invasive staphylococcal infection.

The finding is considered to have implications in obtaining access to insights as to how the human immune system gets programmed to make a response to the pathogen.

A potential drug has been identified for providing relief to individuals suffering with hay fever and asthma and will soon underwent trials in humans.

RPL554, the drug, possess the ability of treating respiratory diseases and its use does not lead to side effects that are common with present-day medications.

From News-Medical.Net:

Dr. Page who is a professor of pharmacology at King’s College London, says RPL554 is a single molecule that does both jobs and should have fewer side effect profile and he says they are cautiously optimistic that they can develop a treatment where one puff will last all day.

Current treatments for asthma and hay fever sufferers are beta-agonists, which open up the airways, and inhaled steroids, which dampen down the inflammation that causes irritation – they are either taken together or singly.

But they have serious side effects, including possible harm to the cardiovascular system and the ’shakes’ reported by many patients from excess use.

Experts say little progress has been made recently with alternative, effective and practical treatment options for a wide range of people with asthma and hay fever and by combining anti-inflammatory properties and the ability to overcome airway narrowing in a single long-lasting dose via the nose, RPL554 could offer real hope of a significant breakthrough.

Dr. Clive Page, chairman of Verona Pharma, which is presently developing the treatment, said the company is examining other novel compounds for tackling respiratory ailments on the lines of anti-inflammatory substances that are found in starfish and a treatment for coughs.

Two over-the-counter dietary supplements that are popular with high school football players include steroids, as per court papers filed by federal authorities.

Tren Xtreme and Mass Xtreme, the two supplements, are manufactured by American Cellular Labs.

This investigation into American Cellular Labs is led by Jeff Novitzky, an agent for the Food and Drug Administration, and prosecutors from the United States attorney’s office for the Northern District of California.

From NYTimes.com:

The supplements, Tren Xtreme and Mass Xtreme, are manufactured by American Cellular Labs and marketed as a ”potent legal alternative to” steroids. But authorities alleged in search warrants executed on Thursday that the supplements contain illegal man-made steroids, also known as designer steroids. One of the substances is Madol, which was first identified six years ago during the investigation into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative.

The authorities said that Max Muscle, a walk-in supplement store with about 100 locations nation-wide, paid American Cellular Labs to be the exclusive retailer of these products, which could also be purchased on the Internet.

Maurice Sandoval, identified in the court documents as American Cellular’s chief executive, said in a telephone interview that he never personally sold steroids but declined to comment on whether the company had sold steroids. He said he sold the company last year but that a paperwork error kept his name on the company.

Travis Tygart, the head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, said that these substances have helped many athletes quickly gain muscle mass and strength.