Can't put down your cigarettes? Faulty brain pathway could be to blame

Thousands of people who are regular smoker’s claim they cannot quit no matter what they try could blame their genes. Scientists have discovered a brain pathway that, if not functioning correctly, can lead to an uncontrollable desire to smoke.

The fault lies in a receptor protein that is normally activated by the nicotine in cigarettes and dampens the desire for yet more of the drug.

The team found that when rats were genetically changed to block the protein they consumed far more nicotine than control animals. Professor Paul Kenny, of The Scripps Research Institute, Florida, said: 'These findings point to a promising target for the development of potential anti-smoking therapies.'

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 Current anti-smoking medication available includes a drug called Champix; Champix is the most successful anti-smoking medication to date according to manufactures study.

In studies, 44% of Champix users were quit during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment (compared to 18% on sugar pill). Champix also helped reduce the urge to smoke. Champix has been proven to be more effective in helping smokers quit than Zyban® (bupropion hydrochloride). The average person in these studies had been a smoker for more than 24 years. The trials involved a mix of men and women who smoked an average of 10 or more cigarettes a day.

Learn about the study.

1,022 patients were enrolled in this study, and results were duplicated in another identically designed clinical trial.Patients received either Champix 1mg twice a day, Zyban 150 mg twice a day, or sugar pills twice a day for 12 weeks. In addition to the pills, patients were given a booklet on quitting smoking and received brief counselling at each visit.

In weeks 9 through 12 in the study, the smoking status of each patient was checked, and the information was compared among the 3 groups. Patients were considered quit if they did not smoke a cigarette (not even a puff) or use other nicotine products for the final 4 weeks of treatment. Champix was proven to be more effective than the sugar pill or Zyban.

For more information on quitting smoking visit Buy Champix online from Medical Specialists online Pharmacy.

Vanderbilt loses Cialis Supreme Court bid

On Monday, Jan. 24, a American Court declined to hear an appeal by Vanderbilt University for the U.S. Court of Appeals case Vanderbilt University vs. ICOS Corporation. The case involved adding three Vanderbilt medical center scientists, Dr. Jackie Corbin, Dr. Sharron Francis and Dr. Sekhar Konjeti as inventors on the patent held by ICOS for the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis. The scientists had worked with the company Glaxo on development of the drug before the project was transferred to ICOS.

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“My collaborators here felt that we should also be listed as inventors,” Corbin said. “Our collaboration with [Glaxo] went on for a number of years. We provided them a lot of information, both face-to-face and in writing.”

“The brand name is Cialis, the generic drug is tadalafil,” said Leona Marx, the Associate Counsel at Vanderbilt’s Office of General Counsel. “We believe that [Corbin, Francis and Konjeti] are inventors of tadalafil.”

Vanderbilt lost the case at both the District Court and Appellate Court level before appealing it again to the Supreme Court. Corbin said, “This has gone on a long time, and although we had decisions in the lower courts that were against us, we were close in several respects so we had some hope.”

The scientists from Vanderbilt claim to have played a crucial role in the early development of the drug.

”We discovered the enzyme phosphodiesterase-5 many years ago, and we told [Glaxo] that a pill that inhibited the enzyme could be used to treat erectile dysfunction,” Corbin said. “We, actually, ourselves, in our laboratory here, synthesized a lot of compounds like that, and we even sent them some compounds to test.”

However, representatives for the corporation alleged in court that the contributions of the Vanderbilt scientists were not a part of the final design for Cialis. According to Corbin, “[Glaxo] said that even though we told them all these things they should do, told them what kind of compounds to use, that they didn't actually listen to that, but they had their own ideas.”

Marx was realistic about the prospects of the Supreme Court considering an appeal on the case: “It’s very difficult to get the U.S. Supreme Court to hear any particular case, it has to have national significance, so I guess we knew it was a long shot.”

When asked how he felt about the Supreme Court denying the case, Corbin said, “My reaction was of disappointment, because we felt we were on the side of truth in this case, that we did contribute to the development and discovery of Cialis.”

Those representing Vanderbilt have no further plans to try to get the names of the scientists on the patent. “This is the end,” Marx said. “There is no further appeal. Once the Supreme Court denies the petition that’s the end of the road.”

Viagra can help with altitude sickness, report says

Viagra is best known as a treatment for male impotence. But there are reports that it has many other uses such as treating pulmonary hypertension (elevated blood pressure in the artery to the lungs).

People who climb mountains may develop high-altitude pulmonary edema, which can be quite dangerous. In this condition, fluid accumulates in the lungs and makes breathing difficult. The sufferer may have rapid heart rate, shallow, rapid breaths and start to turn blue. Drugs such as Viagra (sildenafil) and Cialis (tadalafil) can increase nitric oxide levels in the blood vessels of the lungs and help them relax, according to a 2010 report in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases. This can reduce the fluid that is leaking into the lungs.

Obesity cutting life expectancy for todays children

Today's children and teenagers regularly eat junk foods, watch more television and are less active than their parents were.So it was not shocking when a new study suggested that today's younger generation would live shorter lives than their parents.

"Diseases such as Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, heart conditions and joint deterioration - what were once considered 'adult' diseases - are regularly being diagnosed in children, due to the prevalence of obesity," said Jessica Bartfield, weight loss specialist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, part of the Loyola University Health System."What is particularly tragic is that studies have suggested that obesity in children today may contribute to a 2-5 year decline in their life expectancy, shorter than that of their parents, due to obesity related diseases that are largely preventable," she added.

She said the causes are 'multifactorial, including environment and culture'. Genetics and parental weight status also plays a role."If one parent is obese, a child has a 50 percent likelihood of being obese, and if both parents are obese, that skyrockets to 80 percent likelihood," she said.

Research by the Centre for Disease Control found that 80 percent of obese children between the ages of 10-15 continue to be obese at age 25.

Man blames Viagra & wife's menopause for filming women in changing room

Neil Smith 57, who was caught filming women at Hillsborough leisure centre in Sheffield on August 11th, blames his behavior on his wife menopause and Viagra.

Smith who managed to escape jail was spotted pointing the digital video camera into the cubicle, twisting and turning the device to get a better view of his shocked victim.

Police uncovered a peeping Tom's tool kit, including a jacket down the sleeve of which they recovered a 30cm plastic ruler attached with elastic bands to a video recorder. They also discovered a plastic bag containing batteries, a partly used bottle of lubricant, a vibrating male masturbating device, a used swimming costume, a mirror and a camera case. Police also found a clip of the woman and child in a camera memory card hidden inside a sock, as well as covert footage showing other females getting changed.

Smith, who admitted voyeurism, was given a three-year community order with supervision, and also ordered to attend a sex offender programme, and given a sex offender probation order.

Judge Simon Lawler QC said he was torn between jailing Smith as punishment for his crime and giving him a community order, which would allow him to be rehabilitated and protect the public.

"You decided to take these cameras to prey on women. I have to try and prevent re-offending by you and protect the public in the long term," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.