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Imitation biologics are therapeutically equivalent to the original drugs

Drugs produced using biotechnology are among the most expensive medicines available. Biosimilars that offer a real alternative are becoming increasingly available on the market. The promise of biosimilars is that, once patent protection has elapsed for established biologics, more patients will be able to access effective and well-tolerated drugs. This is particularly true in relation to preparations used in the treatment of patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases, which also include drugs used for the treatment of rheumatic diseases. In 2001, as part of a project led by the European Medicines Agency, step-by-step guidelines were introduced to regulate the approval of these products, and to acknowledge the specific differences that distinguish biosimilars from traditional medicines.

In an advance that helps clarify the role of a cluster of neurons in the brain, Yale School of Medicine researchers have found that these neurons not only control hunger and appetite, but also regulate bone mass.

The study is published Sept. 24 online ahead of print in the journal Cell Reports.

"We have found that the level of your hunger could determine your bone structure," said one of the senior authors, Tamas L. Horvath, the Jean and David W. Wallace Professor of Comparative Medicine, and professor of neurobiology and obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences. Horvath is also director of the Yale Program in Integrative Cell Signaling and Neurobiology of Metabolism.

The journal Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management published a study showing that Actemra offers an enhanced probability of being the best treatment for inducing an ACR20 response versus placebo, methotrexate (MTX), Humira or Enbrel. The study, which compared available data on the efficacy of biologic agents indicated for monotherapy treatment, found that Actemra allows a significantly greater proportion of patients with rheumatoid arthritis to attain clinical benefit within 6 months compared to other biologic therapies.

"The results of this analysis reinforce Actemra as an effective biologic monotherapy for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis," said Christine Birchwood, Medical Science Director, Genentech Immunology.

Despite having several layers, the new biofilm is only a few hundred nanometers thick and invisible to the naked eye.
Image credit: Inserm/E. Falette

Now, an Inserm team from Strasbourg University in France has succeeded in creating a biofilm that protects against such infection.

The biomaterials and bioengineering researchers describe their work in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials.

The man learned to walk again, using his own brain power.
Credit: Dr. Zoran Nenadic

It is the first time that an individual who is unable to walk due to spinal cord injury (SCI) has purposefully operated a noninvasive brain computer interface (BCI) system for overground walking in real time, giving hope for the feasibility of developing BCI brain implants to help people to walk.

Researchers say fidgeting may help counteract the the negative health implications of sedentary behavior.

The study, led by researchers at Leeds University and University College London, both in the UK, builds on growing evidence suggesting that a sedentary lifestyle is bad for one's health, even if the individual is physically active outside work.

The most common drug used to treat Alzheimer's disease increases bone mass in mice, according to one of the first research articles published in the new open access journal Heliyon. The authors of the study, from Saitama Medical University in Japan, say this means the drug could also be used to treat bone loss diseases like osteoporosis and periodontitis, following further clinical research.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and the incidence is increasing in our aging population.

Salsalate may be able to reverse some of the effects of Alzheimer's.

A study at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, CA, has found that salsalate, already established as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, is able to prevent the accumulation of the protein tau - known to cause toxicity and contribute to cognitive degeneration. The discovery has implications for frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer's disease.