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Health Care Industry Increases Lobbying Spending
Drug companies "boosted their lobbying in Washington during the three months (that) ended June 30 amid a flurry of congressional action on health care," while overall, "Washington"s lobbying business continued to slump as the economy pinched budgets at some big companies and trade associations," The Wall Street Journal reports. "Drug manufacturers increased lobbying spending 13% to $68 million in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to the data ò€¦ Overall, the health-care sector reported a 5% increase in lobbying expenditures to $133 million, making it the single largest spender on lobbying of the 10 major industry sectors tracked by the Center for Responsive Politics. Health-insurance companies increased lobbying activity by 11% to $7.8 million, according to the data" (Mullins and Farnam, 8/3).
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Method To Efficiently Produce Less Toxic Drugs Using Organic Molecules Discovered By NTU Professor
Nanyang Technological University (NTU)"s Associate Professor Zhong Guofu has made a significant contribution to the field of organic chemistry, in particular the study of using small organic molecules as catalysts, in the synthesis process called organocatalysis. Such synthesis process takes place for example, during the production of chiral drugs.
News of the day
Men, Young And Unmarried Ignore Skin Cancer Warnings
Men are twice as likely as women to not protect their skin in the sun, despite more men dying from melanoma than women, according to research due to be released at the British Association of Dermatologists annual conference in Glasgow next month.
Mental Health

Psychotherapy Of Depression Changes Biological Parameters?

A group of German investigators demonstrated that the early increase in phosphorylated CREB (pCREB) is related to treatment response and does not depend on pharmacological interventions or brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plasma levels. For the first time, cellular biological markers could be associated with response to psychotherapy. The cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding proteins (CREB) and their interaction with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are essential elements in signal transduction pathways important for cellular resilience and neuroplasticity. They play a decisive role in the concept of altered neuroplasticity in major depression. The Authors of this study have previously demonstrated that the increase in phosphorylated CREB (pCREB) in T lymphocytes is significantly associated with clinical improvement in patients treated with antidepressants. In the present study, they focused on patients treated only with psychotherapy to exclude direct pharmacological actions. In addition to pCREB, they also measured the BDNF plasma levels. pCREB in T lymphocytes was determined by Western blot; the BDNF plasma levels with solid-phase ELISA. Psychopathology was evaluated with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD). Thirty patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for major depressive episodes (MDE) were recruited into this 6-week study. They received interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) twice weekly. After 6 weeks of IPT, 17 patients responded (reduction of 50% of baseline HAMD); after 1 week of treatment pCREB increased significantly compared to the nonresponder group. Measurement of the BDNF plasma levels revealed no differences between the responder and nonresponder groups. Furthermore, the correlations between BDNF plasma levels and pCREB were not significant. The early increase in pCREB is related to treatment response and does not depend on pharmacological interventions or BDNF plasma levels. For the first time, cellular biological markers could be associated with response to psychotherapy. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics


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