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The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) is the lead agency within the U. S. federal government for complementary and integrative health research, which includes natural products. Although NCCIH is one of the smaller components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), NCCIH funds a disproportionately high percentage of natural products research at NIH. This stems from NCCIH being the only NIH grant issuing component that includes natural products as an explicit part of its mission. This perspective provides an overview of the NCCIH mission and summarizes NCCIH funding priorities for natural products research across basic and mechanistic as well as clinical sectors. These priorities are guided by the recently released NCCIH strategic plan. A primary element of this new plan is a focus on whole person health instead of the frequent focus on the treatment of diseases. The NCCIH focus on whole person health includes how natural products and multicomponent therapeutic approaches, which often include natural products, can help move individuals towards health restoration and promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) is the lead agency within the U. S. federal government for complementary and integrative health research, which includes natural products. Although NCCIH is one of the smaller components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), NCCIH funds a disproportionately high percentage of natural products research at NIH. This stems from NCCIH being the only NIH grant issuing component that includes natural products as an explicit part of its mission. This perspective provides an overview of the NCCIH mission and summarizes NCCIH funding priorities for natural products research across basic and mechanistic as well as clinical sectors. These priorities are guided by the recently released NCCIH strategic plan. A primary element of this new plan is a focus on whole person health instead of the frequent focus on the treatment of diseases. The NCCIH focus on whole person health includes how natural products and multicomponent therapeutic approaches, which often include natural products, can help move individuals towards health restoration and promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partnership with Bayer Addressing Healthcare Needs. Exploring the Factors behind Heart Failure Disease in Asia. Tobacco Harm Reduction and Reduced-Risk Products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A model is presented for the supervised learning problem where the observations come from a fixed number of pre-specified groups, and the regression coefficients may vary sparsely between groups. The model spans the continuum between individual models for each group and one model for all groups. The resulting algorithm is designed with a high dimensional framework in mind. The approach is applied to a sentiment analysis dataset to show its efficacy and interpretability. One particularly useful application is for finding sub-populations in a randomized trial for which an intervention (treatment) is beneficial, often called the uplift problem. Some new concepts are introduced that are useful for uplift analysis. The value is demonstrated in an application to a real world credit card promotion dataset. In this example, although sending the promotion has a very small average effect, by targeting a particular subgroup with the promotion one can obtain a 15% increase in the proportion of people who purchase the new credit card. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cervical Cancer is Highly Preventable. Don't Succumb to It. Do Your Part to Stop Infectious Disease from Spreading: Insights from Infectious Diseases Expert - Dr. Leong Hoe Nam. Infectious Diseases in Asia Pacific: Top Five Targets for Prophylaxis Vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biosynthesis and biotechnological production of Rosmarinic acid, a phenolic ester that is widespread in the plant kingdom, has been widely investigated. This compound has shown many remarkable biological and pharmacological activities, which have led to its pharmaceutical and analytical development, as well as clinical studies, which are summarized and analyzed here for the first time. This review compiles data from the Pubmed, Scopus, Scifinder, Web Of Science, and Science Direct databases published between 1990 and 2015, restricting the search to works with the keywords “Rosmarinic acid” in the title. The initial search identified more than 800 articles; after an initial screening and removal of duplicate works, the search was further refined, resulting in approximately 300 articles that were scrutinized and comprise this review. The articles were organized to describe extraction and isolation, analytical methods, pharmaceutical development, and biological and pharmacological activities [divided into nonclinical (in vitro, in vivo) and clinical studies], pharmacokinetic studies, and stability studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides a background to ShanghaiBio and its path to success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the Web site of the U.S. National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, available at www.cc.nih.goc/participate/studies.shtml.

The article reports that Australian Cancer Technology announced results from an extended clinical study evaluating RP101 with chemotherapy demonstrating a doubling of survival in patients with pancreatic cancer. In an extended phase I/II clinical study conducted by ResProtect in Germany, 13 patients with metastasized pancreatic cancer were treated with RP101 and gemcitabine plus cisplatin. Of the patients treated, nine had stage IV disease and four had stage III disease.

The article reports that MediciNova Inc. has announced the enrollment of patients in a phase II clinical trial with MN-305, a novel anti-anxiety agent that was licensed in 2004 from Mitsubishi Pharma Corp. (Mitsubishi) of Osaka, Japan. MN-305 is described as a serotonin type 1A receptor agonist, and based on pre-clinical and earlier clinical studies, appears to hold the potential for rapid onset of anti-anxiety effect combined with excellent tolerability. Under the licensing agreement with Mitsubishi, MediciNova Inc. obtained exclusive worldwide rights, except for Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea and other parts of Southeast Asia, to develop and commercialize MN-305.

This article reports that Myriad Genetics Inc., has announced that it will begin a second phase I clinical trial with its investigative cancer drug, MPC-6827, under a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) -approved investigational new drug application. This new human clinical study will evaluate the potential of MPC-6827 to treat metastatic brain cancer. It will evaluate the potential of MPC-6827 by achieving therapeutic concentrations in the brain that are sufficient to treat tumors without significant systemic exposure or toxicity. The phase 1 clinical study will be performed at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

The article reports that Schering AG has announced the initiation of recruitment for a phase II clinical trial of the experimental angiogenesis inhibitor PTK787/ZK 222584 (PTK/ZK) in the treatment of lung cancer. The trial is designed to evaluate the efficacy of PTK/ZK as a second-line monotherapy in patients with stage IIIB/IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Recent scientific evidence suggests that angiogenesis inhibition may be a new treatment approach for nonsmall cell lung cancer. PTK/ZK is a novel, oral angiogenesis inhibitor designed to target the tumor blood vessels and potentially lymphatic vessels, thus slowing tumor growth and spread.

The article cites a study which reports that a small-molecule inhibitor of Bcl-2 and Bcl-X-L proteins is proven effective against diffuse large cell lymphoma. Overexpression of Bcl-2/Bcl-X-L protein has been observed in more than 80% of B-cell lymphomas. Diffuse large cell lymphoma is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. (-)-Gossypol, a natural product isolated from cottonseeds, was discovered as a potent small-molecule inhibitor of Bcl-2 and Bcl-X-L proteins, reported researchers R.M. Mohammad and colleagues. Mohammad and colleagues published the results of their research in the journal "Molecular Cancer Therapeutics."

Reports on the use of reference assay for comparing studies involving adenovirus type 5. Importance of accurate measurements of the physical and infectious titers of adenoviral vectors for evaluating preclinical studies and for safety and efficacy of clinical studies; Difficulty of measuring infectious titers of helper-dependent adenoviral vectors; Development of a fully characterized Adenovirus Reference Material as a reference standard for clinical grade adenoviral vectors.

Characterizes the potential effects of zonisamide on carbamazepine pharmacokinetics in epileptic patients. Metabolism of carbamazepine drug; Assessment on the activities of cytochrome P450 in human liver microsomes; Result on the measured carbamazepine before and after zosinamide administration.

Focuses on the metronomic photodynamic therapy as a new paradigm for photodynamic therapy. Evaluation of technical feasibility for treating malignant brain tumors; Increase in selective tumor cell kill; Delivery of photosensitizer and light.

Presents a study on the use of bipolar and tetrapolar impedance techniques for assessing fat mass in Germany. Reflection of sex differences and age-associated changes in the body fat patterning; Determination of highest values for body fat in males compared to females; Suitability of whole body impedance method.

Discusses the results of a study on the remodeling of sinus node functions in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Demonstration of diffuse atrial remodeling in CHF; Citation of conditions evaluated under autonomic blockade; Characterization of sinus mode remodeling in CHF patients.

The article reviews the Web site of the U.S. National Eye Institute, available at www.nei.nih.gov/neitrials/index.aspx.

This article presents findings of a research on large scale lymphoma conducted by R.M. Mohammad and published in the journal "Molecular Cancer Therapeutics." A small-molecule inhibitor of Bcl-2 and Bcl-X-L proteins is proven effective against diffuse large cell lymphoma. Diffuse large cell lymphoma is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Gossypol, a natural product isolated from cottonseeds, was discovered as a potent small-molecule inhibitor of Bcl-2 and Bcl-X-L proteins. Using WSU-DLCL2-SCID mouse xenograft model, the tumor growth inhibition, the tumor growth delay, and the log[10] kill of mice treated with (-)-gossypol + CHOP were better than 2/Bcl-X-L small-molecule inhibitor to standard chemotherapy may prove an effective strategy in lymphoma therapy